Chapter 227 Step by Step
After Shen Qingci finished speaking, she didn't look at Old Madam Huo's pale face again, and turned back to the Regent's carriage.
She slowly shook her head at Chu Jichen beside her, her voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of weariness and sarcasm: "Although I've made such a scene, the capital will soon be filled with news of Huo Yunzhan's despicable deeds. But..."
"Huo Yunzhan is, after all, her only son now."
"I guess she...wouldn't actually stab Huo Yunzhan in the back."
Chu Jichen smiled upon hearing this.
"Not necessarily." He looked at her, his deep phoenix eyes gleaming with an all-knowing light.
“I previously ordered people to investigate the Huo family mansion, and the investigation was quite thorough.”
“Lord Huo,” he said slowly, “has had concubines, and even mistresses.”
“Those concubines and mistresses also had children.”
"However, Madam Huo came from a good family and was very shrewd. After the death of Marquis Huo, she used all sorts of methods to get rid of all those concubines and children."
He paused, then emphasized, "It's 'eliminate,' not 'drive away.'"
“But,” he changed the subject, “one of the concubines was a maid who had accompanied Old Madam Huo in her dowry. I knew her very well. Before Old Marquis Huo passed away, she had already begged him to send her and her two children away ahead of schedule.”
"Both of those children were boys."
"Lord Huo also had a mistress, who was well hidden and thus escaped disaster. That mistress has a son and a daughter."
“So,” a calculating glint flashed in Chu Jichen’s eyes, “the Huo family is not really without descendants besides Huo Yunting and Huo Yunzhan.
“We can try to make Old Madam Huo think that Huo Yunzhan is… doomed to die this time.”
"It made her feel that if the Huo family were truly and completely destroyed in her hands, she would not be able to face the Huo family ancestors and the old Marquis Huo after her death."
"At the same time..." A cruel smile slowly curved his lips, "...arrange for that concubine's maidservant to bring Lord Huo's children to our door."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci's eyes widened in astonishment!
She looked at Chu Jichen in disbelief, her voice filled with shock: "How...how did Your Highness know about these things?"
Even she, who could be considered Huo Yunzhan's childhood sweetheart, didn't know what Chu Jichen was saying!
How did Chu Jichen find out?
In her memory, Lord Huo the Marquis... did indeed have concubines. But she didn't recall him having any other children.
Chu Jichen looked at her, his voice carrying a hint of tenderness that was barely perceptible: "Because your father, along with your entire Shen family, spent several years at the border. Those things happened during those years."
"By the time you returned to the capital, Lord Huo had already passed away, and everything was already set in stone."
"Those children were all born in those years, so they're not that old now. The oldest is only... six or seven years old."
“But,” his voice was full of seductive meaning, “no matter what, that…is also the bloodline of the Huo family.”
Chu Jichen looked at her and asked, "Do you still have anyone you can trust in the Huo family?"
"Yes." Shen Qingci nodded without hesitation.
“When the time comes,” Chu Jichen’s eyes flashed with a wicked light, “you can have your people whisper something in Old Madam Huo’s ear.”
"Make her give up on Huo Yunzhan."
"Have her select one or two of the younger children from among those children, remove the mother and keep the child, and raise the child herself. In this way, it can be considered as continuing the bloodline of the Huo family."
Chu Jichen's lips curled up: "We can also arrange for someone to pretend to be Liu Wenyuan's man, approach Old Madam Huo, and have Old Madam Huo put on this show. Then he can find a way to secretly rescue Huo Yunzhan."
"At least, save Huo Yunzhan's life."
"But on the surface, Old Madam Huo personally testified that in order to continue the Huo family line, she severed ties with her son and even started raising the children of her concubines and mistresses. In that case, even if Huo Yunzhan ran away, no one would suspect Old Madam Huo, and the Huo family would not be implicated."
"After these steps, Madam Huo will naturally... make a choice according to our ideas."
Shen Qingci narrowed her eyes. Chu Jichen's plan was brilliant! He had Old Madam Huo completely under his control.
If that's the case, then she can do more to urge Old Madam Huo to make a choice as soon as possible!
That night, the Yongning Marquis's residence was deathly silent.
Madam Huo sat alone in the Buddhist hall, her hands twirling prayer beads, but she could no longer calm her mind.
Just then, a cold night wind suddenly rushed in through the cracks in the window frame!
The candlelight on the altar flickered violently as the wind blew!
Old Madam Huo's heart skipped a beat!
She subconsciously looked up and saw a familiar and upright figure standing quietly in the center of the Buddhist hall in the flickering candlelight!
"Ting...Ting'er?!" she cried out in shock. The Buddhist prayer beads in her hand snapped with a "crack" and scattered all over the ground!
Huo Yunting slowly turned around, his face, which was exactly the same as Huo Yunzhan's, was filled with icy coldness and resentment!
He approached her step by step, his voice filled with endless questioning and indignation:
"Mother! Why... are you protecting that beast?"
"He killed me! And he took my wife!"
"If he hadn't harbored evil intentions, would my Huo family have ended up in this state?"
He stared intently at her, his gaze as if he wanted to devour her alive.
"You've indulged Huo Yunzhan, letting the Huo family fall into this state! How... how will you explain this to Father? How... how will you explain this to the ancestors of my Huo family?"
Old Madam Huo was already terrified. She collapsed on the prayer mat, watching the "ghostly figure" approaching her step by step. She could no longer hold back, covered her face, and let out a shrill wail!
"Ting'er! My son!" Tears streamed down her face, her voice filled with endless pain and despair. "What can I... what can I do?!"
"You're already dead! Mother... Mother only has Yunzhan as her son!"
"I have no choice! What can I do?!"
...
The next day, just as dawn broke, a series of mournful cries suddenly rang out from outside the tightly closed vermilion gate of the Yongning Marquis's residence!
Two women dressed in plain clothes and simple attire stepped out of a dilapidated carriage, one in front of the other.
Behind them were four children who looked no more than five or six years old.
As soon as they got out of the car, they knelt down in front of the Marquis's mansion, crying and shouting until their voices were hoarse!
The woman at the head of the group raised her head; her once charming face was now streaked with tears. She called out loudly towards the closed door:
"Open the door! Let us in!"
"We've brought the old Marquis's own flesh and blood here... to acknowledge our ancestors and return to our clan!"
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