Princess, something terrible has happened! The prince consort has attempted suicide again!

Has the plan to hunt down that little beast been exposed?

Liu Ru felt a sudden sense of panic, but she maintained a calm and composed demeanor, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"My lord, you know my character perfectly well. Have I ever lied to you in the slightest? Why do you ask me this today?"

Utterly hypocritical!

If it weren't for the conclusive evidence, Marquis Yongwu would have almost been fooled by her calm and collected words.

His left hand was hidden in his wide sleeve, his knuckles clenched tightly, forcibly suppressing the anger and resentment surging in his chest. He said in a feigned tired tone, "It's all because of that unfilial son. He has disturbed my peace of mind. Please forgive me, my wife."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ru felt relieved and had no more doubts.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Before the person even entered the room, Zhang Yang's loud voice had already resounded throughout the hall.

"Sister! Great news! Incredible good news!"

The newcomer strode in, and upon seeing the Marquis of Valor sitting upright in the hall, his steps faltered abruptly, and he instantly abandoned his impetuous demeanor.

It was Liu Wanfu, Liu Ru's cousin.

He had an oily face and a stout body. He would pant after walking a little, and his vulgarity was impossible to hide.

"Reckless and impulsive, what kind of behavior is this?"

Liu Ru immediately put on a stern face and reprimanded him sternly, while secretly sending him a wink, signaling him to be careful with his words and actions and not to give himself away.

Liu Wanfu immediately straightened up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, brother-in-law."

Marquis Yongwu knew perfectly well what was going on.

He was the one who hired someone to assassinate Zhang Xiaomeng, and he guessed what the good news he was talking about was.

But Marquis Yongwu could not point it out at this moment. He simply raised his hand and said in a tired and distant tone, "I am a little tired. You two siblings can talk on your own."

After saying this, he stood up and left in a huff.

As soon as the Marquis of Yongwu left, Liu Ru immediately composed herself and scolded him, "Be more careful in the future! Your brother-in-law almost saw through your act just now."

Liu Wanfu quickly put on a fawning smile, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes: "Sister, I'm quite happy, aren't I? Just now, someone from below brought word that that little beast Zhang Xiaomeng is dead!"

"Really? Has the news been verified?" Liu Ru's eyes narrowed, and she suppressed her excitement as she asked in a low voice.

"Sister, when has your brother ever made a mistake? I've questioned and checked repeatedly, it's absolutely true, there's no mistake at all!" Liu Wanfu patted his chest, full of confidence.

"Great! Excellent!"

The heavy weight that had been pressing on her heart for so long was finally lifted, and a joyful expression finally bloomed on Liu Ru's face.

"That little beast is finally dead! It wasn't for nothing that I spent five thousand taels of silver to save his dog's life!"

Liu Wanfu was also grinning from ear to ear.

The once-powerful heir of a marquis's mansion was killed by me with just five taels of silver.

This is a huge profit.

……

at the same time.

Zhang Xiaomeng has already settled in an inn in the town.

He was thinking to himself that if he could successfully die at the hands of the Black Lotus Sect, the Marquis of Yongwu's mansion would certainly not escape punishment.

If they can be taken down with them, it can be considered a consolation to the wronged souls of the original owner.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

He stayed in the town for three days, wandering around every day trying to find out where he was, but he didn't even run into a single remnant of the Black Lotus Cult.

Could it be that these people heard rumors and hesitated to make a move?

That won't do.

So Zhang Xiaomeng simply left the sphere of influence in the capital and traveled all the way to a remote county.

This place had long since escaped the control of Zhao Qiandong's spies, with only Feng Yi and the Imperial Guards quietly accompanying them.

If the Black Lotus Sect were to actually come to assassinate us, we would certainly be more confident.

Zhang Xiaomeng, covered in dust, walked slowly through the streets and alleys of the county town. As he turned a corner, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye, which vanished in a flash.

