freenovelworld Chapter 69 Quieting the Rumors
Chapter 69 Quieting the Rumors
A few days later, after dressing up carefully, Li's mother went to the home of the Vice Minister of Rites to attend the full moon celebration of his grandson.
The moment she stepped into the banquet hall, her appearance instantly overshadowed the previously much-anticipated child, making her the undisputed focus of the entire event.
The guests present cast curious glances, whispering and gossiping among themselves.
Most of them were there out of a "the more the merrier" mentality, wanting to see what would happen to Li's mother, who had always presented a loving relationship with her husband...
Although everyone was filled with questions, due to their respective statuses and etiquette, they only whispered among themselves and no one dared to step forward and ask for clarification.
Of course, the wives of those officials who had a strained relationship with Li Chuan were also present here.
One of the censors' wives deliberately asked the question directly in front of many guests, without any attempt to conceal the matter that had been the talk of the town in the capital recently.
Mother Li actually had a clear purpose in coming to the banquet today, which was to clarify the unpleasant rumors circulating recently.
Otherwise, the Li family would likely soon become the subject of gossip and ridicule. How would her two children ever get married?
Therefore, even when faced with the seemingly malicious provocation from the censor's wife, Mother Li did not show any anger.
Instead, she cleverly followed the platform set up by the Censor's wife, her eyes gradually reddening, and with a face full of grievance, she slowly recounted the so-called "truth".
It turns out that she had always treated the other person like a sister, but she never expected to be betrayed and deceived in such a heartless way!
Not only that, she also adopted her good friend's son as her godson and asked her husband to generously donate money and do his best to help their whole family.
However, to her great distress, the other party not only showed no gratitude, but also repaid kindness with enmity, even openly blaming and slandering the Li family...
As soon as Mother Li finished speaking, all the ladies present showed sympathy and indignantly criticized Pan Ranyue for all her faults, mercilessly denouncing her as an ingrate.
For a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly heated, with everyone united in their hatred of the enemy, as if Pan Ranyue had become the target of everyone's ire.
In the end, the ladies began to gather around and gently comfort Li's mother.
After all, they had very sound values and shared the same status as the wives of officials. Naturally, they deeply resented those shameless vixens who tried to seduce their husbands.
Oh my! What a coincidence! Just a couple of days ago, I overheard some news that Meng Zigao had run away with his mistress and their children.
Unexpectedly, his wife, Pan Ranyue, found out, and naturally, she caught them red-handed! The scene was utterly chaotic; the two sides started fighting without a word as soon as they met!
"The final outcome was truly astonishing! I heard that the thugs Pan Ranyue 'accidentally' hired this time were all highly skilled in martial arts and extremely powerful!"
The thugs showed no mercy from the start, "accidentally" breaking Meng Zigao's two legs and injuring him as well... As for his three legs, it's said that he's now practically a eunuch.
Not only that, but even the children born to his mistress were not spared; they were all sold off by Pan Ranyue. Even worse, the mistress herself was sold to a brothel, all to avenge the beating she suffered at Pan Ranyue's hands.
After all, she was Meng Zigao's first wife. Selling her husband's concubines and illegitimate children, no one could say anything about it.
But this angered Meng Zigao so much that he vomited blood and nearly died of anger. They wouldn't even allow anyone to fetch a doctor for him, just letting him wait to die!
"On the other hand, Pan Ranyue was Meng Zigao's lawfully wedded first wife. According to the law, it's really not appropriate for others to say much about how she deals with her husband's concubines and illegitimate children."
However, this commotion was so great that when Meng Zigao learned the truth, he was so angry that he coughed up a mouthful of blood and almost died on the spot.
And what's even more ruthless is that Pan Ranyue actually ordered that no one be allowed to call a doctor for Meng Zigao, clearly intending for him to slowly die in agony!
At this moment, someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask, "Isn't anyone going to report this to the authorities?"
The wife of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who had just recounted this gossip, smiled slightly, a hint of mockery in her eyes, and said:
"How could there not be? However, Pan Ranyue explained to the authorities with great conviction that it was just a playful fight between husband and wife, only it got a little too intense."
