Zheng Rui froze in place, and Su Yaoyao was completely dumbfounded!
Su Lingqing had been out all night. They had assumed there was only Tao Yong in her room, but now another voice appeared!
Everyone else was shocked as well. The servants of Weirui Pavilion exchanged glances, realizing no one was missing so what exactly was happening in that room…?
Su Lingqing quietly curled her lips into a small smile, then it faded just as quickly.
Zheng Rui happened to see this.
The woman was furious, her stomach twisting in knots. She knew that little brat Su Lingqing had definitely done something sneaky!
All these years, she had never spent an entire night praying at the temple, yet last night she had gone?!
No one would believe it if she said so!
But there was nothing she could do Su Huai believed her.
The piercing screams ceased. Zhou Jianyue deliberately edged closer to Su Huai.
“Sir, Jianyue is so scared… the residence suddenly feels so chaotic…”
Seeing the woman she loved cower like that made Su Huai both angry and protective. Su Lingqing quickly instructed, “Jianjia, Jingzhe, go inside and see what’s happening!”
The two of them exchanged a glance and immediately obeyed. Su Lingqing then told Su Huai, “Father, that is my room after all. I’ll go in and see as well.”
The man, irritated, ignored her. Su Lingqing walked straight inside.
Zheng Rui was still kneeling on the ground, her knees cold and aching. If she didn’t rise soon, she might end up with a chronic problem.
But thinking of what had just happened, she gritted her teeth and endured.
Inside, Su Lingqing saw the expressions of Jingzhe and Jianjia both stunned, speechless.
She dropped her pretense and calmly walked over, looking at the person lying completely naked on the bed.
Old Madam Zhou’s face was terrified; her swelling and bruises were still shocking, her features almost unrecognizable.
“Ah… ah!!” she screamed in fear and helplessness, not recognizing Su Lingqing at all.
It seemed the chaos of last night had fully returned to her memory, leaving her in a dazed, almost deranged state.
Jingzhe, being slightly braver, quickly regained composure and stammered, “Miss… why is Old Madam Zhou here? And with that person…”
As a pure young maid, Jingzhe couldn’t continue her sentence. Her face flushed red, and her eyes held nothing but disdain.
Old Madam Zhou was already quite old why was she entangled with a young man?
And if she wanted to be entangled, why not in her own room? What business did it have in Weirui Pavilion?
Su Lingqing looked coldly at Old Madam Zhou on the bed, her gaze as icy as when she had looked at Tao Yong like she was looking at a dog.
The young girl raised a hand to lightly cover her nose. “Open all the windows. Last night must have been intense; the smell lingers.”
Jianjia and Jingzhe’s faces turned crimson.
A cold wind blew from all directions. Old Madam Zhou, wearing nothing, shivered violently, her lips turning a dark blue.
Su Lingqing smiled slightly. “Cover her with a couple of clothes. Otherwise, it won’t be decent to bring her out for Father to see.”
Old Madam Zhou had flaunted her power in the residence for over a decade, tormenting everyone in Weirui Pavilion.
Jingzhe and Jianjia roughly threw some clothes over her.
Old Madam Zhou was covered in bruises; besides Su Lingqing, the one who hated her most was Jingzhe. The young girl took the opportunity to pinch her waist, making her howl in pain again.
Soon, Su Lingqing stepped out first, her face full of shock and trembling.
Su Yuan squinted, quietly asking, “Second Sister, what did you see?”
Su Lingqing raised her eyes, glanced at him, said nothing, then looked at Zheng Rui kneeling on the ground.
The woman on the floor stiffened, confused by her gaze.
What did that look mean? Did she have some backup plan?
Su Huai, seeing her remain silent, urged impatiently, “What happened? Speak quickly!”
Su Lingqing suddenly became embarrassed, wishing she could disappear into the ground. “Father… forgive me, I cannot speak it… but… you will soon know!”
Everyone saw her attitude, curiosity skyrocketing. They craned their necks to peek into the room.
Soon, Jingzhe and Jianjia walked out together, their expressions mirroring Su Lingqing’s but with one extra person among them.
Everyone turned to look at this newcomer. Zheng Rui saw first, her voice caught in her throat, struggling to breathe.
She collapsed to the ground. Su Yaoyao rushed to help her and saw Old Madam Zhou too.
“Ah!!” She, like Zheng Rui, collapsed, pointing forward, trembling violently.
How… how could it be Old Madam Zhou?!
What on earth was going on?!
Su Yaoyao suddenly regretted acting so recklessly was she truly too rash, causing this entire situation?
If she could just open her eyes and find herself lying in bed, realizing it was all a dream, it would be perfect.
But reality didn’t allow it. Su Huai, full of suppressed anger, strode forward and grabbed Old Madam Zhou by the hair, yanking her up!
Seeing her face, the man oddly calmed down.
No one knew what Su Huai was thinking during those few quiet seconds.
Until Su Lingqing suddenly knelt before him, sobbing: “Father… Lingqing truly doesn’t know what has happened! When I entered the room and saw Old Madam Zhou, I thought I had gone into the wrong room. Why were the two of them in Weirui Pavilion doing that…”
Her voice choked with sobs. “Father, I am so frightened! If I hadn’t impulsively gone to pray for you last night, I might have been the only one involved! If that had happened… even if I died, I couldn’t have restored your reputation!”
She spoke with heartbreaking sincerity. Zheng Rui and Su Yaoyao sat together, speechless.
Su Yuan seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation, his fingers whitening as he clenched his fists.
So foolish.
He sighed internally, already plotting how to protect his mother and foolish sister.
At the same time, he stared steadily at Su Lingqing.
Such a clever, cunning, and beautiful woman how could she have such close blood ties to him?
Zhou Jianyue stepped forward to support Su Lingqing. “Eldest Miss, the floor is cold. You’ve been praying for Sir all night take care of yourself.”
Finally, Su Huai moved. His face was like ice as he turned to his legitimate wife.
Zheng Rui slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze, her nose and eyes reddened from the cold, looking striking in a different way.
But Su Huai, always fond of beauty, still had a gaze as icy as a frozen river.
“So this is your family. Well done, Zheng Rui.”
At those words, even Su Yuan could only kneel, hoping to gain his mother some mercy.
Zheng Rui, tears streaming, voice trembling: “Sir, there are still many doubts. Old Madam Zhou was severely injured and brought back just a few days ago, still recovering in the courtyard she could not suddenly appear in Weirui Pavilion. Someone must have done this on purpose, to frame her!”
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Su Lingqing in front of Su Huai.