Farewell Flower Festival

When Zhao Zhong heard that Shen He had brought dozens of guards to his house to question him, he knew that the rumor must have been uncovered.

He asked Zhao to stay in the room while he went out to deal with it.

"Where's Zhao Zhong? Ask him to come out and see me. Don't hide like a coward."

"Your Highness, this is the Marquis' Mansion after all. How dare you bring people in like this--" Before the butler could finish his words, he was captured and dragged away by two guards. Shen He called out Zhao Zhong's name again, and the other party showed up.

Seeing that the whole family had arrived, Zhao Zhong knew that things would not end so easily. He greeted them with a smile and apologized, then asked, "I wonder how Zhao had offended the prince, causing him to mobilize so many troops?"

Shen He sneered, "My Lord, please stop acting here. I have already investigated the rumors. How should I settle the account of your wife slandering my daughter?"

Chao Yan held his forehead with his hand and pretended to be weak, saying: "I haven't slept well for the past two days, and I can't eat. Are you trying to kill me?"

Shen Cheng almost couldn't help laughing. He didn't know whether he slept well or not, but he ate every meal with relish.

"I have already investigated the rumor. It was the servants in the mansion who were gossiping. I have already had the person tied up. It's up to the prince to tell me how to deal with him," said Zhao Zhong.

Chao Yan said: "Since the rumor spread from the Marquis's mansion, does the Marquis want to just let it go?"

Zhao Zhong said: "What does the princess want?"

Chao Yan said, "I have already thought of a solution for the Marquis. In a couple of days, we will hold a banquet and invite all the ladies from different families to come. Let your wife clarify the matter in front of everyone."

Zhao Zhong smiled and said, "My Lord, this is a bit unreasonable."

"If the Marquis is unwilling, then you can go to the Emperor and talk to him." Shen He changed the subject, "By the way, is your son feeling better? It just so happens that there is nothing going on in the military camp recently. If he feels better, I will send someone to send him over."

Chao Yan continued, "Dad, I heard that he's gotten much better and can recognize people now."

Shen Cheng said: "Are you pretending to be crazy?"

Chaoyan said that if she was really crazy, she would definitely not be afraid of death, and she would know if she gave it a try. Shen Cheng praised it as a good idea, and the brother and sister agreed, and Zhao Zhong finally agreed to Chaoyan's conditions.

After leaving the Marquis' Mansion, Chaoyan stomped her feet and said that she forgot to ask for compensation for mental damage. Shen Cheng curiously asked what compensation she meant by it. Chaoyan explained that she couldn't let people spread rumors for nothing, so she had to compensate him.

Shen He asked Chao Yan to get on the carriage and wait first, and he went back to talk to Zhao Zhong about compensation. Zhao Zhong spent money to avoid disaster and gave her five thousand taels of silver.

When Shen He came back and gave the banknotes to Chao Yan, Shen Cheng was a little envious and teased Zhao Zhong for being so generous and that he must have a small gold mountain hidden at home. After coming back, Chao Yan secretly stuffed two banknotes into Shen Cheng's pockets and told him to spend them sparingly and not to spend them on wine and women.

On the other hand, after Zhao Zhong told Zhao about the conditions proposed by Chaoyan, Zhao was so angry that she cursed and firmly disagreed to embarrass herself in front of so many people. She also said that she would not give up and must teach Chaoyan a lesson.

"Madam, they have already investigated everything. I told you long ago that if you are patient, you will have peace." Zhao Zhong was interrupted angrily before he finished speaking. "You only know how to be patient. They are riding on our necks and you still want me to be patient. Now everyone in the capital is laughing at us. He is a foreign king who just returned to the capital and doesn't take our mansion seriously. If it were in the past, would he dare not send an invitation? Isn't it just a victory? What's there to be proud of? What princess? She is just a wild girl with unknown origins. What is there to be afraid of?"

Zhao Zhong advised her to calm down and analyzed the pros and cons for her. "The emperor must have summoned Prince Xiaoyao back to the capital this time to make an important appointment with him. The princess will most likely become the prince's consort. Because of Huan'er's matter, the emperor is already dissatisfied with our mansion. If this matter really comes to the emperor's attention, what will happen if the emperor orders Huan'er to be exiled in anger? Now that Huan'er can stay in the mansion, it is already a special favor from the emperor. Madam, just think of it as Huan'er's sake and be patient for the time being."

When Zhao Huan was mentioned, Zhao's attitude was no longer tough. After some persuasion from Zhao Zhong, she finally agreed to go to the palace to clarify the matter.

Two days later, Lin Rou invited the ladies and daughters of each family to her house for tea. Zhao also came with her eldest daughter-in-law and Furong. In front of so many people, Zhao still couldn't lose face.

However, when Furong saw Chaoyan, she came over to greet her very warmly. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she mentioned that they had worked together in Prince Ling's mansion before, and said that Mu Tianling took special care of Chaoyan, not only giving her a separate courtyard to live in, but also having maids to serve her.

She had her own separate residence and maids to serve her, and was no different from a concubine in a wealthy family.

Chaoyan stopped being polite with her and mentioned that Furong and Hongmei also lived in a separate courtyard before. She also praised Mu Tianling's self-discipline and said that he never used maids to serve him in the house except for practicing calligraphy and eating. She then asked Furong, "Did His Highness ever let you serve him in the house when you were in the mansion before?"

Furong would naturally deny it. After all, her current status was there. However, she had never had the opportunity to enter the house to serve.

After dealing with Furong, the next one is Zhao.

"You may have heard some of the rumors from the past two days. Now the matter has been investigated clearly." Chao Yan looked at Zhao, "Please trouble Madam to tell everyone what is going on."

Zhao hesitated and didn't say anything.

Chao Yan went over to Lin Rou and said, "Aunt Lin, I am a junior, and there are some things that I shouldn't say."

Lin Rou picked up the cup of tea in front of her and said to Zhao, "I apologize for offending you before. I hope you can forgive me." She took a sip of tea, put it down and changed the subject, "But you shouldn't take it out on the younger generation. As a woman, don't you know how important reputation is to a girl?"

Seeing that she would be convicted if she didn't explain herself, Zhao said, "Princess, please don't wrongly accuse me. This is really none of my business. It was the servants in the mansion who were gossiping. I have already dealt with them."

Chao Yan said, "I have not been able to eat or sleep well these past two days. I have lost a lot of weight. The rumors spread outside are really unbearable. I originally thought that no one would believe these idiots' stories, but it would be bad if it affected Dad's reputation. Although Dad is magnanimous and doesn't bother with those bastards, if this matter is not clarified, others will think that we are guilty and dare not seek justice for ourselves."

Zhao gritted her teeth when she heard this, especially when she heard Chaoyan say that only a fool would make up such a story. She was so angry that her back teeth were almost broken. But when she thought of her precious son Zhao Huan, she wondered how he would endure if he was really exiled, so she swallowed her anger for the time being and apologized to Chaoyan, saying that it was her negligence and that she would discipline the servants in the mansion when she returned.

Chaoyan said that it was not a big deal. It was a pity that Zhao came all the way here, but she was not invited to have tea. Zhao did not want to stay any longer, so she said goodbye with her eldest daughter-in-law and Furong.