Chapter 71

When Cheng Ruyi left, she intentionally used her mental energy to trigger a small spike in Cheng Qingyao’s mind. About fifteen minutes after her departure, Cheng Qingyao would inevitably wake up.

And indeed, Cheng Qingyao did wake up, only to be shocked by the sight before her. Surrounding her bed were her father, the Marquis of Jian’an; her mother, Madam Cheng-Han; her maid, Qiu Lan; alongside several concubine-born younger sisters, maids, and older matrons.

Their expressions were a colorful mix of emotions.

Right in front of her, an elderly doctor with a snow-white beard and hair was carefully taking her pulse.

Panic seized Cheng Qingyao’s heart. Just as she tried to speak, a sharp, tearing agony shot from the corner of her lips. She sucked in a cold breath and instinctively shifted her body. But with that single, minor movement, every bone in her body felt as though it had been violently pulverized by a heavy mallet, sending a wave of heartbreaking agony through her.

“Ah… it hurts!”

Cheng Qingyao suddenly recalled that she had somehow lost consciousness completely out of nowhere earlier, and an ominous premonition instantly flared up in her mind.

“What exactly happened… to me?”

Cheng Ruyi had been highly disciplined; when she thrashed Cheng Qingyao’s face, she purposefully avoided damaging her vocal cords, leaving her merely unable to speak clearly so that the injuries wouldn’t look completely fatal from the outside.

In truth, there was an entire hidden reality beneath the surface.

“Sister, you were beaten up right inside your own room, your face is incredibly swollen!” One of her concubine-born younger sisters, looking at the utterly wretched state of her originally insufferable eldest legal sister, suppressed a laugh and spoke up with newfound boldness.

Hearing this, Cheng Qingyao felt her world spin. No wonder her vision felt heavily obstructed by something blocking her eyes; she had originally assumed it was merely because she had just woken up. She cried out in terror, “Qiu Lan! Quick, bring me a bronze mirror immediately!”

Because of her sudden agitation, the movement of her lips tore too violently, and the wound ripped open once more.

“Ah!” Another wave of agonizing pain hit her. Cheng Qingyao raised her hand, only to discover that her arm was throbbing with severe pain. Looking down, she saw that her palms and fingers were swollen to the point of looking like braised pig’s trotters.

Cheng Qingyao was filled with a mix of blinding rage, fury, and a creeping sense of dread.

Her face had been beaten to this state—could she be permanently disfigured?

Who was it? Exactly who did this…

Cheng Qingyao’s heart turned incredibly vicious, while simultaneously harboring a deep resentment toward Qiu Lan for leaving her side at such a terrible time.

Catching her young mistress’s freezing, resentful gaze, Qiu Lan’s body trembled slightly. She rapidly scurried across the room to fetch a compact bronze mirror.

The elderly doctor frowned, offering a stern reprimand: “Miss Qingyao, you have sustained extensive damage to your bones, particularly across your facial region. You must exercise absolute caution and must not move recklessly. A single careless mistake could leave you permanently crippled, ruining the rest of your life.”

This particular physician was the resident doctor of the Marquis of Jian’an’s estate. He had once been a trusted confidant of the Old Madam and had saved the Marquis of Jian’an’s life several times; hence, the Marquis treated him with immense respect.

He was currently living out his retirement within the estate, spending his days instructing his disciples and rarely taking on patients himself.

That the elderly doctor had personally come forth to diagnose and treat Cheng Qingyao this time was entirely due to the Marquis’s direct request.

Faced with such an uncooperative patient, the elderly doctor intentionally exaggerated the severity of her condition.

Hearing his warning, Cheng Qingyao didn’t dare move an inch. The mere thought of potentially becoming a cripple caused her to burn with silent hatred for the perpetrator.

The bronze mirror arrived, and Qiu Lan approached with faltering steps.

“Miss, I have brought the mirror!”

Cheng Qingyao had mentally prepared herself for the worst, but the moment she caught sight of that purple-and-blue, heavily bloated, and utterly grotesque face reflecting in the mirror, a piercing, tragic shriek tore from her throat.

