Tianliangyuan

Chapter 447 Kneel Down

Thinking of these things, Ji couldn't help but cover her face and sob softly. Li Zhangping, who was standing to the side, had mixed feelings. He also loved Li Mingya, but he had more than one child and was not the one who had to go through the pain of childbirth. So, to some extent, he was unable to empathize with Ji.

Xu Zhaozhao sighed slightly; this Madam Li was still too gentle.

As the mistress of a household, even if she wanted harmony within the family, there was absolutely no need to spoil her illegitimate children too much. In the end, it was the elders who gave the children this misconception, making them feel that whatever they did was not excessive.

Xu Zhaozhao thought of her third sister-in-law and child still lying in the back, and then looked at her third brother, whose face was still full of anger. She knew that the Li family would definitely compromise on this matter.

Putting aside the fact that the Xu family is powerful now, the Li family is in the wrong in terms of right and wrong.

Therefore, they have no right to make demands or conditions!

Seeing his wife so upset, Li Zhangping offered a few curt words of comfort, then said, "Mother-in-law, Mingshu was indeed wrong in this matter, and we admit it. But we really can't take her to the authorities. How about this, we'll take her back, give her twenty strokes of the cane first, and then you decide how to handle it, and we'll do it accordingly. Is that acceptable?"

That sounds more like a human statement!

Wang Ruolan breathed a sigh of relief without showing any emotion; she was just afraid that Li Zhangping was too biased.

"I'll say it again: Li Mingshu must die!"

As for how she died, Wang Ruolan didn't say, but Li Zhangping could probably guess.

“Mother-in-law, do you think we can discuss this again? After all, Mingya is alright. It would be really unreasonable to take Mingshu’s life because of this.”

Wang Ruolan's face immediately changed: "What are you saying? Are you implying that my third son's wife deserved to die? Are you blaming my daughter for bringing the life-saving medicine to save her sister-in-law? General Li, there's no such thing as a reasonable person!"

Li Zhangping quickly explained, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! That's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean? What do you mean that Mingya didn't die, so Li Mingshu can't pay with her life? Ha, I can't speak for others, but if someone dares to plot against me, do you think the authorities won't sentence the murderer to be beheaded and displayed to the public?"

Li Zhangping realized he had misspoke and quickly tried to cover it up: "Mother-in-law, that's not what I meant. It was just a slip of the tongue. I had no intention of saying that! Mingya is my daughter, and of course I want her to be well."

Wang Ruolan snorted coldly: "Do you really think I'm easy to fool? You've taken the person back, when are you going to deal with them? If your concubine whispers a few sweet words in your ear, are you not going to do anything about it?"

The more Wang Ruolan thought about it, the more likely this was to be, and her anger grew stronger.

“Eldest daughter-in-law, I know you’re having a hard time these days, but there’s no other way. Our Xu family has been bullied, and no matter how hard it is, we have to get justice for the Xu family. The master isn’t home, but I’m here! Tomorrow, put on your official robes, and we’ll go together to ask the Empress to make a decision.”

"Yes, Mother," Zhang replied respectfully. She also felt that the two elders of the Li family were far too cold-blooded.

He only cared about the reputation of the Li family and wanted to protect this illegitimate daughter, but he didn't think about Li Mingya, who almost lost her life!

Fortunately, her own family was not like that, and her mother-in-law was a reasonable and kind person; otherwise, she would have felt like she was living a life worse than death.

Seeing that things had come to this point, Li Zhangping knew that he couldn't control the situation, so he could only soften his tone and say, "Please calm down. This is a family matter. Why bother His Majesty and the Empress? How about this, I will definitely deal with Li Mingshu within three days. What do you think?"

"Fine. But before you take her away, you'll have to accept the punishment from the Xu family."

Seeing that his mother-in-law had relented, Li Zhangping thought, "Let her be punished. We have to appease her anger."

Zhang Mama and the maid were both part of Li Mingya's dowry, so it was naturally up to the Xu family to deal with them.

As for Li Mingshu, Wang Ruolan's punishment was simple: she was made to kneel outside Li Mingya's courtyard to beg for forgiveness and to slap herself.

Such a handling is utterly shameful.

But the Li family had no choice; they had almost lost two lives, so this small request wasn't unreasonable.

So Li Zhangping and Ji Shi left.

Before leaving, they visited Li Mingya.

Li Mingya is awake now, and she can be moved back to the main house in a little while. Li Zhangping did not go in, but only said a few words outside the house, telling her to rest well and take good care of the child.

With the couple gone, it was Li Mingshu's turn next.

Li Mingya successfully passed the critical period and was then carried back to the main house by several servants.

Although it's called the main house, it's actually a separate room for her to have her postpartum confinement period, not the room she shared with Xu Junting.

We'll move back after the postpartum period is over.

The purpose of this was to have the couple sleep separately. Also, since Li Mingya was still not clean, this would prevent her husband from catching her, which would be too embarrassing and would also affect their future sex life.

These were all things Wang Ruolan told Xu Zhaozhao.

Xu Zhaozhao then understood why Granny Yu and Granny Xu had prepared another room so early on; it was for her to use during her postpartum confinement.

Tsk, wealthy families certainly have many rules.

In an ordinary household, there aren't so many rules and regulations.

After giving birth, you should go back to your own room. As for the men, if they don't like it, they can go and sleep with their brothers.

After a night, Li Mingya realized something was wrong. The two people who usually served her were gone, so naturally she had to ask.

Xu Junting first helped her drink a bowl of millet porridge before telling her the whole story.

Li Mingya was so angry she almost cried.

"So that jade pendant was just stolen by the maid and given to her? I thought you found it in the storeroom last time and gave it to her on purpose."

Xu Junting said helplessly, "I've already given it to you, so why would I give it to someone else? Besides, if you have any questions, why don't you go and check it yourself? When did you notice that jade pendant?"

Li Mingya felt a little guilty: "I noticed it when she came to visit me with her mother last time."

Last time?

Xu Junting rolled his eyes and thought for a moment. That must have been more than a month ago?

So even though she discovered it so early on, she didn't mention it once, and just hid away to grieve.

What kind of personality is that!

For the first time, Xu Junting began to doubt his own judgment.

Although he was a civil official and his mind was more delicate than his two older brothers, that was only in comparison to them. Compared to pure scholars, his mind was not so delicate.

“Mingya, I never expected you to be like this. Now that you noticed something was wrong, why didn’t you ask? Also, you saw a jade pendant on her, why didn’t you check your own storeroom? Your private storeroom is managed by a special person. Who goes in and out to take things, surely there are records?”