Chapter 16 - Murder

The story branched into two different, yet interrelated, routes simultaneously. On the one hand, just when Chen Zhao and Chen Fang thought they would succeed, against all odds Jiang Ruan and her maids managed to emerge unscathed from this unfavorable situation. On the other hand, that night the main leads of this wonderful show were in the midst of their honeymoon period.

Currently, a light olive-colored satin fabric, which flowed like cascading smoke, was fashionable on the streets. Its material was incomparably glossy as well as sleek. When sunlight shone on the fabric, it would reflect a faint glow. This type of clothing material was immensely popular among the madames and ladies of wealthy families, since they looked extremely elegant and beautiful when they wore new dresses made from it.

At the moment, two bolts of that cascading smoke satin lay on a table in a room. A seemingly beautiful lady, dressed in purple clothing, was sitting in front of a copper mirror and carefully examining a pearl necklace on her neck. The necklace was made from South China pearls which were huge and round, and also of excellent quality. Exuding a subtle pink gleam, they enhanced the paleness of her neck.

After a long time passed, Chun Ying removed the necklace from her neck. After all, she could never wear such an accessory out in public. She might be in trouble if someone suspected that she had obtained it wrongfully, because it was impossible for a maid of her rank to be able to own such a luxurious item. She walked to the side of her bed and reached under it to retrieve a small box and unlocked it using a small copper key. Filled to the brim, it was a box full of pearls, jade and enamel jewelry. Chun Ying placed the pearl necklace inside the box and contentedly gazed at its lustre.

No matter how hard she might have worked as a servant, it was not possible for her to hoard such an assortment of this kind of fine quality accessories. Chun Ying smiled. That idiot was unexpectedly agreeable to her wishes, sending the jewelry over without any objections.

A few days ago, she had heard the news of Jiang Ruan wanting to admire flowers with someone under the moon. That night, she visited the pear blossom garden herself, to investigate the matter. Surprisingly, she did not see Jiang Ruan there, but surprisingly instead, someone embraced her from behind as soon as she had arrived. Initially, she was extremely frightened when that person moved closer to her ear and whispered, “Miss, you should not scream. If anyone sees you with me, you are going to be only tied to me for the rest of your life.” This remark stunned her, while the person continued, “Even though I cherish you greatly, I have treated you poorly. Miss, I will take care of you well.”

Chun Ying finally understood. It turned out that the person was Chen Zhao, who had mistaken her for Jiang Ruan. She could not believe that Jiang Ruan would have a love affair with Chen Zhao. However, before she could process what was happening, Chen Zhao had already started to tear her clothes off. At first, Chun Ying wanted to scream but as the sound began to escape her lips, she stopped herself. After all, Chen Zhao was the son of the person who was in charge of managing the residence and even though it did not seem like an important position, she was extremely knowledgeable about the large amount of private property that Zhang Lan had accumulated over the years. Chen Zhao’s life was in no way inferior to an ordinary wealthy family’s. And, although she was a high-ranked maid in the residence now, her monthly salary and bonus alone could not satisfy her. But, if she had someone rich like Chen Zhao as a patron-

In a brief amount of time, Chun Ying weighed the positives and negatives of the situation clearly and immediately stopped struggling. Yielding to Chen Zhao sexually, she had a passionate encounter with him. Chun Ying did not mind that she lost her virginity. If she could sell her body for a good price, then there was no harm in it. Anyway, in the future she could only be someone’s concubine. Perhaps, it would be difficult for her to meet a patron like Chen Zhao again so she could not let him escape her clutches.

Later, when Chen Zhao woke up and realized that the person by his side was Chun Ying, the color immediately drained from his face. Chun Ying merely warned him coldly that if he did not pay her for her silence, she would take him to court and let everyone know how Chen Zhao had humiliated her.

It had never crossed Chen Zhao’s mind that Chun Ying was not just a beauty, but also a cunning snake. Chun Ying and Jiang Ruan were extremely different. With a higher social standing, as an official’s daughter, it would ruin Jiang Ruan to have her reputation tarnished. The Jiang family would never acknowledge such a disgraceful event in public, and thus could only hand her over to Chen Zhao in secret. Chun Ying, on the other hand, did not have any such worries. Not only that, she was extremely sly and shameless. It could be possible that she would file a lawsuit against him. If this matter was really exposed, even if he did not have to die, he would need to pay a heavy price for his actions. He had no choice but to give into Chun Ying’s wishes.

