Chapter 264: Dogs Biting Dogs
Marquis Jing’an hurriedly arrived at the backyard and saw the disheveled appearance of the restrained Jiang Yihuan, his face darkening.
Slap! He slapped Jiang Yihuan across the face.
Jiang Yihuan was slapped awake and finally came to her senses, her brain racing quickly.
She lunged toward Marquis Jing’an, hugged his leg, and cried, “Marquis, I was schemed against by someone. I was just heading to the outhouse when I was knocked out midway, and when I woke up, I was in the side courtyard. Marquis, you must stand up for me. I am Zhi’er’s mother, the Second Madam of Jing’an Marquis Manor. Unless I was tired of living, how could I possibly do something like this that digs my own grave?”
Nearby, Xiao Yanci glanced at Jiang Yihuan with a complicated look in his eyes.
In her previous life and this life, Jiang Yihuan’s best trick was crying to make men feel sorry for her. The same matter said from different women’s mouths would yield different results. At least Jiang Yihuan had a knack for making men feel sorry for her and believe her.
He had been one of the many men who believed Jiang Yihuan before. Now their relationship had changed; he had gone from being the legal wife to being the mistress. From another perspective, he actually felt some sympathy for that idiot Marquis Jing’an.
As fellow men, Xiao Yanci could tell at a glance from Marquis Jing’an’s expression that he was wavering. When he had entered earlier, he looked like he wanted to kill her, but now he seemed to believe her about fifty percent.
If Xiao Yanci could see it, how could Jiang Yihuan, a woman so skilled at grasping men, not see it? She knew that adding fuel to the fire at this moment would get her through the crisis. So, she cried and lunged toward the pillar opposite, looking like she was about to prove her innocence with death.
“I know I have made my husband lose face. As a mother, I cannot let Zhi’er be disgraced. Now I will prove my innocence with death. Husband, you must take good care of Zhi’er; he is our only child. I… I will repay your kindness in the next life.”
Jiang Yihuan cried and wailed for a long time, then lunged toward the opposite side, looking like she was about to crash into it.
Su Yaoguang rubbed the goosebumps on her arm and said to Zhou Wangshu, “Doesn’t Marquis Jing’an have a brain? He’s been grasped again.”
“If he had a brain, he wouldn’t have fallen for Jiang Yihuan’s scheme and married that venomous-hearted woman,” Zhou Wangshu said. “For us, it doesn’t matter whether Marquis Jing’an believes in Jiang Yihuan’s innocence or not. Anyway, the seed of doubt has already been planted in his heart.”
Su Yaoguang saw Wang Ruyan walking over while crying, then watching the drama here.
Wang Ruyan stood in front of Xiao Yanci, tears in her eyes, and said, “Husband, don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Xiao Yanci looked at Wang Ruyan guiltily: “Yan’er, I really want to find a hole to crawl into right now because I have no face to see you. Even if I don’t know what happened, the fact is that I was found disheveled, which is embarrassing you. Yan’er, you will believe me, right?”
Wang Ruyan had already been standing in the crowd for a while.
In that short time, she had thought of rushing over to slap Xiao Yanci a few times, divorcing him on the spot, and driving this embarrassing thing out of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. She had also thought of speaking up for him to show her magnanimity. But when Jiang Yihuan said they had been schemed against, she breathed a sigh of relief.
This should be the best solution.
The two had been schemed against by someone with ill intentions; it wasn’t really rekindling old flames or sneaking around here. This preserved the face of Jing’an Marquis Manor and also preserved the face of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. As for the truth, she could inquire privately later.
This Jiang Yihuan was just of mediocre looks, nothing special. If Xiao Yanci really wanted women, she could take in a few beautiful concubines for him, each better than this Jiang Yihuan.
Seeing how easily Jiang Yihuan broke this situation, Su Yaoguang thought to herself, “No wonder I lost to her in my previous life.”
Zhou Wangshu took Su Yaoguang’s hand and said, “Are you tired? If you’re tired, go back to the room and rest. I’ll handle things here; you don’t need to worry about it.”
At the banquet for the two entering the genealogy, a man and woman sneaking around here sparked a fire, then burned the mansion’s Second Young Master, which eliminated Zhou Wangshu’s strongest competitor. This matter must have already spread, with various versions of the story in those storytellers’ heads.
Marquis Jing’an and the Prime Minister’s Mansion would surely demand an explanation from Marquis Cheng’an.
As the new heir apparent and the protagonist of today’s banquet, Zhou Wangshu must step forward to resolve this matter.
Su Yaoguang sent away all the other guests.
