Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Li Che is Impotent
Zhao Qingyi immediately asked Tan Yue to give her the reward money.
Although Mother Xing was brought in by Li Che, the benefits Li Che gave her were far less than those given to her by Zhao Qingyi, the mistress of the house. Driven by interests, she naturally became the mistress's spy.
As for the incense and deer blood wine she sent, they were also prepared by Zhao Qingyi.
In her previous life, Luo and Li Che had harmed her with these filthy things. In this life, she would certainly retaliate in kind.
This was all thanks to Chu Yuanhe's reminder that night, asking her to solve the problem from the root.
Mother Xing kept the reward money and secretly told Zhao Qingyi what Zhao Manyi had witnessed in Lanyue Pavilion.
Zhao Qingyi's heart tightened, and he asked about the specific time without changing his expression. Only then did he know that the person Zhao Manyi saw was Chu Yuanhe, and that Chu Yuanhe climbed over the wall late at night to visit him when he was sick.
However, Zhao Manyi misjudged the man and mistook him for Li Heng, suspecting that she had an affair with Li Heng.
This calmed Zhao Qingyi's nervous heart, and she replied, "It's completely false. Let her misunderstand it."
Mother Xing didn't dare to ask more questions, so she quickly agreed and walked out.
Zhao Qingyi, as usual, claimed to be ill and could not go out, but her subordinates would pass on information every now and then, and the Li family was still under her control.
On October 18th, Zhao Qingyi's birthday, only Yuxiu and Li Jiao came to pay their respects. Mrs. Luo thought that she was too ill to consummate the marriage, so she was too lazy to even put in the appearance of consummating the marriage and only sent Luo's mother to come and say hello.
As for Li Che, he had long since been immersed in the pleasures of life, so how could he even remember his first wife? It was unclear whether he had chosen this day intentionally or not, but he had asked Zhao Manyi to move in with him.
Zhao Manyi was so proud that she almost hired people to play music and make a big commotion when she moved from Liulizhai.
The two of them almost returned to the passionate state they had when they first met.
They were cuddling each other at night. Li Che was out of breath and kept praising Zhao Manyi for being gentle and well-behaved, and for her great progress.
Zhao Manyi hugged his shoulders and said coquettishly that he was stronger than before, which made Li Che distracted and make love with her.
After hearing this, Mother Xing, who was outside the door, ran to Lanyue Pavilion to report in the middle of the night.
Zhao Qingyi felt that things were almost done, so he asked his subordinates to spread rumors. Within two days, everyone in the mansion said that Zhao Manyi had a secret skill that could make men linger.
It wasn't a pleasant thing to say, but Zhao Manyi became very proud after hearing it. She no longer avoided Liulizhai when taking a walk to digest her food, and acted in a haughty manner whenever she met Yuxiu.
In the past month, Li Che has not set foot here once. He not only forgot about the mistress Zhao Qingyi, but also forgot about the pregnant Yuxiu. His heart was only on Zhao Manyi.
The people below followed suit and no one dared to disrespect her. The only one who had a complaint was Luo.
Luo had heard of those rumors. She had originally hoped that Li Che and Zhao Qingyi would consummate their marriage as soon as possible, but the birthday passed and the marriage was not consummated. Instead, he was tripped up by a lowly concubine.
It would be fine if he just tripped, but Mrs. Luo was more worried about Li Che's health.
Last time, Court Judge Liao told him that he needed to take care of himself, but after taking a bottle of pills, his body recovered and he indulged in pleasure every day. Even if he asked Court Judge Liao for more tonics, the supplements would be far less than what he lost.
Sooner or later, something bad will happen to your body.
Luo was feeling vaguely uneasy and tried to persuade Li Che several times but to no avail. Li Che seemed to be possessed by a demon and always felt that he was more energetic than ever before.
The less tired a person feels, the more he or she will subconsciously think that he or she is in excellent health and squander his or her physical strength without restraint.
Unable to persuade Li Che, Luo could only focus on Zhao Manyi and sent Luo's mother to call that bitch over.
