Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Beating Them at Their Own Game

Liang Wan let the woman vent her fury, slumping softly to the ground. She lowered her head and remained silent, looking incredibly wronged.

"A—Mrs. Liang, look at the time. If we delay any further, I fear the Fourth Lady will be in grave danger. The top priority is to rescue her as quickly as possible!"

A man suddenly stepped forward. His expression was fraught with worry, his tone urgent.

Liang Wan glanced over from the corner of her eye. It was none other than Mrs. Zhang’s cousin and Liang Jiao’s biological father, General Wuwei. His expression was somewhat awkward; it was clear he had struggled for a long time before finally stepping out.

Mrs. Zhang’s teary eyes froze for a moment before she covered her face and sobbed even harder.

How ironic. Compared to Liang Cheng, he indeed acted more like a father.

His abrupt interjection left Liang Cheng surprised and somewhat bewildered.

General Wuwei shot a glance at Mrs. Zhang. "If Mr. Liang does not mind, I am willing to offer my humble assistance and join the search and rescue for the Fourth Lady."

Liang Cheng was a bit taken aback, but considering the man’s cousin relationship with Mrs. Zhang, he didn’t overthink it. "Thank you for your trouble, General," he said gratefully.

The farce finally came to an end. Without waiting for the guests to depart, Liang Cheng and General Wuwei led a group of men out to search. Mrs. Zhang was grounded by Liang Cheng’s orders. Over at Liang Zhang’s bridal chamber, everything was still in chaos; the bride from the He Family and Liang Jing were busy seeing off the guests, and Liang Wan didn’t have a moment of rest either.

Only after most of the guests had left did Cui Hao, his wounds now bandaged, walk out with the support of a colleague.

Liang Wan had just seen someone off. On her way back, she ran right into him. She stopped in her tracks, watching Cui Hao approach step by step until he came to a halt right in front of her.

He turned his head and smiled at his colleague. "Wait for me for a moment."

His colleague looked hesitant and slightly worried. "I’ll be at the door. Call me if you need anything." With that, he cast a highly displeased look at Liang Wan. "I often hear Dr. Lin praise the late Grand Tutor Liang for his profound knowledge and his moral integrity as pure as jade. I truly never expected his family’s ethos to be like this. Cui Hao suffered such severe injuries because of you all, yet you... truly—"

He shot her a look of absolute disdain, flicked his sleeves, and left.

This sudden scolding left Qiuxi stunned. By the time she thought of a retort, the man was already far away. She could only glare angrily, blaming herself for being too slow with her words.

Liang Wan didn’t show the slightest hint of anger; her gaze was as calm as a placid pool without a single ripple. It was quite comical. After this incident, everyone now believed that Cui Hao was a benefactor to the Liang Family and to herself.

"You inflicted those injuries on yourself! Sacrificing your life to snatch back the indenture contract?! You are utterly despicable!" Qiuxi fumed angrily.

Liang Wan watched with indifference. The men in black were hired by Song Tan to put on a disguise, so how could they possibly take anyone’s life? He put on this whole act just to earn a good reputation and draw everyone’s attention!

"So what?" With his colleague gone, Cui Hao dropped his disguise, no longer the elegant and refined young gentleman. "Go tell them now. Would they believe you?"

Qiuxi had never known Cui Hao’s true methods, so suddenly witnessing this was naturally hard for her to accept. Liang Wan comforted her with a few words and sent her back first.

Once Qiuxi had left, Liang Wan finally looked at him with a smile. "Why did you switch sides at the last minute?"

Cui Hao looked at her and suddenly laughed. "Awan, you’re wrong. I never intended to be used as their pawn."

That smile was filled with calculation. Liang Wan shook her head, only feeling that Mrs. Zhang’s efforts were worthless. "They were just pushed into a corner, which is why they thought of using you against me. You’ve suffered plenty of their ridicule and insults in the past. Today can be considered your revenge and redemption!"

Cui Hao shook his head in denial. "I didn’t do this just to vent my anger."

Liang Wan nodded. "That’s only natural. You are now an Assistant Teacher at the Imperial College. As long as you climb up step by step, you’ll eventually achieve your desires. Why would you ruin your own future for a petty, short-term gain?"

