Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 22

Shen Lingjun was soaked to the bone, braving the wind and rain, and had no choice but to bow to Mo Zhonggui.

"...Greetings, Chief Supervisor Mo."

As she turned to leave, a gust of wind blew by, tearing the already strained oil-paper umbrella in her hand to shreds, breaking most of its ribs. A deluge of rain poured down on Shen Lingjun.

Shen Lingjun: "..."

She really didn't want Mo Chonggui to see her in such a miserable state.

Looking at Shen Lingjun, who was soaked to the bone, Mo Zhonggui's eyes gradually darkened and turned sinister, revealing a hint of murderous intent.

Shen Lingjun keenly sensed that Mo Zhonggui's killing intent was indeed directed at her!

Why did he want to kill her?

Shen Lingjun subconsciously took a step back, and Mo Zhonggui rode closer, raising his whip and lifting her chin.

"Stand."

His voice was icy, and Shen Lingjun immediately stopped moving.

The cold, wet riding crop felt against her skin like a venomous snake hissing and slithering up, ready to coil around her throat and take her life at any moment.

Shen Lingjun suppressed the trembling feeling, mustered her courage, and met Mo Zhonggui's gaze.

She saw hatred in his eyes.

Shen Lingjun felt a chill run through her body.

why?

What did she do to make Mo Zhonggui hate her so much?

Mo Zhonggui stared at her coldly, as if looking at a familiar scene through the distant past.

But in that gaze, besides hatred, there were too many complex and unpredictable things.

Like a gradually spreading darkness, it is impossible to see or discern anything clearly.

Suddenly, he put down his riding whip and laughed.

But that kind of laughter was a chilling, malicious laugh.

He leaned down from his horse and moved closer to Shen Lingjun, as if to get a better look at her now, his expression full of mockery.

His tone was even more undisguisedly wicked.

"I really love seeing Madam Shen like this now."

Shen Lingjun: "...?"

She had a million questions in her mind, but she didn't dare to say a word.

This head of the Eastern Depot was a veritable evil, unpredictable and irrational, and he regarded human life as worthless.

Before him, there were only four words: life and death were uncertain.

Mo Zhonggui had enjoyed the sights to the fullest, and his mood seemed to finally brighten, as the murderous intent gradually faded away.

He straightened up, then turned his horse around and rode away.

The young eunuch who followed behind also caught up.

Shen Lingjun was frozen in place as if by a spell, not daring to move an inch, until the two figures disappeared into the rain. Only then did her legs go weak, and she almost sat down on the ground.

Red Dragonfly rushed over to help her up: "Madam!"

Shen Lingjun felt as if all her strength had been drained. Even though she hadn't moved at all, she was exhausted.

She waved her hand: "...Go inside the carriage and wait for the rain to stop."

Shen Lingjun and Hong Qing hid inside the carriage, while the coachman huddled by the door. The rain outside showed no signs of letting up, and no one knew when it would stop.

......

In heavy rain.

Mo Chonggui, on horseback, neither pulled on the reins nor looked in the direction, letting the horse walk on its own, going further and further away on the official road.

The young eunuch Ye Huaichi, who was following behind, spurred his horse to catch up and said cautiously, "Master, this isn't the direction we're going..."

Mo Zhonggui did not respond.

He gazed into the depths of the white rain curtain, his eyes distant and deep, seemingly looking at something unknown.

Ye Huaichi had no choice but to shut his mouth and follow quietly.

At this moment, another carriage approached from the distant official road.

It was just an ordinary family's horse-drawn carriage heading towards Kyoto, and it was moving very slowly in the heavy rain.

Mo Zhonggui finally came to his senses and rode his horse to meet them.

Upon reaching the carriage, without saying a word, he flicked his whip and pulled the person out of the carriage, throwing them to the ground.

Inside the carriage was a middle-aged man who was initially bewildered and furious. Just as he was about to curse, Mo Chonggui lashed out with his whip, shattering the silver crown on his head into countless fragments, and causing his full head of black hair to fall to the ground.