Just as Mother Luo was about to leave, Jun Ge'er came running over, holding a Cuju ball. "Grandma, grandma, can you play Cuju with Jun Ge'er?"
Li Jiao has been taking care of the patient in Lanyue Pavilion recently, leaving only Jun Ge'er as the grandson who is close to Luo Shi. With him around, Luo Shi has no time to bother Zhao Manyi.
This is also thanks to the advice from Xing's mother.
Later, Jun Ge'er also told Zhao Manyi about Luo's dissatisfaction with her, which made Zhao Manyi think that Mother Xing was foresighted.
That evening, while getting dressed, she sought Mother Xing's advice, "Now that I'm in the limelight in the mansion, and Jun'er is favored by my mother-in-law, should I consider bringing that woman down?"
She also had evidence of Zhao Qingyi and Li Heng having an affair. Once it was exposed, Li Che could use it to divorce her.
Mother Xing remembered what Zhao Qingyi had said, "Let her do it." She guessed that the mistress had already come up with a plan, so she followed her lead and said,
"The timing is good now, but I've inquired and I know that the Second Master and the First Mistress haven't seen each other much lately. Even when they do meet, there are always maids and servants present. They are innocent and there's nothing wrong with anything."
Zhao Manyi knew about this matter. She asked Jun Ge'er to secretly inquire about it while he was close to Li Jiao, but there was indeed no evidence.
But if there is no evidence, she can just fabricate it.
Zhao Manyi used a silver comb to comb her hair bit by bit, and she had a plan in mind.
"The weather is getting colder. After closing the doors and windows, remember to light the warm incense." Zhao Manyi looked at herself in the mirror, checked her makeup, and then got up to go to the small kitchen to arrange tonight's dinner.
She personally selected a few of Li Che's favorite dishes, and poured the warmed deer blood wine into the jade pot at the right time. When everything was ready, Li Che just came back from the government office.
While the two were having their meal, Zhao Manyi, as usual, personally poured a glass of wine and brought it to Li Che's lips.
Li Che rejected her and asked, "What do you think of my expression?"
"Of course, your complexion is rosy and your complexion is excellent." Zhao Manyi flattered, but also a little puzzled, "Why do you ask this, husband?"
"It's nothing, it's just that a colleague saw me today and said that I didn't look well." Li Che certainly didn't like to hear this, but he looked in the bronze mirror and saw that his face was a little gray, which was not very good-looking.
But he could not detect any abnormality in his body. He even felt as if he had returned to the age of eighteen or nineteen, when he was full of energy.
Zhao Manyi's delicately made-up face changed slightly. "If you're worried, why don't you call a doctor to take a look?"
"No problem."
He's fine, why is he calling a doctor?
Li Che held her hand and held her slightly cold little hand in his palm. "Maybe you've been busy with work recently. Just get some more rest."
It was impossible for him to admit that he had indulged himself in excessive sexual activities. Moreover, when he was in Lingnan, he was with Zhao Manyi almost every day. Even if he felt tired occasionally, he could recover after a night's sleep. Therefore, Li Che did not take his body too seriously.
Zhao Manyi glanced at his face and found that it looked paler than a month ago. She felt guilty, but on the other hand, she remembered Li Che's excuses last time.
At that time, they were in love, but suddenly he said he was busy with official business and turned cold to her for a while, which made her feel uneasy, thinking that Li Che was tired of her again.
If that was the case, she would have to find another way to keep him.
"Oh, my dear, I asked the kitchen to make some ginseng chicken soup today." Zhao Manyi poured a bowl of soup to his lips, the warm steam still rising from it. "It's winter now, and it's the perfect time for nourishment. Please try it, my dear."
Li Che's tense expression relaxed. He took a sip from her spoon and sighed, "You've become more docile since you came in."
How long had it been since Zhao Manyi had acted so petty? Li Che himself could hardly remember.
Zhao Manyi was still as considerate as ever, and she put some more food into his bowl. "My husband works hard every day on duty. I see it with my own eyes, and it hurts my heart."
