Shen Qing, Jiang Shen, and He Fei arrived at the entrance of the accounting office and encountered Cheng Zhiwen, who had rushed over.

Cheng Zhiwen, her face equally pale, stepped forward and took Shen Qing's hand: "Why weren't you resting inside?"

Shen Qing's expression was solemn: "I heard your older brother had an accident, so I came to check on him."

"Stop looking, let's go back." Cheng Zhiwen gave Jiang Shen and He Fei a stern look. "Take Miss Zhu back to rest!"

That glance was a warning to them for taking Shen Qing away from the courtyard without permission.

Jiang Shen and He Fei stepped forward to persuade Shen Qing: "Miss Zhu, please go back."

Shen Qing ignored him and followed Cheng Zhiwen inside.

A large group of maids and servants had gathered at the entrance of the accounting office, and everyone was crying.

As they went inside, there were even more people. When they saw Cheng Zhiwen appear, they automatically made way for her.

Shen Qing followed Cheng Zhiwen inside.

Cheng Zhiwu lay on the ground with his eyes wide open.

Master Cheng knelt down beside him.

If it weren't for the blood gushing from his ears, Shen Qing would have thought he had just fallen.

The person is gone, and died with regrets.

The person who was alive just a few days ago is now a corpse. Shen Qing was shocked and frightened, staring blankly at Cheng Zhiwen walking towards the corpse.

He crouched down, placed his hand under Cheng Zhiwu's nose, and then touched the carotid artery.

Old Master Cheng looked at his second son with a vulnerable expression: "Zhiwen...Zhiwen..."

Cheng Zhiwen's eyes also reddened, and she shook her head helplessly: "The person is gone."

Upon hearing this, Master Cheng immediately collapsed onto his eldest son's corpse, wailing, "Zhiwu... my son... Zhiwu..."

Shen Qing had never heard such a heart-wrenching cry before.

She had attended funerals in modern times, but she had never heard anyone cry so shrilly and heartbreaking.

The surroundings seemed to have entered a gloomy black-and-white purgatory because of the crying.

Fear gripped Shen Qing; she found it hard to even breathe and quietly retreated to the side.

Jiang Shen and He Fei also looked terrible.

Shen Qingchao walked towards them: "They're gone."

Jiang Shen remained silent.

He Fei said, "Let me take you back; there are too many people here."

Shen Qing glanced at Cheng Zhiwen and realized that he was just causing trouble for him. So he told Jiang Shen to help Cheng Zhiwen properly and then left the accounting room with He Fei.

Before returning to her courtyard, she went to see Madam Cheng.

The doctor is taking Cheng Zhangshi's pulse.

Upon seeing Shen Qing enter, Madam Cheng asked anxiously, "Is Zhiwu seriously injured?"

Shen Qing shook his head: "The maids and servants are all there. There are too many people, so I didn't go in. I was thinking of asking Zhiwen more questions when she comes back."

Madam Cheng thought that the servants were worried about Cheng Zhiwu's injuries, so they all squeezed over.

She raised her hand to stroke her pregnant belly and said restrainedly, "Then I'll wait in the yard first. It's really inconvenient for me to go over with so many people around."

If someone gets squeezed or falls, that would be terrible.

Seeing that Madam Cheng was in a stable mood, Shen Qing originally wanted to leave, but when he saw that all the maids and servants in the courtyard were gone, he was afraid that Madam Cheng would need someone, so he stayed to keep her company.

Seeing that Madam Cheng was not with Madam Cheng, Shen Qing asked, "Where is Madam?"

“Mother went to the accounting office and said she wanted to check on Zhiwu’s injuries.”

Shen Qing sighed.

Inside the accounting office.

When Madam Cheng saw that her eldest son was gone, she fainted on the spot.

Cheng Zhiwen had his parents taken back home and then sent someone to report the matter to the authorities.

The prefect of Yongzhou rushed over with the coroner, and Qi Zhenheng also arrived.

The coroner performed an on-site autopsy.

There were no injuries on the body. The coroner suggested taking the body back to the yamen for an autopsy, and Cheng Zhiwen agreed.