Upon seeing Mo Chonggui's face, he immediately fell silent, retreating in terror.

"Master Mo... Master Mo, spare me..."

Mo Zhonggui ignored him and pointed his whip at the trembling coachman: "You, drive forward. There's a broken-down carriage ahead. Sell it to them for fifty taels of silver."

The coachman dared not disobey and drove off in a panic.

Ye Huaichi: "......"

Mo Zhonggui then instructed, "Go and find out what she's doing disguised and coming to the outskirts of the city."

Ye Huaichi naturally knew who this "she" referred to.

"Yes, Supervisor."

His supervisor is truly two-faced.

......

The coachman drove an empty carriage at breakneck speed, and sure enough, a moment later he saw a broken-down carriage lying crooked in the middle of the road.

While inside the carriage, Shen Lingjun heard the sound of vehicles moving in the rain outside. Knowing that another carriage was approaching, she lifted the curtain to look out, wondering if she could ask for help.

Then they saw the carriage pull up in front of them, and the coachman jumped down and shouted:

"I'll sell you this carriage!"

The other person's tone didn't sound like they were there to sell something; instead, it sounded somewhat panicked.

Hong Qing glanced at Shen Lingjun questioningly, and Shen Lingjun felt something was off.

What a coincidence! Their carriage broke down and they were stranded on the road, and just then someone was willing to sell it to them.

However, she still casually asked the coachman, "How much?"

The coachman quoted the price given by Mo Zhonggui: "Fifty taels of silver!"

The price was a bit higher than that of a regular carriage, which initially raised some of Shen Lingjun's doubts.

It's possible that the other party was short of money and, seeing them stranded in the rain, thought they could take advantage of the situation to make a quick buck off them.

Shen Lingjun nodded to Hong Qing, who then took out a fifty-tael silver note and gave it to the coachman.

The coachman took the silver note and immediately turned to leave, ignoring the torrential rain. His flustered appearance made it seem as if a ghost was chasing him.

Shen Lingjun was puzzled and asked Hong Qing to check the carriage across the street. There was nothing unusual; it was just an ordinary carriage.

It didn't seem like there was any problem, so Shen Lingjun got into the empty carriage and had her coachman drive her back to the city.

......

Two days later, the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Mo Zhonggui was reading a memorial when Ye Huaichi entered.

The report states: "My lord, I have found out what Madam Shen was doing when she left the city, as you asked me to investigate last time."

Mo Zhonggui raised his eyes: "Speak."

"Madam Shen's son was not her biological child, but rather the illegitimate child born three years ago to the virtuous physician Liu Manman and the Marquis of Yongning. They had been having an affair for a long time, and three years ago they switched Madam Shen's twins with their own child, hiding the twins on a manor outside the city. Madam Shen has already discovered this, and she left the city to see her biological children."

Mo Chonggui chuckled.

"How interesting... She raised someone else's child for three years, and then said she was tolerant and magnanimous, and couldn't bear to leave the Yongning Marquis's residence?"

He felt extremely displeased when he recalled the last time he visited Shen Lingjun's courtyard and saw her gentle and submissive demeanor as a virtuous wife and loving mother.

Ye Huaichi said carefully, "Now that Madam Shen knows about this, she will probably break ties with them. After all, the Marquis of Yongning left the capital to go to war the day after his wedding, so they hardly spent any time together and have no feelings for each other."

Mo Zhonggui's expression suddenly changed when he heard these words.

"...The Marquis of Yongning left the capital to go to war on the second day after his wedding?"

Ye Huaichi was puzzled by his reaction: "Yes, back then, the war broke out on the northwest border, and Marquis Yongning was among the first group of generals to leave the capital. Chief Supervisor... is there a problem?"

Mo Zhonggui suddenly stood up.

He, who was usually unfazed even by the collapse of Mount Tai, lost his usual composure at this moment.

"Keep investigating! From Qin Shaoze's wedding night until he left the capital, find out exactly what he did during that time!"