Li Che felt relieved, but for some reason, he thought of the person from Lanyue Pavilion, and his tone became heavy. "If your elder sister is even a little bit as considerate as you, she and I will also..."
Zhao Manyi's smile faltered. "My elder sister is ill and has to take care of the household affairs, so she has no time to care for my husband. But I am different. To me, my husband is heaven, the only person who matters to me."
She snuggled in the man's arms and put a piece of stewed mutton into his mouth.
This was also what Xing's mother taught her. In order to prevent Li Che from noticing anything, Zhao Manyi had to find ways to make nourishing meals to keep Li Che energetic.
But he didn't know that as long as this aphrodisiac fragrance was not changed, Li Che would not calm down. The more Zhao Manyi nourished him, the more restless the man became and the easier it would be to consume his energy. Over time, he would become strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Although you look healthy, your body is actually like a leaky tank. Even if you nourish it every day, it will be like a drop in the bucket.
After a while, Li Che felt hot and uncomfortable again. He tugged at his clothes randomly, and a surge of evil fire in his stomach inexplicably arose.
He glanced at the dishes on the table and said, "Let's keep it simple next time."
Zhao Manyi felt wronged, "I just saw that you were tired..."
He thought that it was because he had taken too much tonic that he wanted to do that kind of thing every night. After the pleasure, Li Che would regain his sanity and look at Zhao Manyi again, and he would find her boring.
But the next day, he couldn't help himself and kept being torn between the two emotions. After being torn between the two emotions for so long, he even felt something was wrong.
Li Che was suspicious, but soon his reason was once again overcome by desire.
Maybe he was overthinking it. He knew Zhao Manyi best. She loved him and would never hurt him. Maybe...
Maybe it's just because he has been well-maintained and is full of vigor and vitality that he can't help but think about it every day.
Li Che's throat moved slightly, and his vision gradually became blurred, but his body senses were particularly clear, and even the woman's breathing next to his ear became particularly seductive.
Zhao Manyi had sat on his lap at some point, her arms around his neck, her red lips moving as she said something.
But he couldn't hear clearly. He had only one thought in his mind. He couldn't suppress his impulse any longer. He picked the person up and carried him sideways. They both fell onto the couch...
Originally thought it would be the same as before, just a matter of moaning a few more times, but this night there was no result. Zhao Manyi also felt strange. She had been tossed over and over until she was exhausted, but Li Che still had no intention of ending.
If Zhao Manyi looked carefully at this moment, she would find that Li Che's face had turned pale, like a dried-up dying person.
Li Che's senses went from sharp to numb, he was gasping for breath, and his breathing became more and more rapid.
Until the most critical moment, his eyes suddenly went dark, and he suddenly fainted and fell into Zhao Manyi's arms.
Zhao Manyi was stunned and slowly touched the man's face, her touch was extremely cold.
"ah!"
Zhao Manyi screamed and pushed Li Che away, then rolled and crawled off the bed.
Mother Xing rushed in without warning and saw her sitting on the ground, holding her clothes. The man on the couch was stiff all over, as if he was dead.
Mother Xing's face suddenly changed. "No, it's bad! Something happened to Grandpa!"
It was too late for Zhao Manyi to stop her. Mother Xing ran out in a panic and after a few shouts, the whole house was alarmed.
Luo was the first one to rush over. Seeing Li Che's naked body covered with a thin blanket, lying motionless on the couch with a deathly pale face, she burst into tears and urged someone to call a doctor.
But all the doctors who came were helpless. The situation looked even more serious than when Li Jiao fell into the water.
As the mistress and Li Che's nominal wife, Zhao Qingyi naturally had to come over to "show some concern" and immediately sent someone to take her father's business card to the palace.
The palace responded very quickly and sent Liao Yuanpan over overnight.
While taking Li's pulse, Judge Liao's long, graying eyebrows were knitted together. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "Master Li's energy is exhausted, and his kidneys are severely damaged. I'm afraid that in the future..."
Judge Liao looked at the young man on the couch and shook his head helplessly, "I'm afraid that in the future, Master Li will not be able to raise his hands again."
