Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

Qingdai asked worriedly, "Madam, how are you feeling now?"

She felt guilty: "It's all my fault for not taking good care of her; she caught a cold."

Qingdai was a maidservant brought by Cheng Nanzhi's family as part of her dowry. They grew up together since childhood, were as close as sisters, and were extremely loyal to each other.

Cheng Nanzhi remembered that in her dream, after she died, Qingdai ran around trying to clear her name, but was drugged by people arranged by Ye Ruyue and dragged into a dark alley in the middle of the night, where she was raped and killed! Before she died, she cried out that she was innocent!

"Qingdai, there are some things I only trust you to handle," Cheng Nanzhi said in a hoarse voice.

She initially thought it was just a nightmare and not to be taken seriously.

But the unspoken thoughts of Zhao Ye and the others compelled her to believe them and investigate further!

"Go quietly to Yunzhong Lake in the southern suburbs of Beijing..."

Zhao Ye is still pretending to be deeply in love with her, and he and the Yue'er he speaks of will meet quietly away from the capital to avoid being noticed. The only lake in the southern suburbs of the capital is a place of exceptional beauty.

Upon hearing this, Qingdai immediately went to the door and called a maid she knew well to guard the door, while Cheng Nanzhi continued.

"Inquire with the boat rental manager whether the master booked a boat there today, and whether anyone else is traveling with him."

As she spoke, Cheng Nanzhi felt as if a wound had been ripped out of her heart.

Qingdai was puzzled. What was there to ask about?

After getting married, the master has always been virtuous and never goes out to play around or be promiscuous, except when socializing with colleagues. This time is probably no exception.

Seeing Cheng Nanzhi's expression, Qingdai's heart skipped a beat.

"Madam, do you suspect... that there is someone else by the master's side?!"

Cheng Nanzhi nodded with difficulty.

Qingdai: "?!!"

She saw it all: over the years, the young lady had grown increasingly affectionate towards her son-in-law and had devoted herself wholeheartedly to supporting the Zhao family.

If the young master were to betray the young lady and go on a boat trip with other women upon her return home, she would be heartbroken. How could her newly recovered health possibly withstand such an ordeal?

"Don't worry, Miss, I will find out the truth and make sure no one finds out!" Qingdai said angrily, reverting to her former form of address.

She called in Jianlan and Lianruo, who were born into a family and came as part of her dowry, to serve and keep Cheng Nanzhi company, and then left in a hurry.

Not long after, Zhao Ye returned, handed the medicine prescribed by the doctor to the maid, and sat down to inquire about Cheng Nanzhi.

Cheng Nanzhi tried her best to chat with him as usual.

But as Zhao Ye became increasingly distracted and impatient, Cheng Nanzhi could no longer bear it.

I made up some excuse to get him to leave.

Zhao Ye couldn't wait to get up, but he still pretended to be nice: "Then Madam, please rest well. I'm going out to meet a colleague, and I will definitely come back early tonight to keep you company."

Cheng Nanzhi didn't even get up to see him off.

In the past, Zhao Ye would have noticed immediately, but now he was in a hurry to leave and didn't even glance at Cheng Nanzhi again.

"Why does it seem like the master is a bit cold towards the madam?" Lianruo, who had gone to see her off, asked in bewilderment upon her return.

Seeing Lan glare at her, she said, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Then, looking at the dazed Cheng Nanzhi, he said, "Madam, the master is most concerned about you. Just now, he asked the doctor so many questions about what you need to pay attention to during your rest that he really annoyed the doctor!"

Lianruo chuckled and said, "Our lady is perfect in every way. It's a blessing for the master to marry her, so it's only natural that he would be so devoted to her!"

Cheng Nanzhi felt increasingly distressed and told them all to leave.

Qingdai didn't return until evening. Instead, her two children came to pay their respects.

Granny Zhang accompanied them.

Cheng Nanzhi had no choice but to see people.

Before he even arrived, Zhao Shize's complaints could be heard.

Why did you make us wait so long? Don't you know it's cold outside?!

