Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Green, Dog Eats Dog

Zhao Qingyi hurried all the way, her heart beating so fast that it seemed like it was about to jump out of her chest at any moment, but fortunately, the road out of the palace was smooth.

It was not until she got on the carriage that she thought, if His Majesty really wanted to stay in her Fengyi Palace, would she offend His Majesty by leaving without saying goodbye?

It was no big deal for her to offend His Majesty, but she was afraid that it would implicate her father.

But since she had already left, there was no point in regretting it now. Before His Majesty's attitude became clear, she might as well play dumb.

Zhao Qingyi first went to his own restaurant to have lunch, and then rushed to the old house to see the situation of the refugees.

As the carriage arrived, Qiao Yue hurried over, looking flustered. "County Lady, I have something important to tell you."

The master, his servants and their two companions entered the old house in tacit understanding. There was a small side room inside for people to rest. At this moment, the other servants were busy outside and there were no outsiders in the house. Qiao Yue told them all the news she had overheard.

Zhao Qingyi's pale eyes gradually turned cold.

Divorce is inevitable, so even if Zhao Manyi tries every means to return to the Li family, she just wants to keep to herself. As long as the other party doesn't take the initiative to cause trouble, she will turn a blind eye.

Anyway, the Li family is doomed to fall, and Zhao Manyi will be in trouble sooner or later if she follows Li Che, so there is no need to dirty her hands.

But Zhao Manyi wanted to die, so we can't blame her for being cruel and ruthless and taking the initiative.

Zhao Qingyi told the two maids not to make a fuss, and the next few days were just like any other, doing what they had to do. And since Zhao Manyi came to the old house, she followed behind their carriage for several days, saying that she wanted to help her rescue the refugees and accumulate merit for the child in her womb.

Zhao Qingyi acquiesced. In the first few days, she didn't notice any clues. The other party was indeed working diligently. If he hadn't known in advance that she wanted to harm him, he would have thought that she really wanted to change her ways and start a new life.

Fortunately, this scene did not last too long. One day at noon, Zhao Qingyi was lying on the couch taking a nap, and two maids were guarding outside the door.

Zhao Manyi ran over in a panic, "Oh no! A few refugees have suddenly started vomiting and having diarrhea. I don't know if they have an upset stomach or something. You guys should go and take a look!"

The two maids knew what was going on. After looking at each other, they walked in the direction she pointed.

As soon as the others left, Zhao Manyi's expression changed, with a sneer on her red lips. She had been pretending these past few days, and finally she had paralyzed these two bitches, giving her the opportunity.

After Tan Yue Qiao Yue left, Zhao Manyi brought out the fragrant tea that she had prepared in advance and walked into the house leisurely.

Zhao Qingyi heard footsteps, slowly opened his eyelids, and said nothing.

"Big sister." Zhao Manyi walked to the bed and handed over the tea. "Big sister, you've worked hard. Would you like a cup of tea to moisten your throat?"

Zhao Qingyi only glanced at it, sat up straight, and didn't take it. When she was out, she didn't burn incense or eat anything anyone gave her. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Zhao Manyi said embarrassedly, "I know I've done a lot of wrong things before, and Big Sister resents me. I don't expect Big Sister to forgive me, but... I just hope Big Sister can give me a chance to make a new life."

She kept serving tea and moved closer to Zhao Qingyi. "After all, you and I are cousins. You've been treating me the best since we were little. I don't want to create any more rifts with you because of a man."

"Look, big sister, this is the tea I brewed myself. You taught me this skill before I got married." Zhao Manyi said it with sincerity and every word was moving.

Zhao Qingyi lowered her eyes and saw a light yellow-green glass teacup. The tea soup inside was clear blue and the aroma was thick and fragrant, hitting her nose directly.

"Big sister, please believe me this time. I will never compete with you in the future. I just want to protect my child and live the rest of my life in peace." Zhao Manyi was afraid that she would not believe him, so she knelt down, holding the teacup high in her hands, as if she would not get up from her knees if Zhao Qingyi did not let go.

Where she couldn't see, Zhao Qingyi stared at the teacup in confusion for a moment.

There must be something fishy about this tea, but if I don't drink it...

No, Zhao Manyi was not smart, but she should have understood her habits before taking action. In addition, after observing her for the past few days, she knew that she was cautious and never ate food prepared by others.

The medicine shouldn't have entered her system through tea.

Zhao Qingyi picked up the teacup and caught a glimpse of a fleeting smile on the other person's lips.

