Chapter 5: The Seventh Wife

  "Not bad, using a slave to deceive the master, and then killing the master!" Wang Guanlan's face had already turned pale, and the coldness hidden in the corner of his mouth finally surfaced. "Three months ago, I fell into the pond in Zhifeng Garden, and everyone in the mansion thought it was because I lost my footing and fell into the water, but that wasn't the case. I was pushed into the pond by him!"

  Wang Guanlan turned around and pointed his finger in the direction of Wang Guanchao.

  The time in Baihua Garden seemed to freeze at this moment, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the direction pointed by Wang Guanlan!

  Wang Guanchao's face turned pale, he hadn't expected Wang Guanlan to know that it was him who did it, nor had he expected Wang Guanlan to suddenly reveal the matter at this time. Although he was confident that even if Wang Guanlan knew the truth and exposed the fact that he was the one who pushed him into the pond, he wouldn't be afraid. However, being suddenly accused in front of everyone in the mansion, especially in front of the intimidating Wang Xiantang, made his heart skip a beat, and his face turned pale in an instant.

  "Wang Guanlan, you, you, you mustn't speak with a bloody mouth!!!!"

  After all, he was just a thirteen or fourteen year old boy, and had no idea that in his excitement, he had completely revealed his secret to the few old foxes present. Of course, he also had no idea that Wang Guanlan was not referring to him.

  It was indeed he who pushed Wang Guanlan into the pond, but he was not a slave of Wang Guanlan. His status in the Wang Mansion was slightly higher than that of Wang Guanlan.

  Deceive the master with slaves, kill the master with slaves!!

  These two sentences cannot be added on his head.

  It was just at this moment that he didn't have the heart to think carefully!

  The early spring wind, like a knife, swept across Wang Guantai's face. His complexion changed from its original panic and excitement to flush, then from flush to pale, and finally to iron blue. After experiencing the initial chaos and fluidity, he finally saw clearly the direction of Wang Guanlan's pointing finger.

  It wasn't pointing at him, but at the sturdy young man behind him. Just now, it was this young man who slapped Green Lotus in the face.

  "Eleventh brother, I didn't say it was you, I said it was that servant behind you. That day, I saw him with my own eyes push me into the pond. Later, I got a shock and forgot about the whole thing. Everyone thought I had slipped and fallen into the water. Unfortunately, yesterday I regained my memory and remembered the scene clearly. It was this guy named Wang Cheng who pushed me into the pond!"

  Another awkward silence, and at the same time, Wang Xiantang's gaze, as sharp as a knife, was already fixed on Wang Cheng's face.

  Wang Cheng, also known as that sturdy young man, was stunned for a moment.

  "He's talking nonsense, it wasn't me!"

  "Isn't it you?" Wang Guanlan's smile at the corner of his mouth was as cold as a winter breeze on a snowy night.

  "As far as I know, Eldest Brother was in the White Birch Garden all day. You're his personal servant, and by rights, you should have been with him the whole time too. How did you end up in Golden Autumn Garden? Golden Autumn Garden is on the opposite side of the estate from White Birch Garden, and it's a pretty desolate place even within the manor. Even if you were helping Eldest Brother with something, there's no way you would have gone all the way to Golden Autumn Garden... right?!

  Wang Guanlan's tone grew colder and colder, her words dripping with an icy intent. "Don't try telling me you didn't go there. Although Golden Autumn Garden is a bit remote, the path from White Birch Garden to Golden Autumn Garden passes through four routes that the guards patrol regularly. The guards are always on the move within the manor. I fell into the pond at exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, which just so happens to be when the guards would have been passing by. And it was the guards who rescued me! If you had gone straight from White Birch Garden to Golden Autumn Garden, there's no way the guards wouldn't have seen you. If you don't believe me, we can call in the guards from that day and ask them to testify!"

  "This——!"

  Wang Cheng wanted to speak but stopped, Wang Guanchao's iron-green face still maintained its composure, while Wang Guanlan's sudden attack made the 14-year-old boy gradually lose his ability to defend himself.

  "It was I who told Wang Cheng to go to Jin Qiuyuan, the day before yesterday I lost a gold ornament in Jin Qiuyuan, that day I thought of it and let Wang Cheng go get it, what's wrong with that?!" Just as Wang Guantao and Wang Cheng were unable to refute, a clear voice came from Bai Huayuan.

  "Met Mrs. Seven!"

  "Mother!!"

  "Seventh wife!!"

  ……………

  …………

  A gentle breeze swept by, and a beautiful young woman in her late 20s, wearing a pink and white cheongsam, walked over with a charming smile. Her eyebrows and eyes sparkled with spring-like beauty, and her large, watery eyes seemed to possess an enchanting charm that left the two elderly family members behind Wang Xiantang stunned.

  Yu Ji has seen three seniors! The Seventh Lady walked in front of Wang Xian Tang and the others, and paid her respects.

  Wang Xianmin and Wang Xianping also came back to their senses at this time, nodding slightly. As for Wang Xiantang, he didn't even nod his head, and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes.

  She was just a concubine, although in the palace she was called the Seventh Lady. The status of a concubine was not much higher than that of a slave girl. In the mansion, her position was even lower than that of her own son. However, this was only a restriction of etiquette. In reality, even slaves could deceive their masters, let alone a concubine who had borne a son and was favored by the master.

