Earl Chengen’s Mansion.
Old Madame Si had finally been carried back after fainting from sheer agitation. Xue Wanrou served her by the bedside with anxious concern, waiting for her to wake so they could devise a strategy.
"Mother, you’re finally awake! That bitch Meng Yihuan actually sent people to report the matter to the authorities. The Court of Judicial Review is now scouring the entire capital, searching for the heir’s body. What are we to do?"
Xue Wanrou, who had been crouching by the bedside, rattled off these words the moment she saw Old Madame Si open her eyes.
Old Madame Si pointed at her, scowling with grief and indignation. "You still have the nerve to speak! If it weren't for your dalliances, my son wouldn't have ended up in this predicament!"
"Mother, my love for Huilang is genuine. Huilang married Meng Yihuan for the sake of the mansion, just as you wished, and I have even borne the mansion a son and a daughter. It is that wretched Meng Yihuan who is acting like a madwoman; Huilang only wants to live a happy life, and she is the one destroying everything!" Xue Wanrou said, aggrieved.
She felt absolutely no guilt. She and Si Yunhui were truly in love; had the mansion not been in decline and her own background so humble, Si Yunhui would never have been forced by the Old Madame to marry Meng Yihuan. Therefore, Meng Yihuan was the true culprit!
"Sigh, you..." Old Madame Si’s fury ultimately dissolved into a sigh.
It was true that she had been the one to force Si Yunhui to pursue Meng Yihuan back then, but was that not because the mansion was falling apart? Had they not married into the Meng family, the title of Earl Chengen would have been lost long ago.
She herself was the daughter of a concubine from a fourth-rank official’s household, having used schemes to snatch her legitimate sister’s marriage prospects to wed the third-rank Earl Chengen. But who could have foreseen that the Earl would be so debauched, even creating a scandal in his old age by molesting a palace maid? Just as the Grand Tutor's Mansion encountered trouble and was anxious to find a husband for their daughter, she had pushed Si Yunhui to propose.
At the time, Si Yunhui had still been obedient, but no one expected the other party to demand that he take no concubines! Thus, one could hardly blame her son for arranging for Xue Wanrou to marry his foolish second brother, providing a cover for the two of them to carry on their affair. Come to think of it, they were truly a pair of lovers, and they had even given her a grandson and granddaughter.
"Forget it. For now, the only option is for Yunhui to get as far away as possible. Once he leaves the capital, the Court of Judicial Review will surely have a harder time finding him. Yunhui has been hiding at my villa in the suburbs and is safe for the moment. You should also start preparing for your faked death. When the time comes, you can flee together," Old Madame Si said helplessly.
"But we must find a way to get that jade pendant back. Surely the Court of Judicial Review cares more about an item bestowed by the Emperor. Mother, you must send someone to Huilang to retrieve it," said Xue Wanrou.
Old Madame Si nodded. "Rest assured, I will have it done. In the meantime, you must pretend your illness is worsening. Originally, we planned for your faked death to occur in a month, but it seems you had best do it within the next fortnight."
***
On the other side, Meng Yihuan lay wearily on the chaise lounge in her Hanyi Residence.
Just having returned from her rebirth, this entire ordeal had left her physically and mentally exhausted. Qiuxin was massaging her shoulders and neck nearby, the look of astonishment on her face yet to fade.
She couldn't help but ask, "My Lady, are there really such perverse thieves in the world? Someone who specifically steals corpses?"
In all her life, this was the first time she had heard of something so twisted and horrifying. She could not fathom what anyone would do with a stolen body. Even if they coveted the Earl’s handsome appearance, wouldn’t a corpse start to rot within a few days of death?
"Do you truly believe the Earl’s body was stolen?" Meng Yihuan opened her previously closed eyes and gave a soft, cold laugh.
Right. Qiuxin was still just a simple girl who did not yet know what the future held.
"Isn't that the case? If it wasn't stolen, where could the young master's body have gone?" Qiuxin asked, still wearing a puzzled expression.
Where could it go? Naturally, he was hiding.
Meng Yihuan’s expression grew grave. In this life, she would certainly not allow Si Yunhui to dump the mess of the Earl’s Mansion onto her while he and Xue Wanrou flew off together.
In her previous life, she didn't know the truth until the moment of her death. She had never imagined that Si Yunhui and Xue Wanrou—one the eldest son of the mansion, the other her brother-in-law’s wife—could be involved! She had thought too highly of them; she had never dreamed such sordid, incestuous affairs were taking place right under her nose.
Recalling their final words before she died, she remembered Si Yunhui’s resentment toward his mother for forbidding him to take concubines. From this, it was clear that his relationship with Xue Wanrou predated their marriage. Her suspicions were correct: the mansion had been in decline and forced to court her for the support of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion. Si Yunhui had originally planned to take Xue Wanrou as a concubine, but his promise to his mother had separated them. Consequently, he had arranged for his foolish younger brother to marry her, all to facilitate his trysts with Xue Wanrou.
Did he ever stop to think? She had originally been the intended Crown Princess. Had the Crown Prince not met with misfortune, her mother would never have been so desperate to marry her off. At the time, suitors had lined up at her door, but it was he who had knelt before her mother, swearing on his life that she would be his only wife and that he would never take a concubine. That was what had touched her mother’s heart and led her to choose him for her daughter.
She and her mother had never forced him!
Reflecting further, she realized that both she and Xue Wanrou had conceived at the same times, yet she always went into premature labor while Xue Wanrou carried to full term. They must have tampered with things! She had raised their bastard children as her own, pouring her heart and blood into their upbringing and planning their futures, only for the couple to return from their travels to enjoy the fruits of her labor, and for the son she raised to poison her to death!
Even more detestable was the fate of her own children: one tortured to death by a perverted old man, and the other, a child of keen intellect, poisoned into a fool! The sin of swapping her children, the sin of taking her life—she and they were irreconcilable enemies.
"Qiuxin, arrange something for me. I need you to book a private room at the Moon Shadow Pavilion for tomorrow."
Meng Yihuan spoke with sudden, solemn intensity.
The Moon Shadow Pavilion appeared to be nothing more than a tavern, but it held hidden secrets. Its private rooms, in particular, dealt in various underworld affairs. She had only discovered this late in her previous life. The organization behind the Moon Shadow Pavilion was a martial arts syndicate; as long as one paid enough silver, they would perform any deed, even murder or arson.
In this life, though she had reported the matter to the authorities, she did not want Si Yunhui to return alive. She wanted him to become a real corpse.