That voice clearly belonged to Zhou Zhanlan.
The little bit of color that had just returned to the faces of the few people instantly drained away. Zhou Qingqing, in particular, thought that if her mother - in - law found out about such a shameless thing she had done, even if it was at her husband's request, she would never be able to get past Zhou Zhanlan.
Moreover, judging from the voice, there was also the outsider, Immortal Maiden Manping. There might even be other people around.
Without time to think about anything else, they all quickly and clumsily put on their clothes.
Luo Ji was putting on his clothes while urging Yuquan:
"Hurry up and leave! What are you still standing there for! Go through that narrow path at the back. Don't let anyone find you!"
The people brought by Qiao Yan didn't stop him. Just as he nervously put on his clothes and climbed out of the window, several young servants waiting at the back cooperated tacitly. They covered his mouth and held his hands, quietly detaining him without letting anyone notice.
Soon, Zhou Zhanlan, accompanied by a group of maids and servants, arrived nearby following Ye Xi. Even Luo Xiaobao was trotting along beside them.
Qiao Yan had arranged a large number of people. Fearing that Luo Ji and his paramour would escape, the servants were surrounding the house. Zhou Zhanlan immediately noticed this grand - scale scene. The smiling face she had when talking to Ye Xi instantly fell.
When she saw Luo Ji and Zhou Qingqing inside, looking panicked and pale, especially with their obvious disheveled clothes, her expression changed completely. Therefore, she didn't notice at all the grateful glances that Qiao Yan and the others cast at Ye Xi intentionally or unintentionally.
Zhou Zhanlan, who was already a grandmother, could easily guess what had happened. On the one hand, she immediately ordered people to block the front to prevent others from coming; on the other hand, she was glad that out of her own selfishness, she didn't want to share the good fortune with others and hadn't brought other ladies here. There was only the outsider Manping, who had a good reputation and wouldn't casually disclose others' secrets.
"Ji'er," Zhou Zhanlan took the initiative:
"I told you to take Qingqing and fetch some spiritual water for me. Why did you get lazy and hide here to rest?"
"Sure enough, you've been pampered. You've made such a mess just doing such a small task. You're really useless. Hurry up and tidy your clothes and come here."
"Yes."
The two quickly responded and rushed to Zhou Zhanlan's side.
Zhou Zhanlan intended to cover up for her son, and Qiao Yiting was too lazy to expose her. She just gave her a cold look and said with a fake smile:
"Madam Shangshu came just in time. Just now, my daughter Xin signed a divorce agreement with your son Luo Ji. The signatures and seals are all there."
"Today is a good day, and I have enough people. It's better to do it now than to choose another day. Let's not delay. Now, let's go to your Luo Mansion to pack up the things. Maybe we can finish before it gets dark."
"However..." Qiao Yiting covered her lips and smiled, "It doesn't matter if we can't finish. For a happy event, it's okay to pack for the whole night. But Lianyi is still young and has to go back to the Su Mansion first. Otherwise, it's always bad to disturb the child's sleep."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Qiao Yiting was enjoying herself while Zhou Zhanlan stared at her in astonishment:
"Divorce? And you even dare to pack up things and take the child away. Are you out of your mind after being affected by Su Xin's illness?"
"Mother, it's like this..."
Afraid that Qiao Yiting would let out the secret, Luo Ji quickly pulled Zhou Zhanlan's sleeve. Avoiding her eyes, he whispered a brief and mumbled account of what had just happened.
Zhou Zhanlan almost fainted from anger.
Her cold and fierce gaze shot like an arrow at Zhou Qingqing, who was lowering her head and didn't dare to say a word. Since Luo Ji couldn't mention Yuquan, Zhou Qingqing had to be the scapegoat.
Just at this moment, Luo Xiaobao saw his grandmother and father whispering to each other without including him. Pouting, he asked loudly:
"Grandma, Daddy, what are you two talking about? I want to hear too."
The courtyard fell silent. Luo Linrui's voice was quite loud, and everyone heard it clearly. Frightened, Zhou Qingqing quickly pulled him over and covered his mouth.
But Qiao Yan, with her straightforward nature, couldn't help bursting into laughter.
The already embarrassed faces of the Zhou family members became even more ashamed and angry.
Glaring at Zhou Qingqing fiercely, Zhou Zhanlan knew that this wasn't the time to deal with Luo Linrui. Taking a deep breath, she said hatefully:
"Fine. Your daughter is just a useless thing. It's okay that she couldn't give birth to a son. But the daughter she gave birth to is an ill - omened one. You may treasure her like a gem, but our Luo family doesn't think much of her."
"But Su Xin has been married into our Luo family for so many years. She failed to serve her husband well and didn't give birth to a single son for our Luo family. She should be ashamed and commit suicide. That dowry can be regarded as compensation for the Luo family, so you don't have to go through the trouble. Now, leave. I'll immediately send someone to send Lianyi to the Su Mansion."
Qiao Yiting never expected Zhou Zhanlan to be so shameless.
Angry to the point of laughing, she said:
"Zhou Zhanlan, open your dog eyes and look clearly! It's clearly written on the divorce agreement that all the dowry from our Su family should be returned! And you must send Lianyi out properly."
"Otherwise, I guarantee that within an hour, your son's dirty deeds will spread throughout the capital. Do you believe me?"
"What dirty deeds?"
Zhou Zhanlan started to act like a scoundrel openly:
"These are all people from your Su and Qiao families. Naturally, they'll side with you. But the people from our Zhou family saw something completely different. How do you explain that?"
Was she just going to deny it now that they had put on their clothes?
Fortunately, Manping had reminded them earlier, and they still had Yuquan in their hands.
Qiao Yan gave a signal to the young servants behind. Yuquan, with disheveled clothes, was dragged out by the servants.
The Zhou family members' faces instantly changed when they didn't expect Yuquan to be here. Zhou Zhanlan, in particular, felt a blackout in front of her eyes and almost fainted. She was quickly supported by Nanny Wang beside her.
"Madam Shangshu is right," Qiao Yan smiled innocently:
"Since we can't reach an agreement, why don't I invite someone to come and take a look. With a third - party witness, I'm sure we can figure it out."
Saying that, she started to point at people:
"You two, go quickly to the front and invite people. I heard that Madam Qin and Madam Wei are here today. It seems that the wife of the Minister of Works is also here..."
"Stop!"
Zhou Zhanlan's nails dug into her palm. Her long face was already distorted:
"Go and pack! Now!"
"What about Lianyi..."
"Fetch her! Right away!"
Smiling triumphantly, Qiao Yan was like a victorious little rooster. With a heroic wave of her hand, she led a large group of people and was about to go to the Luo Mansion.
However, although Luo Linrui didn't understand what the adults were talking about, he knew that his family had suffered a loss. Relying on his young age, thinking that the adults would care about their reputation and not argue with him, he took a few quick steps forward and blocked them. But he knew that Qiao Yan was formidable, so he didn't dare to make a scene with her. He just rushed in front of Su Xin, who he thought was "easy to bully", punching and kicking while shouting:
"You're not allowed to go to my house. You're not allowed to take our things! Everyone in the family says you're an outsider! You should all get out of here!"