Chapter 542: Utterly Ridiculous!

Mrs. An, intimidated by Gu Jiu Ling's outburst, finally quieted down, standing off to the side, still huffing.

An Chenggui turned to Gu Jiu Ling again; before he could speak, Gu Jiu Ling, annoyed, waved a hand at the maid on the side.

Understanding the cue, the maid fetched a wooden stool, placed it directly beside Mrs. An without any cushion.

Mrs. An let out a cold snort and plopped down; accustomed to cushioned chairs, the bare stool felt uncomfortable, and her face grew even more sullen.

Before Gu Jiu Ling could speak, a rapid footfall sounded outside the door, and before the steps arrived, a wailing howl followed.

The cries were so loud that, from afar, they seemed like knives stabbing one's eardrum, causing Gu Jiu Ling to furrow her brows.

"My daughter! Why are you binding her? What crime has my daughter committed?"

"Your General's household is taking private punishment; I will sue you, I will file an imperial petition!"

A middle‑aged woman was dressed rather flamboyantly, though her clothes and makeup were somewhat shabby.

The rouge and powder on her face were of the lowest quality, and with her loud wailing, everything seemed to sag.

Gu Jiu Ling twisted her brows and stared coldly at the middle‑aged woman before her.

The woman did have a delicate face, about eighty percent like Chen Yiyi; she was probably Chen Yiyi's mother, the aunt of the An family who married out, Aunt An.

"Elder sister, stop crying and listen to what the Princess Consort says!"

An Chenggui worried that his elder sister might utter something she shouldn't, and if they truly offended the Princess Consort of Rui, the An family's outcome would be grim.

After all, the An family's present status also depended on An Chenghu's favor with Prince Rui.

If even this bit of favor were to vanish now, the An family would find it nearly impossible to move forward in Shang Jing.

Now Prince Rui's power is at its zenith; even if they dared not offend the Princess Consort, they must still fear the lord standing behind her.

That lord dotes immensely on his own Princess Consort, a fact known to all, likely even spread to neighboring states.

Throughout the An clan, although An Chengren is now a bit older, the entire family, large and small, follows An Chenggui's word.

Since An Chenggui said so, Aunt An dared not cause further trouble, and anxiously looked at her own daughter bound on the ground.

When her mother first invited her into the mansion and mentioned the matter, she felt somewhat flustered.

After all, being a general's wife is an allure too great to resist.

If her own daughter could break out in the Zhao family's rear residence, become Zhao Lang's concubine, and become a general's wife, she would later be the general's mother‑in‑law, and wealth and honor would inevitably follow.

But who could have imagined that Jinzhi was pregnant again, and the clinic even said the child was a boy.

As soon as the news spread, her daughter rushed home to weep to her.

Since Jinzhi had only given birth to a daughter before, it wasn't a problem; as long as she could soon hook Zhao Lang, sleep in his bed, stepping on Jinzhi would be inevitable.

But Jinzhi was carrying a boy; once born, he would be General Zhao's legitimate eldest son, and the entire Zhao family would belong to that child.

Her daughter absolutely could not allow Jinzhi to smoothly give birth to this child.

The daughter had once discussed a plan with her; at the time she was extremely nervous and even urged the daughter to give up.

But ever since the daughter met the young General Zhao Lang, her heart had already been drawn toward him... and indeed.

Aunt An, feeling insecure, feigned a few cries, then had to shut her mouth, standing behind her own mother.

At the same time, Qiao Songyue, accompanied by a subordinate officer of the Capital Inspectorate, hurried over.

When Lord Qiao entered the courtyard, Gu Jiu Ling finally rose slowly, smiling as she walked toward him.

"Blessings to the Princess Consort!" Lord Qiao clasped his fists and bowed, exchanging greetings with Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling hurriedly smiled politely, "I truly apologize for summoning you over such a trivial matter."

"The main point is that today's incident at the Zhao household can no longer be called an ordinary affair; after all, General Zhao is a Pillar‑State Grand General."

"The legitimate daughter of the General's household was framed, his wife has been harmed to the point that her fate is still unknown; this matter cannot be settled privately, only by state law."

Gu Jiu Ling said that, and the others' expressions changed slightly.

Especially An Chenggui, whose heart was extremely uneasy, instinctively glanced at his own mother, and indeed saw a trace of panic on her face.

An Chenggui muttered inwardly, fearing that Gu Jiu Ling would not settle for anything less than complete victory today!

Qiao Songyue was slightly stunned; he had been hurriedly summoned from the magistrate's office to here, and it turned out there was a problem at General Zhao's residence.

He looked at the women around, assuming this was a matter of the inner household.

Usually they have no jurisdiction over inner‑household affairs, but if it escalates to a homicide, he can intervene.

Lord Qiao quickly composed himself, and upon hearing that the case involved General Zhao,

the matter could be big or small, but now that Gu Jiu Ling is involved, it is heading toward the larger side.

He hurriedly asked, "Has the Zhao family's young lady encountered trouble? What exactly happened? Where is the child?"

Gu Jiu Ling felt a pang of sympathy for Xiao Yue; at such a young age she didn't want her to be exposed to so many people. Yet some matters had to be spoken.

"Attendants! Bring the young lady out!"

Yun Duo, without anyone's assistance, personally carried Xiao Yue out.

Xiao Yue had already finished her meal, and Gu Jiu Ling only then ordered warm goat's milk, some soft glutinous snacks, and supplementary food for the child.

The baby's pale little face now showed a few more flushes of color, looking especially cute with its rosy hue.

Even a senior gentleman like Qiao Songyue couldn't help but smile upon seeing such a soft, adorable little girl being carried out.

Since yesterday Xiao Yue's spirit had been poor; although Gu Jiu Ling rescued her now, seeing the situation, the tiny child felt extreme fear, her little mouth trembling as if about to burst into tears.

Zhao Lang hurriedly took his daughter from Yun Duo's arms, holding her tightly and gently soothing her.

Little Xiao Yue rested her head against Zhao Lang's broad chest, reaching for his finger, but Zhao Lang seized her tiny hand.

Seeing his daughter's current nervous and frightened demeanor, Zhao Lang was filled with remorse, thinking he should have eliminated all the treacherous servants in the mansion from the start.

Gu Jiu Ling looked at little Xiao Yue and asked Zhao Lang to bring her before Lord Qiao.

She then lifted Xiao Yue's garment, revealing two lotus‑like pale arms, covered in bruises.

Qiao Songyue saw the reddish‑purple marks on the child's arms, his face darkening instantly, his brows slightly furrowing: "Who did this?"

Lord Qiao looked at Zhao Lang in disbelief.

Zhao Lang is, after all, the new generation's war god of Southern Qi; even in the court, these civil officials have to give him some face.

Who would have thought that, being brave in battle beyond compare, even the rulers of Bei Di and Xi Rong constantly praise him, the Southern Qi war god's own daughter would end up being bullied like this?

This is utterly absurd!