She secretly raised her eyebrows and brought the tea to her nose to smell it. The aroma of the tea was very strong, so strong that it was choking.

Zhao Qingyi sighed inwardly, and suddenly his hand shook, causing the teacup to fall, splashing tea all over Zhao Manyi.

Zhao Manyi screamed and jumped up suddenly. Fortunately, it was cold in early spring and she was wearing thick clothes, otherwise the scalding tea would have splashed on her delicate skin.

Thinking of this, Zhao Manyi was furious. Just as she was about to confront Zhao Qingyi with an angry look, the other party held his forehead and shook his head, "What's going on..."

Zhao Manyi's anger quickly turned into fake concern, and she helped her up, "Big sister, are you dizzy?"

Oh yes, dizziness.

Zhao Qingyi was very understanding and nodded weakly, "I am a little... dizzy..."

As soon as she finished speaking the last word, she fell back onto the couch, unconscious.

Zhao Manyi pushed twice to confirm that she had really fainted, then she completely relaxed and kicked the fallen teacup away.

Of course she knew Zhao Qingyi's vigilance, and that poisoning with incense would not work, so she mixed the incense into the tea and let it spread through the aroma. As long as Zhao Qingyi smelled it long enough, he would fall into a coma without anyone noticing.

This was her first attempt, and she didn't expect it to be successful.

Zhao Manyi was secretly proud and clapped her hands. A man walked in, rubbing his chest and grinning, "You are really generous. You dare to give me such a fairy-like sister."

If he messed with Zhao Qingyi, the county lady, he would inevitably be beaten. However, as the saying goes, if you die under the peony flowers, you will be a romantic ghost. What's more, he has the leverage over Zhao Manyi, and Zhao Manyi will rescue him later.

"Stop talking nonsense. If you want to take action, do it quickly. I'll go call someone." Zhao Manyi was too lazy to even look at the man. After urging him, she prepared to leave.

At this moment, two clubs fell at the same time, hitting Zhao Manyi and the man on the back of the head, and both fell down.

"You really have bad intentions!" Tan Yue threw away the fire stick and went over to help Zhao Qingyi up.

Zhao Qingyi woke up and sighed heavily, "Auntie Fang is so bad at raising her daughter. My cousin is still so useless. She can't even administer the medicine, and I have to pretend to faint myself."

Mixed in the tea fragrance, the last little dose released would probably take her half an hour to faint. Moreover, it was a cold spring season, and the hot tea would cool down after a while, and the tea fragrance would become even weaker, making it useless.

Zhao Qingyi tidied her hair and stepped over the man and woman on the ground. "Move them to the couch and lock the doors and windows."

Tan Yue and Qiao Yue responded in unison, and together they gathered the people together. They also nailed the windows shut with wooden nails to ensure that the two could not escape after waking up. Only then did Qiao Yue happily run back to the Li family to inform them.

It would be a great loss if Li Che didn't witness such a grand scene with his own eyes.

Zhao Qingyi went to the next room and sipped her tea leisurely. She felt that she was too kind. At least she let Li Che know who cheated on her and who she was going to raise the child for. She let Li Che know that he would be clear about the matter and would not have to worry and be suspicious every day.

Where can I find such a virtuous lady like her?

However, Tan Yue Qiaoyue was a girl after all, and she didn't hit him hard enough. The man next door woke up soon, held the back of his swollen head and sat up, cursing from time to time, as if he didn't realize his situation.

Until he tried to open the door and go out, he found that the door was locked from the outside, and even the only window was nailed tightly with wooden boards.

The man suddenly felt something was wrong and searched everywhere in the house for any useful tools, but unfortunately all the useful objects had been taken away. He was unarmed and it was difficult to break the window and escape by brute force.

As a last resort, he woke up Zhao Manyi, thinking that more people would help her come up with more ideas.

Zhao Manyi opened her eyes with a confused look on her face, and felt a pain in the back of her head.

"Where's the county lady? Didn't you want to get me a county lady for fun? Why am I locked up in this shabby house?"

The man and Zhao Manyi had only a fleeting romance and there was no trust between them at all. He immediately thought that the other party was plotting against him and spoke in a very bad tone.

Zhao Manyi was shaken by his shoulders, feeling as if her bones were about to fall apart. "What are you crazy about?"

She pushed the man away, took several steps back while protecting her belly, and began to look around.

What's going on? Wasn't Zhao Qingyi supposed to be locked up in the room? How did she get herself involved?

