Chapter 76: Poison 2 If my husband catches that woman, will he kill her?
Su He heard the noise first.
She saw him push the door open and walk into the room, his tall figure standing out in the darkness.
Just like when she saw him push the door open in the dyeing workshop, she instinctively felt a palpitation in her heart. She took a moment to calm herself down.
Xie Wuhen took off the long sword from his waist, placed it on the table, and then took off his coat.
Perhaps because he was afraid of waking her up, he didn't even light a candle, but went straight to the bathroom in the dark. After washing up, he came out and slept on another soft couch in the room in the dark.
But he was not asleep. He kept tossing and turning, as if thinking about something.
He didn't come home last night, and tonight is his second night. Could it be that he is preparing to set a trap to catch her?
She wanted to trick him into talking.
After all, Zhou Yuanze was not dead, and she had to kill him a second time. She could not let the Dali Temple affect her plan no matter what.
Su He coughed twice deliberately and looked towards the couch: "Is my husband back?"
Xie Wuhen sat up from the couch and replied through the darkness: "It's me, I'm sorry for waking my wife." Then he was about to get off the couch to accompany her.
"Husband, don't come over." She immediately called him.
She couldn't let him discover her injuries, so she had to wait one day at a time.
He paused and asked, "Why?"
"I've caught a cold these past two days, and I'm afraid I might have passed my illness on to my husband."
"Why are you so careless?" He was not afraid of getting sick and insisted on coming over.
She almost pleaded, "If I let my husband get rid of his illness, I'm afraid it will affect his official duties. Besides, my symptoms are not serious. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow. But if I let my husband get sick again, I will be worried and it will affect his recovery."
Seeing her say so, he had to give up and asked with concern: "Have you called a doctor?"
She replied, "Don't worry, my husband. My aunt prepared some medicine for me and I'm sweating now."
He felt relieved and lay back on the couch.
Then, a feeling of guilt welled up in her: "I blame you for being so busy with official duties these days that I haven't taken good care of you."
Su He replied gently, "People who eat all kinds of food are bound to have some illnesses and pains. This has nothing to do with whether my husband is busy with official duties." Then she asked casually, "My husband has been busy day and night recently. Have you finished your official duties?"
He stared at the faint light cast by the eaves lamp on the window sill and murmured, "I'm afraid I'll be busy for a few more days."
She pretended to be concerned: "Is this official business very difficult?"
He hummed, and after a moment, he replied, "It's a bit tricky."
"No matter how busy you are, my husband, you must take care of yourself."
"I know, thank you for your concern."
Both of them stopped talking at that point.
She didn't dare ask further questions, for fear of arousing suspicion.
He did not respond in detail. After all, it was a matter of the emperor's privacy and it was not convenient to reveal too much.
Both of them were silent, but neither of them slept. Only the chirping of insects outside the house could be heard.
After a moment, he suddenly asked, "Madam, do you think a woman who repeatedly takes people's lives is a cruel and ruthless woman?"
He was worried that if Empress Duofu's child was really found, and if the child was allowed to recognize the emperor, would she hurt the emperor and thus affect the court situation?
Su He clenched his fists secretly when he heard this, and his chest suddenly beat wildly.
Could it be that he has found out that she was responsible for the deaths of Du Yuting and Liu Dazhong?
She feigned calmness. "Women are inherently weak. There must be some compelling reason for them to become murderers, right? It depends on the situation, the reason for the killing, and who they killed. Regardless of gender, when they wield their knife to kill, there's no other way out."
Xie Wuhen seemed to disagree: "If that's the case, what's the point of the law?"
Su He asked, "What if the law wasn't on his side? What if he killed someone who deserved to be killed? Just like the story of Ah Si we talked about before, his father was beaten to death by the Du family for no reason. He wanted to redress his father's injustice, but he had no way to do so because the law doesn't support slaves suing their masters. What if Ah Si wasn't a boy, but a young man? What if he killed Du Yuting in a rage? How would we settle this matter? Was it Chen Si's fault, Du Yuting's fault, or the law's fault?"
