It was the only time Feng Rou had ever asked her husband for help.
However, her husband hadn't taken her request seriously. He had followed his elder brother's lead and made his own decision, resulting in an outcome completely different from what she and Feng Rou had wanted.
The words she had spoken to comfort Feng Rou were actually meant for herself. It was just that her life had been rather meaningless.
By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Huangfu Sishu was already fast asleep, oblivious to her feelings and continuing to coax her.
She mused that with her once-high academic qualifications, she was now no different from an ordinary housewife.
...
Feng Rou returned to Feng Yan's home.
Upon seeing her, Feng Yan immediately asked if Jin Dan had agreed to help their Feng family.
Feng Rou, on the verge of collapse, hadn't mentioned the Feng family's matters to Jin Dan at all. She ignored Feng Yan and went straight to her room, locking the door from the inside.
Feng Yan anxiously waited outside the door. Seeing Feng Rou's demeanor, he guessed she hadn't succeeded and realized he would have to call Jin Dan himself tomorrow.
With the situation being so urgent, if they didn't establish a connection with the Huangfu Group, their Feng family would truly be finished.
Feng Rou smashed everything in the room, unable to quell her resentment for a long time.
The Xie family was now facing retribution, but she felt no sense of satisfaction.
With Xie Zhendong now a vegetative state, even if the Xie family collapsed, he wouldn't feel any pain.
The Xie family's old madam had also passed away, which she hadn't expected.
That old woman only knew how to protect her son. When Xie Zhendong had treated her so poorly and abandoned her, the old madam hadn't helped her.
Now that the old madam was dead, she wouldn't experience the pain of the Xie family's complete destruction!
She calmed her emotions and called Lian Ma's phone.
"Lian Ma, it's me."
Lian Ma recognized her voice and habitually addressed her, "Madam."
She hadn't heard that title in a long time, and her heart trembled slightly. She asked, "I heard the old madam passed away, is that true?"
Lian Ma sadly affirmed, "The old madam passed away two days ago. The Xie family has now collapsed, and I couldn't even hold a grand funeral for her."
"I was the old madam's daughter-in-law for many years, and I want to pay my respects," Feng Rou said.
Lian Ma hesitated, recalling that Feng Rou had already divorced the young master and that the young master had been very heartless towards Feng Rou.
"Madam, there's no need. We only held a simple funeral at the Xie residence, so you don't need to come."
"Lian Ma, Feng Zhendong and I divorcing is between us. My feelings for the old madam are unrelated to that. I just want to fulfill my duty to see the old madam off on her final journey. Are you not even going to allow that?"
Lian Ma couldn't find a reason to forbid her from attending the memorial service. She reluctantly agreed, "You still have this sentiment, thank you."
...
The next morning, Susu went from her studio to the Xie family mansion to pay respects to the Xie family's old madam. She had contacted Zhan Zhipeng in advance.
Zhan Zhipeng knew she would be coming and waited for her at the main entrance.
He escorted Susu into the Xie family mansion. As soon as Susu entered the hall, she saw the portrait of the Xie family's old madam.
She directly went forward to offer incense, not paying much attention to the relatives standing on either side in mourning attire.
After offering incense, when someone invited her to rest in the side hall, she noticed Feng Rou standing by the portrait with a gloomy expression.
She had seen Feng Rou twice at high-society banquets and recognized her.
However, back then, Feng Rou and Xie Qining's mother and son were in their prime and always targeted Lan Yu, so they wouldn't have noticed her.
Therefore, she didn't pay much attention when she saw Feng Rou staring blankly at Zhan Zhipeng.
Zhan Zhipeng accompanied her to the side hall and poured her a cup of tea.
Not many people had come to pay respects to the old madam, and there were few people in the side hall at the moment.
She could tell that Zhan Zhipeng's expression was somewhat unnatural, as if he was apprehensive about something.
Susu asked, "Why is Xie Zhendong's ex-wife here too? And she's wearing mourning attire, is she keeping vigil for the old madam?"
Zhan Zhipeng said irritably, "Who knows? She ran over early this morning. She was wearing mourning clothes when she arrived. Lian Ma said she came to offer incense, but after offering incense, she started acting like the hostess and refused to leave."
Susu couldn't help but gasp, feeling that the current Feng Rou exuded a strong sense of resentment, which was quite unsettling.
"Later, you quietly tell Lian Ma to have someone responsible for the funeral ask her to leave. After all, Xie Zhendong is still lying here, and I'm afraid she might do something drastic."
Zhan Zhipeng nodded in agreement, not wanting to speak of that unlucky woman anymore. He asked Susu, "How is my sister doing in the Commercial Crimes Investigation Bureau? Can she be bailed out? She's innocent, right?"
Susu recalled that Gui Nan had contacted her last night and said, "The lawyer I hired for your sister said this case is still winnable. The lawyer is currently understanding the situation in detail. Your sister is likely innocent, but evidence still needs to be found."
Zhan Zhipeng breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that a lawyer was helping Zhan Jiayi, so he was less worried.
Susu only intended to offer incense and leave, not wanting to stay long. She said, "Then I should be going too, I have things to do at the studio. At this time, you can only rely on yourself to help your sister with the Xie family's affairs."
"I know," Zhan Zhipeng said as he escorted her to the entrance of the Xie family mansion.
Susu had driven herself there, so she drove herself back to the studio.
She hadn't told anyone about this trip to the Xie family to pay respects to the Xie family's old madam, not even Tian Yi, so she couldn't delay for too long.
...
After Susu left, Zhan Zhipeng quietly called Lian Ma out of the hall and asked her to call the funeral company to escort Feng Rou out.
Lian Ma was also troubled. When Feng Rou called her last night, she had clearly said she was only coming to offer incense.
But after arriving, Feng Rou had no intention of leaving and remained in the mourning hall. She didn't know what she intended to do.
Lian Ma repeatedly agreed, saying, "Okay, I'll contact the funeral director right away. I really can't bring myself to say it."
Zhan Zhipeng nodded and went to attend to other matters.
After Lian Ma finished calling the director, she returned to the hall to find Feng Rou gone, which greatly frightened her.
While calling Zhan Zhipeng, she searched the mansion for Feng Rou.
Lian Ma's first thought was of the room where Feng Rou and the young master used to live, so she hurried to the second floor.
Upon opening the young master's former bedroom, she saw that all the decorations had been destroyed.
She then searched all the rooms on the second floor but couldn't find Feng Rou.
A jolt went through her as she remembered the room on the first floor that had been converted into a sickroom where the young master was lying. She immediately went downstairs to find it.
The door to the sickroom on the first floor was tightly shut. She tried to push it, and the door immediately opened.
The scene before her stunned her. The medical staff taking care of the young master had all fallen in a pool of blood. Fortunately, the young master was still unharmed, lying on the sickbed.
However, she didn't see Feng Rou in the room either. She only saw the young master staring at her with wide eyes, trying to say something but only able to make muffled sounds.
"Young master, are you alright..." As she approached the sickbed, she realized the young master wasn't looking at her but at her back.