Chapter 363

Du Mingzhu turned her head suddenly.

In front of the dressing table against the wall, a dark figure sat like a ghost. The light was too dim, and she couldn't see the other person's face, only guessing from the height that the person was of medium build.

Du Mingzhu subconsciously gripped the quilt on her body, staring fixedly at him, and demanded sternly: "Who are you?"

"Someone who can save you." The shadow's voice was warm yet ethereal, full of temptation. "Do you want to become beautiful? I can help you."

Du Mingzhu's heart beat wildly.

She wanted to; how could she not?

But even Mu Shanyue was at his wit's end; was there anyone in this world whose medical skills were more formidable than the Medicine God Valley?

Furthermore, the person in front of her was acting sneakily; who knew if they were friend or foe.

Du Mingzhu shrank into the bed, watching the dark shadow vigilantly. "I don't even know who you are; why should I believe you?"

The shadow laughed. "Silly child, it seems you still don't understand your situation."

"At this moment, besides this life, you have nothing left."

"The most important things for a woman—appearance, reputation, family background—you have lost them all. Besides believing in me, is there any other path you can take?"

"What do you mean by that?" Du Mingzhu raised her chin high. "Even without beauty, I am still a dignified official's daughter, the granddaughter of the Northern Peace Marquis Mansion; what do you mean by 'lost them all'?"

"Oh, is that so?"

The shadow slowly stood up, walked to the bedside, and made a 'tsk tsk tsk' sound. "This seat thought you were a smart girl; I didn't expect you to be so stupid."

He sat down at the bedside as if he were familiar, facing Du Mingzhu. "Now rumors about you are spreading everywhere outside, saying that you harmed your elder sister, that your methods are vicious, that you are a downright snake-hearted ugly woman, and that whoever marries you is unlucky. You should know that, right?"

Du Mingzhu's hand gripping the quilt tightened, and she remained silent.

She did indeed know.

Jiang Shi was worried that her mood, which had finally stabilized, would collapse again, so she instructed all the servants not to tell her about this matter.

But in fact, she was standing at the door at the time, and she had heard every word Manager Tang said.

She was just pretending not to know.

"Your father, that sesame-sized official, doesn't count; he can't hold up the stage, so you, this official's daughter, naturally don't have enough weight. What you truly rely on is the power of the Northern Peace Marquis Mansion."

The shadow continued slowly. "Now that your appearance is ruined and your reputation is in tatters, once the rumors reach the capital, the Northern Peace Marquis Mansion will inevitably be implicated. Your cousins, with you as a bad example in front, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to find good marriages."

"Even your aunt, Imperial Concubine Rong in the palace, will not be able to hold her head up."

"Think carefully, if you were the head of the Northern Peace Marquis Mansion, for the sake of family interests, what would you do?"

Du Mingzhu's body couldn't stop trembling.

"No, that won't happen... Uncle has always loved me the most; he won't kill me! No!"

The shadow shook his head amusingly. "You, you haven't even grasped the most basic human nature. Perhaps your uncle truly treats you well, but when interests are at stake, even a biological daughter can be abandoned, let alone you, a niece with only half the blood relationship?"

Du Mingzhu suddenly clutched her collar, almost unable to breathe.

She knew it clearly.

The man hadn't exaggerated; there would only be two results waiting for her.

Either, become a nun in the name of atonement, living with blue lamps and ancient Buddhas for the rest of her life, never to be seen again;

Or, die!

But how could she be reconciled? She clearly hadn't done anything wrong; it was that slut Du Ruo who had framed her. Why was it that she was the one who ended up with such a miserable ending?

The shadow didn't press her step by step, but stood up and sighed. "Alright, this seat has said enough; you should think about it carefully."

After speaking, he made a move to leave.

Du Mingzhu's eyes rolled around in panic. Suddenly, she threw off the quilt, rushed over, grabbed his clothes, raised her head, and begged: "Save me..."

In the darkness, the man's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"Save you, I can."

"However, this seat has a condition: from now on, this seat will be your master. You must swear allegiance to me, obey me, and honor me above all else."

"If you break your oath, then you will be the fish on the chopping block, suffering the punishment of a thousand cuts, and you will die without a burial place!"

"How about it? Do you agree?"

Du Mingzhu gritted her teeth and hardened her heart. "Fine, I swear!"

As soon as she finished speaking.

Bang! Rumble!

Several thunderclaps exploded one after another, as if the Heavenly Court were furious, deafening.

Along with the thunder, there was a flash of lightning that tore through the sky, shooting in through the paper-pasted window lattice and shining directly on the man's face.

Du Mingzhu widened her eyes suddenly. "It's you?!"

Compared to Du Mingzhu's deep water and hot fire, Du Ruo's side was much more comfortable.

After the competition ended completely, Du Ruo felt as if she had finished the imperial examination, and her whole person felt relieved.

Her mood was also particularly good.

That night, led by Bian Dou Dou, the students of Xiushan Academy gathered together to hold a lively celebration banquet for Du Ruo.

Everyone took turns coming up to toast Du Ruo, especially those who had patients at home; they were even more overly attentive, calling her 'Sister-in-law Dalang' one after another, and they couldn't have been more intimate.

Du Ruo didn't drink a single drop of wine.

It wasn't that she didn't give them face, but her tolerance for alcohol was truly too poor; she would get drunk at the touch of alcohol, and once drunk, she would act crazy.

She was afraid that the celebration banquet would turn into a mental hospital by then.

So it was all blocked by Jiang Li.

Jiang Li's tolerance for alcohol was quite good, but he couldn't handle the large number of people; in the end, he was also a bit tipsy, and his eyes began to blur. Seeing this, Du Ruo hurriedly found an excuse to pull him upstairs to rest.

As a result, this guy was good; he used his drunkenness to toss her around in all sorts of ways, and it didn't stop until late at night.

The next morning, Du Ruo slept until the sun was high before getting up.

And Jiang Li had already disappeared; Lao Tietou passed on a message for him, saying that he had gone to the prefectural office with Jiang Zhan.

Du Ruo was not surprised by this at all.

The young couple had already discussed it before; the imperial examination was over, and the Apricot Forest Assembly was also over. Counting it up, they had been away from home for more than a month, and they didn't know how the old and young at home were doing. The couple was eager to return home.

So they were thinking of setting off to return home in these two days.

But before leaving, there were still a few things to do.

First was to go and bid farewell to Prefect Su.

Prefect Su not only had the grace of discovery for Jiang Zhan but also the grace of promotion for Jiang Li. In terms of reason and emotion, the brothers should both make this trip to show their respect.

In addition, Jiang Li still had to find Xiong Er.

Because of the tight schedule, the two shops and one villa compensated by the Prince of Ji's mansion really couldn't be managed in time, so he wanted to entrust Xiong Er to help look after them first and start operating them after they came over after the New Year.

After breakfast, Du Ruo sat in the room and began to calculate in her heart.

Should she also go and say goodbye to Xiao Chuan?

It would be too unkind to leave without saying a word, and that guy would definitely be angry.

It was just that what excuse should she make up so as not to invite gossip...

Du Ruo lay down on the bed.

Sigh, headache.

Just as she was racking her brains, the door was suddenly knocked hard, and it was the hurried voice of a waiter: "Madam Du, please come out and take a look, someone is looking for you!"

Du Ruo hurriedly went to open the door and asked suspiciously: "Who is it?"

The waiter swallowed and pointed outside: "So, so many people!"