Chapter 74: The Ruthless Marquisate

Shen Ningyuan’s words made Chen’s heart suffocate.

I thought about what I said to Ji Yunhuan before I left.

Chen only felt that there was an invisible hand tightly grasping her heart.

"Think about it carefully. If Chen Ningyuan doesn't die, you will have to be sent to the temple to become a monk. By then, your parents won't be able to take you back."

At this moment, Chen's own words kept repeating in his ears.

Seeing that Chen didn't say anything, Shen Ningyuan didn't give up and continued to ask: "Mother-in-law, I really want to know, what did you say to my sister-in-law that made her so discouraged that she came to the back garden and jumped into the lake to commit suicide?"

Chen was still immersed in her own thoughts and didn’t hear clearly what Shen Ningyuan said.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Uncle Chen quickly stepped forward and said, "Madam, the servants in the mansion said that when the snake was in the ancestral hall, the eldest lady left the ancestral hall with you. Is that true?"

Uncle Chen's question directly made Shen Ningyuan raise her eyebrows and smile, "Uncle Chen, what do you mean by asking this?"

Uncle Chen's face darkened, and he said in a cold voice: "The last time anyone in the mansion saw the eldest lady was with the young mistress. I have to doubt it."

"Do you doubt me?" Shen Ningyuan asked directly.

Uncle Chen nodded and said righteously: "Yes, I have reason to suspect the young lady!"

He thought that Shen Ningyuan would be extremely nervous after being questioned by him.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ningyuan was very calm.

She looked at Uncle Chen with cold eyes, opened her red lips slightly, and asked word by word: "Of course you have reason to doubt me."

Shen Ningyuan changed the subject, "But, what qualifications do you have to doubt me?"

"I am the young lady of the Marquis's Mansion, the future mistress of the house. You are just the accountant of the Marquis's Mansion. Do you think you can tell me what to do just because you are related to my mother-in-law?"

“It’s not your turn to question what I, Shen Ningyuan, do!”

Shen Ningyuan emphasized the last sentence.

The look he gave Uncle Chen became even colder.

Uncle Chen was so angry at Shen Ningyuan that he couldn't find any words to refute for a while.

He could only look to Chen beside him for help.

At this time, Chen had already come back to her senses. After accepting Uncle Chen's request for help, she looked at Shen Ningyuan and scolded seriously: "He is Yunchuan's uncle, and he is also your uncle. They are all your elders. Why is he not qualified to teach you how to do things?"

"Uncle?" Shen Ningyuan chuckled, "Mother-in-law, are you sure that the person standing next to you is really your brother?"

This question made Mrs. Chen and Uncle Chen's faces change.

"What do you mean? Why isn't he my brother? If he isn't, how can I trust him to manage the accounts of the Marquis' Mansion?" Chen asked back.

But his tone was clearly guilty.

Hearing this, Shen Ningyuan said meaningfully: "In this world, it's not only brothers and sisters who can trust each other. Some special relationships also require mutual trust, don't they?"

After hearing this, Uncle Chen and Mrs. Chen's faces became even uglier.

Two pairs of eyes stared at Shen Ningyuan in disbelief.

Obviously, both of them were afraid that Shen Ningyuan might have discovered something.

The reactions of the two made Shen Ningyuan very satisfied.

Her guess turned out to be correct!

In her previous life, she was bound in a chastity arch, and Chen would also bring Chen Bo to the chastity arch.

At that time, she felt that something was wrong between the two of them.

Now, as soon as I try, problems arise.

Shen Ningyuan was basically certain that the relationship between Chen and Uncle Chen was not as simple as that between siblings.

Seeing Shen Ningyuan's meaningful smile, Chen was about to refute, but heard Ji Zehai's low question from behind: "What special relationship?"

Chen paused, then quickly turned around and ran towards Ji Zehai, "My Lord, you are finally here. Our Huan'er she...she..."

Before she could finish her words, Chen threw herself into Ji Zehai's arms and burst into tears.

Hearing this, Ji Zehai's expression changed instantly, "Are you saying that Huan'er was really drowned?"

"Yeah." Chen nodded.

Ji Zehai's face changed drastically. He immediately pushed Chen away and pushed through the crowd to the shore.

After seeing Ji Yunhuan on the ground, Ji Zehai instantly lost his mind and wailed loudly: "Who did it? Who did it?"

At this time, Ji Zehai's eyes were full of bloodshot.

Ji Zehai squatted down, picked up the soaked Ji Yunhuan, and asked angrily: "Huan'er was confined to his own yard, how could he suddenly run to the back garden and drown?"

As he spoke, Ji Zehai looked at the two gatekeepers and said, "Didn't I tell you to watch over the young lady and not let her go out casually? What do you think?"

Facing Ji Zehai's questioning, the two servants repeated what they had said when they were questioned by Shen Ningyuan.

Finally, the two servants were smart enough to tell Ji Yunhuan about the fact that Chen and Uncle Chen had been to Ji Yunhuan's yard.

After hearing the last sentence, Ji Zehai's suspicious gaze also fell on Chen and Uncle Chen.

After a while, Ji Zehai stood up and looked at the two of them coldly, "What are you doing in Huan'er's yard?"

Facing Ji Zehai's questioning, Chen's face panicked and she quickly explained, "My Lord, the funeral will be held in two days. I went to Huan'er's yard just to tell her not to cause trouble and to take good care of herself when she goes to the temple after the funeral. I have no other evil intentions!"

But Ji Zehai didn't believe her words at all.

"Did you just tell Huan'er these?" Ji Zehai asked again.

Mrs. Chen did not respond, but subconsciously glanced at Uncle Chen.

Ji Zehai noticed this scene and realized that something was wrong. He looked at Chen Bo with questioning eyes, "You are the accountant of the Marquis's Mansion. Why did you follow the Madam to the eldest lady's courtyard?"

Hearing Ji Zehai ask this, Shen Ningyuan frowned slightly.

There is something wrong with Ji Zehai's attitude towards Uncle Chen.

Could it be that he knew from the beginning that Uncle Chen was not Chen's biological brother?

Under Shen Ningyuan's suspicious gaze, Uncle Chen quickly explained, "Today, the young lady was checking the accounts of the mansion. There were some expenses that needed your review, so I went to find her. It happened that she was going to see the eldest lady, so I followed her."

This explanation is a bit far-fetched.

Ji Zehai didn't believe it and asked directly: "Just now the two servants said that only you and the Madam entered the eldest lady's courtyard."

Chen Bo's face was in a panic. He didn't dare to look directly at Ji Zehai, and said quickly: "My Lord, I just accompanied Madam to the eldest lady's courtyard, and didn't do anything else!"

The more nervous he was, the more suspicion appeared in Ji Zehai's eyes.

But Ji Zehai also knew that the most important person at the moment was Ji Yunhuan.

Thinking of this, Ji Zehai withdrew his gaze and didn't want to care about it anymore.

He turned to look at Ji Yunhuan and asked in a cold tone, "Have you confirmed that the young lady is dead?"

After the words fell, the servant who was closest to him replied in a trembling voice: "My Lord, the eldest lady is definitely... dead."

"In that case, prepare a coffin tonight and bury her and Chuan'er together. This will also preserve their brother-sister relationship!"