Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Loyalty County Princess Rongjia's face twisted with fury. She had spent most of her life being willful, yet in the end, she had stumbled at the final hurdle, leaving the Du family with leverage that even the Rong Prince Mansion couldn't help her with. Facing Du Shinan's threat, County Princess Rongjia could only grit her teeth and say, "Fine, I'll do as you say." Get them out of here first. Once Du Shinan and his wife were at her mother's residence, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with them! As for Du Cheng, County Princess Rongjia took a deep breath. The Du family were all a bunch of dying men, experts at being disgusting! "See, I told you, eldest sister-in-law—" "Don't call me eldest sister-in-law!" County Princess Rongjia cut off Du Shinan's words. "I've remarried. I am no longer a woman of the Du family. Don't lump me together with you people!" Hearing Du Shinan call her eldest sister-in-law made her sick. What eldest sister-in-law? She didn't want any connection with Du Shinan whatsoever! "Fine, the County Mistress is too noble, and our Du family can't aspire to such heights. We won't call you that then." Du Shinan snorted coldly. "But in the eyes of outsiders, you and I are still on the same boat. Don't forget that, County Mistress." "Du Shinan, you talk too much!" County Princess Rongjia only wanted the Du family to leave quickly and waved her hand to shoo them away. But Du Shinan continued, "Still, living on your own isn't as convenient as being in the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. Food, clothing, shelter, and travel all cost money. County Mistress, you—" "I know, I know. The servants in the residence have all been arranged. And your food, clothing, shelter, and travel will all be handled by the Rong Prince Mansion. Is that enough?" County Princess Rongjia roared, telling Wang Hechun's Wife to hurry up and see them out. Wang Hechun's Wife, afraid of being hit, stepped forward and made a gesture of invitation. Only then did Du Shinan leave, satisfied. But Du Cheng was left behind. He had been standing at the very edge of the room the whole time. Now that the Du family's second branch had left and Wang Hechun's Wife had also gone, only he and County Princess Rongjia remained. There was no wind in the room. Du Cheng carefully shifted a step, but it still drew County Princess Rongjia's gaze. "Indeed, I really do want to kill the Du family." County Princess Rongjia looked at Du Cheng. His face was so much like Du Shibei's, and the more she looked, the more similar it seemed. Sometimes, she would even feel dazed—was this Du Cheng, or Du Shibei at twenty years old? "Du Cheng, you saw it too, didn't you? They treat you like a burden. What do you think their purpose is in leaving you here?" "County Mistress, they want me to observe what goes on around you and report everything to the Du family." Du Cheng spoke truthfully to show his loyalty. However, he wouldn't only be County Princess Rongjia's spy. He wanted to attach himself to her, but he couldn't truly rely on her, because County Princess Rongjia didn't like him. Thinking of liking, Du Cheng couldn't help but look up. County Princess Rongjia held a spoon in her hand. Even though she had the expression of someone scheming, there was a unique charm about her that made Du Cheng take a few extra glances. Until County Princess Rongjia looked up. "What are you looking at?" "N-nothing..." "Good. If you stare at me like that again, I'll gouge your eyes out!" County Princess Rongjia said, one eyebrow slightly raised as she spoke. When Du Cheng heard that County Princess Rongjia wanted to gouge out his eyes, his heart seemed to skip a beat, and he quickly lowered his head. "Besides having you watch me, what other instructions did the Du family give?" County Princess Rongjia asked. "Also, why did the Du family's second branch suddenly come to Bianjing out of nowhere?" She remembered that Du Shinan had an official position. Though it wasn't a high-ranking one, the Du family had spent money to buy it for him. How could Du Shinan just abandon it? Du Cheng's body trembled. County Princess Rongjia let out a cold laugh. "Seems you're not all that sincere either. Du Shinan was doing fine at the government office—could he have offended someone? No, even if he offended someone, the Du family isn't what it used to be, but they're still a prominent local clan. They wouldn't have Du Shinan fleeing with the whole family." County Princess Rongjia stood up and walked down, getting closer and closer until she stopped right