With Ding Zhao standing there, Madam Jiang truly didn’t dare make a scene. She looked as if her soul had left her body.
The Marquis was also dumbfounded. He turned to look at his father.
But the old Marquis didn’t even glance at him. He walked up to Ding Zhao and said, “Thank you, Steward Ding, for making this trip. You’ve worked hard.”
“Please don’t say that, Old Marquis,” Ding Zhao said with a smile. “Now that the matter is settled, I must return to report to His Majesty. Take care of your health.”
The steward beside the old Marquis quickly stepped forward to see Ding Zhao out, secretly slipping him a fat pouch of silver.
Ding Zhao didn’t refuse and left in large strides.
Everyone else in the Marquis Residence looked at each other in shock—especially Duan Yu and his wife, who felt like a pie had fallen from the sky. Madam Xiao tried hard not to laugh. My goodness, I’m really the Marquis Madam now?
It felt like a dream.
But when she saw her mother-in-law’s expression, she didn’t dare show a trace of joy. She kept her head down with a nervous look on her face.
Duan Yu quickly stepped up to his grandfather. “Grandfather, you—?”
The Old Madam hadn’t expected her husband to go and do something so major without a word. Looking at her disappointing eldest son, then at her grandson, she sighed heavily and said nothing.
As for the second and third branches of the family, their eyes darted around, but none dared say a word.
Even if the title had changed hands, it still didn’t fall to either of their branches.
However, it was still a good thing that the eldest nephew was more reliable than his father.
Duan Ning lowered his head and remained silent—this kind of occasion called for quiet observation.
Duan Qi, on the other hand, looked much more conflicted. He was angry at his father’s irresponsibility but also worried that his mother wouldn’t be able to bear the blow. His young brows were tightly furrowed as he stepped forward to support her.
At that moment, as soon as her son reached out, Madam Jiang seemed to have her soul snapped back into her body. With a loud wail, she lunged toward Dingyuan Marquis—oh no, now just Eldest Lord Duan.
If he hadn’t insisted on bringing that vixen into the house as a concubine, how would it have driven her father-in-law to the point of going to the palace to request a royal decree!
Caught off guard, Lord Duan was scratched across the face by his wife’s fingernails, blood instantly flowing.
The scene turned chaotic in an instant.
“You shrew! I’ll divorce you!” Lord Duan, thoroughly humiliated today, finally exploded and threw Madam Jiang to the ground.
Unprepared for her husband to lash out, Madam Jiang was shoved hard with a “bang” and fell to the floor.
“Father!”
“Father, what are you doing?!”
Duan Yu and Duan Qi rushed forward to help their mother.
Duan Ning also followed cautiously to assist his di mother.
Madam Jiang covered her face with a handkerchief and began to sob. She had lived a life of glory for half her years, and now, utterly disgraced, she simply couldn’t take it.
Lord Duan shouted furiously, “Didn’t you all see she was the one who struck first? Look at my face! How can I face anyone like this?”
“Silence, all of you!” the Old Master roared.
Both Lord Duan and Madam Jiang shut their mouths instantly in fear.
Duan Mingxi stood with a pale Duan Qingyin on one side and held Duan Rong’s hand tightly on the other. Duan Min was also close by, and the expressions on the cousins’ faces were all grim.
With a cold gaze, she swept over the couple. Things had come to this point, and Madam Jiang still hadn’t realized that she had played a role in her husband losing his noble title.
“Since that woman claimed she loved you sincerely and truly, regardless of your status, and you said she was as pure as a lotus emerging from clear water, uninterested in worldly power—since your love is so pure, then as your father, I will naturally fulfill your wishes.”
The Old Master’s words were like thunder, and Lord Duan’s face twitched. He didn’t dare say a word in front of his father.
Anything he said now would be like slapping himself in the face.
The Old Master then turned to Madam Jiang and said, “You were quick to deal with the maid beside Huirou, but the in-laws have clearly overstepped. The girls of our Duan family are not their pawns.”
Madam Jiang flushed a deep red and stammered, “Father, you’ve misunderstood…”
“Whether it’s a misunderstanding, you know clearly in your heart. But after today, I suppose your in-laws won’t cling to you anymore.”
After all, she was no longer of any use to them.
Madam Jiang’s face instantly turned ashen.
Duan Huirou looked as though she had been struck by lightning, nearly fainting on the spot.
Lord Duan, unaware of the implications, immediately turned to his wife, “What does Father mean? What has the Jiang family done now?”
So it wasn’t just about Wan Er—there was something with the Jiang family too that had made Father so furious he stripped his noble title!
The couple started arguing on the spot, completely forgetting about propriety.
The second and third madams exchanged glances, feeling a little guilty—they hadn’t expected things to escalate like this.
At the time, they had only wanted their husbands to tarnish the reputation of the main household a little in front of their father-in-law.
The Old Madam, seeing the eldest couple making a scene with no regard for decency, snapped angrily, “Still have the face to argue here? Go back and reflect on yourselves!”
Madam Jiang, reprimanded by her mother-in-law and humiliated so thoroughly, couldn’t take it anymore. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
Madam Xiao, heavily pregnant, quickly ordered servants to carry her back to her courtyard and summoned a physician. The place became even more chaotic.
Lord Duan, his face like iron, couldn’t bear the shame of losing his title. He flung his sleeves and stormed off.
Duan Yu, torn between parents, could only chase after his father.
Duan Qi and Duan Huirou went with their mother to her courtyard. Duan Ning hesitated for a moment, then followed as well.
With the Old Master and Old Madam gone, the remaining onlookers exchanged glances and quietly dispersed.
What a dramatic scene it had been.
Back in her courtyard, Mingxi reflected that although she had anticipated her grandfather would step in, she hadn’t expected him to strike so harshly.
Still, the outcome was exactly what she wanted.
Neither of the couple was reliable. Rather than worrying every day about which one of them would cause trouble and drag the entire household down with them, her grandfather’s clean sweep approach was admirable.
Though it would damage their reputation, that didn’t matter compared to the likes of Qiao Wan and the Jiang family.
Yang Yiniang was speechless for a long time after hearing from her daughter about the day’s events.
Once she came to, she cursed Qiao Wan viciously while sobbing uncontrollably into her handkerchief.
“Yiniang, why are you crying?” Duan Qingyin hurried to console her. “What’s done is done. Grandfather has made his decision. Don’t be sad.”
“My poor girl, I’m just heartbroken for your misfortune,” Yang Yiniang sobbed even harder.
Duan Qingyin asked in confusion, “What does this have to do with me?”
“You silly child, it has everything to do with you. The daughter of the Marquis and the Marquis’s younger sister being proposed for marriage—how can that possibly be the same?” Yang Yiniang said, nearly blacking out from anger, wishing she could tear Qiao Wan to pieces.
Only then did Duan Qingyin understand. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.
Yes—what would happen to her marriage?
She was no longer the Marquis daughter, just an illegitimate child. Her marriage prospects would surely be even worse now.
The more Yang Yiniang thought about it, the angrier she became, and by the next day, she had fallen ill from sheer frustration.
Mingxi came to visit and, knowing what was on her mind, said reassuringly, “Yiniang, don’t worry. Third Sister still has Second Brother, and he has a bright future ahead of him—he’s her greatest support. And besides, she still has me.”
