Counterattack

Zhou Xuanyan returned and smiled:

"He'll say I'm just making things up again. The man who just arrived behind me is a gatekeeper from the Zhou residence. Why don't I ask him on your behalf if he's seen a woman who calls herself Yu Niang? Since Yu Niang has come to my residence, why don't we go and ask the Yang residence, and ask Yang Shen?"

Upon hearing Yang Shen's name, Yang Cong stiffened. Zhou Xuanyan became even more certain: "He dared to be so sure that Yu Niang wouldn't appear, simply because Yu Niang was dead. He was quite accurate in his assessment. The two families are now related by marriage. A mistress from her early years—the two masters wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. Yang Shen is just a servant; naturally, he wouldn't dare to speak recklessly. He also thinks he has something on me, that he likes Qi Guanlan. He thinks that if he just says a few words, no one in the world will believe me. How innocent are Yu Niang and I?"

A hush fell over the surroundings as everyone held their breath, listening intently to the Second Miss's analysis. They were full of praise, and their gazes toward her had changed. They hadn't expected the Second Miss to be so intelligent and so fiercely opposed to evil.

"What a cunning scheme, Yang Cong! No wonder I couldn't pass the exams; I hadn't used my talents for anything worthwhile. If I really married you, I'd probably be completely manipulated by you. One wrong move and I wouldn't even know how I died."

Zhou Xuanyan trembled slightly and exclaimed, "Lord Zhou, please go and invite Yang Shen to see what this blockhead thinks!"

"You, you said my daughter wasn't dead!" Wang Zengfu roared, grabbing Yang Cong's collar like a demon. "You lied to me! Give me back my daughter! Yang Cong, you'll die a horrible death!"

"Guards, take Wang Zengfu away for interrogation."

Zhou Chengnian slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Yang Cong, why don't you confess? Where is Yu Niang's body?"

Yang Cong's face flushed red. He shoved Wang Zengfu aside, straightened his clothes, and a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes: "This old man changes his story so easily. How can we believe his testimony? I will never admit to this crime. If you want to torture me into confessing, I will accept it."

Qi Guanlan clicked his tongue in amazement, "Lord Zhou, even if you invite Yang Shen, he'll probably say that I bribed him. This kind of stubborn person is better left to me. I'll castrate him to save him from harming other girls."

Zhou Chengnian wiped the sweat from his forehead. Yang Cong, with a mocking expression and his venomous fangs showing, said, "It's good to have power and influence. Let's see if the emperor can silence the gossip. I want to see if you, Qi Guanlan, can walk out with a clean slate."

"Ha, stop flattering yourself. Look around, who still believes you?" Qi Guanlan said halfway through his sentence, then suddenly turned his gaze to the doorway and froze. Following his gaze, everyone turned around and saw a pitiful woman in green, with bloodshot eyes and bloodstains on her forehead. Even before she removed her veil, she looked terrifying.

"Your Jade Maiden has arrived!"

Qi Guanlan laughed gleefully, his voice, both gentle and domineering, reaching everyone's ears, "Qi Lang, you've made me suffer so much."

The expressions on the faces of those around him changed again. They looked at each other, then pointed at Qi Guanlan again? Yang Cong turned around in shock, his eyes lighting up instantly. He laughed loudly, looking up at the sky:

"I knew Yu Niang wouldn't disappoint. I'm innocent! Qi Guanlan, and you, Zhou Xuanyan, you fickle women, you old liars—this is truly justice, and retribution is swift!"

He wanted to see what other tricks these two adulterers could pull. Qi Guanlan resisted the urge to fight and stood there without flinching, waiting for her to confront him. The woman in green slowly walked in, still calling out to Qi Lang.

"Aren't you Qi Guanlan? Didn't you give me a thumb ring and say you would marry me? Why did you ask Yang Shen to stay away from you? Why did you hire someone to kill me?"

As the questions slammed into his face, Yang Cong's laughter abruptly stopped, his smugness froze on his face, and his eyes gradually became unfocused.

