Chapter 122 "Will you take the initiative this time?"

Qinghui Garden.

Liu Rumei lay on the bed looking haggard. Her pale face, bloodless lips, and dim eyes made her look extremely weak.

In fact, she was indeed half-dead.

With her hand on her lower abdomen, feeling the lingering throbbing pain, her eyes turned extremely gloomy and ruthless.

Jia family!

What a Jia family woman!

If you dare to openly confront her, be prepared to face her revenge!

She could kill even the wet nurse who raised her from childhood, let alone a Jia woman.

"Auntie, I've dealt with Granny Chen." Liu Rumei said with difficulty.

"No wonder I didn't see her today. What happened to her? Did she bother you?" Madam Sun asked casually.

“No,” Liu Rumei said. “She was bribed by Jia.”

"Really?" Madam Sun asked uncertainly. "Granny Chen is so loyal to me, how could she be so easily bribed by Madam Jia? Is there some misunderstanding?"

“There’s no misunderstanding,” Liu Rumei said wearily. “I’ve suspected something was wrong with her for a long time. The reason I kept her around was to use her to turn against Jia Shi. Now… I plan to destroy Jia Shi, so there’s no point in keeping Granny Chen around.”

Granny Chen betrayed her, but after discovering that Granny Chen was acting strangely, she also used Granny Chen to pass on several false messages to Madam Jia, causing Madam Jia to suffer several times.

That's considered "breaking even".

Madam Sun's eyes were filled with malice: "Since she dared to harm you, she deserves to die! If she hadn't died, I would really like to ask her what we, mother and daughter, did to wrong her, that she was like an ungrateful wretch!"

Liu Rumei asked, "For some reason, Granny Chen said that you murdered her husband and children back then, which is why you are so heartless. Is this true, Aunt?"

For a moment, Mrs. Sun looked uneasy: "It's true. But I kept it extremely secret, how could she have found out?"

"Don't think I'm heartless. Granny Chen's ancestors were servants of the Liu family for generations, their lives and deaths were in the hands of their masters... I just didn't expect her to be so cunning, she's practically a vicious snake."

"Rumei, what do you plan to do in the future?" Madam Sun asked Liu Rumei.

Liu Rumei didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "Auntie, do you still have that thing you gave me before?"

"What is it?" Little Sun asked.

Liu Rumei calmly said, "The kind of thing you asked me to secretly put in Sheng Yunche's pillow to make him get a strange disease."

"Ancestor!" Little Sun exclaimed, standing up in surprise. "Why did you bring that up out of the blue?"

"Just tell me if you have it or not."

“…Yes.” Madam Sun asked, “Do you want to continue poisoning Sheng Yunche? Now that you’ve separated your families, it’s not so convenient. Given their current vigilance, it might not be so easy.”

“No.” Liu Rumei revealed a strange smile. “I want Jia Shi to die, to die weakly in pain.”

"What?" Madam Sun was even more surprised. "Are you planning to give up on Sheng Huai'an? With Madam Jia dead, Sheng Huai'an won't be able to participate in next year's imperial examination."

“What good is not giving up?” Liu Rumei laughed bitterly. “Now that I can no longer have children, do you think his promise to marry me still stands? If he has a future, he can’t possibly abandon a legitimate son to inherit the family business, so he will never marry me. He will only make me a sensible concubine!”

"You absolutely cannot be a concubine!" Madam Sun exclaimed immediately. "I've suffered so much injustice my whole life, and I finally managed to marry you off to the Duke of Wei's mansion as his principal wife. You absolutely cannot degrade yourself because of a man! I've already lost my son, and I can't lose you too!"

"Don't worry, Auntie, I won't." Liu Rumei's eyes flashed, and she said calmly, "I just want to say that I have completely lost hope in Sheng Huai'an... I will no longer place my hopes on him, so whether Jia Shi lives or dies, or whether he can pass the imperial examination, it doesn't matter to me."

"What do you want to do?" After asking, Madam Sun revealed a surprised smile. "You mean you're willing to go with that person? Have you thought it through?"

"No..." Liu Rumei denied, but didn't rule it out completely, "Let's take it one step at a time."

If we get rid of Jia Shi and bring Sheng Huai'an under control...

If she turned the vast Sheng Mansion into her territory, her life would be better again. Why take another dangerous path?

She may love wealth and luxury, but valuing her life is even more important.

Moreover, she not only had to guard against outsiders, but also against Madam Sun...

After all, her own younger brother is now buried under the magnolia tree in the courtyard; she killed him with her own hands.

Sun treated her well and valued her, but she treated Liu Pinliang even better and more sincerely.

If one day Madam Sun finds out the truth, it's not impossible that she and her daughter will turn against each other.

...

Ye Mingzhu learned of Xiao Sun's entry into the Sheng residence immediately.

However, the coachman accompanying Madam Sun was a trusted lieutenant and extremely vigilant. Yan Zhi was almost discovered as soon as she approached, and Madam Sun and Liu Rumei's secret conversation could not be monitored.

However, when Xiao Sun's men dragged a rotting corpse out of the storeroom, Yan Zhi saw it clearly. Based on the clothing on the body, she suspected that the murdered person was Granny Chen, and immediately reported it to Ye Mingzhu.

Ye Mingzhu knew that Granny Chen would not have a good end, so she was not surprised to hear that she had been murdered so quickly.

She called Lianyu over.

"Go to Qinghui Garden with Yanzhi and keep an eye on the situation there. If they carelessly discard Granny Chen's body, have someone collect her remains and give her a proper burial."

Lian Yu responded, "Yes!"

Ye Mingzhu further instructed: "It's better to be slow in doing things than to let anyone track you down. Be careful in everything you do."

Lian Yu quickly assured her, "Don't worry, Master, I will definitely handle things well."

"Okay." Ye Mingzhu nodded and asked Ruyi to get the money for Lianyu's work.

Although Granny Chen wasn't a good person, she was the one who orchestrated today's death and indirectly helped her a lot. Giving her a dignified death is nothing.

At 5 PM, Sheng Yunche returned to his residence.

He seemed to have been on a long trip; his dark robes were covered in dust, and beads of sweat could be faintly seen at his dark temples.

His handsome features, with a touch of fierceness, made him appear imposing.

Ye Mingzhu quickly poured him a cup of tea, and seeing him drink it all in one gulp, a hint of heartache appeared in her eyes: "Did the Duke go out of the city again today?"

"Hmm." Sheng Yunche smiled at her, feeling pleased, but pretended to be calm and said, "I went to inspect the garrison in the suburbs of Beijing."

"You look travel-worn, go take a shower." Ye Mingzhu couldn't help but say, "You're covered in sweat, you even smell."

Sheng Yunche: "...?"

To get back home as soon as possible, he rode at full speed, and ended up sweating profusely.

I was actually disliked.

It turns out this person's heartache only lasted a moment.

He gritted his teeth and strode towards the bathroom.

After he finished bathing, he pulled Ye Mingzhu into his arms and rubbed his stubble-covered chin against her soft cheek.

He rubbed his fingers against her until her fair face turned red. When she couldn't stand his coquettish scolding, he stopped with a sullen laugh and started playing with her fingers.

"Serves you right for looking down on me. Now I'm cleaner than you, but I'm not as heartless as you."

"..." Ye Mingzhu said irritably, "I didn't!"

"there is nothing?"

"I don't dislike you."

"If you don't have one, why don't you take the initiative?"

Ye Mingzhu: "..."

The man's smiling phoenix eyes were dark and deep as he gazed intently at her.