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Marjorie froze for a moment, instinctively asking, “Why don’t you support it? The workshop would benefit women, and you’re a woman yourself.”
Kylie chuckled softly. “Mom, you’re being quite strange. Let’s be honest-a workshop like that is nothing but a refuge for discarded women. If a woman is cast out by her husband’s family, it means she’s rejected by society as well. What’s the use of taking someone
Jessica in? She’s alreadless.
Mom, you’re getting older, yet you’ve become so soft-hearted. Why would you pity people like Jessica?”
Marjorie didn’t know why, but she felt a chill spreading in her chest, gradually extending through her limbs.
“But what if not all women are like Jessica?” she murmured.
“Mom, stop talking nonsense,” Kylie replied, her face now serious. “What kind of good woman would be abandoned? There are laws in place to protect women-so long as a wife serves her husband and fulfills her duties, there’s no reason for her to be cast aside.” As Marjorie heard those words, an indescribable feeling stirred in her heart.
Before her daughter was married, she had been a well-known scholar in the capital, well-versed in literature. Back in her boudoir, Kylie had once said something naive-that if women could take the national examinations, she would have been able to serve in the government.
But now, Kylie was so far removed from the suffering of the common people, and even further from the sorrow of women. Marjorie wouldet rather her daughter say she didn’t want to intervene because she was afraid of angering Salvador Hearing her speak so coldly about women was truly disheartening.
Marjorie fell silent. Some words, if they weren’t pleasant to hear, would only cause resentment.
Still, Marjorie couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. Why was it that men viewed women this way, yet women treated other women the same?
The scholars submitted their articles, but Jacob rejected them outright without even presenting them to Rafael. The scholars’ attitudes were dismissive, and they still held prejudice against the workshop. They were reluctant to even consider issuing a clarification. “Submit it again tomorrow. If it’s still like this, then there’s no need to bother coming back,” Jacob instructed indifferently.
“Sir, you’re a scholar yourself. Now that you’ve gained power, why are you making things difficult for other scholars?” one scholar asked, gritting his teeth.
Jacob responded with the simplest, most direct retort, “It’s a pity you weren’t born a woman. Maybe then, you’d understand the hardships your mothers face.” “What does the workshop have to do with women? It’s a place for discarded wives,” another one of them scoffed.
Jacob’s expression darkened. “If there are discarded husbands, they can go too.”
The scholars froze.
“Discarded husbands? Such talk is absurd!”
Jacob looked at them with scorn in his eyes. “Oh, really? Why wouldn’t there be discarded husbands? Are all men in this world so virtuous, so much better than women?”
“Men face hardships. They build careers, support their wives, and raise children. What doesn’t a man do?” one of them argued.
Jacob shot back, “And what doesn’t a woman do?”
The scholars stared at him in shock, as if he had just uttered some blasphemous words.
“There’s only one day left,” Jacob continued. “If I don’t have an article I’m satisfied with by this time tomorrow, then forget about your future. You can go back to farming, sell your articles, or let your wives sell their embroidery. Maybe they’ll support you until your hair turns gray, and when they’re old, you can just kick them out.”
With that, Jacob gestured for Travis to escort them out.
Swinging an iron rod menacingly, Travis shouted harshly, “You lot crawled out from under a woman’s skirt, studied for a few years, and are now acting all high and mighty and insulting your mothers.
“The one thing I hate most in this world is people like you who are ignorant, ungrateful, don’t stand up for others, and don’t understand the hardships of life. All you do is criticize this and that. Did all your education go to the dogs? If you have the ability to denounce corruption, come talk to me and I’ll cheer you on!”
Though they looked down on this crude, rough man, the scholars couldn’t even lift a hand to defend themselves. Now, with one blow, they were forced to flee in disgrace.
The next day, they all dutifully submitted their articles.
This time, Jacob was much more satisfied. At least they had written about the hardships and helplessness of women in the world, as well as acknowledged the original intent behind the establishment of Skye Embroidery. After all, not all women who were cast out were terribly wicked. Even those who had erred deserved a chance to redeem themselves.
The articles also touched on how being abandoned was already enough of a disgrace, and without a place to stay, the only option left was death. A question was raised: Should abandoned women be denied the right to live? But, as expected, the scholars were still reluctant to sign their names or stamp their seals.
When Jacob saw them hesitate for a third time, his patience finally snapped.
