Chapter 35 Chapter 35 I like you, I have liked you for many years...
Zhao Manyi cried out in pain, her tearful eyes tinged with fear, "Big sister..."
She was still trying to explain herself, but was thrown to the ground by Zhao Qingyi.
"This pitiful gesture may be enough to fool Li Che, but don't act so pretentiously in front of me. It's simply disgusting!"
"nausea?"
Having been exposed, Zhao Manyi no longer needed to pretend. She rested her palms on the ground and laughed softly, her face full of pride. "Big sister, you already knew about my relationship with Li Che, but you insisted on keeping it to yourself until now. It's really disgusting. Big sister, these past three years have been tough, haven't they?"
Her eyebrows raised, full of provocation, "Although my background is not as good as yours, I don't have a powerful father or a wealthy mother, but my husband has treated me very well over the years. Even when I was raised in Lingnan, he always took care of me..."
She recounted all the good things Li Che had done to her over the years, hoping to anger Zhao Qingyi.
Zhao Qingyi felt that she was both pitiful and ridiculous. "You treat Li Che like a treasure. You are blind. I am not blind."
At this moment, Zhao Qingyi let it go completely. The person in front of him was still foolishly indulging in Li Che's sweet words and ended up in his current situation. It was not worth spending time to deal with him.
Feeling bored, Zhao Qingyi was too lazy to pay attention to her and walked away.
Contempt and disregard once again angered Zhao Manyi.
"Stop!"
Zhao Qingyi paused without turning back, "Don't worry, I won't snatch what you like from you. Sooner or later, I will reunite your family."
She would send Li Che, Jun Ge'er, and even the entire Li family away one by one, and all of them would go to accompany Zhao Manyi.
Zhao Manyi became more and more angry. She hated Zhao Qingyi's arrogant, selfless and victorious attitude the most.
"Do you think that by trapping me here, you can live peacefully in the Li family?"
Zhao Manyi thought she had something on her, and her smile gradually turned crazy. "You'd better let me out, otherwise, I will make your secret public and make you be cursed by everyone!"
secret?
This actually piqued Zhao Qingyi's interest. She glanced sideways and smiled, "I didn't know you had a secret for me?"
"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself." Zhao Manyi smiled grimly. "Just wait and see. If you don't let me have an easy life, I will definitely ruin your reputation!"
She spoke with conviction, as if she really had some leverage over Zhao Qingyi, and all she did was laugh wildly.
Tan Yue said disdainfully, "Grandma, she's gone crazy, let's ignore her."
"That's right." Qiao Yue also said, "She can't even protect herself now, what tricks can she use?"
Zhao Qingyi really didn't take the threat seriously. Her biggest secret was her rebirth, but she never told it to anyone else.
And the so-called handle of Zhao Manyi is probably related to what Xing's mother reported last time.
It's ridiculous to suspect that she has an affair with Li Heng.
Zhao Qingyi restrained his expression and walked away slowly while listening to the wild laughter and insults in the woodshed.
After Li Che was deposed, Zhao Qingyi had no need to pretend to be sick. He took care of the backyard as usual and inspected the shop when he had time. When he was settling the accounts at the end of the month, Li Jiao came to pay his respects.
He stayed at home for some time and was about to leave Beijing with Mr. Kong. The mother and son had a final conversation and said goodbye at the city gate.
On the other hand, Li Heng was sorting out Li Jiao's homework during this period. Li Jiao was a very hardworking child and often came to ask him for advice, so he left behind a lot of papers. He packed them up one by one and prepared to find an opportunity to give them to Zhao Qingyi.
At this moment, he found a piece of letter stuck in a pile of books. After opening it, he found that it was written by Zhao Qingyi, inviting him to meet at the corner gate in the evening and asking him to deliver Li Jiao's homework.
The reason why he recognized Zhao Qingyi's calligraphy was because Li Jiao copied Zhao Qingyi's calligraphy when he was just starting to learn. He had a lot of them stored here, so he would not make a mistake.
I actually thought of the same thing.
Li Heng felt that they were of the same mind, so he put the letter into his arms and quickly tidied up his desk. By evening, he was waiting at the corner gate with a thick stack of papers in his arms.
Zhao Qingyi went out to inspect the shop and rarely entered or exited through the main door. Li Heng did not suspect anything and waited patiently.
When it was dark, Zhao Qingyi's carriage did not appear, but people in the Qionghua Hall next door shouted "Fire".
