Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved

Chapter 150: Chapter 150 What Do You Think You Are!

As soon as Steward Wang arrived, without waiting for Xu Darong to interrogate him, he confessed everything.

“I was involved in an affair with the Marchioness, but it was she who seduced me. The Marquis did not favor her, and she feared she would not bear a son, so she had me go to the Prince Mansion to help her! She also instructed me to buy the poison that killed the Old Marquis. I put it into the Old Marquis’s soup, and that very night, he was poisoned to death!”

Steward Wang had indeed been fond of Lady Wang in their early years, and the two were childhood sweethearts. Unfortunately, Lady Wang’s ambition knew no bounds, and in the end, she schemed her way into the Marquis Mansion to become the Marchioness.

Therefore, when Lady Wang wrote to him asking for help at the Marquis Mansion, he agreed without hesitation. Afterwards, he had been working as a steward in the Marquis Mansion, occasionally indulging in clandestine moments with Lady Wang, taking pleasure in his carefree lifestyle.

But Steward Wang had a family in his hometown, with two sons and a daughter, and now several grandchildren as well.

No matter his affection for Lady Wang, he could not neglect his own flesh and blood.

Now that his own bloodline was held in the grip of Prince Ling’s people, how could he dare to disobey?

Moreover, after more than a decade, how could he maintain the same affection for Lady Wang as in the past?

Being a steward in the Marquis Mansion might seem glamorous, but inside, it was a complete mess, a miasma of dark smoke. The young masters and mistresses, along with the concubines, were constantly scheming to draw out silver for their expenses. Not only did Steward Wang have to keep track of these bad debts, he also had to manage the shops, manors, and so on outside, where the perks were not substantial. Exhausted to death daily, how could he possibly entertain thoughts of romantic affairs?

At over forty years of age, he and Lady Wang only had a bit of their early affection left.

Not to mention, Lady Wang had recently grown an unsightly tumor that made him feel sick to his stomach. Whenever he looked at it a moment too long, Steward Wang felt repulsed; even a deep affection would diminish in light of this, let alone when there was so little left of it.

Steward Wang was afraid of death, as well as concerned for his own blood relatives being implicated. Once on the public trial, it was natural for him to speak out everything he knew, and he pushed all the blame onto Lady Wang’s head.

In the end, it all came down to Lady Wang seducing and threatening him; he claimed innocence for himself.

In no time, he revealed all the wicked deeds Lady Wang had done.

The common people outside, after hearing this, were filled with righteous indignation, wishing she could be torn apart by five horses.

The Second Prince’s expression had turned as dark as could be, his gaze so malevolent it seemed as if it could drip poison.

Murong Man dared not to speak anymore; any further words, and she feared bringing calamity upon herself.

Looking at Fu Baozhu, her face was pale, her spirit shattered, and the look in her eyes towards Lady Wang and Steward Wang was full of hatred.

She felt it was Lady Wang and Steward Wang who caused her to fall from being a legitimate daughter to being a laughingstock, a bastard; it was all their fault.

The faces of General Fu and his four sons were cold as they stood aside, watching the dog-eat-dog fight between Steward Wang and Lady Wang with detached eyes.

Lady Wang, provoked beyond endurance, blurted out many illogical statements.

Minister of Punishment Jia Shibai shook his head and said no more.

In his view, Lady Wang and her ilk no longer had a chance to turn the tables.

Both Lady Wang and Marquis Murong’s emotional outbursts had disrupted the rhythm of his judgment, leaving no room for maneuvering.

Since this was the case, Jia Shibai remained silent.

Being an old fox like him, he wouldn’t allow himself to be caught up in the public’s condemnation; for someone beyond salvation like Lady Wang, it was best to withdraw in a timely manner.

The Second Prince also knew this well, and he kept quiet, even pulling Murong Man back, lest she got involved and tarnished her reputation.