He quickly went through all of the original owner's memories, but had no recollection of this figure.

Am I seeing things?

Just as I was filled with doubt, a commotion and argument suddenly broke out ahead.

He strode forward and unexpectedly saw Zhou Niangzi, the woman he had rescued in the capital.

It's such a coincidence that we met here again.

"Smash it!"

In front of a small teahouse at the street corner, several fierce-looking thugs were surrounding the shop.

The leader of the thugs waved his hand, and the group of thugs behind him immediately rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward, ready to demolish the shop and smash it.

Madam Zhou stood there, her face filled with despair, pleading and crying, but she couldn't stop this group of rude and unruly scoundrels in the slightest.

"stop!"

A clear, cold shout suddenly rang out.

Zhang Xiaomeng strode forward and stood firmly in front of the teahouse, exuding an imposing aura.

"My benefactor!"

When Madam Zhou looked up and saw who it was, she was both surprised and delighted, and her eyes instantly lit up with hope.

"Where did this brat come from, daring to meddle in my business? Are you tired of living?" The local thug turned and glared at Zhang Xiaomeng, arrogantly shouting.

"Her affairs are none of my business," Zhang Xiaomeng said indifferently, his aura no less imposing than the other party's. "Explain yourself clearly: why did you smash her shop?"

"This woman owes me money and won't pay it back, so it's only right that I smash up her shop!" the thug shouted arrogantly.

"How much do you owe?"

The local thug extended a single finger, displaying extreme arrogance.

"One hundred taels?" Zhang Xiaomeng raised an eyebrow slightly.

"One tael!"

The thug spoke with conviction and righteous indignation.

Zhang Xiaomeng's face immediately darkened.

He managed to make a debt of a mere tael of silver sound like a blood feud of a hundred taels; he's a real talent.

Too lazy to get entangled with the scoundrels in the city, he casually took out a silver ingot and tossed it over.

"Here's two taels of silver. Take the money and get out of here."

The local thug caught the silver ingot with both hands, his eyes instantly lighting up as he bowed and scraped repeatedly, saying, "Let's go! We're leaving right now! Thank you, young master!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared in a flash.

Madam Zhou immediately knelt down, filled with gratitude: "Thank you so much for saving me again, my benefactor! I will never forget your great kindness!"

Zhang Xiaomeng reached out and helped her up, casually asking, "What are you doing here? And why did you get involved with these thugs?"

Madam Zhou sighed softly, her eyes filled with sorrow: "This is a long story. If my benefactor is not in a hurry, why don't we come inside and have some tea, and I will tell you the whole story in detail."

Zhang Xiaomeng was already parched from the long journey, so he immediately agreed and followed her into the teahouse to sit down.

Madam Zhou skillfully brewed tea, handed him a cup of clear tea, and said gently, "My benefactor, please try my humble skills."

Zhang Xiaomeng picked up the teacup and took a small sip. The tea was clear and refreshing, with a lingering sweetness. He couldn't help but praise, "Good tea."

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent wave of dizziness suddenly swept over his mind, and he collapsed.

The teacup slipped from his hand and rolled away, spilling its contents all over the floor.

……

I don't know how much time passed.

Zhang Xiaomeng, still groggy, slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with unfamiliar bed curtains.

A soft, sweet female voice, with a hint of tingling pleasure, rang out leisurely beside him: "Young Master Zhang, did you sleep well?"

Zhang Xiaomeng suddenly regained consciousness, propped himself up, and turned to look.

A stunningly beautiful woman sat gracefully at a table by the window.

She wore a dark black silk dress, with a lifelike black lotus pattern embroidered between her eyebrows, which made her already stunningly beautiful face even more alluring and seductive, exuding charm to the bone, like a bewitching beauty.

"Who are you?" Zhang Xiaomeng asked warily.

"Have you forgotten me so quickly?"

The woman's red lips curved slightly, her eyes sparkling, and she softly called out, "My benefactor."