Not long after Yingchun's wedding, Jia Jing died after swallowing a golden elixir.
Jia Rong and Jia Qiang had no choice but to return to the capital.
But after the funeral, the two took Jia Jing's coffin back to Jinling.
With his father dead, Jia Zhen became even more brazen in his conduct.
He brought You Erjie and You Sanjie into Ningguo Mansion and carried on with them without the slightest restraint.
But Jia Zhen wasn't the devoted type. Once he tired of the sisters, he started looking for someone to take over.
Jia Zhen hadn't considered Jia Lian.
The Jia Lian in this world wasn't like the Jia Lian in the original novel. He had no taste for fooling around with other women.
Jia Zhen didn't think Jia Lian was cut from the same cloth as him, so he hadn't considered foisting You Erjie on him.
Instead, he found another sucker: Wang Xifeng's brother, Wang Ren.
Unlike Jia Lian, Wang Ren wasn't afraid of his wife. He brought You Erjie into the Wang Family openly, under the pretense of taking her as a concubine.
He wasn't the devoted type either, and after a while, he forgot all about You Erjie.
There were plenty of women in Wang Ren's household, including at least three maids serving as concubines who were as ill-tempered as Qiutong.
And though Wang Ren's wife didn't seem as domineering as Wang Xifeng, she was secretly vicious.
You Erjie's life in the Wang household was even worse than it had been in Rongguo Mansion.
Fortunately, though, she didn't lose her baby and successfully gave birth to a son.
With something to look forward to, You Erjie didn't swallow gold and kill herself.
As for You Sanjie, although Liu Xianglian hadn't joined the troupe, You Sanjie still took a fancy to him.
You Sanjie told Jia Zhen that she was determined to marry Liu Xianglian.
Jia Zhen knew it could never happen—there was no way the Liu Family would accept You Sanjie—but he still went to Liu Xianglian and claimed he had a role to recommend to him.
Liu Xianglian went home and told Mother Liu about it.
Liu Jiaying happened to be with Mother Liu. She overheard their conversation, ran out at once, and cried, "Uncle, you can't agree to this marriage!"
"You child, why are you eavesdropping on the elders' conversation?"
Mother Liu scolded Liu Jiaying.
"Grandmother, now isn't the time to scold me. We need to protect Uncle. We absolutely can't let that shameless woman trick Uncle into marrying her."
Liu Xianglian asked Liu Jiaying, "You know the You family girl?"
"I do. I've heard about her and her sister. Why don't we call Jiqiu over? She knows more."
Mother Liu knew how good Jiqiu was at digging up gossip, so she sent a maid to fetch her.
Before long, Jiqiu arrived.
Mother Liu asked her about You Sanjie.
Jiqiu had no fondness for either of the You sisters, so she told them without holding back about the sisters' affair with Jia Zhen.
She also told them how Jia Zhen had grown tired of You Erjie and passed her on to Wang Ren, letting him take over the used-up woman.
Liu Xianglian's face darkened, and anger surged within him.
"What a Jia Zhen! He wants me to be a living cuckold! I'm going to settle the score with him right now."
With that, he stormed out.
Mother Liu didn't stop him, but sent a servant to notify Liu Zhong.
By the time Liu Zhong received the message and reached Ningguo Mansion, Liu Xianglian had already beaten Jia Zhen until his face was bruised and swollen.
You Sanjie was putting on the airs of a chaste martyr and was about to kill herself.
Liu Zhong slapped her hand, knocking the dagger from it, and said coldly, "If you're going to kill yourself, don't do it in front of my brother. It's an eyesore. Don't think that acting like a chaste martyr makes you one. When you were fooling around with your own brother-in-law, why didn't you act this way? Don't tell me you were too weak to resist a grown man. If you'd threatened him with death like this back then, Jia Zhen wouldn't have gotten his way..."
Liu Zhong grabbed his brother and headed out. "Spend too long around trash like this, and you'll get contaminated by them. Come on, let's go."
You Sanjie couldn't believe someone could be so cold and heartless, mocking her so brutally. He'd seen her trying to take her own life right in front of him, yet he didn't feel the slightest pity?
Liu Zhong sneered. "If you were a whore, don't expect to set up a chastity arch. A brothel madam can turn over a new leaf, but don't you dare ruin my brother."
"You—you called me a brothel madam?"
You Sanjie swayed as though she might collapse.
The man she loved's brother looked down on her so much.
And the man she loved didn't like her either; he thought she was filthy.
She truly couldn't go on living.
Liu Zhong saw what she was thinking and said coldly, "If you want to die, find a corner and do it. Don't run in front of innocent people and drag them down with you."
Unable to bear the blow, You Sanjie fainted on the spot.
Liu Zhong couldn't be bothered with her or Jia Zhen. He took Liu Xianglian and left.
After they were gone, You Shi walked out with a cold expression.
Looking at Jia Zhen, his face bruised and swollen and unable to get up, and You Sanjie lying unconscious on the ground, You Shi sneered inwardly and thought, Serves them right.
"Ow!" Jia Zhen groaned in pain, then cursed at You Shi. "What are you standing there for? Get me up and call a physician!"
You Shi suppressed the glee in her eyes, put on an obedient expression, and had the servants help Jia Zhen back to his room.
She deliberately ignored You Sanjie on the ground, and the servants of Ningguo Mansion all followed suit, turning a blind eye to her.
It was Old Lady You who came out, helped her daughter up, and took her back to their room.
Jia Zhen lay in bed groaning and cursing the Liu brothers.
"I'll remember this grudge. I'll get even with them, I swear. I'll make sure those two brothers regret it."
You Shi thought, If you hadn't used You Sanjie to disgust the Liu brothers, would they have beaten you?
Why would those fine young gentlemen marry a licentious woman from a lowly family like You Sanjie?
You Shi urged him, "My lord, let it go. The Liu Family isn't an ordinary family. They're a branch of the Duke of Li's household. Liu Zhong is a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, favored by His Majesty, and a friend of Hu Ge'er."
Their Ningguo Mansion had fallen into decline. How could they compare?
Jia Zhen knew there was nothing he could do to the Liu Family for now. He said bitterly, "I'll let them off for now. Once my great undertaking is complete, I'll deal with them. I'll make sure they're exiled a thousand li away."
You Shi didn't know what great undertaking Jia Zhen meant, but her instincts told her it couldn't be anything good.
She stared at Jia Zhen in bed and wondered, What would my life be like without this man?
News that Jia Zhen had been beaten reached Rongguo Mansion. After learning the reason behind it, everyone who knew the truth thought he deserved it.
Lady Jia Shi and Wang, who rarely left home, knew nothing of the turmoil in Ningguo Mansion or You Sanjie's relationship with Jia Zhen.
They both blamed Liu Xianglian for what happened. If he didn't want to marry a girl from the You family, he could have just said so. Why beat the matchmaker?
Zhang and the Princess exchanged a glance.
Though this topic was a little unsavory, they couldn't let people misunderstand the Liu brothers.
Zhang said to Tanchun, "Third girl, take Lin Ya'tou, Yun Ya'tou, and Si Ya'tou for a walk around the garden."
Tanchun could tell Zhang had something to say. Though curious, she still rose and left Rongqing Hall with her sisters.
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