Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Outside the bathroom, Ah Jin paced back and forth anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan.

The muffled sounds and the sound of water coming from inside made him want to push the door open several times, but he stopped himself in his tracks.

He dared not disobey the Second Master's rules.

Until a loud bang was heard, he could no longer restrain himself and rushed inside.

The sight before him made his legs stiff as stone.

Pei Zeyu was submerged in cold water, his chest and arms covered in abrasions, with streaks of blood floating on the surface like smoke and mist.

He just leaned against the edge of the bathtub, motionless, like a lifeless puppet.

"Second Master!"

Ah Jin rushed forward, trying to pull him out of the cold water.

"Please don't do this, please don't hurt yourself, I beg you."

He rushed to the edge of the bathtub, crying as he grabbed Pei Zeyu's hand, but the back of his hand was also injured, scraped and bloody.

Pei Zeyu remained unmoved, ignoring A Jin's cries and shouts without any reaction.

Ah Jin cried uncontrollably, his mind a complete mess.

How could this happen?

After leaving the table, he wanted to call the royal physician, but the physician was not there.

He had no choice but to run outside the mansion to fetch a doctor, and it was quite a feat to finally get him to come back.

But then they saw the Second Madam's maid, Xiao Xing, standing guard outside the room, saying that the Second Madam had already gone in to take care of the Second Master.

He was also told to hurry back to Chenshuang Courtyard and prepare hot water, lest the masters have nothing to wash with after the matter was over.

The Second Madam was, after all, the Second Master's lawfully wedded wife.

What right does a servant have to interfere in matters between husband and wife?

But he didn't expect the hot water he prepared to cool down completely.

I never expected Second Master to react this way, to torture himself into this state.

If he could do it all over again, he would definitely risk his life to break in.

"Second Master, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have left you to find the royal physician, and then went to fetch another doctor when he wasn't there. It's all my fault! I deserve to die..."

Ah Jin's sobs, like a thread with needles, pierced through Pei Zeyu's numb nerves.

He suddenly grabbed Ah Jin's arm with terrifying force.

"What did you say? You went to find the royal physician, but he's not here?"

Ah Jin wiped away his tears and nodded, saying, "Not only is the family physician absent, but Doctor Ye is also not here. I only found out after asking that it is the old lady's birthday, and the master has granted the family physician and Doctor Ye leave."

He also found it strange at the time. There were many people at the birthday banquet. What if someone felt unwell and there was no doctor in the mansion?

At that time, he was in a hurry to find a doctor for his second master and didn't think much about it.

"Are you asking for leave?"

A cold glint flashed in Pei Zeyu's eyes.

On his birthday, Afu's head was smashed by a vase, forcing him to take a day off.

The doctor in the manor happened to be on leave, and he was feeling unwell.

Ah Jin was sent away and left alone in the side room, with no one to take care of him.

The coincidences, at this moment, are linked together, weaving a fine web.

He closed his eyes, and images of the birthday banquet flashed through his mind.

Is the problem with the food or the drinks?

It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that the only one who can poison him is Lin Zhiyao.

Pei Zeyu slowly stood up, cold water sliding down his skin, mixed with blood streaks.

Where is the Lin family?

Ah Jin was stunned. "In...in the side room, Xiao Xing said that the Second Madam was feeling unwell and had already gone to rest..."

Before he finished speaking, Pei Zeyu stepped out of the bathtub, grabbed a robe from the clothes rack, and put it on.

Despite the chafing of his clothes against the wounds on his chest and arms, he didn't even furrow his brow.

At night, the candlelight flickered in the side room.

Lin Zhiyao had just changed into her nightgown, the sash half-tied, when the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Pei Zeyu stood at the door, his wet hair plastered to his forehead.

Water droplets slid down her temples, soaking the collar of her robe.

He has always been very particular about cleanliness, but now he doesn't even have time to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes.

Lin Zhiyao's heart skipped a beat, but she suppressed the urge to serve tea, dismissed the maids, and took a dry handkerchief to go upstairs herself.

"Second Master, why didn't you dry yourself off before coming? You'll catch a cold."

She spoke softly, and then began to dry his hair.

Pei Zeyu turned aside, avoiding him like a snake or scorpion.

Lin Zhiyao lost her grip on the handkerchief, and it fell to the ground.

Pei Zeyu stared at her, his eyes burning with cold anger.

He didn't pinch her; he was afraid of getting his hands dirty.

"You drugged me." It wasn't a question, it was a certainty.

Lin Zhiyao's hand trembled, and she covered it up by bending down to pick up the handkerchief.

As he stood up, a look of astonishment crossed his face. "What nonsense are you spouting, Second Master?"

She forced a smile, a hint of hurt at being misunderstood, "How could I do something like that?"

"On his grandmother's birthday, Afu was hit on the head by a vase."

"The doctors in the manor all happened to be on leave, and Ah Jin was also sent away."

"With so many coincidences, do you think I'd believe that?"

Lin Zhiyao's eyelashes trembled slightly, feigning confusion.

"There are countless coincidences in the world. Second Master is in control of everything and is used to having everything under his command. Can't he even tolerate ordinary coincidences?"

Her reaction only confirmed one thing for Pei Zeyu.

"The person I was with in the east wing wasn't you at all."

Lin Zhiyao retorted quickly, "Second Master, what makes you say that? Besides me, is there anyone else?"

Pei Zeyu became even more certain, for he had always abhorred the touch of unclean people.

Even the slightest touch of a finger feels uncomfortable, so how could I possibly have any physical intimacy with her?

Seeing that he remained silent, Lin Zhiyao's eyes reddened, and her voice became choked with sobs.

"It was me. Yesterday, Second Master was drunk and incredibly strong; it hurt me a lot..."

"Shut up."

He was unwilling to listen to her nonsense any longer. This usually respectable man was now furious, his disgust and impatience almost overflowing.

Lin Zhiyao suddenly laughed, saying in a defiant tone, "If Second Master doesn't believe me, he can check it himself."

After saying that, she raised her hand to untie the sash of her nightgown.

Pei Zeyu immediately turned his back to her.

Lin Zhiyao's hand froze, her clothes were half open, revealing a large part of her shoulder.

His resolute back turned to her, and Lin Zhiyao could no longer hold back her tears, which finally fell.

"Then how do you expect me to prove it? If you don't believe me, go and find someone else in the house... There won't be anyone else besides me."

Pei Zeyu's heart stirred slightly; he was so caught up in the situation that he forgot about another possible interpretation.

Once that person is found, Lin's stubbornness and bravado will crumble on their own.

He was awakened, strode away, his robes fluttering, leaving behind a gust of cold wind.

Lin Zhiyao tried to grab it, but only grasped at empty space.

After the second master left, it was quite a while before the maid Xiaoxing entered the room and saw that her mistress's clothes were disheveled.

She straightened Lin Zhiyao's clothes, "Madam..."

Lin Zhiyao let her do as she pleased until the maid spoke, at which point she said, "No need to comfort me. Are you sure the room is all cleaned up?"

She doesn't need comforting.

My heart has grown cold and hardened with each passing day of disappointment and desolation.

All that tenderness and affection, all that earnest expectation, has been worn away, leaving nothing behind.

Xiao Xing nodded, "Don't worry, Madam, I've cleaned everything up. Also, I found this in... a crack in the bed."

She took two items out of her sleeve and handed them to Lin Zhiyao.

One is a fan pendant, made of bluish-white jade, carved with orchid patterns, and has a warm and smooth texture.

The other item was a half-torn tie.

The ties were jagged and broken, as if they had been ripped off forcefully, indicating how violent the situation was.

…………