Chapter 274 Li Nian'er escaped again
The Mengxi Villa was shrouded in deep twilight.
These past few days, Meng Xi has secluded himself in his courtyard, spending his days with only a wine jug.
He leaned lazily against the couch, his clothes disheveled, his jade crown askew, and a few strands of dark hair falling across his forehead.
A few empty wine jars were rolling at his feet, and he was shrouded in a decadent and gloomy atmosphere.
In his drunken haze, images of his grandmother's heartbroken obstruction that day, the unbearable gossip around him, and the tightly closed door of Yunshang Pavilion... all these scenes tore at his heart.
He hated his own powerlessness, and even more so the mastermind behind the rumors.
At the same time, he secretly sent Chang Hong to thoroughly investigate what happened that day.
He concluded that the timing of the news's transmission suggested that a suspicious person was stirring up trouble at the scene.
At this moment, Chang Hong finally led a man with a lewd face and trembling like a leaf into the courtyard.
Meng Xi, slightly drunk, raised his eyes. When his gaze fell on that person, the hazy look vanished instantly, replaced by a cold and sharp gaze, like that of quenched ice.
He stood up unsteadily, and with a loud bang, the jade wine pot in his hand slammed down at the man's feet, shards flying everywhere and spilling the remaining wine!
"explain!"
Meng Xi's voice was hoarse from the alcohol, his usual languidness gone, replaced by a menacing tone, "Who ordered you to do this?"
The man winced in pain and was terrified. He stammered, "It was... a lady wearing a veil... I... I didn't see her face clearly... but... I was careful and secretly followed her carriage. I saw her... she entered the back gate of the Qi residence!"
He had planned to make another quick buck from this later, but instead he lost half his life.
"The Qi family... Jiang Shi? Li Nian'er?"
As Meng Xi pondered the two names, a surge of bone-deep hatred and rage welled up in his phoenix eyes. His cheeks, which had been slightly flushed from being drunk, were now completely drained of color, turning deathly pale.
He suddenly raised his foot and kicked the man hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground and causing him to vomit blood.
"Chang Hong!"
He shouted sharply, seemingly sobering up almost instantly, his eyes filled with a terrifying clarity and fierceness, "Take this piece of trash with you and come with me to the Qi residence!"
Chang Hong looked troubled and cautiously whispered a reminder: "Young Master, it is already close to midnight. Visiting the Qi residence at night may be against etiquette..."
Meng Xi abruptly turned her head and glared at him, her gaze sharp as a blade, her voice icy cold: "Go now! Don't you understand?"
This was the first time he had ever lost his composure and become so furious.
Chang Hong's heart skipped a beat, and he dared not say again: "Yes!"
A moment later, Meng Xi had changed into casual clothes. Although he still appeared lazy, a closer look revealed a chilling coldness and sinister intent in his usually half-closed phoenix eyes.
The inner hall of the Qi residence.
Li Nian'er once again escaped from the Imperial Uncle's mansion at great risk, and was now kneeling on the cold floor tiles, trembling like a leaf.
Her once beautiful face had become gaunt and emaciated, her complexion was sallow, her eyes were dark and swollen, and there were traces of old and new tear stains on her face. There was also a trace of dried blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Aunt! Please! Save me! Don't send me back... I'll die! The Imperial Uncle... he's not human! He's a beast!"
Her voice was hoarse, each word trembling with despair, "He whipped me, burned me with candles, and wouldn't let me eat or sleep... I just couldn't take it anymore..."
As she spoke, she suddenly rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms covered in lacerations, whip marks, pinch marks, several obvious burns, and deep bite marks with visible teeth marks. Old wounds had not healed, and new wounds had been added, making her look ferocious and terrifying.
She lost control of her emotions and frantically tried to tear open her collar to reveal more of her injuries, but was stopped sternly by Madam Jiang: "Enough!"
Seeing her niece in such a wretched state, neither human nor ghost, Jiang felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
This was ultimately the only bloodline left by her own sister.
But her face showed more of a deep helplessness and a resolute determination after weighing the options. She hardened her heart and said, "Nian'er! It's not that your aunt doesn't want to save you! It's that your aunt... is powerless! That's the Emperor's brother-in-law! Behind him is the Empress Dowager! What can our Qi family do to fight against him? If you don't go back now, it will be even more embarrassing when the people from your family come to take you away. You won't even have the last bit of dignity left!"
