Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Cuinong went to Steward Li to handle some business, so I estimated she wouldn’t be back tonight.

I went for a walk alone to help my digestion.

As dusk fell, the lanterns along the veranda were already lit, their red glow resembling rows of watching eyes.

Rumors had been flying around the manor lately, with people claiming to have seen ghostly shadows on the veranda at night, accompanied by long sighs and moans.

Consequently, as soon as it got dark, almost no one dared to come here.

I stared blankly at the calm surface of the water and couldn’t help but smile to myself.

Suddenly, I instinctively sensed a bone-chilling coldness. Turning my head, I saw a very tall man walking out from the corner of the veranda.

It was Cheng Wei.

Cheng Wei remained expressionless, holding a long saber and dressed in thin black clothes. He was like a snake lurking in the shadows-cold, sinister, and ruthless.

I smiled and bowed. “Second Brother. Are you here to see the Marquis?”

He gave me an indifferent look and strode away.

I frowned.

The conversation I just had with my father should have been airtight. He shouldn’t have been able to glean anything from it, right?

As he brushed past me, I called out to him, “Stop.”

Cheng Wei halted his steps but did not turn around.

I looked at his back. “Lord Cheng, I am, after all, the wife the Marquis married with proper rites. You treat me with a cold face every single time-do you look down on me that much?”

Cheng Wei said nothing and simply started to walk away.

I rushed over and blocked his path.

Cheng Wei’s tone was one of annoyance. “Move.”

I took two steps back to maintain some distance but continued to block his way.

“I’ll ask again: what exactly has this concubine done wrong to earn such contempt from Lord Cheng? You really are an unreasonable man!”

Cheng Wei let out a sneer. “You’re asking if I look down on you? Indeed I do. Ye Qingqiu, you are such a venomous woman; what about you is worth my respect?”

If Yuan Heng was a beast draped in beautiful human skin, then this man was a living demon.

I tilted my head up. “How am I venomous? If the Marquis knew you were insulting me like this…”

Cheng Wei cut me off. “I was just on my way to tell the Marquis about this very matter.”

My head exploded with a loud buzz. What? Did he find out I was secretly contacting Song Yan? Or did he know I was reborn? Had Meng Huaiqing betrayed me again?

At that moment, my mouth went dry from tension. “What about me? I have conducted myself uprightly and have never done anything against my conscience!”

“Is that so?”

Cheng Wei arched an eyebrow. “Then who killed Hongyu?”

I adjusted my hairpins, forcing myself to stay calm. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cheng Wei crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at me with leisure. “I examined Hongyu’s body the day it happened. There were finger marks on her neck and bloodstains on the top of her head from fingernail scratches. She was clearly drowned by someone pressing down on her head and shoulders into the water.”

My heart hammered like a drum. This traitorous villain was incredibly sharp; I wondered what else he had uncovered.

Seeing my silence, Cheng Wei gave a disdainful smile. “The only thing I don’t understand now is how you convinced Cuinong to kill someone with you. As far as I know, they were close sisters for years. Or perhaps you have some kind of leverage over Cuinong that made her a willing accomplice?”

I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palms.

If he resorted to torture and Cuinong couldn’t hold out and confessed, wouldn’t I be… once again…

“Not going to speak?”

Cheng Wei turned to leave. “Then I’ll let the Marquis ask you himself.”

“Wait!” I grabbed his sleeve.

Cheng Wei shook me off.

I took a deep breath. “Yes, I killed her.”

Hearing this, Cheng Wei stopped.

He leaned his long saber against the ground and looked down at me with a scrutinizing gaze. “Go on.”

“Cuinong knew one of Hongyu’s secrets.” I stared at the dark water and said, “When Hongyu was in the Laundry Bureau, she served as a eunuch’s ‘counterpart’ and lived as his wife. She was afraid that if she ever fell out with Cuinong, Cuinong would expose it, so she looked for a way to get rid of Cuinong. As for me…”

I gritted my teeth. “Don’t think I didn’t know the Marquis wanted to promote that little slut to a concubine and give her the authority to manage the inner household. How could I tolerate that!”

Cheng Wei watched me without saying a word, clearly weighing whether my words were believable.

“So, the two of you conspired to eliminate Hongyu?”

I admitted it. “Yes.”

Cheng Wei’s tone was cold and biting. “That’s why I called you a venomous woman. Was I wrong to say there’s nothing about you worth respecting?”

I smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.

“Lord Cheng has finished questioning this concubine, so now it’s my turn to ask you.”

I stepped closer to him and looked up. “Second Brother, the night the Marquis and I were married, what did you do to me?”

Cheng Wei’s expression shifted slightly, and he instinctively gripped the hilt of his saber.

Being so close, I could even clearly sense the murderous aura radiating from him.

Cheng Wei asked coldly, “What do you mean?”

I looked at him without a trace of fear. “The drug that night wasn’t strong enough; I woke up halfway through. Second Brother, was it pleasurable?”

Before I could finish, Cheng Wei grabbed my throat and slammed me against the wall.

I wasn’t afraid at all; I even mocked him. “I must say, you brothers have a truly wonderful relationship, to even share this.”

Cheng Wei tightened his grip, and I immediately felt a sense of suffocation.

“Ye Qingqiu, do you have a death wish?”

I didn’t struggle, nor did I beg for mercy. I smiled faintly. “What’s the rush, Second Brother? If you don’t speak of it, then I’ll pretend I don’t know either. I don’t care who the father of the child is; I only care that the title of Marquis must be inherited by a child born from me.”

Cheng Wei stared at me. Finally, he seemed willing to actually look me up and down, a playful smile curling at the corner of his lips. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Ah Heng about this?”

I rubbed my aching neck. “Suit yourself.”

With that, I turned and walked away. When I reached the corner, I stopped. “Cheng Wei, you really are a piece of trash.”