The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 655 - 617: Poisonous Scheme (3)

A life-saving grace led Lu Pingzhou to develop feelings for her. He had promised to marry her with a grand ceremony upon returning to the Capital, but as soon as he arrived, he was forced to become a groom midway. For the sake of his family, he had to marry Su Yi instead.

Afterward, he sent for her to Yizhou, but since he didn’t want her to perform the concubine’s rites for the Su Family, he didn’t let her enter the mansion, purchasing a house to keep her outside.

She harbored feelings for him and wasn’t overly concerned about status, even saying she was willing to enter the mansion as a concubine, but he refused no matter what.

It wasn’t until the Su Family gave birth to a pair of illegitimate children and Lu Pingzhou switched them that he devised a way to let her into the mansion as a wet nurse.

A wet nurse had some status in the household, not needing to bow and scrape to the Su Family constantly, and would not easily endure their blame.

Lu Pingzhou managed to bring his mistress and her child to live by his side under everyone’s nose.

The marriage between the Su and Lu Families was bestowed by the Empress Dowager, so Lu Pingzhou couldn’t divorce Su Yi. Not wanting her to remain without title or status, he finally elevated her to the position of a formal concubine, half a master.

The old lady fell into deep thought after hearing these words.

Aunt Wen did not need to look to know that the old lady was in a terrible mood. She stopped and didn’t continue speaking.

Mrs. Xiao Liu sighed repeatedly, simultaneously feeling sorrowful for her own fate.

Aunt Wen had mutual feelings with Lu Pingzhou before his grand wedding.

Similarly, Aunt Su was deeply in love with Lu Yanbin before she entered the mansion, and her arrival as the legitimate wife instead became the stick that destroyed their marriage.

Just as Lu Pingzhou did not favor the Su Family, Lu Yanbin did not favor her.

Although she diligently managed all sorts of household affairs over the years in the mansion, believing she had not done a single thing against her conscience, nor embezzled even half a coin, she ultimately ended up in the same predicament as her mother-in-law.

"Each of you has hidden it so well," the old lady said harshly. "If not for the incident with Aunt Su, were you planning to keep me and the old master in the dark for a lifetime?"

Aunt Wen did not know how to respond.

Everything was arranged by Lu Pingzhou, who had sealed off all information. Naturally, the fewer people knew about the child-swapping incident, the better. Even as a son, Lu Pingzhou, being a man, would find it difficult to openly tell his parents about being cuckolded by his legitimate wife.

——

Lu Pingzhou did not take Su Yi elsewhere but sent her back to her own courtyard.

Su Yi’s face was ashen. At this point, she didn’t even have the strength to plead for herself; her whole being was like a walking corpse.

Lu Pingzhou glanced around the courtyard and saw the main maid Qiu Yan. He instructed her, "Help the madam pack things for Suzhou."

Qiu Yan stared in shock, her eyes wide open, "Master, isn’t the departure scheduled for next year?"

Lu Pingzhou’s dark gaze swept over, making Qiu Yan shiver instantly, "This servant will pack right away."

Su Yi sat dazedly on the armchair, looking at Lu Pingzhou standing at the door, a bitter smile curling at her lips, then her eyes brimmed with tears.

At this moment, she was truly heartbroken. "If I hadn’t pined for the second master back then and hadn’t betrayed you, if I had fulfilled my duties as a virtuous wife and good mother of the Lu Family, would you have changed your opinion of me?"

Lu Pingzhou found her words laughable, "If you could remain a virtuous wife and good mother, you wouldn’t be Su Yi."

His cold-hearted and ruthless answer shattered her last hope. Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t help but cry, "Master, I really regret it. If I could do it all over again..."

As she spoke those words, Lu Pingzhou was already far away.

She was left alone in the room, the cold wind pouring in from the window, making the room seem even more desolate and lonely.

Su Yi’s body went limp, and her eyes lost focus, as if her soul had been drained.

Before the evening, Qiu Yan, along with several older servant women, had finished packing everything that needed to be packed.

Su Yi was about to be sent to Suzhou due to "contracting a stubborn illness." Logically, she couldn’t go without attendants by her side.

Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun were the trusted main maids by Su Yi’s side and were directly chosen.

Upon hearing the news, the two felt as if the sky had fallen.

As first-class maids, accustomed to the luxurious life of the mansion, who would willingly go to Suzhou to suffer?

Qiu Yan immediately burst into tears, "I don’t want to go to Suzhou, I don’t want to go, wuwu... It was the madam who made the mistake, why should we be implicated?"

Qiu Yun looked at her, feeling a souring sadness she couldn’t express.

But they were merely indentured maids, their contracts held in the master’s hands. Whether to keep them or sell them depended entirely on the master’s word. Since the Young Master had already spoken, how could people like them say they didn’t want to go and have it be so?

