Reborn to Become A Queen: The Real Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 424: Severing Ties of Gratitude and Duty

Zhan Xuerou looked at Zhan Beicang with a trace of hesitation in her eyes. She sobbed, clutching her wound, and continued, "Rou’er would rather die than return to the Prince Wei Mansion. King Wei is merely using me; he never truly intended to marry me!"

After saying this, she knelt and kowtowed in Qin Shuang’s direction. "Godmother, I beg you, just let me stay in the backyard. Rou’er doesn’t want to return to that hellhole."

Zhan Beicang was about to say something, but Qin Shuang’s voice rose sharply as she refused, "Back then, you threatened with your life to marry King Wei. Now that you regret it, you want to come back? This madam will not allow it!"

"Mother is right!" Suddenly, a voice came from not far away.

Everyone turned to see Zhan Lan striding toward them.

Having earlier instructed the Hidden Guards protecting the General Mansion to fire a signal arrow, Zhan Lan knew something had happened at the residence.

She arrived on horseback in a rush and was met with the scene before her eyes.

When Zhan Xuerou saw Zhan Lan, her gaze immediately dropped. Why was Zhan Lan everywhere?!

She had almost succeeded in persuading Zhan Beicang.

Zhan Lan walked up to Qin Shuang. Zhan Rui and Zhan Heng immediately grabbed Zhan Lan’s hands. frёeωebɳovel.com

The two spoke in unison, "Sister!"

Having grown up, the two had listened to their mother’s explanation. They roughly understood what was happening.

Zhan Xuerou gritted her teeth. Those ungrateful brats—if she’d known this would happen, she wouldn’t have protected Zhan Rui!

Qin Shuang briefed Zhan Lan on the situation.

Having two lifetimes of experience, Zhan Lan naturally knew the true nature of Zhan Xuerou.

She had been waiting for her to reveal her fox’s tail.

Indeed, Si Jun grew desperate and sent Zhan Xuerou to the General Mansion to abduct people.

She had guessed right.

At this moment, Zhan Lan felt gratified. Her mother had seen for herself what kind of person Zhan Xuerou truly was.

As for her father Zhan Beicang, soon she would find a way for him to see Zhan Xuerou’s true nature as well!

"Father, I support Mother’s decision. Keeping Zhan Xuerou in the mansion—does the General Mansion want to be implicated by King Wei?" Zhan Lan said with a smirk. "Zhan Xuerou is still the Consort of Prince Wei. How could this family possibly accommodate such a powerful figure?"

Zhan Xuerou’s wound burned fiercely. Zhan Lan’s sarcastic words were like pouring oil on the fire.

Zhan Lan’s voice hardened. "Not only should she be thrown out, but it should be done publicly, so everyone can see. Let the people witness how the Consort of Prince Wei attempted to kidnap the legitimate son and daughter of the General Mansion!"

Zhan Beicang sighed. Zhan Lan’s reasoning was valid.

Keeping Zhan Xuerou in the mansion now would undoubtedly spell disaster.

Zhan Xuerou knelt before Zhan Lan and begged, "Elder Sister, I beg you, I dare not return to the Prince Wei Mansion. King Wei imprisoned and tortured me in the dungeon. I think even Qiuyue is locked there by him now..."

Zhan Lan already suspected that Si Jun was becoming reckless. Until now, Qiuyue had visited the pastry shop at their scheduled time every three days to make their agreed purchases.

But recently, Qiuyue had stopped showing up. Zhan Lan had guessed that something had happened.

So it turned out that Si Jun had indeed locked Qiuyue in the dungeon.

Zhan Lan pried Zhan Xuerou’s grasp off her clothes and said coldly, "You being tortured by King Wei—what does that have to do with this Princess?"

Zhan Beicang looked at Zhan Lan, then at the utterly pitiful Zhan Xuerou.

He felt torn, believing all of it to be his fault.

Turning to Qin Shuang, he said helplessly, "You handle this as you see fit!"

With that, he flung his sleeves and left.

Zhan Lan watched Zhan Beicang’s departing back, laughing coldly in her heart. Her father had purposely left the matter to her mother because he knew that her methods were softer.