The man chased after her, "Stop pretending! Do you want to kill me? I'm telling you, if anything happens to you today, I'll drag you down with me to hell!"

"Why would I harm you?" Zhao Manyi was furious. "If I were to harm you, would I lock myself in the room too? Idiot! We've been framed by that bitch Zhao Qingyi!"

Zhao Manyi was filled with deep regret. She was so careless that something went wrong even when things were halfway done. "Hurry up and find a way to break the door open. Otherwise, if someone sees us, we'll both be finished!"

The man knew how serious the situation was and immediately slammed his body against the door.

He was idle, but Zhao Manyi was the official's woman after all. If someone caught his affair with Zhao Manyi, he would be thrown into a pig cage at best, and his head would be lost at worst. He knew this clearly.

But the man's arms were bruised from the collision, and the door still didn't move, so he had to turn around and smash the window.

Outside the window was a corridor where refugees and servants of the Li family passed by from time to time. Hearing the voices, the man shrank back in fear.

They couldn't bump into each other again. If the noise got out of hand and people came early, it would be bad. For a moment, the two were caught in a dilemma.

"Hurry up and hit it!"

Zhao Manyi was extremely anxious. "That bitch locked us together. She must have a trick up her sleeve. If you don't escape quickly, you'll die!"

The man was furious at her urging, "It's all your fault! If anyone finds out, I'll say you were the mastermind behind it all!"

"You..." Zhao Manyi was completely helpless in the face of this scoundrel. "Why are you so useless? I don't care. I have a child in my belly. I can't let anything happen to me. If I die with you, our child will be gone!"

This man used to be a groom. If it weren't for Jun Ge'er and her desire to return to the capital, why would she have given herself to the groom to get pregnant? Now that things have come to this, she only hopes that he will take on all this for the sake of the child.

Sure enough, when talking about children, the man was moved. He was just a gangster who was lucky enough to get a job as a groom in front of a noble man. He was thirty years old and still had no wife or children. Although the woman in front of him was not his legal wife, at least she was pregnant with his child.

If the child is born, he will be the official's son.

Once the official dies...

The man seemed to see hope and gritted his teeth to continue breaking the window.

Little did they know that during their conversation, Li Che quietly appeared at the door.

When Qiao Yue returned home to report that Zhao Manyi was committing adultery with a man outside, he rushed over doubtfully. Upon learning that the adulterous couple was in the room, he tried to break in but was stopped by Zhao Qingyi.

Zhao Qingyi's goal was to let Li Che hear the truth with his own ears, so Li Che listened outside the door for a while with a sullen face. When he heard Zhao Manyi say with her own mouth that the baby in her belly was someone else's, he immediately became furious.

Zhao Qingyi looked at his expression and knew that the fire was almost out, and all that was needed was to add some firewood.

When the lock on the door was opened, Li Che kicked the door directly.

The moment the door was broken open, Zhao Manyi cried with joy, thinking that she was saved, but then she saw Li Che walking towards her with a dark face and a menacing look.

"Bitch!"

A roar of shock and anger exploded in the corridor, as if releasing the pent-up depression in his heart for many days. Li Che took two steps at a time, grabbed Zhao Manyi who was lying limp on the ground, and slapped her in the face with a loud slap.

"You shameless bitch!"

He didn't hold back the slap, and Zhao Manyi screamed. Her delicate body spun around and hit the edge of the bed hard, shaking her internal organs to the point of almost shifting.

Zhao Manyi protected her lower abdomen with one hand and stroked her burning cheek with the other. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears and she was terrified.

"Husband...husband is not what you think!"

Zhao Manyi panicked and quickly knelt down, clutching Li Che's clothes with her pale hands, "Husband, I was framed!"

"Get out of here!"

In the past, Li Che was most susceptible to her affectation, but after learning the truth, her appearance was disgusting no matter how he looked at it.

Li Che kicked her in the heart, and Zhao Manyi screamed again, this time with blood oozing from the corners of her mouth.

He was still not satisfied. He pressed his knees hard on Zhao Manyi and grabbed her clothes with both hands, forcing her to look up. "Why did you betray me? Why?!"

His wife treated him coldly, he failed in his official career, his penis was destroyed, his mother was paralyzed, and now, even his once beloved concubine was having an affair with another man behind his back! And they had a child!

The series of blows that followed one after another had already exceeded his endurance limit. The emotions that had been pent up for a long time finally erupted at this moment, like a flood that had been opened, instantly drowning all his rationality.

