Chapter 24: Chapter 24: A Good Deed

As soon as the words fell, the expressions of everyone present changed. Qiuxi stared at Chun’er in utter disbelief. A maidservant secretly fornicating with a man outside the household was a crime punishable by being beaten to death!

"You—" Cui Hao’s face flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears, overwhelmed with both anger and shame.

Liang Wan looked at him with crescent-shaped, smiling eyes. She slowly slipped a gemstone ring off her finger and tossed it right at him, her voice light and cheerful. "Consider this your payment, Cui Xiaolang!"

The ring struck his body and bounced off, hitting the ground with a sharp CLINK before spinning to a halt.

"Liang Wan!" Cui Hao glared at her, humiliated and furious, looking as if he were about to explode.

Liang Wan shook her head and let out a low laugh. "What, Cui Xiaolang, you can’t handle selling yourself just once?"

"My Lady, it’s all my fault!" Tears fell from Chun’er’s eyes, landing with a steady PATTER. "I was the one who seduced Cui Xiaolang. If you must blame someone, please blame me—"

Chun’er had sustained severe injuries and had spent the night in the damp, dark woodshed. Her face was as pale as a ghost, and her body was covered in purple bruises. As she wept, her tear-stained face looked incredibly pitiful.

Cui Hao stiffened his neck and unnaturally averted his gaze.

Liang Wan propped her chin on her hand, watching them with relaxed amusement. "By all rights, a domestic servant caught in such an act should be beaten to death. But Chun’er, you’ve served me for quite some time. How could I ever bring myself to do such a thing?

"So rest assured, I absolutely will not have you beaten to death. You don’t need to put on this melodramatic display! Besides, didn’t I just tell you? I will help you fulfill your deep devotion to him!"

Chun’er’s eyes lit up. That was right; Liang Wan had already returned her indenture contract. Her teary eyes looked toward Cui Hao with joy, but the moment her gaze met his, the hopeful gleam faded, leaving only a bitter smile.

Liang Wan pretended not to notice, a barely perceptible sneer touching her lips. "The Liang Mansion absolutely cannot keep you any longer. However, since the two of you have already consummated your relationship, shouldn’t you take some responsibility, Cui Xiaolang?"

Cui Hao glared at her with hatred. "You’re only humiliating me like this because you’ve latched onto the Lu Family! At first, when Feng Qingyue said you were the one who planted that drug, I didn’t believe it. I just thought she was jealous of you and framing you. But looking at it now, this was clearly a trap you deliberately set to get rid of me!"

Liang Wan’s dark eyes widened in mock surprise before she burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she trembled, tears nearly spilling from her eyes. Faced with such brazen mockery, Cui Hao felt utterly humiliated, his face flushing completely crimson.

After laughing for quite a while, Liang Wan sighed helplessly. "Ah, Cui Xiaolang, I told you long ago that we are merely casual acquaintances. Please, stop saying such things that might cause misunderstandings!"

"Cause misunderstandings? Who would misunderstand? Lu Xiu?"

Yesterday in Yulin Garden, rumors about Liang Wan and Lu Xiu had been flying everywhere. People were saying all sorts of things. He had already been eaten alive by jealousy and anxiety over Feng Qingyue’s words, and after hearing others speak with such conviction, how could he rest easy without coming to ask her in person?

Liang Wan raised an eyebrow at him. "That is none of your business."

"You actually say it’s none of my business?!" Cui Hao’s expression grew especially ugly.

Liang Wan blinked repeatedly, looking completely baffled. "Cui Xiaolang, do you and I have our parents’ blessing or a matchmaker’s arrangement? Has the Liang Mansion ever accepted a betrothal gift from you? Without a shred of proof, you continue to harass me relentlessly. Do you want me to report you to the magistrate?"

Dropping his facade of scholarly refinement, his voice turned ice-cold. "I truly never imagined you could be so heartless!"

Liang Wan beamed, though her smile was steeped in profound callousness. "You certainly seem to have plenty of heart to give, so why come to me just to humiliate yourself? From the Marquis’s wife down to a lowly maidservant, aren’t they enough for you?"

Shooting him a sidelong glance, Liang Wan dropped her smile and stood up, looking rather bored. "Qiuxi, send them away. This is terribly tedious!"

