The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

If Jiang Miaoyin calms down, she will realize how terrible her acting was.

Every nervous expression and shifty look in her eyes betrayed her guilty conscience.

Let alone Song Wenjun, even a maid like Xiao Tao would probably know that someone was hiding in her room.

Song Wenjun watched her perform quietly, like a cat playing with a mouse.

She even somewhat enjoyed Jiang Miaoyin's nervous expression, watching her rack her brains to put on an act in front of her, trying her best to pretend that nothing had happened.

She would give the same thing to Jiang Miaoyin.

Fool, you never see yourself clearly.

The meal was extremely difficult to endure. Song Wenjun ate slowly and deliberately, while Jiang Miaoyin ate without tasting anything.

Her heart was completely devoted to Gu Huaizhou, who was hiding under the floorboards.

I felt sorry for him because he was cold and hungry.

The cave was dug in a very rushed manner, and it could only accommodate one person squatting down.

I was cold and hungry, and I couldn't even stretch my legs.

One can imagine how miserable Gu Huaizhou was that night.

An icy glint appeared in Song Wenjun's eyes. This was nothing; it was just a matter of making him suffer a little.

She orchestrated this elaborate scheme to make Jiang Miaoyin confess to Zhou Shi that she was having an affair with Gu Huaizhou.

"Wenjun, could you come for a walk with me?" Jiang Miaoyin put down her bowl after only a few bites of breakfast.

She had to find a way to get Song Wenjun away so that Gu Huaizhou could escape.

Song Wenjun smiled, her eyes crinkling, and seemed very agreeable: "Okay."

Jiang Miaoyin breathed a sigh of relief.

Before she could finish exhaling, she heard Song Wenjun order the old women outside, "My sister-in-law and I are going out for a walk. You all go in and clean the house thoroughly. If I hadn't stayed here last night, I wouldn't have known this house was so cold and damp. It's clear you've been slacking off."

The old women were so frightened that they all knelt down and begged for mercy.

Song Wenjun said again, "Alright, from now on you all need to put in a little more effort. After you've finished cleaning, go to the storeroom and pick out some vases and paintings to put up. After all, your sister-in-law is a lady of the household. How can her room be so shabby?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Miaoyin felt her vision go black and nearly fainted.

That damned Song Wenjun, she's deliberately trying to make things difficult for herself.

Why did they have to clean at this crucial time of year?

Gu Huaizhou had been hiding inside all night; how could he possibly bear it?

"Wenjun, there's no need for that. What would a widow like me need such expensive things for? It would only give people something to gossip about." Jiang Miaoyin tried her best to stop her, but Song Wenjun was determined not to let her off easily.

Without waiting for a reply, she took Jiang Miaoyin's arm and said to her, "From now on, as long as I am here in this mansion, I will never wrong my sister-in-law."

Song Wenjun pulled Jiang Miaoyin toward the back garden, but Jiang Miaoyin couldn't be happy at all.

My heart is filled with unease, and my soul has been lost.

Finally, she stopped and shook off Song Wenjun's hand, saying, "I left my handkerchief in the room, I'll go get it."

"Why go through all that trouble?" Song Wenjun waved to a maid and instructed her, "Go back and fetch a handkerchief."

"I feel a bit cold, I'd better go put on another layer."

Song Wenjun reached out and tied her cloak around Jiang Miaoyin's neck: "Sister-in-law, wear mine, this one is warm."

Xiao Tao casually draped another cloak over Song Wenjun, giving Jiang Miaoyin no chance at all.

Jiang Miaoyin was kept occupied by Song Wenjun all morning.

She wished she could tear Song Wenjun to pieces, skin her and bones.

But no matter what tricks she used, Song Wenjun could easily defuse them.

As evening fell, a sudden downpour of snow began, and the temperature plummeted.

The women cleaned the floor again during the day, and the dirty water flowed into the floorboards through the cracks.

Gu Huaizhou was covered in dust, cold, and hungry, and nearly fainted several times.

The sewage all flowed onto him, soaking his clothes.

The underground was cold and damp, and Gu Huaizhou felt as if his body was frozen.

With each breath he exhaled, a mist would rise from his mouth.

At first, he felt dizzy from the cold, but gradually he felt the world spinning around him.

Gu Huaizhou fainted from hunger.

The thief was on the loose all night, but they still couldn't find out the truth.

Song Wenjun ordered a state of emergency throughout the prefecture, prohibiting even a fly from escaping.

Jiang Miaoyin thought she would leave today, but she didn't expect Song Wenjun to stay with her.

At this moment, Jiang Miaoyin couldn't care less about anything else. She excitedly said to Song Wenjun, "I appreciate your kindness, sister-in-law, but I'm used to being alone. You should go back to your Qiufeng Courtyard."

Having said all that, if Song Wenjun insisted on staying any longer, it would only arouse suspicion.

So she said, "Since my sister-in-law doesn't like me staying with her, I'll go back now."

Jiang Miaoyin couldn't wait for her to leave.

Song Wenjun left, but she left two maids and servants in the room and instructed them: "The thief was not found last night, so your sister-in-law's room cannot be without people. You two stay with your sister-in-law these two days and do not neglect her."

Jiang Miaoyin was so angry her nose almost crooked. Was Song Wenjun doing this on purpose?

Taking advantage of the maids and servants' inattention, she tapped the floor with her foot, trying to contact Gu Huaizhou.

But after waiting for a long time, there was still no sound coming from inside.

She knocked again, but there was still no response. Jiang Miaoyin panicked completely.

She ordered the maids and old women, "I don't need you to stay with me. You can all leave."

The old woman was Song Wenjun's confidante, and she immediately refused, saying, "That won't do. The young mistress said that I should serve my mistress well."

"You, all of you, get out..."

The old woman and the maid all kept their eyes downcast and remained unmoved.

Jiang Miaoyin gritted her teeth in anger. What a loyal dog!

Gu Huaizhou had been trapped underground for a day and a night, and now that he was silent, he must have fainted.

If we don't rescue him soon, he might be trapped and die down there.

Jiang Miaoyin bit her lip and rushed towards Zhou's Ruyi Residence.

She is Gu Huaizhou's biological mother. Even if she knew, she would still stand on Gu Huaizhou's side.

Song Wenjun and Xiao Tao had been watching Jiang Miaoyin from the shadows. As she ran into the Zhou family's courtyard, Xiao Tao clicked her tongue in confusion, "She couldn't hold back after all. I wonder what the First Madam will think when she finds out about their affair."

Song Wenjun curled her lips into a cold smile. In her previous life, Gu Huaizhou only told Zhou the truth after she died.

At that time, Zhou was surprised, but she gradually accepted it.

After all, Jiang Miaoyin had given her a grandson, and with Song Wenjun dead, she had also taken over the Song family's assets. She wouldn't care about a dead person.

In this life, Song Wenjun devised a plan to force Jiang Miaoyin to confess, which makes the situation different.

Jiang Miaoyin's seduction of Gu Huaizhou not only disgraced the family but also humiliated the deceased eldest son of the Gu family.

Song Wenjun was somewhat looking forward to seeing how Zhou would react.