Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Killing someone and destroying their heart.
When the carriage arrived at the Jiang family's farm, Zhao Manyi hid in the dark and saw with her own eyes that Chu Yuanhe got off the carriage first, followed by Zhao Qingyi, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was dignified and bright. The two behaved intimately, and it was obvious that they had a close relationship.
She hid in the dark and almost broke her palm.
Mr. Jiang next to her confirmed his identity to Zhao Manyi again and again, and then asked the maid to take her to the side room to rest first.
When Chu Yuanhe realized someone was staring at him, he glanced over sharply and saw Jiang Yuanwai walking towards him with a smile, bowing and exchanging polite greetings.
Today was the Hongmen Banquet he had specially set up for the two of them, and he was determined to make sure they never came back.
Chu Yuanhe's gaze lingered on her face for a moment longer, not missing the fleeting murderous intent. He casually curled the corners of his lips, "I've been here once before. I know the way well. Mr. Jiang doesn't need to lead the way personally."
Mr. Jiang was stunned for a moment, and before he could react to what this meant, he heard a commotion outside the door, and a stream of congratulations came pouring in.
"Congratulations to Mr. Jiang for finding his beloved daughter. Congratulations!"
The first to come in was the prefect of Hangzhou, whose surname was Du, followed by a dozen or so local officials, both large and small. They all had friendly expressions and looked like they were on good terms with Mr. Jiang.
Previously, they were all targets secretly wooed by Mr. Jiang, and had benefited from the Jiang family to varying degrees. When they were invited today, they came uninvited like hunting dogs smelling meat.
Mr. Jiang's face froze for a moment. He didn't send any invitations to other officials at all. What was going on?
But since they were already here, refusing them would undoubtedly offend them, so he could only humbly smile and say, "Gentlemen, please come in quickly."
Looking at the officials of all ranks coming in one after another, his face became more and more ugly. Except for the initial attempts to win them over, when he gave these people a lot of silver as tribute, later he would only invite them when he needed to ask them to do something.
This time, he didn't know what went wrong, but they all swarmed in. It would be difficult for his Jiang family to get rid of them without spending some money.
The most important thing is the trouble. He held a banquet today just to win over Prince Pingxi and Zhao Qingyi. The arrival of these insignificant people made it difficult for him to do anything.
"Go inform the front yard that there's a change of plan."
In the banquet hall, the gentlemen greeted each other. Chu Yuanhe's status as a county magistrate was not important enough among this group of people, so his seat was in the corner. It was only after Mr. Jiang came in that the atmosphere became lively and everyone got to know each other. Someone immediately took the initiative to toast Chu Yuanhe.
Zhao Qingyi reminded him to be careful, and he began to observe his surroundings secretly, trying to find Zhao Manyi's trace.
The banquet was getting more and more popular as people toasted each other. In order to stabilize the situation, Mr. Jiang took out many of his most valuable treasures and gave them away one by one in the name of appreciation. He also took Chu Yuanhe to chat and drink with him.
Chu Yuanhe knew that it would be difficult for Mr. Jiang to take action because there were outsiders present, so he took the initiative to seize the opportunity, holding his forehead and pretending to be drunk, and asked if there was a room for him to rest.
When Mr. Jiang heard this, he was overjoyed. He was worried that it would be difficult to take action in public, but it was like a dream come true. He quickly ordered his beautiful maid to come forward and support him.
Zhao Qingyi took the lead and grabbed Chu Yuanhe's arm.
Looking at his flushed cheeks, she couldn't tell whether he was really drunk or just pretending.
Chu Yuanhe could drink quite a lot, and she had never seen him drunk. Could it be that there was something in the wine today?
Last time, in order to protect himself, he exposed the fact that he was participating in the martial arts competition. If Mr. Jiang really wanted to avenge his daughter, he would definitely take down Chu Yuanhe first. Drugging him would undoubtedly be the most direct and effective way.
Thinking of this, Zhao Qingyi's heart was alarmed. She quickly helped Chu Yuanhe out. As they walked into the corridor, she began to shake his arm, "Wake up..."
"Husband? Wake up..."
After calling her twice, Chu Yuanhe still looked drunk, with most of his weight on her shoulders, and only a few incoherent mumblings came out of his mouth.
Zhao Qingyi was extremely anxious. She glanced behind her and saw two beautiful maids following her closely. She couldn't escape, so she gritted her teeth and pinched Chu Yuanhe's waist.
Chu Yuanhe took a deep breath, but was still drunk and unconscious.
Zhao Qingyi became even more anxious. Could it be that he was really drugged?
The beautiful maid behind them probably also noticed something, so she immediately walked past the two of them and pushed open the door of a side room.
"Master Yuan, please rest here first. I will go and prepare some sobering soup for you." One of the beautiful maids withdrew, and the other one stood guard at the door.
Zhao Qingyi racked her brains to think of how to get out. Chu Yuanhe was already unconscious. It would be difficult for her to escape from the manor by herself.
At this moment, the maid at the door bowed and saluted, "Miss."
As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in a light red long dress and a gauze mask came in gracefully, followed by a large group of slaves and guards.
It came as expected.
Zhao Qingyi helped Chu Yuanhe sit down and looked towards the door.
"Big sister, I hope you are well." The woman smiled sweetly and slowly took off her veil, revealing a delicate and beautiful face.
The facial features were familiar, except for a glaring scar on her left cheek, which ran from the corner of her eye to the corner of her mouth, like a hideous centipede lying across her fair skin.
The moment he recognized her, Zhao Qingyi felt much calmer.
"Even after I've become like this, big sister still recognizes me." Zhao Manyi stroked the scar on her cheek, her eyes filled with deep hatred. "That's right, you destroyed me with your own hands, of course you won't forget it easily..."
