Hearing Aunt Zhao's self - glorifying words, Chen Linchun sneered. "Are you helping me? You're clearly just holding a grudge against that maid!"
"Moreover, I've even brought Chen Miaochun back to help you. Isn't that enough?"
After the former Marchioness of Yong'an gave birth, she started to take revenge on Aunt Zhao. She blamed Aunt Zhao for the disappearance of her daughter. Not only did she successfully win back the Marchioness of Yong'an's heart, but she also confined Aunt Zhao to her courtyard. Fortunately for Aunt Zhao, she was pregnant at that time, so the former Marchioness of Yong'an had no choice but to spare her.
Later, the former Marchioness of Yong'an fell seriously ill and was on her deathbed. Before she died, she instructed her maid to convey a message to the Princess of Jingning, asking her friend to help find her daughter.
When Aunt Zhao heard that the Marchioness was seriously ill, she rushed over with her big belly, even faster than the Marquis of Yong'an, just to watch the show.
That's how she learned that the former Marchioness had dismissed all the servants except her personal maid. Unable to contain her eagerness, Aunt Zhao eavesdropped by the window and heard the Marchioness's last words.
Overjoyed, she incited the Marquis to kill the maid as a sacrifice for the Marchioness. Then she randomly sent a servant to deliver a message to the Princess of Jingning.
Aunt Zhao had a perfect plan. Although she was pregnant, she didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. Even if she gave birth to a son, the Hou Mansion wouldn't let her son be the heir. So she thought it would be better to let Chen Linchun hold the position of heir first. When her son grew up, she could expose this secret.
However, Aunt Zhao only gave birth to a daughter, and she damaged her body during childbirth, making it impossible for her to conceive again.
She had no choice but to let Chen Linchun usurp the position.
Chen Linchun was approached by the Wang family when he was seven years old while shopping outside. After learning his true identity, he used the silver he carried to keep the Wang family in check and pretended nothing had happened when he returned to the Hou Mansion.
He managed to hide it from the Marquis of Yong'an, but not from Aunt Zhao, who already knew the truth.
Aunt Zhao found Chen Linchun, and since then, they had colluded with each other, resulting in the scarcity of heirs in the Hou Mansion. Chen Linchun even poisoned Chen Wanqiu's elder brother.
Aunt Zhao refused to admit what Chen Linchun said. Defiantly, she retorted, "Don't act like you're doing this for me. You just have your eye on Chen Ruxia's dowry!"
The former Marchioness of Yong'an had a substantial dowry. Before she fell ill in bed, she publicly announced that all her dowry would go to Chen Ruxia in the future. She even privately went to the government to make a will, stating that all her property would be inherited by Chen Ruxia. Thanks to this will, Chen Ruxia was extremely wealthy, while Chen Linchun was penniless.
Mentioning this, Chen Linchun grew even more frustrated. "If I wanted the dowry, I could just kill Chen Ruxia. It was you who fancied Chen Ruxia's engagement and wanted to give it to Chen Pan'er!"
"Originally, this was a simple matter. All we needed to do was kill Chen Ruxia. But you insisted that I bring back Chen Miaochun, aiming to ruin their reputations and then give the engagement to Chen Pan'er. Now look! Chen Ruxia took Chen Miaochun to the government to report the case, and now the three members of the Wang family are in jail. What do you suggest we do?"
"I went to great lengths to keep Chen Miaochun calm and publicly announced that her adoptive parents were dead because I didn't trust the Wang family. Now all my efforts have gone to waste!"
Aunt Zhao knew she was in the wrong, so her confidence wavered. She murmured softly, "It's not entirely my fault. Killing Chen Ruxia would have been a good idea, but Yan Mingli said that if Chen Ruxia died, he would observe mourning for her. Chen Pan'er can't wait for three years, can she?"
"I don't understand what Yan Mingli is thinking. He and Chen Ruxia have only met a few times..."
The Yan Mingli Aunt Zhao mentioned was the third son of the Minister of Revenue and Chen Ruxia's fiancé.
All the younger generation of the Yan family were capable. Even the youngest, the Fifth Young Master, had passed the child - student examination. Without any accidents, he would surely pass the provincial examination in the future.
