Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 264 Dog bites dog

Marquis Jing'an rushed to the backyard and saw Jiang Yihuan, who was being controlled and disheveled, his face darkening.

Slap! He slapped Jiang Yihuan across the face.

Jiang Yihuan was jolted awake by the slap, finally regaining her senses, her mind racing.

She rushed towards Marquis Jing'an, hugged his leg, and cried, "My lord, I was ambushed. I was going to the outhouse when I was knocked unconscious. I woke up in the side courtyard. My lord, you must do justice for me. I am Zhi'er's mother and the second wife of Marquis Jing'an. Unless I'm tired of living, how could I do something so self-destructive?"

Xiao Yanci, standing beside her, glanced at Jiang Yihuan with a complicated expression.

In both her past and present lives, Jiang Yihuan's greatest trick is to cry in a way that makes men feel sorry for her. The same story, spoken by different women, yields different results. At least Jiang Yihuan possesses the ability to make men feel sorry for her and believe in her.

He used to be one of the many men who trusted Jiang Yihuan. Now their relationship has changed; he's gone from being her legal wife to her lover. From another perspective, he even feels a little sorry for that fool, Marquis Jing'an.

As a man himself, Xiao Yanci could tell from a glance that Marquis Jing'an was wavering. When he came in just now, he looked like he wanted to kill her, but now he seemed to have believed her to some extent.

Xiao Yanci could see it, and how could a woman as adept at manipulating men as Jiang Yihuan not see it? She knew that adding fuel to the fire at this moment would help her weather the crisis. So, she cried and threw herself at the pillar opposite, looking as if she was going to prove her innocence with her death.

“I know I have disgraced my husband. As a mother, I cannot let Zhi’er be disgraced. I will prove my innocence with my death. Husband, you must take good care of Zhi’er. He is our only child. I will repay your kindness in my next life.”

Jiang Yihuan cried and sobbed for a long time, then lunged at the opposite side, looking as if she was about to crash into it.

Su Yaoguang touched the goosebumps on her arm and said to Zhou Wangshu, "Does Marquis Jing'an have no brains? He's been manipulated again."

“If he had any brains, he wouldn’t have fallen for Jiang Yihuan’s scheme and married that kind of vicious woman,” Zhou Wangshu said. “For us, it doesn’t matter whether Marquis Jing’an believes in Jiang Yihuan’s innocence or not; the seed of doubt has already been planted in his heart.”

Su Yaoguang saw Wang Ruyan walking over while crying, and then watched the good show unfold.

Wang Ruyan stood before Xiao Yanci, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Husband, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Xiao Yanci looked at Wang Ruyan with guilt: "Yan'er, I really want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into right now, because I'm too ashamed to face you. Even if I don't know what happened, it's a fact that I was found disheveled, and that's embarrassing for you. Yan'er, you'll believe me, right?"

Wang Ruyan had been standing in the crowd for a while.

In a short period of time, she considered rushing over and slapping Xiao Yanci a few times, divorcing him on the spot, and kicking this disgraceful man out of the Prime Minister's residence. She also considered mediating on his behalf, showing her magnanimity. However, when Jiang Yihuan said that they had been set up, she breathed a sigh of relief.

This should be the best solution.

The two were framed by malicious people; it wasn't a genuine rekindling of their old flame or an affair. This way, both the Marquis of Jing'an's and the Prime Minister's families' reputations were preserved. As for the truth, she could inquire about it privately later.

This Jiang Yihuan is just plain ugly, nothing special. If Xiao Yanci really wants a woman, she can take him a few beautiful concubines, none of whom are better than this Jiang Yihuan.
Seeing how easily Jiang Yihuan broke the deadlock, Su Yaoguang thought to herself, "It's no wonder I lost to her in my past life."

Zhou Wangshu held Su Yaoguang's hand and said, "Are you tired? If you are, go back to your room and rest. I'll handle things here, so you don't need to worry about it."

At the banquet celebrating the inclusion of the two men in the family genealogy, a couple's affair caused a fire, which burned the second young master of the household, thus eliminating Zhou Wangshu's most formidable rival. This incident must have already spread, and various versions of the story are likely in the minds of the storytellers.

Marquis Jing'an and the Prime Minister's office will definitely demand an explanation from Marquis Cheng'an.

As the new successor and the protagonist of today's banquet, Zhou Wangshu must step forward to resolve this matter.

