Chapter 541: She Has the Final Say

Gu Jiu Ling and Zhao Lang sat together in the front hall of the Zhao residence; from the steps of the front hall down to outside the courtyard, people knelt in a dense crowd.

A black mass, utterly silent, finally these servants felt the chilling, oppressive might of the master.

Gu Jiu Ling stared fixedly at these servants before her; Chen Yiyi had already been frightened pale, and this time, after being bound and thrown heavily before Gu Jiu Ling, she lay there.

Not long after, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and then the guards beside Zhao Lang ushered in the two elders of the An family.

The old lady of the An family also entered with them.

The old lady wore a dark brown dress, with a plain jade forehead ornament on her head; the clothes were somewhat wrinkled.

Obviously this was the best outfit the old lady could produce; because it had been washed many times, the collar and cuffs were somewhat frayed.

The old lady's eyes and eyebrows showed the appearance of her youth, but to outsiders she inevitably had a sharp, harsh face.

Supported by the An family members, the old lady had just entered the courtyard when her cane tapped the ground and she shouted: "My An family's granddaughter sent to your Zhao household to care for your young mistress has not received a single kind word, but instead has suffered disgrace."

"Today I want to see who dares to put my granddaughter in mortal danger? This Southern Qi still observes royal law—could it really be that there is no royal law?"

Gu Jiu Ling coldly laughed, fixing her gaze on the old lady: "Royal law? You speak well, old lady."

"Your two sons, one works as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice, having handled countless legal documents, naturally knows what royal law means."

"Your other son serves as a low‑rank editor in the Hanlin Academy; although he is old, he is still merely an editor, yet he understands the proprieties, shame, benevolence, and righteousness of this world."

"Surely he knows more than I, a princess consort; since you, old lady, wish to speak of royal law, today let us discuss royal law."

"Someone! Go fetch Jingzhao Prefect Qiao Songyue; today we must settle this matter once and for all."

The old lady had taken a fancy to the Zhao family's wealth and honor, never expecting that the lowly concubine she despised would gain it.

For a moment she felt unable to bear it; she had become the An family's secondary wife because her eldest son, An Cheng Hu, had earned great military merit, yet she never expected that this coarse, uncouth eldest son would seize the position of heir and refuse to relinquish it.

She bore two sons for the An family, gained nothing, only managed this great empty shell of the An family, receiving no benefit at all.

Now An Cheng Hu's daughter, originally born of a courtesan, has actually become a general's lady?

The more the old lady thought, the angrier she grew: why could she not obtain this wealth and honor?

Her daughter married a low‑rank eighth‑grade official, poor to the point that her monthly silver was insufficient; she had to dip into her own silver to make up the shortfall, and seeing her niece's beautiful appearance, she devised this scheme.

Who would have thought that just a few months after sending her into the residence, such a great incident would occur?

The Princess Consort of Rui loves to meddle; the servants of the residence returned to report, saying that her niece had already been bound and slapped twice by the Princess Consort of Rui.

She could not bear this anger; she wished to come personally to the An family to demand an explanation for her granddaughter, even if she could not obtain the Zhao family's wealth, she must extort some silver.

The old lady trembled with rage, coldly staring at Gu Jiu Ling and said: "I, the old lady, am as good as buried in loess up to my neck; what scenes have I not seen, yet still be frightened by you?"

Gu Jiu Ling lightly laughed: "Your words have some meaning; in this world there is always justice and righteousness, not a matter of whether one's neck is buried."

"Even if the loess buries your head and you become a handful of earth, if you have done wrong, you have done wrong—do you still rely on old age to sell yourself?"

"You…"

"What you? No matter how old you are, you are still a subject; no matter how I am, I am still the princess consort of the Rui Wang Fu; an ordinary woman seeing me, the princess consort, does not bow and salute, but points with her broken cane—this is rebellion! Seize her!"

The old lady was instantly startled, her eyes wide open.

She is already of an advanced age, never expecting to be scolded by a young girl until her face flushed and ears reddened.

Before she could speak, she was about to be seized, and she lunged toward Gu Jiu Ling.

Being pressed tightly by the sons standing on both sides, An Cheng Ren stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said to Gu Jiu Ling: "Princess Consort, please pity our mother's old age; Princess Consort, show mercy. If a life is truly lost, it would not be good for your reputation and that of General Zhao; you say so, yes?"

Gu Jiu Ling sneered: "Hah, this is your An family being so poor they can't even lift the pot, collectively coming to extort people—is that it?"

An Cheng Ren was choked by Gu Jiu Ling's words, his face flushed red, not knowing what to say—Xin Tou Bu Zhi Dao Shuo Shénme.

He and his brother only today learned how absurd their mother's actions had been.

Previously, their mother had sent their sister's daughter to the general's residence to accompany the young mistress in her pregnancy.

They had no idea about this; when the old lady mentioned it, they thought she was merely coming to visit relatives.

That would have been fine, after all, Jinzhi is the An family's legitimate daughter; acknowledging a relative, two young girls chatting is perfectly acceptable.

Who would have thought that she actually resided in the Zhao household, and now has caused such a great disaster?

The two brothers had previously crossed swords with Gu Jiu Ling; although the Princess Consort of Rui speaks and acts arrogantly, she is also reasonable.

Today's situation is the fault of the An family.

The two brothers felt their heads swell, sweat beading on their foreheads.

An Cheng Gui's face darkened; he turned to look at his still‑unreasonable mother and said softly: "Mother, this matter is of great importance; you must not act on impulse. If you continue thus, I can only sever ties with you."

"You… you… you say what? You want to sever ties with me? You unfilial son, I will beat you to death!"

"Enough! Mother, stop! Listen to what this affair actually is."

An Cheng Ren looked at his mother, feeling a headache; since she became the An family's secondary wife, she has quarreled with the eldest son over the issue of the heir's name.

Later she stirred up conflict between the father and the eldest son; the eldest son has not returned to the An family for years.

Now the mother becomes more and more unreasonable, also blaming the two brothers for their inability to earn her an official title.

An Cheng Gui looked pleadingly at Gu Jiu Ling, his voice carrying a few traces of solemnity and calm: "Princess Consort, when you first brought Jinzhi to acknowledge kin, my An family agreed without hesitation; now you truly wish to exterminate us?"

Gu Jiu Ling furrowed her brows slightly; in fact, the hardest to deal with in the An family is this very person.

However, when she first brought Jinzhi, she used the third prince's wedding banquet to cause a disturbance, thereby restoring Jinzhi's status as an An family member.

At this moment An Cheng Gui spoke of this favor; it seems Gu Jiu Ling cannot refuse to give face.

But today, whether or not to repay the An family's favor—she said it counts.