Chapter 3

“Lately, I’ve been having this dull ache in my stomach. Today, the doctor took my pulse and said I was mildly poisoned. Just now, my maid, Xiang’er, went to the kitchen and saw Dong’er slipping medicine into the duck soup she was brewing for me! Dr. Chen, tell the Young Master what kind of medicine this is!”

Dr. Chen, who was standing to the side, immediately stepped forward, handing a packet of medicine to Fu Yu. “This is an oxytocic agent. If a pregnant woman consumes it, it will induce a miscarriage.”

“Dong’er and I have no grudges against each other; she wouldn’t do this to me for no reason! Ah Yu, I’m afraid, I’m afraid that…”

Fu Yu pulled Chen Yuwei into an embrace. He walked over to Jiang Mei, pinched her chin, and asked in a dark, heavy voice, “Was it you?” His voice was deep and icy, his eyes gloomy, his face like eternally unmelting frost.

Jiang Mei couldn’t fathom that just this afternoon, they had been riding horses together.

“It wasn’t me, and Dong’er wouldn’t do such a thing either.” Jiang Mei crouched down in front of Dong’er. “Dong’er, what exactly is going on?”

Dong’er looked up at Jiang Mei, tears pooling in her eyes. She grabbed Jiang Mei’s hands. “Miss, I’m sorry! Young Master, the Miss knows nothing about this. I did it on my own. The last time the Young Madam scolded and beat me, I held a grudge…”

“Enough!” Fu Yu kicked Dong’er to the ground and pointed his sword at Jiang Mei. “Did you order her to do this? How could you be so vicious as to scheme against my child?!”

“Eldest Young Master, it really has nothing to do with the Miss! It was me, it was all me!”

As Dong’er spoke, she suddenly sprang up and threw herself right at Fu Yu’s sword. The blade pierced straight through her body, and she crumpled limply to the floor.

“Dong’er!” Jiang Mei shrieked. In her hand, she clutched a pale pink pearl. Dong’er had secretly pressed it into her palm just moments ago.

Fu Yu frowned, pulling out his sword and wiping the blood away. He turned to ask the doctor, “How is the child?”

“Fortunately, the poisoning is mild. There’s no serious harm,” the doctor replied.

Dong’er was dead. Jiang Mei knew she died unjustly. She held Dong’er’s body, weeping silently.

Fu Yu stared at Jiang Mei coldly. “Jiang Mei, losing your own child was your own doing! I never expected you to have such a viper’s heart to plot against my child!”

“I didn’t! And Dong’er was framed! Fu Yu, was my child not your child too?” Jiang Mei looked up, staring at him, her face streaked with tears.

“Dong’er already confessed, yet you’re still stubborn!” Fu Yu stepped forward and glared at her. “Jiang Mei, Yuwei is my bottom line, you should know that! I’ll have to think about how to dispose of you! Whether to feed you to the dogs or break one of your legs!”

His words sliced through Jiang Mei’s heart like a knife. Five years of love, and he actually wants to feed me to the dogs! In his eyes, what exactly am I?

“Eldest Young Master, the Miss really doesn’t know anything. Dong’er has already paid with her life, please spare the Miss.” Nanny Zhou knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.

Chen Yuwei was weeping sorrowfully.

“Fu Yu, since I’m such an eyesore to you both, just kill me!” Jiang Mei’s heart had turned to ashes.

“Want to die? Fine, but killing you would be letting you off too easy! Men, lock her in the secret chamber first! Without my permission, no one is allowed to give her food!” The secret chamber was actually the dungeon of Zijun Villa, located in the basement.

Jiang Mei was locked inside.

It was freezing and damp. Rats scurried about, and large swaths of dark red blood stained the walls.

Jiang Mei sat on the ground, staring at the pale pink pearl in her palm. She recognized it—it belonged to Xiao Hong. She had realized it the moment Dong’er secretly pressed it into her hand.

She had given both Xiao Hong and Dong’er a pearl necklace each; Dong’er’s was made of white pearls, while Xiao Hong’s was pale pink.

She hadn’t seen Xiao Hong since dinner. Earlier, when Dong’er died, she had seen Xiao Hong’s expression instantly relax.

As Jiang Mei was lost in thought, the chamber door opened, and Nanny Zhou walked in.

“Why are you here?” Jiang Mei asked.

“I begged the guard for ages. I wanted to bring you a blanket, but he wouldn’t let me. He only allowed me to come in and check on you. Miss, when have you ever had to suffer such torment!” Nanny Zhou burst into tears.