Qionghua Hall was close to Lanyue Pavilion. The servants of Lanyue Pavilion hesitated for a moment and then ran to fetch water to rescue them.
The yard suddenly became empty.
Li Heng stood at the corner gate, holding a stack of papers, hesitant. Should he continue to wait, or go over to help? Before he could finish his deliberation, he was hit from behind with a club...
When Zhao Qingyi heard that there was a fire in her house, she immediately returned from the shop and went to Qionghua Hall to see that it was just firewood that fell from the small kitchen and ignited the surrounding hay. Fortunately, the fire was put out in time and no tragedy occurred. She didn't think much about it and returned to her own courtyard accompanied by two maids.
Looking at the servants in the courtyard, all covered in dust and dirt, Zhao Qingyi said softly, "Everyone has been busy putting out the fire today and is very tired. Go back and have a good rest."
Tan Yue Qiao Yue was also sent away to rest, and Zhao Qingyi returned to the house, rubbing her slightly sore arms. As soon as she closed the door, she noticed something strange in the room.
It is a faint fragrance, which appears and disappears at first, but becomes stronger when the doors and windows are closed for a long time.
Somewhat familiar.
Before Zhao Qingyi could recall carefully, heavy breathing was approaching her step by step.
She was still in the process of closing the door, but when she heard the noise, her back shuddered and she suddenly remembered.
Isn't that the aphrodisiac incense that Zhao Manyi used on Li Che earlier?!
Zhao Qingyi was about to rush out the door, but someone got there first and hugged her from behind.
"Sister-in-law..." Li Heng's confused voice sounded.
Zhao Qingyi turned around and slapped him hard.
Li Heng woke up in this room after being knocked unconscious. He didn't know how much incense he had inhaled. At this moment, he staggered and hit his lower back against the edge of the table. He barely managed to steady his body, but his face was flushed and his eyes were blurred. He was no longer conscious.
"We've fallen into a trap."
Zhao Qingyi still hoped that he could have some sense and try to open the door again.
Li Heng bumped into her again, this time holding her arm, "Sister-in-law... I like you... I have liked you for many years..."
The sudden confession failed to move Zhao Qingyi in the slightest. She broke away from him and scolded him in a low voice, "Li Heng, wake up!"
Li Heng was no longer listening to her. All he could see was the red lips of his beloved. His breathing became more and more irregular, and he held Zhao Qingyi's hand tighter and tighter.
"Sister-in-law, I really like you. I've liked you since the first time I saw you, but...but I'm not the eldest son. I'm not qualified to marry you..."
Zhao Qingyi is not a fool. She can feel Li Heng's affection, so every time they get along, she deliberately keeps a distance from him. She thought that he was just in a momentary mood, but she didn't expect that it started so early.
At this moment, Li Heng was bewitched by the fragrance and had lost all his rationality.
Zhao Qingyi knew that she couldn't wake him up, but if she screamed for help, it would definitely attract everyone in the courtyard. She didn't trust anyone except Tan Yue Qiaoyue.
She can only save herself.
Li Heng still held her arm, and spoke bitterly, "Big brother married you, why doesn't he cherish you?"
"Sister-in-law... look at me..."
His sanity gradually collapsed, and he opened his arms again to hug Zhao Qingyi.
"I'm watching you, calm down first."
While Zhao Qingyi was trying to comfort him, she tried to break free, but he held her sleeve tightly, and the gems and pearls embroidered on it were all torn off, but Li Heng still refused to let go.
Being so tied together, Zhao Qingyi couldn't avoid the hug at all. She could only close her eyes and endure it, letting Li Heng hold her and talk to her while moving towards the door. "I know you have a lot to say. Let's go outside and sit down and talk properly, okay?"
Her gentle and soothing voice seemed to work, and Li Heng's restless heart gradually calmed down. He let go of Zhao Qingyi slightly and stared at her face with a dazed look.
Zhao Qingyi handled it cautiously. Her hand had already touched the door, but the door was opened from the inside, so Li Heng needed to step back a little to make room. Then she tried to push the man in front of her away.
Unexpectedly, Li Heng seemed calm but actually harbored even more turbulent emotions, and he suddenly threw her to the ground.
At the same time, in Qionghua Hall, Li Susu urged Luo Shi to rush over, "My daughter saw it clearly just now. Li Heng took advantage of the chaos to sneak into my sister-in-law's courtyard..."