As soon as these words were spoken, thunder rolled in the sky.
Luo's knees went weak and she fell to the ground. The servants screamed and hurried to help her up.
But Luo Shi couldn't muster any strength in her body. She just sat there dejectedly, turbid tears overflowing from her eyes, "Oh my God——"
"What sin has our Li family committed?" Mrs. Luo was so heartbroken that she almost fainted from crying.
Zhao Manyi's ears were buzzing and she was shaking with her arms.
What did the imperial physician say just now?
Said Li Che...is impotent?
He, he is useless?
A huge shadow loomed over Zhao Manyi's heart. She tried her best to curl up in the corner, not daring to be discovered.
After Luo cried and wailed, she clutched Court Judge Liao's arm tightly, "Doctor Liao, please, please save my son! He's still so young, not even 25!"
"Yes, he's still young, he can definitely be saved! I beg you, Doctor Liao. You're such a skilled doctor, but if you can't save him, what will happen to my son in the future?"
Judge Liao was so frustrated by her that he sighed repeatedly, "I came here once before and told Lord Li to take care of himself, but he...ah!"
Mrs. Luo also recalled what happened that day. She also remembered that Judge Liao gave Li Che a bottle of medicine. After Li Che used the medicine for a few days, he obviously regained a lot of energy.
But after that, Li Che seemed to be possessed by a demon, and was entangled with the bitch Zhao Manyi every day.
"It's you! You're the one who killed Che'er!"
Luo immediately turned his attention to Zhao Manyi in the corner with bloodshot eyes, wishing he could tear her into pieces immediately.
Judge Liao intervened in time, "Old Madam, Lord Li's illness seems strange. Please think carefully. Has Lord Li used any aphrodisiacs or yang-strengthening substances recently?"
His words seemed to remind everyone present, and Zhao Manyi's heart trembled violently.
Mother Xing cried out for mercy and fell to her knees, "Old lady, spare my life!"
Zhao Manyi's eyelids twitched wildly, and she wanted to go over and cover Mother Xing's mouth. Zhao Qingyi stood between them, "Why don't you tell the truth?"
Mother Xing knew she couldn't hide the truth, and she was afraid Zhao Manyi would go crazy, so she hugged Zhao Qingyi, who was closest to her, and said, "Grandma, this was all Aunt Zhao's idea! She was the one who gave me money and sent me to find aphrodisiac incense and deer blood wine!"
The crowd was in an uproar again.
Judge Liao was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. "Oh my! How foolish!"
"It's none of my business!"
Madam Xing hurriedly argued, "I've advised Aunt Zhao to be careful with it, so as not to harm Master, but Aunt Zhao wouldn't listen. She insisted on putting aphrodisiac incense in the stove and frequently urged Master to drink deer blood wine at dinner. This has been going on every day for over a month!"
"More than a month? Like this every day?"
Even though Liao Yuanpan had been practicing medicine for many years, he was still horrified when he heard someone was doing such a life-threatening thing.
In order to prove what she said, Mother Xing found the spices and deer blood wine. Court Judge Liao only needed to sniff them and determined that these things were the evidence of harming Li Che.
With all the evidence, Luo was furious. She grabbed Zhao Manyi's collar with one hand and attacked with the other. "So it's you, you shameless bastard! I'll beat you to death!"
Zhao Manyi screamed repeatedly, covering her face and shaking her head desperately, "It's not me, it's not me..."
She had no idea it would turn out like this. Mother Xing had clearly said these things were harmless.
Luo Shi would not listen to her excuses and continued to beat her by pulling her hair. After a few hits, Zhao Manyi's face was swollen and the corners of her mouth were full of blood.
Judge Liao didn't want to get involved in their family affairs, so he made an excuse to leave.
Luo finally managed to calm down, and she tugged at his sleeve again, crying, "Doctor Liao, you must save my son, please! No matter how much money it costs, you must save him!"
She only has this one biological son. If Li Che dies, her second half of life will be over.
But this is no longer a question of money.