Wiping her tears away, Qiu Yun stood up to pack her belongings.

Qiu Yan grabbed her arm, her voice choked with sobs, "Do you really want to follow her to Suzhou?"

"Otherwise, what else can we do?" Qiu Yun looked dejected.

"I have a way, it just depends on whether you have the courage." Qiu Yan sniffed, looking at Qiu Yun, "Do you remember what we heard while guarding outside the door on the day of the birthday banquet?"

With Qiu Yan’s reminder, Qiu Yun suddenly recalled the conversation between the lady and the gardener Qi Hai, her face changed repeatedly, and she was extremely terrified, "You... what do you intend to do?"

"You don’t want to go to Suzhou, do you? Naturally, we have to find a way to stay." Qiu Yan said as she stood up, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes, "We may be naturally inferior, but we don’t want to be dragged down for life by a shameless woman. I still want to find a decent family to marry into in the Capital; how can I go to Suzhou to accompany her into old age?"

Qiu Yun was somewhat moved by her words, and paused in her movements of packing her things.

Qiu Yan said, "Let’s use that incident as leverage and ask the Young Master to let us stay, otherwise..." Otherwise, if the matter spreads, no one in the Lu Family will have it good.

Qiu Yun was somewhat afraid, "Will the Young Master really let us manipulate him like that?"

He is not someone who can be easily threatened.

"The master is someone with a strong sense of the bigger picture; he cannot disregard the Lu Family’s reputation. Besides, what man likes to be laughed at for wearing a green hat?"

Qiu Yan became more and more agitated as she spoke.

——

After discussing it, Qiu Yan and Qiu Yun went to the outer yard to see Lu Pingzhou.

Lu Pingzhou was somewhat surprised that these two maids would seek him out. He put down the book in his hands, took a sip of tea, and asked in a calm voice, "What’s the matter?"

Qiu Yun hesitated and didn’t dare to speak, her neck shrinking back.

Qiu Yan mustered up her courage and said, "Master, the two of us wish to request to stay in the manor."

Lu Pingzhou raised an eyebrow slightly, "You don’t want to go to Suzhou?"

"Yes."

"Reason?"

Qiu Yun was already frightened by Lu Pingzhou’s deep eyes, trembling with fear. She gave Qiu Yan a look, thinking maybe they should forget it, why take such a big risk; if they spoke up and displeased the Young Master, both of them would be done for.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Yan completely ignored her look and said to Lu Pingzhou, "On the day of the birthday banquet, this maid overheard the lady’s conversation with the gardener Qi Hai and learned of certain things."

She didn’t make it explicit, simply saying, "The two of us are considered veterans in the manor, we know what can be said and what should not be said. As long as the master agrees to let us stay, those words, we will act as if we never heard them."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Lu Pingzhou from the corner of her eye, seeing an almost mocking smirk on his face.

Qiu Yan shivered for no reason.

Qiu Yun was directly scared to tears, quickly kneeling to plead, "Master, we realize our mistake, we are willing to go to Suzhou, just please don’t... don’t..."

"You can stay if you want." Lu Pingzhou curled his lips, "Do me a favor."

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged glances, overjoyed, "The master may command us as he wishes."

——

That night, in a dark alley on Kangping Street, incessant coughing could be heard.

The one coughing was Qi Hai. He had been mingling with beggars all day and caught an epidemic from someone.

At the alley entrance stood a veiled woman, none other than Qiu Yan.

She frowned at Qi Hai huddled in the corner, a cruel look flashing in her eyes, "The woman who caused you to fall into such a plight is about to set off for Suzhou tomorrow. Do you want revenge?"

Qi Hai wheezed and coughed weakly; it was too dark to see the woman’s face, but he had already guessed who she was from her voice.

Thinking about her question just now, Qi Hai pulled his lips into a smile, "In my state, how can I even think of revenge?"

Qiu Yan curled her lips, "Revenge doesn’t necessarily mean killing, and killing doesn’t necessarily require a knife."

Qi Hai didn’t quite understand what she meant.

Qiu Yan raised an eyebrow, her tone surprisingly carried a hint of eerie excitement, "Weren’t you two once a pair? Tomorrow, when she leaves the Capital, I’ll find a way to let you sleep together once more, how about it?"

Qi Hai was shocked all over, then realized Qiu Yan’s true intention, and became very agitated, "Is that for real?"

Qiu Yan laughed, and that laughter echoing in the empty alley made one’s skin crawl, "Your illness is highly contagious."

Before he could respond, Qiu Yan had already left after saying her piece.

She said, "Once it’s done, your parents will receive a large sum of Silver, enough for them to live out their days in comfort."