Watching her cold retreating figure, Cui Hao’s heart went numb. Were all her past gentleness and consideration nothing but a sham? But everything had been perfectly fine before that day—

Right!

Suddenly, something flashed through Cui Hao’s mind. His eyes shifted, his heart pounding wildly. "Awan, what exactly happened on the day we agreed to meet?"

He actually dared to ask her that, after what he had done? Liang Wan stood with her back to him at the bottom of the steps, her eyelashes veiling the heavy hatred in her eyes as she spoke in a light, airy tone. "What? Didn’t Chun’er tell you?"

She turned her head and flashed a smile at Chun’er. "Then you two can take your time talking about it when you get back."

Just as she was about to leave, Cui Hao lunged forward, grabbed her arm, and forcefully yanked up her sleeve. Unable to break free, Liang Wan slapped him across the face.

Yet even then, Cui Hao refused to let go. He stared at the guardian sand on her snow-white arm and burst out laughing. "You really were lying to her! I knew it! You were lying to her!"

Zhang Shi was dead, and Lu Xiu was the one who had escorted Awan back. This meant Lu Xiu had rescued Awan from Zhang Shi’s clutches and killed him! No wonder the case had been closed so hastily! No wonder Awan had fallen for Lu Xiu!

Hope reignited within Cui Hao. He gripped her tightly with both hands, refusing to let go. "Awan, don’t listen to Feng Qingyue’s nonsense. I’ve only ever had you in my heart. You’ve misunderstood me about certain things—"

Misunderstood? Liang Wan felt so disgusted she wanted to vomit. She kicked at him with all her might. "Don’t touch me!"

Qiuxi and the other servants hurriedly rushed forward and pulled Cui Hao away. With red, furious eyes, Liang Wan glared at Cui Hao and spat, "Throw them out!"

Cui Hao and Chun’er were forcefully dragged away. Liang Wan watched their retreating figures without uttering a single word.

Would this Cui Hao ever give up? Just as Qiuxi was worrying, she saw Liang Wan raise her hands. Acting as if no one else were around, she untied her cloak and stripped off her outer robe, dropping them straight onto the ground without a second thought.

Qiuxi was shocked. "My Lady?"

Only then did Liang Wan turn around. She gave her a soft smile. "Burn them."

A chill ran down Qiuxi’s spine. She nodded quickly and carefully gathered up the discarded clothes. Just as she was about to leave, she paused and frowned. "My Lady, it is your kind heart that spares Chun’er after she committed such a scandalous act behind your back. But please, take my advice—you should never see them again."

A scandalous act? To outsiders, Cui Hao and Chun’er merely had an illicit affair. Aside from herself, who else could possibly know the true, tangled depths of this mess?

Thinking of Liang Cheng’s fierce, man-eating demeanor, Qiuxi couldn’t help but grow distressed. "My Lady, if you just let Chun’er go like this, the Family Head will surely implicate you if he finds out!"

Let her go? How could that be possible? Liang Wan’s smile deepened, a cluster of fire seeming to ignite in her eyes. Letting them go was out of the question. After all, this was only the beginning. They had yet to taste the suffering she had endured!

Her eyes curving into crescents, she smiled. "First, take these clothes far away and burn them. Then, go fetch the book I asked for this morning." With that, she strolled away in a carefree manner.

Qiuxi watched her relaxed, leisurely steps, feeling completely baffled. Wasn’t her lady furious just moments ago? How was it that she seemed to be in an even better mood now than before?

The sun gradually slanted westward. In the past, Liang Wan would always look for any excuse to run outside, but now she wished for nothing more than to gather everything she needed and never step foot out her door!

Leaning over her desk, she flipped through a medical text. After reading for the better part of the day, she was feeling a bit frustrated. She had skimmed through nearly all of her Father’s medical books. However, what she desperately needed to research right now was not how to cure illnesses and save lives, but rather how to kill someone without leaving a trace!

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered using the guise of medical consultations to do the exact opposite. But if another doctor were to take over, her methods would easily be exposed. It simply wasn’t safe. Furthermore, that person was certainly not lacking in good doctors!

What should she do...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.