Chapter 161: The Unmasking of Shi Shaohua

Upon hearing Frost's account, Pearl widened her eyes in astonishment, then quickly pursued, "And then? What happened next? Why didn't you stay and watch a little longer?"

Frost curled her lips, "It was simply too noisy and gave me a headache."

The crucial point was that the room had descended into absolute chaos. Shi Shaohua had been running around everywhere carrying the baby, ultimately pulling Shen Sisi in front of him as a shield. The Marquis of Jiang's wife alternated between crying, cursing, and striking out, while Jiang Miaodang had lost her mind with rage, aiming a slap at anyone who came close. Jiang Lin had tried to rescue Shen Sisi, only to have his hair yanked by someone whose identity remained a mystery.

Had Frost not left when she did, there was no telling if she might have been accidentally injured!

Pearl sighed with deep regret, wishing desperately that she could visit the Marquis's estate herself to witness such a chaotic and thrilling spectacle firsthand. Left with no other choice, she gloomily stuffed a jujube pastry into her mouth to appease her hollow soul.

Seeing her reaction, Shen Qingyun could not help but laugh.

In this lifetime, Pearl loved watching the bustling excitement and enjoyed eating little pastries. She had been cared for so well that her cheeks were slightly plump, her skin fair, and she was thoroughly playful and adorable.

She was nothing like the Pearl in her past life, who had starved and frozen alongside her.

She shuddered to think what would have become of Pearl after her own death; no doubt the girl could not have escaped being married off to that fat, big-eared steward, only to be abused and tortured to death in the end.

Now that matters within the Duke's residence were largely settled, it was time to properly settle accounts with the Marquis's estate—both for her own grievances and for Pearl's.

With that in mind, she summoned Hanqing: "How is the situation on my mother's side?"

Hanqing replied in a low voice, "The matter of your disappearance was heavily suppressed by the Prince of Li on a large scale. Madam has remained at the General's Mansion all along and knows nothing of your peril, Miss."

"That's good." Shen Qingyun's eyes shifted. "Since that's the case, instruct that group to head over to the Marquis's estate. You and Frost go there as well, and make sure to observe the entire spectacle from start to finish, so you can come back and recount it properly to this little chatterbox."

Hearing this, Pearl instantly perked up, her eyes brightening once more: "Miss, who are these people?"

"You'll find out when they return later." Shen Qingyun blinked, the amusement in her eyes deepening.

Over at the Marquis's estate, before long, the front gates were pounded heavily by a group of men.

The doorman had just cracked open the door to ask who was there when the crowd surged forward, brandishing clubs and cudgels. Every single one of them wore a fierce and menacing expression, clamoring to find Shi Shaohua.

The servants of the Marquis's estate had never encountered such a situation before and rushed off to report the disturbance to Jiang Lin.

Inside the chambers of the Marquis's wife, the recent chaos had only just been subdued. Jiang Lin sat to one side with his arm around Shen Sisi, while the Marquis's wife lay prostrated on the couch weeping. Jiang Miaodang was nowhere to be seen, and Shi Shaohua sat on the floor, holding the child and panting heavily.

Everyone's hair and garments were somewhat disheveled, but Shi Shaohua was by far the most wretched, bearing bloody scratches and handprints on his face.

A servant stepped forward cautiously: " Heir, a group of men has forced their way into the outer courtyard, demanding to see Master Shi Shaohua. They look rather formidable..."

The events of the day had already given Jiang Lin a splitting headache. At this, he sprang to his feet, kicked over a stool, and roared out of control, "Who is it this time!"

The servant trembled and dropped to his knees: "Master Heir, I truly do not know."

"Enough, I'll go see them myself." Murderous intent flashed in Jiang Lin's eyes. He swept his gaze around the room and finally fixed it on Shi Shaohua: "Put the child down and come with me."

Shi Shaohua hung his head, having lost any will to struggle, and resignedly followed Jiang Lin to the outer courtyard.

Waiting there were five burly men. The leader of the group spotted Shi Shaohua approaching, carefully verified his face and build, and let out a cold snort: "Beat him!"

