Transmigrated as a Cannon Fodder Wife A in Ancient Times - Chapter 78

Chapter 78

When Wei Lan and her group arrived at the scene, the two factions were nearly fighting, and the situation was chaotic beyond control.

Chen Zhou, sitting on the second floor, cursed, “So many blind people are still defending Wei Lan. Damn them.”

Su Er stood by silently, trying to blend into the air.

Meanwhile, Wei Lan had already ordered her guards to push through and clear a path.

“Make way, our lord has arrived,” the guards shouted.

“Step aside,” they added.

Wei Lan saw the guards create a narrow path wide enough for one person. She walked through slowly and stood there calmly, her cold gaze fixed on Wei Wenyuan across from her.

Wei Wenyuan recalled their previous encounters, and sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

He decided to strike first before Wei Lan could speak, playing the villain to accuse her.

Pointing at Wei Lan, Wei Wenyuan shouted, “Wei Lan, you heartless beast, you dare show your face here? Everyone, this is my unfilial daughter.”

Hearing Wei Wenyuan’s words, the scholars around him immediately grew agitated.

“Wei Lan, filial piety has always come first. How can you treat your parents like this?” one scholar demanded.

“Exactly, ignoring your father’s survival—you’re utterly vicious!” another added.

“Wei Lan, you’re a poisonous woman,” a third declared.

The young girls supporting Wei Lan were naturally displeased and quickly retorted.

“You’re slandering her! Wei Wenyuan looks like a bad person at first glance. Don’t you dare smear our sister,” one girl shouted.

“Exactly, don’t you dare smear our sister,” another echoed.

As the two sides were about to start arguing again, Wei Lan raised her hand in a downward gesture and said coldly, “Everyone, be quiet.”

Her words calmed the girls on her side, but the opposing group remained defiant.

“Wei Lan, who do you think you are? Why should we quiet down just because you say so?” one scholar challenged.

Seeing the scholar dressed in student robes, Wei Lan mocked, “So impulsive, believing someone’s few words and getting all righteous here. People like you—how can you become the backbone of the nation in the future?”

“You!” The scholar, furious, pointed at Wei Lan but was restrained by his companions.

They thought about it and felt Wei Lan’s words made sense. Even if she wasn’t entirely right, at the very least, Wei Wenyuan should be at the forefront of this conflict. Why were they, the scholars, leading the charge while Wei Wenyuan stood even farther back?

So, the scholars retreated behind Wei Wenyuan, including the one Wei Lan had mocked, who was now pulled back by his peers.

Facing Wei Lan directly, Wei Wenyuan felt a pang of fear deep inside, but he still feigned composure. “Wei Lan, you unfilial daughter, you have the nerve to criticize others? You’re the most despicable one here,” he said.

Wei Lan gave him a cold smirk and said, “You’ve been here accusing me of being unfilial for half the day. So, give me an example. How exactly have I, Wei Lan, been unfilial?”

“You—you ignored my survival. That’s unfilial! You even caused me to lose a finger,” Wei Wenyuan roared, completely enraged by Wei Lan’s provocation.

Wei Lan burst into laughter. “A person like you doesn’t deserve to be a father. I, Wei Lan, swear here and now: if a single word I say next is false, may I die a horrible death, struck by lightning. Wei Wenyuan, I stand by every word I say. Do you dare to swear the same?” she challenged.

“You—you,” Wei Wenyuan stammered, stepping back in fear, unable to respond. In ancient times, people revered divine forces, and liars dared not take oaths.

Wei Lan sneered. “You don’t even dare to swear. How much of what you’ve said is true or false? I think everyone here already knows,” she said.

Wei Wenyuan, sweating profusely, panicked and shouted at Wei Lan, “You—you! An oath doesn’t prove everything. Wei Lan, stop slandering me here.”

“I’m slandering you? Wei Wenyuan, let me ask you: when I married into the Lu Family, wasn’t it because you, as my father, owed over a hundred taels of silver from a failed business deal and needed to pay it back urgently? Didn’t you sell me to the Lu Mansion to settle that debt?” Wei Lan asked.

“I—I had no choice. I did it for the family’s sake. You shouldn’t resent me for that,” Wei Wenyuan countered.

Wei Lan smiled and continued, “Fine, let me ask you again. At Dacheng Gambling House, you racked up gambling debts, refused to reform, and borrowed silver from them for business. You were tricked and lost everything. The gambling house tied you up for days. Didn’t you then try to make me, your daughter whom you’d already sold, pay off your debts again?”

“I—I had no choice. They deceived me first. It’s not my fault. You can’t blame me,” Wei Wenyuan said, sweating heavily, clearly panicking.

