Upon hearing the Old Madam’s inquiry, both father and son turned their heads away, neither daring to answer.

“You,” the Elder Madam Dugu pointed her staff, directly pointing the finger, yet it landed on Dugu Wudi.

Before Dugu Wudi could speak, the mere thought of the matter made his whole body tremble with rage. After taking several deep breaths to suppress the fury in his heart, he finally began to speak, “Read aloud the announcement from the Four Friends, Zhu Ji Ji Ao—”

He hadn't finished speaking—only reaching the part where, “That wicked girl, completely bewitched, actually demanded from the guard Diao Bai Ge and gave Jun Moxie a whole packet.” Upon hearing this, the Elder Madam Dugu, knowing her own family, had already guessed what would happen, what should happen next. Instantly, her body shook, and her staff clattered, “Guang Dang,” as it fell from her grasp. Her body swayed precariously.

Dugu Wudi and his wives rushed forward to support her, calling out her name repeatedly.

“What have we done…” The Elder Madam Dugu finally recovered, and the moment she spoke, tears streamed down her face. She did not doubt the truth of the matter in the slightest; after all, given Dugu Xiaoyi’s temperament, coupled with this young lady's feelings for Young Master Jun San, such a thing was entirely plausible.

Even taking a step back, considering Jun Zhantian’s status and position, he surely wouldn't stoop to lying about something like this. Furthermore, with the main army about to return, even if Jun Zhantian shamelessly lied, how long could such an easily refuted falsehood be maintained? Wouldn't it just make them a laughingstock?

Besides, Dugu Xiaoyi had always held a significant fondness for that profligate young master of the Jun family; this was no secret within the Dugu household anymore… Zhu Ji Ji Ao E Xin Zui You, Jin Ni Zui You.

But the main problem was not yet finished. The Great General Dugu braced himself and finished the latter half. Well, there wasn't much detail worth mentioning afterward, but the critical issue was that this affair had also implicated Guan Qinghan. At this, the complexions of all the women present grew grave.

“What do you intend to do?” The Elder Madam Dugu’s face was like sunken water as she looked at Dugu Zongheng and Dugu Wudi.

“What else can we do? I absolutely disagree with this matter! Jun Moxie is a known rake, utterly unruly, constantly chasing dogs and fighting birds, neglecting his proper duties—he’s a genuine spendthrift! How can Xiaoyi marry this boy? If she truly marries him, won't she suffer misery for her entire life?” Dugu Wudi said angrily. “When that brat returns, I’ll castrate him! That’s the plan!”

“Stuff your nonsense!” The Elder Madam Dugu was furious and frustrated. “Now that this has happened, can Xiaoyi possibly marry someone else? You actually want to ‘castrate’ him? Tell me, how degenerate have you become! How dare you even conceive of such a thought?”

“Hmph hmph… General Dugu truly knows how to speak. ‘Castrate him’? Heh heh, Dugu Wudi, I grant you the authority, but do you dare?” Jun Zhantian looked askance at Dugu Wudi, hugging his arms and snorting twice. “My grandson has been humble and polite since childhood, refined, a figure of talent, a celestial prodigy. How can he become so unbearable in your mouth? I truly don’t know if you are blind, or if that girl Xiaoyi is blind!”

“Jun… Jun Zhantian, you actually have the audacity to say that!” The Elder Madam Dugu looked upon Jun Zhantian with disdain. “With that degenerate son of yours, how can you utter such words now without blushing? What does a little girl know? She was probably fooled senseless by a few sweet words!”

“Sister-in-law, one must speak with a clear conscience. Moxie never actively pursued that girl Xiaoyi; it was always that girl eagerly chasing after Moxie. This is known to everyone. Am I not speaking the truth?” Old Master Jun spoke slowly, bringing up old scores. “I heard that at the Noble Hall Moxie established, someone once declared: ‘If this old man truly runs out of money, I’ll use my daughter to pay the debt; taking that boy as a son-in-law to settle the debt, wouldn't that work?!’”

The Elder Madam Dugu’s eyes immediately sharpened, her gaze locking onto her son, Dugu Wudi: “You beast, did you say that?”

This chapter was collected and published by the Four Friends of Zhu Ji Ji Kou Shan.

Great General Dugu was completely dumbfounded, but under his mother’s imposing authority, how could he dare deny it? “W-w-well, I was being pressured by that boy at the time, it was just something said offhandedly, no one took it seriously…!”

“Pah! No one took it seriously? You still have the nerve to say that!”

The Elder Madam Dugu was momentarily speechless!