Before Jiang Lin could even react, the other four men rushed forward and began raining punches and kicks upon Shi Shaohua.

"Who are you people? Stop this at once! You are not allowed to cause trouble in my Marquis's estate!" Jiang Lin shouted.

"Alright, that's enough, hold on," said the leader. He then offered a salute to Jiang Lin: "You must be the Jiang Heir. My apologies, Heir, but we brothers are merely following orders."

The four men dispersed, leaving Shi Shaohua lying on the ground, bruised and battered all over.

Jiang Lin clenched his hands so tightly his knuckles popped. Struggling to suppress his fury, he demanded, "Whose people are you, and what business do you have with Shi Shaohua?"

The man sighed. "Heir, it is not our place to reveal whose household we serve. As for this person on the ground, you likely know nothing about him. His name is Shi Zhihua, and he belongs to the Jinchun Brothel. Our madam graciously bought his freedom and even brought him to the capital, yet this wretch stole our madam's jewelry and fled. If not for the sake of... hmph, a simple beating would be the least of his concerns."

"What Jinchun Brothel?" Hearing the mention of buying freedom, Jiang Lin froze. "Wasn't he a scholar who came to the capital for the imperial examinations?"

Upon hearing this, the five men burst into loud laughter.

The leader gave Shi Shaohua a kick: "Hah, a prostitute trying to pass as a scholar—you certainly have some nerve to say such a thing."

He then turned back to Jiang Lin, looking at him with a mixture of mockery and pity: "This man altered his humble registry to a commoner's registry through official channels. And the person who pulled strings for him was none other than your very own Heir's wife, which is how our madam managed to track him down to your Marquis's estate. Ah, Heir, don't blame me for being meddlesome, but this fellow is exceptionally skilled at seducing women. Your Heir's wife had better not have been taken in by him."

With that, the men laughed heartily and departed.

Even from a distance, Jiang Lin vaguely caught the lingering sounds of their mockery, whispering that Jiang Lin probably wore a cuckold's crown and was nothing more than a turtle.

SHEN! SI! SI!

Jiang Lin charged back into the inner courtyard, grabbed Shen Sisi by the arm, and demanded, "What kind of relationship do you have with that Shi Shaohua!"

Shen Sisi was completely blindsided. She had been in the middle of feigning comfort toward the Marquis's wife when the fire suddenly leaped onto her. Panic-stricken, she waved her hands frantically, "I have no relationship with him at all, Heir! You're hurting me!"

"No relationship?" Jiang Lin's eyes were bloodshot with rage as he lunged forward and clamped his hands tightly around Shen Sisi's neck. "You even helped him clear his humble status, yet you still dare to lie to me! Confess, are you having a clandestine affair with him as well!"

The Marquis's wife was terrified out of her wits. Forgetting her own tears, she scrambled over to break them apart: "Lin'er, what are you doing? Let her go this instant!"

"Get lost!" Jiang Lin shoved the Marquis's wife aside violently. "And you! You aren't fit to be my mother at all! Why don't you just go die!"

Cursed thusly, the Marquis's wife burst into fresh tears, collapsing onto the ground and wailing that she might as well go hang herself.

As Shen Sisi turned bright red from the pressure of Jiang Lin's grip, a maidservant burst into the room screaming, "Heir, this is terrible! The young miss has jumped into the lake to drown herself!"

The three people in the room froze in shock before scrambling frantically toward the lake shore, where Jiang Miaodang had already been pulled out of the water.

Hearing this, Pearl could not help asking, "Did Jiang Miaodang die?"

Frost shook her head. "No, she didn't die. She was rescued almost immediately. Besides, she wasn't actually trying to commit suicide; she had intended to throw the child into the lake to drown him, but accidentally slipped and fell in herself."

"Oh." Even Yingcui, listening nearby, was stunned into speechlessness. How could anyone be so vicious and yet so utterly stupid?

"And what about Shi Shaohua? Now that they know his true identity, they certainly won't spare him, right?" Pearl pursued eagerly.