By the time everything was finished, it was already sunset.

Cheng Zhiwen went to pick up Shen Qing.

Cheng Zhangshi already knew her husband was gone, and she lay on the bed crying uncontrollably. Shen Qing was afraid something might happen to her, so he offered to stay with her there that night.

Cheng Zhiwu is a despicable person, but Cheng Zhangshi and her child are innocent.

Cheng Zhiwen also stayed.

Seeing that Cheng Zhangshi was pregnant and had to face the blow of her husband's sudden death, Cheng Zhiwen couldn't bear it and her eyes reddened several times.

“Although my elder brother is gone, the Cheng family will always be my sister-in-law’s home. Please rest assured and give birth to my nephew. I will do my best to raise him as if he were my own son.”

As Cheng Zhiwen spoke, she looked up and surveyed the large courtyard: "In the future, everything in the Cheng family will be inherited by my nephew, so please rest assured, sister-in-law."

These words secured the future of Madam Cheng and her unborn child, but they offered little comfort to Madam Cheng, who had just lost her husband.

She had been married to Cheng Zhiwu for several years. Although their feelings for each other were not strong, she was still a husband and his legal wife.

But in the blink of an eye, she became a widow who had lost all her support!

How will the orphan and widow survive in the future?

Even if Cheng Zhiwen promised to give her the entire Cheng family, it could not eliminate the fear and confusion in her heart.

As night deepened, Madam Cheng, exhausted from crying, fell asleep.

Shen Qing quietly closed the door and saw Cheng Zhiwen sitting alone in the pavilion. She walked over and asked softly, "Do you know the cause of death?"

Cheng Zhiwen snapped out of her daze and turned around. Seeing her wearing a thin cashmere dress, she immediately took off her suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“How could your older brother die so suddenly…” Shen Qing recalled Cheng Zhiwu’s unusual death, “It didn’t look like a natural death.”

"The body has been sent to the county government office, and the coroner will give a clear cause of death in two days."

Cheng Zhiwen's voice was very calm, as if she were talking about someone else's business.

Fearing he would be too heartbroken, Shen Qing comforted him, saying, "Please accept my condolences."

"I will." He patted her back gently. "It's late, you should go back and rest. I'll take care of things here, sister-in-law."

Shen Qing was indeed tired, and called He Fei back to the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Qi Zhenheng came to greet him: "Qing'er, you're finally back? How are you feeling?"

The two went inside and sat down on the sofa.

Shen Qing said, "I'm alright. Seeing Cheng Zhiwu die has made me feel much better."

She only dared to say these things in front of Qi Zhenheng.

“I used to live here in fear and anxiety, and I was feeling very uncomfortable both emotionally and physically. Now that I know he’s dead, I feel a little better.”

Qi Zhenheng nodded: "No matter what, now that Cheng Zhiwu is dead, it's a good thing for us."

Shen Qing murmured, "But Cheng Zhiwen seems to be very sad..."

“That’s his own brother, so there’s bound to be some connection. Let’s leave him be. In a few days, once your condition has stabilized, we’ll leave the Cheng family.”

Shen Qing nodded: "Okay, I'm fine now, big brother, you should go and rest."

...

On the other side.

Jiang Shen emerged from the shadows, walked up to Cheng Zhiwen, and bowed: "Mr. Cheng."

Cheng Zhiwen suddenly threw a punch, catching him off guard and knocking him backward.

Cheng Zhiwen leaned down, locked his neck with one hand, and growled, "Is it you or He Fei?"

"...It's me."

Jiang Shen lied.

It wasn't him who betrayed them; it was the other brothers who went into the dungeon with them that day.

But he didn't want Cheng Zhiwen to blame the other brothers for this, which would discourage everyone.

It doesn't matter if he gets scolded; he won't leave Cheng Zhiwen. But the other brothers are disheartened and might defect to Li Chong's side.

Li Chong had been eyeing Cheng Zhiwen's position for a long time...

Cheng Zhiwen threw another punch, and Jiang Shen immediately heard the sound of his nose bone cracking.

"I had already arranged for a ship to take him to America! Why did you still choose to kill him?"