klisemfg Chapter 2 Heart-killing
Chapter 2 Heart-killing
Xie Bohuai's words terrified everyone, causing them to tremble and kneel down. His cold gaze swept over them, and no one dared to breathe heavily.
Even Ye Wanning was wondering why Xie Bohuai said those things.
The man dared not respond to Xie Bohuai. He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Ye Wanning.
Their eyes met, and Ye Wanning couldn't discern Xie Bohuai's thoughts from his ink-black eyes, so she had no choice but to give up for the time being. Instead, she had someone bring the storyteller up, saying, "We have both witnesses and evidence. Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, I don't mind going to the government office."
Upon hearing that the matter was to be reported to the authorities, Xu Zhuling panicked even more and frantically tried to signal to the old woman, but Yunzhi blocked the old woman's way. Now that she had nowhere to turn for help, she could only plead and kowtow to Ye Wanning.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have made my sister angry. You can blame me however you want, but I don't know anything about this jade pendant or the storyteller..."
"So you don't know either?" Ye Wanning saw right through Xu Zhuling, leaned down and smiled, "You still only know this one trick, but who are you crying to? You and I have been making a scene at this door for so long, why didn't Zhou Yu come to say a word for you?"
They all knew in their hearts that Zhou Yu was in the mansion.
Ye Wanning was fully prepared for this trip. Even if Xu Zhuling came out to stall for time, her people would block all the doors to prevent Zhou Yu from escaping.
This time, she is going to win, while Xu Zhuling is destined to lose miserably.
Xu Zhuling was speechless, unable to think of any words to refute. Only when Ye Wanning ordered her things to be thrown away did she wipe away her tears and stand up. "Sister, your wedding with my cousin is imminent. Aren't you afraid of hurting your relationship by driving me away like this?"
As soon as she said it, Xu Zhuling realized that she had acted impulsively.
Ye Wanning had already stepped over the threshold. Mentioning Zhou Yu, a surge of hatred welled up in her heart, but she smiled faintly on the surface, "Zhou Lang and I have been friends since childhood. Someone as insignificant as you has done such a shameless thing. Do you think Zhou Lang would blame me for you?"
To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit. Ye Wanning is the eldest daughter of a noble family, while Xu Zhuling is just the daughter of a village chief. They are worlds apart. Even if Zhou Yu likes Xu Zhuling, he will still support Ye Wanning in public.
Upon entering the courtyard, Yunzhi immediately led her people to move things.
The servant brought Ye Wanning a wooden chair, and just as she was about to sit down, she saw Xie Bohuai and his servant also enter.
Perhaps noticing the surprise in her eyes, Xie Bohuai said considerately, "Speaking of which, our two families are distant relatives. Since you are in trouble today, I should at least help you out for a while. Miss Ye, you don't need to be so polite with me. I'm not particular about where I sit; I can sit anywhere."
As he spoke, he stepped across the corridor and sat down casually.
Ye Wanning couldn't sit still any longer. Distant relatives?
The Ye family and the Xie family were related by marriage across generations; she couldn't even count how many generations they were related. She was either her great-aunt from a collateral branch, or her great-aunt's aunt who married into the Xie family. They had long since lost contact; how could they be considered relatives?
But Xie Bohuai had already sat down, and Ye Wanning couldn't just kick him out. After all, everyone knew that it was better to offend a street dog than to offend Xie Bohuai of the Zhenfu Division.
He is ruthless and holds grudges.
Ye Wanning simply couldn't understand why Xie Bohuai had the leisure to meddle in her affairs.
Whether in her past life or the past eighteen years, she had no personal relationship with Xie Bohuai. In her past life, not long after she got married, Xie Bohuai led his troops to the border, where he made great achievements within six months, but also died on the battlefield.
This is someone she absolutely cannot afford to offend.
"Thank you for your trouble, sir." Ye Wanning invited Xie Bohuai to come inside and sit down, but Xie Bohuai declined. At this moment, Yunzhi came to deliver a message, whispering that Lord Zhou was in the backyard. She glanced at Xie Bohuai and then led her people to the backyard.
The mansion had three courtyards and wasn't very big. As soon as Ye Wanning saw Zhou Yu, she heard him accuse her, "I didn't know Zhu Ling had feelings for me, but she's my cousin. Even if it's for my sake, you should have brought her inside to talk. Why did you start a fight at the gate?"
