Zhao Jingyi woke up and glared fiercely at Jun Jiuli. Listening to her aunt's disgusting words, she knew she was ruined.
"Second Sister, you are so heartless. I never offended you, so why... why would you do this to me? Wuwuwu~"
The ladies present looked at Jun Jiuli with strange expressions. Madam Song immediately stepped in front of her.
"Fourth Miss Zhao, what you say requires evidence."
"Madam Song, I know you favor my second sister, but you cannot twist the facts. It was clearly my sister who pushed me. Only she and I were on the bridge at the time. Besides her, who else could it have been?"
"Fourth Sister, I never thought you were this kind of person."
"Second Sister, stop quibbling."
She hated it in her heart. Why should Zhao Jingshu be able to marry into the Song family so smoothly? She was determined to drag her down with her and ruin this marriage for her.
"Fine, I originally wanted to save you some face. It was you who wanted to push me, and I happened to squat down to adjust my skirt. You brought this upon yourself."
"Second Sister, let's save each other some face. I don't want to say any more." She finished speaking, then turned her head inside with a look of grief, appearing extremely pitiable.
"I don't even know who he is, so how could I have set up such a scheme? Furthermore, it was your maid who insisted on taking away my Green Pearl. My First Aunt had already ordered a similar set of clothing made, precisely to facilitate your actions."
The ladies looked disdainfully at First Aunt, using such dirty tactics on a young girl, and in front of everyone. It clearly showed her malicious intentions.
"My mother only pities you and thinks of you in everything she does. I never expected you to misinterpret it so greatly. How would I know if you already knew my cousin?"
"Cousin, what nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly know her?"
Zhao Jingyi wished she could kill this idiot with her eyes. Several noble ladies also stepped forward to speak their minds.
Zhao Jingyi and her group left dejectedly. The Prime Minister's wife could not tolerate such people, and they themselves felt ashamed.
Madam Song held Jun Jiuli's hand, "Thank goodness you are clever. It's truly fortunate, truly fortunate."
"Aunt, please don't worry, I will protect myself."
After the banquet, everyone returned to their respective homes.
...
"Have you heard? The Fourth Miss of the Marquis of Zhongyong's estate is no longer pure."
"There's been so much news about their family lately."
"The two families are preparing for a marriage alliance, strengthening their ties."
"That Young Master Su is uneducated and incompetent. Will the Marquis agree?"
"What else can he do if he doesn't agree? I heard she was touched all over."
"How pitiful, such a good girl is to be married to someone like that."
"What's there to pity? She originally wanted to scheme against her second sister. Now it's considered self-inflicted."
"How can she be so wicked at such a young age? Her second sister didn't inconvenience her in any way."
"Who knows? Perhaps she just can't stand to see others doing well."
The rumors grew increasingly unpleasant and vulgar, all spread by Wu Shi.
Zhao Jingyi cried and wailed in her room every day, refusing to see anyone. Wu Shi arrived with a large entourage to present betrothal gifts, and a crowd gathered outside the Marquis's estate to watch.
Zhao Jingyi rushed out, grabbing a stick and beating Wu Shi without restraint.
"Scram, scram! I would rather die than marry. You are not allowed to come to our Marquis's estate again."
Wu Shi quickly dodged, and a retainer beside her snatched the stick away.
"Oh my, my dear Jingyi ah. What is this commotion? If you don't marry your cousin, who else will you marry?"
"I'd rather be an old maid my entire life, but I won't marry him."
"Oh my, what maiden doesn't marry? I am your maternal aunt. Will I mistreat you in the future? Your cousin will also dote on you. With your feet in this condition, what good family can you marry into? It's best not to be picky."
Zhao Jingyi was no match for her. She trembled all over with tears, unable to speak clearly.
"Brother-in-law, Yi'er is ignorant, but don't you understand? My Wei'er is also a decent young man. If Yi'er has children in the future, bring one back for your family to raise."
This remark struck the Marquis of Zhongyong. The situation of his three sons made it difficult to have offspring. His grandchildren were also his bloodline, but he absolutely could not marry her to the foolish Su Wei.
"You can go back. Our family will not accept your betrothal gifts. Yi'er will not marry Su Wei either. You can give up on this idea."
"Who in the capital doesn't know that your Zhao Jingyi was touched by my Xiao Wei? Anyone with a bit of self-respect wouldn't marry her. A woman's reputation is the most important thing in this era, my in-laws. You must think carefully."