Xie Wuhen was speechless for a long while, then he said, "Thank you, my lady, for clearing up my doubts."
Su He asked back, "Could it be that my husband is searching for a woman who committed murder?"
He neither admitted nor denied it. "I believe she has her own reasons, right?"
She asked, "Has my husband laid a net?"
He sighed quietly, a very light sigh.
He said, "If we had really laid a tight net, we wouldn't have been unable to find him until now."
Su He felt a little relieved when he heard this.
From his sighing words, she could conclude that he didn't know much about her true situation, and even his claim that she was a murderer was just a subjective guess, so he had no way of setting a tight trap to catch her.
In this way, she will have more room to seek revenge on Zhou Yuanze again.
Su He asked, "If my husband catches that woman, will he kill her?"
He said hesitantly, "I, your husband, can't be sure for the time being."
"Why can't you be sure?"
Xie Wuhen was stunned: "If we continue chatting like this, I'm afraid my wife won't be able to sleep well all night."
He didn't seem to want to talk any further.
Since he didn't want to, she couldn't force him. "My husband didn't sleep all night yesterday, so you should get a good rest tonight."
Then the two said good night to each other and went to rest.
The room finally became quiet, with only the sound of each other's breathing rising and falling.
Su He didn't know when he fell asleep, and when he woke up it was already dawn.
The couch was already empty.
Chunlan came into the room and helped her wash and dress.
She asked, "When did the uncle leave?"
"We left at daybreak, earlier than usual."
"Can you have breakfast?"
"I didn't have time, but Mr. Wu took a few cakes for my son-in-law to fill his stomach."
Su He looked at herself in the mirror and whispered, "I need to put the matter of killing Zhou Yuanze on hold."
Chunlan said as she fixed her hair: "It's better to take it easy. We have plenty of time anyway."
He added, "Miss, do you know that Yichunlou was burned to the ground last night?"
Su He paused: "Are there any casualties?"
Chunlan replied, "I heard that a deaf toad was burned to death. The rest of the people were fine, but the warehouse next to Yichunlou was also burned. The merchants suffered heavy losses."
Su He sighed: "Money can be earned again if it's lost, but people are truly gone if they're gone."
Chunlan pursed her lips and said, "No matter what, the young lady must be safe and sound."
Su He smiled and said, "I'm safe and sound."
At this time, many government officials and soldiers were cleaning up the scene next to the ruins of Yichun Tower.
Mother Liu was covered in dust and dirt. She was leading a group of Hua Niang who had escaped by chance, wailing in front of the ruins. Their howls were long and short, each one mournful.
Without Yichunlou, they would have no food to eat. Where would they make a living in the future?
There were also many citizens gathered in front of the ruins, talking and pointing.
Zhang Qianer was among the crowd of onlookers.
She was just feeling bored and wanted to go out for a walk alone, and happened to walk here.
Nanny Han from the Xie Mansion went out to buy some dried fruits and also came over to watch the fun.
He accidentally caught sight of Zhang Qian'er and waved hurriedly, "Miss Qian'er, why are you here too?"
Zhang Qianer forced a smile and said, "My home is close to here, so I came over to watch the fun."
Nanny Han also laughed: "Not to mention being close, even someone as far away as me can't help but come and take a look. After all, it's rare for the capital to have such a bustling scene, isn't it?"
As she spoke, she took a closer look at Zhang Qian'er's face. Seeing her pale complexion and dark circles under her eyes, she couldn't help but look worried: "Oh, Miss Qian'er, you look so haggard, are you feeling unwell?"
Zhang Qian'er pretended to be relaxed: "There's nothing wrong, it's just that my appetite hasn't been very good these past two days."
Nanny Han lowered her voice: "But you're pregnant?"