Luo had been tormented by the inexplicable anger all night and was now extremely sleepy. After hearing what Li Susu said, she suddenly sobered up. "Great, I've seen something fishy going on between those two! If I catch them, I'll take them both to the pig cage!"
With new and old grudges, and the fact that Li Che was dismissed, Zhao Qingyi was now in trouble.
Luo and his men rushed to Lanyue Pavilion in a threatening manner and banged on the gate.
Tan Yue Qiaoyue, who was resting in the ear room, woke up in shock and hurried out to check what was going on. Just as she passed by Zhao Qingyi's door, she suddenly heard a very low groan.
The two maids stopped at the same time, looked at each other, and pushed the door open without saying a word.
"grandmother!"
Seeing a man pressing her grandmother to the ground, Qiao Yue hurried over to pull him away, but she was just a weak woman, how could she resist such an irrational man?
In the chaos, Zhao Qingyi hurriedly asked Tan Yue to get the vase.
She had already heard Luo's banging on the door and yelling. If she didn't resolve the issue, the truth would be revealed, and she wouldn't be able to explain herself even if she had a hundred mouths.
Tan Yue turned around to pick up the vase, but before she came back, Chu Yuanhe appeared at some point, holding an incense burner in his hand and smashed it hard on the back of Li Heng's head.
Li Heng's eyes rolled back and he fainted. Chu Yuanhe was quick-witted and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck in time, throwing him away and then pulling the man lying on the ground up.
"Thank you..."
Zhao Qingyi survived the disaster and quickly tidied up her messy clothes without a trace of humiliation or grievance on her face.
Qiao Yue and Tan Yue were stunned, even more surprised than when they saw Li Heng.
"Why is the prince here?"
Chu Yuanhe, still holding the incense burner in question, said calmly, "Your family knocked on the door late at night and disturbed me, so I came to see what was going on."
In fact, he just wanted to come and see Zhao Qingyi, it was just a coincidence.
His words were half true and half false, but they reminded the two maids that Luo's arrival was too coincidental and the noise she made would definitely alarm the other servants in the courtyard.
The two of them tacitly retreated to the courtyard and sent the other servants back to their respective rooms, forbidding them to be curious about what was happening in the courtyard.
Delay is not a long-term solution. Luo will not stop until she enters Zhao Qingyi's room and searches it thoroughly tonight.
"I'll take the person away, and you can handle the rest yourself." Chu Yuanhe didn't waste any words. He held the incense burner in one hand, grabbed Li Heng's ankle with the other, and left.
Zhao Qingyi and the two maids saw with their own eyes that he walked to the foot of the wall, picked up Li Heng and flew up, and then disappeared in a flash.
Just at this moment, the gate of Lanyue Pavilion was suddenly broken down, and Luo and Li Susu rushed in with several servants.
Zhao Qingyi, his master and his servant quickly withdrew their gaze and pretended to have just come out of the house.
"Old lady, aunt, what are you doing..."
Before Tan Yue could finish her words, she was pushed aside by Li Susu. Li Susu rushed into the main house and searched everywhere. However, not only was there no man, but even the incense burner she had placed early in the morning was missing.
How is this possible?
Zhao Qingyi had clearly just returned. How could he have hidden a living person quietly in such a short period of time?
Li Susu didn't believe it and searched the closet and under the bed, but still found nothing.
Luo was waiting by the door. "How is it? Have you found that bastard?" She was talking about Li Heng.
Looking at what the mother and daughter did, even if Zhao Qingyi was slow-witted, she should have understood that Li Heng's appearance in her room must have something to do with the mother and daughter.
Zhao Qingyi secretly clenched her back teeth and walked forward slowly, "What are you looking for, aunt?"
"Of course I'm looking for evidence of your cheating!"
Li Susu was certain the person was in Lanyue Pavilion. "I saw it with my own eyes today. Li Heng took advantage of a fire at home and sneaked into your Lanyue Pavilion. He had just sneaked in when my sister-in-law came back. How dare you say there's nothing fishy going on between you two?"
"My brother just got into trouble, and you're cheating right after. Are you so impatient?"
This was what Zhao Manyi told her, so it must be true.
If she really caught Zhao Qingyi cheating, her brother would be able to divorce her legitimately, and then all the dowry Zhao Qingyi brought would naturally belong to the Li family!
