They fell from the top of the bed—some crashing heavily onto the bedding, some landing on the Clan Leader’s face, some staring at Lady Xiang with eerie red eyes, and others crawling along the edge of the bed from the foot to the head.
Lady Xiang only felt a noisy clamor in her ears, with furry foreign objects brushing past her ears and face. When she opened her eyes to look…
“Ah!”
“R-rats, there are rats, there are rats…”
She abruptly sat up from the bed, threw off the covers, and leaped down.
The Wei Clan Leader lying beside her was awakened by her loud cries.
He rubbed his eyes, looked at the large, fat rat right in front of him, shuddered instantly, and jumped up from the bed just like Lady Xiang. Then, grabbing a pile of clothes, he rushed out of the room with Lady Xiang.
The guards on duty in the courtyard were startled by the couple’s screams and quickly appeared in the yard.
“Master, Madam, what happened?”
“Rats, there are many rats on the bed! How useless are you at guarding the courtyard? Someone released rats into my room, and you didn’t even notice. What use are you fools?” Lady Xiang snatched an outer garment from the Wei Clan Leader’s hands, quickly wrapped it around herself, and scolded the guards angrily.
The Wei Clan Leader also fumbled to put on his clothes, his expression extremely grim. “Who released the rats?”
Lady Xiang’s face darkened. She turned to look at the courtyard gate and shouted, “Has Wei Hu returned?”
The guard He Yong replied, “Madam, we haven’t seen Young Master Wei Hu return.”
“Why hasn’t he returned after so long?” The Wei Clan Leader’s heart sank. “Send someone to check.”
As soon as the Wei Clan Leader finished speaking, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard. Soon, someone pounded on the gate, shouting loudly, “C-Clan Leader, L-Lady Xiang, the brothers have been captured!”
“Bring him in quickly,” Lady Xiang said impatiently.
He Yong immediately walked over and opened the courtyard gate.
Seven-year-old Wei Jiangbai fell hard to the ground but quickly scrambled up and knelt before Lady Xiang and the Wei Clan Leader. “Lady Xiang, please save the brothers!”
“Who captured them?” Lady Xiang stepped forward, grabbed Wei Jiangbai by the ear, and vented all her pent-up anger on the seven-year-old child.
Wei Jiangbai was lifted so that one leg left the ground while the other tiptoed. He covered the ear that Lady Xiang was gripping tightly and said, “It was the young mistress—someone claiming to be the young mistress. She brought many people and captured all the brothers. I was the first to climb over the wall, so I wasn’t caught. The young mistress locked them all in the woodshed. She said she would tell the Emperor when he arrives that the brothers released rats to bite the corpse, and she would have their heads chopped off.”
Lady Xiang’s expression froze, and she instinctively released Wei Jiangbai’s ear.
Wei Jiangbai fell heavily to the ground. Lady Xiang kicked him in the leg and said angrily, “You fools! How many times have I told you not to be caught by that woman? Otherwise, even a god couldn’t save you.”
“Lady Xiang, you must save the brothers! The young mistress said the rats bit the corpse, and the Emperor will blame us. He will definitely punish the brothers.” Wei Jiangbai knelt before Lady Xiang, reaching out to grab the hem of her skirt.
Lady Xiang kicked him away.
The Wei Clan Leader had already finished dressing.He walked over to Lady Xiang with a cold expression and said, “If the Emperor finds out about this, neither of us will escape blame.”
“That jinx Lady Zhu is truly a curse. She hasn’t even been married for a full day, yet she’s already thrown the entire household into chaos, bringing misfortune to everything.” Lady Xiang lowered her gaze to Wei Jiangbai, a venomous glint flashing in her eyes. She pointed at him and ordered, “Tie him up.”
Wei Jiangbai’s face paled. He tried to flee, but several guards quickly seized him.
Lady Xiang approached him, grabbing his hair. “Listen carefully if you want to live. Go and kowtow to Lady Zhu to apologize. No matter what she demands of you, take responsibility and confess. I’ll handle the rest and ensure nothing happens to you.”
