Anger surged in Wu Zhenhai's eyes. "Let's go!"
He wanted to go and see who had the guts to do such a thing.
"So it was you."
Looking at the frail woman kneeling before him, trembling with fear, Wu Zhenhai laughed in fury, grabbed the teacup on the table, and threw it violently to the ground.
Both Prince of Jin and he had made countless enemies, so Wu Zhenhai always thought that it was because of them that someone had noticed Mingzhu and found clues.
But to everyone's surprise, it was Mingzhu's own people!
The maid kneeling on the ground is named Jianchun. She was one of Mingzhu's two loyal servants when they were in the Zhou Family!
She remained loyal and devoted to Mingzhu even during those difficult times, but now she's changed?
Or was she always the villain lurking around Mingzhu?
After Zhou Xu "died," her maidservant was also burned to death.
After learning the truth, Wu Zhenhai asked Mingzhu how she had taken care of the two maids.
Wu Zhenhai believed that no one understood Mingzhu better than him.
In the first half of her life, Mingzhu received almost no warmth from anyone other than her birth mother.
The two maids were more important to her than anyone else in the Zhou Family.
She cherishes the kindness shown to her.
She would not fake her own death by stepping on the corpses of the two maids.
Therefore, Wu Zhenhai concluded that Mingzhu must have made other proper arrangements for those two people.
Mingzhu was still arguing with him at the time, and sneered, "What, are you going to confront them now?"
Wu Zhenhai said, "I'm not here to confront them; I want to thank them for protecting you until the very end."
"That's unnecessary; they all have their own good lives now."
Wu Zhenhai then confirmed that Mingzhu had indeed arranged an escape route for the two of them in advance.
Later, as their relationship gradually improved, he learned that Mingzhu had given each of them two thousand taels of silver.
To put that into perspective, when they were young and bought into the household, their value was only two taels of silver.
Whenever he thinks about these trivial matters, Wu Zhenhai is convinced that he has not loved the wrong person.
Mingzhu couldn't possibly remain indifferent to someone who was truly good to her.
This is what Wu Zhenhai kept telling himself during the long and difficult period of setbacks that followed.
As long as he treats Mingzhu well enough, better than anyone else, Mingzhu won't harden her heart.
Therefore, Wu Zhenhai was unusually angry when he saw that the one who betrayed Mingzhu was the very maid Mingzhu had treated with care.
"If you were with another master, do you think you could survive in that situation?"
Jianchun lower her head and sob softly, she did not answer.
Wu Zhenhai, his face ashen, continued, "She gave you two thousand taels of silver, enough to ensure you'd live a life of comfort for the rest of your days. Now I'm asking you, why did you betray her? What did she do to wrong you?"
Jianchun just cried and didn't say a word.
"Don't test my patience," Wu Zhenhai sneered.
Jianchun looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen from crying, and said, "My lord..."
Wu Zhenhai's patience ran out. He kicked her over, grabbed a branding iron from the side, and brought it directly to her face.
The searing heat from the branding iron, the pain, and the panic of disfigurement finally made Jianchun scream.
"My lord, no! I beg you, my lord, please take it away, please..."
Wu Zhenhai sneered, "I have a hundred ways to make you talk, so now it's your turn to beg me, not negotiate! Speak!"
The red-hot branding iron almost burned her skin. Jianchun's psychological defenses completely collapsed, and she cried out, "Because this servant loves you, my lord, this servant has loved you for a long time..."
Wu Zhenhai never expected that in this foolish maid's mind, all the cover-ups she had given Zhou Xu were actually her way of helping him.
He used her help?
Wu Zhenhai felt utterly disgusted!
Jianchun cried, "My lord, do you know? I've liked you for a very, very long time. But the young lady doesn't like you at all. She can say all sorts of sweet things to you in bed, but then she turns around and calls you Old Cabbage Stalk. I'm so indignant, I feel so sorry for you..."
"You don't deserve it!" Wu Zhenhai released his grip, and the branding iron fell without any mercy.
This kind of traitor, daring to covet the male owner's possessions, and constantly indulging in self-pity, is so disgusting it would make him want to vomit his dinner from the night before.
Jianchun screamed and fainted, the air filled with the smell of burning flesh.
Wu Zhenhai said coldly, "I've given the person to you all. After she dies, throw her body into the mountains to feed the wolves. Don't leave any of her clothes behind, and disfigure her face!"
"Yes."
Wu Zhenhai walked out of the dark room; it was already completely dark.
He took a deep breath and exhaled the stale air from his heart.
A woman's twisted love is terrifying; she disregards even the deep bond of years of mistress-servant or sisterhood.
It is clear that in the future, even maids will not be used in the inner courtyard. Instead, we should learn from the Prince of Jin's Residence and use either old women or young maids who have not yet come of age.
They're getting old, so let them out to avoid trouble.
What's most frustrating is that Mingzhu's unexpected disaster ultimately stemmed from him.
He wished he could go back now and give that idiot Jianchun a few more good stabs!
Soon after, a woman's screams echoed from inside the house.
Wu Zhenhai summoned his henchmen and ordered, "Keep her family completely shut! If this gets out, I'll take your heads!"
"Yes," the subordinate replied emphatically.
Wu Zhenhai still felt nauseous after returning home, and only felt better after taking a shower and changing his clothes.
He first went to check on Wu Yu and found that the child was reading again.
At first, he was somewhat pleased to see Wu Yu working so hard.
Is the Wu Family finally going to produce a scholar?
But later he found that the Zidu talk to him much and was engrossed in studying, so he started to worry that the child would become a bookworm.
However, he didn't disturb her. He instructed the maids and servants to take good care of her, and then went to find Mingzhu.
He stood at the entrance of Mingzhu for a long time, causing the old woman on night duty to look at him as if he were a patient.
Wu Zhenhai then straightened his clothes and went inside.
Mingzhu was writing a letter to Tang Zhuyun when she heard footsteps and knew it was him.
"Pour yourself a cup of tea. I'll finish writing this."
Wu Zhenhai obediently sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and looked at the Mingzhu under the lamp while touching the teacup.
Her skin was as white as snow, her features were exquisite, and her eyes were full of affection, making it impossible to look away.
Mingzhu wasn't unaware of his gaze, but she was already used to it, and still held the pen steadily in her hand.
After finally finishing writing the letter, Mingzhu looked up at Wu Zhenhai and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"Are you done with your work?" Wu Zhenhai asked instead of answering.
Mingzhu became even more certain that he definitely had something to say.
They knew each other so well that they could tell what the other was hiding with just a glance.
"Once you're done, tell me. Is it about the capital or the border region?"