Those around were stunned.

The woman in green called out to Qi Lang, but it turned out to be a feint. She turned around and walked straight towards Yang Cong, saying, "Yang Cong, how could you be so heartless?"

The sharp voice pierced the last shred of hope in Yang Cong's heart. No, Yang Cong shook his head, instinctively taking a step back, his teeth chattering, "It's fake!"

Yu Niang is clearly dead. It must be Qi Guanlan who hired someone to impersonate her to deceive him. Yes, he tried to calm himself down, but his emotions were already overwhelmed, and his voice was tight and hoarse: "You conspired to deceive me."

Yu Niang's eyes welled up with tears as she slowly removed her veil. "Shall I call you Yang Lang now? We've been husband and wife, and I still can't bear to part with you. You crawled out of the gates of hell, and the world knows about our relationship. Why don't we live in seclusion in the mountains? Or do you despise Yu Niang's disfigured face?"

Yang Cong's pupils suddenly contracted, and he was so frightened that he quickly dodged away, as if he couldn't avoid it at all. Yu Niang stared at that terrifying face and followed him closely. The two of them circled around in the hall.

He even instinctively ran towards Qi Guanlan's side, only to be kicked to the doorway by Qi Guanlan. He lay on the ground, unable to get up for a moment. When he looked up, his eyes widened instantly. "You're not dead?"

"That scholar lied to you; he didn't kill Yu Niang."

Wen Ruo walked over holding a letter, bowed and said, "My lord, these are the letters between the two, which were collected by a kind person. Also, Yu Niang's clothes and jade ring that were not burned were found in the Yang residence. Yang Shen is willing to come out and testify."

Believe? Yang Cong, panting heavily, shook off Yu Niang, furious: "Yang Shen, that dog of a servant, actually dared to betray the Yang family! You are also half a member of the Yang family, I am your master, how dare you fake your death to deceive me."

“Yang Shen only did what he was supposed to do,” Wen Ruo said, standing in front of him. “If I didn’t die, how could I put your mind at ease, how could I catch the scholar? He disturbed my mother and framed the princess. He deserves to die and is now in prison. The scholar has already confessed that he was instructed by you. Yang Cong, you hired someone to kill someone. Now that you have caught him red-handed, let’s see how you still try to deny it.”

Yang Cong was surrounded by two people. One was Yu Niang, whose face was painted with flowers and whose eyes seemed to want to say something but couldn't. The other was Wen Ruoliang, who was giving testimony. A bright red handprint came into view. "What? You don't believe me? Do you think I would find someone to impersonate you?"

Yang Cong ignored him, staring at Yu Niang's eyes with a ferocious expression. Upon hearing this, he suddenly lifted Yu Niang's sleeve and was overjoyed: "There is no red mole, she is not Yu Niang."

“You’re right, she isn’t. If we’re talking about who knows Yu Niang best in this world, Wang Zengfu probably doesn’t even know as much as I do. If we’re talking about who understands her best, it should be you!” Wen Ruo said coldly, then looked at Zhou Chengnian and said righteously:

"Lord Zhou, the facts are clear. The marriage was within reach. Whether it was a conspiracy or deception, he and Yu Niang tried to scheme against Qi Guanlan. When they failed to frame him, they bribed a scholar to kill him in order to get rid of Yu Niang. With no one to testify, Qi Guanlan's crime was confirmed."

"Qi Guanlan once asked me for advice on how to break through social barriers for a friend. Now that I think about it, the two of them used the excuse of family opposition to deceive Qi Guanlan into keeping their secret. At that time, there was only me and the informant. I was misled by the jade ring and Yu Niang's words 'Qi Lang' and always thought that Qi Guanlan was the heartless one. Qi Guanlan had no witnesses, so Yang Cong turned the tables on him."

