The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Untitled Part 199

Translated by : Dumpling & Irisu

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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"Minister Jiang," Sun Xu said with a straight face, "The court is not a place for you to mess around at will; we hear from the witness first."

Before Jiang Quan could speak any further, Hu Die kowtowed to Sun Xu and said, "Replying to Daren, this servant is here to disclose the crimes that were committed by Furen (Xia Yan)." Her head was lowered, but her voice was clear and loud, just enough to reach the ears of the populace outside who were watching the excitement. "At that time, when the previous Furen (Zhao Mei) was still alive, my family's Furen was still just a yiniang. Although Master dearly loved her and Young Miss, the position of the matriarch was still held by the previous Furen (Zhao Mei). My family's Furen had always been proud and arrogant and coming from a noble aristocratic family, she was naturally not willing to be inferior to others. Although daily necessities like food were not too bad, and sometimes her status was even higher than that of Furen, she was still dissatisfied."

Although Hu Die's words seemed to be just stating the facts, once it fell upon others' ears, it felt entirely different. No one was unaware of how Xia Cheng had gotten his Marquis title in the first place: if it wasn't for his brother's early death, as one who was born as a shu son, the title would never have fallen on him. Moreover, the title had only been obtained after Xia Yan entered the Jiang fu. Before that, she was just the daughter of a minor official shu son. How could she have regarded herself as part of a noble official family– to think that she had the cheek to say that about herself– because if she were truly a noblewoman from an aristocratic line of officials, why would Jiang Quan have married Zhao Mei first instead of Xia Yan? For a daughter that came from a shu son to be this vain, when according to Hu Die's words Xia Yan's status in the Jiang fu was even higher than that of Zhao Mei, if this wasn't neglecting the wife to favor the concubine, what else could this be?

Everyone had heard of the rumours that Jiang Quan only favoured Xia Yan, but they had assumed that this had happened only after Zhao Mei's death. However, to find out that Jiang Quan had done such ridiculous things not too long after Zhao Mei married into the Jiang fu, didn't this truly show how he couldn't bear to be parted from her (Zhao Mei) family's power? And yet, when he found out that the relationship would not bring any benefits to his official career, he revealed his true colours.

Hu Die continued, "Later, Furen thought about it. As an official of the court, Master could not divorce his wife without rhyme or reason, so she would have to live under another's thumb for the rest of her life. And, as she was unwilling, she decided to poison the previous Furen. Back then, Furen used a lot of money to buy poison from a foreign country and have it mixed into the previous Furen's daily meals. She was poisoned bit by bit, until eventually enough poison accumulated in her body and one day she breathed her last. And, Master knew about all of this. One time, Furen's poison was discovered by Master but Master simply reminded Furen to be careful and to not leave any traces behind that could be used against her." After she finished speaking, Hu Die kowtowed twice to Sun Xu and said, "Daren, everything that this servant has spoken of is entirely true, I wouldn't dare to speak one false word."

"It's nonsense! It's all nonsense!" Jiang Quan pointed at Hu Die and cursed angrily. "Who gave you the courage to speak nonsense here, to disturb people's hearts! Hu Die, don't forget who you are! You are a servant of my Jiang family! "

Hu Die shook her head. "Master has probably forgotten. Hu Die's deed of slavery is no longer there, and Hu Die is no longer a member of the Jiang fu." As she spoke, although she tried her best to suppress her feelings, there was still a trace of hatred shown in her eyes.