"Six years ago, I already considered her dead."
Wen Zhaoning woke up from a nightmare, her chest tight, needing to sit up to ease her breathing.
"Miss Wen, you're awake." A strange voice came from beside her ear.
Wen Zhaoning turned her head and saw a man standing by the window. He was young, wearing a sharp suit. Seeing she was awake, he quickly walked over to her.
"Do you need me to call a doctor for you?"
"Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Chen Yi, Assistant He's assistant. Lawyer He has some urgent matters to attend to, so he asked me to stay here and take you back once you're feeling well enough."
Wen Zhaoning's ears echoed with the words, "Six years ago, I already considered her dead."
Last night, she had a brief moment of consciousness and happened to overhear He Huaiqin's words.
Cold and suppressed, it once again plunged her into boundless darkness.
Because of it, she had nightmares all night.
"Thank you, Assistant Chen. I can go back by myself." Wen Zhaoning got out of bed, supporting herself on the nightstand. She felt much better today; her head was still heavy, but she wasn't dizzy anymore.
"That won't do. Lawyer He specifically arranged for me to be here. If I don't get you back safely, Lawyer He will definitely blame me."
Wen Zhaoning felt that this Assistant Chen might have misunderstood her relationship with He Huaiqin. She wasn't that important to He Huaiqin; he wouldn't go so far as to blame his subordinate for her sake.
"I'm really fine now, so I won't trouble Assistant Chen. You can go about your business."
Seeing her so determined, Chen Yi was hesitating about what to do when He Huaiqin called.
It was about work.
Chen Yi had previously filed a document that He Huaiqin urgently needed. He asked where it was. Chen Yi told him the cabinet where the document was stored and casually asked, "Lawyer He, Miss Wen is awake. She said she doesn't need me to escort her, I..."
"Let her be."
After speaking, He Huaiqin directly hung up the phone.
Wen Zhaoning, standing nearby, heard He Huaiqin's slightly impatient reply. His attitude clearly showed he didn't want to waste another second on her.
It made sense; in his heart, she had died six years ago.
An endless sense of bitterness welled up in her chest. Wen Zhaoning hated herself for being so weak. He Huaiqin had long since moved on from the past, yet she was still trapped in that year, feeling so upset over a single sentence from him.
No, she couldn't be like this.
Wen Zhaoning put on her coat, went into the bathroom to wash her face, and then came out to say to Chen Yi, "Assistant Chen, can I add you on WeChat?"
"My WeChat?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
Chen Yi scanned Wen Zhaoning's WeChat QR code, and they added each other.
"Thank you for today, Assistant Chen. I'll transfer the hospital treatment fees to you later. Please forward them to Lawyer He."
"Miss Wen, why don't you transfer it directly to Lawyer He?"
"I don't have his contact information."
Chen Yi was a bit confused.
The boss had stayed at the hospital all night yesterday, and he had dark circles under his eyes when he left this morning. He thought this woman was the boss's girlfriend, but they didn't even have each other's contact information?
As Wen Zhaoning went downstairs, she went to the self-service machine in the hospital lobby to get a detailed breakdown of the hospitalization fees, then took a photo and sent it to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi: "Miss Wen, there's an extra two hundred."
Wen Zhaoning: "This is for the taxi fare last night when you took me to the hospital."
Chen Yi didn't know that the boss had personally driven Miss Wen to the hospital last night. After receiving the transfer, he immediately transferred all the money to He Huaiqin, with a note stating it was Miss Wen's hospitalization and taxi fees.
He Huaiqin had been busy all afternoon. After the meeting, he saw the transfer and the note on his phone, and his face turned green.
"Taxi fare," indeed.
Wen Zhaoning was treating him like a driver.
When Wen Zhaoning returned home, Su Yunxi had already taken Qing Ning to kindergarten.
"Ning Ning, you're back! I was just about to go to the hospital to see you." Su Yunxi was holding a pot of soup she had made. If Wen Zhaoning had returned three minutes later, they might have missed each other.
"How did you know I was in the hospital?"
"You didn't come back all last night, so I called you. He Huaiqin answered. He said you had a mild concussion and were unconscious in the hospital."
"He Huaiqin answered?"
"Yes, I thought it was strange too. Why would He Huaiqin be by your side in the middle of the night?" Su Yunxi winked at Wen Zhaoning, "He didn't stay with you all night, did he?"
That...
Definitely not!
He considered her dead, so how could he have stayed with her all night?
"Xixi, let's not talk about He Huaiqin for now. The biggest problem I'm facing is Lu Hengyu."
Wen Zhaoning told Su Yunxi about Lu Hengyu bribing a divorce lawyer to drug her.