“Cheng Ruyi! I am going to kill you! I will kill you!”

The corners of her mouth tore violently once more, and fresh blood surged out abruptly, dyeing Cheng Qingyao’s collar crimson and dripping onto the duvet in a shocking display.

Yet, Cheng Qingyao disregarded it entirely. As if she couldn’t feel the physical pain whatsoever, she began to scream and shout like a completely crazed lunatic.

“Cheng Ruyi, you will die a horrific death!”

At this exact moment, Cheng Qingyao didn’t even need to think; she pinned everything squarely on Cheng Ruyi.

It was a blind guess that happened to hit the nail right on the head.

But would anyone actually believe her?

Everyone present was utterly terrified by Cheng Qingyao’s sudden descent into madness, particularly the elderly doctor, whose beard and eyebrows flared with sheer exasperation.

The Marquis of Jian’an’s brow furrowed tightly, his countenance turning incredibly dark. The gaze he directed toward Cheng Qingyao carried a trace of profound disgust as he roared:

“Enough! If you wish to throw your life away, then go right ahead and die!”

This daughter of his was completely ruined. It would be better if she died, saving the reputation of the other young ladies within the estate from being dragged down by her actions.

Stung by the Marquis’s thunderous roar, Cheng Qingyao snapped back to reality, suddenly realizing how unhinged she was acting. But her own father had actually told her to go die…

Cheng Qingyao’s heart turned completely cold.

Fortunately, she had never harbored a single shred of hope toward this father of hers from the very beginning.

But right now, she wanted vengeance! Vengeance! Vengeance!

“Father, it’s Cheng Ruyi! It must have been done by Cheng Ruyi!”

“Father, Mother, you must seek justice on my behalf!”

How could there be such an immaculate coincidence in this world? Just yesterday she had orchestrated a mob of beggars to block her bridal procession, and today she had been soundly and silently thrashed right inside her own quarters.

Looking at Cheng Qingyao, who was weeping loudly with blood trailing from the corner of her lips yet not daring to move another inch, her bloated and battered face looked exceptionally revolting and nauseating. The Marquis of Jian’an couldn’t help but flick his sleeve, glaring at Madam Cheng as he barked in fury: “Look at the marvelous daughter you have raised! She has thoroughly dragged my honorable reputation through the mud! Even at a time like this, she is still wildly slinging groundless accusations at others!”

Cheng Ruyi had just had her grand wedding yesterday and was supposed to be inside Prince Rong’s estate today. How could she possibly infiltrate the Marquis of Jian’an’s estate just to give her a beating?

It was utterly preposterous!

“Father, it is Cheng Ruyi! It was truly perpetrated by people Cheng Ruyi sent!”

Leave alone the Marquis of Jian’an, even Madam Cheng-Han didn’t believe a single word. Her affection for this daughter of hers was incredibly shallow to begin with. Having been swapped at birth by that treacherous concubine and reduced to a concubine-born daughter for years, Madam Cheng-Han felt nothing but guilt toward her. If one were to speak of maternal bond, there truly wasn’t much there.

And even if there had been any, it had long since been entirely eroded away by her daughter’s relentless, self-destructive antics.

“Qingyao, your father is right. If you want to accuse someone, you must at least look at the timing. Your emotions are unstable right now; we will speak further once you have calmed down.” Madam Cheng-Han knit her brows in displeasure, a flash of exhaustion and impatience flitting across her features.

Seeing that neither her father nor her mother believed a single word she uttered, coupled with the poorly concealed schadenfreude glittering in the eyes of her concubine-born younger sisters, Cheng Qingyao burned with silent hatred while drowning in absolute despair. She was trapped with a grievance she couldn’t vocalize, unable to reveal the truth that she was the one who had hired those troublemaking beggars yesterday.

Since her parents refused to assist her, she would simply have to rely on her own methods.

Cheng Qingyao lowered her head, masking the freezing malice that flashed through her eyes.

