Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Liu Zhao Bai Who Risked Everything to Rise

Yu Zhi Yi said: “Actually, Young Master Liu is very jealous of the Prince Consort.”

She continued: “He envies that the Prince Consort looks better than him, studies better than him, and comes from a better family. He wants the Prince Consort to live in misery even if he dies, so he came up with a vicious plan.”

She added: “He thought that with the Prince Consort’s proud nature, if a man really defiled him, he would feel worse than death. Also, because it is so shameful, the Prince Consort would never make it public.”

She explained: “If the Prince Consort did not take his own life afterward, he would use the incident as a handle to threaten the Prince Consort into serving him and gaining benefits for him. But if the Prince Consort could not bear it and killed himself, the seat of Prince Consort would be empty, and Young Master Liu would have a good chance to move up.”

She said: “Today is the day he plans to act.”

She went on: “You agreed early this morning to go boating on the lake, so there is a high chance you will not return to the manor tonight. Even if you do, it would be after the Hour of the Pig, around 9 to 11 p.m. By then, that man would already be done.”

She finished: “Right now, that man has already been placed inside the Princess’s Manor. He is lurking near the Prince Consort’s quarters under the cover of being a gardener. He is just waiting to tamper with the food at supper. He carries knockout powder, plus two ropes to tie a person’s hands and feet. He also has a ball that can be stuffed into the mouth so the victim cannot make a sound.”

With every sentence Yu Zhi Yi spoke, Liu Zhao Bai’s face turned paler. [How does this woman know everything?]

Princess Feng Xiang no longer had the patience for nonsense, and she gritted her teeth and ordered: “Guards, seize this wretch and lock him in Heaven Prison!”

She rushed back to the manor at top speed.

Since an extra gardener had appeared in the Princess’s Manor, finding him was not hard.

When they caught him, the lover was crouching behind a rock, staring toward the Prince Consort’s courtyard with a sleazy grin on his face.

Princess Feng Xiang personally led the arrest, and they searched the lover’s body. They really did find those tools.

Most of all, the knockout powder.

She invited the resident physician to examine it. He confirmed: it was a powerful sedative. Just a pinch would make a person sleep for two to three shichen, about four to six hours. A whole packet could keep someone asleep until the same time tomorrow. After they pass out, no matter what happens during that time, they will not wake up.

As for the other items, the resident physician explained: the ball was not only for the mouth. The two straps help secure it so the victim cannot spit it out. They also allow the ball to be shoved into other, more hidden places, and the straps are there so it can be pulled back out.

Princess Feng Xiang’s eyes blazed. [Outrageous.]

As a dignified princess, she had never even thought of doing something so cruel to her own Prince Consort, yet those two low, filthy people dared to think it and even dared to carry it out. She wanted to hack them into pieces.

Afterward, the princess, full of guilt, went to the Prince Consort to apologize. Knowing she was in the wrong, she softened her attitude and coaxed him with gentle words.

The Prince Consort did not really know what had happened, but he never truly got angry with the princess, so the two of them made up.

By saving a marriage and a life, Yu Zhi Yi gained a wisp of golden merit light. She had no time to refine it, because a crowd of warmhearted townsfolk had gathered around her, asking all at once if going to Yiluan Charity would get them free aid and whether they could come to Yiluan Charity for help with any problem.

Yu Zhi Yi was almost unable to move through the crush, and she could not force them back. She could only push forward with difficulty.

Thankfully, Steward Wu Shan and the others noticed what was happening outside and rescued Yu Zhi Yi from the crowd.

With a just-right smile, Steward Wu Shan addressed the people: “If you have questions, please line up and ask one by one. We have staff whose job is to answer your questions. They will clear up every doubt in your mind.”

When Yu Zhi Yi entered the main hall, Old Man Zhang came forward and dropped to his knees: “Thank you, Boss! I will never forget your great kindness, Boss Zhang will remember it all my life. I have nothing to repay you with, please accept my thanks!”

As he spoke, he knocked his head to the floor three times with loud thumps. Yu Zhi Yi could not stop him in time. Just as he was about to knock a fourth time, she finally raised her hand and stopped him: “All right, get up. I founded this charity to help people who need help.”

She said calmly: “Since you chose to trust Yiluan Charity, it means you were meant to receive this blessing. You should thank yourself.”

Old Man Zhang wept: “Boss, you do not need to comfort an old man. I am just a commoner. My family has been poor farmers for eight generations. What luck could an old man like me have?”

Yu Zhi Yi smiled a little: “You live in poverty, but you never lost your good heart. When you meet someone who needs help, if it is within your power, you help. Maybe you think those are small things, but there is no such thing as a small good or a small evil. Do good and you gain merit. Do evil and you invite trouble.”

She said: “Your Eight Characters show that in this life you should have been ruined for the rest of your days, and in the end, die in pain, trapped by your obsession with finding your son and by guilt toward your family. But because of the good you have done, your fate turned.”

She added: “This turning point changed not only your fate but also your son’s.”

If they had not found Old Man Zhang’s son today, he would have been beaten to death tonight by those men whose crimes were piled high. But now Zhang Tuwa’s fate line had shifted.

“In short, as long as you are alive there is hope. Live well. Do not look down on your own life. You will find a reason to keep going,” said Yu Zhi Yi.

Old Man Zhang nodded again and again: “Yes, yes.”

But saying “live well” is easy. Doing it is not.

Zhang Tuwa had had both hands and feet chopped off, and years of suffering had hollowed out his body. Forget standing tall and living with dignity. Even lying in bed and waiting for the next morning used up all his strength.

Yu Zhi Yi could foresee fortune and disaster and punish evil and reward good, but she truly did not know how to help someone recover a will to live.

Thankfully, Yiluan Charity did not rely on her alone. There was also Red Luan. Even Du Zi Heng came by for a walk every day after he got off work.

At first, the people at Yiluan Charity did not know that the handsome, bookish young master was their employer’s husband. Only when Du Zi Heng introduced himself did they learn the truth.

Yu Zhi Yi had not planned to make their identities public. She looked at him with clear, cool eyes full of displeasure and asked: “What exactly are you trying to do?”

Du Zi Heng answered without shame: “You and I are husband and wife. Even if we act like brother and sister in private, in other people’s eyes that does not change. Instead of waiting for others to dig it out, it is better for us to admit it ourselves.”

Yu Zhi Yi was about to say more, but Du Zi Heng suddenly changed the topic: “You want to jolt Zhang Tuwa so he finds a reason to live. I have an idea.”