Li Susu suppressed the excitement in her heart and told Mother Luo to take the others to search elsewhere. Even if they had to dig three feet deep into the ground, they had to find Li Heng.
Qiao Yue was furious. "Don't slander me, Auntie! If someone really sneaked in, it's his fault! He must have wanted to steal something, or to harm our grandma. How can it be our grandma who stole someone?"
Li Susu didn't care about all this and went to search the flowers and plants in the yard, not missing any place where a person could hide. The servants followed her example and soon turned the house inside and out into a mess.
Qiao Yue was so angry that she was shaking all over.
Zhao Qingyi watched coldly and asked Tan Yue to get an abacus to calculate the total losses in the courtyard tonight.
As soon as Mrs. Luo saw her posture, she knew what she was planning. But she thought that if she really caught the "adulterer", her trip tonight would not be in vain.
But how could she know that their so-called "adulterer" Li Heng was in the house next door.
After Li Susu mobilized a large number of people, the Li family had another sleepless night. When they failed to find the person, she said it was impossible and wanted to make trouble again.
Zhao Qingyi smiled slightly, "Are you done? If you are, remember to compensate my hospital for the losses, a total of 5,800 taels."
Mrs. Luo automatically ignored her words and said stubbornly, "Impossible. Susu said she saw it, so it must be true. I remember Li Heng was at home today. Mother Luo, go to Cuizhuxuan and see if he is in the house."
As long as Li Heng is not found, this matter will never be over.
Qiao Yue felt vaguely uneasy and wanted to seize the initiative. "Second Master is a living person. He can go wherever he wants. Even if he is not in the mansion, it has nothing to do with our grandmother."
Li Susu was confident, "Whether it matters or not, we'll know after the confrontation."
"You..." Qiao Yue was furious.
Zhao Qingyi was also silently thinking of a countermeasure when suddenly someone outside the courtyard called out, "Master?"
Luo thought she had heard wrongly, but the next moment she saw Li Che staggering towards her, supported by Qingshi.
"Che'er, why did you get up?" Luo quickly stepped forward to support him, tears in her eyes and full of heartache.
Li Che must have just woken up and had no time to wash up. He was only wrapped in a cloak and said weakly, "Mother made such a noise in the middle of the night, so of course I had to come and see."
Li Susu took over the conversation, "Brother, I saw it all today. Li Heng sneaked into my sister-in-law's courtyard. It's possible that they have been having an affair for a long time. If we don't investigate now, when will we?"
She originally thought that these words would make Li Che angry and suspicious of Zhao Qingyi, but Li Che's next words completely shattered her fantasy.
“Nonsense!”
Li Che scolded her, not knowing whether he was angry or anxious. "I know Brother Heng very well. He would never do such a thing. Besides, Qingyi is my wife. How can I allow you to falsely accuse her?"
Li Susu was anxious, "Brother..."
"go back!"
Li Che didn't give her a chance to quibble, and said sternly, "Why, you don't listen to what I say? I can't control this family now?"
Li Susu felt extremely aggrieved, considering she had good intentions.
Luo grabbed her arm and tried to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, your brother has his own ideas. Susu, just stop talking."
Li Susu couldn't stand it. "When I was harmed by someone, my brother felt that I had brought shame on him and beat and scolded me. Now that this shameful thing has fallen on Zhao Qingyi, why doesn't he pursue it?"
Could it be that in her brother's heart, she is not as good as Zhao Qingyi, an outsider?
Li Che's face darkened visibly, which was a sign of anger.
Luo quickly covered Li Susu's mouth and half-dragged and half-pulled her away.
Zhao Qingyi raised the corner of his eye slightly, but Li Susu still didn't understand. Her good brother was not partial to anyone. He was partial to only for his own sake.
What happened to Li Susu that day caused Li Che to be embarrassed, so how could Li Che not be angry?
As for Luo and Li Susu's calculations, they were wrong in the timing.
Li Che had just lost his penis, and they wanted to expose her adultery with her brother-in-law. This was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Li Che in front of everyone and damaged his dignity as a man.
Li Che is a very proud person. If this gets out, what will others think?
When he said he was no longer capable, his wife immediately went on to hook up with his brother-in-law?
Not to mention that this matter is completely fictitious and there is no evidence. Even if it is true, Li Che will suppress it and deal with it secretly after the storm has passed.
While Zhao Qingyi was thinking, the other servants in the courtyard had already been sent away by Li Che.
