Ye Zhen gestured for Wanxing to stand guard outside the door, and then sat down opposite Xie Tingzhou.
"What do you mean by that, brother?"
“I don’t even recognize Xie Yunzhou, yet you call me ‘brother’ so affectionately.”
Xie Tingzhou's nonchalant voice slowly rang out, but what he said next made Ye Zhen's heart skip a beat.
"You fell down the hillside to cover up your existing injuries. Let me think, what kind of injury would need to be covered up by scratches from those thin bamboo stakes?"
Still in the leg area.
He tapped his long, slender fingers on the table and smiled wryly.
"This is really a bit of a headache. Why not just interrogate Madam Hou directly? She will surely know the truth."
He did not acknowledge Lady Hou as his mother, so he spoke these words without any pressure, and if necessary, he would not mind actually interrogating her.
Ye Zhen smiled as well, calmly retorting, "Is your injury any better, brother?"
"It should have been almost done, but a fierce cat ruined it..."
At this point, Xie Tingzhou narrowed his eyes, "Cat~ scratch?"
He suddenly remembered that when he was young, he had read some secret scrolls from the previous dynasty, and one of them recorded such an event.
The tyrannical rulers of the previous dynasty loved to torture and kill women. One of their methods was to restrain a woman's limbs, stuff a starving wild cat into her trouser leg, and then whip the cat.
When a hungry cat is beaten, its claws will tear a woman's flesh as it flees, causing her unbearable pain. The tyrant, on the other hand, watches the woman cry her heart out and feels excited and happy.
This punishment was named "Pear Blossoms in the Rain".
It was later spread and widely used by brothel owners to train women who were unwilling to serve customers, and it is still in use today.
This punishment was extremely cruel to women. He had tried to control it, but prostitutes were of low status and it was still secretly used in brothels.
But Ye Zhen is the young mistress of the Marquis's mansion, who would dare to treat her like this? And why would anyone humiliate her like this?
Therefore, his tone was unusually hesitant.
Ye Zhen's hand tightened under her sleeve. No matter how composed she was, being caught red-handed about the truth still made her feel humiliated and embarrassed.
Fortunately, she was good at hiding her emotions and didn't let Xie Tingzhou see through her at all.
But Wanxing outside the door started breathing rapidly, worried that Ye Zhen would be discovered, and also angry at the wickedness of the Lady Hou.
But this subtle change in breathing confirmed Xie Tingzhou's suspicions.
His pupils dilated slightly.
It's truly unbelievable.
Is it Lady Hou or Xie Yunzhou?
Or perhaps it was a conspiracy between the mother and son.
Xie Yunzhou and Chi Heng's affair was not something that could be discussed openly. If he wanted to return to the Marquis's mansion, he had to get rid of Ye Zhen, an outsider who had taken over his wife's title.
The cruel torture of "pear blossoms in the rain" is something even brothels avoid using, yet this mother and son dared to use it on the young mistress of a marquis's mansion.
I recalled what Ye Zhen had said in the mountains that day: "Some people have to endure all kinds of hardships just to survive."
And the herbs that were given to him.
If Ye Zhen is tortured and cannot receive timely medical treatment, her body will ulcerate.
He was knowledgeable in medicine and quickly made connections to what kind of illness could cause the body to rot.
Dirty disease!
I see!
So that's how it is!
Xie Tingzhou crushed the teacup on the table.
No wonder Lady Hou disregarded everything and tried to slander Ye Zhen that day.
Because she knew very well that Ye Zhen had clues about him.
Only by capturing Ye Zhen can she get the truth about that night out of him.
It seems the old man is far from senile, actually regarding such a wicked woman as a treasure.
So what kind of sordid secrets and shady dealings exist within the inner quarters of other prominent families in Daeyu Kingdom...?
He looked up at Ye Zhen.
No wonder she went to such lengths, even harming herself, to beg Old Madam Wang.
Why did you attack that assassin?
He abandoned any thought of testing the waters and directly revealed his purpose.
He also revealed his weakness, admitting that he was the bearded man from that day.
Ye Zhen was somewhat surprised.
But she quickly figured out Xie Tingzhou's purpose in coming here.
"Is this considered a deal between my brother and me?"
He wanted information about the assassin.
She hoped he would keep quiet about what happened between them.
Xie Tingzhou nodded, "That's one way to understand it."
Ye Zhen readily agreed, "He's Xie Yunzhou's man."
Xie Tingzhou's face turned cold. "Are you lying to me?"
He knew very well how many people were around Xie Yunzhou, especially Fu Guang, who had been in the Marquis's mansion for many years. If the assassin was one of Xie Yunzhou's men, he would definitely recognize him.
Besides, although he wore a fake beard that day, he showed his true face.
Why would Xie Yunzhou send someone to kill him? And how dare he kill him?
His reaction made Ye Zhen realize that she would meet the assassin several years later.
In this life, she has indeed never seen that person by Xie Yunzhou's side.
Is that person not Xie Yunzhou's man yet?
Or were they recruited by Xie Yunzhou during the three years he faked his death?
"Ye Zhen dares not lie to the Crown Prince."
Even if the assassin wasn't Xie Yunzhou's person before, he still will be.
Her eyes were open and honest; she remembered clearly that the assassin had called Xie Yunzhou "master" that day.
Xie Tingzhou also thought about the three years Xie Yunzhou had been away from the capital. But if the assassin had been by Xie Yunzhou's side during those three years, how could Ye Zhen have seen him?
Ye Zhen had also thought of this, but she would never tell Xie Tingzhou about her rebirth.
“I saw that person near the manor. Granny Feng mentioned that Xie Yunzhou was returning to the capital with merits and had capable people and extraordinary talents by his side.”
That's why when I saw you in the mountains, I was convinced he was Xie Yunzhou's man..."
The excuse Xie Yunzhou used in his previous life for returning after three years was that he was unwilling to live a mediocre life after his lucky escape, so he infiltrated the enemy country as a spy.
He provided a great deal of intelligence to Da Yuan, and was therefore rewarded with a position in the imperial court.
Ye Zhen learned all of this from the old women guarding the house, and now he could only reveal it to Xie Tingzhou through the words of the dead Granny Feng.
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