Chapter 204 Ye Hongying is dead

Physician Chen took the medicine bottle, opened it, smelled it, his expression changed slightly, he quickly flicked it open, and put the cap back on.

"This is cinnabar."

Cinnabar and wound medicine are similar in color, so many people deliberately mix them into their enemies' wound medicine and apply them to the wounds. The surrounding skin and flesh necrose and ulcerate, causing convulsions, madness, and eventually death from heart failure.

Xiao Xuanjing turned his head to look, but Ye Hongying turned his head back to him. "Ah Jing, husband, listen to me. That medicine wasn't mine. Yun Zhaoxue put it on me to frame me. She killed your mother. You have to believe me..."

"I'm tainted, I'm not good enough for you, I'm so sorry..."

"It's all my fault for being useless and falling for her trick..."

Ye Hongying cried her heart out.

In the two years since their marriage, Xiao Xuanjing had never seen her cry. He believed her words, "Hongying, I knew you wouldn't betray me. I don't blame you; I blame myself for not protecting you..."

He desperately bit off the rope from his hands, drawing blood but feeling no pain. He gripped the rope tightly and lunged at Yun Zhaoxue, trying to strangle her.

Before he could even touch her, a pebble hit his knee, and he fell to the ground with a "thud!"

"ah!"

He glared at Yun Zhaoxue, staggered to his feet, and cried out, "Yun Zhaoxue! You killed my mother and had my wife humiliated. I swear I will not rest until I kill you today!"

Lin Zhaoxue stepped on his chest and kicked him to the ground, then snatched the medicine bottle from Physician Chen's hand and smashed it on him.

"Bang!"

"Open your dog eyes and look carefully. Have you seen this medicine bottle on Ye Hongying before?"

Xiao Xuanjing turned his head to look at the medicine bottle that had rolled off his chest and fallen to the side. "This bottle... belongs to Hongying."

Ye Hongying denied it again, "The bottle is mine, but it doesn't contain cinnabar, it contains wound medicine. She framed me and switched the medicine."

My mother-in-law has been so good to me, treating me like her own daughter. Why would I kill her? I had no motive! I was framed! Ah Jing, you have to believe me. If you can stop believing me, fine, I'll die right now.

As he spoke, he crashed into a large tree to the side.

Xiao Xuanjing couldn't bear it and rushed over to stop him, "No, um..."

Before he could retaliate, Zhuiying struck his pressure points.

No one stopped Ye Hongying, and she excitedly pretended to trip and fall but didn't actually bump into anything.

Yun Zhaoxue raised an eyebrow and asked, "Weren't you going to die in front of him to prove your innocence? Now you're too scared to crash?"

Ye Hongying glared at her, "Didn't you see I fell and sprained my ankle?"

"I'll help you!" Yun Zhaoxue walked over, grabbed one of her arms, and slammed her head against the tree.

Those around covered their eyes in fright, exclaiming, "Ah!"

Ye Hongying braced her hands against the tree to prevent her head from hitting it.

With glistening tears still clinging to her eyelashes, the moment she raised her eyes, a cold glint flashed in them, like a poisoned blade aimed at Yun Zhaoxue.

He spun around and broke free of his restraints, then kicked Yun Zhaoxue in the stomach.

Yun Zhaoxue quickly retreated, grabbed her foot, and twisted it forcefully, "Crack!" throwing her to Xiao Xuanjing's feet with a "Bang!"

"Xiao Xuanjing, you idiot, you deserve to be cuckolded!"

Ye Hongying sneered and threatened her, "If I die, the princess will die too. Do you dare to kill me?"

"I have found a way to break this; even if you die, she will be completely unharmed."

The men watching couldn't bear to watch any longer when they saw Xiao Xuanjing still standing there dumbfounded.

"That's right, she's still deceiving herself, she's a disgrace to us men. If you're a man, you should take a knife and kill her."

The men were indignant and stood up for Xiao Xuanjing, mainly because they didn't want their own women to follow suit and break the rules.

"And adulterers, adulterers and adulteresses should be drowned in pig cages."

"Drown in a pig cage! Drown in a pig cage!"

...

Xiao Xuanjing struggled to her feet, but Zhao Jiu couldn't stand it anymore and grabbed one of her arms.

"Oh, my knife..."

Zhao Jiu slowly withdrew his outstretched hand.

He treasured this new knife that could cut through iron like mud, and wouldn't let anyone but Lao Liao touch it.

The Duan family has already hidden Duan Qingyun in their own ranks.

Xiao Xuanjing drew his sword and walked towards him.

“Ah Jing, I am a fourth-rank general. Once he has made meritorious contributions, he will ask the emperor to pardon my exile. Then we will return to the capital together. You think I am dirty.”

Xiao Xuanjing asked in a deep voice, "I'm asking you, did you kill my mother?"

"Only I can bring you back to the capital. If you kill me, you'll never be able to turn your life around."

"So it really was you who killed my mother?"

Ye Hongying knew that if she didn't die at his hands today, she would die at Xiao Xuance's hands.

"Yes! I killed her. She humiliated me. I did all the work while she ate. Your whole family left the leftovers for me. She treated me like a dog. Am I, the daughter of a great general, not as good as a lowly merchant?"

“Every time you and my mother argue, I side with you, which almost made my mother sick. Can you kill her? Huh!” Xiao Xuanjing’s eyes were wide open and bloodshot, and his hand holding the sword trembled violently.

“Kill me! If you kill me, you’ll never be able to return to the capital. My father will avenge me, and none of your Xiao family members will survive.”

Xiao Xuanjing was desperate to return to the capital; he longed to go back to the carefree and wealthy life he had as a young master in the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

Among the crowd were many who were jealous of their chance to return to the capital. They were people who had gone through thick and thin together and couldn't bear to see others being pardoned.