  Wang Guanlan keenly caught the displeasure in Wang Xiandang's eyes and secretly laughed to himself. The reason why Wang Xiandang could become a sect leader was not only because he possessed superior martial arts skills, but also because he was a scholar from a prestigious background.

  Scholar, Provincial Graduate, Metropolitan Graduate

  The path for scholars of the Great Xia Dynasty to rise from obscurity to prominence is one that no one can bypass, not even a powerful and influential family like the Ning Wang Fu. Even the sons and younger brothers of such families cannot bypass these three checkpoints. From this perspective, being born into nobility and being born into poverty are equal.

  Scholar!

  Among ten thousand readers, there are probably more than twenty writers.

  Out of 10,000 xiucai, it's already quite good if ten can become juren.

  Advanced Scholar

  Among ten thousand candidates, there can be only one winner.

  Wang Xiantang was a juren, and also had the second-best martial arts skills in the mansion. Therefore, he was the person with the most power in the mansion, next only to Ning Wang Wang Bicheng. It was precisely because of his background as a juren that after reading so many years of books, his temperament naturally received the influence of wenren (literati), and deep down, he was still a literati. In polite terms, he was a literati; in less polite terms, he was a corrupt Confucian scholar. People like him had a deep-seated contempt for women, and what they despised most were women like the Seventh Lady who were flirtatious and seductive. The Seventh Lady's behavior seemed polite on the surface, but she had already greatly lost face in Wang Xiantang's heart.

  "What a stupid woman, really thinking she's the concubine of Ning Wang and everyone has to show respect to her. And yet, she hasn't even slept with King Xian Tang! " Wang Guanlan thought maliciously in her heart, while her facial expression remained calm and fearless as she stared straight at Seventh Lady, "Are you implying that it was you who instructed this guy to push me into the pond in Jin Qiuyuan?"

  The smile on the face of the seven ladies froze, and an unbelievable color flashed in her watery eyes. In her impression, Wang Guanlan had always been a young man with a somewhat weak personality, although he was ambitious, but lacked a strong heart, and was not difficult to deal with, so she secretly allowed Wang Guantao's behavior, also for the sake of her own son's future, to eliminate an opponent in advance. It seemed that it was successful, but now, under Wang Guanlan's calm gaze, her heart became colder and colder.

  "You think you can take me on, little girl? You're far from being my match!!" Wang Guanlan sneered inwardly. The Seventh Madame had some influence in the manor, and to the servants, she was an unattainable existence. But to Wang Guanlan, she wasn't worth paying attention to. In terms of status, he was the son of the Ning King, although not the crown prince, but also not someone who could be moved by a mere concubine, even if that concubine had borne a son.

  "Your words say that Wang Quan pushed you into the pond, but is there any evidence?" Seventh Lady raised an eyebrow and asked back.

  "I dare to say this, of course, there is evidence!" Wang Guanlan said calmly, then her gaze moved away from the Seventh Lady and never looked at her again. "However, Eleventh Brother, you keep saying that my maid stole your things, do you have any evidence?"

  "Ah?!" Wang Guanlan suddenly made a feint, pointing the spearhead at Wang Guanchao again. In an instant, Wang Guanchao felt caught off guard, his heart already in disarray.

  "If you can't produce evidence, then let them go. This small matter is not worth mentioning!" Wang Guanlan smiled lightly and turned to Lianxin, "Lianxin, go help Qinghe up and take her back. You two have nothing to do with this place anymore!"

  "Is that so?!" Lotus Heart replied cautiously, looking up at the crowd with a glance, seeing no one stopping her, she quickly ran to Green Lotus's side and helped her up, slowly supporting her out of White Birch Garden. In this process, no one spoke, nor did anyone stop them, everyone just looked at the two women with a glance, letting them leave. King Quan saw that they were about to walk out of White Birch Garden, his body slightly moved, as if he wanted to say something, but under King Guanlan's icy gaze, he didn't make a sound.

  "All right, now it's time for me to talk about my own affairs!" Wang Guanlan said, watching her two maids leave the White Birch Garden and turning around.

  "Wang Guanlan, the person has already been released, what else do you want?!" Wang Guanchao's iron-like face turned bright red as he let out a fierce shriek.

  "Eleventh brother, what you said is quite interesting. Do you think I was startled by the Fourth Master just for a small servant girl? Do you think I said that earlier just to have an exchange condition to let you release a small servant girl? Eleventh brother, you are really too naive!" Wang Guanlan said coldly and indifferently, not paying attention to Wang Guantao's expression. "Fourteenth Madame, you said that Wang Quan went to Jin Qiuyuan to help you find your lost gold ornament. Then, I'd like to ask you, when did you go to Jin Qiuyuan?"

  "Are you questioning me?!" The Seventh Lady's face sank, and she asked in a stern voice.

  "Why can't I interrogate you?!" Wang Guanlan sneered, her voice suddenly sharp and stern, not giving the slightest bit of face to this Seventh Madame.

  "How dare you, a mere bookworm, speak to me in such a tone! Don't forget that I am your elder!" The Seventh Lady pointed at Wang Guanlan and shouted in a shrill voice.