She sent those guests away, and Zhou Wangshu handled the remaining matters, while she first returned to her own dormitory room to rest.
The maidservant prepared hot water, and Su Yaoguang lay in the bathtub, letting the hot water soak her tired body.
The maidservant massaged her shoulders from behind.
“Marquis Jing’an and Prime Minister Wang haven’t left yet?”
The maidservant said, “From the sound of it, they haven’t. This servant can hear the quarrel from the study room side here, so clearly Marquis Jing’an and Prime Minister Wang have no intention of letting this matter drop; they must demand an explanation from the marquis. Young Madam, today’s banquet was prepared for you and the Young Master. With such a big incident, Marquis Jing’an and Prime Minister Wang won’t make things difficult for the Young Master, will they?”
Su Yaoguang said tiredly, “Marquis Jing’an probably won’t, but Prime Minister Wang… that old fox may not value that cheap son-in-law much, but he won’t miss this opportunity to extort. When husband returns, we’ll know what conditions Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion used to settle this matter.”
Su Yaoguang took a bath and let the maidservant wring out her hair.
She dozed off at the table, but upon hearing footsteps at the doorway, she immediately sat up and alertly looked toward the door.
“You’re finally back.” Su Yaoguang glanced at the moonlight outside. “You’ve been in the study for so long; how did the talks go?”
Zhou Wangshu leaned down and kissed Su Yaoguang’s forehead: “Your husband will bathe first, then tell you the details when I come out.”
“I had them prepare hot water,” Su Yaoguang said. “The water in there is what I used.”
“No need, this one will do.” Zhou Wangshu moved quickly and was already undressed and sitting in the bathtub while speaking.
Su Yaoguang took the comb from the maidservant’s hand, dismissed her from serving, and told her to return to her own room to rest.
While combing her hair, she said, “How many benefits did Prime Minister Wang get in exchange for Xiao Yanci’s reputation?”
Zhou Wangshu chuckled lightly, wiping himself as he said, “Something that dirty isn’t worth much money. It was just compensating them with the manor outside the city. That manor outside the city originally had a hot spring, which Prime Minister Wang must have eyed, planning to use that hot spring to build a vacation villa.”
“Sounds nice; it should be a good manor. Giving it away for nothing is such a loss,” Su Yaoguang said.
“That manor is a thorny thing,” Zhou Wangshu said. “I was afraid they wouldn’t be interested. Now that it’s successfully in Prime Minister Wang’s hands, things are getting interesting.”
“How so?” Su Yaoguang asked curiously, walking over from behind the screen, finding a stool to sit in front of the bathtub, and watching the scene of the handsome man bathing.
Zhou Wangshu took the comb from her hand and gently combed her hair, saying, “That manor has a secret passage with treasure hidden inside. From what I know, this treasure was left by remnants of the previous dynasty, meaning if it’s uncovered, the charge of colluding with rebels will be established.”
“Even if that manor falls into Prime Minister Wang’s hands, everyone knows the original owner was Marquis Cheng’an. Even if convicted, Marquis Cheng’an won’t escape involvement,” Su Yaoguang said.
Zhou Wangshu lifted a lock of Su Yaoguang’s hair and said, “What does this have to do with me, the eldest legitimate son who just returned to the Xia Family genealogy?”
Su Yaoguang realized.
Zhou Wangshu was planning to kill several birds with one stone.
With today’s farce, Jiang Yihuan and Xiao Yanci’s affair had been exposed. Even if this dog of a man and woman were good at coaxing, they might fool their other halves. But once the seed of doubt was planted, it would eventually grow into a towering tree, and that would be the time to drain their blood and essence.
The biggest gain was that Xia Zhen was completely out of the competition for the heir apparent position in Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion.
Then there was the hidden move Zhou Wangshu had planted for them now. This hidden move needed more nurturing; wait until it was fattened up before closing the net.
Su Yaoguang took a towel and wiped Zhou Wangshu’s back.
Seeing the scalded spot on Zhou Wangshu, her eyes filled with heartache: “It was just acting; why did you have to leave a scar on yourself? That must hurt so much.”
“This is for outsiders to see,” Zhou Wangshu said. “I’ll apply some scald ointment later, and these scars will disappear after a while.”
At this moment, the Cheng’an Marchioness guarded by the bed, watching one doctor after another take Xia Zhen’s pulse and examine him. Upon receiving one shake of the head and sigh after another, the Cheng’an Marchioness could no longer bear it. She slammed the table, her eyes red, and said, “Whoever can wake my son will be rewarded with one thousand taels of silver. Whoever can make the scars on my son’s body disappear will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver.”
