The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 598 - 565: Arrest by Order (Part 2)

After many years, even if there is a nanny to testify, it might not be easy to bring down Jiang Qingyu.

Therefore Xu Jia is not completely confident in putting Jiang Qingyu in jail; her goal is to have Jiang Qingyu arrested by the government officers on the day she enters the mansion.

As long as the government officers appear, Jiang Qingyu’s so-called "twin sister" lie will be exposed, and then, the Tang Family will be disgraced by a woman, and its reputation will be utterly shattered.

Finding the nanny, Yun Huai’s men took only two hours to accomplish the task, such efficiency that left Xu Jia stunned. She discussed with Wen Wan to let the nanny stay at Song Mansion for a night, and then went to see Yun Huai, originally intending to thank him sincerely. Yun Huai dismissed her with a simple "it’s just a trivial matter."

Standing outside the room, Xu Jia was buffeted by the snow wind that drilled into her pores, feeling somewhat helplessly amused.

Yun Huai is a person with high vigilance; she had only made two tiny moves before he detected them, now guarding her like a thief.

Xu Jia isn’t discouraged.

Take it slowly; some people aren’t suited to be attacked aggressively, especially someone like Yun Huai, who is never short of admirers wherever he goes.

Compared to those young ladies, she might not have any outstanding skills.

To stand out and get his attention among them, she still has a long way to go.

...

Back at the mansion, the servants had already begun the preparations, big red lanterns and red satin everywhere, creating an atmosphere of joy.

For those unaware, they might think Tang Yuan was preparing for a lavish wedding with a proper wife.

At the West Corner Gate, the steward of the outer courtyard was directing two young servants to hang lanterns, and upon seeing the Second Lady standing not far away, he hastily approached with a somewhat awkward expression, "Second Lady, these are all Second Young Master’s orders."

Throughout the Capital, even if one favors concubines over wives, it’s impossible to give a concubine such grand treatment.

All of them have served many years in the mansion, understanding the etiquette and rules better than the masters. But there’s no choice; the one entering the mansion tomorrow is the First Lady’s twin sister, coming to take care of Young Master Yong in place of the First Lady, and since Second Young Master has spoken, the servants can only comply.

The steward thought Second Lady would be furious upon seeing this, but to his surprise, she merely glanced at the red satin on the gate eaves and quickly withdrew her gaze, smiling warmly, "That’s nice."

That’s nice?

The steward watched the Second Lady’s silhouette as she entered, completely puzzled.

Tang Yong was being pulled by Xu Jia, and the further they walked inside, the more he saw red everywhere. He recalled the days when Second Aunt arrived, feeling similarly puzzled, and asked Xu Jia, "Second Aunt, is Second Uncle getting married again?"

Xu Jia smiled at him, "Your mother is sick and doesn’t have time to take care of you, so your aunt is coming to take her place. When your aunt arrives tomorrow, I will take you to see her."

Tang Yong shook his head, "I don’t have an aunt."

Seeing Xu Jia not responding, he repeated again, "I don’t have an aunt, and I don’t want her."

"If you don’t want her, who do you want?"

"I want Second Aunt." The child’s gaze was sincere and bright.

Xu Jia pinched his little face, "Second Aunt is hungry; how about we roast some sweet potatoes to eat later?"

"Alright."

The child responded cheerfully, his steps slowly disappearing with Xu Jia into the wind and snow.

Mo Xiang was about to announce dinner, but Xu Jia did not allow it, sending her to the kitchen to fetch some sweet potatoes to roast on the wind stove.

Just as the sweet potatoes were roasted and before she could eat, someone from the main courtyard said Mrs. Qiao wanted to see the Second Lady.

Xu Jia handed the half-peeled sweet potato to Tang Yong and followed the old maid to the main courtyard.

Probably because Jiang Qingyu was entering the mansion tomorrow, Mrs. Qiao’s old face was tense and extremely grim. Upon seeing Xu Jia, she asked, "Second daughter-in-law, do you truly have no solutions?"

Xu Jia knew Mrs. Qiao would not let this slide, but even at this point, Mrs. Qiao still wanted to use her against Jiang Qingyu, planning to sit back and reap the benefits, which was overly obvious.

Shaking her head, Xu Jia replied, "Anyway, Second Young Master likes her. If I intervene, sooner or later, he will accuse me of being jealous."

Saying this, she did not forget to comfort Mrs. Qiao, "Since you can’t stop it, why not accept it with pleasure? Just consider her as the elder master’s wife’s sister, so you won’t overthink and upset yourself."

Indeed, Mrs. Qiao was upset, utterly discomforted, wanting someone to act, yet fearing the shameless woman had secrets to ruin the Tang Family’s reputation. If no action was taken, the elder daughter-in-law casually changed her identity and became the second son’s concubine right under her nose.

Is such an absurd thing, how can she turn a blind eye?

With a resolute heart, Mrs. Qiao said, "Second daughter-in-law, you are the rightful wife. If that lowly woman acts improperly after entering the house, you can go ahead and torment her. Don’t hold back; as your mother-in-law, I have your back."