Su Yunxi was indignant, "What kind of garbage is in Lu Hengyu's head to come up with such a malicious scheme!"
"I thought I could gain the upper hand in the divorce lawsuit by catching Lu Hengyu's domestic violence, but now I realize I don't have concrete evidence. If Lu Hengyu bribes the Lu family's maids to counter-sue me for defamation, my situation will become very passive. I must find a real handle to control him before he comes up with even dirtier tricks."
"You said Lu Hengyu is never home. Could he have another woman outside?" Su Yunxi felt that all men were rotten cucumbers and suggested that perhaps this angle could provide a breakthrough. "Should you also look for evidence of his cheating?"
"He doesn't have other women outside," Wen Zhaoning said.
"Are you so sure Lu Hengyu isn't cheating on you and keeping a mistress?"
"I'm sure."
Su Yunxi paused for two seconds, then suddenly seemed to have stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip. She covered her mouth and whispered, "Could it be that Lu Hengyu isn't... capable in that area?"
Wen Zhaoning nodded.
Lu Hengyu wasn't capable in that area, and he was extremely concerned about his reputation. Therefore, Wen Zhaoning was sure he would never embarrass himself outside and give another woman the chance to laugh at him.
"Six years of marriage, and your husband isn't very useful. Ning Ning, you're truly miserable."
Miserable?
Wen Zhaoning didn't feel particularly miserable. After all, before getting married, she had already experienced the best.
When she broke up with He Huaiqin, the words "I'm tired of you" were definitely the most insincere lie she had ever told.
Such a face, such a figure, such strength, such devoted service – how could she ever get tired of him?
"Wait, I suddenly thought of a problem. Since Lu Hengyu isn't capable in that area, could Qing Ning... be He Huaiqin's child?"
At this point, Wen Zhaoning no longer intended to hide it from Su Yunxi. She solemnly held Su Yunxi's hand, "Xixi, please keep this a secret for me."
"I knew it! How could Lu Hengyu's ugly face produce such a beautiful daughter like Qing Ning!" Su Yunxi was particularly excited to learn that Qing Ning had no relation to Lu Hengyu. "Does Lu Hengyu know?"
"He knows Qing Ning isn't his biological daughter, but he doesn't know who Qing Ning's biological father is."
Lu Hengyu had problems with his reproductive functions. Six years ago, on the night Wen Zhaoning married him, Lu Hengyu tried several times to consummate the marriage but failed. In his rage, he smashed all the appliances in the bridal chamber. Wen Zhaoning, watching him go mad and lose control, felt both disgusted and scared, and vomited on the spot.
The next day, Wen Zhaoning was still vomiting. She felt something was wrong, and when she tested, she found out she was pregnant.
She had intended to secretly abort the child, but Lu Hengyu discovered this. Lu Hengyu threatened Wen Zhaoning, insisting she must give birth to the child because he needed an heir to silence public gossip. He also needed a secret of Wen Zhaoning's to blackmail her into keeping his impotence a secret.
"This scumbag! He hits women with such a hard fist, but he can't get it up! His genes must have gone to the wrong place! It's truly a case of what should be hard isn't, and what shouldn't be, is pointlessly hard!" After complaining, Su Yunxi squeezed Wen Zhaoning's hand, "Ning Ning, don't worry, I absolutely won't say a word."
"Thank you, Xixi."
"What are you thanking me for? It's just that Lu Hengyu has no evidence of domestic violence, and there are no issues with other women. What other leverage can you find to control him?"
Wen Zhaoning thought for a moment, "To control Lu Hengyu, we don't necessarily have to find leverage on him. If we can directly grasp the King's vital point, then the Prince won't have much power to attack."
"You mean Lu Hengyu's father, the mayor?"
"Yes. Lu Hengyu has no issues with women, but his father might. Xixi, I'm going out tomorrow. Could you please look after Qing Ning for me for another day?"
"No problem, you go ahead. Qing Ning is so sweet, soft, and well-behaved. Having her with me makes me incredibly happy!"
The next morning, Wen Zhaoning took a car to Wufeng Mountain.
Wufeng Mountain had an ancient temple with flourishing incense, which was Lu Qianyong's, Lu Hengyu's father's, highly praised "clean and honest" reputation. Lu Qianyong visited every month, donating incense money, meeting eminent monks, and praying for the people's well-being. Photos of him kneeling before the Buddha had even appeared in Shanghai newspapers.
For officials, the higher their status, the more perfect their public image had to be.
Initially, Wen Zhaoning thought her father-in-law, Lu Qianyong, was just putting on a show, until one day in the Lu family's backyard, she overheard Lu Qianyong's driver on the phone.
