It Was A Fake Marriage, But Jiu Qian Sui Took It Seriously - Chapter 41

Jun Mo Ran didn’t particularly care whether she confessed or not, but the magistrate of Jingzhao needed evidence to pass a judgment.

He quickly stepped forward to interrogate the servant.

“I did this alone.” The servant declared,

“No one else was involved. I have always admired the Young Master Zhi Li. When Miss Shen annulled their engagement, it disgraced him. I held a grudge, and pretending to be a Marquis, I instructed the cloth shop workers to act.”

With a wave of the magistrate’s hand, she was immediately taken away by the guards.

Jun Mo Ran turned and sat in the head seat, his fingertips gently tapping on the table as he quietly observed Madam Lu. Meanwhile, Marquis Yongwang stood beside them, sweating profusely.

He had been summoned with the words, “His Grace wishes to see you.” Still in his official attire, he had assumed it was for something good…

But looking at the situation now, he realized that unless he did something, the infamous “Jiu Qian Sui” would not leave.

“Madam Lu, as the matriarch of the household, you are responsible for your servant’s wrongdoing. You cannot escape punishment as well. I will penalize you by…” Marquis Yongwang sneaked a glance at Jun Mo Ran, who had his eyes closed in silent contemplation. “You are stripped of your household management rights and are to reflect in your chambers for six months.”

“…Your Grace, is this acceptable?”

“Father,” Jiang Yingwan knelt. “They nearly killed my daughter! If not for a flaw in the fabric that Lu Yuan retrieved today, Qing Li’s reputation would have been completely ruined and yet, you brush this off so lightly…”

Madam Lu Shi cried, cutting Jiang Yingwan off. “Sister, you’re insulting me! My servant has always admired the Young Master, but I never expected she would be so bold.”

She then crawled to Old Madam Lu, grabbing her sleeve. “Mother, I swear it wasn’t me!”

Old Madam Lu looked at her with disappointment, scolded her briefly, and then walked over to Jiang Yingwan. She held her hand and said, “Your sister-in-law was indeed negligent, but in the end, Qing Li came out unharmed. Let’s treat this as a serious warning—she won’t dare repeat this mistake.”

Jiang Yingwan was furious. “Unharmed” was only because her daughter was lucky to be alive! Why should this matter be dismissed so lightly? There may not be direct evidence, but she was certain Madam Lu was the mastermind behind it all.

However, she had neither power nor influence. How the Marquis’s family handled their daughter-in-law was not something she could intervene in.

She met Shen Qing Li’s gaze, filled with guilt.

She was a powerless mother.

Jun Mo Ran opened his eyes and coldly looked at Marquis Yongwang. “I heard there’s an upcoming personnel reshuffle at Guangling Temple. If you can’t even manage your own household, how can I trust you to manage official affairs? ”

Marquis Yongwang stiffened.

There was nothing in Great Zhou beyond this man’s control.

If he offends him, the entire Marquis household will suffer.

Realizing this, he clenched his teeth and kicked Madam Lu in the shoulder. “You vile woman! I will not tolerate you in my household!”

Madam Lu’s face turned deathly pale.

Old Madam Lu immediately pleaded, “Your Grace, My Lord, please show mercy! No matter what, Madam Lu has given birth to a son. If we stain her name, his future prospects in the imperial examinations will be ruined!”

Jiang Zhi Li, her grandson, knelt and begged. “Please, Your Grace, my mother is innocent!”

Madam Lu was already too terrified to speak. She sat there, paralyzed.

Jun Mo Ran tapped the table gently, each sound echoing in the hall, striking the hearts of those present.

It was unclear whether he was dissatisfied or merely reminding them of something.

Old Madam Lu turned to Shen Qing Li. “Qing Li, our household may not have been particularly kind to you and your mother, but we never mistreated you either. You’ve lived here for six years. Couldn’t you show us a little kindness? Your aunt has treated you well, hasn’t she?”

Shen Qing Li and Jiang Yingwan exchanged glances, both seeing the hesitation in each other’s eyes.

If the Marquis household hadn’t taken them in back then, Jiang Yingwan might not have survived.

No matter what their intentions were at the time, the truth was that the Marquis’s family had saved her mother’s life.

Seeing this, Marquis Yongwang cautiously spoke, “Your Grace… perhaps we should send Madam Lu to a rural estate for a year? The living conditions there are poor, and she would suffer.”

Jun Mo Ran’s voice was cold as he said, “If Miss Shen had fallen off the cliff that day and hadn’t been caught by the tree branches, would she be standing here now?”

His words sent a chill through everyone’s hearts.

Shen Qing Li shuddered.

She could still vividly recall that day. Beneath those tree branches was a river filled with jagged rocks—if she had fallen, who knew where she would have been swept away?

“But… but…” Old Madam Lu wanted to say, “But she’s fine now,” but the words stuck in her throat.

Jun Mo Ran’s gaze was too terrifying.

Marquis Yongwang hesitated, then said,. “Madam Lu is gravely ill. She will be sent to the rural estate immediately and never allowed to return.”

Apart from divorcing her, this was the heaviest punishment he could give.

Divorce would tarnish the children’s reputations, and noble families avoided it whenever possible. But sending her away permanently was nearly the same as divorcing her.

After speaking, Marquis Yongwang glanced at Jun Mo Ran.

This time, he said nothing more.

Madam Lu let out a wretched scream and fainted.

Marquis Yongwang immediately had her taken away and then bowed to Jun Mo Ran. “Your Grace, I have prepared a humble feast. May I invite you to partake?”

Jun Mo Ran smoothed the folds of his robe and said indifferently, “There’s no need. Marquis, you should focus on putting your household in order. If you can’t manage your home, how can you manage the country?”

With that, he turned to leave. As he passed Shen Qing Li, he asked evenly, “Madam Shen, Miss Shen, it’s getting late. Would you like me to send someone to escort you home?”

Shen Qing Li looked up and met his gaze. There was a rare trace of concern in his eyes.

She bowed and said, “Thank you, Your Grace, but we have a carriage and will return now.”

The group left in a grand procession. Marquis Yongwang remained standing in place.

Old Madam Lu asked, “My Lord, will Madam Lu truly never return?”

Marquis Yongwang ignored her and murmured to himself, “If a man cannot govern his own household, how can he govern the world? Was he implying that I can… or that I cannot?”

Shen Qing Li escorted her mother to her chambers to rest before returning to her own courtyard. She was indeed exhausted.

The night was bright as day, and the cold moonlight spread across the ground, making the courtyard look like it was covered in frost.

Though Madam Lu had received her punishment, Shen Qing Li did not feel particularly happy. She could tell her mother felt the same.

After all, among the people they interacted with most in the Marquis household, her Aunt Lu had always greeted them with a smile.

Now, after six years, this place suddenly felt more unfamiliar than ever.

She sighed softly, took the lantern from Chunhua’s hands, and told her maid to rest.

Chunhua nodded—her lady often took walks alone at night—then left after some brief instructions.

The autumn night breeze was cool and pleasant against the skin.

Shen Qing Li walked past the ornamental gate toward the lotus pond in the front courtyard.

There, under the moonlit pavilion, stood Jun Mo Ran with his hands clasped behind his back, the cold moonlight casting an ethereal glow around him.

Sensing her presence, he turned. Their eyes met, and silence stretched between them.

Shen Qing Li entered the pavilion. She did not greet him or speak—just watched him quietly.

Jun Mo Ran’s voice was slightly hoarse as he lowered his gaze and softly asked, “Were you frightened today?”