Chapter 1.1: Poisonous Plot
Like every usual day, after Mu Zi You went to greet her mother-in-law, Old Lady Chen, she proceeded to the herb garden to tend and water her plants. She was in a daze as she looked at the field of green and purple plants.
She has always wondered naively that if dabbled in medicine, could she have prevented her uncle and grandfather from falling ill? If so, would they still be alive?
If they were alive, even if she was divorced by the duke, at least there will still be a home that she could return back to. It would definitely be better than her current predicament. Under the influence of her stepmother, her father called her shameless and accused her of seducing her father-in-law. He even resorted to threatening her, forbidding her from returning home, fearing that she would disgrace him.
When she thought of her grandfather whom she had always been close to, her uncle who was like a father figure in her life and her bedridden aunt, she could not help but be enveloped in sadness. So much so that she started crying.
"Milady…Milady…" At this moment, a maidservant dressed in yellow panically ran towards her and said "Bad news. A moment ago, MistressYu was complaining of stomach pain, after the imperial doctor diagnosed her, he said that her anti-abortifacient medicinal soup was laced with a miscarriage inducing agent. Mistress Yu's maidservant Qiao'er said that earlier on, Yan Hong(another maidservant) had gone to the place where the medicine was brewed and was caught red-handed by the duke. Yan Hong has already confessed. She said that it was under Milady's order that she laced the medicine with the miscarriage inducing drug."
Upon hearing this, Zi You let out a deep sigh. "Oh. It seems like they are not going to let me off the hook till I give up my position of the first lady."
(TL: Zi You is the first legal wife of the duke. Mistress Yu is the second legal wife. They hold the same position)
What's even more hateful is that Mistress Yu Lan Xuan happens to be her best friend and relative. After Zi You married the duke for only half a year; her grandfather-Great Yan's First General Mu Zheng Hao, Second Uncle-Great Yan's Second General Mu Ying Yi, both died from an illness while fighting a rebellion in Nanjiang. She was devastated and ontop of that, 3 months pregnant. It was a time when she needed someone there for her. This Yu Lan Xuan, under the arrangement of Zi You's stepmother, Wang Yi Ping, entered the duke's residence under the pretense of caring for her. In no time, this woman got involved with her husband.
As Zi You thought of her stepmother and "best friend", she could not help but lament that she was too soft-hearted and naive.
Yu Lan Xuan was not only her stepmother's niece but also her "best friend". This woman was extremely similar to her stepmother Wang Yi Ping, a venomous snake. She treated such people as her precious kin and heeded their every advice.
When the Duke and Yu Lan Xuan's affair broke out, her stepmother and Yu Lan Xuan knelt before her. They begged and asked for her agreement in order to make Yu Lan Xuan the Duke's second legal wife (have the same status as her). Unable to bear seeing her best friend crying, she actually agreed to it.
This was equivalent to inviting a wolf into your home! On the surface, Yu Lan Xuan was very respectful to her. However, once her grandfather and second uncle passed on, Yu Lan Xuan revealed her fangs. Not only did Yu Lan Xuan backstabbed her, she was constantly badmouthing her in front of the duke. Her mother-in-law, Old Lady Chen was also finding every opportunity to make things difficult for her.
Especially after this bitch got pregnant, she was unhappy being the second legal wife. She exhausted all means to rob Zi You of the position of first legal wife.
What about Old Lady Chen? When Zi You's grandfather was alive, she ad never dared to bully Zi You. However, once her grandfather had died she began revealing her true colours. There was a period of time Zi You took care of his father-in-law when he fell sick. She did that because he treated her well.
However under the influence of Yu Lan Xuan, Old Lady Chen starting doubting that Zi You had seduced her husband. She might even be convinced that Zi You's unborn child belongs to her father-in-law!