Upon hearing this, Li Nian'er was struck dumb, her body went limp, and she burst into a heart-wrenching wail, rushing forward to cling tightly to Jiang Shi's leg: "Aunt! Are you just going to watch Nian'er be tortured to death? If I go back this time... I'm sure I'll die! Aunt!"
Madam Jiang ruthlessly pulled her leg away, turned her back, and said in a voice as cold and hard as iron, "Granny Qian! Send Miss Biao back to the Imperial Uncle's residence! Immediately!"
These resolute words were like the last straw, breaking Li Nian'er's spirit.
A surge of frenzied resentment instantly welled up in her eyes, and she screamed shrilly, "Don't forget! If my mother hadn't married you off to that harsh and cold place of Jizhou, suffering poverty and dying young, how could you have stayed in the capital, married into the Qi family, and enjoyed such immense wealth! Now you are so ungrateful! How can you face my deceased mother?"
"presumptuous!"
Jiang turned around abruptly, her pent-up anger and guilt finally erupting. Pointing at her, she angrily rebuked, "It was precisely because of this affection that I raised you by my side since you were a child, showering you with fine clothes and delicacies, spoiling you in every way, even more than I did with Liang Ge'er! And what about you?"
"The Meng family had such a good marriage, and you broke it off on your own! You even had the audacity to try and get into Meng Xi's bed! I have some connections with Geng Shi, so I didn't make a fuss and only sent you back to Jizhou to reflect on your actions! And what did you do? You went back and provoked Lu Zhaoruo, indirectly causing your brother's death! At the Empress Dowager's banquet, I repeatedly warned you, but you insisted on being clever and harming others, and now you're reaping the consequences!"
"You've fallen to this state, every step of which was paved with blood and tears. Every single one of those steps was your own doing. You have only yourself to blame!"
Li Nian'er was rendered speechless by the scolding. Looking at her aunt's cold, disgusted eyes, devoid of any warmth, she knew that her last support had completely collapsed.
Heartbroken and disillusioned, she collapsed to the ground, letting out a sob that was half-laughing and half-crying: "It's...it's my fault for being stupid, it's my own fault..."
But the next moment, all the despair and resentment boiled and condensed in her heart like venom, turning into a bone-deep hatred for Lu Zhaoruo.
If it weren't for Lu Zhaoruo, how could she have fallen from grace and ended up in such a desperate situation where she could neither live nor die!
at this time.
A maid rushed in and reported urgently, "Madam, something terrible has happened! Young Master Meng of the Meng family has barged in with a ruffian, and we can't stop him!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang's heart sank, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Meng Xi? Why would he come at this time? Could it be... that he has already discovered the rumors?"
A strong sense of foreboding instantly gripped her.
However, the other party is backed by the Duke of Di's mansion, a man of noble status, and must not be treated with disrespect.
She suppressed her panic and quickly instructed her maid, "Quickly! Lead Young Master Meng to the main hall to serve him tea and treat him well. I will be there immediately."
The maidservant responded and withdrew.
Just moments ago, Li Nian'er was ashen-faced and slumped on the ground, but upon hearing the name "Meng Xi," a faint glimmer of light suddenly appeared in her eyes.
She subconsciously smoothed her disheveled hair with her hand, tugging at her torn sleeves to try and cover her wounds. A sliver of unrealistic delusion seemed to rekindle in her lifeless heart—he's here, is it... to see me?
Jiang noticed her subtle movements and felt both angry and sad.
She had no time to spare at the moment, and turned to her trusted nanny, Qian, and whispered urgently, "Meng Xi's visit is ill-intentioned. Quickly go and fetch Madam Wan!"
Granny Qian understood and immediately turned around to hurry to find Wan Ningniang.
Jiang took a deep breath, looked at Li Nian'er who was still slumped on the ground, and said with impatience and anxiety, "There are important matters in the manor right now, I can't take care of you. You... hurry up and pack your things and go back to the Imperial Uncle's manor!"
Li Nian'er shook her head violently, her eyes filled with desperate stubbornness: "I won't go back! Going back means certain death! If I have to die, I'd rather die in the Qi family mansion!"
"you……"
Jiang was furious but helpless, but Meng Xi was the most pressing problem at the moment.
She had no time to argue with Li Nian'er; her mind raced as she devised a plan.
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