The eavesdropping maid ran all the way back to Zheng Huiyin's boudoir, tumbling and crawling as she fell at her mistress's feet.
Her small face was as pale as paper, and her lips were trembling uncontrollably.
She couldn't utter a complete sentence, only large tears and terrified sobs.
Zheng Huiyin was already unsettled because she was not on the list of successful candidates. When she saw her personal maid acting so distraught, the string in her heart snapped.
She forced herself to remain calm, dismissed the other servants, and grabbed the trembling maidservant.
Her voice was sharp, a shrillness she herself didn't realize: "What's the panic! Tell me, what news did you hear?"
The maidservant, tears streaming down her face, recounted the fragmented sobs she had overheard outside the study.
"Marrying down to a scholar?"
"Dividing the family property and relinquishing the title?"
"Should we seek help from the Cui family?"
Every word was like an icicle, piercing Zheng Huiyin's heart.
She murmured the same words over and over, the last trace of color draining from her beautiful face, leaving only a deathly despair.
Those eyes, which always held the haughty air of a noblewoman, were now empty and unfocused.
Shame, fear, and a chilling feeling coiled around her heart like countless venomous snakes.
Seeing her pale face, the maid was so frightened that all she could do was cry, "Miss... what should we do..."
what to do?
These three words exploded like thunder in Zheng Huiyin's chaotic mind!
No, she couldn't just sit and wait to die.
She absolutely could not stoop to marrying a lowly, poor scholar; she refused to become a sacrifice for the Duke's mansion!
The Duke's Mansion, grandfather, mother, how cruel they are, father... Zheng Huiyin's eyes were unfathomable.
If he truly had such a decision, why would he need to consult his mother?
It seems that everything is decided by the mother, but who knows... it might just be a test.
An unprecedented fear mixed with anger rose up, and then transformed into an intense will to survive.
In this once grand Duke's mansion, no one can be trusted anymore.
She must save herself!
...
Qin Wenyuan, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Household Department, who had just finished court, entered his office.
He dismissed his attendants and slumped into a large rosewood official's hat chair.
Staring blankly at the table full of official documents, he was lost in thought.
I tossed and turned all night, and rushed into my study before dawn this morning.
But the memorial he had written overnight was still lying there, exactly where he had placed it when he left last night.
So... he's overthinking it?
After obtaining the dragon brain incense, the people from the Nine Gates had already moved it all away, and no flaws were caught.
A faint sense of relief, like a tiny flame, flickered and ignited in my heart, only to be suppressed by deeper doubts.
Even so, as long as the leader of the Nine Gates remains under control, it's only a matter of time before the truth is uncovered.
Should he proactively report this to the authorities? But if the people of the Nine Gates don't confess, he'll be admitting it without being asked...
As if suspended above a bottomless abyss, with only a thin thread tee beneath his feet, Qin Wenyuan's mind was repeatedly pulled by that last glimmer of hope.
Every drop of water dripping from the copper kettle in the duty room felt like a heavy hammer striking his taut nerves.
He was restless and felt like each day was an eternity.
Around noon, the old steward of the manor hurried in, carrying a food box.
"Master, this old servant brings you some freshly made pastries from the manor."
The butler spoke respectfully, but his eyes quickly swept over the tightly closed doors and windows.
Qin Wenyuan's heart sank!
Although the lunch provided at the Shaofujian office was not a delicacy, it was still quite refined.
He was never picky, and his household never had the habit of sending him meals. This food box meant that there was something important that needed to be reported in person.
Qin Wenyuan forced himself to remain calm, waved away the officials standing at the door, and personally lowered the bolt.
As soon as I turned around, the butler quickly approached me, his voice hushed.
"Master, the leader of the Nine Gates, Caishenlu... is dead!"
Clang!
The lid of the food box that Qin Wenyuan had just received fell to the ground with a thud, crashing heavily onto the blue brick floor.
His body swayed violently, and he staggered, grabbing the corner of the table to steady himself. His face instantly turned ashen, and his voice became hoarse and distorted.
"Where...where did you get this information? Is it...is it reliable?"
“Absolutely true!” the butler exclaimed urgently.
Following the master's orders, they dared not send anyone to keep an eye on Chengyuan anymore, but it wasn't unusual for them to spend money to buy information from the black market.
In the past, many powerful and wealthy people used to enjoy themselves in Chengyuan Garden. Now that it has been suddenly destroyed by other gangs, many people are watching it for various reasons.
Just now, the old butler's people spent a lot of money to acquire a piece of information:
At dawn, a body was carried out of the back gate of Chengyuan on a stretcher covered with a white cloth.
The figure, clothing, and the corner of the white cloth that had been lifted confirmed that it was the skull of the Nine Gates' Great Leader, the God of Wealth.
Qin Wenyuan slumped back into his chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant, leaving only a bone-chilling cold.
Chengyuan was an important stronghold secretly supported by the four great families.
Those who lack strength simply don't understand this, while those who are strong enough—who would dare to destroy them?
Who else could it be but His Majesty, who sits on the dragon throne and holds the reins of power?
The fact that the God of Wealth is now dead or alive indicates that he has obtained all the information.
The reason we didn't take action against him was firstly because Princess Shuofeng had entered the capital, and it was not a good time to make a big fuss and lose face;
Secondly... it's likely that the crimes he committed were not of a major importance, and his reckoning would have to wait.
Qin Wenyuan's vision blurred, and his ears rang, as if he could hear the sound of chains dragging on the ground.
No, we absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait to die; we must save ourselves!
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