The more Mrs. Qiao spoke, the more unsettled her emotions became.

Xu Jia curtsied, perfunctorily thanking her mother-in-law for her affection, then left the main courtyard.

That night, some had a dreamless sleep, while others tossed and turned restlessly.

The former was Xu Jia, and the latter Tang Yuan.

Qingyu was about to enter the household. He should have been happy, but whenever he closed his eyes, the cold face of Xu Family emerged in his mind.

As if driven by a mysterious force, Tang Yuan got up quietly and sneaked towards the Zilan Courtyard. Fearing detection by the night maids, he didn’t use the main entrance but circled around to the window opposite Xu Jia’s bed, intending to poke through the paper window to see what she was doing.

Xu Jia was a light sleeper and, being trained in martial arts, was more alert than most. Not long after Tang Yuan arrived, she opened her eyes and guessed who was outside.

Xu Jia donned an outer robe, got out of bed, and grabbed the kettle from the wind stove, pouring the water into a copper basin. Then she walked to the window, and just as Tang Yuan was about to poke at it, she suddenly pushed it open, splashing half a basin of cold water outside.

Tang Yuan was caught off guard and soaked to the skin, falling onto the snowy ground without daring to make a sound, and had no choice but to flee in embarrassment.

Mo Xiang, hearing the commotion, came inside to ask what happened.

Xu Jia was already back in bed and replied that it was nothing, just a mouse in the room.

...

Drenched in cold water on a snowy day, Tang Yuan developed a fever overnight. The next day, dragging his sickly body, he sent someone to the inn to fetch the concubine.

According to Tang Yuan’s arrangement, Jiang Qingyu, who was now called Jiang Qingyun as the twin sister replacing the first wife, had already arrived at the inn two days prior from her "family" and was now just waiting for someone from the Tang Mansion to fetch her.

As for Tang Yuan himself, though not dressed in bright red, he exuded a festive air, cleverly hiding his sickly appearance.

Few knew of this scandal, even Tang Yuan’s father, Tang Wenji, believed that the real twin sister of Jiang Qingyu had come and planned to sit in the main hall for a while.

Mrs. Qiao pulled him back, "It’s not the rightful wife entering the house. Why give her any face? We can’t let her think that our Tang Family values her, or else she’ll trample all over you in the future, flaunting power."

Tang Wenji felt Mrs. Qiao’s words were targeted and tried to counsel her, "Madam, you are being too harsh. You can’t generalize just because you dislike the eldest daughter-in-law. After all, this concubine was arranged by the eldest daughter-in-law to care for the grandson. It wouldn’t hurt to be a little lenient with her."

"Care for the grandson?" Mrs. Qiao sneered, "Mrs. Jiang may enjoy being a concubine, but my grandson won’t be happy being raised by a young mother!"

Thus, Tang Wenji was barred, and Mrs. Qiao didn’t allow him to show his face.

But the servants, following Tang Yuan’s orders, had to wait respectfully at the corner gate for the new concubine.

After a while, a palanquin carried by four men came from the direction of the archway. Though there was no ceremonial music, many bystanders gathered. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Inside the palanquin, under the peach-red veil, Jiang Qingyu slowly lifted the corners of her lips.

All these years of bitter waiting at the manor had finally paid off. She was about to truly become Tang Yuan’s woman.

Thinking of the man’s graceful demeanor, Jiang Qingyu couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter.

However, just as the palanquin was about to enter the West Corner Gate, the arrest officer from the Shuntian Prefecture Government arrived with a team, surrounding the area.

Chief Zhang, with a stern face and an even gruffer and louder voice, announced, "Listen up inside, you’re suspected of premeditated murder. The government office has an open case and is here to arrest you. Please come with us."

The steward was terrified, stammering, "Officer, inside the palanquin is our Second Young Master’s newly taken concubine, who hasn’t even entered yet. How could there be a murder charge? You must be mistaken!"

Chief Zhang looked at the steward, maintaining his official tone, "Early this morning, someone reported to the government office that the Tang Family’s eldest wife had intentionally killed her husband, Tang Xiao, years ago. Lord Governor ordered this arrest officer to apprehend from the manor. Finding no one there, I followed the clues here. The suspect Mrs. Jiang is currently inside the palanquin."

He spoke like a soulless messenger, reciting a string of words that nearly made the eyeballs of the onlooking neighbors drop out from shock.

"Isn’t it said that Second Young Master Tang was marrying the eldest wife’s twin sister? How is this related to a murder case?"

"I heard it’s a twin; could the officers be mistaken?"

"Who knows if it’s truly a twin. There’s plenty of intrigue in big family back courtyards; it might just be the same person."

"Tsk, if it really is the same person, the Tang Family has some scandalous drama brewing."

Inside the palanquin, Jiang Qingyu’s face turned pale. She could only tightly clutch her sleeves, not daring to step down or make a sound.