Seeing her struggling so hard, Judge Liao had no choice but to say, "I can only give you acupuncture and try my best to save Lord Li's life. As for... as for the matter of his descendants, I am truly powerless to do anything."
Now that things have come to this, what else can Luo say?
She glanced at the people in the room. Li Jiao was there, as was Jun Ge'er. The two children were still ignorant and had confused looks on their faces. Next to them was Yuxiu, who was pregnant.
It’s okay to have three children. At least, the Li family still has descendants.
Mrs. Luo comforted herself and wiped away her tears, "Doctor Liao, I only beg you to save my son's life."
Judge Liao said he would try his best and sent everyone out of the room.
When they got outside, Luo was still furious, so she rushed over and kicked Zhao Manyi, causing her to fall down the stairs.
Zhao Manyi was already numb and could not feel any pain. She just curled up in fear. Seeing this, the others did not dare to say a word.
Zhao Qingyi glanced at her without sympathy, and said lightly, "Mother-in-law, this matter is very serious. How do you want to deal with it?"
"I wish she were dead!"
Luo's triangular eyes widened and she slapped Zhao Manyi several times viciously, but her reason told her that Zhao Manyi could not die, at least not now.
Once someone dies in the Li family, the Zhao family will definitely investigate. Once the investigation is carried out, the family scandal will be exposed, and the secret of Li Che's impotence due to indulgence will spread throughout the capital. Such a shameful thing must be suppressed.
"Forget it, just throw him to the woodshed first and deal with him later!"
"Yes." Zhao Qingyi lowered her eyes and bowed. As for Mother Xing, she only told Mrs. Luo that she would handle it. Mrs. Luo was so focused on Li Che that she had no energy to care. She waved her hand in agreement.
When Zhao Qingyi returned to Lanyue Pavilion, he gave Mother Xing a sum of money and sent her to work as a manager on his own farm, which was considered a retirement after a successful career.
Mother Xing was so happy that she left at night.
Qiao Yue finally dared to laugh out loud, "That's good, Grandma will have some peace and quiet from now on."
Tan Yue couldn't help laughing. "This was done by someone else. If you want to blame someone, blame the master for not having self-control and blame Aunt Zhao for being malicious. It has nothing to do with our grandmother."
—
Judge Liao stayed until dawn and barely pulled Li Che back from the brink of death. Luo secretly gave him a large sum of hush money to prevent him from revealing Li Che's true condition. At the same time, he sent someone to the yamen to ask for leave, saying that Li Che had caught a cold and fell ill.
As a result, Judge Liao accepted the money and reported the truth when he returned to the palace.
At noon the next day, someone from the palace sent supplements to Li Che and allowed him to rest at home for half a month.
Mrs. Luo thought that it was a great blessing from heaven and was so moved that she burst into tears. When she opened the brocade box, she found that it was full of things that could nourish the kidneys and warm the yang, including a small jar of deer blood wine.
Luo suddenly felt that the thing was dazzling, as if it had silently hit her in the face, causing her to feel a burning pain. However, since it was a reward from His Majesty, she had to thank him with a smile. She turned around and asked someone to lock the thing in the warehouse, and then went to the woodshed to settle the score with Zhao Manyi.
Zhao Manyi's cheeks were swollen. She had been tortured all night. At this moment, her hair was disheveled and her clothes were messy. Seeing Luo coming towards her aggressively, she was not afraid at all.
Anyway, things have come to this. No matter how angry Luo is, she dare not kill her for the sake of the Zhao family's reputation.
After all, Li Che will be a disabled person from now on and will no longer be able to have children, but she is Jun Ge'er's biological mother. If Luo wants Jun Ge'er to recognize her as his grandmother, she cannot touch her.
Zhao Manyi looked very proud. Not only did she not show any remorse, she even threatened him with her offspring, which made Luo so angry that she whipped him several times.
After the beating, Luo was still not satisfied and had Zhao Qingyi called over, "This bitch is plotting to murder the master. As the mistress, you should punish her!"
This is to divert the trouble away.