The scholars behind him now looked at him with contempt. As students, they despised those who frequented gambling houses and brothels.

Wei Lan shook her head with a bitter smile and continued, “Let me ask you one more thing. After I brought people to Dacheng Gambling House and got you released, you could have lived a stable life. But you fell back into gambling, lost three hundred taels of silver, caused my mother to go missing, and sold the Wei family’s ancestral home. Is this what you call filial piety? You’re truly the Wei family’s great filial son, selling the property left by our ancestors just to gamble. I ask you, is this filial piety?”

“Wow, Wei Lan’s father is that kind of person? That’s disgusting,” someone in the crowd said.

“A gambler who sold his daughter and never learned his lesson. If it were me, I wouldn’t acknowledge a father like that either,” another added.

“Exactly. He sold the ancestral home and still dares to say Wei Lan is unfilial. He’s the unfilial one,” a third person said.

“Deserves it, filthy gambler,” someone cursed.

“Bah, gambling dog, get lost,” another spat.

“Disgusting,” a voice added.

Public opinion swung entirely in Wei Lan’s favor. Wei Wenyuan was nearly in tears, frantically saying, “No, no, it’s not like that. I gambled to earn more money to make the family better. It’s Wei Lan’s fault. It’s all her fault for not giving me silver. Blame her.”

Wei Lan looked at him coldly and said, “I have no father like you. Though I married into the Lu Mansion, my madam is a reasonable person and treats me very well. Without her, I wouldn’t be who I am today. But that doesn’t erase the fact that you sold me to the Lu Mansion to pay your debts.”

Wei Lan took a deep breath and continued, “Furthermore, just over half a month ago, Chen Zhou hired thugs to frame our Lu Family Restaurant. After I exposed him, City Lord Lu had him thrown in prison. He must hate me to the bone. You, as my father, never considered my side. You stand with my enemy, pointing your blade at your own daughter. I ask you, is there any father in this world like you?”

With Wei Lan’s resounding questions, the crowd, including the scholars, began pointing and whispering about Wei Wenyuan. Ancient people valued filial piety, but selling the ancestral home was a grave act of unfilial behavior, so the scholars now sneered at him.

“What a disgusting person,” one said.

“A gambling dog who only wants money, helping outsiders frame his own daughter. What a thing,” another added.

“He deserves Wei Lan ignoring him. Disgusting. He dares say this at the bookshop’s entrance, insulting the sacred books inside,” a third person said.

“Exactly, get lost,” someone shouted.

“Get out, get out,” others chanted.

The scholars’ emotions grew heated. Someone in the crowd threw a rotten egg at Wei Wenyuan.

The thrower aimed well, hitting Wei Wenyuan square on the forehead. The egg cracked, spilling over his face. Where one led, others followed, and soon rotten vegetable leaves and more stinking eggs pelted Wei Wenyuan’s body and face.

Wei Wenyuan became like a rat crossing the street, despised by all.

Yet Wei Lan never once paid him any mind. Her gaze shifted to the manager of Chen’s Bookshop, hiding behind the crowd, and she said, “Go back and tell Chen Zhou: the bookshop sells sacred books. Do fewer filthy deeds in the future, lest you insult those sacred texts.”

Wei Lan spoke neither loudly nor softly, but everyone around could hear her clearly.

Some people began throwing rotten vegetable leaves at Chen’s Bookshop’s entrance.

“What kind of people? And they run a bookshop? Bah,” one person spat.

“Whoever buys books from Chen’s Bookshop from now on, I’ll look down on them,” another said.

“Exactly. Always scheming, never walking the righteous path. Chen Zhou deserves to be thrown back in prison,” a third added.

The entrance to Chen’s Bookshop was piled with rotten leaves. On the second floor, Chen Zhou was livid, his eyes bloodshot. “Wei Lan, you wretch, ruining my reputation. Just you wait!” he growled.

Su Er kept his head down, not daring to make a sound.

In the private room, the sound of shattering porcelain echoed. The waiter wanted to check, but the manager stopped him.

When Chen Zhou finally composed himself and left the room, every dish and plate inside was smashed.

Chen Zhou signaled Su Er to pay, then headed out. But as he walked, people pointed and whispered about him.

“Look, that’s Chen Zhou. Looks decent but is rotten to the core,” one said.

“He’s the one always framing the Lu Mansion and using Wei Lan’s gambling father to cause trouble,” another added.

“Disgusting,” a third muttered.

Hearing these words, Chen Zhou’s fists clenched so hard they nearly broke. He got into a carriage and rushed back to the mansion.

Once back, Chen Zhou locked himself in his bedroom, and the sound of shattering porcelain filled the air again.