The elderly doctor was practically driven to the brink of fury by Cheng Qingyao. Had it not been for his exceptional medical prowess, with the way Cheng Qingyao was thrashing about, her minor injuries would have rapidly evolved into catastrophic wounds.

Once he finished writing the prescription and administering acupuncture to stabilize her, he called his disciple, grabbed his medical chest, and departed without casting a single glance backward.

The concubine-born sisters of the estate left after thoroughly enjoying the spectacular performance, their hearts filled with absolute satisfaction.

To think that even Cheng Qingyao would have a day like this.

Nobody noticed a silhouette crouched silently upon the roof beams. Once the people inside the room had mostly dispersed, the silhouette quietly slipped away without a sound.

Qiu Lan’s initial piercing shriek had drawn a substantial crowd of servants. The news that Cheng Qingyao had been thoroughly thrashed inside her own private chambers, leaving her face battered and bloated, rapidly disseminated across the capital. Ultimately, the rumors mutated into increasingly scandalous versions, claiming that Cheng Qingyao had been stripped of her chastity, destroying her reputation completely.

Regardless of whether she remained pure, no prestigious household would ever accept her as a daughter-in-law, and even ordinary families with modest backgrounds but upright values would completely eliminate her from consideration.

Hearing this news, Cheng Ruyi laughed so hard she could barely catch her breath.

She hadn’t anticipated that a simple act of delivering a beating would yield such an unexpected harvest.

Seeing the rumors turn increasingly outrageous, the members of the Marquis of Jian’an’s estate were forced to step forward to dispel the gossip. However, they couldn’t withstand the sheer volume of people who despised Cheng Qingyao. Their attempts to clear her name failed miserably; instead, another bucket of filthy water was splashed over them, entirely cementing the rumors that Cheng Qingyao’s purity had been compromised. Cheng Wanru naturally didn’t miss this golden opportunity, stepping in to add fuel to the fire.

When Cheng Ruyi found out, she felt exceptionally vindicated.

However, after Rong Mo brought back a specific piece of intelligence, Cheng Ruyi narrowed her eyes slightly: “This Cheng Qingyao’s intuition is remarkably precise!”

As expected of the female lead, she had immediately deduced that the perpetrator was her.

Unfortunately for her, absolutely nobody would believe her.

“Mo, is Cheng Qingyao feeling incredibly suffocated right now?” Cheng Ruyi inquired with immense delight.

Rong Mo nodded with a smile: “Indeed. Absolutely no one believes her. Your uncle even told her that if she wants to die she should just go right ahead, rather than slinging random accusations at innocent people!”

Cheng Ruyi let out a sly chuckle.

“As long as she doesn’t reveal the foul deeds she committed herself, nobody will ever believe a word she says. Everyone simply assumes Cheng Qingyao is desperately trying to splash dirty water onto my reputation.”

“Actually, even if she did reveal the truth, her reputation has long since turned completely rancid. No one would believe her anyway; they would simply declare it a classic case of bad karma returning to haunt its maker, haha!”

“If she dares to make another move against me, I will personally shave her head bald and dot six ordination marks on it, forcing her to become a completely bizarre, unorthodox nun, hmph!” Cheng Ruyi snorted coldly.

Rong Mo couldn’t help but chuckle.

His little wife’s methods of retaliation, aside from being straightforward and brutally simple, were always wonderfully eccentric.

But honestly, he looked forward to it immensely!

This Cheng Qingyao was indeed severely lacking a proper lesson, challenging their boundaries time and time again. It was only because his little wife possessed a relaxed disposition that she hadn’t bothered to lower herself to her level on several occasions. Once she actually decided to hold a grudge, the target would lose a layer of skin even if they managed to survive.

The reason Rong Mo hadn’t moved against Cheng Qingyao himself all this time was precisely because he wanted to leave her for his little wife to play with.

Rong Mo’s deduction was flawless. Cheng Ruyi wasn’t the type to let matters rest after a single simple beating. She was a person wielding mental energy; when she administered the thrashing, aside from carefully controlling her physical output, she had intentionally inflicted subtle fractures upon her bones. Although they were merely hairline fractures, the sheer agony of bone pain was absolutely torturous.