“Marchioness, isn’t your daughter-in-law the owner of Peach Blossom Workshop? Peach Blossom Workshop’s scar removal cream is unparalleled. When the Second Young Master wakes up, apply the scar removal cream to him, and his body can recover to at least fifty or sixty percent of its original state.”
“Is Peach Blossom Workshop’s scar removal cream really that effective?” The Cheng’an Marchioness looked full of doubt.
“Peach Blossom Workshop has quite a reputation; their scar removal cream and beauty and skincare techniques are masterful. By the way, there’s a female doctor in Peach Blossom Workshop with superb medical skills. She acts as the treatment doctor there, and many of the beauty and hair care products were developed by her. If you invite her over, there might be other treatment methods.”
The Cheng’an Marchioness said to the servant nearby, “Go to Peach Blossom Workshop immediately and invite that female doctor over. Say… their owner asked her to come.”
Not long after, the servant returned and said to the Cheng’an Marchioness, “Madam, this subordinate went to Peach Blossom Workshop to find that female doctor, but she is not in the capital city recently. It will be at least ten days or half a month before she returns.”
The Cheng’an Marchioness said coldly, “Where are there so many coincidences in the world? If today’s matter was their doing, I will make them wish they were dead.”
Xia Zhen let out a whimper and slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed everything in front of him was blurry; he couldn’t see clearly.
He raised his palm and waved it in front of his eyes, his eyes full of despair: “Why can’t my eyes see clearly?”
Upon hearing this, the Cheng’an Marchioness shouted outside, “Someone, quickly invite back the doctor who was just sent away.”
The doctor returned and examined Xia Zhen, discovering that his eyes had been scalded by fire. Though not completely blind, he clearly couldn’t see well.
The Cheng’an Marchioness grabbed Xia Zhen’s clothes, furious: “I told you to protect yourself and take good care of yourself, but you wouldn’t listen. All day long, nothing but eating, drinking, and playing; you know nothing else. Now everything that belonged to you has been taken by others, and you’ve become this neither human nor ghost appearance.”
Xia Zhen touched his cheek and found it pitted and uneven.
His eyes were full of anger and despair: “No, it’s not like that. I am the heir apparent of Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion. That so-called eldest legitimate son who popped out of nowhere must be fake. That person clearly died so many years ago; how could he still be alive? Mother, kill that person. Ever since he appeared, I’ve become more and more unlucky, and now I’ve turned into this state. As long as you kill that person, I will still be the Young Master of Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion; I just need to wait at home to inherit the title. Mother, do you hear me? Hurry and send someone to kill him!”
“A few years ago you could send someone to kill him; now kill him again, make him disappear completely, and then Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion will be just for us mother and son.”
The Cheng’an Marchioness covered Xia Zhen’s mouth and looked at him with a strange expression: “What nonsense are you saying? When did I ever kill him? He lost his memory after falling into the water himself, then encountered human traffickers, which is why he wandered outside for so long.”
“Three years ago, I heard you talking to the old woman; you said he was thrown into the river by you all. When he fell into the water, he was still struggling nonstop, but soon he couldn’t struggle anymore and sank in front of you. Mother, since you decided to act, why not cut the grass at the root? Why not kill more thoroughly?”
Xia Zhen grabbed the Cheng’an Marchioness and said, “Mother, now Father has been completely subdued by that eldest legitimate son. We have to plan for ourselves.”
“What do you think we should do?” the Cheng’an Marchioness said.
“Last time he didn’t disappear thoroughly; this time make him disappear thoroughly, so no one can hinder us,” Xia Zhen said.
“He now has the Great General Who Protects the Nation protecting him. If he dies in our Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion, the Great General Who Protects the Nation will raze our entire Marquis Cheng’an’s Mansion to the ground. Zhen’er, first recover from your injuries properly. Once your wounds heal, we mother and son will figure out a way to fight for that heir apparent position.”
“If he doesn’t die, we’ll lose everything,” Xia Zhen said. “I’m injured like this; what is my father doing? He doesn’t want me anymore.”
The Cheng’an Marchioness clenched her fists.
Of course she knew that both she and her son had become discarded pawns of Marquis Cheng’an.
Perhaps this time Zhen’er was right; if Zhou Wangshu didn’t die, they would get nothing.
She had heard there was an Assassination Organization; perhaps she could hire killers. Even if investigated, it would only lead to the Assassination Organization. Anyway, Zhou Wangshu was in office and bound to have offended people in his daily work.
