Chapter 623: That Demi Immortal
Chapter 623: Chapter 623: That Demi Immortal
Ren Er rushed home. As the family’s most favored daughter, the maids in her mother’s courtyard saw her coming and let her straight through.
A maid said, "There’s a guest who has traveled a long way, a cousin of the mistress, she says. She’s inside speaking with her now."
Ren Er was feeling utterly wronged and was in no mood to care that Mrs. Ren was with a guest. She couldn’t wait to make her mother take action and drive out that detestable Ren Liuyue and her husband.
"Mother!" She threw the door open, her face streaked with tears, startling Mrs. Ren inside.
The middle-aged woman sitting opposite her immediately lowered her head, her shifty, rat-like eyes secretly sizing up Ren Er.
Ren Er saw the woman’s coarse clothes and couldn’t help but frown.
’My mother is the governor’s wife now. Where would a poor relative like this come from?’
The middle-aged woman rose to greet her. "Young Miss, it’s been many years. You’ve blossomed into such a beauty."
"And you are...?" Ren Er frowned, her expression skeptical.
Mrs. Ren, holding her teacup, said, "She was your wet nurse. I sent her away on an assignment when you were two. She just returned to Ling Mountain City, so you probably don’t remember her."
The middle-aged woman nodded along. "That’s right. When I left, the Young Miss had just learned to talk. You were so adorable. After all these years, you’ve grown into a graceful, beautiful young woman."
Ren Er didn’t care about this wet nurse. She gave a dismissive nod and said to Mrs. Ren, "Mother, I need to speak with you. Alone."
Taking the hint, the middle-aged woman stood up to take her leave. As she neared Ren Er, however, she caught sight of her swollen left cheek.
"Oh my, Young Miss! What happened to your face? That’s a huge slap mark! Who hit you?" the woman exclaimed.
Mrs. Ren’s expression immediately turned grim. She held out a hand. "Xin’er, come to Mother. Let me see what happened to your face."
At her mother’s show of concern, Ren Er burst into tears and threw herself into Mrs. Ren’s arms.
"Mother!" she sobbed. "That bitch Ren Liuyue seduced Zhao Lei, and then she fought with me over a roll of fabric! We got into a huge argument at the Guangxiu Building."
Mrs. Ren frowned. "What? Ren Liuyue? Her? How could she possibly bully you?"
"Normally, she couldn’t. But her husband, Fang Huan—who was just a poor scholar—has somehow become an honored guest of Mr. Cui! Mother, you didn’t see it. The way Mr. Cui was defending Ren Liuyue and Fang Huan... he was so deferential, it was as if Fang Huan was his master!"
Finished, Ren Er clutched Mrs. Ren’s arm and pleaded, "Mother, Zhao Lei was humiliated too, and now he’s taking it all out on me! I can’t swallow this insult. I can’t bear to see Ren Liuyue parading around the city. You have to find a way to completely ruin her, just like how you drove her mother to an early grave..."
Before she could finish, Mrs. Ren clapped a hand over her mouth.
The middle-aged woman lowered her voice. "Young Miss! Be careful, walls have ears. Back when Ren Liuyue’s mother passed away, it was because she was fated for a short, unlucky life. It had nothing to do with us."
Only then did Ren Er seem to understand, and she nodded obediently.
Mrs. Ren’s slanted eyes narrowed, giving her a harsh, severe look. "I knew there was something off about this Fang Huan. A few years ago, your wet nurse paid a visit to Ren Liuyue’s home. She didn’t get to see Ren Liuyue, but she had a brief encounter with Fang Huan."
The middle-aged woman nodded emphatically. "I remember it very clearly. The real Fang Huan is short, thin, and pale-skinned. He has a thumb-sized burn scar on his arm, near his elbow."
"As you instructed, Mistress, I went to Fang Huan’s home village to ask around. His family was poor, his parents died long ago, and his house was falling apart. If he hadn’t done some studying as a child, he never would have been hired as a tutor for Ren Liuyue’s maternal grandparents."
"How could a man from his background possibly be an honored guest of Mr. Cui? Something is definitely wrong here!"
Ren Er was pleasantly surprised. "So, Mother, you’ve suspected Ren Liuyue and him all along?"
Mrs. Ren glanced at her daughter and let out a smug little hmph.
"If I wasn’t keeping an eye on her, do you think I would tolerate her living right under my nose all this time? When she returned with Fang Huan, I thought it was strange. The way they spoke and carried themselves was completely different from the Ren Liuyue I remembered."
"But she had an answer for everything I asked. So, I decided to investigate Fang Huan instead. And just as I expected, I dug something up. Now, I’m almost certain that the man with Ren Liuyue is not Fang Huan at all."
The middle-aged woman added emphatically, "And based on my investigation, I suspect the man with Ren Liuyue is her secret lover!"
Ren Er was shocked. The accusation was audacious. "Ren Liuyue? Would she have the nerve? Then where is the real Fang Huan?"
"He’s most likely dead!" Mrs. Ren said. "I overheard your father telling his subordinates that a man’s body was found at the bottom of a cliff. I’m afraid it was Fang Huan. If he’s dead and Ren Liuyue is alive, it’s highly likely that she and her lover murdered him."
Hearing this, Ren Er’s eyes lit up with a venomous gleam, like a snake flicking its tongue.
"That’s perfect! Once we expose her, neither she nor her lover will escape unscathed!"
Mrs. Ren nodded. "But we can’t make a move just yet. Your father is aware of the situation and has already arranged for some of the elders from Fang Huan’s village, people who know him well, to be brought here. When the time comes, we will expose that lover’s identity to his face. We’ll see how arrogant they can be then!"
Hearing the plan, Ren Er almost clapped her hands in delight.
But then she remembered something, and the color drained from her face.
"Mother... that little bitch Ren Liuyue... I think she really can command lightning. If we go after her, will she retaliate against us?"
"You silly girl, you actually believe that? Your father told me he wrote to ask that patron of his. He said it’s all likely just a coincidence and that we have no reason to fear her."
Only then did Ren Er feel relieved.
She had known since she was a child that her father’s rise from a mere commoner to the governor of an entire commandery was thanks to the guidance of a powerful figure behind the scenes.
This person was a master of divination, able to predict when influential figures would arrive in Ling Mountain City. He even foresaw the exact route General Liang would take to pursue the deserters from Changliu Country. Her father had sold this information to the soldiers of Changliu Country for a hefty sum of gold and silver, a betrayal that led to General Liang’s death.
All of this had been within that man’s control. Governor Ren revered him as a god and was completely at his beck and call. But over the years, Ren Er had only managed to glean fragments about this divine figure’s special nature from her parents’ hushed, private conversations.
But since that man said it was nothing, there was no reason to be afraid of Ren Liuyue.
Ren Er’s expression twisted viciously. "This time, Ren Liuyue must be utterly ruined! I’ll make Father disown her and cast her out of the Ren Family!"
Mrs. Ren told the wet nurse to fetch some ointment for Ren Er’s face.
"Don’t be impatient, Xin’er. If I could drive her mother to an early grave, I certainly have ways to ensure she’ll have no place to stand in all of Ling Mountain City. Tomorrow, your father’s men will arrive with Fang Huan’s kinsmen. You just need to wait for the good news!"
A figure, crouched by the doorway, overheard this. Their body went rigid before they slipped away unnoticed.