Chapter 541 - Chapter 541: Chapter 528: Playing Insane

Chapter 541: Chapter 528: Playing Insane

Now that such a thing has occurred in the Ma family, fearing whether Hongyu’s treatment will be successful or not, the family will most likely face constant gossip and criticism, leading to unrest.

Who knows how it will affect the future marriages of the daughters and sons of the family?

As Mrs. Wei becomes increasingly irritable thinking about this, she does not dare to voice it out to Song Laibao, but sighing, she heads to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Watching Hongyu incessantly talking to the chickens in the chicken coop in the courtyard, Song Laibao joined in a sigh.

In winter days it gets dark early. The farmers retire to bed early after dinner.

Hongyu seems to be quite exhausted. While having dinner that night, she fell asleep while being fed by Mrs. Wei. She almost knocked over the dishes on the table. Eventually, Song Laibao carried her to bed.

Although it takes some effort, at least they can have some peace when she is sleeping.

Both Song Laibao and Mrs. Wei, tired from the day’s work, retired to bed early along with the rest of the house.

The night deepens.

The thin clouds drifted across the sky, masking the crescent moon, even the moon itself appeared hazily blurred.

Hongyu, who was sleeping evenly on the bed emitting a slight snoring sound, suddenly opened her eyes.

She quietly dressed, got out of bed, left the room, hurried away from the courtyard, and rushed toward the west.

The winter nights are so cold, even without a gale, that it stings the face as if it were a knife. Hongyu’s face is frozen red, but that does not hinder her hurried pace.

Bypassing the local farmland, all along the way to the deserted land, at the base of a large willow tree, Hongyu stopped.

She picked up a stick lying close by, and began to dig under the roots of the willow tree.

After about the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, Hongyu pulled out a wooden box from the hole she had dug under the root of the willow tree, shook off the dirt on top of it, and carefully opened the box.

Under the faint moonlight, one could make out a few golden hairpins and bracelets, as well as some paper money and silver ingots in the box.

These valuable items, even under the weak moonlight, still emanated a lustrous glow.

Thank goodness, everything is still there.

Hongyu exhaled, closed the box, rewrapped it in fabric and returned it to the hole, preparing to rebury it.

But as she dumped a handful of dirt, Hongyu was suddenly struck by surprise.

As everything is still here, why did the officials from the county government office say they found something?

This morning she had barely avoided having her deception uncovered in the prison, and this afternoon they released her – could it be…

Hongyu felt a sudden panic, not even worrying about the box, she turned to run, but was immediately greeted by several shadows surrounding her.

Hongyu backed up a couple of steps, falling backward against the willow tree, staring in shock at the surrounding figures.

The lanterns were lit, revealing the faces of the officials from the government office, and…

Ding Gaochang!

Hongyu’s pupils immediately constricted, her face pale.

“At this point, let’s speak honestly,” Ding Gaochang said coldly.

Hongyu bit her lip, a glint flashed in her eyes, and she suddenly burst into tears, begging Ding Gaochang over and over, “Please, spare me! Indeed, I pretended to be crazy, but I had no choice!”

“That day at the behest of the lady, I went to buy cakes, looked over materials, and went to the lady’s family home to deliver some things. By the time I returned, everyone was…”

“I was terrified, my legs were weak. I wanted to rush and inform the authorities, but I was afraid. I was afraid that if I reported the incident, I would definitely be arrested as the murderer. Everyone in the family was poisoned to death, and I was the only one unharmed. Even if I explained, the government office would not believe me.”

“I thought to myself, if I were unjustly accused like this, no one would clear me of the allegation. Suddenly, I thought of a way, to take some valuable items from the house and hide them, pretend that it was done by a bandit, and then pretend to be mad after being overly shocked, in order to save my life.”

“Sir, I really had no other way, so I pretended to be mad, but I’m not the killer. I didn’t do anything evil, I just want to save my life.”

“So, please, spare me this time.”

Hongyu wept bitterly, her face turned red from the cold and her tears. Her forehead swelled from the repeated knocking of her head on the ground. Hongyu, originally delicate, shivered in the cold winter night, looking utterly pitiable.

Regrettably, Ding Gaochang was not moved in the slightest, sarcasm flashing across his face.

“So you’re saying that you didn’t cause the deaths of the dozen or so people in the Ma family?”

“Of course not!”

Hongyu quickly objected. “The lady and the master have been very kind to me. They were even preparing a dowry for me to get married. I am very grateful to them, why would I ever have murderous intent?”

“If you don’t believe me, sir, you can ask around. Everyone in the neighborhood knows that I was living a good life at the Ma’s house, no worries about clothing and food, and the lady was extremely generous. I always praised the lord and lady for being merciful…”

“So, accustomed to this lifestyle, not willing to leave, you hooked up with Ma Liangcai, and intended to become the young lady of the Ma family.”

Ding Gaochang interrupted Hongyu’s words, “You had an illicit relationship with Ma Liangcai. Upon finding out, Mrs. Jiang did not get angry, she just warned you to behave yourself, stay by Ma Liangcai, and she would give you a proper title in the future. However, she also demanded that you drink contraceptive soup every day to prevent Ma Liangcai from resulting in a premarital pregnancy scandal.”

“And you, you willingly became Ma Liangcai’s concubine, fantasizing about the day you could attain a proper status and title. But your good days did not last long, Ma Liangcai got engaged. Miss Meng is cultured and educated, and her family status is much higher than that of the Ma family.”

“The Ma family intended to solidify a good marriage alliance for their son, hoping that Ma Liangcai could have a smooth and successful future. Naturally, sincerity had to be shown to do so. However, if the Meng family found out about the presence of a covetous mistress by Ma Liangcai’s side before marriage, they would certainly be displeased. Therefore, the Ma family decided to send you away.”

“When you learned of this, you were furious, however, your attempt to negotiate failed with Mrs. Ma and you were chastised and threatened. Even Ma Liangcai did not stand up for you and wished to send you away as soon as possible. This resentment built up in you, and you decided to poison Mrs. Ma and Ma Liangcai with arsenic for revenge.”

“But you were afraid if only Mrs. Ma and Ma Liangcai were to die, the investigation would lead to you. So, you simply started to destroy, poisoning the entire Ma family, took their valuables, pretended to be overly shocked and acted mad, to escape the fallout!”