Liu Zhiyi's ears perked up at this, and she shot to her feet. She was determined to see who hated her so much that they wanted her dead.
Even though the woman was disfigured and crippled, a single glance was enough for Liu Zhiyi to recognize her. After all, she had been on her mind for so long, how could she forget her so easily?
She wanted to poison her. The motive was clear. The only question was whether it was her own doing, or if she had colluded with Zhu Chenxing to deal with her.
Li Wenwen immediately looked at Zhu Chenxing with pleading eyes. He turned away, unable to meet her gaze. He knew that falling into his wife's hands would not end well for her, but he was in no position to save her himself.
Li Wenwen was completely disheartened. She turned to the second young madam and sneered, "He and I were childhood sweethearts. You insisted on interfering. Now, you have him, but you've lost his heart. Do you know that the poison in your body was administered by me?"
Zhu Chenxing was shocked. This implied Liu Zhiyi was poisoned? He quickly shook his head, denying it frantically. "Don't listen to her nonsense. What poison? I never gave any such order. We are husband and wife; how could I harm you?"
"How could I not? My presence here is proof enough. How could a frail woman like me escape a burning building? And who healed my injuries and brought me into the Zhu family? You did all of it. You resent being beaten by her and are angry that she broke us up." He wanted to stay out of this, didn't he? Li Wenwen decided that no one would have peace.
"Don't listen to her lies. How could I possibly do such a thing?" Zhu Chenxing was stunned by her madness, how she dragged him down with her. At this moment, he truly regretted not having appeased her properly. Although he had explained to Liu Zhiyi, her expression told him she didn't believe him.
Honestly, Liu Zhiyi was more inclined to believe Li Wenwen. Ever since she had beaten him last time, he had been avoiding her, and his face showed resentment. Regardless of whether Li Wenwen was telling the truth or not, their being in the same room together now, standing side by side, spoke volumes.
"You scoundrel Zhu Chenxing, just you wait. Tomorrow I'll tell my father, and you'll have to face his wrath. You Zhu family have harmed me to this extent; retribution will surely follow."
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked at the woman before her with disbelief. She hadn't expected her to be so audacious as to try and kill her. Li Wenwen sneered, pulled out the knife, and plunged it forcefully into her abdomen again.
The terrified onlookers finally snapped out of their stupor. "Miss, Miss, are you alright?"
"Quick, send for a doctor!"
"If anything happens to my lady, none of you will escape."
...
Zhu Chenxing was petrified. He didn't know how things had escalated to this point, nor what to do next.
"What are you waiting for? Stop them quickly! If they get back to report this, will you still have a life?" Li Wenwen, looking at the slumped Zhu Chenxing, shouted at him.
Zhu Chenxing was completely flustered, his mind a blank. Thinking of the Grand Tutor's protective nature towards his daughter, he had only one thought: he absolutely could not let him know.
He quickly ordered his men to stop all the dowry servants Liu Zhiyi had brought with her, preventing them from leaving.
Zhu Chenxing and Wu Caiwei had already heard the commotion and knew something had happened. People they had planted in the manor had even witnessed Li Wenwen killing Liu Zhiyi. This was interesting. Were these two going to flee?
How could that be? If they ran, it would be all over for those left behind, who would then have to face the fury of the Grand Tutor's household. Moreover, Wu Caiwei couldn't just stand by and watch Liu Zhiyi die.
"What should we do now?" Zhu Chenxing, utterly panicked, looked at Li Wenwen.
"Of course, we pack our things and leave quickly. Do you think the Grand Tutor's household will let us off if you killed Liu Zhiyi?"
"I didn't kill her; you did."
"Who would believe that?"
Li Wenwen rolled her eyes. It happened to be Zhu Chenxing's study, so she quickly began packing the valuables inside. In her haste, she even ran to his room and retrieved the hidden banknotes and silver, then grabbed a bundle, ready to leave.
Zhu Chenxing grabbed her arm. "Leave now?"
"What else? Do you think stopping them means everything is safe? Don't be naive." Li Wenwen had already thought it through. No matter what, she had killed the person, and many had witnessed it. If she were caught by the Grand Tutor's household, she wouldn't survive. There was a mountain not far outside the capital, and she planned to hide in the mountains for a while.
Zhu Chenxing hesitated. He knew Li Wenwen was right. Despite his parents' apparent concern for him, if it threatened their power and wealth, they would likely push him aside without hesitation.
His mother might be reluctant, after all, he was her only son. As for his father, Zhu Yuxuan's health was improving, and he had recently passed the imperial examination. He was in high spirits, and with him poised to bring glory to the Zhu family, losing him might even be an opportunity to appease Zhu Yuxuan.
After some thought, he took a horse from the stable and quickly left. He thought the same as Li Wenwen; he didn't want to be entangled with her anymore. To him, Li Wenwen was too crazy. If she did anything else, it would be too disadvantageous for him.
In fact, after Zhu Yuxuan recovered, he had made contingency plans. He had bought a manor in the suburbs and stocked it with plenty of grain. Most of his wealth was buried there. For Zhu Chenxing, as long as he reached the manor, he had a fallback.
The next morning, the atmosphere in the Zhu household was unusually tense. The dowry servants brought by the second young madam, confined to the woodshed, were constantly cursing, and it was impossible for passing Zhu family servants not to hear them.
However, the content of their curses was too shocking, and most people didn't want to get involved, letting it go in one ear and out the other. Yet, there were still some in the manor who wanted to take advantage of the situation.
Liu Pengyuan walked grandly down the bustling street, contemplating where to enjoy himself. He was a little puzzled when a servant stopped him.
"Young Master San, you may not recognize me, but I remember you. You often visited our manor to see the second young madam. I am from the Zhu family. There is something I must tell you. Something big happened in our manor last night. The second young master bribed the guards at the gate with a lot of money and left the city under the cover of night."
Hearing this, Liu Pengyuan felt it was irrelevant, as it didn't concern him much. What he cared about was his sister. As long as his sister was living well in the Zhu family, everything else was fine. However, the next words left him stunned, and he didn't even notice the things in his hands falling to the ground.
"What did you say? My sister is dead? Who did it?" The third young master stepped forward, grabbed the servant's collar, and glared at him as if he were going to devour him.
The servant was frightened and stammered, "The manor has sealed the news. The second young master has fled. I don't know the specifics."