"Godfather!" Zhan Xuerou’s heart bled. Even after all this, Zhan Beicang refused to take her side!

In the past, whenever her father had anything good, she was always the first person he thought of, doting on her like a treasure in his palm. But now, everything had changed.

Lowering her gaze, her hatred for Zhan Lan deepened further.

Qin Shuang looked at Zhan Xuerou, her eyes cold. "From today onward, the General Mansion severs all ties with you. There will be no more talk of godfather and godmother!"

"Mother..." Zhan Xuerou wept, looking at Qin Shuang with tears in her eyes.

Qin Shuang said coldly, "Silence! My daughters are Zhan Lan and Zhan Rui!"

Today, she had seen it all too clearly—Zhan Xuerou was acting!

Looking back on it now, Qin Shuang felt a chill. Even though Zhan Xuerou had ostensibly risked injury to protect Zhan Rui, it was surely all part of an act in collusion with Si Jun to abduct her children—or, more terrifyingly, to kill them!

Qin Shuang’s eyes burned red. "Zhan Heng and Zhan Rui are siblings you watched grow up. How could you be so heartless!"

Zhan Xuerou’s eyes, swollen and red from crying, still tried to defend herself. "It’s all a misunderstanding..."

Kneeling, she crawled over to grasp the hem of Qin Shuang’s robes.

But Zhan Lan reached out with one swift motion, grabbing Zhan Xuerou by the collar and yanking her off the ground. She warned sharply, "Don’t touch my mother!"

Zhan Lan threw Zhan Xuerou to the ground. Blood began seeping from her arm again, and the pain contorted her face.

Turning to the household guards, Zhan Lan commanded, "Throw these corpses onto a cart and parade them through the streets. Announce as you go: the General Mansion was the target of an assassination attempt. Also, deliver the bodies of the Death Guards to the Ministry of Justice for examination."

Her gaze sharpened as she looked at Zhan Xuerou, enunciating each word: "Send the suspect Zhan Xuerou to the Ministry of Justice as well. Make it clear that the General Mansion has severed all ties with her!"

Qin Shuang addressed the guards, "The eldest daughter’s decision is this madam’s decision."

"Understood!" The guards of the General Mansion sprang into action immediately.

Zhan Xuerou was tied up. No matter how she begged, Qin Shuang remained unmoved.

Before long, the Ministry of Justice sent over a prisoner transport wagon.

Along the way, the guards shouted announcements as they paraded the corpses of the Death Guards through the streets. The sight of their bloodied faces startled onlookers, leaving the timid too frightened to look.

Inside the prison wagon, Zhan Xuerou kept her head lowered. Her cheeks burned with shame, and her hatred toward the Zhan Family reached its peak.

She had never been treated so miserably. The pointing and whispering of the crowd made her want to disappear entirely.

Not long ago, she had been the talk of Ding’an City because of a single poem. Everyone knew her name.

Now, with the General Mansion parading her through the streets in that wagon, listening to the guards’ shouts made her feel as though death would be a relief.

The gathered crowd grew larger and larger. Some people spoke in hushed tones:

"She stole the identity of a legitimate daughter and still wasn’t satisfied as their adopted one. She even sought revenge against the Zhan Family. Bah, what a disgrace!"

"Those Death Guards must be hers. Truly a venomous woman—even her own siblings weren’t spared."

"Some people may look frail on the outside, but their hearts are as black as night!"

"No wonder the General Mansion severed ties with her. Who knows what other despicable acts she’s committed?"

"She seems so delicate, but it’s all a facade. Disgusting!"

Someone mustered the courage to say, "If you ask me, she’s an accomplice. Don’t forget whose consort she is..."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Isn’t it obvious..."

"In any case, the two of them are birds of a feather..."

...

Zhan Xuerou clenched her teeth as she listened to the crowd’s gossip, pain stabbing through her heart like a knife.

The people were fickle. Those who once endlessly praised her were now the ones condemning her with the most venom.

She raised her eyes, and in the window on the second floor of a teahouse, she saw a pair of cold, piercing eyes, fixed intently on her!