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“Indeed, I despise those who are duplicitous and try to ingratiate themselves everywhere—the likes of Zhou Wang are exactly that sort of weathercock. She was fawning over me previously, and then she swiftly defected to Mrs. Su. Now that she sees Mrs. Su facing misfortune, she comes to you, the epitome of inconstancy. What does she think she is, even imagines herself worthy of attention.”

Madam Fang Chen harbored resentment towards the Su Family, and felt the same about Zhou Wang, who had used her and then betrayed her; in some respects, she despised Zhou Wang even more. Since Mrs. Wang Sun was planning to use Zhou Wang, she couldn’t say much, but she was indeed able to give Zhou Wang a taste of her own medicine.

Zhou Wang sat in the hall, and after waiting for what felt like an eternity without seeing anyone coming, she grew restless. She wondered if she had offended Mrs. Wang Sun, who was perhaps deliberately leaving her to cool her heels.

After more waiting, Zhou Wang finally decided to walk outside and when she saw a maid cleaning the courtyard, Zhou Wang bribed the maid, only to learn that Madam Fang Chen had come. Zhou Wang knew Madam Fang Chen despised her and might have spoken ill of her to Mrs. Wang Sun, which weighed heavily on her mind.

Zhou Wang waited in the hall for what felt like ages before finally being led in by the servant girl to see Mrs. Wang Sun. However, Madam Fang Chen did not leave. Seeing Zhou Wang enter, the smile on her face turned cold. She ignored her, and so did Mrs. Wang Sun.

Though Zhou Wang felt vexed inside, she was thick-skinned after all. She had already offended the Su Family and couldn’t afford to make an enemy of the Sun Family as well.

“Madam Wang, Madam Fang, you’re both here?”

“I hear you wished to see me. Is there something you want? I still have matters to discuss with Madam Fang. Make it quick, don’t waste my time,” Mrs. Wang Sun said with no attempt at politeness.

“Madam Wang, I came regarding the Su Family’s troubles. I heard the Su Family has offended the magistrate’s wife.”

“What, are you here to plead Su’s case? If you want to beg for mercy, why doesn’t she come herself? Does she think just because she sent you, Wang, that she has such great influence? That’s laughable!”

Mrs. Wang Sun’s words filled Zhou Wang with embarrassment. She struggled to hold back, “Madam Wang, you misunderstand. I don’t mean to plead for the Su Family. My previous contact with them was only to gather more information, fearing they might do something detrimental to you, Madam Wang. I simply never expected the Su Family to be so ungrateful, daring to offend the magistrate’s wife, and acting as if she looks down on everyone. Their servants are also arrogant, completely disregarding the magistrate’s wife and you, Madam Wang. They rely solely on having a backing in Chang’an.”

Mrs. Wang Sun was at first indifferent to Zhou Wang’s words, but her attention was piqued when Chang’an was mentioned.

“Are you suggesting the Su Family has connections in Chang’an?” Mrs. Wang Sun asked, frowning.

“It’s the Su Family’s mother’s side. It’s said that the Su Family branched out from the Marquis Beian Mansion and they’re the legitimate line of the Marquis Beian Mansion. It’s precisely because of this backing that the Su Family is so overbearing and thinks nothing of others, even daring to decline the invitation of the magistrate’s wife.”

Mrs. Wang Sun heard this with solemnity. Though unfamiliar with Marquis Beian Mansion, the mere title ‘marquis’ was enough for her to know it was not something she could provoke.

Seeing Mrs. Wang Sun somewhat wary after Zhou Wang’s revelation, Madam Fang Chen grew even more discontented. Fearful that Mrs. Wang Sun would be intimidated and refrain from causing trouble for Su Wenyue, thereby rendering their efforts fruitless, she scoffed.

Mrs. Wang Sun was surprised by Madam Fang Chen’s laughter, “Qian Ru, what are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing at Mrs. Wang’s wild claims, treating us as fools! The legitimate branch of Marquis Beian Mansion? Who are they trying to fool? If truly from the legitimate line of the Marquis Beian Mansion, they wouldn’t leave the Capital City even if they split up the family assets. Instead, they’d likely be some distant, obscure branch falsely claiming connections to Marquis Beian Mansion, or perhaps they had offended the head of Marquis Beian Mansion and were thus banished here.”

There were reasons behind the Su Family’s traditions, but naturally, outsiders could not understand. Hence, Mrs. Wang Sun found Madam Fang Chen’s words plausible. If the Su Family truly had such connections, they wouldn’t be nestled in such a small County Town, probably waving someone else’s flag as their own.

Zhou Wang wasn’t there to help Su Wenyue to begin with. She revealed those things merely to show her sincerity. Hearing Madam Fang Chen put it that way, she concurred, “Indeed! When I first heard it, I was terribly alarmed, worried the Su’s mother’s family might actually do something detrimental to the magistrate’s wife and to you, Madam Wang. But then I realized that couldn’t be right. If the Su’s mother’s family were truly that powerful, they would never let Su marry a Farmer. You probably aren’t aware of Lord Han’s background, Madam. Before he arrived at the military camp, he was just a Farmer with his face to the soil and his back to the sky. It’s by marrying into the Su Family that he managed to find a position in the military camp.”

“So it is. Then those rumors are even less credible. If truly from the line of Marquis Beian Mansion, she wouldn’t marry a mere commoner—let alone a Farmer—but at the very least someone respectable, someone presentable. This shows gossip cannot be trusted.” Even if Madam Fang Chen disliked Zhou Wang, she agreed with her point, mainly because she wanted Su Wenyue to meet misfortune even more.

Mrs. Wang Sun was already skeptical about those rumors, and after hearing Madam Fang Chen and Zhou Wang’s conversation, she was even more convinced that Su Wenyue was just afraid of her revenge and had fabricated the connection with Marquis Beian Mansion in hopes of being spared. But there was no way she would let that happen.

“Rumors or not, Marquis Beian Mansion aside, this is Yiyang Prefecture, not Chang’an. Since the Su Family dares to disrespect my Sun Family, they must pay the price.”

Madam Fang Chen and Zhou Wang eagerly inquired from Mrs. Wang Sun about ways to deal with Su Wenyue, learning that the magistrate’s wife would visit Xinye in a couple of days. They pitied Su Wenyue, for what the magistrate’s wife was capable of, and knew that Su Wenyue would no longer have a chance to escape this time.

While Madam Fang Chen and Zhou Wang were getting news from Mrs. Wang Sun, Han Yu was also on guard against the general magistrate’s mansion. He couldn’t hide the fact that the magistrate’s wife would visit Xinye in a couple of days. His expression grew cold at the thought of the magistrate’s wife having no reason to come to Xinye County, other than Mrs. Wang Sun’s instigation.

“Master, this is the latest news: Magistrate Sun Bocheng’s wife, Mrs. Zhang, has been persuaded by Mrs. Wang Sun and will be coming to Xinye County in two days, specifically to deal with Miss Su.” Because Sikong Yu disliked calling Su Wenyue ‘Madam Han’, those below referred to her as ‘Miss Su’.

“Madam, would you like me to bring the old women over? Although she is not honored by any imperial grant, she still has experience in dealing with the magistrate’s wife, which would be helpful to you,” Grandma Chen, having received the news, was frantic. Previously in the prefecture, they managed to find reasons to avoid it, but now the magistrate’s wife was coming to Xinye.