"You brought that upon yourself, it has nothing to do with others." Zhao Qingyi looked indifferent and glanced at the person behind her calmly.
"It's not easy for Concubine Fang. Even though you've fallen into that situation, she still managed to find a way to send you to your cheap father. It's really pitiful to see the love of parents in the world..."
"Shut up!"
Zhao Manyi's slender fingers caressing her cheek suddenly curled up and sneered, "I came here today to give you one last chance. Tell me, where is Jun Ge'er? If you return Jun Ge'er to me, I can give you wealth and glory."
Ever since the incident in the Li family's firewood room when Zhao Qingyi forced her to drink poisoned wine, she has only a few years left to live. Jun Ge'er is the only knot in her heart that she cannot let go.
"oh?"
Zhao Qingyi raised an eyebrow curiously, "What kind of wealth and glory do you want? You don't want it yourself, so you give it to me?"
Zhao Manyi laughed viciously, "You sent me to be your concubine back then. Today, how about I send you to Prince Qi's Mansion?" After saying that, she giggled, and the servants and guards behind her immediately rushed into the wing room and surrounded Zhao Qingyi inside.
When Zhao Qingyi heard the word "King Qi", she felt nauseous. She guessed that King Qi had already known her and Chu Yuanhe's identities.
She subconsciously looked at Chu Yuanhe, who was still sleeping soundly on the Arhat couch.
"Don't look at him. He can't save you." Zhao Manyi seemed to have seen through her thoughts and said with a smug look on her face, "I discovered your identities. My father will naturally be wary of you two. Now, he can't wake up."
"I never thought that my elder sister, who seemed so pure and innocent, would secretly hook up with the Prince of Pingxi." Zhao Manyi gritted her teeth, feeling both the joy of revenge and endless hatred.
"But the Prince of Pingxi can't leave alive. As for you, since we were once sisters, I will send you to the palace and let you climb up the social ladder. When you come back, don't forget to thank me..."
Murdering a member of the royal family is certainly a serious crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of the clan, but the emperor is far away here, and even if the news of the prince's murder is reported back to the capital, what can be done? When it is investigated, the people who caused trouble in the south of the city will be blamed.
These fools dared to come to the gate of the county government office with weapons. Without knowing the identity of the prince, it was inevitable that they would accidentally kill someone.
Seeing that the guards were about to arrest people, Zhao Qingyi suddenly laughed.
As soon as she smiled, Zhao Manyi stopped laughing and glared at her fiercely, "Bitch, you're about to die, why are you laughing!"
"I'm Xiao Sanjie, you're so lucky." Zhao Qingyi looked around, her smile blooming. "Look at you now, you have a horde of servants and maids, which is even more glorious than being Li Che's concubine. I believe that Aunt Fang's spirit in heaven can rest in peace."
Zhao Manyi was suddenly struck by lightning, and her body swayed. "What did you say?"
"Third sister, don't you know? Aunt Fang...she's dead."
"impossible!"
Zhao Manyi rushed forward and tried to strangle Zhao Qingyi.
Zhao Qingyi had been on guard for a long time and dodged nimbly, leaving her empty-handed. "Just now I was saying how pitiful all parents are. Aunt Fang risked her life for you and your future. I thought you knew about it. It turns out that Third Sister only cared about being Miss Jiang and forgot about your aunt. How pitiful..."
Zhao Manyi has always trusted her mother. She has so many tricks up her sleeve and is the most favored concubine in the second house. She is even inferior to the second wife. How could she die so easily?
"It's you...it's you who killed my aunt? Is it you?"
After experiencing so many misfortunes, Zhao Manyi's temperament has become increasingly crazy. She shook Zhao Qingyi's shoulders and demanded an answer, "Tell me, what happened to my aunt? Tell me!"
Zhao Qingyi pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth gradually rising, her voice as light as a ghost, "For your Jun brother, for you, she was strangled to death by the husband she had served for many years."
Zhao Manyi's pupils trembled violently, and the hand grabbing her shoulder became more and more powerful.
"Impossible... Impossible... My aunt will not die!"
Zhao Qingyi glanced at the hand on her shoulder, frowned slightly, pushed her away, and looked towards the gate of the courtyard.
Chu Yuanhe was unconscious, so she could only hope that County Magistrate Zhou would act faster. For now, she had to hold Zhao Manyi back.
When Zhao Manyi heard the news about Aunt Fang, she stumbled and fell to the ground, tears falling like pearls from a broken string.
After a while, she got up again, "...What about my Jun brother? Where is my Jun brother!"
Now that her aunt is gone, her brother Jun can't have any more accidents. She is still looking forward to her brother Jun becoming successful!
"Jun'er identified Li Che in court, admitting that he was the child born out of wedlock between you and Li Che. He was only five years old, and his reputation has been completely ruined by you, his parents."
"Zhao Manyi, are you happy?"
"The people closest to you, the people most important to you, have died or been destroyed because of you. Are you satisfied?"
"Zhao Manyi, if you had died earlier and stopped making trouble, perhaps your aunt wouldn't have died, and your Jun Ge'er would have been able to be the second young master of the Li family..."
"If one day, Jun Ge'er knew that you abandoned him and ran away to Qiantang to enjoy a good life, leaving him alone to suffer, one meal a day, one meal a day, and having to endure the pointing and criticizing of outsiders, unable to hold his head up for the rest of his life, living worse than a stray dog, do you think... would he still recognize this biological mother?"
"All this is because of you, Zhao Manyi. How dare you hide in Qiantang and survive until now?"
Zhao Qingyi pressed on step by step, watching the woman in front of him collapse bit by bit.
"Ah—stop it! Stop it!"
Zhao Manyi couldn't bear it any longer. She covered her ears and screamed, and blood almost shed from the corners of her ferocious eyes.
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