Without outsiders around, Li Che no longer pretended, his handsome face covered with a layer of gloom, "Zhao Qingyi, tell me the truth, you and Li Heng, did you have an affair?"
"No." Zhao Qingyi answered quickly, "I am upright and honest, and I never despise any sexual relations between men and women."
What she said was profound and pointed, which made Li Che's face change slightly.
From the beginning to the end, it was Li Che who was keen on this matter. What qualifications did he have to question her?
Li Che lowered his gaze unnaturally and did not meet her gaze again. "Since you said so, then I will believe you. I hope you will not let down your husband's trust."
Trust? It was the last thing that existed between them.
Zhao Qingyi didn't show it on her face, she still watched him leave Lanyue Pavilion with a smile, her eyes dimming inch by inch.
Qiao Yue suddenly woke up, "Oh, Second Master hasn't been brought back yet, how did he appear in Grandma's room?"
"Didn't they say there was a fire in Qionghua Hall last evening? Our courtyards are the closest, so we must have all gone to help. That's how he took advantage of the situation." After sorting out the details, Tan Yue was more concerned about another person, "It's that prince..."
Zhao Qingyi rubbed her brows with her fingertips. "Li Heng was in my room. It was probably a plot by Luo's mother and daughter. When I entered the room, there was a strange smell of incense. That's why Li Heng lost his mind."
This time she shot herself in the foot. She had asked Xing's mother to persuade Zhao Manyi to buy that thing, but she didn't expect that Zhao Manyi, who was already locked up in the woodshed, would team up with Li Susu and use that thing to frame her.
She would go and settle the score with Zhao Manyi tomorrow. Now she had to go to the next door to see what was going on, so she asked Qiao Yue to build a ladder and quietly climb over the courtyard wall when no one was around.
There was originally a wall between the two houses, and a gap one person wide in the middle. When Zhao Qingyi stepped onto the ladder, he found that the wall of the neighboring house had been demolished long ago, and the gap no longer existed, making it naturally more convenient to climb over the wall.
Not only that, Chu Yuanhe also built a ladder inside his courtyard wall and even laid a thick layer of mattress underneath, so that if he accidentally fell, there would be a mattress to catch him.
“…”
Zhao Qingyi carefully climbed over the wall and subconsciously stroked the dagger at his waist.
This was a gift from Chu Yuanhe to his younger brother. His younger brother couldn't let it go and kept playing with it at the table. She kept it for a while and later forgot about it. The dagger has been in her room ever since.
Li Heng offended him first, so in order to protect himself, Zhao Qingyi brought a dagger with him before climbing over the wall.
After confirming that everything was there, Zhao Qingyi went down the ladder set up on the other side. After landing, he was worrying about which direction to look for people when he heard the sound of something falling to the ground from the main house diagonally in front of him.
Zhao Qingyi walked in that direction and when she reached the door, she listened attentively. It was so quiet that she could hear a pin drop. She could hear the breathing inside, so she knocked gently on the door. "Prince, is that you?"
After the words fell, there was no response from inside.
"Prince, is my uncle okay?"
Still no response.
It was pitch black all around. Zhao Qingyi took out a tinder and with the faint light of the fire, she found that there was no lock on the door, so she tried to push it. As soon as she pushed the door open a crack, the breathing sounds inside became clearer.
Could it be that he fell asleep?
Zhao Qingyi hesitated for a long time, but finally mustered up the courage to go in. However, as soon as he entered the door, the same thing happened again.
This time, she was alert. When the black shadow pounced on her, Zhao Qingyi dodged and the man missed. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a dagger flashing with cold light was swung towards her neck.
Zhao Qingyi tried to dodge quickly, but was tripped by her skirt and fell to the ground. The dagger still showed no sign of letting her go, and a tall and slender figure followed closely behind her.
Chu Yuanhe pressed down on her, bending one of his strong and powerful long legs to press against Zhao Qingyi's struggling legs, while the other hand held a dagger across her neck.
Just like he had faced countless assassinations before, Chu Yuanhe moved as swiftly as a leopard, not giving the enemy any chance to breathe. Even experienced assassins would fall at his hands, not to mention Zhao Qingyi, who was just a weak woman who couldn't even tie a chicken.
The moment he was knocked down, the fire starter in his hand went out and his vision fell into darkness again. Before Zhao Qingyi could react, he was subdued by Chu Yuanhe and lay on his back on the cold ground.
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