"Why did you betray me? Why!"

Li Che's eyes were bloodshot, and he kept repeating this tearful question, "How have I wronged you? Tell me!"

Zhao Manyi had never seen such a terrifying and ferocious face of his. He looked like an evil demon from hell. The intense fear made her lips tremble and she couldn't utter a word.

Li Che's eyes were filled with rage, and he suddenly grabbed Zhao Manyi's neck and said, "Bitch! Die! Die!"

Only by strangling her to death with his own hands can he erase the shame that she brought to him!

Her petite body was completely shrouded in the shadow of his rage. Zhao Manyi resisted his hand tightly, but it was of no avail. Her breathing gradually turned from rapid to weak. Her life was like a candle swaying in the wind, flickering and in danger of being extinguished at any time.

"Husband, husband...jun..."

Zhao Manyi uttered a few words with difficulty, and her pale and pretty face quickly turned a layer of bluish purple.

Such a tragic scene could not awaken Li Che's sanity. Instead, he tightened his hands. His knuckles turned blue and white due to the force, and the veins in his arms throbbed wildly.

Just when Zhao Manyi's eyes turned white and her life was hanging by a thread, the ignored man - the groom found a hemp rope in the corner and suddenly put it around Li Che's neck from behind.

The moment the feeling of suffocation came over him, Li Che groaned, loosened his hands that were pinching Zhao Manyi, and began to struggle hard, pulling at the hemp rope around his neck.

The groom's eyes were red, and just like countless times before, he used a hemp rope to tightly tie Li Che's neck, dragging him backwards and making him fall to the ground.

The truth was revealed, and the groom decided to go all out. As long as he killed Li Che, no one would know about his affair with Zhao Manyi. So he grabbed the man's neck and dragged him along like dragging an animal.

Li Che fell to the ground, his face red from being strangled. When he bumped into the corner of the table, his hand touched a glass teacup, and he immediately raised it and smashed it on his head.

The groom was so focused on strangling him that he was not on guard and was hit on the forehead by the teacup. The strength in his hand loosened, giving Li Che an opportunity to take advantage of.

After Zhao Manyi was rescued, she held her choked neck and coughed hard. When she finally recovered, Li Che was already fighting with the groom, and the scene was in chaos.

It was not difficult to tell the winner between a strong groom and a weak scholar, but perhaps because of his emotions, Li Che fought desperately and was evenly matched with the groom.

After Zhao Manyi calmed down, she supported herself on the bed and stood up, sticking to the door and windows to prepare for escape.

Her selfish behavior angered the groom, "Bitch! Help me now!"

As long as Zhao Manyi was sensible, and the two of them worked together to control Li Che, there would be a way to survive. However, Zhao Manyi didn't want to get involved in this mess at all. The fear of dying before was deeply engraved in her heart, and she just wanted to escape alone as soon as possible.

Let them fight, it would be best if both of them were injured, so that no one would care about her.

Zhao Manyi had everything planned out, and just as she was about to cross the threshold and escape, the groom threw Li Che over his shoulder, and Li Che's body hit the door, blocking Zhao Manyi's way.

Zhao Manyi held her head and screamed, and Li Che, with a bruised face, grabbed her ankle and dragged her to the ground.

The extreme anger made Li Che's mentality completely distorted. Even if he was beaten to death today, he would never let this woman who betrayed him have an easy time!

With all his might, Li Che subdued Zhao Manyi again and beat her up.

Soon Zhao Manyi was beaten black and blue, with her hair disheveled. When she was pinned to the ground by Li Che, the scattered hairpin scratched her cheek, leaving a deep blood mark.

An extremely sharp pain swept over her, and Zhao Manyi curled up on the ground, covering her face and crying.

Li Che's eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, he was not just venting his anger, but also feeling refreshed, a twisted kind of refreshment.

He looked at the thick blood flowing out of Zhao Manyi's lower body and laughed with his head tilted back.

He also killed that evil creature, that’s great!

Zhao Manyi, and that bastard, are all stains on his life! They both deserve to die!

Zhao Manyi was covered in wounds. When she noticed something was wrong with her abdomen, she felt a sticky, burning sensation under her skirt. "It hurts... My stomach... It hurts so much..."

Zhao Manyi propped up her upper body, but when she saw the pool of blood beneath her, she could no longer hold on and fainted.

When the groom saw this scene, a chill ran up from the soles of his feet to his forehead.

The child that was aborted was his.

"You murderer!"

The groom pounced on Li Che and knocked him to the ground and beat him.

