CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 365: ZHONG CUILAN’S SCHEME

Mrs. Zou choked, indeed, even if Zhong Cuilan was a fool, she wouldn’t sacrifice her life for Concubine Lu.

Mrs. Zou argued with Concubine Lu, while Zhong Cuilan’s body was gradually growing cold... She risked a miscarriage, but unfortunately, the fetus was already well-formed and, due to being over-nourished, was too large, making the miscarriage more difficult than expected.

The fetus had just come out, and the bleeding hadn’t stopped when County Magistrate Zou dragged her off the bed and beat her, causing even more bleeding.

Zhong Cuilan knew she couldn’t escape her doom and had given up making excuses, but... heh, Lu Meihua, you think you can have the last laugh? Even if she died, she wouldn’t let Lu Meihua have a good life!

And County Magistrate Zou, this old fool, she wouldn’t let him off either!

Zhong Cuilan had managed to survive the disaster, cling to Scholar Zhong’s Family, and even after her affair with Zhong Junwang was exposed, she was able to leave Zhong family unscathed and enter Zou Mansion as a concubine; she was no ordinary person. As early as when Concubine Lu caught her blackmailing, she had already foreseen her various ends and made arrangements.

If her arrangements succeeded, then County Magistrate Zou, Mrs. Zou, Concubine Lu, Lu Family, including Scholar Zhong’s Family, all would have to be buried with her!

One life in exchange for many, she, Ma Cuilan, deemed it worth it!

Although County Magistrate Zou felt that Concubine Lu made sense, he was too agitated today, his suspicion was strong, and he trusted no one, and directly pointed at Mo Qiuyue, saying, "Someone, beat this woman for me!"

"Yes," two Protectors quickly dragged the trembling Mo Qiuyue kneeling in the corridor out, laid her on a long bench, and began beating her with a big stick with an iron sheath, cracking her skin and flesh open in just a few blows.

"Ah—" Mo Qiuyue screamed in agony, crying out, "My lord, spare my life, I am innocent... sob, sob, sob..."

County Magistrate Zou gave her only one sentence: "Did Concubine Lu and Zhong Cuilan conspire to frame me? Or did Concubine Lu send you to harm Zhong Cuilan? Speak up, and I’ll spare your life!"

Bang, bang, bang!

The stick continued to beat harshly, breaking Mo Qiuyue’s coccyx.

She kept screaming in pain, unable to utter a complete sentence, only intermittently saying, "I don’t know... I’m innocent... Concubine Lu save me... Mrs. Zhong save me!"

Unfortunately, no one would save her. After being beaten with hundreds of sticks, Mo Qiuyue finally ran out of breath and was beaten to death.

She died confused, fundamentally not understanding why she was beaten to death.

And the death of Mo Qiuyue was also within Concubine Lu’s plans.

Mrs. Han told Concubine Lu that if both Zhong Cuilan and Mrs. Zou had issues, not only would Mrs. Zou cling to her, but County Magistrate Zou would suspect her as well.

So instead of waiting for others to grasp her vulnerability, she might as well deliver it herself.

This vulnerability was Mo Qiuyue.

Mo Qiuyue was foolish and didn’t understand the intricacies of the inner house, and since the Zou family had a rule of harsh punishment for servants, once the incident occurred, with Mo Qiuyue’s wits, even being beaten to death, she still wouldn’t have realized.

"Old Master, this girl is dead," the executing Protector reported.

Concubine Lu’s eyes instantly brimmed with tears, and she said to County Magistrate Zou, "Old Master, you see, Lian’er has been wronged. If Lian’er had really ordered Mo Qiuyue to set up a trap to frame Madam and Zhong Cuilan, would she have let herself be beaten to death without confessing?"

County Magistrate Zou’s gloomy face finally eased a bit, convinced that Concubine Lu had no part in this matter.

The reason he believed this was because shortly after Mo Qiuyue went to serve Mrs. Zhong, Zou Jiang came to tell him that once Lu Family People knew that Mo Qiuyue was serving Mrs. Zhong, they sent all the Mo Family People over, removing any suspicion that Lu Family might have used Mo Family People to pressure Mo Qiuyue into refusing to confess to her death.

Not long after Mo Qiuyue’s body was dragged away, Master Cao and his people brought back Zou Yuqian and Zou Yunkun.

Seeing that his mother, wife, and children were all kneeling in the Huilan Courtyard, Zou Yuqian and Zou Yunkun were so frightened that they fell to their knees with a thud: "Father, Father..."

County Magistrate Zou did not speak, just stared at Zou Yuqian with a somber gaze.

Zou Yuqian was handsomely built, deliberately chosen to be planted in a spot favored by Ms. Zou, with a fair complexion, and although nearly forty, he looked much like someone in his early thirties.

County Magistrate Zou was annoyed inside, further fueled by the words of Master Cao.

Master Cao said, "Old Master, I found the two masters in a mansion at Lianxiang Lane... Mrs. Hao was also there, and upon questioning her, she confessed that the mansion was secretly bought by Madam, and the girls introduced by Mrs. Zhong learned there how to serve a man."

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zou realized everything, pointing at Zou Yuqian he cursed: "Well, a real beast you are! You colluded with Zhong Cuilan in that house, and even fathered an illegitimate child. I should kill you myself!"

County Magistrate Zou charged forward, seizing Zou Yuqian’s neck and throttled him with all his might, causing Zou Yuqian’s eyes to roll back as he struggled and beat County Magistrate Zou, eventually pushing him to the ground.

"Panting heavily!" Zou Yuqian finally caught his breath, quickly knelt down and pleaded, "Father, father, your son has been wronged, I went to the mansion to study..."

"Spare me! Going to a mansion dedicated to teaching women how to serve men to study, what an excuse!" County Magistrate Zou directly hurled a golden lock at Zou Yuqian, "Look, this is the longevity lock you gave to the bastard!"

Seeing the golden lock, Zou Yuqian shook his head quickly, "Father, I am wronged, this golden lock isn’t mine, I haven’t had one made recently."

"Need to personally order a golden lock? With so many servants, you could easily send someone to make it!" County Magistrate Zou did not want to hear Zou Yuqian speak, completely convinced he was just making excuses.

Zhong Cuilan’s body grew cold and shivered; she knew her time was up and decided to help wipe out the Zou family.

She looked at Zou Yuqian and said, "Yuqian... Now that it has come to this, there’s no need for us to make excuses... Our love was not meant for this life, let’s be husband and wife in the next."

Hearing this, Zou Yuqian roared with indignation: "Zhong Cuilan, don’t slander me, when have I ever had anything to do with you?"

He cried to County Magistrate Zou: "Father, your son is wronged, you must believe your son."

Bang!

County Magistrate Zou, now seething with anger, kicked Zou Yuqian down and, exhausted, also fell down himself.

Zou Jiang hurried to help him up and just as he was halfway up, Zhong Cuilan said something else.

She looked at County Magistrate Zou and slowly smiled, "Old Master, they say a dying man’s words are kind, I appreciate your kindness to me, and before I die, I will tell you something... Do you know why I sought sons with the young master? Because you, Old Master, were long ago given medicine, leaving you unable to father children... The only way for me to have a son to rely on was to seek other men."

Her smile deepened as she added, "Guess who gave you that infertility drug?"