bullyxtreme Chapter 221 Countdown to Killing His Wife
Chapter 221 Countdown to Killing His Wife
Feeling a chill on her neck, Li Mingyue went back to her parents' home to ask her mother what to do about the situation.
Madam Li was indeed ruthless; she gave her daughter a packet of secret medicine.
"Mingyue, you can't be soft-hearted when it comes to life and death."
These days you've been trying to bribe the two people who serve the Duke.
Once Chief Supervisor Xiao is dead and Jiang Xinyu returns to her family home, you should use this time to finish off the Duke of Ningguo with a packet of medicine.
Li Mingyue's hands trembled as she held the medicine packet. "Mother, why are you going after the Duke?"
I only paid my respects to him once; we had no grudges against each other…
Madam Li sighed with disappointment, "If it's about interests and grudges, you should have given the medicine to your mother-in-law. That way, you wouldn't be able to control you later and you could vent your anger."
But your mother-in-law was always healthy. Wouldn't her sudden death raise suspicions?
You already had a motive because there were many conflicts between you.
Mother knows you're timid; you definitely won't be able to hide it if someone asks you.
It would be different if it were given to the Duke.
The Duke of Ningguo has been bedridden for many years, barely clinging to life; it wouldn't be surprising if he died at any time.
Even if he died, people would just assume he died of illness.
The symptoms of poisoning from this drug are not obvious, and as long as no one reports it to the authorities for investigation, the case will be foolproof.
It doesn't matter if people notice you've been poisoned.
"You're a daughter-in-law who's only met him once; no one would suspect you."
Li Mingyue clutched the medicine, feeling somewhat guilty. "Are you really going to kill someone? Is there no other way?"
Madam Li, fearing she might do something foolish, sternly rebuked her, "Besides observing mourning, what else can stop Zhao Chengye from getting married?"
If, as you say, Jiang Wanqiu has a large dowry, not only Zhao Chengye, but your mother-in-law would be more than happy to see you dead.
Silly girl, there are plenty of ways for their family to ruin you if they want to.
It would be good enough if you died of illness; the worst thing would be if a man were let in and then they caught you in bed with someone else.
When that happens, you'll be drowned in a pig cage and won't even have anyone to complain to.
As for the Duke, don't think he's innocent. He deserves what he got for having such a wife and son.
Don't worry, Jiang Wanqiu is not young.
If there were a large dowry, Liu would not have made her wait for Zhao Chengye for three years.
"Once Jiang Wanqiu marries someone else, Zhao Chengye will have no hope left, and you'll be at peace."
Li Mingyue cried and threw herself into her mother's arms, "I regret it, Mother, I regret it."
They're all bastards, I want a divorce.
Madam Li hugged her daughter and silently shed tears, "It's easy to get married but hard to get out. There's no such thing as getting married as you please."
Not only will your father not agree, but the clan will also not allow you to divorce, unless…
Thinking of this, Madam Li shook her head. "Let's be patient for now. The political situation in the court is changing rapidly, and something big is about to happen."
Don't just focus on the inner quarters; listen to news from the outside world as well.
Zhao Chengye is the disciple of the Left Prime Minister. If the Left Prime Minister gains power, his position will inevitably rise accordingly.
You should act now. Observing mourning not only prevents you from marrying but also from entering officialdom.
We must secure our position before Zhao Chengye gains power.
Delay him for three years first. If that doesn't work, get rid of that old woman when the mourning period is almost over, and then make him observe the mourning for another three years.
"If that Left Chancellor really dies, it might not be a bad thing. At least the Zhao family lad will be more obedient with no future."
Madam Li's analysis was entirely reasonable, and Li Mingyue, with a great deal of suspicion, slept with Zhao Chengye but harbored different dreams.
He endured this torment for about ten days until the world was at peace, the Left Chancellor's entire family was executed, and Xiao Yuan became a first-rank Marquis of the State.
Zhao Chengye stopped worshipping Buddha this time and spent several days in a row getting drunk, becoming completely dejected.
Occasionally, when he's drunk, he'll mutter things like, "Why didn't Xiao Yuan die? He shouldn't have."
Li Mingyue's eyes lit up when she thought of Zhao Chengye's frequent visits to the Left Prime Minister's residence during Governor Xiao's disaster relief efforts.
This is a good opportunity. Zhao Chengye must have done something during the Left Chancellor's rebellion.
Knowing that her husband wanted to kill her in order to marry a new woman, Li Mingyue felt a surge of anger.