Luo was afraid that the second branch of the Zhao family would settle accounts with her one day, but she was still angry, so she wanted to use Zhao Qingyi to kill someone with a borrowed knife.
After all, when Zhao Manyi and Li Che's affair was exposed, Zhao Qingyi's grief and anger were obvious to all. Now that she finally has the opportunity to settle her personal grudge, she will definitely not let Zhao Manyi go easily.
Even if something bad happened during the fight and she was held accountable by the second branch of the Zhao family, Luo could still put the blame on Zhao Qingyi, saying that she was jealous and resentful and took the opportunity to beat her cousin to death.
If things get out of hand, Li Che might even divorce Zhao Qingyi. A divorced woman cannot take away her dowry.
Luo's move not only made her feel better, but also allowed her to take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of Zhao Qingyi and seize the dowries of both her and Zhao Manyi. She then hid behind the scenes with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, hiding her achievements and fame.
Sure enough, as soon as the whip fell into Zhao Qingyi's hands, she felt the angry look from Zhao Manyi.
Before he even takes action, he's already hated.
Luo's triangular eyes rolled, and she covered her chest, pretending to feel pain. "I've never had a peaceful day. I'm old and can't take it anymore. I'll leave this place to you."
Zhao Qingyi gripped the whip tightly, smiled slightly, and watched Luo leave.
Luo's intentions are really vicious.
While she was thinking, Zhao Manyi screamed, "If you dare to hit me, my father and aunt will not let you go!"
She endured Luo's beatings and scoldings, after all, she was her nominal mother-in-law, but who was Zhao Qingyi?
"You still don't know your mistake!"
Although Zhao Qingyi didn't intend to really attack, he still wanted to scare her a bit, so he whipped the whip hard, and the tail of the whip brushed against Zhao Manyi's shoulder and hit the ground hard.
Zhao Manyi was so frightened that she fell to the ground.
Zhao Qingyi then slowly retracted the whip and said, "Third sister, this is my mother-in-law's order. I can't do anything about it."
Hearing the helplessness in her words, Zhao Manyi's mind raced. She crawled to her feet and grabbed the hem of her skirt, "Big sister, I'm really innocent. I never wanted to harm my husband... No, my brother-in-law!"
"I know you resent me in your heart and think that I stole your brother-in-law away, but this is not my intention. I don't want to marry into the Li family at all, I don't want to be a concubine at all, and I never thought about competing with you for anything!"
Zhao Manyi spoke earnestly, her voice tearful, "Big sister, please let me go just this once, okay? If you let me out, I promise to leave the Li family and go far away. I will never compete with you for my brother-in-law again!"
Before she got married, Zhao Qingyi always took good care of her younger brothers and sisters, treating them equally regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, until she committed adultery with Li Che.
So Zhao Manyi took it for granted that her elder sister's temperament changed drastically because she cared too much about Li Che. So as long as she withdrew and disappeared from Li Che's sight, everything would be solved.
Little did he know that Zhao Qingyi laughed in her heart when she heard it.
She bent down slightly and lifted Zhao Manyi's delicate chin. "Third sister, if I let you go, where can you go?"
Zhao Manyi thought she was about to give in, and secretly cursed her for being stupid. She put on a pitiful look and said tearfully, "As long as big sister and brother-in-law don't have any more grudges because of Man'er, I'm willing to go anywhere!"
Zhao Qingyi couldn't help but burst into laughter, and tears almost overflowed from her eyes.
"How can there be such a cheap good thing in the world?"
After laughing, Zhao Qingyi leaned over and stroked her face with his fingertips, his movements extremely gentle.
"After leaving the Li family's firewood room, do you want to continue hiding in Lingnan? Or will you let Li Che use my dowry to rent you a house in Beijing and continue to provide you with good food and drink?"
Zhao Manyi's face suddenly turned pale as paper.
What did she say?
How did she know?!
Zhao Manyi was horrified and had no time to argue when her cheek suddenly felt painful.
The hand that had been caressing her gently suddenly tightened its grip, its sharp nails digging deep into the delicate flesh of her cheeks.
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