Chapter 41: Bloodless Sword, Shen Mingzhu's Shame
A piece of land was cleared in front of the cabin, and a group of people were standing on the land.
The mountain wind was strong at night, and the lanterns held by the servants swayed in the wind. The bright and dim light made everyone's expressions even gloomier.
The attendant received the order and went down the mountain to invite two strong-armed old women to come over.
Shen Qingtan put his hands in his sleeves, fiddling with the jade bracelet on his wrist, and glanced at Shen Mingzhu beside him with his eyelids raised. He saw that her face was getting paler and paler. As the old woman approached, her whole body was shaking like a sieve.
It's obvious that he is guilty.
"Stop, you...don't come over here." Shen Mingzhu's heart was beating like a drum, and she looked at Zhao Jue in panic. "Third Master, I am the master of this mansion. How can I establish my authority in this mansion from now on if you order a lowly servant to search me?"
Zhao Jue's face was gloomy, and her reaction clearly showed that there was something fishy going on.
Shen Mingzhu's eyes were filled with tears: "Third Master, we have only been married for a few days, and if I force women around you, won't all the officials' wives in the capital laugh at me?"
Despite this, the seeds of suspicion were planted in Zhao Jue's heart, and because of Shen Mingzhu's abnormality, he became even more suspicious.
"The innocent are innocent. If you are innocent, I will explain it to you." Zhao Jue glanced at Shen Qingtan when he said this, and then said in a cold voice: "If you don't investigate, today's incident will create a rift in my heart, which will only affect the relationship between us as husband and wife."
Shen Mingzhu wanted to persuade Zhao Jue, but Zhao Jue ordered the maid: "Search."
The servant was called lowly by Shen Mingzhu, and she took it to heart. She stepped forward and clamped Shen Mingzhu: "Third Madam, I'm sorry."
Then, he dragged the man into the cabin.
Qiu Chan came to her senses at this moment and took out a small paper bag from her sleeve pocket: "This is what Third Madam gave to me."
Zhao Jue took the small paper bag. There was still some powder left, emitting a bewitching fragrance.
He showed it to the old woman who was pulling Wan Dong, and then put it into his sleeve.
The old woman remembered the smell and pushed Wandong into the wooden house.
In less than a cup of tea, two servants came out of the wooden house with their heads held high.
One of the maids held an exquisite purse in her hands and held it in front of Zhao Jue with both hands: "Third Master, this old servant found a purse on Wan Dong's body. There was some powder left in the purse. The smell is the same as the powder you let this old servant smell."
Zhao Jue's face was filled with gloom, and he looked at the cabin fiercely.
Shen Mingzhu grabbed her collar with both hands, her face was pale and her eyes were red, as if she had suffered great humiliation. She stood far away and did not dare to approach him.
He wished he could strangle Shen Mingzhu to death, a fool who was more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.
Zhao Jue said coldly, "When you return home, raise Qiu Chan's status." He paused, then looked at Wan Dong with a cold gaze, "As for your maid, she will receive twenty lashes of the board when she returns home tomorrow."
Hearing this, Wan Dong's legs went weak and he slid to his knees, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed, begging for mercy: "Third Master, spare my life..."
"Thirty strokes of the cane."
Wan Dong's words of begging for mercy were stuck in his throat, for he was afraid that if he said one more word, he would be beaten with ten more boards.
There was a gash in Shen Mingzhu's chest, and cold air was coming out.
Her red eyes were wide open, trying not to let the tears fall, but the more she tried to hold them back, the more tears fell.
Zhao Jue ordered the two servants, "Take good care of Qiu Chan today."
The maid quickly agreed and went to help Qiu Chan diligently.
Before Zhao Jue left, he looked at Shen Qingtan with a deep gaze. He caught a glimpse of the eight strong men beside her, his face darkened a little, and then he strode down the mountain.
Shen Qingtan took out a plain brocade handkerchief from his sleeve and put it into Shen Mingzhu's hand.
