Chapter 291

Chapter 291: 284: Offer Jiang Chengxue a Cup of Poisoned Tea (First Update) Chapter 291: 284: Offer Jiang Chengxue a Cup of Poisoned Tea (First Update) Granny Zhu got up early and noticed that the roof was white.

The leaves of the Hooked Cymbidium were almost all gone, leaving behind only the bare stems twined around the sweet osmanthus tree, with thin branches burdened by a thin layer of snow, wavering on the verge of falling under the weight.

Xie Shang stood under the eaves, watching the snow fluttering outside the house.

Granny Zhu came back from the vegetable garden, brushing the snow off her body, “This winter is really long, the year has passed, and it’s still snowing so heavily.” She asked Xie Shang, “Has Changling woken up yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let her sleep a little longer. It’s rare for her to sleep so much.”

Granny Zhu took a broom and went outside to sweep the snow.

Xie Shang received a phone call.

“Zheng Lvhong wants to see you.”

Xie Shang made a sound of agreement, hung up the phone, and went back to his room.

Wen Changling was still asleep. She sweated in the latter half of the night, and kept saying she was cold afterward. The air conditioning was turned on for heating in the room. Xie Shang stood by the door for a while, waiting until he was warm before he walked to the bedside, placed her hand that was stretched out of the blanket properly, kissed her face, then got up and left.

The door was gently closed.

Wen Changling opened her eyes. Her eyes were clear, showing no signs of sleepiness. She sat up, reached for the phone hidden under her pillow, and called Shi Lihong.

“I’m taking a day off; I won’t be coming to work today.” She paused for a moment, “Nor tomorrow.”

Shi Lihong asked her how long she would be on leave.

“For a long time.”

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. She had started preparing before the year began, “I have already handed over all my work. Yun Yi is very capable, you can rely on him with confidence.”

Shi Lihong did not press for the reason for the “leave”: “Would you change your mind if I asked you to stay?”

“No.”

Shi Lihong was regretful but respected Wen Changling’s choice: “Then I wish you success in your endeavors.”

“Thank you.”

After hanging up the phone, Wen Changling called another person.

“Lawyer Ho.”

She needed to deal with the assets in her name.

The last call she made was to the funeral home.

“Miss Wen, I was just about to call you,” said the person in charge of the funeral home, “There’s been a problem with the burial ground.”

*****

Men’s prison.

Tong Zheng, Zhou Pang, and the two others had made too many enemies before going in, and they had a hard time in prison.

Among the four, Zheng Lvhong was the one with the most ideas. In search of Xie Shang’s protection, he accepted the olive branch Xie Shang extended, persuaded the other three, and revealed the truth about Wen Zhaoyang’s case.

“Is there anything else?”

Separated by the glass, Zheng Lvhong said, “I have one more condition.”

“Go ahead.”

Behind Xie Shang stood the Xie and Su families, as well as the entire KE law firm.

Xie Shang agreed, “That’s possible.”

Only then did Zheng Lvhong loosen up, “I want to see Lin Yaoping.”

*****

Before ten o’clock, Xie Shang returned to Lotus Pond Street. The snow had stopped.

Tongtong tripped over the threshold, bumping clumsily into him, and Xie Shang caught her, “Slow down.”

“Thank you, brother.”

Tongtong ran out to play.

Xie Shang entered the house. Granny Zhu was not there, and Huahua had run off to play somewhere, so the courtyard was very quiet. He paused and looked towards the empty plot in the backyard, where only a lone sweet osmanthus tree was left; the Hooked Cymbidium had been dug out by the roots.

He walked over and saw a patch of ashes on the ground, with the previous night’s wind-swept fallen leaves covered by new snow. Among the leaves lay a partly burned fragment of a photo.

He picked it up and turned the photo over.

—Golden hair, Wen Changling at eighteen.

He immediately ran towards the room.

The Hooked Cymbidium in the yard had been transplanted from Wen Yuan’s grave. Xie Shang knew that Wen Changling had a habit; once she had dealt with an enemy, she would burn his photo under the Hooked Cymbidium tree to console the dead.

Wen Yuan had committed suicide using the Hooked Cymbidium, and he had initially thought Wen Changling planted it carefully to remind herself not to forget her hatred. But it was more than that; the Poisonous Uncaria was what Wen Changling had prepared for herself.

She was not in the room, and she wasn’t answering her phone.

*****

The phone on the table rang again.

Wen Changling looked at the incoming call, silent. She suddenly remembered what the funeral home director had said that morning.

“Mr. Zeng Yulong sold the burial ground.”

Zeng Yulong was Zeng Zhili’s foster father, and Zeng Yulong and Wen Yuan were cousins. The mountain where Wen Yuan was buried was a private mountain of Wen Yuan’s maternal family, and the ownership of the mountain currently belonged to Zeng Yulong.

“The buyer’s surname is Xie.”

Xie Shang is really annoying.

Wen Changling had a moment when she wanted to smash the endlessly ringing phone.

“Not answering?”

Wen Changling looked up, towards the person across from her. Jiang Chengxue was sitting opposite her.

The ringtone went on for a long time before quieting down.

In front of Jiang Chengxue was a cup of tea, and there was one in front of Wen Changling as well. She had asked to meet Jiang Chengxue, arriving half an hour early, and she had brewed the tea herself. The roots of the Hooked Cymbidium in her courtyard had loosened when she dug out the liquor, the leaves fell day by day, and the last few ended up in this pot of tea.

As long as Jiang Chengxue drank it, she would drink it too, and everything would end.

He picked up the teacup.

She would soon be able to see her mother and Ah Na...

Just as Jiang Chengxue’s lips were about to touch the tea, Wen Changling’s instinct to survive suddenly took over, and she uncontrollably grabbed Jiang Chengxue’s hand. The tea spilled, flowing over his fingertips.

Jiang Chengxue’s gaze settled on her hand.

Physical contact, for the first time.

He looked up, “Is this the tea you specifically prepared for me, and now you can’t bear to let me drink it?”

“The tea is poisoned.”

He knew, he removed Wen Changling’s hand, “Your cup is poisoned too, isn’t it?”

He laughed and drank the tea she poured for him.

She immediately stood up, snatched the teacup, and slammed it on the ground. The tea splashed everywhere, and the cup shattered on impact.

“You still can’t bear it.”

To perish together with one’s enemy.

How perfect a death.

But she ruined it. Jiang Chengxue carefully wiped his hands dry of the tea with a handkerchief, clearly disappointed, “Wen Changling, how can you be so greedy? You can’t bear to break up with Xie Shang, so you want to drag me to death with you. I was willing to oblige you, yet you can’t bear to leave him. What else do you want? How else do you want me to help you? Do you still want revenge? Why have you become so hesitant?”