Su Yaoguang saw all the other guests off.

She saw the guests off, leaving the rest to Zhou Wangshu, and then went back to her room to rest.

The maid prepared hot water, and Su Yaoguang lay in the bathtub, letting the hot water soak her tired body.

The maid was pressing down on her shoulders from behind.

"Marquis Jing'an and Prime Minister Wang haven't left yet?"

The maid said, "Judging from the sounds, they haven't left yet. I can hear the arguing coming from the study even here. It's clear that Marquis Jing'an and Prime Minister Wang don't intend to let this go and insist on getting an explanation from the Marquis. Young Madam, today's banquet was prepared for you and the young master. With such a big incident, will Marquis Jing'an and Prime Minister Wang make things difficult for the young master?"

Su Yaoguang said wearily, "Marquis Jing'an probably won't. As for Prime Minister Wang... that old fox may not value his son-in-law that much, but he won't miss this opportunity to extort money from him. When my husband comes back, we'll know what conditions the Marquis of Cheng'an's mansion used to settle this matter."

Su Yaoguang took a bath and let the maid wring out her hair.

She was dozing off at the table when she heard footsteps at the door. She immediately sat up and stared intently in the direction of the door.

"You're finally back." Su Yaoguang glanced at the moonlight outside. "You two spent so long in the study, what did you talk about?"

Zhou Wangshu lowered his head and kissed Su Yaoguang's forehead: "I will take a bath first, and then I will tell you the details after I come out."

“I asked them to prepare hot water,” Su Yaoguang said. “The water in there is the water I used.”

"No need, I'll use this." Zhou Wangshu moved swiftly, and before she knew it, she had already taken off her clothes and sat in the bathtub.

Su Yaoguang took the comb from the maid's hand, telling her to stop serving her and go back to her room to rest.

As she combed her hair, she said, "How many benefits did Prime Minister Wang gain by sacrificing Xiao Yanci's reputation?"

Zhou Wangshu chuckled and said while wiping himself, "That dirty stuff isn't worth much. It's just compensation for the manor in the suburbs. That manor originally had a hot spring. Prime Minister Wang must have his eye on it and wanted to use that hot spring to build a resort."

“Sounds good, should be a decent estate. Giving it away for nothing is a real loss,” Su Yaoguang said. “That estate is a tricky thing,” Zhou Wangshu said. “I was worried they wouldn’t be interested. Now that it’s successfully fallen into Prime Minister Wang’s hands, things will get interesting.”

"How so?" Su Yaoguang asked curiously. She walked out from behind the screen, found a stool, and sat in front of the bathtub, watching the handsome man bathe.

Zhou Wangshu took the comb from her hand and gently combed her hair, saying, "There is a secret passage in that manor containing treasure. As far as I know, this treasure was left by the remnants of the previous dynasty. In other words, if this treasure is found, the charge of colluding with rebels will be established."

“Even if that estate falls into the hands of Prime Minister Wang, everyone knows that the original owner was Marquis Cheng’an. Even if he is convicted, Marquis Cheng’an will not escape responsibility,” Su Yaoguang said.

Zhou Wangshu picked up a strand of Su Yaoguang's hair and said, "What does this have to do with me, the eldest son who has just been reinstated into the Xia family genealogy?"

Su Yaoguang realized what was happening.

Zhou Wangshu was trying to kill several birds with one stone.

Today's farce has exposed the affair between Jiang Yihuan and Xiao Yanci. Even if this adulterous couple is adept at deceiving others and can fool their partners, once the seeds of doubt are sown, they will eventually grow into towering trees that will drain them dry.

The biggest gain was that Xia Zhen completely withdrew from the competition for the position of heir of the Marquis of Cheng'an.

Then there's the hidden move Zhou Wangshu has just made for them. This hidden move needs to be nurtured further before the net is closed.

Su Yaoguang took a handkerchief and wiped Zhou Wangshu's back.

When she saw Zhou Wangshu's burns, her eyes were filled with heartache: "It was just acting, why did you have to leave scars on your body? How much pain must that have caused?"

“This is for outsiders to see,” Zhou Wangshu said. “I’ll apply some burn ointment later, and these scars will disappear after a while.”

