His roar struck like a sudden blow to the head, stunning everyone in the room into silence.
Ye Jintang’s sobs were abruptly cut short, leaving her hiccupping uncontrollably.
Though Su Yun usually respected her husband, she couldn’t bear to see anyone bully her precious daughter.
When she recovered from the shock, her expression turned displeased as she shot a reproachful glare at Li Jinu.
Then she chided, “Why must you shout so suddenly, Houye? You’ve frightened the child.”
She gently comforted the person in her arms as if soothing a young child.
Ye Jintang was indeed startled. She knew that a child’s suicide was considered a grave offense, but she felt no panic inside.
She remained confident that once the blood-written Death Note was seen, everyone would be deeply shaken.
Her mother would be heartbroken, her brother would protect her, and even Zhennan Hou, who was usually stern, would surely feel pity for the daughter he had raised for over a decade.
She lifted her eyes, watching her father approach slowly, tears welling up and falling one by one.
Yet the expected comfort never came. Instead, she was met with Zhennan Hou’s thunderous wrath.
Slap!
The sharp slap landed on her face. In that instant, what she felt wasn’t just shock, but even more so, humiliation.
Where had things gone wrong? She had been driven to suicide by that country bumpkin! How could her father still hit her when she was already so miserable?
Li Jinu clicked her tongue secretly. Zhennan Hou’s slap was powerful enough to stun even a pig.
“If you provoke him, you’re in for a world of suffering!”
She had witnessed such a slap in her previous life—though it had landed on her own face. Without exaggeration, she had lost a molar from it.
The room was in chaos. With no one paying attention to Li Jinu at the moment, she slowly moved to the spot she had overlooked yesterday and began examining it carefully.
Meanwhile, at the center of the storm, the two weren’t the only ones in shock. Su Yun was on her feet almost immediately.
Until now, she had always been a dutiful wife—supporting her husband, raising children, respecting her in-laws, and speaking to her husband in soft tones, never having quarreled.
But seeing her pampered daughter struck so harshly was something she couldn’t tolerate.
She pulled her daughter away and roared:
“What are you doing? She’s still a child! How could you hit her?”
Ye Siyuan’s hands were trembling. Clenching his teeth, he forced out his words:
“Child? She’s full of schemes! Even the lotus seeds in the lake don’t have as many holes as her mind!”
He flung the Death Note at Su Yun’s face and spat out each word:
“Su Shi, look at the fine child you’ve raised! She’s right about one thing—she truly deserves to die!”
Su Yun, baffled by the scolding, picked up the Death Note defiantly and read it word by word.
The contents on that paper were like icy water, gradually dousing the fire of anger in her heart. By the time she finished reading, she couldn’t bear it and fainted.
The room descended into instant chaos. Maids hurried to fetch the house physician, while Ye Zeyu curiously picked up the paper, his expression growing darker with each line he read.
Though the room was noisy, the atmosphere was eerily somber, as if attending a funeral.
If Ye Jintang still failed to sense something amiss, she would be a fool.
She looked at the paper in confusion, but when she saw the line, “I had Mother Rong send a message to Nian Cuilan, asking her to find someone to ruin sister’s chastity,” she froze as if struck by lightning.
She closed her eyes, then snatched the paper away.
As she read carefully, her initial astonishment gradually turned into terror, the fear accumulating until she nearly fainted.
What was written on it?
It documented everything Li Jinu had experienced in the days before returning to the estate, admitting plainly that it was all orchestrated by her.
In the final paragraph, she wrote:
“I’ve heard this matter has reached the authorities. Knowing I can no longer conceal it and that the estate will not tolerate me further, I’ve decided to return my flesh and blood to my parents to atone for my sins.”
Ye Siyuan’s voice sounded again, calm yet carrying the stillness before a storm, making Ye Jintang feel uneasy,
“By returning your flesh and blood, you can only repay your birth parents’ kindness. How do you intend to repay the Marquis estate’s grace?”
Ye Jintang didn’t know where that letter came from, but upon close inspection, it was indeed her handwriting, and moreover, those events were all true.
Over the years, she had sailed smoothly through the Marquis estate. Whenever she disliked any illegitimate son or daughter in the household, just a slight scheme from her would make that person suffer greatly.
But stumbling so badly was a first for her.
Trembling, she raised her head and met Ye Siyuan’s gaze, which was sharp enough to kill.
The confidence she had moments ago slowly faded from her eyes, her spirit draining away along with the slap mark on her face.
“This wasn’t written by me…”
Her eyes rolled back, and she truly fainted.
Cuizhi, seeing her mistress faint, nearly jumped up and shrieked:
“The young mistress has fainted! Quickly, fetch a physician!”
…
Not long after, Li Jinu had made her way to the side room. The side room was simply furnished, meant temporarily for night-watch maids.
Would Ye Jintang keep something so important here?
She sat on the bed and carefully felt around. Just as she was about to give up, she found a groove.
The groove was two fingers wide and very well hidden. If not for her patience, she would have almost overlooked it.
Applying a little pressure, she felt the wooden board shift.
There was a hidden compartment here!
Just as she prepared to explore its secrets, an emotionless voice rang out:
“What are you doing!”
Li Jinu inwardly clicked her tongue. This Ye Zeyu—good at nothing but causing trouble.
Silently rolling her eyes, she put on an innocent smile:
“This place is wonderful—no drafts, no leaks, much better than when I was with the Li family. I really envy my sister.”
In her past life, she had suffered from not knowing how to play the game; in this life, she would learn it slowly.
Walk the green tea’s path, and make the green tea climb the tree!
Ye Zeyu narrowed his eyes, his intuition telling him this girl was not simple.
He had encountered children raised in the countryside before. Regardless of gender, once they entered a wealthy environment and met true nobility, they would all feel inferior and shrink back in fear.
But someone so composed and innocent—this was his first time meeting one.
Curious as he was, he did not hide his disgust and malice.
“I warn you, Jintang is my only sister! I don’t care who you are—don’t even think about replacing her.”
The killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable. If it were the Li Jinu of her past life, she would have already knelt and begged for mercy, trembling with fear.
But the Li Jinu of this life would argue even with the King of Hell himself.
She maintained her innocent expression.
“But sister isn’t our parents’ biological daughter! Even though I was raised in the countryside, I know that if two people share the same parents, they cannot marry.”
“Those not born of the same parents can marry. So, sister and I are truly different—I am brother’s real sister. Why are you treating me this way?”
Her words appeared naive yet served a great purpose.
If what she sent yesterday was a seed, then today’s implication was fertilizer. When someone eventually pours a ladle of water over it, the task would be accomplished.
Once this seed sprouts, uprooting it would become extremely difficult.
She sneered inwardly—this lifetime, she would not only destroy Ye Jintang but also pry Ye Zeyu from his heir position.
And Ye Jintang would be that pry bar.
The immediate priority now was to find the right opportunity to investigate what was inside this heated couch.