"At first, Yu Niang privately asked me to see Qi Guanlan, but I dared not. I only hinted at the name of Miss Xi You. Yu Niang then appeared directly in the Hundred Flowers Garden. I do not know the means behind it, but there are only two possibilities: someone told her, and if it was not me, then it was an informant; or she had already recognized Yang Cong in private and was following Yang Cong to conduct a chaotic test."

"Later, seeing that she wanted to say goodbye, I couldn't bear it and sent a message for Yu Niang. It was only on the day I went to the princess's mansion to look for my mother that I learned that the jade ring had already been in Yang Cong's hands. In order to cut off Qi Guanlan's escape route, he instructed the scholar to deceive me and take advantage of my eagerness to save my mother to incite the people and anger the princess. Fortunately, the princess was magnanimous, otherwise it would have been my corpse that was carried out. I beg you, sir, to do justice for me."

Wen Ru handed over the evidence and stood in a row with Qi Guanlan. After seeing the result, Zhou Chengnian decisively ordered Yang Cong to be taken to the ground and await further action. Qi Guanlan, still unable to quell his anger, kicked Yang Cong several more times. At this moment, Yang Cong was like a clay figure, allowing him to knead and shape him as he pleased.

"Lord Yang has arrived!"

Yang Cong, as if given a glimmer of hope, quickly turned around, only to see Yang Chuanye walking in with a livid face. Startled, he turned back again.

"What a coward," Qi Guanlan sneered, turning his gaze to the doorway. Why was his mother sitting still, not coming to his aid? "Would Lord Yang be protecting his son?"

"Young Master Qi is joking."

Yang Shen followed behind. He bowed as he entered and said, "Sir, the woman who came to see the young master a few days ago is the same person that the people from Miss Zhou's residence mentioned. The woman called herself Yu Niang and said she was the young master's betrothed. She was carrying a thumb ring. The young master had me chase her away and also asked me to arrange guards."

Yang Shen's voice was measured and authoritative, and as a member of the Yang family, he was obviously very persuasive. Yang Cong hurriedly crawled toward Yang Chuanye and cried, "Father, I didn't kill anyone. I did have a relationship with Yu Niang, but that was in the past. I haven't seen her recently. It was the scholar's letter that came to me first, and I was instigated by him, so I was confused for a moment."

"Really, believe me and keep it, Dad, believe me, I'm your only son," Yang Cong hugged his leg and wept bitterly. Yang Chuanye closed his eyes, his face looking even worse.

After a moment, he clasped his hands to cover his face and said, "Lord Zhou, you should judge according to your own judgment. I came here to see Yang Shen off, and the matter of the engagement is off. Let's not delay Miss Zhou."

Yang Cong glared at Wen Ruo with a sinister look, as if he wanted to kill her. Then he suddenly laughed and stared intently at Yang Shen. "Yang Shen, the woman you chose is flirting with Qi Guanlan. She even gave him jewelry, which is now displayed in her home. And you betrayed the Yang family and me for her. How ridiculous."

Yang Shen didn't look at her directly. "Young Master Yang, I have already left the Yang family. The jewelry was a congratulatory gift from Miss Yang Fei to Miss Wen Ruo. Young Master Yang still wants to insult the young lady's reputation. You are truly beyond redemption."

With curses stuck in his throat, Yang Cong knew he was powerless to change the situation, and could only say bitterly, "Qi Guanlan, you're really lucky."

Qi Guanlan: "What do you intend to do?"

"To this day, I admire only one person: Xi You is truly a role model for us all."

Yang Cong is still trying to sow discord, even targeting her. Wen Ruo's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she rolled her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips as she said lightly, "I was just bluffing you. The princess has already gone to request permission. As long as the scholar isn't caught, you'll be in jail every day, whipped daily. You'd better know some clues, otherwise..."

Yang Cong instantly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at her, his expression furious: "You bitch..."

Snap!

Yang Cong now has a handprint on his face.

Before Wen Ruo could react, she felt a fragrant breeze waft by, and Zhou Xuanyan stood beside her, smiling:

Yang Fei told me to return it to you.