From beginning to end, Zhao Qingyi watched coldly outside the door. Only after the people inside started to fight each other and were all injured did he lazily send someone to report to the police.

Around the wing room, a group of refugees gathered to watch the excitement. This time, Zhao Qingyi didn't need to find someone to spread the news. With these refugees seeing it with their own eyes, the news would spread throughout the city within two days.

When the officers from the Five Cities Military Commission arrived, Li Che was still fighting with the groom fiercely. They were finally separated with the intervention of the officers. When they separated, both men were bruised and half-dead.

Zhao Qingyi briefly explained the situation to the people from the Wucheng Bingmasi, and the groom and Zhao Manyi were charged with adultery and directly transferred to the Ministry of Justice for imprisonment.

As for Li Che, he still had some achievements to his name and was the victim in this case, so he could only be carried back to the Li family for treatment and then go to the Ministry of Justice in a few days.

Now in the Li family, Mrs. Luo is paralyzed in bed, and Li Susu is the only one who can take charge. When she saw her brother being carried back covered in blood, she was frightened and burst into tears, not knowing what to do. In desperation, she ran to Mrs. Luo's bed and cried.

Luo, who had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, was about to recover. He had regained consciousness and was barely able to speak. However, when he heard about this, he became so angry that he vomited blood and fainted again.

The matter concerned Zhao Manyi, and the Zhao family also received the news. Old Madam Zhao said bluntly that she didn't care and stayed at home chanting Buddhist scriptures. As for the eldest wife, as Zhao Qingyi's parents, they were already dissatisfied with their niece who interfered in their daughter's marriage. Now that the other party had brought this upon herself, they naturally chose to stand by and watch.

Only Aunt Fang was left, running around in panic. She knelt before the Second Master Zhao Huailiang and cried bitterly, "Even if Man'er is expelled from the Zhao family, she is still a piece of flesh and blood that fell from my body. She is our biological daughter!"

Aunt Fang tried to persuade Zhao Huailiang with the ties of family, but Zhao Huailiang snorted coldly, "She's asking for trouble! I've already considered this daughter dead!"

What a joke! If he was willing to take care of Zhao Manyi, he would not have been swept up in the rumors and expelled Zhao Manyi from the clan. Now, if he dares to interfere, there will be impeachment memorials flying all over the place the next day.

For the sake of his own career, he could only and had to watch from the sidelines.

Aunt Fang was disheartened. After a long time, she took out her last savings and went to the Ministry of Justice alone. Only then did she realize that the situation was far worse than she had imagined.

Not to mention the external injuries Zhao Manyi suffered from being punched and kicked by Li Che, the miscarriage alone was enough to be fatal. Aunt Fang spent a lot of money to build relationships and finally brought a doctor to treat Zhao Manyi.

After a few days, Zhao Manyi's condition improved, and the first thing she said was to beg her mother to save her.

In Daliang, if someone was caught committing adultery, he would be punished with at least eighty strokes of the cane. Zhao Manyi was a married woman, so her crime was even more severe, and she would be punished with ninety strokes of the cane. After ninety strokes of the cane, even someone as strong as an ox would have a hard time surviving. The groom was definitely going to die.

Zhao Manyi had just had a miscarriage, so ten strokes of the cane would be enough to kill her, let alone ninety strokes.

"Mom, please save me. Go and ask father and uncle for help. As long as they are willing to come forward, I won't have to die." Across the cell, Zhao Manyi grabbed Aunt Fang's arm tightly.

Aunt Fang looked at her daughter, feeling both disappointed and distressed at the fact that she was alone and helpless. Her nominal father and family were all there, but no one was willing to help her.

"Don't worry, even if I have to spend all my savings, I will get you out." Aunt Fang couldn't bear to tell her daughter the truth. She wiped her tears with her fingertips and said, "Okay, don't cry. I've already thought of a way. I'll put all the blame on that groom. You can insist that he was the one who tarnished your innocence in the nunnery. Then I'll pay for the case."

This move would damage the woman's reputation, but Zhao Manyi's reputation had long been ruined. Instead of fighting for some illusory reputation, it would be better to save her life first.

"When you get out, mother will send someone to escort you out of the capital, and you can go to Qiantang to find Mr. Jiang."

Zhao Manyi stopped crying. What Mr. Jiang?

Aunt Fang looked around and made sure no one was paying attention before she leaned over to her daughter and whispered, "Mother never told you, actually...actually you are not your father's daughter."