Particularly across her face, it would definitely take at least ten days to a fortnight before it showed any signs of recovery.

True to form, Cheng Qingyao felt relatively fine on the very first day; as long as she remained perfectly still, the pain wasn’t overly severe. But starting from the second day, the real torment began. Even though she lay confined to her bed every day, not daring to move an inch, her bones would still throb with agonizing pain from time to time.

Cheng Qingyao was thoroughly tormented by the ordeal.

She spent her days loudly clamoring that she would ensure Cheng Ruyi died a horrific death, leaving the servants attending to her trembling with fear, terrified of accidentally becoming the target of her venting wrath.

Qiu Lan suffered the worst, consistently serving as Cheng Qingyao’s primary punching bag.

Ultimately, the Madam of the Marquis of Jian’an’s estate lost all patience. She directly banished Cheng Qingyao to an outlying rural manor, dispatching several strict matrons to keep watch over her. As for when she might be brought back, that would entirely depend on future circumstances.

Cheng Ruyi kept a close eye on the aftermath surrounding Cheng Qingyao. Once she verified her banishment, she lost all interest in keeping tabs on her and redirected her focus entirely toward her own household. As the supreme mistress of Prince Rong’s estate, the responsibilities of managing the inner court devolved entirely upon her shoulders.

Fortunately, she had capable hands among her bridal entourage, such as Nanny Yang and Mo Xiang, who were perfectly equipped to assist her with auditing the account ledgers. Furthermore, Prince Rong’s estate had already undergone a thorough, comprehensive purge once before, leaving behind only the Prince’s most trusted loyalists.

Cheng Ruyi was far too lazy to introduce major changes, choosing to leave everything operating exactly as it had before.

As for the main treasuries, Cheng Ruyi handed their management completely over to Nanny Yang and Mo Xiang, storing her entire personal dowry securely inside.

It could be said that after her marriage, Cheng Ruyi’s daily life differed almost not at all from her unmarried days as a young lady back at the Changle estate. She didn’t face the burdens ordinary women encountered upon marrying into a new household—such as being forced to serve her mother-in-law to learn compliance, or getting entangled in frantic power struggles to seize control of the household keys.

Cheng Ruyi had no mother-in-law to contend with, and she held absolute authority over the inner court.

Such a lifestyle was bound to provoke immense envy from outsiders.

To ensure she could continue consuming delicious, specialized eggs, Cheng Ruyi made it a daily point to return to the Marquis of Changle’s estate to play the zither for her chickens and ducks. Her habit of returning home on the literal first day of her marriage had initially given both Madam Rong Susu and the Marquis of Changle quite a shock.

Fortunately, Prince Rong didn’t mind in the slightest, actually quite fond of his daughter-in-law’s uninhibited, unvarnished personality.

As for Rong Mo, aside from systematically taking over the networks, operations, connections, and massive wealth bequeathed to him by Prince Rong, alongside tracking down the hidden location of the Blood Hall, he was also actively fulfilling duties under the command of his imperial uncle, Prince Pingnan.

All in all, after their grand wedding, the daily life of the young couple remained practically unchanged from before. They frequently dropped by the Marquis of Changle’s estate for visits, occasionally staying over to enjoy a midday feast. The only major difference was the introduction of a brand-new physical activity when night fell—the couple would enthusiastically embrace, indulging in the passionate, sweet, and seamless joys of marital intimacy.

They had sworn an oath to systematically experiment with every single position illustrated within those adult booklets.

Their days were spent in absolute, unalloyed bliss.

Not only was the young couple thriving, but Prince Rong’s daily life had also become exceptionally flavorful and fulfilling. The man looked completely revitalized and significantly younger, drawing immense envy from countless royal relatives and court officials alike. Even the Emperor himself couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy over Prince Rong’s idyllic lifestyle.

As the weather turned increasingly cold, Cheng Ruyi followed the prevailing seasonal trend, switching into slightly thicker dresses and skirts. Though in reality, shifts in hot or cold temperatures had almost zero physical impact on her constitution.