Seeing that he had gained the upper hand, the Old Master immediately pressed his advantage.

“Sister-in-law, as the saying goes, a good man doesn't argue with a woman. I won’t argue with you over past matters.

“Saying anything now is futile. The biggest issue right now is, cough, cough, the two of them are already completely cooked—the rice is done. I came here merely to seek your opinion!”

Old Master Jun sneered, quickly changing the subject again. “To put it bluntly, if your Dugu family insists on refusing to marry off your daughter, our Jun family isn't necessarily desperate to take your girl either! Moreover, if you’re unwilling to marry, we might not even be willing to marry! If Moxie truly had no issue, would there be a need for you to take your daughter to…?” He paused, then continued cuttingly, “Frogs with three legs are rare in this world, but women with two legs are plentiful! The Emperor’s Divine Ceremony Princess visits our house daily. Your Dugu family isn’t the only one with daughters in the capital! Becoming the Emperor’s son-in-law, having the title of Imperial Son-in-Law, is that worse than being the son-in-law of the Dugu noble house? Not to mention there is Qinghan ready and waiting—that girl suffered immense disaster through no fault of her own…”

Old Master Jun spoke with absolute confidence. Having been provoked by Dugu Wudi’s earlier threat of castration, his words were utterly unrestrained, falling just short of outright cursing. However, what he said had almost the same effect as a public outburst.

“Coming to you today serves three purposes. First, to ask what you plan to do about this matter? The second objective is that, regardless of anything else, what your family’s daughter did has entangled Moxie and Guan Qinghan. Although Qinghan dissolved her engagement with our Jun family and has become Wu Yi’s adopted daughter, few people know this. To outsiders, she is still the Jun family’s eldest daughter-in-law, at least nominally. Now that this has happened, it certainly cannot be kept secret, and a solution must be found! This also involves the scandal of an uncle and sister-in-law. This is a monumental disgrace! Even if your Dugu Noble House does not offer your daughter in marriage, you must give us an explanation for this incident!”

“Thirdly, if your Dugu Noble House wishes to remain aloof, that’s fine too. However, as the saying goes, money makes the world go round. This matter can certainly be smoothed over with a large sum of silver. Therefore, hurry up and give me that ninety-plus million taels of silver—and this time, there can be no delays.”

Old Master Jun spoke quickly and urgently, his words crystal clear. The men and women of the Dugu family were momentarily stunned. Although Jun Zhantian’s words were harsh, they cut straight to the core. Just now, everyone had been preoccupied with Dugu Xiaoyi, overlooking the relationship between Jun Moxie and Guan Qinghan.

In the end, this was the real climax! Dugu Xiaoyi brought this upon herself, but Jun [Moxie] and Guan Qinghan were the true victims!

If this matter were to escalate, the Dugu Noble House certainly could not escape involvement! After all, the incident stemmed from Dugu Xiaoyi. If there were political attacks in court, they would surely leverage the uncle/sister-in-law issue, even if they knew Dugu Xiaoyi was involved, they would wisely remain silent.

It took immense courage to provoke two major military powers simultaneously. But if the Jun family were pushed too far, and the Jun family disregarded everything to publicly announce Dugu Xiaoyi’s drugging incident, then even refusing the marriage would become impossible! A noble young lady of a great family resorting to such an act to force consummation with a man was a huge joke, a massive scandal in itself!

What’s more, Dugu Xiaoyi used poison to force consummation!

This was a low-class, despicable tactic only employed by common thieves!

Thinking of this, the Elder Madam Dugu suddenly erupted in fury: “Hmph! Why would a family guard possess aphrodisiacs? These guards were all selected for their loyalty before being sent to Tiannan, and their duty before leaving was to protect the inner family dependents. How could they carry poisons on their person? What were they planning to do?”

Upon hearing this, both Dugu Zongheng and Dugu Wudi shuddered, their faces suddenly turning grim and ugly. Dugu Wudi’s sharp, falcon-like gaze swept over the one Madam and seven concubines, chillingly sharp, like a blade!

“Cough, cough, the medicine that girl used, I heard it was for men only… cough, cough… the guard’s body, cough, cough, had some issues… wasn’t up to the task…” Old Master Jun felt extremely awkward, but he had to step forward to explain. If he didn't clarify, a bloody incident might erupt right here…

“So that’s how it is…” The gazes of the two bear-like men instantly softened.

All the women breathed a collective sigh of relief. Everyone had been sweating from tension. If such a stain were attached to them, they would never be able to hold their heads up again; even the suspicion alone was mortifying enough.