Mrs. Zhang thought Cui Hao was just a shortsighted, destitute scholar who could be manipulated with mere beauty and wealth. In truth, she didn’t understand that for someone like Cui Hao, the longer he was mocked by others, the more he wanted to obtain and prove in his heart!

A smile slowly spread across Cui Hao’s face. "You really are the one who understands me best! I told you, I did this so that one day, I would be worthy of you!"

Liang Wan was slightly taken aback before she burst into relentless laughter. "Then I wish you smooth sailing all the way, and may your wishes come true soon!"

Cui Hao wiped the smile off his face and frowned at her. "Awan, you really have changed. To get rid of Mrs. Zhang, you actually bribed men in black to abduct the Fourth Lady."

Liang Wan’s eyes curved into a smile as she looked at him. "Yes, I have changed. Speaking of which, you were the one who taught me to be this ruthless!"

Too lazy to waste any more words on him, Liang Wan let out a cold sneer and walked away.

"Did you kill Zhang Shi?" an urgent voice rang out behind her.

Her footsteps paused. It wasn’t too surprising that Cui Hao could guess it. Since he was only pretending to be unconscious back then, how could he not know she had murderous intent toward him?

Seeing Liang Wan stop, Cui Hao sighed. "I know it was you."

At first, he had always assumed that Lu Xiu had rescued Liang Wan from Zhang Shi’s clutches. However, after asking around, he learned that while Lu Xiu was indeed at Tongle Hall that night, he had zero contact with Zhang Shi. What was even more bizarre was that the Ministry of Justice had changed its tune, publicly declaring that Zhang Shi wasn’t murdered, but had accidentally knocked over an oil lamp while drunk...

Outsiders didn’t know the inside story, but he was clearer on it than anyone. If Lu Xiu wasn’t the one who killed Zhang Shi, then it had to be Liang Wan. The fact that the Ministry of Justice closed the case so quickly obviously meant someone had exerted pressure. And aside from Lu Xiu, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would apply such pressure. After all, Liang Wan’s attitude toward Lu Xiu was enough to explain everything!

Liang Wan smiled faintly, not looking back. "So what if it was me? And what if it wasn’t?"

The case was already closed. Even if it weren’t, Cui Hao would absolutely never whistle-blow for the sake of his own future. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to escape implication either.

"Since you know the truth, that I was the one who almost got you—why didn’t you kill me just now?"

He had clearly seen her pull out her hairpin and felt its sharp point pressing close, just a hair’s breadth away from piercing his throat, yet she had pulled her hand back...

Liang Wan smiled and cast a glance back at him. "Whatever you think it is, it is."

Cui Hao stared intently into Liang Wan’s eyes. They rippled with a watery gleam, like a bright lamp in the dark night. But what they illuminated was not a path to a bright future; rather, it was a trap brimming with danger and temptation.

By the time Cui Hao snapped out of his daze, Liang Wan was already far away.

After a whole night of turmoil, Liang Wan collapsed onto her bed. She stared blankly at the bed canopy, an indescribable exhaustion washing over her entire body.

Qiuxi bolted the room’s door before approaching, fraught with worry. "Will those men in black that Song Xiaolang hired expose their tracks?"

Liang Wan turned her head to the side. "It’s best if they expose themselves. They were only there for a bluff to scare people anyway. Ajiao and the others will be taking a completely different route."

Qiuxi frowned. "The Fourth Lady doesn’t know the truth, right? Does she still think the people traveling with her are the ones she hired herself?"

Liang Wan looked back up at the canopy. Whether Liang Jiao knew or not didn’t matter at all. She just hadn’t expected Cui Hao to take advantage of the chaos, fishing in troubled waters to earn himself a good reputation for nothing.

Remembering something, Qiuxi propped up her head and sighed with emotion. "I really never would have thought! To think that the renowned Tan Lang actually knows people like traveling merchants, wandering swordsmen, and outlaws?"

Liang Wan propped herself up. "That’s because you’ve never seen him with his face smeared pitch-black with grime!"

"You mean Song Xiaolang?" Qiuxi’s mouth dropped open in shock.

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