When she heard the word "pregnant", Zhang Qian'er suddenly thought of the "incest" thing she heard last night, and couldn't help feeling nauseous.
She suppressed her emotions and said, "Mammy, you're overthinking it. I'm not pregnant."
Then he asked, "Is Auntie doing well these days?"
Speaking of Xu Nanzhi, Nanny Han sighed, "Rumors were rife a while ago, and the old lady wasn't in a good mood. Fortunately, there are fewer people gossiping these days, so she's had some peace of mind and is feeling a little better."
Zhang Qian'er casually asked, "Isn't that young lady still going to the main courtyard to tend to her eldest aunt?"
Nanny Han shook her head. "How can the Xie family's young mistress compare to Miss Qian'er's attentiveness? Not to mention tending to the sick, even the number of times she's paid respects to them can be counted on one hand. Now that the old lady is bedridden day and night, the most she can do is send some pastries as a token of respect. Forget about anything else."
"Send cakes?"
"It's the red bean cakes and mung bean cakes made by the maid in her room who ruined her appearance. Another box was delivered this morning, but the old lady didn't even look at it. She just left it there in its original state."
A light flashed in Zhang Qian'er's eyes, and she was speechless for a long time.
After a moment, she nodded and said goodbye: "I won't chat with you for now. Since my eldest aunt is not feeling well, I will go back and pack up. I will visit her at the Xie Mansion later. Please let my eldest aunt know in advance."
Nanny Han smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss Qian'er. I'll go back to the mansion and tell her that the old lady is looking forward to meeting her."
The two then said goodbye in a hurry.
As soon as Zhang Qian'er returned home, she began to change her clothes and comb her hair. She also asked Dongye to go to the warehouse to get two old ginseng roots.
Dongwei was puzzled: "Where are you going, Miss?"
Zhang Qian'er replied, "Let's go to Xie's house to visit my aunt. Come with me."
Dong Ye was panicking: "The last time I went there was when the eldest son of the Xie family celebrated his birthday. It was such an unpleasant scene..."
Zhang Qianer interrupted her: "If it's not pleasant, I won't go? I'm going to visit my aunt, not him."
"But what if he does something bad again and lets the uncle whip the young lady again..."
"Shut up." Zhang Qianer shouted.
Ever since Li Shuli married into the Xie family, Zhang Qian'er has been failing at every step. Her life now is like a boiling oil pan, tormenting her every moment and every day.
How could she be willing to lose like this?
She said, “I will definitely succeed this time.”
Dong Ye seemed to understand something, and after a moment of silence, he tentatively asked, "Miss... have you thought of another trick to deal with the Xie family's young lady?"
Seeing Zhang Qian'er remained silent, Dong Ye pleaded, "Miss, please let it go. Last time, you used that young lady to bring up the Xie family's past affairs, and then reported her to the Dali Temple, but it didn't have the slightest effect on her. This shows that the eldest son of the Xie family is very protective of her. Why bother doing these useless things again, Miss?"
Zhang Qian'er replied in a deep voice: "Even if I die, I will definitely drag Li Shuli down with me."
Dong Ye looked at his master who was in a trance and didn't know how to comfort him.
She glanced at the main house next to her and lowered her voice, "Now that the son-in-law's condition is getting worse, he needs someone to constantly give him some datura flowers. The people in the main courtyard have repeatedly reminded him not to leave anyone by his side. Otherwise... I will stay and take care of him, and the young lady will go by herself."
She didn't want to embarrass herself by following this crazy master out.
Zhang Qian'er glanced at her and said, "I am the young mistress of the Li family after all. How can I go out without a maid by my side?" She also glanced at the main room next to her and said, "Doesn't the son-in-law have a concubine named Xinghua? Go and call that little bitch over and ask her to come and take care of the son-in-law."
Dong Ye had no choice but to answer "yes" and turned around to pass on the message.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
