Therefore, after she learned that Lady Jiang had once nearly become a camp prostitute, she immediately ordered her men to start investigating Lady Jiang's past.
Although many years had passed and many leads had gone cold, her men still managed to find some clues.
True to her expectations, they discovered some even more shocking news:
Before Lady Jiang's family fell into decline and she was sent to the music bureau, she had lived a life of hunger. To get enough to eat, the Jiang family even married off their just - of - age daughter to a farmer.
But unable to bear the beatings from her husband and mother - in - law, Lady Jiang remarried a local butcher and even had a daughter with him.
When the imperial order came, Lady Jiang was eventually sent to the music bureau.
However, the luxurious life made Lady Jiang no longer willing to go back to a hard life. She asked the Jiang family to find out the whereabouts of the Yun family.
After learning that Yun Sheng, the man she was once betrothed to, had become a high - ranking official in the capital, the Jiang family desperately tried to climb up this powerful family. They almost exhausted all their savings and capabilities and finally managed to send Lady Jiang into the Yun family!
The Jiang family thought they could rely on the powerful Yun family for a better life, but Lady Jiang was worried that her past marriages would be exposed. So she gave the Jiang family a large amount of silver and asked them to kill off the witnesses!
The Jiang family and Lady Jiang were in the same boat. Naturally, they didn't want to lose their new - found wealth. So they did as she asked.
They never expected that after Lady Jiang learned that her two husbands and child were dead, she turned her butcher's knife on her own family!
Later, Lady Jiang's parents and elder brother were all killed by bandits in a disaster.
Only her cousin Jiang Da's family, who knew little about these things, was left and used by Lady Jiang as a weapon in her hands.
Yun Xi openly told Yue E the purpose of her search and the feud between herself and Lady Jiang. Yue E listened attentively, her expression surprisingly calm.
It seemed that Yue E was not at all surprised by Lady Jiang's evil deeds.
After Yun Xi finished speaking, Yue E lifted her long hair, revealing the scar on her face.
"Your Highness, do you know how I got this scar on my face?"
Yun Xi had a vague guess but still shook her head.
She had secretly investigated for a long time and knew about Lady Jiang's general crimes and the Jiang family's schemes, but she was not clear about the specific details.
Yue E let out a bitter smile and began to tell her story:
"When I was five years old, our house suddenly caught fire in the middle of the night. My father and I tried to escape, but we found that the doors and windows were blocked. We called for help but got no response! My father was injured by a falling beam while protecting me and became disabled for life. That's when I got burned on my face!"
"Fortunately, my father remembered there was a cellar in the house for storing radishes. So my father and I hid in it for two whole days and finally survived!"
Listening to Yue E's tragic experience, Yun Xi's eyes darkened with great anger.
She couldn't help but think of the abuse she suffered from Lady Jiang in her previous life. But Yue E was different. She was Lady Jiang's own flesh and blood!
It was hard to imagine that for the sake of her own wealth and future, that woman could kill her relatives and even harm her own bloodline! Her crimes were simply outrageous!
Thinking of the hardships she and her father had endured while depending on each other, Yue E wiped away her tears and said:
"You must be very curious about how my father and I found out that it was her who harmed us?"
"The fire burned for a whole day and night. Just as my father and I were about to come out, we heard footsteps outside. It turned out that those people were worried that we were still alive and came to confirm."
"Fortunately, it was around the New Year. My father had just slaughtered two pigs, a big one and a small one, and they were burned beyond recognition. So those people just reported the matter casually and didn't continue to hunt us down."
"But we learned from their conversation that the person who wanted to kill us was my own mother!"
So, she and her father had lived incognito and secretly searched for her biological mother for many years, not to reunite with her, but to expose her past evil deeds and let her get the due punishment!
She originally thought that Yun Xi was helping her on behalf of her mother to ask for forgiveness. That's why she was so repulsive.
But now that she knew Yun Xi's purpose was also to deal with her mother, Yue E immediately regained her spirit and knelt down in front of Yun Xi again.
"Your Highness, I have no other wishes in my life. I just want my father to see the evil - doer punished before he dies!"
"However, her status is so different from mine. I know I'm no match for her. So I beg Your Highness to help me avenge this. Even if you ask me to go through fire and water, I will not hesitate!"
After Yue E left, Yun Xi sat in the chair without saying a word for a long time. Zhao Chunsheng knew he had overstepped his bounds and bowed to apologize.
"Miss, Zhao Chunsheng acted on his own and violated your wishes. If you want to punish me, I have no complaints!"
Although he didn't regret his previous decision, after all, he had ignored Yun Xi's feelings and was wrong first.
He also had to bear the corresponding consequences!
Although Zhao Chunsheng had given up the pen for business, he still retained the rigidity of a scholar in his bones.
Yun Xi calmly looked at Zhao Chunsheng's upright face and slowly sighed.
"Zhao Chunsheng, I know you are loyal to me, but some things can't be judged only by the result. I have my own principles and bottom - lines, and I will never cross them!"
"So remember: this is the only time!"
Maybe Zhao Chunsheng thought she was being soft - hearted and shouldn't be hesitant on matters of right and wrong.
However, if she resorted to any means to achieve her goal, how was she different from Lady Jiang?
"As the ancients said: a person who has no sense of shame is not a real person. It is because I have a bottom - line and a sense of shame that I can always stay sober. I won't let myself become unrecognizable because of hatred!"
"The most terrible thing is to lose oneself!"
She understood that Aunt Qin and Zhao Chunsheng had been doing their best for her, but she never wanted these people to become numb or even hideous because of her.
So, she should be more clear about and restrain her own behavior to avoid harming these loyal people!
Originally, Zhao Chunsheng thought he hadn't made a big mistake. However, after hearing Yun Xi's words, he, who considered himself having read the classics for several years, felt extremely ashamed and his face turned red.
But more than that, he felt admiration for Yun Xi!
It was said that a man should not kneel easily, only kneeling to heaven, earth, and his parents. But Zhao Chunsheng sincerely knelt in front of Yun Xi with a solemn expression:
"Miss's teachings, Zhao Chunsheng will surely engrave in his heart and take them as a warning!"
Unexpectedly, Zhao Chunsheng would do this. Yun Xi immediately stepped forward to help him up, deliberately with a bit of playfulness and helplessness in her tone:
"Why do you kneel down again while talking? Don't do this again in the future. It will shorten my lifespan!"
She pulled Zhao Chunsheng up and sat down at the round table with Aunt Qin and others. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked:
"I'd like to ask you. Did you notice anything strange during your investigation of Yue E and her father?"