The next day, it was all over the teahouses and taverns that the eldest daughter of the prefect's family was jealous of her cousin who had married the number - one young master in Liuzhou City, and she had pushed her pregnant cousin to the ground.
Even more outrageously, it was said that this eldest daughter often met men in taverns.
"Tsk tsk tsk. It's obvious that the eldest lady is dying for a man!"
In no time, Song Jinyu's reputation in Liuzhou City was in tatters. All the noble ladies and young misses looked down on her.
"This is simply going too far!" Niaoniao's little face flushed with anger.
"Don't be hasty. Let's first see what Song Wangqiu is up to." Jinyu remained calm. Anyway, she didn't care about such false reputations.
"Miss, miss!" The purchasing maid came back looking extremely embarrassed.
"They, they are now spreading that Miss is lovesick for the eldest young master of the He family!"
"And they say that the He family doesn't mind Miss and wants to take her as a co - wife!"
Jinyu suddenly stood up. Did they really think she was a soft target?
So this was their trap for her. First ruin her reputation and then force her to become He Shuda's co - wife?
If so, the Second Lady wouldn't have an easy time either. Jinyu cracked her wrists and decided to send Cheng Song to do something.
In the Prince Yu's Mansion, someone was also extremely angry about this.
"Qingfeng!" Prince Yu slammed the teacup in his hand down.
"Where are the He family's businesses?"
"Are they being so reckless because they have the backing of Concubine He?"
Seeing that the prince was so angry about Miss Song's reputation, Qingfeng didn't even dare to breathe loudly. But he was thinking: The He family was probably doomed.
"Send people to deal with the He family's businesses!"
"I'll only give you one month."
"There will be no more number - one young master in Liuzhou!"
The Second Lady sneezed at home. She only felt the autumn chill and that her body was not as good as before. Her figure had greatly changed.
While the Second Master was away at the manor, she went to the concubine's courtyard to show off her authority as the mistress.
The concubine was no ordinary woman. Instead of shouting and screaming, she kept giving in to the Second Lady, only hoping to give birth to her child smoothly.
Although the Second Lady was vicious and wanted to get rid of this child, the Second Master had said that day: If anything happened to this child, she would no longer be the Second Lady.
So she could only show off verbally.
The Second Master came back early today. Since the doctor had diagnosed the concubine's baby as a boy last time, the Second Master's mood had changed instantly. So he was especially dedicated to the family's business and manor affairs.
He passed by the Second Lady's courtyard and originally didn't plan to go in. But then he thought that after the son was born, he would be registered under the name of the legitimate mother and inherit his family business as the legitimate son. So he wanted to repair their relationship.
But he didn't expect that there was no one in the front hall, but there were some unusual noises in the inner room.
The bed had thick curtains drawn, and only a human foot was sticking out.
The Second Master took a closer look, and his blood rushed to his head. This was definitely not a woman's foot!
Suddenly, he pulled open the curtain.
A fat and greasy man, his face flushed and his clothes half - undone, was lying on the Second Lady's bed.
The Second Master's hands trembled with anger. The maids outside heard the noise and rushed in. They were so scared that their faces turned pale.
The Second Lady just came in from outside. Seeing the Second Master's servants there, she smugly thought they were here to see her.
But as soon as she went in, she slumped to the ground, her lips trembling. "What's going on?"
It turned out that the unconscious man on the bed was the fat butcher, the Second Lady's old lover. Just then, the fat butcher woke up. Seeing the Second Lady, he shouted, "Baby! I've missed you so much!"
Hearing this, the Second Lady's face turned as pale as paper. The Second Master slapped the Second Lady across the face.
"How dare you disgrace the Song family like this?!"
The concubine who had just been bullied was standing at the door, leisurely rubbing her belly and watching this good show.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Second Lady would be divorced. Her son didn't need to be adopted by the legitimate mother to inherit the Song family.
A mocking smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
The news that the Second Lady was divorced reached the He Mansion. Song Wangqiu was so shocked that she wanted to go back home immediately.
The eldest mistress of the He family suddenly came in from outside.
"I'm sure you've heard about what happened in your natal family!" Song Wangqiu lowered her head and didn't dare to reply.
"Since you've married into our family, you can't interfere in your natal family's affairs, especially such a dirty one." The eldest mistress of the He family had a strong aura. She was from a noble family and really looked down on such underhanded means.
"So, the eldest young mistress should just take good care of the baby in peace." With this one sentence, Song Wangqiu's hope was dashed. Not only couldn't she go back home to save her mother, but she was also put under house arrest. Tears welled up in her eyes. She could only pin her hopes on He Shuda.
Little did she know that He Shuda was even more miserable at this moment.
Because of his immoral behavior, frequenting brothels and pleasure boats, he was not only deprived of his title as a juren but also disqualified from the imperial examinations for three years.
At this moment, the head of the He family was also worried about the salt - trading license for the second city. Since the prefect of Yucheng had found problems with the He family's salt - trading license, the cloth shops in Liuzhou City were suspected of colluding with foreign merchants.
The He family's salt - trading license was in jeopardy. The head of the He family sent a letter to the imperial concubine in the palace, but it was intercepted and sent to the emperor. The emperor was furious after learning about it and scolded the concubine.
The He family gradually declined. In just one month, it was removed from the list of the top ten families in Liuzhou. When people mentioned He Shuda again, they only regarded him as a playboy. In the past, he had slandered the prefect's daughter's reputation in order to curry favor with the Song family.
All of a sudden, all the gossips turned towards the He family. For days on end, the He family was at the center of the public opinion storm in Liuzhou City.
Song Jinyu was very surprised. Who had the He family offended?
She had only sent the fat butcher to the Second Lady's house, hoping that the Second Master would divorce the Second Lady and thus strike at Song Wangqiu. But she didn't expect that the He family would then be hit by a series of disasters.
Anyway, she could enjoy some peace for a while. She just waited for the day when her father was in a good mood and then asked him to go back to Tianmen Mountain.
Song Wangqiu cried every day. Finally, she managed to wait for He Shuda, but he scolded her: "Bad luck!"
After her mother was divorced and went back home, she couldn't bear the scolding from her family and committed suicide. She no longer had any backer. She had completely offended her uncle last time. So all she had left was the baby in her belly.
Because she often cried and was in an unstable mood, her body became extremely weak. The eldest mistress of the He family came to see her a few times and then never came again.
From then on, Song Wangqiu not only lost the favor of her in - laws but also the love of her husband.