in front of Du Cheng. "Du Cheng, my people haven't returned yet, but if I wanted to investigate this matter, it would take no effort at all. Yet you didn't tell me. Clearly, you're not particularly eager to see the Du family destroyed. What, do you think I can be used?" County Princess Rongjia grabbed Du Cheng's cheek, her long fingernails digging into his skin until they broke through. Du Cheng felt a slight sting and finally knelt down. "It's not that I deliberately withheld it—I simply never had the chance. At first, I didn't know the County Mistress's attitude toward the Du family. Later, I went to study at the Guozijian. Even if you hadn't asked today, I was planning to tell you." Du Cheng said. "Slippery." County Princess Rongjia said coldly. "It's like this—Second Uncle embezzled money from the government office. Originally, he could have just made up the shortfall, but Bianjing sent people to investigate, so Second Uncle couldn't go back. He had an old enemy—does the County Mistress know about it?" Du Cheng asked. County Princess Rongjia said she knew. "The Cao family. They're a bunch of ruffians too. What about them?" "The Cao family set a trap for Second Uncle, getting him drunk and into bed with one of their concubine-born daughters. Then the Cao family came demanding satisfaction, refusing to let the girl be a concubine and insisting that Second Uncle divorce his wife and marry her instead." Du Cheng spoke rapidly. "But Second Uncle had been set up in the first place—why would he agree to that? He got into a fight with the Cao family on the spot. This dragged on for a while, and in the end, the Cao family sent the girl to the Du family's doorstep, saying that since Second Uncle had already taken her virtue, the Cao family absolutely would not take her back." County Princess Rongjia laughed coldly. "Who knows whether it was really a setup? What if Du Shinan saw she was pretty and took advantage? That's not out of the question!" "That I wouldn't know, but Second Uncle refused to accept the girl. No matter what Old Master said, Second Uncle even went to the door and cursed her out. In the end, the girl dashed her head against the Du family's gate and died." Du Cheng finished in one breath. With someone dead on the Du family's doorstep, the Cao family would surely report it to the authorities. But as for what happened that day—the girl was dead, and with no witness to prove otherwise, Du Shinan firmly maintained that he had never touched the Cao family's concubine-born daughter. Combined with the Du family's standing in the area, the case was ultimately suppressed. But as a result, Du Shinan's reputation was ruined. He had already been fuming over losing his official post, and now he had been schemed against on top of that. Whether it was Du Shinan himself or Mrs. He and the others, wherever they appeared, people would point and whisper. The second branch of the Du family had completely destroyed their reputation in the area. Du Qian was ostracized at the academy, and as for Du Yinyin and Mrs. He—when they attended banquets, people kept their distance, afraid of being associated with the Du family in any way. Life like that was simply unbearable. At home, Du Shinan drank every day. Old Master Du had no choice but to use the occasion of Du Cheng and Du Qian entering the Guozijian to study as an excuse to bring the entire second branch of the Du family to Bianjing. With the mountains and rivers between them, people in Bianjing didn't know Du Shinan's background. At most, they knew the Du family wasn't as illustrious as before, but there would still be some who would socialize with Du Shinan. And with County Princess Rongjia in Bianjing, Du Shinan wasn't entirely without support, so he agreed to come. "I knew it! Du Shinan coming himself is one thing, but bringing even a three- or four-year-old child—clearly he's done something shameless!" County Princess Rongjia looked down at him. "You'd better not be lying to me, or I'll have your tongue pulled out too!" Du Cheng swore, "County Mistress, rest assured, I would never lie to you!" As he spoke, he looked up again. Just then, County Princess Rongjia happened to look down at him. "Stop staring at me with those dog-like eyes of yours!" County Princess Rongjia's disgust was undisguised, and she ordered Du Cheng to get out. But soon enough, word came back confirming that Du Cheng had not lied. When Cui Lingrong learned of this, she closed the door with Nanny Qiu and said, "So that's what happened. I wondered how Du Shinan managed to come to Bianjing. Nanny Qiu, prepare a gift. We'll pay a visit."