Only Yan Mingli was not well - versed in poetry and books. He loved to wander the streets. But in Aunt Zhao's eyes, Yan Mingli was an excellent husband. He came from a good family, was good - looking, and most importantly, his inner courtyard was clean. He didn't even have a maid to warm his bed.
The Princess of Jingning had carefully selected a good husband for Chen Ruxia in the capital.
When the two got engaged, Aunt Zhao was extremely jealous. When she learned that Chen Linchun had poisoned Chen Ruxia, she almost laughed out loud in the middle of the night, hoping that Chen Ruxia would die soon so that she could give Yan Mingli to Chen Pan'er.
However, Yan Mingli was an odd one. After learning that Chen Ruxia was seriously ill, instead of breaking off the engagement, he voluntarily offered to observe mourning, which scared Aunt Zhao so much that she threw away the poison Chen Linchun had prepared overnight.
Chen Linchun had no choice but to use medicine to aggravate Chen Ruxia's illness, making her suffer in pain and barely hold on to life. Then he tried to find ways for Chen Pan'er to get close to Yan Mingli.
Unexpectedly, after a whole year of trying every possible method, Yan Mingli still ignored Chen Pan'er.
Aunt Zhao had no choice but to ask Chen Linchun to bring back Chen Miaochun. First, they would seize Chen Ruxia's dowry and fiancé for Chen Miaochun. Then they would gradually make the Marquis of Yong'an disappointed in Chen Miaochun. By then, the dowry would go to Chen Linchun, and the engagement would be given to Chen Pan'er.
They had already planned everything. Chen Linchun would constantly provoke Chen Miaochun, making her kill Chen Ruxia. Finally, Aunt Zhao would expose this.
The Marquis of Yong'an had doted on Chen Ruxia for many years. Once he learned that Chen Miaochun had killed Chen Ruxia, he would surely feel disgusted. And since Qiuqiu was brought up by Chen Ruxia, the current Marchioness of Yong'an wouldn't show Chen Miaochun any kindness either.
The Minister of Revenue would surely not want a murderer as his daughter - in - law. Then Aunt Zhao could recommend her own daughter.
With Chen Miaochun as a bad example, the Minister of Revenue would think that Chen Pan'er was quite good.
Moreover, Chen Linchun could even openly support the Wang family because Chen Miaochun had killed their "daughter".
It was truly a profitable plan.
But unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. Something went wrong with the plan. Chen Ruxia took Chen Miaochun to the government and sent the Wang family to jail.
Aunt Zhao rolled her eyes and came up with a bad idea. "How about we take this opportunity to get rid of the Wang family? Then you can be the rightful heir."
The Wang family had asked Chen Linchun for money many times over the years. Sometimes when Chen Linchun had no money, he would borrow from Aunt Zhao. But he never paid it back.
Because of this, Aunt Zhao had long disliked the Wang family and wished they would die soon.
"No."
Chen Linchun immediately rejected the idea. After thinking for a while, he said, "I observed tonight that although Chen Miaochun still hates Chen Ruxia, she's starting to waver. If Chen Ruxia shows kindness a few more times, she might completely change her mind."
"If the two of them become friends, with Chen Ruxia's intelligence, she will surely suspect me. Instead of waiting, we should strike first and make Chen Ruxia hate Chen Miaochun."
"I inquired before. Yan Mingli doesn't actually like Chen Ruxia. He just has a playful nature and doesn't want to get married. If Chen Ruxia's face is burned, and the Hou Mansion proposes to change the engagement, Yan Mingli should not refuse."
Aunt Zhao was first shocked. "What do you plan to do?"
Then she frowned. "Even so, it won't be Chen Pan'er's turn. The Princess of Jingning and the Marchioness will surely prioritize Chen Miaochun..."
"Chen Miaochun will set the fire." Chen Linchun interrupted Aunt Zhao.
His cold stare sent a chill down one's spine. "While Chen Ruxia is putting Qiuqiu to sleep, Chen Miaochun will set the house on fire. If Chen Ruxia is unlucky, she will be burned to death. If she's lucky, her face will be disfigured."
"Qiuqiu is still a child and surely won't be able to escape."
"Once Chen Miaochun kills Qiuqiu, neither Father nor Mother will spare her."
Aunt Zhao shivered. She thought Chen Linchun was too cruel.