When Rong Mo returned from his external duties, he immediately spotted his little wife standing atop the stone arch bridge, staring with intense concentration and visible salivation at the plump koi fish swimming merrily back and forth within the lake. His gaze softened significantly. Waving his hand to dismiss the attending pageboys, he walked over alone.

Cheng Ruyi had known of Rong Mo’s approach long ago, but she didn’t turn her head, her eyes remaining glued to the exceptionally fat koi fish as she drooled silently.

Before she began selling her miraculous medicines, the Marquis of Changle’s estate had been somewhat financially strapped, so they had possessed absolutely zero spare resources to cultivate fancy koi fish. This was the very first time Cheng Ruyi had ever encountered this specific species of fish.

She had been observing them for several days now, her mind entirely consumed by a single question: I wonder if they taste good?

Had it not been for Prince Rong mentioning that these koi fish possessed an exceptionally auspicious meaning—symbolizing immense wealth, good fortune, health, and profound happiness—she would have long since ordered the kitchen staff to whip up a feast so she could sample them.

However, even if they couldn’t be eaten, they could still be admired, couldn’t they? Thus, Cheng Ruyi made it a daily ritual to stand and watch the koi fish for a brief moment.

Right at that instant, a red-lacquered wooden box swayed gently before her eyes.

Cheng Ruyi raised her head in pleasant surprise, looking at Rong Mo beside her: “Mo, what is this?”

Rong Mo opened it with a warm smile. Laid out beautifully inside were three rows of fifteen small, golden-yellow pastries. He retrieved one and held it gently against her lips.

“This is a specialty pastry from Wuwei Pavilion, the most famous confectionery shop in the capital. Try a bite, it is delicious.”

Hearing this, Cheng Ruyi’s eyes lit up instantly. She opened her mouth and took a bite; the texture was incredibly delicate, melting the absolute instant it touched her tongue, leaving behind a rich, fragrant, and delightful milky aftertaste.

“Delicious!”

Hearing her praise, the smile in Rong Mo’s eyes deepened significantly. He continued to patiently feed his little wife the pastries, bite by single bite.

Mo Xiang and the other servants had long since grown accustomed to their overt displays of intimacy. Seeing the flawless, loving relationship between the Heir Apparent and the Consort was precisely what they desired most.

After consuming the pastries from Wuwei Pavilion, Cheng Ruyi was filled with absolute contentment.

“Mo, you look exceptionally pleased today. Has some joyful event occurred?”

Hearing her question, a genuinely relieved, unburdened smile spread across Rong Mo’s handsome face: “Mhm. The main headquarters of the Blood Hall has been successfully located and thoroughly annihilated. Only a handful of assassins managed to escape; the rest are all dead. We captured the Master of the Blood Hall alive. He claims to know the current whereabouts of Rong Ting, so I spared his life for now. However, he is a remarkably tough nut to crack; even under severe interrogation and torture, he refuses to reveal Rong Ting’s location.”

Rong Ting was his younger brother—the abandoned infant the Rong family had taken in all those years ago.

If it hadn’t been for his brother ultimately drawing away the pursuing assassins back then, Rong Mo’s bones would have long since turned to dust. Consequently, he had to locate him at all costs.

“Do you need my assistance?” Cheng Ruyi thought about it for a brief moment, inquiring with deep care.

The mental strength of ancient people was completely incomparable to her own. She was a hardened survivor who had personally slaughtered zombies; no matter how stubborn or unbreakable a target claimed to be, she possessed definitive methods to break them completely.

Rong Mo nodded. He truly did require his little wife’s unique capabilities. He desperately desired to uncover his brother’s whereabouts, to know whether he had lived a comfortable life throughout these missing years, to see his true appearance, to…

The mere thought of his brother, whose life or death remained shrouded in mystery, brought a wave of silent sorrow to Rong Mo’s heart.

Fortunately, they finally possessed a concrete lead.

Now, it was simply time to let his little wife showcase her terrifying might.

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