Liu Zhiyi felt it was enough and waved her hand. The servants quickly stopped. At this time, Li Wenwen and Zhu Chenxing were lying on the ground, bruised and swollen, unable to get up for a long time.
Liu Zhiyi condescendingly squatted down to admire his miserable state. "This is just a small lesson for you. If you disobey my orders again next time, I will send someone to break your legs."
Zhu Chenxing couldn't help but flinch. His wife's family was quite powerful, and her father had also told him to endure it. However, in his heart, men were the masters of women. No matter how much fuss was made, it would always be about him. The last time the Grand Tutor said that if he didn't treat her well, they would divorce, Zhu Chenxing had always thought he was just scaring him, that prominent families wouldn't lose face like that. He never expected her to take a different approach and bring people to beat him up. If this got out, wouldn't he be ridiculed by everyone in the capital?
Li Wenwen thought differently. After this beating, she expected Zhu Chenxing to send her away soon. With this departure, she didn't know when he would return. She felt hopeless.
When only two people were left in the room, she looked at Zhu Chenxing with pity. "So this is the kind of life you've been living. If I had known, I wouldn't have appeared before you and implicated you in taking this beating with me. Wasn't it good before we came to the capital? Although we were poor, we were free. I'll soon be sent to the countryside by you to live a carefree life. When I think of you here in this mansion, wearing fine clothes and eating delicacies, yet being suppressed by a woman everywhere, it must be stifling."
Seeing his expression change, she added fuel to the fire. "We can only blame our poor background for not being as powerful as her family. What can we do? We can only endure. The Zhu family has benefited, but who can understand your difficulties? Your actions are destined to be restricted in this life. If you try to resist, what if the Grand Tutor's family really divorces you, wouldn't you become infamous?"
Although Zhu Chenxing grew up in a farming family, his adoptive mother doted on him like a star and moon. He appeared no different from other children on the surface, but in his heart, he was extremely proud. In the beginning, he endured Liu Zhiyi temporarily due to the power of the Grand Tutor's family. In reality, after so long, he was already impatient and felt despair at the thought of never being able to escape.
Especially when he looked up and saw Li Wenwen, despite being badly beaten, looking at him with pity and worry, he felt a surge of powerlessness. It seemed that since meeting Liu Zhiyi, Li Wenwen's life had been a series of upheavals, constantly worrying about others harming her. At this moment, Zhu Chenxing felt a rare sense of guilt.
"I forgot to tell you, I'm preparing to leave. As long as I'm here, your relationship won't be good. I love you very much, but I have to let go. I'm afraid something like today will happen again. If fate allows, we'll be husband and wife in the next life." After saying this, Li Wenwen could no longer hold back and sobbed on the ground.
Zhu Chenxing, thinking that he couldn't even protect the woman he loved, felt like a coward. He gave her all the silver he had and arranged for people to escort her away.
"This is more like it. It seems I was too gentle with you before. From now on, we'll settle things by force." Liu Zhiyi said this, looking down at him condescendingly after receiving the news.
A few days later, in a secluded courtyard in the capital, Li Wenwen painfully opened her eyes. Her body was wracked with pain. She couldn't forget what happened before she fainted.
She had already guessed that Liu Zhiyi wouldn't let her off easily, but she didn't expect her to take away her silver in such a brutal way. Not only that, but she had locked her in a room and tried to burn her to death. She also couldn't forget the pain of the fire on her body. She thought she would die there, filled with unwillingness but powerless. At the critical moment, several men saved her.
At first, she thought they were people sent by Zhu Chenxing, following her and protecting her. She resented him a little, but more than that, she was slightly moved. Unexpectedly, the other party told her that they belonged to the Eldest Young Madam.
The first time she met the Eldest Young Madam, she knew that the Eldest Young Madam had ulterior motives. Although she had brought her news, Li Wenwen had deliberately avoided her. She didn't expect her to pay so much attention to her. Regardless, she had saved her life.
"I'm already a useless person. Tell me directly what the Eldest Young Madam wants me to do." Li Wenwen said on the bed, devoid of hope. She didn't need to look in the mirror to know she must be extremely ugly, as she felt the burning pain on her face before fainting and knew she was disfigured.
"The Eldest Young Madam's goal is very simple: she wants you to re-enter the Zhu family. As long as Liu Zhiyi is unhappy, the Eldest Young Madam will be happy." The man said, looking at her meaningfully.
Li Wenwen understood everything. So, from beginning to end, the Eldest Young Madam was targeting the Second Young Madam. No wonder she told her everything. When did they become enemies? She thought about it, and it was easy to guess. The madam of the household were already fighting fiercely for the control of the household. It was understandable that they would find trouble for each other.
The other party explicitly stated their objective, which surprisingly put Li Wenwen more at ease. She was unwilling to leave like this. Her life had been ruined by them. When she thought of hiding in a dark corner, licking her wounds, while they lived in the light, accepting envious glances, it felt like countless ants tearing at her body, her whole being screaming, "Why? Why?"
Even if they didn't help her, Li Wenwen had decided to take revenge on the Zhu family. With their help, it would be twice as effective.
The Grand Tutor had covered for Lord Zhu for a long time, but Lord Zhu's health never improved. There were corresponding duties to be fulfilled in the court, and national affairs could not be delayed. After the Emperor read numerous memorials, he personally issued an order for Lord Zhu to vacate his position temporarily, and he would be reassigned after he recovered.
Upon receiving the news, Lord Zhu fell gravely ill. Although he was not worried about his reinstatement, as he had the Grand Tutor as his backer, it would not be easy to secure such a good position again, as there was only one vacancy for each role.
Just as the Zhu family was immersed in a somber atmosphere, unnoticed in a corner, a woman of grotesque ugliness limped in, becoming a scullery maid.
Because of the horrific scars on her face and her aura of depression, the kitchen staff instinctively kept their distance. Of course, they did not hesitate to order her around.
Initially, out of pride, Li Wenwen ignored them. There was plenty of infighting in the kitchen. To make the newcomer obedient, they ganged up, secretly beat her, and punished her by withholding food for a day.
Having learned her lesson, Li Wenwen could only swallow all her bitterness and secretly swore that once she had her revenge, she would make them pay.