Chapter 58: Steal the Beams and Replace the Pillars
Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Steal the Beams and Replace the Pillars
Liang Jing supported the lady of the He Family, stepping slowly toward the crowd.
Spotting the lady of the He Family and Liang Jing through the wall of people, Mrs. Zhang hastily went to greet them. She feigned an expression of embarrassment and shot Liang Jing a reproachful look. "Why did the heir’s wife bring our eldest sister-in-law here? This... this is truly..." As she spoke, she tried to block the two kneeling figures behind her with her own body.
Her poorly disguised attempt to conceal them only seemed to confirm that the adulterous woman was Awan. The lady of the He Family felt her blood boil. Though she had been teetering on the verge of collapse, she suddenly found a surge of strength and shoved Mrs. Zhang out of the way. "Ajing, go see if that is your sister!" Despite her frail body, she mustered every ounce of her strength.
The noisy scene fell silent for a moment. Since things had reached this point, what was there left to see if they didn’t drag the culprits away immediately? If it weren’t Awan, wouldn’t she have jumped out to explain herself given the massive commotion? Besides, it was obvious who was present and who was missing. Refusing to end this quickly was nothing but a slap to their own faces—what a disgrace!
"Enough! What else is there to look at? Take them away quickly!" Liang Zhang waved his hands repeatedly, his face livid.
The lady of the He Family turned ashen, freezing in place.
Liang Jing was desperate to clean up this mess quickly and leave Liang Mansion. Ever since they arrived, the gazes directed at them made her feel as though she was the one stripped naked and kneeling on the ground, not someone else. She wished the ground would swallow her whole. Since when did the dignified Heir of Marquis Wen need to endure such humiliation?!
Mrs. Zhang’s expression made everything perfectly clear; insisting any further would only bring more disgrace. Beneath her sleeves, Liang Jing gently squeezed the hand of the lady of the He Family and whispered softly, "Mother, let’s just have someone take them away."
Unexpectedly, the lady of the He Family’s voice boomed with vigor. "Are you going to look? If you won’t go, I’ll go myself!" Her attitude was unyielding.
Liang Jing hadn’t expected the lady of the He Family to be so stubborn. Her face turned pale, and in front of the crowd, she had no choice but to lower her voice and try to persuade her gently. "Mother, if it really is Awan, why subject her to further embarrassment? Let’s leave her a shred of dignity..."
"Dignity? If she truly committed such a scandalous act, she has already thrown away her own dignity! Why should anyone else save face for her?! Since you refuse, I will go myself!" The lady of the He Family flung Liang Jing’s hand away.
Mrs. Zhang hurriedly supported the lady of the He Family. "Eldest sister-in-law, why put yourself through this? I think we should just let it go..." Although her words sounded reluctant, her footsteps were extremely eager. If it weren’t for Liang Cheng restraining her, she would have already ordered someone to expose the faces of that despicable pair for everyone to see clearly!
"Did you not hear me? Take them away this instant!" Liang Cheng suddenly roared, sending shivers down everyone’s spines.
The servants didn’t dare disobey. They grabbed the man and woman and began dragging them toward the backyard. The pair writhed and struggled relentlessly, like pigs and sheep awaiting the slaughter.
The lady of the He Family closed her eyes. So be it.
Mrs. Zhang, on the other hand, still didn’t feel her hatred had been fully appeased. However, the thought that Awan would soon be dragged out and sold off, sent to a place where there would be endless opportunities for humiliation, quickly improved her mood. Turning her head and seeing the lady of the He Family looking as though she had lost her soul, Mrs. Zhang spoke with feigned pity. "Eldest sister-in-law, don’t be too heartbroken. Just pretend you never gave birth to her..."
"Aunt has always known exactly how to comfort people!" A cold, mocking voice unexpectedly rang out from behind the crowd. The tone was melodious, yet utterly brazen.
Just as the farce was about to conclude, no one expected it to be interrupted midway. In unison, the crowd turned to look back.
"Third Lady... This is the real Third Lady!" The crowd parted, and the lantern light illuminated her face, allowing someone to recognize her.
Mrs. Zhang was so shocked her eyes nearly popped out of her head. This was impossible!
The lady of the He Family clutched her chest, tears reddening her eyes. "Awan?!"
The entire courtyard was stunned, plunging into a stir. The crowd looked back and forth between the newcomer and the captives. "Then... then who is the person tied up over there?"