Zhou Yu's father died early, and he was raised by his widowed mother. After passing the imperial examination, he was arranged by the Ye family to study at an academy in the capital, with the Ye family covering all his living expenses. He and Ye Wanning were supposed to get married three years ago, but Ye Wanning's parents passed away one after another, and the wedding was postponed again and again.
Last year, Zhou Yu became the top scholar in the imperial examination. Everyone praised the Ye family for their kindness and righteousness. If they hadn't valued friendship, they wouldn't have gotten a top scholar as their son-in-law.
People who used to tease Ye Wanning behind her back now praise her for her good fortune. Ye Wanning is now eagerly awaiting marriage and is even embroidering her wedding dress herself.
Before she could even ask Zhou Yu why he was there, Zhou Yu launched the first attack, which was quite amusing.
She must have been blinded by greed in her past life to not see that Zhou Yu was a ruthless wolf who would devour people without spitting out the bones. She suddenly remembered Zhou Bohuai's evaluation of her; he was indeed blind.
"I originally wanted to come inside to talk, but Xu Zhuling stopped me at the door." Ye Wanning harbored too much hatred towards Zhou Yu, but she had to remain calm and deal with him for the time being. "Zhou Lang, you didn't ask clearly before you started blaming me. Could it be that you two are in love?"
"Nonsense!" Zhou Yu retorted loudly, "I've always acted uprightly and honestly, how can you treat me like a shameless scoundrel?"
"Really? Then why are you here?" Ye Wanning asked, her question probing the very soul of the matter.
While Ye Wanning and Xu Zhuling were arguing, Zhou Yu had already come up with an excuse, "I was on my day off today and I was planning to go have tea with your brother. I just happened to be passing by, so I came in to take a look. My cousin and I have never had any romantic relationship. I didn't go out just now because I was afraid you would misunderstand. Please don't take it to heart."
It's understandable for a cousin to visit his cousin who lives alone. You need to have both evidence to catch someone cheating, and since Ye Wanning didn't catch them in bed together, it's impossible to prove their relationship.
However, this was something Ye Wanning had anticipated. In her previous life, the entire Ye family was executed, and she herself suffered a disgraceful and tragic end. Given a second chance, she didn't intend to let Xu Zhuling and Zhou Yu die so easily; she wanted them to experience despair first.
“Okay, I believe you.” Ye Wanning wrung out her handkerchief to wipe her eyes, feigning weakness. “I’m not intolerant. Zhou Lang is young and promising, and it’s normal for Xu Zhuling to have feelings for you, but she shouldn’t slander the Ye family. She can’t stay here. If you feel sorry for her, then take her with you.”
Before Zhou Yu became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he had been living in the Ye family's house. He bought the house last year after he became the top scholar, and Xu Zhuling was already living there at that time. Because Zhou's mother did not come to the capital, she asked Xu Zhuling to move in. However, Zhou Yu was afraid that it would affect him if he and Xu Zhuling were alone together, so he did not ask Xu Zhuling to move.
Moreover, Zhou Yu assumed that Ye Wanning was completely obedient to him and would never suspect him, so he never imagined that something like this would happen.
If he were to pick her up now, even if Ye Wanning believed him, outsiders would spread rumors about his ambiguous relationship with Xu Zhuling.
He and Xu Zhuling grew up together. He was able to study and pass the imperial examination thanks to the Xu family's financial support. Xu Zhuling was different to him.
But no matter how unique a woman is, nothing is more important than Zhou Yu's own future.
“No need. Since her intentions are impure, I will send someone to take her back to her hometown. Now that the bandits there have been quelled, I will buy her a few acres of land as a way of repaying the Xu family for their kindness.” Zhou Yu’s eyes were sincere. “Wan Ning, I don’t want anyone or anything to ruin our friendship.”
Ye Wanning suppressed her nausea, nodded and said okay. As soon as the two of them stepped out of the house, Xu Zhuling rushed over crying.
"Cousin, save me!"
Ye Wanning skillfully dodged, not even glancing at Xu Zhuling, but Zhou Yu knew he had to choose between the two.
Zhou Yu's ability to establish himself in the capital was inseparable from the Ye family's support, a fact known to all his colleagues, so the outcome was obvious.