As it was a rare opportunity for Chun Ying to be involved with Chen Zhao, her appetite would not be satisfied that easily. Coughing up money again and again, Chen Zhao had become embarrassingly short of money, however, Chun Ying still cornered him relentlessly. For this reason Chen Zhao silently sold off the first piece of land.

How could one piece of land ever be equal to her? Everyone has a price and Chun Ying felt that her worth was much higher than a piece of land. Chen Zhao, though, felt that Chun Ying was being too greedy. Their arguments became more and more serious, and eventually, one could no longer see the infatuation of the beauty under the moon that night.

Chun Ying had just closed the box when she heard the door open. Chen Zhao impatiently strode into the room.

She stood up immediately, knitting her brows, as she scrutinized Chen Zhao standing in front of her. Just within a few days of not meeting him, his expression had become haggard and his eyes bloodshot. Even the layer of skin on his lips was cracked open. Chun Ying paused for a moment before she said, “You’ve come.”

Chen Zhao sat down on the chair in Chun Ying’s room, and lifted a teapot from the table casually before pouring the liquid into his open mouth. Chun Ying wanted to stop him but she restrained herself in the end. Only a hint of annoyance flashed past her eyes. Finally, she spoke coldly, “What are you here for?”

Chen Zhao had just sent her some money two days ago therefore it was obvious that this time he was not here to be her god of wealth. Thus, she did not know the reason for his visit.

Chen Zhao did not answer her. He only wiped his mouth and mocked her, “Despite being a cheap slave, you can afford to drink this high grade silver needle tea from Jun Shan. As expected, you do not need to think twice before you spend the money that I gave you!”

Chun Ying’s greatest vice was her vanity and she was especially resentful of her family background. Chen Zhao’s words were no different than pouring salt on her wound. Instantly, she was enraged. Her eyes glinted, and she snickered, “Yes, I am a cheap slave. But who do you regard yourself as? Don’t tell me that you really think of yourself as the son of a wealthy family? Or did you think that as long as you have Miss Jiang, you would be able to claim connections to the minister?”

Chen Zhao’s face paled. Chun Ying’s words had exposed him. Not only that, she worded them so unpleasantly.

Without any consideration to his expression, she continued, “We are the same. As servants, we have to act according to our master’s wishes. Moreover, didn’t you willingly give me the money to spend? Or did you think that your future plans were not worth this much money?”

“You-” Chen Zhao balled his fists tightly. He squeezed a few words out from between the cracks of his teeth, “You shouldn’t go overboard in taking unfair advantage of me.

“It was you who took advantage of me,” Chun Ying beamed as she walked to his side. Her pair of pale hands slowly caressed his neck, “But why did you come here today?”

A strong fragrance from Chun Ying’s beautiful body invaded Chen Zhao’s senses. He was turned on at once and his attitude softened, “Give me a break, I came here today to inform you that I am not someone who has more money than brains. It is impossible for you to continue taking advantage of me like this for the rest of your life. Let’s settle this once and for all since it was something that we were both willing to do.”

Chun Ying’s hands tightened. Her nails left a bright red streak on Chen Zhao’s neck. She slowly smiled, “Don’t tell me that you want to renege on your responsibility to me? We were both willing? It is clear that you forced yourself on me. Everyone in the residence can bear witness to the fact that, in general, I never associate with you. You want to claim that we were both willing, but when we are at court, do you really think that the magistrate will believe you?”

Even Chen Zhao knew that his words would not convince even himself. He gritted his teeth and asked, “What do you actually want?”

Chun Ying’s eyes swept over Chen Zhao. It was clear that although Chen Zhao had some money, the majority of the wealth was in Zhang Lan’s hands. However, she could never let Zhang Lan know of this matter. Zhang Lan was someone who was formidable. If that were to happen, it was uncertain who would be the one to suffer the most. It’s just that as a source of easy money, Chen Zhao would eventually have a day when he would be wrung dry. If she could capitalize on this situation, she would not get the worst of it in the end.

At midnight, the moon was curved like a hook. The cold wind rustled through the wild, overgrown branches in the backyard. A Eurasian jackdaw perched on one of the higher branches of the tree and cawed twice, before flapping its wings and disappearing into the night.

In the courtyard, a maid who was carrying a laundry basket scuttled by. Hearing the muffled sound of an object falling into the water from the veranda, she turned her head in alarm. In the darkness, there was the sound of soft, muted crackling. She even heard a few indistinct meows. After thinking about it for a moment, she must have heard a wild cat that had come into the residence to catch rats. The maid tightened her sash. Feeling an eeriness from the courtyard, she quickened her steps and left the area with haste.