Therefore, even if the government wanted to intervene in the affairs of this married couple, they were powerless to do so and had no way to manage it!
"Haha... You know what, that's really true. After all, they are a legitimate married couple, so no one can say anything about Pan Ranyue?"
"However, I heard that Pan Ranyue didn't get much benefit either. The money she painstakingly scrambled from Meng Zigao was all stolen by his son. It is said that the boy even had the audacity to say that he would use it to start a small business."
But this wasn't the end of it! Her precious son went even further this time, not only stealing his mother's money, but also daring to impersonate Lord Li's own son and borrow 50,000 taels from others!
Tell me, isn't he incredibly audacious? Luckily, Lord Li had the foresight to discuss it with my husband beforehand!
He made it clear that he did not acknowledge this so-called "fake son" at all, and therefore, Lord Li would naturally not acknowledge any of the money he had borrowed.
"Oh my! Because of this matter, my Lord Zheng has been extremely busy these past few days! He has received several reports from people who have come to accuse that fellow named Meng Yuheng."
But now, this guy has vanished without a trace, as if he'd evaporated into thin air. Oh dear, my lord Zheng has been so worried about this case; in just two days, he's lost quite a bit of hair!
"This family has really done a lot of harm!"
"Yes! It's true what they say, 'Like mother, like son...'"
Instantly, the censor's wife fell silent, and the group of ladies began to whisper among themselves.
The wife of the Minister of Justice smiled and winked playfully at Mother Li. Then the two smiled at each other, as if everything was understood without words.
…………
In fact, in the past few days, a number of people who like to join in the fun and meddle in other people's business have come to visit Jiang Mianmian and chat.
Jiang Mianmian observed that these people, while seemingly chatting warmly with her, were constantly circling back to the trivial matters of the Li family in every word they uttered.
Faced with the probing questions from those with ulterior motives, Jiang Mianmian was utterly speechless. She muttered to herself, "Why are you all coming to ask me about the Li family? I'm not a member of the Li family!"
Although they were related by marriage, she was just an observer, no different from the onlookers. These people were really annoying!
What's even more outrageous is that some of them brazenly mocked Li's mother right in front of Jiang Mianmian.
"I saw that Li's mother was showing off everywhere that she and Li Chuan had a deep relationship, that Li Chuan was an upright and clean person, and that there was nothing unclean about him at home or outside."
"Hmph, look at them! Their so-called love is probably long dead. Now this ridiculous thing has happened, it's laughable!"
Moreover, these women who were watching the spectacle were certain that Jiang Mianmian disliked her illegitimate daughter-in-law, and that she would definitely have a strained relationship with Li's mother, since they would all stand on their side and join in criticizing Li's mother.
But Jiang Mianmian didn't kick someone when they were down as they wished. After all, Zhang Lanwei was her daughter-in-law's mother, no matter what! She couldn't bring herself to stab someone in the back; it was a despicable thing to do.
Instead, she turned to those who loved to join in the fun and didn't mind making things worse, and retorted righteously, "Don't talk nonsense! Lord Li is a really good man!"
Although he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about romance and never lingered among women, he was completely devoted to his wife!
At this point, she couldn't help but sigh, "If any woman were lucky enough to marry someone like Lord Li, she would probably be overjoyed!"
As for those rumors circulating outside, they are nothing but baseless fabrications! Lord Li has always been a virtuous and upright man, and he and Madam Li share a deep and loving relationship!
Jiang Mianmian said with a serious expression, "Everyone must remember that we must always keep a clear head when facing these baseless rumors!"
Because spreading rumors can destroy trust between people and disrupt our lives, let's start with ourselves!
We must adhere to the principles of not spreading rumors, not believing rumors, and certainly not creating rumors. We must contribute our share to building a harmonious Beijing and maintaining unity and stability…
After that, Jiang Mianmian finally had some peace and quiet!
Now that no one is bothering Jiang Mianmian, she is exceptionally happy, enjoying the juicy gossip that the Li family keeps dropping.
On the other side, Jiang Mianmian didn't forget to check on the second son, and also took a look at the loofah between him and the female lead. She was living a very leisurely and comfortable life.