"Second sister, I really didn't expect you to do such a foolish thing. The master of the mansion wanted to take a concubine after you became pregnant with a legitimate son. My brother-in-law has something to ask of our family, and you have your support. If you don't agree, he won't dare to force him to take a concubine.
Now that you've personally inserted someone into his room, and used such dishonorable means, you've become insecure and inferior to your brother-in-law. From now on, no matter what he does to disrespect you, the Marquisate won't be able to make the decision for you."
Shen Qingtan showed a helpless expression as if he could not save the situation and sighed: "Fortunately, Qiuchan is the dowry that your mother prepared for you to solidify your favor. She is of the same mind as you."
When Shen Mingzhu heard Shen Qingtan's words that were like stabbing a knife into her heart, how could she not know that she had made a bad move?
"You don't have to pretend to be a good person in front of me. Didn't you cause all this?" Shen Mingzhu looked at him with resentment, and she was completely hostile. "Don't be so complacent. We'll see what happens next."
"Second sister, although I don't know who forced you to buy the powder, and who instructed Qiu Chan to climb into the bed, I still want to thank you..." Shen Qingtan reached out to tidy up her messy collar and whispered in her ear: "If it weren't for second sister, Qiu Chan wouldn't have gotten a formal status so quickly."
Shen Mingzhu's blood rushed to her head, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a word.
Shen Qingtan withdrew his hand from her collar, glanced at her bloodshot eyes, curled the corners of his lips slightly, and went down the mountain with Liu Yue.
Liu Yue was very happy in her heart: "Second Madam, when we went up the mountain just now, Third Madam was so arrogant and deliberately said something to hurt you.
I guess she thought it was the Second Master in the cabin, so she brought people here to see you and the Second Master make fun of each other, but who knew it was actually the Third Master.
She seemed to have thought of something, and after concealing the expression on her face, she said with some surprise, "I thought Qiu Chan wanted to be the second master's roommate, but I didn't expect that she was targeting the third master."
Shen Qingtan was not surprised at all. Everyone knew that Zhao Yi only had half a year to live and could not have children.
Qiu Chan is ambitious and wants to be the master, so he must have an offspring to turn things around.
Qiu Chan climbed onto Zhao Yi's bed. She had no children and was going to lose her husband early. She would have to live with her as a widow in the backyard of a deep house and lead a hard life. It would be better for her to be a maid.
Zhao Jue was different. He was handsome, talented, and lived a long life. After having a child and raising him to be a successful person, Qiu Chan's good days came.
Suddenly, Liu Yue was shocked and said, "Second Madam, you knew Qiu Chan's thoughts long ago, so you gave her a chance tonight?
No, you wouldn't put someone in the Third Master's room for no reason. Could it be that before late winter, you sent a message to Qiu Chan in the mansion, wanting Qiu Chan to climb into the Second Master's bed?
"The Second Master came to Longhua Temple today, and Third Madam forced Qiu Chan to take action tonight, so you're just going to go along with it and let Third Madam suffer the consequences?"
Shen Qingtan smiled, neither admitting nor denying.
Today, when Zhao Jue came to the meditation room to find her, she saw Shen Mingzhu hiding in the dark. The hatred in Shen Mingzhu's eyes was so deep and strong that it was difficult for her to ignore it.
Shen Qingtan saw Shen Mingzhu's determination to take revenge, so during the evening class, he deliberately tormented the second wife, and then asked Qiu Chan to find Shen Mingzhu.
Because Qiu Chan was a chess piece planted by Shen Mingzhu in her place, she deliberately sent Qiu Chan in front of Shen Mingzhu so that Shen Mingzhu could find an opportunity to "conspire" with Qiu Chan.
This way she could take the initiative. Otherwise, she was afraid that she would make a mistake when Shen Mingzhu calmed down and found another opportunity to take action.
When Shen Mingzhu's desire for revenge was the strongest, she would never let go of any opportunity to take action.
Before that, she had intended to test Qiu Chan and deliberately gave her a pink and dark blue cloak.
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