A young master like him seemed carefree, but he was the least able to handle loss and cared deeply about his reputation. Being despised by all of Panyang City was worse than death.

When Chen Zhou finished venting and opened his door, the bedroom was littered with broken porcelain shards.

Meanwhile, Wei Lan’s side had won a complete victory. Seeing the young girls who had passionately defended her earlier, she said politely, “Thank you for speaking up for me. If you’re free, let me treat you to some fruit drinks and pastries across the street.”

It was just past noon, so she couldn’t invite them for a meal, only for some sweets as a gesture. Wei Lan figured the girls would likely decline.

Then she heard Lu Shihua’s excited voice. “Yes! If you’re treating, we’re definitely going,” she said.

Wei Lan gave an awkward smile to the girls. Well, they were quite enthusiastic.

So, Wei Lan sent the guards back, keeping only Xi Ye with her. She took the five girls to the tavern across the street, ordering a bowl of fruit drink for each and seven or eight small pastries.

“You spoke for me out there for so long. You must be thirsty. Drink something cool to calm down,” Wei Lan said with a smile.

“No problem. Those people were foul-mouthed. You’re so good, of course we know you couldn’t be like that,” one girl said.

“Exactly. I didn’t expect Chen Zhou to be that kind of person. I’ll tell my father to avoid business with him,” another added.

“Right. He’s so calculating with others, who’s to say he won’t stab his partners in the back later?” a third said.

“Yes, I’ll warn my father to be careful with the Chen Mansion,” Lu Shihua said.

Wei Lan agreed with the girls’ words. A shameless person like Chen Zhou could seem respectable until exposed. Once revealed, he might act desperately, so Wei Lan planned to instruct the mansion’s guards to strengthen patrols to prevent Chen Zhou from exploiting any gaps.

“By the way, Sister Wei Lan, you must be careful. Chen Zhou surely holds a grudge against you,” one girl said.

“Yes, yes, stay safe. If anything happens, come to my father for help,” Lu Shihua added quickly.

“Good, thank you for the reminder. I’ll be cautious. Thanks for today. I’ll treat you to a meal another day to show my gratitude,” Wei Lan said politely.

“Great, Sister Wei Lan. If you’re treating, we’ll definitely go,” the girls replied.

After finally seeing the girls off, Wei Lan returned to the Lu Mansion with Xi Ye. She gathered the guards for a briefing, specifically telling the guard leader, Hang Shuyao, about recent events, instructing her to strengthen patrols. She also ensured more guards stayed with Lu Zijin to prevent the Chen Mansion from acting desperately.

Back at Jingchen Courtyard, Wei Lan bathed first. Having met other Kunze today, she wanted to avoid upsetting her wife by ensuring she was clean.

In the afternoon, Lu Zijin returned to the mansion early, worried about Wei Lan, and went straight to the bedroom.

“Has the matter with Wei Wenyuan been resolved?” Lu Zijin asked.

Wei Lan nodded. “He can’t stir up much trouble. The real issue is Chen Zhou behind him. No need to guess—it’s definitely Chen Zhou’s doing. Madam, if you go out these days, take more guards. I’m worried Chen Zhou might act desperately,” she said.

“Hmm, I understand. You too—don’t go out with just Xi Ye. Take more guards so I can feel at ease,” Lu Zijin replied.

“Good. I think the Chen Mansion’s business won’t hold up much longer,” Wei Lan said, happily moving closer to hug Lu Zijin.

Lu Zijin leaned into Wei Lan’s embrace, her expression slightly worried. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. The Chen Family is a major household in Panyang City. Even if we’re suppressing them now, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Their wealth is vast—it won’t run dry even in a decade. We can’t be careless,” she said.

“Hmm, I understand. We just can’t let them succeed,” Wei Lan said, leaning in to kiss Lu Zijin’s cheek.

Lu Zijin playfully bit Wei Lan’s lip, then smiled, hooking Wei Lan’s chin. “I heard after handling the matter, you went to a tavern with some young girls for pastries?” she teased.

“Oh, those girls were defending me earlier. I was just being polite, not expecting them to actually take me up on it. But since they helped, treating them to something wasn’t a big deal. Madam, you’re not mad, are you?” Wei Lan said softly, nuzzling her cheek against Lu Zijin’s shoulder.

Lu Zijin was only teasing and wasn’t truly upset. She kissed Wei Lan’s ear tip and laughed. “Of course not. My little dog is so good and soft, barely able to handle me alone. How could you go out flirting?” she said.

Hearing this, Wei Lan looked at Lu Zijin with a wronged expression. What? Madam was slandering her. She was clearly very fierce, wasn’t she?