"I can't make it back for Dad's death anniversary tomorrow, burn some more paper for me... I want to come back too, but you know as well as I do, he has to go see that little ancestor at the temple on this day every month..."
Little ancestor.
Wen Zhaoning sensed something was wrong at the time. However, Lu Hengyu hadn't acted against her yet, and she just wanted to live a peaceful life with Qing Ning, so she pretended not to have heard anything.
But things were different now.
Lu Hengyu had committed domestic violence against her and was trying to use underhanded tactics to ruin her reputation and force her to leave with nothing. She would absolutely not sit idly by anymore.
She didn't ask for the ill-gotten wealth of the Lu family during the divorce, but she had to get back all the dowry her family had provided when she got married.
After the Wen Group went bankrupt, Wen Zhaoning's father committed suicide, leaving behind significant debts that burdened her mother and sister. Wen Zhaoning calculated that if she could get this money back, it would fill the financial hole of the Wen family and save her mother and sister from dire straits.
All she wanted now was to quickly settle all past matters and start a new life with her mother, sister, and daughter.
Following Lu Qianyong's previous habit, the nineteenth of every month was his "Buddha worship day." Upon arriving at the ancient temple, Wen Zhaoning found an inconspicuous spot and watched the entrance from afar.
As expected, around nine o'clock, Lu Qianyong's Red Flag car stopped at the temple entrance. Lu Qianyong got out and, accompanied by the abbot, walked into the temple.
Wen Zhaoning lowered the brim of her fisherman's hat and quietly followed.
After completing the "Buddha worship and prayer" ritual, Lu Qianyong dismissed his entourage and went alone to the back mountain.
In the back mountain of the ancient temple, there was a quiet Zen courtyard not open to the public. Lu Qianyong walked to the courtyard gate, knocked three times, and after a few seconds, knocked three more times.
Inside the courtyard, a young woman wearing a gray monk's robe but not having shaved her head opened the door. Both were very cautious; the courtyard gate opened and closed quickly.
Through the door crack, Wen Zhaoning vaguely saw a child playing with a pinwheel in the courtyard. Then, the door was closed.
Wen Zhaoning had come prepared today. Her assault jacket collar had a recording device attached. Unfortunately, the Zen courtyard gate was open for too short a time, and the woman and child were hidden inside, so she couldn't capture much substantial evidence to threaten Lu Qianyong.
However, she had at least confirmed that Lu Qianyong had another "home" in the temple, which was definitely a trump card that could be used against him.
Just as Wen Zhaoning was about to remove the small camera from her collar to upload the video for backup, she suddenly heard someone shout from a distance, "Who's there?"
It was Lu Qianyong's driver's voice.
Wen Zhaoning was startled and immediately got up and ran.
"Who are you! Stop! Stop right there!"
The driver chased after her.
Wen Zhaoning clutched her hat, not daring to look back, and just ran forward desperately.
The wind in the mountain forest carried the scent of soil and plant sap, brushing against Wen Zhaoning's cheeks. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, as if it would leap out at any moment.
The driver pursued relentlessly, determined to catch her.
Wen Zhaoning, in her panic, stumbled into a thicket of thorns. Her calf was cut by the thorny branches, and warm blood immediately welled up. Every step sent a piercing pain through her.
It was over. If Lu Qianyong's driver caught her and discovered she was secretly filming Lu Qianyong's movements, all her efforts would be in vain.
After thinking for a few seconds, Wen Zhaoning quickly made a decision. She quietly threw the recording device into the weeds on one side of the road and ran towards the other.
Without the recording device, she could still try to argue her way out if caught.
The driver didn't notice Wen Zhaoning's small action and followed her towards the other side.
Wen Zhaoning, dragging her injured leg, ran for several hundred meters, gradually losing strength. Just then, she saw a black car driving from the end of the road.
She recognized the car; it was He Huaiqin's Cullinan.
Wen Zhaoning didn't care about anything else and quickly waved to stop the car.
The Cullinan pulled up beside her, and the driver's window rolled down. The driver was He Huaiqin's assistant, Chen Yi.
"Miss Wen, what a coincidence. Are you also here to burn incense at the temple?"
"Assistant Chen, it's a long story. Could you please give me a ride?"
Chen Yi stopped the car. Wen Zhaoning's heart was about to explode. She quickly pulled open the rear door and stumbled into the car, accidentally falling into someone's arms.
A clear, smoky scent mixed with the ancient temple's chanting instantly enveloped her, dispelling the dusty aura and the faint scent of blood that clung to her.
He Huaiqin's body stiffened, but he quickly reacted, pushing her away.
"Did I tell you to get in the car?"
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