After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

As night falls, darkness envelops the small village.

The riverbank was quiet, with only the soft creaking of the water flowing over the blue stones. Moonlight shone on the water, creating a cold, white shimmer.

Jiang Zhihuan sat alone by the river, gazing at the tranquil Xitou Village across the river, reminiscing about the past.

The more he thought, the quieter and colder he became. So cold that the Cao family, kneeling not far away, trembled and sobbed.

"Sir, what have you brought us here for?" Cao Tong asked, mustering his courage. "Sir, my father is in poor health. If he continues to be tortured like this, he might not survive! Please, have mercy on us and let us go! I'll kowtow to you, I'll kowtow to you!"

"Yes, sir, our home is just ahead. Please let us go home! We have no grudges against you, sir, and have never offended you!" He Manniang pleaded, her triangular eyes drooping.

"Shut up, all of you! Who gave you permission to speak!"

Liu Yunze, who had personally brought them here bound, said, "If Lord Jiang wants you dead by midnight, even the King of Hell can't keep you alive until dawn! Kneel down obediently!"

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately shut their mouths, but their trembling intensified.

"Lord Jiang, I have brought you the men you requested." Liu Yunze tiptoed to Jiang Zhihuan and said with a fawning expression, "Please give me your instructions on how to deal with the three of them."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhihuan suddenly came to his senses, slowly turned around, and looked at Cao Tong and the others.

His face was expressionless, yet he inexplicably exuded a chilling murderous aura. Cao Tong was so frightened that he stammered, "My lord, this humble subject truly has no idea where he has offended you!"

"Does Your Excellency resent that we offended Liu Yuansheng? But, but Liu Nianxi forced us to do it! She said that if we didn't cause a scene at Qixiang Palace as she demanded, she would send people to burn down our house and then exterminate us all!"

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Jiang Zhihuan finally spoke up. He coughed twice, covering his mouth and nose, and said, "But as far as I know, you were paid one hundred taels of silver by Liu Nianxi to be hired by her to humiliate Liu Yuansheng. Liu Nianxi also promised that if you could successfully sow discord between the two and get Xiao Jinghan to divorce Liu Yuansheng, she would give you another one hundred taels of silver as a reward."

Upon hearing this, Cao Tong was so frightened that his tongue began to tie itself in knots. "Yes, that's right. But, but we have no choice! We're just ordinary people, how dare we offend the young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion?"

"Hmm, you wouldn't dare." Jiang Zhihuan raised his head, sighed lazily, and said, "You wouldn't dare offend the Prime Minister's daughter, yet you dare to humiliate your adopted daughter. Liu Yuansheng was almost poisoned by you two, wasn't she?"

Cao Tong and his son trembled, only then realizing that this Lord Jiang had come to avenge Liu Yuansheng!

"You, who are you?" Butcher Cao stared wide-eyed at Jiang Zhihuan. "I know! You're Liu Yuansheng's lover at the Water Moon Nunnery! She did it because you wouldn't submit to me!"

"Father! Shut up!" Cao Tong cried out urgently, "Lord Jiang, there's a misunderstanding! My father and I have never done anything to humiliate Liu Yuansheng!"

"Yes! It was that slut who seduced my husband and son. My husband and son never provoked her! If you want to teach her a lesson, then go and teach that bitch a lesson."

Mentioning Liu Yuansheng, Madam He was furious. "I never agreed to adopt that slut in the first place! I only thought she was pretty and that I'd raise her up and send her to a wealthy family as a concubine to get a hefty dowry for Tong'er's wedding! Who knew it would turn out like this! If I had known, I would have rather killed myself at the door than let Liu Yuansheng into the house!"

"Why are you bringing up the past?" Butcher Cao said. "If you had raised her properly back then, would you be less wealthy now that she's back in the Prime Minister's household? But how did you treat her all those years? Do you think I didn't see how you tormented her behind her back? You pinched her until she was covered in bruises! You even made her sleep in the pigsty! If she hadn't been lucky, she would have died at your hands long ago!"

"You, you actually spoke up for that little slut!" Madam He gritted her teeth, struggled free from her ropes, and slapped Butcher Cao's face repeatedly. "You heartless bastard! I bore you a son, took care of the household chores, and you've lost all conscience, only thinking about that vixen!"

As she beat and cursed, He Shi completely disregarded life and death, only wanting to vent the anger that had been bottled up for years. "Let Tong'er sleep with her if he wants! At worst, we can tell everyone she's a child bride raised for our son. You shameless old woman, ever since that vixen grew up, you've been eyeing her! Do you think I'm blind? Can't you see her squatting in the corner masturbating? You're disgusting!"

"That's still not as disgusting as you!"

The couple, who had just tried to deny insulting Liu Yuansheng, turned against each other and argued fiercely in front of Jiang Zhihuan, exposing each other's dirty laundry. Jiang Zhihuan listened expressionlessly the whole time, and eventually waved his hand impatiently, ordering the guards to pull He Shi away.

"You and your son both coveted Liu Yuansheng's beauty and wanted to possess her. After Madam He learned of your actions, instead of helping her, she drove her out, ruined her reputation, and forced her to live on the streets. You wanted her dead."

Jiang Zhihuan said, "Back then, you didn't leave her a way out. Now, I'm giving you three paths. Here's a dagger, arsenic, and a white silk ribbon. Choose one and go."

The three were utterly terrified.

"You want to kill us? No, you can't! This is blatant disregard for human life and indiscriminate killing of innocent people!" Butcher Cao said, his voice trembling with tears.

"My lord, my lord, spare us! You hit us! My lord, we'll never do it again!" Cao Tong sobbed uncontrollably. "We didn't do anything to Liu Yuansheng! Isn't she alive and well now?"

"Help! Help!" Mrs. He began to struggle again, "Murder! Help!"

Jiang Zhihuan exhaled a soft breath, waved his hand, and signaled the guards to escort the three of them on their way.

One guard forced Cao Tong to drink arsenic, while another guard strangled Cao the butcher with a white silk ribbon, killing him in a few strokes. Seeing that her husband and son were dead, He Shi suddenly found a surge of strength, broke free from the guards' hands, and ran towards the river like a madwoman. However, she was stabbed in the back by a flying knife and fell into the river.

"Clean this place up." After dealing with the three of them, Jiang Zhihuan stood up gracefully and said to the trembling Liu Yunze, "Young Master Liu, you've worked hard. It's late, go back and rest. The medicine will be delivered on time."

Liu Yunze shuddered, as if suddenly remembering something, and blurted out, "My third sister..."