“Nanny Zhou, don’t cry. Look at this. Dong’er gave it to me just now. Her death is connected to Xiao Hong! After you go out, secretly follow Xiao Hong. Remember, do not let yourself be discovered. I had no intention of harming anyone, yet someone wants my life! You must be careful, and don’t come back down here unless it’s urgent!”

After hurrying Nanny Zhou away, Jiang Mei sat on the freezing floor, lost in thought.

Her two years of marriage to Fu Yu, though loveless, had been peaceful. But ever since Chen Yuwei entered the household, everything changed. She was framed for eloping with a man, framed for murdering Fu Yu’s child, and now it had even cost Dong’er her life!

Jiang Mei’s gaze turned sharp. She had been pampered since childhood, but she was by no means stupid.

In Chen Yuwei’s room.

Fu Yu held Chen Yuwei in his arms, yet his eyes were somewhat distant. He had finally gotten his wish, marrying his beloved Yuwei, so why didn’t he want to let Jiang Mei go?

In the middle of the night, Fu Yu received news: the An Family Army had launched a sneak attack on Qinglong Mountain, capturing four of his men and burning down one of his warehouses. He got up and left in a hurry.

In the secret chamber, Jiang Mei lay curled up in a corner.

The door opened. Chen Yuwei walked in, followed by a dark-skinned soldier.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Jiang Mei asked coldly.

“Jiang Mei, your complexion looks good. It seems this environment suits you quite well!” Chen Yuwei sneered.

“Chen Yuwei, you’re already married to Fu Yu, what more do you want? You have a child in your belly, accumulate some good karma!” Jiang Mei turned her face away.

“Jiang Mei, are you just unwilling to accept defeat?! You still dare to seduce him! You knew Fu Yu was going horseback riding, so you deliberately went to the racecourse to fly a kite, didn’t you?”

“Boring!” Jiang Mei found her to be completely unreasonable.

“Come here. Since the Young Master isn’t around, to prevent this woman from escaping, put the shackles on her!”

The man behind her immediately stepped forward, pinned Jiang Mei down, and locked a pair of specially-made shackles around her ankles. These shackles were exclusive to the Fu family; the ankle rings were lined with tiny spikes so that every step would inflict the pain of being pierced by needles.

They were meant for special prisoners.

Despite her struggles, the man locked them securely in place.

Chen Yuwei stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Mei by the hair, and dragged her forward. The spikes on the shackles dug into Jiang Mei’s tender, white ankles, instantly drawing fresh blood!

“Jiang Mei, do you know what you did wrong? You actually let Fu Yu hold you while riding a horse! What a wide repertoire of tricks you have! Now, why don’t you fly a kite for me to see?”

Jiang Mei shoved Chen Yuwei away. In response, Chen Yuwei slapped her fiercely across the face, sneered, and threw her to the ground before swaggering away.

On Qinglong Mountain, Fu Yu looked at the corpses of the soldiers laid out outside. He had ordered his men to snatch them back. The heads of the four men were almost burned to ashes; they had been used as ‘sky lanterns.’ Their bodies were a bloody, mangled mess, unrecognizable as human.

“An Zhentian, I swear I am not a man if I don’t annihilate you!” An Zhentian had tried to destroy the Fu family three years ago. Back then, it was Jiang Mei’s father, Jiang Shan, who helped bring down the An family. He never expected that three years later, An Zhentian would rebuild his forces and even become the Garrison Commander of Zhaishan!

At this thought, Fu Yu suddenly remembered Jiang Mei. A chill ran through his heart. He quickly asked Liu Hao, “How many days have I been here?”

“Three days.”

“Back to Fancheng!” He suddenly remembered he had starved Jiang Mei for days. A sudden panic gripped his heart, as if something terrible was about to happen. Since when did this woman have the power to affect my mood?!

Jiang Mei had been in the cold, damp secret chamber for two days. She hadn’t eaten a bite. Her body was weak, her lips cracked. Without Fu Yu’s order, no one dared to bring her food.

Fu Yu, you are so cruel. You’d rather starve me to death than let me leave! Jiang Mei felt her heart turn completely to ice.

She was running a slight fever, and her ankles were in agonizing pain. Dazed, she curled up in the corner. The door suddenly burst open, and Nanny Zhou rushed in.

“Miss,” she said, helping her up.

“Why are you back? Did you find something out?”

“Miss, you have to come with me, quickly! Chen Yuwei is going to kill you tonight! Let’s get out first, we’ll talk once we’re out!” Nanny Zhou supported her, trying to walk out.

“Ah!” Jiang Mei cried out in agony.

