Chapter 165

On a day off, the Li family set out early for the horse ranch by carriage. Upon arrival, Li Xin and Li Xia first went to see Carefree and Lightning. These were the names the two had agreed to give their horses.

Li Xin's chestnut stallion was named Carefree. Li Xia's black stallion was called Lightning. Both horses had been well-fed and were in excellent condition. Li Xia fed Lightning some grass, allowing the horse to become familiar with him. Then he mounted and galloped around the ranch.

Li Xin also mounted her horse, gripping the reins tightly as she walked slowly. Li Yu stayed close by, watching over Li Xin.

Mrs. Lu and Li Ming also chose horses. Although Mrs. Lu hadn't ridden in years, she looked quite stylish on horseback.

As the family was enjoying themselves at the ranch, Cao Fugui arrived on horseback. Seeing that Li Xin wasn't affected by the outside rumors and was smiling radiantly, he felt relieved.

Upon seeing Cao Fugui, Li Xin's face lit up with surprise. She urged her horse into a trot, approaching him. "Why are you here?"

Cao Fugui had gone out of town on business and wasn't expected back for half a month.

"I finished early and came back," Cao Fugui said, not mentioning that he had received news of the rumors while away. Worried that his fiancée might be upset, he had rushed to complete his work, leaving his subordinates to wrap up the remaining tasks. He had hurried back to the capital and broken Zhang Qiming's leg as a warning for not controlling his wife.

Li Xin felt shy yet sweet, knowing her fiancé had come to see her first thing after finishing his work. She also understood why Cao Fugui had returned so hastily. "Those rumors aren't true."

"I believe you," Cao Fugui said firmly. Noticing a fallen leaf in Li Xin's hair, he carefully removed it.

"Then..." Li Xin wanted to ask if Cao Fugui's family would have any concerns, but she didn't know how to phrase it.

"My family believes you're innocent. Mother even said you've been wronged and told me to treat you well," Cao Fugui's words warmed Li Xin's heart. Just as she was about to say something, a scream came from outside.

"Tell me, what method did they use?" Li Xia, who was bored at the moment, asked Qiu Ling to explain in detail how Zhang Qiming's leg was broken.

Qiu Ling, unable to hide her smile, recounted the incident. Zhang Qiming's physical defect was known to everyone in Liuzhou, but in the capital, only his family knew about it.

Without strange looks from others, Zhang Qiming felt free to socialize with his old friends. They would drink, appreciate flowers, watch operas, and enjoy plays together, living quite pleasantly.

Until one day, as he was leaving a brothel, he was dragged into an alley and his right leg was broken. He was bewildered, as he hadn't offended anyone recently. Then he saw Cao Fugui appear before him, not bothering to hide his identity. Cao Fugui directly explained why he had Zhang Qiming beaten.

The many pleasures of the capital had made Zhang Qiming neglectful of Sun Yiliu. He never expected that Sun Yiliu would offend Cao Fugui's fiancée. Years ago, he had left the capital for Liuzhou because of a conflict with Cao Fugui. Although he had the upper hand in public opinion, the Chengen Marquis Residence was not someone the Zhang family could afford to offend. He had no choice but to follow his grandparents to Liuzhou to avoid trouble.

Upon returning to the capital and learning of Li Xin's engagement to Cao Fugui, Zhang Qiming had secretly sneered that Cao Fugui was picking up what he had discarded. But he didn't dare provoke Cao Fugui again. His father, Zhang Zhengjie, had warned him that Cao Fugui was in the Emperor's favor. If he offended Cao Fugui, his father might not be able to protect him.

Zhang Qiming didn't provoke Cao Fugui, but his wife Sun Yiliu did. Cao Fugui held Zhang Qiming accountable for all of it. Zhang Qiming had long lost any affection for Sun Yiliu. Knowing that Sun Yiliu's actions had caused his leg to be broken, and unable to retaliate against Cao Fugui and the Li family, he went home and took out his frustrations on Sun Yiliu.

Just as she thought she could enjoy a few peaceful days, Sun Yiliu found herself back to being tormented by Zhang Qiming daily. Her family in Liuzhou couldn't stand up for her, and in the capital, she had no one to turn to. Realizing that this situation would eventually cost her life, Sun Yiliu decided to take drastic action and end Zhang Qiming's life.

She told the Zhang family that she wanted to take Zhang Qiming to Qingan Temple to pray for blessings and ward off bad luck. Zhang Qiming hadn't told anyone why his leg was broken, so his family assumed he had encountered something unclean. When Sun Yiliu made the suggestion, no one in the Zhang family objected. Zhang Qiming, bored of lying in bed, agreed to go along.

When they reached the foot of the mountain where Qingan Temple was located, Sun Yiliu went up to pray. Zhang Qiming, uninterested in such things, didn't want to go. This was exactly what Sun Yiliu had hoped for.

Zhang Qiming sat in the teahouse for a while, feeling bored. He then had his servant and carriage driver help him into the carriage, preparing to return to the city. As for Sun Yiliu up on the mountain, she was already forgotten.

Sun Yiliu had bribed the carriage driver to tamper with the carriage. The spooked horses ran wildly and crashed into a tree. Zhang Qiming was thrown directly out of the carriage, seemingly about to fall off the cliff. The Tian Yi Pavilion, which had been keeping a close eye on them, disguised themselves as wandering knights and rescued Zhang Qiming. However, during the rescue, they accidentally caused Zhang Qiming's left leg to break.