"Are you awake? Feeling better?"

Shen Mingzhu subconsciously sat up from the bed, but her head felt dizzy and she was lucky that Zhong Qing supported her so that she did not fall back onto the bed.

"Hiss, what's wrong with me? I feel dizzy."

"You fainted."

Zhong Qing raised the pillow a little higher to make it easier for her to lean on it, and explained softly, "You drank alcohol and were short of oxygen, so you fainted in the box. My mother thought you were drunk, so she sent you to the room to rest, and called me to come and take care of you."

Shen Mingzhu had no doubts.

There was a pot dish heated with charcoal on the table. Burning charcoal in a confined space does pose a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

"Drink some water, it will boost your metabolism and you'll feel better."

"Yes, thank you."

After drinking a glass of honey water, I felt better.

…

After watching Shen Mingzhu return home and closing the Pei family's door, Zhong Qing leaned back in the car seat with a sense of relief.

"Go back."

Hearing her weak voice, the driver said with concern: "Miss, please take a rest. I will call you when we get home."

"Um."

Zhong Qing seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, but how could he calm down?

She almost ruined her best friend's life.

…

It was already 9 o'clock when Zhong Qing walked in.

In fact, the car arrived outside her house half an hour ago, but she knew what she would face when she got home and didn't want to step through the door.

Chu Yuqing sat in front of the coffee table and trimmed a wintersweet.

She was fifty years old but had a very good face. She wore an apricot-gray cheongsam with a khaki plaid wool shawl draped over her shoulders. She looked graceful and beautiful, and there was no sign that she was a vicious woman who would do anything to achieve her goals.

"You're back?"

Mother Zhong ignored Zhong Qing's cold and angry look and continued to concentrate on trimming the vase in front of her.

"Go to the study. Your father has been waiting for you for a long time. He is very angry tonight."

He didn't show any concern, such as whether his daughter had eaten or was hungry after coming back so late.

"Remember to ask Yinyin and Xiaomin to come down to eat some fruit."

Zhong Qing turned a deaf ear and went straight upstairs.

Only when her footsteps could no longer be heard did Zhong's mother put down the scissors in her hand, pick up the trimmed wintersweet vase with satisfaction, and place it on the high-legged cabinet at the entrance.

…

Although she was prepared for a bloody storm, Zhong Qing still couldn't stop trembling and feeling scared when she stood in front of the mahogany door of the study.

It was as if what was before my eyes was the gate to hell.

"Dad, I'm back."

"Well, close the door."

Zhong Jiping's voice was very calm and there was a gentle smile on his face, like a kind father.

And when Zhong Qing closed the door behind him, the man completely tore off his hypocrisy, revealing his beast-like hideousness and fangs.

Zhong Jiping grabbed her slender white neck with one hand, his eyes fierce, "You are getting bolder and bolder, you dare to ruin my good deeds."

"I don't."

Zhong Qing gasped for air, her fair face turning purple due to lack of oxygen. "I am doing this for the Zhong family. You really can't touch her..."

Zhong Jiping sneered, "I will investigate this matter. If you dare to lie to me, I will not let you off easily."

After saying that, he let go.

Zhong Qing slid down to the ground weakly, bent over and tried to calm the pain brought by suffocation.

“Bang!”

The strong whip hit her thin back and her body trembled.

And this is just the beginning.

Zhong Qing stuffed the handkerchief she had prepared in advance into her mouth and bit it tightly to avoid making any accidental noise.

As the whip hit her body more and more often, her face turned pale and cold sweat mixed with tears dripped onto the ground.

Tick. Tick.

Downstairs, Zhong Yin and her brother were watching TV and eating sweet mangoes.

One pound of fresh fruit specially airlifted from tropical regions is equivalent to half a month's income for a low-income family.

"My sister likes mango the most. I'll send some up to her."

Zhong Yin picked up two pieces of golden mango flesh and was about to get up and go upstairs, but was stopped by Chu Yuqing.

"Your sister is in the study talking to your father about something, don't go up and disturb them."

"oh."

Chu Yuqing's voice was very gentle and Zhong Yin had no doubt at all.

"Then I'll keep it for my sister."

After saying that, he glanced at his younger brother Zhong Min who was still eating, so he went to take away the entire fruit plate.

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"Don't eat anymore, save some for me."

Although Zhong Min pouted in dissatisfaction, he didn't insist on eating.

Seeing him like this, Zhong Yin took a piece of mango from the fruit plate and handed it to him out of tenderness.

"I'll give you another one."

Zhong Min happily took the mango and continued to eat it happily.

Zhong Yin cursed, "Greedy ghost."

Chu Yuqing looked at the brother and sister with a gentle look.

…

More than ten minutes later, Zhong Jiping came down from upstairs looking refreshed, wearing a coat for going out.

Zhong Yin was the first to greet him, "Dad, are you going out so late?"

"Yes, I have work to do. Your sister has a cold and is resting in her room. Please don't disturb her."

Zhong Yin was puzzled, "She was fine when my sister came back."

"Listen to your father."

Chu Yuqing gently scolded her little daughter, raised her hand to help her husband straighten his collar, and at the same time reminded Zhong Jiping to be careful when going out and to return home early.

Anyone who sees her will praise her for being gentle and virtuous.

…

After instructing the nanny to take Zhong Yin and Zhong Min back to their room to rest, Chu Yuqing went to her eldest daughter's room with medicine and water.

The door of the room was locked from the inside, but Chu Yuqing didn't get angry. She knocked on the door patiently, as if she would keep knocking if the door wasn't opened.

Finally, the door opened.

Chu Yuqing placed the tray on the bedside table and looked down at her eldest daughter curled up on the bed. "Take off your clothes. I'll apply medicine on you."

"No need, go away."

"If you don't apply medicine, the wound will leave a scar and your father will be unhappy."

Seeing that Zhong Qing ignored her, Chu Yuqing continued, "Do you want to take it off yourself, or should I ask the nanny to come in and help you?"

Zhong Qing closed her eyes and raised her hand to unbutton her clothes.

She couldn't let the nanny see the injuries on her body, otherwise her younger brothers and sisters would know sooner or later.

As her clothes were removed, bloody whip marks appeared, hideously winding, like bloody poisonous insects crawling all over the woman's thin, white body.

If it were any other mother, seeing someone hurting her own daughter like this, she would probably pick up a knife and skin the person alive.

She just handed the anti-inflammatory medicine and water to Zhong Qing, and her voice was so calm that it didn't sound like a mother, and it didn't sound like a human at all.

"Take the medicine."

After that, he sat beside the bed and began to treat Zhong Qing's injuries.

Even though Zhong Qing was shaking with pain, she did not stop for the moment and did not offer any comfort.

Instead, he asked Shen Mingzhu with great interest, "Yan Yi wants any kind of woman, so why would he like someone like Shen Mingzhu? Are you lying to me?"

Zhong Qing turned her head, her voice intermittent because of the pain she was trying to hold back, "Last year, Shen Mingzhu was framed by a competitor. It was Yan Yi who called in the police dog team to help her. If you don't believe me, you can go and check it out yourself."

Chu Yuqing had heard about this. Although Yan Yi was the son of a powerful family, he had always been law-abiding and was a role model among the younger generation.

Privately transferring police dogs is a bit out of line.

But she didn't expect that it was for a married woman? Chu Yuqing mocked her daughter: "You are really useless. You can't even keep your own man." (End of this chapter)