Her calling them "in-laws" made the onlookers burst into laughter.
The Marquis of Zhongyong was enraged and ordered the mansion gates to be closed, ignoring her howling.
Song Yunqian returned from his studies, and Jun Jiuli allowed the original owner to return to her body. She was very satisfied with the current state of the Zhao family.
There might be hardships in her future life, but Zhao Jingshu was not afraid. This chance to restart was something she had begged from the gods, and she wanted to walk her own path well.
After Song Yunqian's return, Madam Song arranged for them to meet. They were mutually attracted to each other, just as in the previous life.
Their relationship stabilized, and they only had to wait for Zhao Jingshu to reach her coming-of-age ceremony to marry. This time, there were no surprises, and their future days would be spent advancing hand in hand.
The Marquis of Zhongyong tried to find husbands for Zhao Jingyi several times, but each time Wu Shi and Su Wei disrupted the arrangements.
Seeing that Zhao Jingyi was about to be dragged into becoming an old maid, the Marquis of Zhongyong had to compromise and let her marry Su Wei, hoping to leave an heir for the Zhao family.
Zhao Jingyi married with tears. Her parents and elder brothers treated her very well. Now that her three brothers were lying in bed, she wanted to do her part.
During the wedding night, she closed her eyes and thought to herself that it was just like being bitten by a dog.
On their return visit after three days, her mother asked her to explain in detail. Only then did she discover the peculiarity. The family tied up Su Wei and, upon removing his trousers, discovered...
The Marchioness nearly fainted and insisted on a divorce. Wu Shi, with her legs crossed, sat down and started bargaining, demanding that the Marquis of Zhongyong procure an official position for her son.
The two families bickered and argued, and scandals exploded everywhere. In the end, Old Madam Zhao died of anger, and Zhao Jingyi was ultimately unable to escape her predicament.
With the truth exposed, Su Wei no longer pretended. He spent his days and nights fooling around with Xiao Cuihong and others.
He deliberately paraded in front of Zhao Jingshu and even had them call each other sisters. Zhao Jingyi could not endure such humiliation and lashed out, injuring Su Wei.
Her life in the Su family would only become more difficult from now on. Wu Shi would torment her for no reason every day.
"I thought a Marquis's daughter was something special. Her dowry was so meager, even less than what a small family like mine would have."
"Shut your mouth. If you hadn't been so shameless, would I have married into your family?"
"Hmph, thought you were a sweet pastry, but turned out to be rotten. You want to compare yourself to your second sister? Pfft, go look in the mirror. She's already a second-rank noblewoman, and she might even become a first-rank one in the future!"
"Old hag, I'll rip you apart today!"
The two began to fight, and the maids and servants rushed to pull them apart. Wu Shi's side had more people, and Zhao Jingyi suffered a bitter defeat.
The Zhao family members were quite long-lived, but their lives were filled with torment. Without an heir, the Marquis of Zhongyong's estate would end with Zhao Yong.
When the Marquis of Zhongyong passed away, his eyes could not be closed. He always felt he had failed his ancestors. During his lifetime, he was extremely temperamental, and everyone in the household suffered because of him.
Green Pearl always stayed by Zhao Jingshu's side. Later, she married a steward in the Song household. Zhao Jingshu burned her deed of sale, and she was now a free woman.
Green Lu was always quiet and reserved, but no one expected her to be bold enough to try and seduce Song Yunqian.
At that time, Zhao Jingshu was newly pregnant. Fortunately, Green Pearl discovered it early. The original owner directly sold her off. Keeping such a person was a disaster.
Zhao Jingshu didn't know why Green Lu made a choice that was the complete opposite of her previous one. Perhaps there were issues with Green Lu's hasty marriage in the previous life.
However, she didn't care about any of that. In her current life, every day was filled with happiness.
Shui Wa: "Host, Host, the information is complete. This Green Lu is truly a character. In her previous life, she was carrying Young Master Zhao's child. That farmer was just acting to cooperate with her, and she was kept outside by Young Master Zhao."
Jun Jiuli: "As long as the mission is complete, stop gossiping all day."
"I wonder if Little Shushu will be able to handle it. Won't she fall into his trap? Although Song Yunqian is a gentleman, having multiple wives and concubines was very common in that era."
"She's just a maid, and her deed of sale is still in your hands. What do you think?"
"Alright, let's go."