The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

Chapter 403: The ability to confuse right and wrong is admirable

"Until a while ago, my wife and I felt that this evil girl was not young anymore and it was time for her to get married. Although our family is not very wealthy, we can still afford to raise another child. However, it is not a good idea for her to stay at home all the time, so we thought of finding her a husband and letting him take care of her."

"Your Majesty and the Empress should also know that Zhang Ran has been in the palace before. Although she didn't enjoy the emperor's favor, she has been in the palace for so many years that she is no longer popular. Even if we find her a marriage, she can't marry someone else as the principal wife. After all, who would want a woman who has been in the palace as the principal wife? So we thought of finding her a concubine with a prominent family background. This way, she can have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life."

"Zhang Ran was happily married at that time, but who knew that she would change her mind halfway through. Now she is pregnant and resents us for letting her get married. She is spreading rumors in front of the Emperor and the Empress. The Emperor and the Empress must not believe the slander of this evil girl." After saying this, Madam Zhang lowered her eyes, as if she was the one who was wronged.

[I'm really impressed by your ability to confuse right and wrong. If I hadn't known the truth in advance, I would have believed what you said.]

[The Nanfu Opera Troupe is almost full of these little green tea girls we've seen this year. They're truly capable of confusing right and wrong. With such talent, they should be sent as a marriage partner. They might even be able to help us secure even more benefits.]

Although Zhang Ran was already disappointed with the parents, after hearing what Mrs. Zhang said, she was still so angry that her whole body was shaking. Her fingers were shaking particularly violently, and she had to take deep breaths to barely keep the breath in her chest steady.

Qiutou, who was taking care of Zhang Ran, held Zhang Ran's cold fingers and nodded affirmatively.

Zhang Ran pointed at Madam Zhang as if breaking free from her restraints and shouted, "Nonsense, the Empress is talking nonsense! They've never treated me well since I returned home. They stole the dozens of taels of silver and the jade pendant that the Empress gave me before I left the palace. They thought the jade pendant was valuable, so they sold it to the pawnshop for three hundred taels of silver. With the money they'd stolen, they bought their precious son a humble official position at the Taichang Temple, just to make it easier for him to marry a wife in the future."

"They never intended to help me find a husband. They always wanted to sell me to someone else as a concubine. They were afraid I would run away, so they locked me up in the mansion and sent maids and servants to watch me outside. Your Majesty, you can send someone to investigate. I absolutely did not lie."

Madam Zhang glared at Zhang Ran fiercely, then sat down on the ground, slapping her legs non-stop and even bursting into tears of grievance. "Mother Zhang Ran knows that Daddy and Mom have been treating you badly since you were a child. You didn't want to enter the palace at the beginning, but Daddy and Mom forced you to go. But even if you resent Daddy and Mom, you shouldn't be so wronged. Human trafficking is a serious crime of murder. Even if you really hate Daddy and Mom, after all, Daddy and Mom gave birth to you and raised you. It's fine if you don't repay Daddy and Mom, but you actually use this method to deal with Daddy and Mom. Daddy and Mom are really heartbroken."

Zhang Ran was so angry at Madam Zhang's rogue appearance that she couldn't breathe. Her chest was swollen and uncomfortable. There was a black fog in front of her eyes that couldn't be shaken off. She could only try her best to adjust her breathing. She faced the parents who never treated her as a daughter. "Madam Zhang, you really can talk nonsense and confuse right and wrong. I am grateful to you for giving birth to me and raising me, so when you treated me badly when I was a child, I didn't complain at all. I helped you take care of my younger brother. At that time, the old lady of the Ministry of Rites clearly valued me and wanted him to marry me. But for the sake of your eldest daughter and your own selfish interests, you changed the target to my sister, and I didn't say anything."

"I thought at the time that as long as I was obedient and didn't go against you, you would treat me well. But what did I get in return? You looked down on me. Even my sister didn't show any gratitude for the marriage change. Later, at the suggestion of my sister and brother-in-law, you wanted to send me to the palace. I didn't object because I was grateful to you for raising me and giving birth to me. I wanted my parents to look at me more. But what did you tell me? You didn't tell me to live a good life in the palace. Instead, you told me to compete for favor and find a way to persuade the emperor to give my brother an official position."

"In order to make my parents happy, I didn't say anything. I tried my best, but the emperor didn't look at me. I was still an unknown person in the palace. What could I do?"

"After I left the palace, you stole my money and jade pendant. I wasn't really angry because I was used to your partiality towards my brother. But you were still not satisfied. You kept sacrificing me for yourselves and for your brother. In order to let your brother get married, you sold me to an old man to have a child. When I didn't agree, you drugged me and forcibly sent me to someone else's house. I was left in Mr. Zhang's house, crying out to heaven and earth for help, but no one answered."

"Have I not repaid your kindness in all these matters?"

"These are my parents. I've given in time and again, but all I've gotten in return is you becoming even more aggressive. So, Mom and Dad, our family bond has long been severed by you. I'm not trying to deal with you, I'm just trying to save myself, struggling desperately in the drowning pond."

"And I swear to heaven, if I ever wrongly accuse you, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."

Zhang Ran's few words instantly left Mrs. Zhang speechless. She sat on the ground, her mouth seemed to be blocked. She clearly had something to say, but she couldn't utter a word.

Zhang Ran knelt down in front of Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an and said, "Your Majesty, please be kind and considerate of me. If I tell even a single lie, you can have me executed by slicing."

Zhang Ran was certainly not lying.

Gu Jianchu's eyes swept over the guilty parents, and he couldn't help but sneer.

Now this is scary?

"Do you know where the jade pendant was pawned?" Gu Jianchu asked coldly.

Zhang Ran shook her head. "I don't know. They kept me locked up in the room. I have no idea where they pawned the things."

After hearing what Zhang Ran said, Madam Zhang and Lord Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. They just hoped that the jade pendant would be sold so that there would be no evidence and no one would know about it except them.

"It won't be sold too far away. Wen Zhu, take your men to investigate along Lord Zhang's mansion, and focus on checking the pawnshops that are relatively close to Lord Zhang's mansion." After Gu Jianchu finished speaking, she saw that Lord Zhang's face was dead silent, and she knew that she had guessed right.

A greedy person like Lord Zhang would never think so far ahead and would only think about taking action as quickly as possible.