Chapter 12: How Could This Be?

Cheng Zhouxing was exhausted today; Jiang Weiran's arm had been broken once again. The incident happened so suddenly that he had been busy following it all day long.

Thinking of Cheng Xi made it hard for him to fall asleep; he tossed and turned, feeling as if a fire were burning in his heart.

Ever since she returned from the villa, she had turned the mansion upside down, acting in a way that was completely different from her previous gentle and quiet nature. He truly did not understand; was it not better to be like she was before?

Even if the engagement with Jiang Weiran was broken off, he would have chosen another match for her in the future; why did it have to turn into such a scene?

Today, Li Shi cried to him, saying that Cheng Xi had exposed the affair between Feng Lan and Jiang Weiran in front of the servants of the State Duke Mansion and Cheng Fu. How were they supposed to face people in the future?

Even though he and the State Duke had already ordered that the servants of both families were not to leak this matter, as long as Cheng Xi refused to let them off, this matter would never end.

The more he thought, the more annoyed he became. Just then, a clamor came from outside.

Cheng Zhouxing immediately lifted the bed curtain and shouted, "What are you making such a racket for in the middle of the night? You have no manners at all!"

Li Shi was also annoyed and had not fallen asleep either. When Cheng Zhouxing got up, she followed suit, her expression equally unpleasant.

Ever since that little slut Cheng Xi returned, this mansion had been turned upside down.

Just then, the bedroom door was pushed open. Yang Mama, who was by Li Shi's side, entered, bowed behind a curtain, and said, "Master, Madam, the Eldest Miss has returned."

Cheng Zhouxing's face darkened. "Returning so late, what has she been doing?"

Li Shi's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, "Master, the Eldest Miss is now beyond discipline. She won't listen to a single word from you or me. Her temper is huge; I think you had better not interfere, lest you and your daughter start arguing again."

Cheng Zhouxing was even angrier when he heard this; he was her father, naturally he could discipline her!

He threw on his clothes and walked out. Li Shi hurried to catch up and block him. "Master, calm your anger. If you go out and scold the Eldest Miss like this, she will think it was me who instigated it. It is better to let the Eldest Miss go rest and talk about it tomorrow."

Cheng Zhouxing was already burning with rage. Li Shi's words were meant to persuade him, but instead, they added fuel to the fire. Cheng Zhouxing pushed her aside and strode out.

Yang Mama gave Li Shi a look, her face showing some anxiety. She stopped her steps to follow Cheng Zhouxing and looked at Yang Mama, asking, "What is it?"

"Madam, the Eldest Miss went straight to Xu Mama's place. You must go and see; I fear there will be a loss of life," Yang Mama said with a pale face.

Li Shi's body swayed, and she took off running. "How could this be? How could she know about Xu Mama..."

"This old servant does not know either," Yang Mama hurriedly shook her head, not knowing where things had gone wrong.

Li Shi dared not delay any longer and hurried to chase after Cheng Zhouxing. The couple arrived one after the other at the back room where Xu Mama lived.

At this moment, Xu Mama was disheveled, her hair half-loose, and she was being dragged out and pressed to the ground. She was still shouting, "Eldest Miss, what are you doing? This old servant is the Madam's personal maid; even if I have committed some fault, it is not for the Eldest Miss to punish me."

Cheng Xi stepped forward and stomped on Xu Mama's face. "Tell me, will you stop breathing faster, or will your Madam arrive faster?"

With a slight pressure from her foot, Xu Mama's face instantly twisted and deformed. She struggled with all her might, trying to push away Cheng Xi's foot, but although Cheng Xi looked frail, she possessed immense strength; her foot remained motionless on her face.

The servants in the courtyard were all terrified by this scene; the timid ones rolled their eyes back and fainted. A woman who was on good terms with Xu Mama turned to run for reinforcements and bumped right into the arriving Cheng Zhouxing and his wife, shouting, "Master, the Eldest Miss is going to kill Xu Mama!"

Cheng Zhouxing's face was black as he quickened his pace and walked in. At a glance, he saw Cheng Xi's foot on Xu Mama's head and roared, "What are you doing? Let her go at once!"

Let her go?

Cheng Xi turned to look at Cheng Zhouxing, her quiet eyes filled with icy coldness. "What am I doing? You ask me this—shouldn't you be asking your good Madam instead?"

"What do you mean?" Cheng Zhouxing looked at Cheng Xi suspiciously, then turned his head to look at Li Shi.

Li Shi suppressed the unease in her heart and said with a look of astonishment, "What does the Eldest Miss mean by this? You broke into my courtyard in the middle of the night, and the first thing you do is try to beat my personal maid to death, yet you still ask me why?"

"Madam doesn't know? It doesn't matter, you will know soon enough." Cheng Xi smiled faintly. "I have already reported the case to the Tongtian Division. Today, the officials of the Tongtian Division happened to help me catch the thief who kidnapped Jinxiang."

Li Shi's face turned deathly pale in an instant!

The Tongtian Division...

Cheng Zhouxing looked bewildered. "What report? What thief? What on earth are you talking about?"

"You will have to ask your good Madam about that," Cheng Xi said coldly.

Cheng Zhouxing felt uneasy, sensing that something major was about to happen. Just then, the steward came running in from outside and said as soon as he entered, "Master, the Chief of Tongtian has arrived."

It really was the Tongtian Division?

Cheng Zhouxing glanced at Cheng Xi, then at Li Shi, and walked out with a dark face.

Once Cheng Zhouxing left, Cheng Xi said indifferently, "Drag her away."

"Cheng Xi, how dare you!" Li Shi immediately blocked her.

"Li Shi, you still have the heart to block me here? You'd be better off thinking about having that lackey of yours take the fall for you. When the Tongtian Division handles a case, it's not something you can interfere with like the Shuntian Prefecture."

After Cheng Xi finished speaking, she didn't look at Li Shi's face and walked straight out.

Zhao Mama brought a few servants and dragged Xu Mama out.

Xu Mama looked at Li Shi and cried, "Madam, save me, this old servant was only..." Meeting Li Shi's fierce gaze, Xu Mama swallowed the second half of her sentence.

Outside the gate of Cheng Fu, the firelight was blazing. Li Zhi'an stood with his hands behind his back, the dark mass of Division Guards behind him making people's hearts jump and feel uneasy.

"Chief Li, I wonder what brings you to my door in the middle of the night?" Cheng Zhouxing squeezed out a smile and stepped forward to ask.

He was only a Vice Minister; this official rank was not low in Jindu, but in front of Li Zhi'an, it was nothing.

Li Zhi'an threw a stack of confessions to Cheng Zhouxing. "Master Cheng, see for yourself."

Cheng Zhouxing used the light of the torches to flip through the confessions. The more he read, the more shocked he became. Xu Mama, who was by Li Shi's side, had her son bribe a thief to kidnap Jinxiang—how could this be possible?

"Chief, is there some mistake?" Cheng Zhouxing could not believe such a thing would happen.

He remembered Cheng Xi returning and heading straight for Xu Mama, looking like she wanted her life, and he felt uncertain.

"Is Master Cheng questioning the impartiality of the Tongtian Division's investigations? The thief is still in the Tongtian Division prison; Master Cheng may go and interrogate them personally. This Chief has come to apprehend a major criminal; I ask for Master Cheng's cooperation!" Li Zhi'an said in a deep voice, his eyes slightly raised, seeing Cheng Xi standing all alone in front of the Cheng Fu gate.