sbdcsierra Chapter 285: Never Accept Two Colors
Chapter 285: Never Accept Two Colors
"My God, isn't that the fourth young lady of the Sheng family and the second young master of the Duke of Zheng's mansion?"
"They, they are..."
"Shameless! To do this in broad daylight!"
"..."
"Jiaojiao!" The second madam's face turned pale instantly upon seeing the scene inside. She screamed and rushed in, lunging at Sheng Yunjiao.
Lu Yangyang quickly followed her in, pulled Zheng Ziqian aside, and turned to check on Sheng Yunjiao. Sheng Yunjiao was delirious and trembling all over. The second madam frantically tried to find something to cover Sheng Yunjiao, and was completely at a loss.
Lu Yangyang sensed that something was wrong with Sheng Yunjiao and, disregarding everything else, quickly grabbed Sheng Yunjiao's wrist.
The second wife, her eyes bloodshot with rage, shielded Sheng Yunjiao and Lu Yangyang behind her, stepped forward, and slapped Zheng Ziqian across the face with a resounding "smack!" through gritted teeth: "Zheng Ziqian, are you even human? How could you do this!"
The second wife grabbed Zheng Ziqian by the hair and started hitting him like a madwoman.
"Second sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, what are you doing?" Madam Sheng hurriedly squeezed in, trying to pull the second madam away, but was slapped by the second madam.
"Sheng Yufei, get out of here! You raised a beast! How dare you bully my daughter like this? Even if I beat him to death today, he deserves it!" The second madam's sharp nails scratched Sheng's face, leaving a bloody mark. She wished she could beat the mother and son to death!
Madam Sheng was scratched and her face turned a little ugly, but she gritted her teeth and endured it, forcing a smile and saying, "Second sister-in-law, look at what you're saying. Jiaojiao and Ziqian are also cousins. Since it has already happened, no matter what happened, as her aunt, I will definitely not mistreat Jiaojiao. Don't worry, I will go back to the manor right away and send someone to propose marriage. I guarantee that the wedding will be a grand affair!"
"Pah! Who cares! I'm telling you, I'm going to make this beast pay with his life today!" The second wife spat in Sheng's face. "Why should our Jiaojiao suffer such injustice? What were you dreaming of marrying into your family! Don't you even take a piss and see if your son is good enough for her!"
Madam Sheng's face darkened: "Second sister-in-law, you've gone too far. Our Ziqian is handsome and talented. He passed the imperial examination at a young age and is a good student. He has a bright future ahead of him and is the only direct grandson of the Duke of Zheng's family. How can he not be a good match for Jiaojiao!"
The two immediately started arguing, and the onlookers also felt that both sides had their own reasons, so they joined in the discussion, and for a while the whole room was filled with a buzzing noise.
Someone advised the second wife: "Since things have come to this, we should still discuss the marriage properly. A young lady's reputation is the most important thing!"
"Yes, that boy from the Zheng family is quite good-looking, a handsome and refined young man. He's not only the eldest grandson of a noble family, but he's also very promising. These cousins are all family, and it's more important that they live well in the future!"
"In my opinion, perhaps these two young people had feelings for each other all along, and they couldn't help themselves after drinking too much at the banquet!"
"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting! Our Jiaojiao hasn't been drinking at all!" The second madam was furious. She was very anxious about her daughter's marriage, but she only had one daughter and knew her daughter's personality and temperament. She was simple and had no guile, so she was extra cautious in choosing a husband. She didn't care how high the other person's family background was; she mainly looked at their family background and character.
She had hoped to find a respectable family of civil officials, preferably one with official titles, so that the young couple could live happily together. She didn't necessarily need to marry into a noble or high-ranking family. But this plan was completely disrupted. She looked down on the Zheng State Duke's mansion. They were all relatives; everyone knew what kind of place it was! The Duke of Zheng, despite his advanced age, had a ton of concubines, and the heir apparent was no less extravagant, bringing home all sorts of women, good and bad. Not only did they have a large number of illegitimate children, but they also had countless other women outside the marriage.
There's only one family like this. No matter how well Zheng Ziqian pretends, what kind of good person could he be?
Every time Madam Sheng returns to her parents' home, she pretends to be magnanimous on the surface, but behind her back, she has cried and complained countless times. Just a few days ago, she even had the nerve to ask Old Madam Li to sound her out. Does she think she's stupid?
The second wife was trembling with anger. It had only been a few days, and she had only refused to see him for a few days, and this had happened! Don't call it an accident; in her opinion, it was probably intentional!
But right now, she really has no other options.
She had to think about her daughter's future. What would happen if she didn't marry Zheng Ziqian? What would she do after this happened?
"Second Madam, please help me support Jiaojiao," Lu Yangyang called out to the Second Madam.
The second wife immediately disregarded everything else and hurriedly turned around to hug Sheng Yunjiao, asking Lu Yangyang with concern, "Yangyang, what happened to Jiaojiao?"
"She's been drugged. I need to force the drug out of her now, or her life will be in danger." As soon as Lu Yangyang came in and saw Sheng Yunjiao, she felt something was wrong. She had studied several aphrodisiacs commonly found in brothels with Wen Yu, but they were usually not fatal. However, this drug was extremely potent. If it wasn't relieved in time, her blood would flow backward, and if she held on any longer, she would definitely die from the reverse blood flow.
Before she could think about what was going on, she quickly pulled out a packet of silver needles from her bosom and inserted them into the acupoints on Sheng Yunjiao's head and neck. Then she lifted Sheng Yunjiao's hands and pierced all ten of her fingers, forcing the poisonous blood to her fingertips.
Thick, black blood flowed out of the silver needle, quickly staining the entire needle black. Lu Yangyang then replaced the needle and continued.
As the blood flowing from her ten fingers gradually faded, Sheng Yunjiao's flushed face slowly returned to normal, then turned slightly pale due to excessive blood loss.
The second wife was heartbroken: "How could there be so much blood? Yangyang, will Jiaojiao be alright?"
"Mother, Mother, I, I..." Sheng Yunjiao finally slowly regained consciousness. Seeing her mother beside her, her voice choked with sobs.
At this moment, Madam Sheng hurriedly pulled Zheng Ziqian aside.
Zheng Ziqian snapped out of his daze and knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Second Aunt, I, I truly love my cousin. Please, please grant my wish. I swear, I will treat my cousin well from now on, never leave her in this life, and I will never, ever take another woman. If, if I break this vow, may I be struck by lightning."
Sheng Yunjiao turned her face away and sobbed.
The second wife held Sheng Yunjiao in her arms with heartache, then turned her head to glare fiercely at Zheng Ziqian, wanting to curse, but unable to utter a word of her own anger.
Madam Sheng chimed in, "Second sister-in-law, just let them be together. You know Ziqian, he's a good boy, he'll definitely be devoted to Jiaojiao. He's focused on his studies and there aren't any other women around him, and there never will be. Really, I promise, from now on he'll only have Jiaojiao."