The sound of footsteps came from outside. Before Travis even entered, the scholars had already signed their names and stamped their seals, eager to leave. By the time Travis walked in holding his iron rod, they were already pushing and shoving each other out the door. Having the articles only solved part of the issue. The situation at Ironridge Estate still needed thorough investigation. The public had already decided that Jessica was guilty of heinous crimes-plotting to harm the marquis’ child, being unable to tolerate concubines, and even abusing her servants.
“Mr. Mullen!” he called out.
The charge of servant abuse had stirred a great deal of public outrage. Many poor families had children sold into servitude, sent off to high-ranking households as slaves or maids. So, this accusation struck a deep chord with the people, stirring both sympathy and anger. Fortunately, Violet and Claire soon returned with the results of their investigation.
As soon as Violet saw Sophie, she immediately reported, “It was Giles. He organized the maids and servants to track down the storytellers and paid to spread rumors about Jessica’s behavior at Ironridge Estate. I found one of the maids. After a little intimidation, she confessed that most of the stories were fabricated. Jessica never mistreated them. They were all Emma’s servants.”
Sophie furrowed her brows, already suspecting it had something to do with Emma. Knowing how the years at Ironridge Estate had been unkind to her, having to not only manage the household but also bear children, Sophie had desperately hoped it wouldn’t be her. Jessica frequently criticized her, and although Emma was Margaret’s niece, she wasn’t the primary wife. While she oversaw the internal affairs of the household and social engagements outside, her standing was always questionable.
Violet was also frustrated. “What should we do? Could it really be her? If it’s her… well, the woman is dead. Will the Marquis of Ironridge and the old matriarch even believe this? And there’s no solid evidence to prove that Emma arranged everything before her death. The testimony of one maid isn’t enough. She could easily say I coerced her.”
Sophie thought for a moment before saying, “Then, let’s have Luke summon Giles again. This time, we’ll question him ourselves.”
“That seems like the only option. After all, everything traces back to him. He definitely wouldn’t target Jessica without reason-someone must be pulling his strings from behind the scenes,” Violet concurred.
Sophie nodded, then instructed someone to get Luke. Once they had a thorough understanding of Giles’ involvement, they might be able to piece things together.
Luke was stunned when he heard that Giles was behind the schemes. His round face twisted with anger. “So, everything he told me before was that just to mislead me so I’d report back to Her Grace?”
“That’s a strong possibility. He might have intentionally mixed up the facts, making us believe that Jessica was a villain. She may be one, but in this case, she might actually be innocent,” Violet replied.
“Right. He’s making sure we jump to conclusions and distrust Jessica. He probably didn’t mean to deceive or manipulate you on purpose. Let’s get to the bottom of things first, and we can confront him once it’s clear,” said Sophie, trying to reassure Luke.
Though Sophie wasn’t entirely sure of Giles’ intentions, she didn’t believe him to be a malicious person. After all, if he were truly deceitful, Luke wouldn’t have maintained a friendship with him for so many years.
Luke’s face paled slightly. “Never mind. If he really did use me, then I can’t say anything. After all, it wasn’t entirely appropriate for me to ask him about the inner workings of the marquis’ household. I just thought that, after all these years of friendship and because we come from the same place, he wouldn’t deceive me.”
“How much do you know about Giles?” Violet asked.
Luke calmed down and replied, “He’s loyal, no doubt. When Lady Emma was in charge of managing the household, she relied heavily on him. She also promoted him to steward, and even married one of her personal maids to his son. In terms of Toyalty, he’s far more dedicated to Lady Emma than to the Marquis of Ironridge’s family.”
Hearing this, Sophie and Violet exchanged glances. It seemed increasingly likely that Emma had orchestrated everything.
Luke went off to invite Giles to Glimmering Tower, while Sophie and Violet made their way to Arcane Sanctum. They sought out Sebastian to ask whether a stable pregnancy could be threatened by taking laxatives.
Sebastian explained, “It depends on the dosage. If too much is taken and it causes severe diarrhea, it could indeed result in a miscarriage. If the dosage is small and there is proper treatment after, there shouldn’t be any issues, especially with a pregnancy that’s stable to begin with.”
He looked up at them, his gaze sharp. “Are you asking about the concubine from Ironridge Estate?”
Violet’s eyes lit up. “Sebastian, you’re incredible! How did you know we were talking about her?”
Sebastian chuckled. “It’s common knowledge in the capital now. She was given several doses of laxatives by Jessica, which caused a miscarriage and possibly damaged her womb so she can never have children again.”