Chapter 3: Poisonous Plot
Hearing what the butler said, Zi You mustered all her strength and said weakly "just divorce me…return my dowry…and I'll give up my position as your first legal wife…"
Before Zi You could end her sentence, she fainted.
What a pity, even after she fainted, he had no intentions of letting her go. Hong Xiang got his men to drag her into the storage room while he ran to Lan Xuan to discuss their next move. "That woman wants you to divorce her but are you really going to watch her bring the unborn child away?" said Lan Xuan. "Why don't I divorce her and return her dowry after the child is born?" replied Hong Xiang.
As soon as this sentence entered Lan Xuan's ear, she leaned onto Hong Xiang with her chest and acted all coy, saying "Is duke getting soft hearted? When that child grows up and learns that you treated his mother so poorly, isn't he going to hate you? Besides this child might not even belong to you. Moreover, that woman's dowry is a massive sum of sixty thousand silver tales. That money will allow us to enjoy life for several years. Even if you divorced her, she could live freely with this money outside the manor and maybe even find some other guys for herself! She is definitely going to make you wear a green hat. Speaking of which, our son on the other hand definitely belongs to you."
(Note: Wear a green hat means cheating on you with someone else. Once upon a time, there was a unfaithful wife cheating on her merchant husband with their neighbor. Since her husband was a merchant, he was seldom home. She made her husband a green hat. Whenever her husband came home wearing the green hat, she would be alerted by her servant and stop all activities with her affair partner.)
Malicious! Listening to Lan Xuan made Hong Xiang think of his father. While his father was alive, he had already suspected that Zi You of having an illicit affair with his father. With her 'track record', Hong Xiang couldn’t imagine what Zi You would do with her dowry after their divorce.
Zhao Hong Xiang's eye emitted a green glint as he grinded his teeth "A great men has to be ruthless! Tell me how should we get rid of her?"
Lan Xuan thought about it and replied "Let's just say she was caught cheating with a servant and was too ashamed thus she hanged herself."
Lan Xuan had a twisted look on her face as she said this.
Lan Xuan thought to herself "Bitch don't blame me for being cruel. Who told you to block my path? As the saying goes, heavens destroy those who don't look out for themselves. For the happiness of me and my child, both you and your child must die!"
Since Lan Xuan had her back facing Hong Xiang, he did not have the chance to look at her twisted and evil face. However, even if he did manage to see it, he would still think that it looks beautiful.
Otherwise why would people say birds of the same feather flock together?
"What should we tell her father if he came asking for an explanation?"
Afterall, Zi You is the granddaughter of the Old General and this made Hong Xiang feel fear.
Lan Xuan laughed "Relax, my aunt will help us. Her family will never come knocking on our door. Even if they did, don't forget that you now work for the emperor. We have nothing to fear. Besides, who would suspect that you would forsake your child?"
Hong Xiang was assured. He nodded his head proudly. His eyes were akin to a beast, fierce and cruel.
When night fell, a thunderstorm came. It was first the wind picking up speed followed by the lightning flashing across the sky. "Boom!" a deafening thunder sounded. That sound threatened to shatter the eardrums of all living beings, as if it was going to tear apart this ugly world.This was followed by a heavy rain.
Zi You was left dying on the ground of the storage room. She was awakened by the pain coming from her abdomen. Not having eaten for an entire day and subjected to the cold and wet environment in the storage room, she developed a fever.
Zi You felt her body burning, her throat and face hurt so much that she could not even open her mouth.