kvmb Chapter 839 What a scourge!
Chapter 839 What a scourge!
"Is there still such a thing?"
Lu Yangyang felt something was off, but the feeling was fleeting, and she couldn't quite grasp what she had missed.
“Indeed,” Sheng Yunjiao lowered her voice, “but this matter is also a secret. Not many people in the capital know about it. Madam Cheng grew up in the countryside with her parents who were serving in other places. General Cheng came from a humble background and, on the surface, had no connection with Madam Rong. The Rong family were founding heroes, and the old Duke also died in battle. The Rong family was full of loyal martyrs. I heard that Duke Rong Che was not actually the eldest son. He had an older brother who died in battle before he reached adulthood and was not yet married. So after the old Duke died in battle, Rong Che inherited the title of Duke. He had just reached adulthood and vowed to wipe out Northern Yan in order to avenge his father and brother. His wife was betrothed since childhood. It is said that she was the daughter of the old Duke's wife's best friend. She came from a prestigious family, but her parents died early, and she grew up in her uncle's house. After marrying Duke Rong, she rarely contacted her family. Naturally, no one knew that she and Madam Cheng were cousins.”
"Sister Ruoxue is pitiful. Countless young men from prominent families in the capital admire her, and the Third Prince has always been very attentive to her. Who would have thought she would marry into the Xiao family? Someone as insightful as Sister Ruoxue would have lived well no matter who she married. I heard that at several banquets recently, the Young Master Xiao personally went to pick up Sister Ruoxue, truly treating her like a precious gem. But the Xiao family is not a good place. I used the opportunity of building connections to have Qingqing examine her pulse and found out that someone had given her a slow-acting poison."
"What?" Lu Yangyang hurriedly looked at Wen Qingqing: "How is she now?"
Wen Qingqing shook her head: "After that pulse-taking, she stopped asking me to take her pulse. I gave her some pills. As long as she takes them for a while and takes good care of herself, the poison won't have much of an effect. I see that she looks pretty good now, so she must have taken my advice."
"That's good, that's good." Lu Yangyang was still shaken. If her second brother knew about this, he would be heartbroken.
She knew that even now, her second brother still couldn't forget Cheng Ruoxue. The reason he was so actively helping to overturn the Rong family's case was probably because he wanted to bring down the Xiao family so that Cheng Ruoxue could be freed from the Xiao family.
Lu Yangyang then asked Sheng Yunjiao, "What did Sister Ruoxue say to you?"
Sheng Yunjiao opened the box she had brought over and took out a thick stack of papers that looked like several booklets. She picked out one of them and said, "These are the information about the Rong family that we have collected from various families in the capital over this period of time. I have also sorted out the information that Sister Ruoxue gave me. It mainly concerns relatives related to the Rong family. I have written them all down. I have inquired about some of the people I could find out. As for the people who are not in the capital, I asked my second brother to inquire about them, but he only came back a few days ago, so there are no results yet."
Lu Yangyang took the booklet, flipped through it, and glanced at it. She almost wanted to hug Sheng Yunjiao and kiss her. "Jiaojiao, you are really amazing!"
To overturn the case against Duke Rong, the original case files are crucial, but countless people have obstructed them. Even the files she obtained from Ying Xun are incomplete and lack key evidence, making it impossible to overturn the case under these circumstances. However, if she could start with the Rong family's old associates, she might be able to find many overlooked clues.
With his aunt around, they could gather the former members of the Rong family army to file a complaint with the emperor. With the evidence they had collected, even if they couldn't bring down the Xiao family, they could still clear the name of Duke Rong.
Moreover, Lu Yangyang trusted Zong Que. He personally went to Chenzhou, and if he could find the survivors of the Rong family army when they were defeated in Chenzhou, they could also testify for Duke Rong.
Lu Yangyang carefully put away all the booklets. She planned to wait for Lu Wei to come and ask him to help her look at them. Lu Wei was full of tricks and would definitely have more ideas than her.
Just then, Granny Shen brought in some food and drink. The three of them had talked so much earlier and were now very hungry.
Sheng Yunjiao ate several pastries and drank two cups of tea in a row, then let out a satisfied burp.
Then I remembered to ask, "I heard from my second brother a while ago that you were at my eldest sister's house in Qingzhou. He was very busy there, so I didn't ask in detail. What happened to my eldest sister? Did something happen?"
Lu Yangyang had only told her about resolving the massacre in Qingzhou, without mentioning Sheng Yunruo. When Sheng Yunjiao asked, she told her about the situation at the time. "Eldest sister was also still shaken. When she woke up, she felt very guilty, afraid that if something really happened to her, it would ruin her son in the end."
After hearing this, Sheng Yunjiao slammed her hand on the table in anger: "I knew it! Why did my eldest sister insist on marrying a lowly military officer? At least it was my eldest brother who made the decision. My mother said that with my eldest brother making the decision, at least my eldest sister would benefit. If it had been my uncle who made the decision, my eldest sister would have had no way to complain. I was too young to understand these things back then, but now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense! Sheng Yunzhu is such a troublemaker. She's so young and already knows how to scheme against people. I always said I hated her when we were kids, but nobody believed me!"
"I still vaguely remember my eldest sister's little white cat, but I was too young back then and didn't know my own strength. My mother wouldn't allow me to play with cats and dogs, afraid I'd get scratched. I vaguely remember it disappeared not long after Sheng Yunzhu came back. That's all I know. I really can't understand how she could be so vicious at such a young age! My eldest sister has always been cautious and quiet. She's the eldest daughter of the Duke's mansion. If only... she could have married into a good family!"
Sheng Yunjiao harbored a deep resentment towards Sheng Yunzhu. Even when they were young, Sheng Yunzhu would openly or secretly sabotage them, yet she always pretended to be weak and vulnerable. Everyone in the family doted on her, and she always managed to get away with it! If they had just investigated seriously, they would have known who was lying!
The eldest sister is such a gentle and unassuming person, I don't know why she offended Sheng Yunzhu. Everyone in the family dotes on Sheng Yunzhu, but she is not satisfied and insists on competing with the eldest sister!
Sheng Yunjiao became angrier the more she thought about it.
She didn't even dare to think about what would happen if her older sister really got into trouble because of the trauma from back then. What would become of the life she had worked so hard to build up over the years after escaping the Duke of Sheng's mansion?
Sheng Yun scolded in a spoiled tone, "Sheng Yunzhu is such a troublemaker!"
“My eldest sister grew up in such an environment, isolated and helpless, yet she was able to fight for herself. She has always been brave. Once she gets through this hurdle, things will get even better for her in the future. When I left, I was thinking about what she meant. She probably wanted her brother-in-law to make a name for himself. Perhaps it won't be long before my eldest sister returns to the capital. Then we can go see her again!” Lu Yangyang said.