At this moment, Lady Cheng'an, the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'an, stood by the bedside, watching one doctor after another examine Xia Zhen. When she received one doctor after another shaking their heads and sighing, Lady Cheng'an finally could not bear it any longer. She slammed her hand on the table, her eyes red, and said, "Whoever can save 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."

“Madam Hou, isn’t your daughter-in-law the owner of Taoyao Fang? Taoyao Fang’s scar removal cream is unparalleled. Once the second young master wakes up, apply the scar removal cream to him, and his body will recover to at least 50% or 60% of its original state.”

"Is Taoyaofang's scar removal cream really that effective?" Lady Cheng'an asked with a skeptical look.

"Taoyaofang has a great reputation. Their scar removal cream and beauty treatments are truly masterful. By the way, there's a female doctor at Taoyaofang with exceptional medical skills. She works there as a physician, and many beauty and hair care products were developed by her. If we could invite her over, she might have other treatment methods."

Lady Cheng'an said to the servant beside her, "Go to Taoyao Lane immediately and invite that female doctor over. Tell her that their master asked her to come over."

Not long after, the servant returned and said to Lady Cheng'an, "Madam, I went to Taoyaofang to find that female doctor, but she is not in the capital recently and said she will not be back for at least ten days or half a month."

Lady Cheng'an said coldly, "How can there be so many coincidences in this world? If today's events were the work of those two people, I will make them wish they were dead."

Xia Zhen let out a soft moan and slowly opened her eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he found everything in front of him was foggy and he couldn't see anything clearly.

He held up his palm and waved it in front of his eyes, his eyes filled with despair: "Why can't I see clearly?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Cheng'an called out, "Someone, quickly bring back the doctor we just sent out."

When the doctor returned and examined Xia Zhen, he found that his eyes had been burned by fire. Although he was not completely blind, he could clearly see very little.

Lady Cheng'an grabbed Xia Zhen's clothes and said angrily, "I told you to protect yourself and take care of yourself, but you wouldn't listen. All you do all day is eat, drink, and have fun. You can't do anything else. Now everything that belonged to you has been taken away by others, and you've become this inhuman creature."

Xia Zhen touched her cheek and found that it was pitted and uneven.

His eyes were filled with anger and despair: "No, that's not it! I am the heir apparent of the Cheng'an Marquis's mansion. That eldest son who appeared out of nowhere must be a fake. That person has been dead for so many years, how could he still be alive? Mother, kill that person! Ever since that person appeared, I've become more and more unfortunate, and now I've become like this. As long as that person is killed, I will still be the heir apparent of the Cheng'an Marquis's mansion, and I can just wait at home to inherit the title. Mother, did you hear me? Send someone to kill him right now!"

“You were able to send someone to kill him a few years ago, so kill him again now and make him disappear completely. From now on, the Cheng’an Marquis’s mansion will belong to my son and me.”

Lady Cheng'an covered Xia Zhen's mouth and looked at him with a strange gaze: "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I kill him? He lost his memory after falling into the water and then encountered human traffickers, which is why he has been wandering outside for so long."

“Three years ago, I overheard you talking to Granny. You said he was thrown into the river by you, and he struggled as he fell in, but soon he couldn’t struggle anymore and sank in front of you. Mother, since you’ve decided to take action, why not eliminate the root of the problem? Why not kill him more thoroughly?”

Qin Zhen grabbed Lady Cheng'an and said, "Mother, Father has now been completely subdued by that eldest son. We have to think about our own future."

"What do you think we should do?" asked Lady Cheng'an.

“He didn’t disappear completely last time, so this time let him disappear completely, so that no one can get in our way,” Xia Zhen said.

“He is now protected by the Grand General. If he dies in our Cheng’an Marquis’s mansion, the Grand General will raze our entire mansion to the ground. Zhen’er, you should focus on recovering from your injuries first. After you recover, we can find a way to compete for the position of heir.”

“If he doesn’t die, we will lose everything,” Xia Zhen said. “I’m injured like this, what is my father doing? He doesn’t want me anymore.”

Lady Cheng'an clenched her fists.

Of course she knew that she and her son had become the abandoned children of Marquis Cheng'an.

Perhaps Zhen'er was right this time. If Zhou Wangshu hadn't died, they would have gotten nothing.

I've heard there's an assassination organization that might hire hitmen. Even if they investigate, they'll only find the assassination organization. Anyway, Zhou Wangshu is an official, and he's bound to offend people on a daily basis.