My mother is really not as good as she used to be!

Cheng Nanzhi felt even colder. She sat back down and instructed, "Jianlan, tell them I had a headache and was taking a nap. Tell them to wait outside for a while and not to rush in and let them catch my illness."

Upon seeing Lan, she said, "Then this servant will prepare a few hot water bottles for the young lady and young master to keep them warm."

"No need," Cheng Nanzhi said calmly. "They must have brought it with them."

Seeing that Lan and Lianruo were stunned and agreed, he went out to deliver the message.

Cheng Nanzhi asked Lianruo, who had stayed behind, to serve her some snacks, which she ate slowly while reading.

The thoughts of the two people outside drifted in clearly.

[Why isn't it ready yet? My mother is so slow!]

Why did she suddenly get sick? We can't even go inside to warm up!

Wait a minute, what if I catch your illness when I speak?

It's so cold!

The two of them didn't bring anything with them and were dressed in thin clothes.

Because they never waited outside before, Cheng Nanzhi would always hurry them in and offer them things like greetings and gifts.

Before long, they were freezing.

Granny Zhang hurriedly told Jianlan, who was waiting, to fetch a cloak and a hot water bottle.

Seeing Lan hesitate for a moment, she said, "Madam is coming back soon, and we haven't prepared anything yet. We really don't have anything. Why don't you take the young master and young lady back first, Granny?"

"We're not going back!" Zhao Shize and the others got angry and were determined to make amends to Cheng Nanzhi when they saw her!

Zhao Huaiyu felt wronged and frustrated, and stood still.

It's better if Granny Zhang doesn't want to go back. Cheng Nanzhi will definitely feel sorry for her, and it will be easier for her to agree to things.

She then told the servant to go back and fetch the things.

But after waiting for more than half an hour, Old Madam Zhao arrived after hearing the news.

He was very angry: "Where is Cheng Nanzhi?!"

The two were about to complain when Lianruo came out and said, "Madam has finished washing up. Please come in."

"How could you make the child wait outside for so long?!" Old Madam Zhao went in and questioned coldly.

The two little ones leaned against the old lady, looking aggrieved, their eyes full of accusation.

Cheng Nanzhi coughed heavily a few times.

Both grandfather and grandson unconsciously frowned in disapproval and leaned back slightly.

"Mother, please forgive me. I was really drowsy after taking the medicine and it took me a long time to wake up." Cheng Nanzhi covered her face with a handkerchief, pretending to be sickly.

Madam Zhao said disapprovingly, "The child shouldn't have been left to freeze until now!"

"How could that be? Didn't I ask someone to tell me to go back early? But the message wasn't delivered?" Cheng Nanzhi looked up.

"This servant wouldn't dare! It's just that the young master and young lady are concerned about the madam and insist on seeing her." Jian Lan immediately knelt down.

Old Madam Zhao glanced at Zhang Mama subconsciously, and seeing her nod in agreement, she couldn't say anything more about Cheng Nanzhi.

He deliberately put on a stern face and scolded Bao Sun: "Don't do that again next time. You'll catch a cold and make your mother worry!"

They were just waiting for Cheng Nanzhi to smooth things over as usual.

To everyone's surprise, Cheng Nanzhi didn't react at all, only coughing on her own, making it impossible for her to get a word in edgewise.

The two children received neither Cheng Nanzhi's concern nor her offer of compensation or comfort, and the huge gap between their expectations and reality brought tears to their eyes.

“Mother wouldn’t worry about us; she’s probably forgotten about us in the last three years!” Zhao Shize said.

Zhao Huaiyu was also unhappy: "Mother, you've changed!"

Cheng Nanzhi didn't need to act; her heartbroken expression was genuine. "How could you say that? Did Mother do it on purpose?"

The two stubbornly turned their faces away.

Old Madam Zhao and Granny Zhang exchanged a glance.

Madam Zhao immediately said, "Don't hurt your mother's feelings like that. How could she not care about you? That's why she'll take care of your studies!"