“That’s why I have to get close to the crime scene to investigate the truth. And marrying you is my only chance to legally and openly enter the heavily guarded Grand Marshal’s Mansion…”
Huo Siyu suddenly let out a sarcastic sneer. His rough, calloused palm fiercely grabbed her injured arm, and fresh blood instantly oozed out between his fingers.
The excruciating pain turned Rong Tangtang’s face pale, making her whole body tremble.
There was not a shred of sympathy on Huo Siyu’s face. His eyes revealed a bloodthirsty, evil thrill, and he seemed to be in a state of morbid excitement as he said with utter disdain, “Rong Mingwei, that doctor? Half a month ago, he was invited to the Grand Marshal’s Mansion to attend my third uncle’s birthday banquet. That night, in my third uncle’s study, he violated the actress Yao Xiaodie. Afterward, he stabbed Yao Xiaodie three times and pushed her down from the third floor. At that time, all the guests saw him standing on the study’s small balcony with a knife, looking down in panic. The evidence is conclusive—he killed her, and that’s the truth. What else do you want to investigate? Do you really think I’d believe you risked your life to marry me just for your brother?”
Because of the unbearable trauma of his childhood, Huo Siyu never believed in so-called family affection, let alone that someone would risk their life for another person’s survival.
Huo Siyu knew very well that his notorious reputation preceded him; probably no one in the Jiangbei region didn’t know that marrying Huo Siyu meant death.
He increased the pressure of his grip, despising liars above all else. “Speak. What is your true objective? Who sent you?”
Trembling from the pain, Rong Tangtang protested, “He didn’t kill her! My brother has been kind-hearted since he was a child. He only knows how to save lives, never to violate anyone, let alone commit murder. He must have been framed! What’s there to be afraid of in death? As long as I can secure a glimmer of hope for my brother, I am more than willing to give up my life.”
With a stubborn expression, Rong Tangtang tried her best to stay calm as she continued, “When I was five, my biological mother passed away. After crying for three days and three nights, I lost my mind. Afterward, my maternal grandfather handed our family business, Rongxing Department Store, over to my father to manage, and took me abroad for treatment, where I stayed for fourteen years. During those fourteen years, although my brother lived with our father, he would always take advantage of his holidays to visit me abroad. My father remarried long ago, and those years were relatively peaceful. It wasn’t until half a month ago that I received news abroad—my brother was in trouble, and my father had suffered a stroke overnight and was bedridden. My grandfather’s Rongxing Department Store and Western-style garden villa fell into the hands of my stepmother and her daughter, so I came back.
As soon as I stepped through the front door, my stepmother threw a stack of IOUs at me and said that the department store had been poorly managed over the past two years, and that my father had fallen into alcoholism and gambling, running up a huge debt. When the debt collectors came to the house, fortunately, the Grand Marshal’s wife stepped in just in time to rescue us, lending eighty thousand silver dollars to pay off my father’s debts. The Grand Marshal’s wife’s only condition was that I marry you, and after the wedding, I was to take the eighty thousand dollar IOU to see her privately. As long as I satisfied her, the eighty thousand would be treated as a bridal gift and wouldn’t need to be repaid.”
At this, Rong Tangtang pulled an eighty-thousand-dollar IOU out of her pocket and handed it to Huo Siyu.
Huo Siyu lowered his eyes to look at it; the signature and handwriting were indeed those of his stepmother.
She went on, “Huo Siyu, please believe me just this once. I will prove to you that everything I said is true. Why was it such a coincidence that your stepmother rushed to help us by lending money to my stepmother? There must be a conspiracy behind this. Also, I know that your biological mother left you numerous properties, but they all require you to wait until one year after your marriage to inherit them. So, let’s team up! Let’s take down our stepmother together and win back everything that belongs to us—how about that? With me around, I’ll definitely make things difficult for your stepmother.”
The young woman’s eyes were sincere, and for a brief moment, Huo Siyu was drawn in, though he quickly pulled himself away.
Immediately afterward, a vicious flash crossed the depths of his eyes, and his large hand abruptly clamped around her slender, white neck. “How do you know so much about me? Who told you?”