Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Meng Huaiqing stared at me intently and asked, “Yesterday, you invited your father to the Marquis Manor. Were you discussing moving your mother’s grave?”

I lowered my eyes. “Yes.”

Meng Huaiqing frowned. “Do you plan to escape from Ci’en Temple like you did in our past life?”

I remained silent.

Meng Huaiqing clenched his fists. “You’ve seen it yourself-Cheng Wei is cunning and formidable. He will definitely discover your tracks immediately! You won’t be able to escape!”

I smiled. “What? Is your urgent need to see me just so you can shoot me down?”

Meng Huaiqing threw the burning mugwort into a bronze basin on the floor and looked at me. “No, I’m not shooting you down. You have always been brave and capable. What I want to say is that this time, I will help you escape. I’ve made a new plan, and I can definitely get you out of Chang’an!”

Without a second thought, I replied, “No.”

Meng Huaiqing froze. “What did you say? If you stay here, you’ll die!”

I laughed. “And following you is a way to live?”

I smoothed the embroidery on my skirt. “I won’t run away with you. But for the sake of our past friendship, I suggest you leave Yuan Heng. Do you even know how you died in your last life?”

Meng Huaiqing seemed reluctant to bring it up. “I was pushed by a local thug…”

I interrupted him. “You were drunk, and Cheng Wei silenced you to keep a secret. You fell into the water and drowned.”

Meng Huaiqing’s brow furrowed. “How could that be!”

I sneered. “Why couldn’t it be? You think you’re some precious treasure to him, but you’re actually worth less than Cheng Wei. At least Cheng Wei grew up with him; he’s a loyal dog who bites wherever he’s told. As for you, you’ve betrayed him before, and you know too many of his secrets.”

“But… but…” Meng Huaiqing clearly didn’t want to believe it, yet he was wavering.

I said coldly, “Back then, I had become a lonely ghost, and I saw it all while floating in the air.”

As I spoke, I reached out and made a pushing motion in the empty air. “Just like that! Splash, and in you went.”

Meng Huaiqing turned pale, his breathing becoming rapid.

Seeing him like this, I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“Brother Meng, if you truly want to apologize, I’ll give you a chance.”

I sat up straight and asked in a low voice, “That day, you said you knew a great secret of Yuan Heng’s. What is it?”

Meng Huaiqing lowered his head, hesitating.

I waved my hand in annoyance. “Just leave.”

Meng Huaiqing seemed to make up his mind. “The Marquis killed his first wife-Song Yulan!”

My breath hitched. As I suspected.

I hurriedly said, “That day in the carriage, you said the Chang’an County Captain, Song Yan, had a grudge against Yuan Heng. It was because of this, wasn’t it?”

Meng Huaiqing nodded. “Yes. But everything three years ago was handled perfectly. Song Yulan appeared to have died tragically in a fire on a pleasure boat. She, her three personal maids, an elderly nanny, and two trusted servants were all burned to death. Even the Marquis was seriously injured, and three servants from the Marquis Manor died as well.”

Good heavens, seven people died at once! What a sin!

I asked in confusion, “Setting aside the fact that Song Yan is the Chang’an County Captain and has investigative resources at his disposal, isn’t their mother Princess Jincheng? How could she not seek justice for her own daughter?”

Meng Huaiqing scoffed. “The truth is, new emperors bring new courtiers.”

He cupped his hands and gestured toward the heavens. “The one currently in power is the Marquis’s own paternal aunt. What is there to investigate? If they keep digging, the Song Family won’t survive. Besides, Song Yan is capable, but Cheng Wei is no slouch either. He has the skill to make a crime scene look absolutely flawless.”

A chill ran through my body. So many lives were just gone, for no reason.

Now, no one is allowed to mention it, no one dares to mention it, and the Song Family can only swallow their grievances in silence.

Song Yulan and I were both his wives, and we were both burned to death by him. Although I had never met Miss Song, I felt a strange sense of empathy.

I asked indignantly, “What kind of grudge, what kind of hatred could drive him to such a cruel act?”

Meng Huaiqing curled his lip. “Because of one person: Yun Sheng.”