A servant, seeing his path blocked by four burly men, looked heartbroken and desperate.
Zhou Tianpeng, having narrowly escaped, was overwhelmed with gratitude towards the men.
"It wasn't us who saved you, but our master," the burly men said, stepping aside, not daring to accept his thanks, as they were merely doing a job for money.
"Who is your master? I must thank him properly," Zhou Tianpeng said without thinking.
"She is already here, behind you."
"Where?" Zhou Tianpeng quickly turned around. Who did he see? It was Wu Caiwei. He looked at the burly man in disbelief, "You're not going to tell me it was her who sent you to save me, are you? How is that possible?"
To his disappointment, the burly men all nodded.
"What do you think? Disappointed, aren't you? You never expected your sworn enemy to save you. How did it feel in the water? If my people had arrived any later, you would be dead," Wu Caiwei said, gloating. In truth, she hadn't decided on the spur of the moment to follow him. She had been having these men protect him from the shadows all along, because she knew Hong Lingxiang wouldn't let this go, and letting him die so easily would be too much of a bargain.
Her timely arrival was also due to someone tipping her off, and it just so happened that a medical clinic was nearby.
"You truly are something, woman. Your words are as venomous as ever. Anyone who didn't know you would think you'd changed, but you weren't like this before." No matter what, she had saved him today, and Zhou Tianpeng didn't want to argue with her.
"If you want no one to know, you must not do it. If I'm not mistaken, Hong Lingxiang wanted you dead. You should question him properly," Wu Caiwei said with a half-smile, enjoying his disheveled state.
Zhou Tianpeng looked at Mu Dong, who was being held to the side, his hatred boiling, "Why did you betray me? I treated you well."
Mu Dong dared not meet his eyes, lowered his head, and remained silent.
"Alright, I'll hand him over to you. You can question him thoroughly when you get back, or you can report him to the authorities. The wife you desperately wanted to marry isn't that great, is she?" Wu Caiwei said mockingly. Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Oh, right, I forgot to mention. I've investigated some things about the two of you. For example, your involvement in the death of Hong Lingxiang's ex-husband. What do you think will happen if I present that evidence to the prefect?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. We never met before Hong Lingxiang became a widow. You must have investigated incorrectly." Zhou Tianpeng's pupils involuntarily contracted. He was panicking inside but forced himself to remain calm. He knew that if this matter were discovered, the Zhou mansion would be utterly destroyed, so he absolutely could not admit it.
"It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. There are still witnesses in this world, aren't there? Especially since she's still determined to see you dead," Wu Caiwei said meaningfully, deliberately trying to mislead him and sow discord between them, leading to their mutual destruction.
Back at the mansion, Zhao Tianpeng was still in a daze. He never expected things to be discovered in the end. When he had done that deed, he believed it would never be found out, as all the doctors had declared it a natural death. His body had long since decomposed, making it impossible to investigate.
Yet, someone in this world knew about it. For instance, Hong Lingxiang. He had indeed given her the poison, and she had personally poured it into his tea and handed it to him.
He had initially thought they were in the same boat, and neither would expose the other. But it seemed that was not the case.
Today's events clearly showed that the other party wanted his life. Perhaps his previous attempt to drug her had been discovered by a skilled doctor, otherwise, it made no sense that someone who was supposed to be dead had suddenly come back to life.
She pretended to be unfazed, but she was secretly looking for an opportunity to retaliate. It seemed like it would be either her death or his.
What angered him further was that he didn't know when Mu Dong had become her person. He had already ordered his men to torture him privately, but even after such a long time, Mu Dong hadn't uttered a word.
"I just want to know why. I can understand if others betray me, perhaps due to the lure of money. But what about you? You are my most capable assistant. You've done so much for me over the years, and I haven't been stingy with rewards. I heard you've bought property in this city, making you a minor magnate. I don't believe you would take such a risk." Zhou Tianpeng looked at him, covered in blood from the torture, and couldn't help but ask about his confusion.
"Master, perhaps I know the reason," Kimura said timidly after a long hesitation.
As soon as he spoke, Mu Dong looked at him pleadingly. This piqued Zhou Tianpeng's interest even more. Perhaps he truly did know.
"A while ago, Mu Dong found his long-lost younger siblings. Perhaps his silence is related to them," Kimura said, deliberately ignoring Mu Dong's gaze, voicing his speculation.
"Oh? Did that woman, Hong Lingxiang, kidnap them? To threaten you?" Zhou Tianpeng became animated. He had always thought Mu Dong was an orphan. Although Mu Dong always said he was looking for his siblings, there had been no news for so many years. He didn't know if they were even still alive. This was why he hadn't considered this possibility initially.
"I have wronged you, Master. I have failed your trust. Everything was my doing. I beg you to spare them," Mu Dong said, his face full of fear that his master would retaliate against his siblings after his death.
"What can I say to you? Aren't you usually so sharp? How could you be so foolish when it comes to your family? Hong Lingxiang asked you to do things, and you just did them. Didn't you consider that she is cruel and ruthless and might harm your siblings? After all, one must cut the weeds and remove the roots, isn't that right?" Zhou Tianpeng looked at him, at a loss for words. He couldn't think straight when it came to his family.
"She probably wouldn't, would she?" Mu Dong said uncertainly.
"She was so ruthless to me, how could she be any less so to your family?" Zhou Tianpeng said exasperatedly.
"I know I was wrong. I beg you, Master, to save them. They had a hard life since childhood, and they've only enjoyed a few days of comfort," Mu Dong said, tears of regret streaming down his face.
He had lost his composure at the time, fearing for their safety. Perhaps his approach from the beginning had been wrong. He had assumed his wife and master were still as loving as they appeared on the surface. If he spoke out, his master wouldn't believe him and would tell his wife, leading to his and his siblings' demise. After all, he had witnessed how desperately his master had wanted to marry his wife, even divorcing his family and severing ties with his children for her. Hong Lingxiang, upon receiving the news, secretly resented the busybody who had saved him. However, if he thought he was safe back home, he was gravely mistaken. After all, she, who always planned ahead, had a surprise waiting for Zhou Tianpeng.