“R-really?” Wei Jiangbai stared at Lady Xiang’s menacing expression, his heart gradually turning cold.
He could see it now—Lady Xiang intended to push them out as scapegoats. His brothers were finished.
“Jiangbai, you’re the smartest. Once you safely get through this ordeal, I’ll immediately open the ancestral hall and adopt you as my son. Then you’ll be my child and can join your brothers in the Wei family’s martial training grounds.”
Lady Xiang patted Wei Jiangbai’s head, her voice growing increasingly gentle.
Yet Wei Jiangbai couldn’t help but shiver, shrinking back in fear. He retorted, “Does Lady Xiang want me to take the blame? To tell the young mistress that I alone released all those rats, so my brothers can return?”
“So clever.” Lady Xiang smiled and asked, “Then, Jiangbai, are you willing to take the blame for your brothers?”
“Will the young mistress believe me?” Wei Jiangbai frowned deeply.
He thought Zhu Changsheng was very intelligent, but…
He truly didn’t want his brothers to die. “If sacrificing me alone can bring my brothers back, I’m willing to take the blame. But could you promise not to let my brothers do such wicked things in the future?”
“You…” Wei Jiangbai’s final words angered Lady Xiang, but remembering he still had his uses, she suppressed her rage and assured him, “I only meant to teach the Celestial Lone Baleful Star of Wei Mansion a lesson, to scare her away so she wouldn’t stay in the Wei residence and bring misfortune to the clan. I never expected her to capture your brothers and demand the Emperor punish them. It shows how malicious she is. Don’t worry, Jiangbai. I’ll make sure your brothers are treated well. I’ll have someone take you to Wei Mansion. Go and confess properly to the young mistress.”
Wei Jiangbai slowly lowered his head. “Alright, I’ll go and confess.”
After persuading Wei Jiangbai, Lady Xiang immediately stood up and exchanged a few meaningful glances with He Yong.
He Yong strode forward, pulled Wei Jiangbai up from the ground, and took him back to Wei Mansion.
As soon as Wei Jiangbai left, Lady Xiang turned to the Wei Clan Leader and said, “Husband, hurry and fetch the clan registry. Those twenty-some children are likely beyond saving.”
She had no intention of letting Wei Jiangbai shoulder all the blame alone. Instead, after he confessed, she planned to shift the entire guilt onto the other children.
After all, who would believe a seven-year-old child like Wei Jiangbai could catch so many rats and transport them into Wei Mansion alone?
It was a pity, though—all her efforts over the past year and a half had been ruined by Zhu Changsheng.
That damned Zhu Changsheng.
Meanwhile, at Wei Mansion, Zhu Changsheng had ordered Wei Yuan’s body to be returned to the coffin.Wei Yuan stood beside his own coffin, carefully explaining the relationships among the clan members to Zhu Changsheng once more.
“The clan leader has an elder brother named Wei Jin. Everyone in the clan calls him the Old Clan Leader. He is fifty years old and used to manage all the affairs of the Wei Family. However, fifteen years ago, after all four of his sons died in battle and his wife passed away from illness, he handed over the clan affairs to the current clan leader. Since then, he has lived in seclusion in the encircling dragon house behind the ancestral residence, rarely appearing in public. Now that Lady Xiang and the Wei Clan Leader are acting increasingly recklessly, it might be better for you to send someone to inform the Old Clan Leader of the whole story and ask him to step in and uphold justice. Lady Xiang and the Wei Clan Leader are still quite afraid of him.”
Although Wei Yuan was merely a wisp of a soul, seeing how Lady Xiang and the Wei Clan Leader were bullying Zhu Changsheng made him feel deeply uneasy.
At that moment, he noticed Zhu Changsheng leaning close to his corpse, staring intently at his eyebrows and eyes.
He paused slightly and called out, “Mr. Zhu, are you listening to me? What… are you looking at?”