Seeing him like this now, I feel both pleased and have developed a desire for divorce.
She had had enough of this poor, pretentious, and cold-blooded family.
Who knows if, after Jiang Wanqiu is gone, there will be other women like He Wanqiu and Hai Wanqiu.
He's in a slump now, and she's suffering along with him. If he gains power in the future, she'll lose her life.
Why?
The clan's lack of support for her divorce would damage her reputation, but that's nothing compared to the clan's actual interests.
If she told the clan chief about Zhao Chengye's involvement in the Left Chancellor's rebellion, could she successfully get rid of this family?
Ironically, in the original story, Li Mingyue became a tainted witness and accused Xiao Yuan because of Zhao Chengye's sweet talk.
Now that she's married to Zhao Chengye, she's thinking of putting righteousness above family ties and suing her husband.
It feels like fate is really quite amazing; it seems like she's destined to be unlucky for her husband.
After their private conversation, the Li mother and daughter went to the clan chief's house.
When the Li clan chief heard that Zhao Chengye was involved in a treason, his face turned pale, and he looked at the mother and daughter with murderous intent.
"Is this the wonderful wedding you've meticulously planned?"
"They've already stirred up so much trouble before anything's even happened. Are they going to drag the whole clan down with them?"
Li Mingyue quickly knelt down, "Grandpa Clan Chief, that matter is a secret that no one else knows about."
But I was thinking that if someone else found out, our two families, being related by marriage, would inevitably be implicated.
It would be better to divorce him now, or if that doesn't work, we can take the initiative to report him and get some credit for it.
Grandpa Clan Chief, my granddaughter has only been married for a year, how could she possibly want the reputation of being divorced?
But I know that as a member of the Li family, I have to think about the family's future; otherwise, I wouldn't have told you about this.
Chief Li sighed, knowing that the mother and daughter had ulterior motives, but he could only agree.
At this point, there was no such thing as "one person does the deed and one person takes the blame." If they were to wait for someone else to expose Zhao Chengye's crimes, they would definitely be implicated.
It's a good thing that Li Mingyue is willing to divorce; it would be troublesome if she cried and begged not to.
With Xu Chang's approval, Li Mingyue was full of confidence. After returning home, she ignored Zhao Chengye and only had her confidants start to collect her dowry.
She didn't want any of her needle and thread to benefit this bloodsucking family.
In ancient times, the dowry of a woman from a wealthy family was not just a small bundle or two silver ingots.
With such a close-up, how could Zhao Chengye not see it?
This guy was drinking in frustration, watching his teacher's large dowry slip away, when he saw the maids packing up their things and smashed his wine cup.
"Aren't you tired of this all day long? I just want to have a quiet drink. What are you all doing coming and going like this?"
Don't you want to live like this anymore?
Li Mingyue no longer wanted to indulge him, so she rolled her eyes at him and snorted coldly.
"What's the point of living? What's so great about living?"
"Ever since I married into your family, I haven't even been able to afford a bowl of bird's nest. I've had enough of this life."
Zhao Chengye was very concerned about his reputation and hated it when people said he was poor. In particular, Li Mingyue's disdainful look made him furious.
Coupled with a string of bad luck and the effects of alcohol, he went up and slapped Li Mingyue hard across the face.
"You bitch, what right do you have to look down on me?"
Even if I'm poor, I'm still the heir of a Duke's mansion. You, a mere maid from a fifth-rank official's household, can't even compare to me.
If you hadn't used underhanded tactics, would you even be worthy of entering my house?
Now that you think I'm poor, why didn't you say anything when you impersonated me and drugged me?
If it weren't for you, you wretch, ruining my plans, the Jiang family's dowry of several hundred thousand taels would have been mine.
That's hundreds of thousands of taels of silver; how can your worthless junk compare?
Li Mingyue, enraged by the beating, slammed into Zhao Chengye, causing him to stumble.
"What do you have to be so arrogant about? What does your Duke's Mansion have besides its title?"
It's just an empty shell.
If Jiang Xinyu liked you, she wouldn't have swapped marriages with me.
Look at the kind of life people are living now.
Only a useless man like you would covet a woman's dowry.
That's it, let's get a divorce!
Li Mingyue's words were like daggers piercing Zhao Chengye's lungs, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances she had suffered over the past year.
Zhao Chengye lowered his head and clenched his fists tighter and tighter, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
You bitch, in our family there is no such thing as divorce, only widowhood!