Although this incident hadn't caused a major stir, what Jun Zhantian mentioned regarding the three objectives was truly deadly.

Listening to Jun Zhantian’s three points, the Elder Madam Dugu and Dugu Zongheng nearly choked. Dugu Zongheng’s old grief was suddenly reignited, and he exploded in rage, rushing over and grabbing Dugu Wudi to beat him again: “Hmph, damn it! You bastard, you brought this ninety million debt upon us for no reason, and your daughter is even better, causing a truly bizarre tale for the world! I… I… I’ll beat you to death, you bastard!”

“Stop!” Old Master Jun shouted. “Hmph, you old scoundrel, stop putting on a show in front of me! Speak plainly, what is to be done about this? It’s a single sentence matter. I’m anxious to arrange countermeasures! Although a gag order was issued regarding this matter in Tiannan, I estimate that all the major families have already received news. His Majesty surely knows by now. I am currently facing a huge headache, and you two are still quibbling! Damn it, don’t you know time is precious?! Still acting out a grand drama?!”

“It’s fine to postpone the marriage issue for now, but this matter… Although our two families have never allied, this time we must make an exception and unite.” The Elder Madam Dugu made a decisive ruling. “No matter what, your Jun family’s reputation cannot be lost, and my little girl Xiaoyi’s reputation cannot be ruined.”

“Reputation? What reputation is left now!” Dugu Zongheng’s chest heaved with anger. “She actively drugged someone! What reputation is left to protect?!”

His rough, calloused fingers pointed at Dugu Wudi and his wives, shaking repeatedly: “Hmph, you—you—you… you raised such a daughter! Such excellent upbringing! You’ve brought utter shame upon the family! A dignified young lady of a prominent house, a noble daughter of a clan, actually committing such a scandalous act! You truly infuriate this old man!”

Dugu Wudi and his wives listened with bowed heads, each thinking inwardly: It’s all because you spoiled her rotten! If we dared to speak loudly to her, you would fly into a rage, let alone lay a hand on her for discipline… Now that she’s become this lawless, you old fool bear ninety percent of the responsibility!

But these thoughts remained only in their minds; who dared to voice them? That would be courting death!

“Since that is the case, our two families must prepare! You know the censors and official talkers in court can talk a living person to death with just their words. Moreover, this is a clear-cut issue, no amount of explanation will change it. I will operate in the shadows, and you will operate in the light; we must cooperate seamlessly to crush this wave of slander, otherwise, both our families will face unimaginable consequences.”

What Old Master Jun said sounded dire, but in his heart, he was greatly relieved. Finally, he had managed to persuade this stubborn family to stand on his side—it truly hadn't been easy!

But with this, victory was practically assured! Two great military families united, an unprecedented show of force. What petty Confucian scholar in the world would dare oppose them?!

“Old Jun—no, Old Master Jun is correct! Our two families must first work together to overcome this difficulty. As for the marriage, there is plenty of time to consider it later. Wait… wait a moment!”

The Elder Madam Dugu stopped halfway through her statement, her tone suddenly shifting back to worry: “Consider it slowly? No! The marriage must also be settled soon! Better safe than sorry; what if that little girl, after this ordeal… becomes pregnant? What then?”

“Impossible? It couldn’t be that coincidental, could it?” Dugu Zongheng and Dugu Wudi exchanged a look, scratching their heads uncertainly. Dugu Wudi even cracked a wide grin: “Hmph, Mother is worrying too much! Just this one time, how could something so unreliable happen? If she really was that potent, wouldn’t Old Master Jun be overjoyed? Besides, Xiaoyi is still young, only sixteen this year; it’s too early…”

“You two pig brains!” The Elder Madam Dugu cursed, frustrated with their lack of insight. “A young man and woman tasting pleasure for the first time—do you think they spent the entire journey idle? It still takes a month or two to reach the capital… You damn fools! If she accidentally gets pregnant, let’s see what excuse you two scoundrels have…”

“Furthermore, we know the Jun family well enough. Although Moxie had a terrible reputation in his earlier years, haven’t we heard he has changed for the better? And he has found a master who is an unparalleled recluse…” The Elder Madam Dugu finished in one breath, her face etched with concern. “It wouldn’t necessarily be a slight to Xiaoyi.”

Hearing this, the expressions of the Madams flashed with shame, but their faces immediately turned pale! This was not an impossible scenario.

“Holy crap!” Dugu Wudi and Dugu Zongheng exclaimed in unison, stunned speechless.

Jun Zhantian listened with growing satisfaction, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes. Hmph, hmph, if it comes to that, this whole affair might not be entirely a bad thing after all…

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