After Lady Wang, Steward Wang, and Marquis Murong had finished tearing into each other like dogs, Xu Darong finally slammed down the judge’s gavel and declared loudly:

“In all my years of rendering judgments, I have never seen someone as vicious and ruthless as Lady Wang! Now with both testimonial and physical evidence at hand, and with Lady Wang’s own confession, the verdict is clear, and she must be severely punished!”

Su Yuting promptly presented a document he had just recorded, listing the crimes line by line, clear and precise.

Xu Darong picked it up and read it aloud, the common people listening clenched their fists in anger, their teeth itching with hate.

Next, Xu Darong had Lady Wang put her thumbprint on the record.

She was unwilling to do so, still loudly crying out her innocence, and after her thumbprint was forcibly taken, Lady Wang collapsed on the ground as if her soul had left her.

But quickly, her eyes filled with spiteful hate stared at Murong Jiu:

“It’s all your fault! If I had known, I would have strangled you in your cradle! Don’t think we don’t know that it’s Prince Ling helping you, without him you would be nothing but a village woman! You deserve to die! I will kill you!”

With those words, she actually pulled out the hairpin from her head and lunged at Murong Jiu with it.

Murong Jiu was not panicked, and she didn’t even move, as the four members of General Fu’s family instantly took action. Someone kicked away Lady Wang’s hairpin, someone else snapped Lady Wang’s wrist, and then somebody else rendered the strength from both her arms useless with a force more painful than dislocation, causing cold sweat to break out on Lady Wang’s forehead. Nonetheless, she kept cursing nonstop.

General Fu’s expression turned cold, and he actually drew his sword and cut off Lady Wang’s tongue in one swift motion.

Lady Wang screamed in agony, her voice resembling the lament of a drake, no longer able to form words.

Fu Baozhu screamed at the sight of the blood, instinctively seeking protection from her brothers.

Her second brother, Fu Sheng, was merciless: “Get lost! You are not our sister! Our sister is Ah Jiu! You’re nothing but the bastard child born from Lady Wang’s affair!”

Fu Baozhu turned deathly pale.

Disbelieving, she said, “But I’m still the sister you’ve doted on for sixteen years, Second Brother, how can you say that to me? Besides, I was just a newborn when the switch happened, I knew nothing, I’m innocent!”

Fu Heng spoke gravely, “Innocent? Didn’t Nanny Fan say that you had long known about your true origins? Was it three or five years ago? That was when you started acting oddly, but we never imagined Lady Wang would be so bold and vicious! And you, enjoying everything that wasn’t rightfully yours, acting so entitled, how is your behavior any different from your venomous mother’s?”

Fu Baozhu shook her head: “I was just scared, afraid to lose everything. After all, you raised me. I’m not as vicious as Lady Wang. This morning you were still on my side, having the servants help me dress and taking me away, weren’t you?”

In her heart, she felt that her father and brothers cared for her, otherwise, they would not have helped her.

Fu Sheng scoffed coldly, “Although we suspected your identity and Ah Jiu’s, we had no concrete evidence at the time and didn’t know you were not innocent. Had we known you were aware of your origins yet concealed it, we would have left you to fend for yourself! Moreover, we did help you, but what about you? You clung to Na Kesi and wouldn’t let go, thinking we were driving a wedge between lovers!”

“No! That’s not true! I was just too scared. I didn’t know anything, I was afraid of losing you all! I’ve hardly ever seen Lady Wang, please take me back to the General’s Mansion. I promise to treat the Princess Consort like my own sister, be good to her, and give her everything!”

Fu Baozhu was frightened, not wanting to be cast into hell overnight or become a bastard.

She just wanted to stay at the General’s Mansion and then marry Na Kesi.

“Third Brother, you always loved me the most, please agree to me!”

Fu Han looked at her coldly, and suddenly sneered, “Give? Everything at the General’s Mansion was always Ah Jiu’s. You’ve been squatting in her nest for so long, yet you have the nerve to speak the word ‘give’! What are you anyway!”