The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

Chapter 692: Chapter 279 My Mother-in-law is a Loyal Servant (Part 23)

He Tiantian’s words not only infuriated Nanny Zhao but also reminded Marquis Pingnan.

It wasn’t that what He Tiantian had said was particularly valuable, but the matter itself would be difficult to clarify if they tried to absolve Mrs. Zhang from any connection.

Nanny Zhao’s defense was riddled with abnormality.

To argue that Nanny Zhao, out of loyalty and kindness, could not bear to see Mrs. Zhang’s son sent to the Capital City as a hostage?

That might be the truth, but could it be said?

If it were to be said, where would that leave Nanny Zhao, Mrs. Zhang, and the entirety of Marquis Pingnan’s Mansion in relation to the Saint, to the court?

It’s essentially a roundabout way of accusing Emperor Chengtai and the entire court of targeting a child because of their wariness of Marquis Pingnan.

Nanny Zhao didn’t openly discuss anything about hostages but kept talking about resolving worries for her master, taking the initiative.

She intended to remove Mrs. Zhang from the equation while preserving her own reputation of ”loyalty.”

Such actions would have been better explained by sheer vanity, by wanting to usurp the nest, attempting to replace the legitimate son of Marquis Mansion with her own grandson to stealthily take over the title.

But plans changed; she had not expected Mrs. Zhang to bear a son and her own daughter-in-law to bear a daughter.

However, Nanny Zhao, undeterred, thought that even if her granddaughter couldn’t become the heir to the Mansion, she could still enjoy wealth within Marquis Mansion and marry into a good family in the future...

...Such reasoning might be more acceptable for people, avoiding any suspicion of distrust between Mrs. Zhang or Marquis Mansion and the court.

It could only be said that Nanny Zhao’s loyalty to Mrs. Zhang was tainted with selfishness.

If Nanny Zhao were utterly sincere, she would have borne the disgrace herself and made the original matter seem more reasonable.

Alas, Nanny Zhao couldn’t take that step; she thought by taking all the blame upon herself, she was exhibiting loyalty and sacrifice for Mrs. Zhang.

But if no one minded her words, it would have ended there.

Unfortunately, there was ”Gu Xiuniang” nearby.

One misstep and it was really possible that Mrs. Zhang could be dragged down!

Marquis Pingnan was very astute, quick-witted.

In a matter of moments, he had sorted out the entire affair and come to a decision.

”What do you mean by doing this for the lady’s good? I think you, troublesome slave, are just coveting the riches of Marquis Mansion, attempting to switch dragons for phoenixes, to usurp the nest, and now that the truth is about to come out, you still claim you did it for the lady’s good?”

Marquis Pingnan declared Nanny Zhao guilty with a grim face, promptly and decisively!

Mrs. Zhang opened her mouth, wanting to defend Nanny Zhao.

But, when she caught sight of her husband’s cold eyes, her heart trembled involuntarily.

Feeling guilty, weren’t you?

Mrs. Zhang may not have been as sharp or shrewd as Marquis Pingnan, but she wasn’t foolish.

She knew Nanny Zhao’s rhetoric was full of holes.

Moreover, Nanny Zhao claimed it was all her own doing, that the exchange of children had nothing to do with Mrs. Zhang.

But as the whole ”story” unfolded, anyone with a brain could speculate: Mrs. Zhang surely had a hand in this matter.

Mrs. Zhang realized that if she did not find a better reason for the ”exchange of children” from those years ago, she, the Marchioness, might not be able to extricate herself from involvement.

It would be better to claim ”entrapment by a troublesome slave” than to let people suspect Mrs. Zhang of not wanting her son taken to the Capital City as a hostage.

Originally, in the plan of Mrs. Zhang and Nanny Zhao, that’s what was intended to be done.

Just... since Gu Xiuniang refused to take the fall, they would have to find another scapegoat.

Although it was unfair to Nanny Zhao, Mrs. Zhang felt reluctant in her heart.

But between herself and Nanny Zhao, Mrs. Zhang decisively chose the former.

”...Nanny, I-I trusted you so much, why did you do this?”

Mrs. Zhang cried out in anguish, then her eyes rolled back, and her body started to fall backward.

Marquis Pingnan was quite pleased with Mrs. Zhang’s ”clever reaction,” he stepped forward and caught the ”fainting” Mrs. Zhang in his arms.

He held his wife tightly and said with a hint of apology to the Capital Governor, ”My wife is not in good health; she has been frightened and suffered hardships these past years, and today she has endured such a blow, she really can’t bear it!”

”This troublesome slave has brazenly overstepped, with a callous heart, and for her own personal gain, she dares to confound the bloodline of the Marquis Mansion, truly despicable!”

”Moreover, since she dared to lie at first, her words today cannot be entirely believed.”

”This matter concerns the bloodline succession of my Marquis Mansion, so I beg the Governor to examine it closely and give us justice!”

In what Marquis Pingnan said, he implied that he suspected Feng Yanting was not of the Marquis Mansion’s bloodline.

His implication was clear: perhaps there was no child swapping, and Feng Yanting has always been the son of the Feng Family.

It was just that Nanny Zhao, upon seeing the Marquis return and the rise of the mansion again, was overcome with greed and spun a tremendous lie, wanting to switch one with another!

If it were any other time, such speculation from Marquis Pingnan would seem absurd and laughable.

But with the bizarre tale of child swapping as told by Nanny Zhao, Marquis Pingnan’s similar suspicion now seemed logical.

Yes, Nanny Zhao was the servant that Mrs. Zhang of Marquis Pingnan cherished the most, yet she came up with the ”child swapping” story so readily, enough to show how scheming and crafty she was.

It’s the same old saying, one who has a bad history, who’s had a record of misconduct, would hardly be trusted again, and discrimination is inevitable.

In the original plot, it was Gu Xiuniang who carried this stigma.

And this time, it was Nanny Zhao who had to taste the bitter consequences.

Of course, while Marquis Pingnan’s suspicion of Feng Yanting’s origins wasn’t only out of spite, he truly wished for a clear investigation.

In his heart, he believed Feng Yanting to be his own son, but the Marquis Mansion had already been the butt of jokes because of the ”child swap,” and they couldn’t afford a second scandal.

The likelihood that Feng Yanting was of the Feng Family’s blood was slim, but Marquis Pingnan still hoped for a solid and definitive conclusion.

He wanted the Capital Governor to scrutinize Nanny Zhao thoroughly and distinguish the witnesses and evidence she could provide.

With a final result in hand, Marquis Pingnan would then dare to truly believe.

Feeling like a hedgehog squatting in a melon field, the Capital Governor, having tasted melons both large and small, agreed with lingering interest upon hearing Marquis Pingnan’s words, ”Marquis, rest assured, I will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly.”

Although it hadn’t been fully investigated yet, one thing was certain—Nanny Zhao was the criminal mastermind.

So the Capital Governor promptly had her taken into custody.

”...Mom!”

Upon hearing that Feng Yanting was not his biological son, Feng Zhongliang became utterly dumbfounded.

Now, seeing his own mother being dragged away by the officials, he felt an even greater sense of despair, as if the sky was falling and the earth was caving in.

What’s going on?

What in the world is happening?!

In his shock and helplessness, Feng Zhongliang’s gaze fell on He Tiantian, ”Wife!”

Yes, there was still his wife!

With her intelligence and capability, she must know what to do.

However, in response to Feng Zhongliang, what came was a slap across the face, ”Feng Zhongliang, your Feng Family really goes too far! Divorce, I want a divorce from you!”