“Who… who put this on you? This is a sin!” Nanny Zhou began to cry.

She crouched down, took off her own outer garment, tore it into strips, and carefully wrapped them around the shackles. “This way, it won’t make a sound when you walk.” She didn’t yet know about the inner ring of fine needles.

“But how can we get out?” Jiang Mei’s body was entirely limp; she had no strength left.

Nanny Zhou had brought water, and Jiang Mei eagerly gulped down a few mouthfuls.

“I found someone. Miss, there are still people willing to help us. The guards at the door drank the spiked tea I gave them and are all unconscious. Let’s hurry!”

Supported by Nanny Zhou, they secretly slipped out of the dungeon.

“Miss, I followed Xiao Hong these past two days. It turns out she’s Chen Yuwei’s person! They controlled Dong’er’s family to force her into falsely accusing you of harming the baby in her womb! Dong’er didn’t want to hurt you but had to consider her family, so she killed herself! Chen Yuwei also said she’s going to finish you off tonight! I just overheard it.”

“I knew she wouldn’t tolerate my existence! Dong’er died too unjustly!”

“Let’s escape! I can see it now, the Young Master doesn’t want to let you go, but right now, he only has eyes for Chen Yuwei. He listens to whatever she says! You’ll never have a good day if you stay here!”

“I know. I’m just unwilling to accept it.” Utterly exhausted, her ankles throbbing with pain, she leaned on Nanny Zhou’s arm and slowly walked outwards.

“We’ll take the west side gate!” Nanny Zhou whispered.

Just as they reached the artificial rockery beside the west side gate, they heard voices coming from inside the hollow rocks.

“Here is what you wanted. He’s been keeping a tight watch lately, I hadn’t had a chance to give it to you.” It was actually Chen Yuwei’s voice.

“Mhm, two years, and I finally got it!” A man’s voice replied.

“What exactly is this?”

“The military layout and underground structural map of Qinglong Mountain. Fu Yu’s military stronghold is at Qinglong Mountain, and legend has it, his treasure is there too!”

“No wonder you asked me for this two years ago! But I’ve never heard Fu Yu mention any treasure on Qinglong Mountain.”

“Who cares, we’ll rob it first and talk later! Did he go to Qinglong Mountain?”

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Of course I know. This is our strategy. The ones who ambushed the An Family Army weren’t Fu Yu’s men, it was us. Our men dressed up as the Fu Family Army just to provoke a conflict between them!”

“All this deceit and scheming, it’s so annoying! When can I leave? I don’t want our child to be born in this place!” Chen Yuwei complained.

Jiang Mei was horrified. What did Chen Yuwei mean? The child in her belly wasn’t Fu Yu’s? Wasn’t she Fu Yu’s true love? Who was this man? What other strategies did they have? Were they trying to destroy Fu Yu?

Nanny Zhou grew tense and accidentally slipped. The two people inside instantly went silent.

Trembling all over, Jiang Mei hunched over and pulled Nanny Zhou up. Just as they were about to flee, a cold gun barrel was pressed against her head.

“Jiang Mei, you’re quite impressive to make it out of the secret chamber,” Chen Yuwei said with a sweet, venomous smile.

Jiang Mei couldn’t clearly see the face of the man pointing the gun at her, only sensing that he was very tall.

“Chen Yuwei, the person Fu Yu loves most is you. How could you betray him!”

“Ha, he’s the one who betrayed me! Two years ago, when he married you, I stopped loving him. I didn’t come back because I love him! Remember the day I arrived at the Fu estate and took a bullet for him? I arranged that. Otherwise, how could I have made him divorce you and marry me?!”

“These past two years, Fu Yu was married to me, but all he thought about was you! How could you betray him!”

“But he changed! He had you in his heart! I’m a woman, I see it clearly, even if he refuses to admit it!” Chen Yuwei gnashed her teeth.

“Enough talking. I originally planned to have him take you away tonight, but I didn’t expect you to deliver yourself to our doorstep! Wu Xiang, take her out and finish her off. Make sure to leave no survivors!”

Nanny Zhou rushed forward to shield Jiang Mei. “Someone come quickly! Catch the thieves—!”

Thud! The man raised his hand and plunged a knife straight into Nanny Zhou’s chest!

“Nanny Zhou!” Jiang Mei watched helplessly as the older woman collapsed right before her eyes.

“Who’s there?!” A sharp shout rang out from behind.

“Hurry, take her and go! Make sure you don’t leave her alive!” Chen Yuwei shoved the man.

The man covered Jiang Mei’s mouth, scooped up her struggling body, and rapidly retreated through the west gate!