The mistress just wanted to be bad, but she took off after being replaced

The girl in the painting is lying in a forest full of peach blossoms, with a peaceful and pure smile.

In the painting, her skin is whiter than snow, her cheeks are slightly flushed, her eyes are as clear as spring water, and there is a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.

The peach petals fluttering around are like a pink rain curtain, gently covering everything.

The girl lay quietly under the rain of flowers, the peach blossom hairpin on her forehead reflecting the surrounding petals.

"Sister..." The Duke's voice trembled slightly, and tears glistened in his eyes.

"This is a portrait I drew for her when she was seventeen years old, as her last birthday gift before she got married."

The Duke was immersed in a sea of ​​memories, with scenes from the past surging in his mind.

Sheng Junwei nodded gently, her voice gentle but every word was weighty: "Yes, the Duke has poured endless love and expectations into this painting. Originally, if this painting could be successfully delivered to her hands, even in the most isolated and helpless time, it could become a ray of hope and guide her in the right direction. It's a pity..."

The Duke's eyes suddenly became sharp: "What do you mean by this?"

Facing the Duke's questioning, Sheng Junwei remained calm and composed: "There is actually a secret hidden in this painting. Between the two layers of canvas, there is a huge silver note from a bank. You once deposited one million taels of silver for her there as a dowry, ensuring that even if there are storms in the future, she can live a worry-free life and spend the rest of her life in peace. However..."

Having said this, there was a hint of regret in Sheng Junwei's tone.

"You had planned to reveal the secret after she got married. Unfortunately, the painting disappeared inexplicably."

There was a mixture of regret and helplessness in the Duke's voice, and he sighed softly.

"My sister grew up in a greenhouse. Although she was taught how to manage the household at an early age, she still retained the innocence of a child and did not understand money in her heart. She naively believed that with a generous dowry from her parents and a prominent background from her husband's family, she did not need any additional financial embellishment in her life."

"In the end, my fears became a cruel reality. She really went through unspeakable pain."

The Duke's eyes were focused on Sheng Junwei again, his eyes full of deep admiration for her reasoning ability: "Little girl, did you figure all this out based on just a few clues?"

Sheng Junwei nodded slightly: "That's right."

"Okay, then go on." The Duke completely put aside his doubts and listened attentively.

"Mrs. Zheng spent a lot of money to hire beggars and set up an ambush on the road in advance. When the Duke's luxurious carriage slowly passed by, these beggars acted like wolves and tigers..."

"At this critical moment, Madam Zheng and six other martial arts masters 'happened' to appear. When the beggars saw their employer in person, they symbolically resisted for a few times before scattering like birds and beasts, disappearing without a trace with the generous reward money in their pockets."

"This emotion also allowed Madam Zheng to enter your family smoothly. One day, a seemingly ordinary painting caught Madam Zheng's attention. In the frame, a stub of a million taels of silver was lying quietly. Madam Zheng's original gratitude was instantly replaced by jealousy."

"As the consort of the prince of the Duke's mansion, she can only receive a meager amount of several dozen taels of silver every month. On the other hand, her elder sister-in-law, who is married, not only enjoys the love of her husband's family, but also has such a huge fortune. This makes her, who is about to ascend to the throne of the Duke's wife, feel unprecedented humiliation and imbalance."

When the imperial order came down, the picture frame was carefully disassembled, but there was nothing in the interlayer, leaving only traces of erosion by time, silently proving that what Sheng Junwei said was true.

The air in the hall froze, and all eyes were directed at the pale-faced Yu.

In their eyes, Yu was like a master at manipulating the chess game. Even though she came from a humble background, she was able to weave a complex and sophisticated web in the Duke's Mansion where the powerful and wealthy were intertwined.

The Duke's voice was filled with unbelievable coldness: "Is everything she said true?!"

Yu's body trembled slightly, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes, but she still tried to remain calm, "Master, please don't believe this nonsense..."

Sheng Junwei said calmly and firmly: "I never do things without a purpose. Even for the most mysterious divination, I seek empirical evidence."

Her smile was calm and confident, but to Yu, it was like an icy blade: “Unfortunately, when you were clearing the obstacles, you missed a pair of witnessing eyes.”

To Yu, Sheng Junwei's smile was like a biting cold wind.

Ever since the seemingly insignificant fake daughter appeared in the Sheng mansion, an indescribable disgust has taken root in her heart. This emotion is even stronger than her dissatisfaction with her own useless daughter-in-law.

Ignoring Yu's inner struggle, Sheng Junwei led the topic directly to the point: "Does the Duke still remember that there are four personal maids around my sister?"

The Duke's memory was awakened, and he nodded gently: "Of course I remember, they are the people closest to my sister."

However, as the memories come to mind, so does the lingering cloud of sorrow.

"Unfortunately, they all fell victim to the Wang family." The Duke frowned, his eyes revealing sorrow.

Sheng Junwei's words once again stirred up this undercurrent in the situation.

"Yes, the four maids were indeed eliminated by the Wang family around the time of the death of our elder sister due to Madam Zheng's plan. However, the maid Taohua had a younger sister who was left alone due to family changes and came to the capital alone to look for her sister."

"When she arrived in the capital, Miss Zheng was newly married and her life was at its most glamorous. Since Taohua's sister was taken in by Miss Zheng at the Wang family, all this happened without Mrs. Zheng's knowledge."

"As time went by, Miss Zheng's life took a sharp turn for the worse. Although Taohua was loyal, she did not want her sister to be involved, so she made various excuses to make her leave the palace and go to Wujiazhai for refuge. Now she is a wet nurse there. As long as we send someone to investigate, everything will come to light."

In this complicated tragedy, although the direct perpetrators were the Wang family and Miss Zheng's husband, Yu, the manipulator behind the scenes, was as guilty as Wang Dalang, who planned all this.

If she had not resolutely cut off Miss Zheng's last hope of seeking help from the outside world, Miss Zheng, who had a prominent family to rely on, would never have fallen into such a miserable and desperate situation and died young.

The Duke's body suddenly shook, his anger was like a volcano, but he still maintained the dignity of a nobleman. He straightened his back and saluted respectfully to the emperor who was high above him: "Your Majesty, I beg to take my leave. There is an urgent matter at home that needs to be dealt with."

The emperor's eyes revealed a deep insight into the world. He waved his hand gently, and his tone was full of majesty and tolerance: "Approved, please do as you wish, Duke."