Tianliangyuan

Chapter 378 Living the life you despise most

Jiang Ning's thoughts were immediately exposed, and she dared not speak.

"Since you know you're wrong, go outside and kneel for two hours. In addition, I'll fine you three months' wages and confine you for one month. Do you accept this?"

Jiang Ning felt a mouthful of blood rise to her throat, and she almost spat it out.

Jiang Ning wanted to protest and make a scene, but the problem was, she was just a concubine, where did she get the audacity to oppose the princess?

Zhao Yue's cold gaze sent a shiver down Jiang Ning's spine.

Only after Zhao Yue left did a head maid stand in front of Jiang Ning: "Madam Jiang, please."

At this moment, countless ways to escape punishment flashed through Jiang Ning's mind, including but not limited to faking illness or fainting.

But she didn't have that opportunity.

"Madam Jiang, it's only two hours, it will pass quickly. Please hurry up, so as not to make things difficult for us servants."

"Granny, the Princess didn't say anything about being punished by kneeling right now!"

“Madam Jiang, kneeling now will only last for two hours. If you kneel any later, things may change.”

This is already a threat.

Jiang Ning had no choice but to grit her teeth and kneel outside.

She dared not refuse to kneel!

In fact, Zhao Yue felt no guilt about punishing her this time. She had heard that many people had come to the Jiang family to complain, so she was punishing her openly and honestly. She believed that the Jiang family would not dare to say that she was mistreating Jiang Ning.

Everything went as Zhao Yue had predicted.

When the Jiang family received the message sent back by Jiang Ning, they simply acknowledged it indifferently, showing no intention of standing up for Jiang Ning.

Jiang Yanping shook his head. This daughter of his was getting more and more foolish.

Now that things have escalated so much, the fact that Princess Zhong only punished the Jiang family by making them kneel and reducing their monthly salary is already a great concession.

If someone else had committed such a grave mistake, they would probably have been beaten half to death to vent their anger.

When Grand Tutor Jiang learned of this, he called his sons and daughters-in-law together after dinner.

"This is outrageous! Who taught Jiang Ning such a despicable trick?"

No one dared to utter a sound; even Madam Deng shrank back, not daring to raise her head.

"If she were truly capable, she could have done it flawlessly, but not only did she fail to cause Xu Zhaozhao the slightest loss, she also caused my Jiang family to make countless enemies. What is she trying to do? Does she think life in the Prince Zhong's mansion is too easy?"

Jiang Yanhui rolled his eyes: "Father, what's done is done. Let's think about how to appease those families first. Although Ning'er's actions were inappropriate, her intention was not to bring trouble to the Jiang family. However, we should still send someone to the Prince Zhong's residence to find out why Ning'er is targeting Xu Zhaozhao."

This is to the point.

What grudge could they possibly have?

Song Shi, who was standing to the side, was also going through the events of the past in her mind, but she still couldn't find a reason for Jiang Ning to target Xu Zhaozhao.

Take the initial incident of the vicious dog attacking people, for example. The fault lay with Jiang Ning, while Xu Zhaozhao and the others should be considered victims.

Upon further reflection, Song realized that the vicious dog incident was Jiang Ning's deliberate attempt to target Xu Zhaozhao, hoping to disfigure or even kill her!

But why?

What is Jiang Ning's purpose in doing all this?

After all, in their impression, Xu Zhaozhao had never provoked Jiang Ning. It was always Jiang Ning or the former Jiang Wenhe who took the initiative to cause trouble, and then they would retaliate.

The same is true this time.

They were convinced that Xu Zhaozhao had arranged for someone to push the rumors forward, otherwise, how could they have spread so widely?

But do they have any evidence?

No.

Therefore, they had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill. They not only had to apologize to those companies, but also had to discipline Jiang Ning properly.

Thinking about it, it seems that the Jiang family is the most wronged, as they have always been dragged down by Jiang Ning.

Since Deng was unable to leave the house, Song brought Jiang Yuan to visit her the next day.

Jiang Yuan harbors resentment towards Jiang Ning.

If it weren't for what those two sisters did, how could my marriage have been hindered?

Jiang Ning had mocked Xie's two illegitimate daughters more than once before, but she never considered that she also had cousins, all of whom had been implicated by her and Jiang Fu.

Yesterday, Jiang Ning was indeed punished by kneeling for two hours. At first, she was kneeling on the bluestone slab. Later, the princess sent someone to bring her a reed-woven cushion, which made Jiang Ning feel a little better.

But no matter how much it feels better, you're still kneeling.

For someone like Jiang Ning, who was once a high-ranking noblewoman, this was a double torment of both body and mind!

She's the daughter of the Jiang family.

Now she was being forced to kneel in public, with servants coming and going in the courtyard. Some of them were even there on purpose to see her kneeling there, their eyes filled with humiliation.

Jiang Ning felt that this was the most humiliating day of her life, which she had lived for more than ten years.

My knee wasn't broken, but it was very red and swollen.

Although I applied the medicine as soon as I got back yesterday, I'm still in so much pain today that I can't get out of bed.

When Madam Song brought Jiang Yuan to visit, she naturally had to pay her respects to the Princess first. Only after receiving the Princess's permission did she go to see Jiang Ning.

This is a matter of etiquette.

Who told Jiang Ning to be just a woman!

Zhao Yue spoke politely, without any hint of embarrassment. She even subtly revealed that she was under pressure and had to give those families an explanation.

Song could understand this.

Upon seeing her second aunt, Jiang Ning's pent-up grievances instantly turned into tears that streamed down her face.

There was a time when she looked down on concubines the most!

But now, she has become the very thing she despised the most.

"Second Aunt, did Grandfather send you to see me?"

Seeing her like this, Madam Song couldn't bring herself to say anything to criticize her.

Jiang Ning's eyes were swollen; she must have cried a lot last night.

"I came here today on my father's orders, but he asked me to ask you a question: When exactly did Xu Zhaozhao offend you, and why did you attack her several times? Jiang Ning, I hope you can tell me the truth, after all, our Jiang family can't afford any more turmoil right now."

Although Madam Song has now regained her status as an official's wife, her husband has not yet been given an important position and is currently only holding a sinecure, which is not enough to make the noble ladies look at her with respect.

Jiang Ning hadn't expected that she would come to confront him.

Jiang Ning wasn't stupid. Thinking about what she had done before and the consequences, she felt her mind was in complete chaos.

Things turned out very differently from what she had envisioned.

So, where exactly did things go wrong?

"What makes you say that, Second Aunt?"

Song's eyes darkened. At this point, they still wanted to get away with it?

"Jiang Ning, you should know that your current situation in the Prince Zhong's mansion depends entirely on the stability of our Jiang family. If the Jiang family is implicated, do you think the Prince and Princess will still treat you as before?"