If that were the case, he would suffer no loss. But the thought of his own son bearing another's surname and calling another man father made him extremely uncomfortable.
However, he was merely a humble merchant, while the other party had once been a future prince. To oppose them would be akin to a stone attempting to break a jade, and he could only leave in anger.
The eldest young master of the Meng family was naturally intelligent. After standing here for a while, he had already grasped his identity, and his heart was filled with shock.
Although his father had never doted on him, when he truly felt abandoned, he was lost, not knowing where to go.
Wu Caiwei knew that even if this child returned to the Meng family with him, he would still be a young master, and his status within the manor would likely be lower than that of a servant. It would be better to keep him to accompany her son.
Upon hearing this, the eldest young master of the Meng family immediately knelt to express his gratitude. Wu Caiwei then instructed everyone to call him the Second Young Master. Since the two looked so alike, people would believe they were twins.
When the Jiang family learned that Master Meng had arrived at the Huangfu Manor in a furious rage, they were full of anticipation. To their surprise, the man left moments later. Old Master Jiang was suddenly choked with anger, unable to accept that his efforts had yielded such a result.
The next day, while busy with affairs, Wu Caiwei saw the housekeeper and guards escorting two women before her.
"Madam, these two women actually lured the two young masters out to play by crawling through a dog hole. Fortunately, the Second Young Master was clever and informed me." Speaking of this, the housekeeper's voice trembled with lingering fear. He dared not imagine how guilty he would feel if the Second Young Master and the Eldest Young Master had both gone missing. After all, Madam trusted him implicitly and had entrusted the entire manor to his care.
Wu Caiwei couldn't even be bothered to ask. She walked up to the Second Young Master, patted his head, and encouraged him, "You are such a clever and good child. It's right to be vigilant; you should be like this. Mother will reward you with a small gift later. Now, Mother needs to speak with the housekeeper. You and your brother go out and play."
The child immediately nodded. He had already been feeling uneasy staying in the manor. Today, having rendered great service and receiving his mother's praise, he was exceptionally happy. He suddenly felt as if he wasn't entirely useless, and his peace of mind within the manor increased.
"Who sent you?" As soon as the two children were gone, she adopted a stern expression.
"No one sent us. We simply haven't been to the market in a long time and wanted to go out with the two young masters. We were afraid Madam wouldn't allow it, so we came up with this terrible plan. We beg Madam to spare us this time." Ah Feng had originally thought this task would be simple, but she never expected the Second Young Master to be so alert. It was truly an unsuccessful start.
"Do you think I believe that? It seems you two won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Housekeeper, drag them out and beat them, beat them hard! After that, tie up their families and bring them here. If they still refuse to speak the truth, I'll sell them to the mines to dig ore." Wu Caiwei was truly angry. She could not tolerate anyone harming her children.
The two women immediately looked up, their eyes filled with shock as they gazed at their madam. The reason they dared to accept the other party's terms was that they believed their madam was too kind-hearted. They thought that even if their actions were discovered, at most they would receive a few beatings and be expelled. They never expected their entire families to be implicated, and they quickly begged for mercy.
"Madam, Madam, we know we were wrong. We beg Madam to spare our lives. We will never dare to do it again." Even at this point, they still dared not speak the truth, as the task they were assigned was too significant. Even if they told Madam, she wouldn't let them off.
Seeing that they were still clinging to a glimmer of hope, Wu Caiwei realized that her usual gentle demeanor had led them to believe she was easily appeased. Today, she would show them her might and let them know that offending her had severe consequences.
When the people of the manor were gathered in the plaza, they were still bewildered, not knowing what had happened.
Soon after, they saw two women have their trousers pulled down, pressed onto a bench, and beaten severely. Their screams echoed in everyone's ears. If they could, they would have covered their ears to avoid having nightmares, but seeing the madam's murderous gaze, they dared not move.
At first, they had the strength to scream, but their cries gradually weakened, and they eventually passed out.
"Someone, douse them with water to wake them up." As soon as she finished speaking, someone immediately brought over several basins of cold water and splashed it onto them.
As soon as their wounds came into contact with water, they screamed again. At this moment, they no longer dared to harbor any illusions. They knew that even if they were beaten to death without speaking the truth, the madam's eyes wouldn't even blink. What kind of wrong information had led them to believe that the other party was kind-hearted and soft-hearted? At this moment, they regretted it to the core.
"Madam, Madam, we confess." Although their voices were faint, the scene was so quiet that Wu Caiwei heard them. She immediately made a stopping gesture, and someone dragged the two women before Wu Caiwei as if they were dead dogs.
"It was, it was people from the Jiang family. They promised that if I lured the two young masters out, they would let my brother become a shopkeeper in their establishment." Ah Feng spoke with tears streaming down her face, knowing that once she confessed, her entire family would be in trouble, but she had no other choice. Sudannovel.com
Ah Chun was different from her. She had a lover working in the Jiang manor. He had told her that if she could trick the young master out, he would have the money to redeem her, and then they could be together forever.
Although they didn't know at the beginning that the other party was on their side, their goals were the same, so they didn't expose each other.
"Since you like the Jiang family so much, and the Jiang family likes my people so much, I will grant your wish. Come, give each of their family members twenty large planks. Send the people and their deeds of sale to the Jiang family and ask them for money." Wu Caiwei gave her orders while returning to her room to prepare her makeup. She wanted to personally witness the enraged expression of Old Master Jiang.
Old Master Jiang, seeing Wu Caiwei appear before him again, along with two families, didn't know what to say. This woman had been entering his manor far too frequently.
"I didn't realize Old Master Jiang was so fond of poaching. If you like them, just say so, and I'll send them to you. Of course, I bought them with real money and raised them for many years. Old Master Jiang can't take them for free; you'll have to pay some silver." Wu Caiwei looked at him with a half-smile.
"Madame Huangfu is joking. We have plenty of servants in our manor. Why would we take a fancy to yours?" Old Master Jiang thought they were a bunch of useless fools who couldn't even handle two children. What was the point of having them?
"Since that is the case, then I will boldly report this to the authorities." With that, Wu Caiwei stood up, making as if to head to the yamen.