Looking at Xiao Xuanjing with a face full of disappointment, he pointed at Wu's grave and spoke up for her, as if the dead person was their mother.

"Your mother's grave is not far away. The murderer who killed her cheated on her right in front of her. She must be disgusted to death in the afterlife. He has tainted her reincarnation. Your mother was better off giving birth to a beast than a son like you."

“You can find another wife, but you only have one mother. She’s dead, and the murderer is right in front of you. If he can’t bear to kill her, your mother would be so angry that she would come back to life.”

“Our Great Zhou Dynasty governs with filial piety. If you spare the person who killed your mother, the world will despise you and you will never be able to hold your head high in this lifetime.”

Ye Hongying saw through their thoughts, "Shut up, all of you! You're just jealous that we'll be able to return to the capital soon."

As she spoke, she turned to Xiao Xuanjing and gently coaxed him, "Ah Jing, I knew you wouldn't be willing to kill me. Put the knife down."

Taking advantage of his momentary daze, Ye Hongying struck his wrist with a palm, snatched the knife, and pointed it at Yun Zhaoxue.

Xiao Xuance slid his wheelchair in front of Yun Zhaoxue.

Ye Hongying's bloodshot eyes blazed with intense hatred as she glared at Yun Zhaoxue. "Yun Zhaoxue! You bitch! You stole the man I've loved for over a decade, and now you want to ruin my reputation. Why do you always have to pick on me!"

“I won’t offend others unless they offend me. You’re the one who’s making trouble for me first. If you like him, go find him. If you’re causing me trouble, I’ll kill you. There are plenty of men out there. Why do you have to hang yourself on one tree? No, you’re quite the ladies’ man. You have one in name, one in body, and another in your heart. I’m starting to envy you.”

Everyone, "..."

This Princess Zhaoxue really dares to say anything!

Ye Hongying looked at Xiao Xuance, who was sitting in a wheelchair, with infatuated eyes. "Of course the young master likes me. He almost married me. It was you who used your status to force him to marry you. Later, you used the child to keep him. You are really cunning. You don't love him at all. You just used him."

Yun Zhaoxue was unaware of this, and turned to look at the man beside her, "You loved her, and you still wanted to marry her?"

Xiao Xuance shook his head, "No! I have never said that I like her, let alone that I want to marry her."

"Xue'er, you have to believe me."

Yun Zhaoxue nodded, "Yes, I believe you."

Ye Hongying refused to believe that he had never liked her. "No, you do like me. You are a true man, why don't you dare to admit it?"

Xiao Xuance said in a deep voice, "Why admit to something you've never done? You've asked the wrong person. You should ask Duan Qingyun. It wasn't me you were having an affair with."

Someone couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Yeah, is she sick? Doesn't she look in the mirror and see what she looks like? Does she think she's as beautiful as an angel and that all men will fall at her feet?"

"Three years ago, I made the red tassel myself, which you accepted and still hung on your spear that you never parted with day and night."

Xiao Xuance thought for a moment and remembered, "I thought it was a gift from Xiao Xiuning. She mischievously changed the red tassel on my spear and threw away the old one. I couldn't find it, so I just made do with this one."

She didn't say it was a gift from you. If I had known beforehand, I would rather not have used it than accept it. Besides, I went to the street and bought a new one after using it for less than a day.

Ye Hongying shook her head, "No! You just like me!"

Those men were all ashamed of Xiao Xuanjing. His wife had been having an affair with another man, and now she was courting another. "You've completely disgraced your Xiao family's ancestors!"

Ye Hongying thrust her sword at Yun Zhaoxue, shouting, "Yun Zhaoxue, prepare to die!"

Xiao Xuance held the sword between two fingers and quickly struck out with his palm.

"Bang!"

Ye Hongying fell to the ground, coughing up blood. "Cough cough... You can't kill me. If I die, your mother won't be able to live either."

She didn't believe what Yun Zhaoxue said.

Xiao Xuanjing, who had been frozen in place, moved. He picked up the knife from the ground and plunged it into her abdomen. "Pfft!"

"You...you actually killed me?" Ye Hongying was certain that Xiao Xuance wouldn't let her die because of the Heart-Eating Gu, but she never expected that he would be the one to kill her.

Xiao Xuanjing's face was contorted with overwhelming hatred. "Ye Hongying, you've always looked down on me and despised me. I'm not like him, capable of fighting on the battlefield, making great achievements, and becoming a hero. But do you consider me dead?"

You said you didn't want to have children, so I didn't. I knew you had to take birth control pills every time we had sex, and I even helped you hide it from the elders. I've done so much for you, and you still don't appreciate me.

More blood gushed from Ye Hongying's lips. "Cough cough... You're not good enough to me. You're incompetent and don't deserve me..."

The husband she wanted was a peerless hero who excelled in every aspect, including family background, appearance, and martial arts skills, but he was nothing like that.

Xiao Xuanjing roared angrily, "Ah! I may be incompetent, but I'm not bad either. Is the young master of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion not good enough for you, the daughter of a deputy general?"

He pulled out the knife and stabbed again. "The last stab was for myself, this one is for my mother."

Ye Hongying lost her support and fell to the ground, choking on blood and foam. Blood continued to flow from the two wounds on her abdomen. She slowly closed her eyes and let her hands fall limply.

The knife was pulled out, and blood splattered on his face, winding down his brow bone and cheek, staining half of his face red, making him look somewhat gruesome.

The people around were so frightened that they backed away.

"You all need to look closely, I, Xiao Xuanjing, am not a coward! I am not! Hahaha..."

He laughed wildly, then picked up his knife and walked towards the Duan family's house.