Liang Wan kept her gaze straight ahead, stepping forward from behind the crowd at an unhurried pace. "Indeed, who is it? But compared to that question, I’m much more curious to know who exactly has been tirelessly slinging mud at me while I was away." As she spoke, she arrived at the front of the crowd. Her ink-black eyes reflected the cold moonlight. She appeared distant, aloof, and completely untouchable, yet the slight upward curve of her lips made her seem playfully approachable.
"My Lady!" Qiuxi jogged over, letting out a long sigh of relief upon seeing Liang Wan. Clutching a cloak, she patted her chest. "You made it so hard for this servant to find you! I only went back to fetch a garment, but when I returned, you were gone. I was so terrified I went searching by the lotus pond, thinking you might have gotten drunk and slipped! Thank goodness, thank goodness..."
"Awan, what is going on here?" Liang Jing took a few steps forward, looking resentful; they had nearly been dragged down by her.
Inwardly cursing Qiuxi, Mrs. Zhang’s mouth twitched as she chimed in, "Yes, yes, what... what is going on? Look at you, you nearly scared us to death..."
Liang Wan blinked her innocent, bright eyes and looked deeply apologetic. "It’s Brother’s special day, so it was inevitable that I’d have a few extra drinks at the banquet. Feeling flushed and tipsy, I wanted to cool off. Qiuxi was afraid I’d catch a chill, so she went back to my room to grab my cloak. I grew dizzy while waiting and found a place to rest, but unexpectedly, I accidentally fell asleep in the pavilion. When I woke up, I found everyone gathered here, having created such a massive misunderstanding!
"Fortunately, I woke up, or who knows what kind of rumors would spread about me throughout Jinye by tomorrow?"
At this, she let out a long sigh. "If I were slandered again this time, I wouldn’t have the audacity to ask the Empress to clear my name once more!"
Everyone knew about the Empress clearing her name. Wouldn’t smearing her like this be a deliberate act of defiance and provocation? The onlookers couldn’t help but exchange bewildered glances. Wait a minute, who was the first person to claim the woman was the Third Lady? The crowd exchanged looks, but everyone shook their heads. It truly was a case of three people creating a Hu; by the end of the game of telephone, it had somehow turned into the Third Lady being caught committing adultery...
Realizing it was a false alarm, Liang Cheng was practically weeping tears of joy. But the thought that someone had deliberately caused trouble on this highly auspicious day sent him into a raging fury. He whirled around and bellowed at the dumbfounded servants, "What are you standing around like idiots for? Drag these two wretched things away immediately!"
"Hold on!" Liang Wan’s voice was clear and resonant.
"What is it?" Liang Zhang turned to look at her.
Liang Wan said, "Uncle, these two might not even be from our Liang Mansion!" She walked toward the pair as she spoke, not forgetting to reprimand the nearby servants. "You all are far too reckless. You can’t just blindly tie people up with their heads covered. Look at them—their hair is already disheveled, making it hard to see their faces, and yet you put sacks over their heads! What’s worse, you even gagged them, denying them any chance to cry out their innocence!"
Stripped down to this state, what innocence was there left to cry out about?
Ignoring their shifting expressions, Liang Wan carefully brushed aside the hair plastered over the woman’s face bit by bit. "Qiuxi, come shine the light for me. I want to see exactly who is so malicious as to commit such a scandalous act and try to pin the blame on me. She can’t possibly actually look like me, can she?"
Right, if it wasn’t the Third Lady, who on earth was it? The crowd craned their necks to see.
Qiuxi took a lantern from a maid nearby, hurried forward, and held the light up to the woman’s face.
"Ziyan?! This—" Liang Wan covered her mouth with a soft gasp. She looked straight at Mrs. Zhang in disbelief. "Aunt, this seems to be Ziyan from your room, isn’t it?"
Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang finally understood everything. It was blatantly obvious that this wretched girl had discovered her plan and turned the tables on her.
Liang Cheng glared at her fiercely. "This is the servant you trained!"
Mrs. Zhang’s face looked dreadful. Just as she was about to defend herself, another shriek suddenly rang out. She turned her head to look.
Liang Zhang!
"Brother?!" Liang Wan’s eyes widened, and she gasped as she stared at the tied-up man. "What is going on here?"