Chapter 84 The Cause of Zhao Yinling’s Death!

Li Yuanjing hurriedly entered the new bridal chamber, and even with his resolute heart, the sight before him made him close his eyes in unbearable pain.

He saw—

Zhao Yinling, clad in the tattered wedding dress that Li Yuanjing had torn apart, her pale skin exposed, lay motionless on the floor. More dreadful still—

Blood had streamed from her mouth and nose, as if she had suffered unspeakable agony before death; her fingers had clawed the sheepskin rug to shreds, leaving alarming marks on the earth beneath.

“Brother, what… what on earth happened here…”

Soon, Yuniang hurried in as well. She tried desperately to maintain her composure, unwilling to lose the dignity of Li Yuanjing’s wife, but her small frame trembled uncontrollably.

Li Yuanjing exhaled deeply, holding Yuniang tightly in his arms and covering her eyes, unwilling for her to witness such a horrific scene.

Yet, though Yuniang did not resist, her trembling only intensified.

Li Yuanjing hesitated for a moment before releasing his hand from her eyes, embracing her more firmly, and barking fiercely, “Where’s Wang Cuihua? Where has that wretched woman gone?!”

Chen Chunyan was startled, quickly replying, “Master, someone’s already been sent to fetch her. She should be here soon…”

As she spoke, Wang Cuihua’s voice echoed from outside, “Make way, make way! The master is anxious to see me…”

Chen Chunyan hurried out to bring Wang Cuihua in. Upon entering, Wang Cuihua was shocked by the scene, but as she was about to pay respects to Li Yuanjing, she caught his icy gaze.

Startled, Wang Cuihua wasted no time, directing Chen Chunyan to close the door tightly and moved to examine Zhao Yinling’s corpse.

As Wang Cuihua turned the body over, Li Yuanjing’s expression suddenly changed.

“Brother, she… she seems to have died from poisoning…”

Even Yuniang managed to compose herself, whispering with forced calm.

Li Yuanjing nodded heavily, gripping Yuniang’s small hand tightly. He had never felt such terror as he did now—not for his own life, which he had enjoyed and indulged through two lifetimes, but for the prospect of losing Yuniang, a fate beyond imagining.

“Brother, I’m here, I’ve always been here…”

Yuniang sensed Li Yuanjing’s fear and anxiety, having seen him in this state more than once, and knew well the reason. She grasped his hand tightly to steady him.

Li Yuanjing gradually regained his composure and approached to inspect Zhao Yinling’s corpse himself.

Zhao Yinling’s body still retained some warmth, but it was fading fast…

What made Li Yuanjing’s scalp crawl—

Black blood not only oozed from Zhao Yinling’s mouth and nose, but also from below.

The terrifying thing was—

This was not blood from the loss of virginity.

Rather—

It was black blood, like menstruation.

“Master… Madam…”

At this moment, Wang Cuihua, who also worked as a midwife and was familiar with women’s bodies, seemed to have reached a conclusion. She rose, swallowing with difficulty, and stammered, “Miss Zhao… she seems to have died of poisoning. But… the poison wasn’t administered through her mouth, but from below…”

“What?”

“Poisoned from below?!”

Li Yuanjing’s brows knitted sharply, his gaze as sharp as a blade fixed on Wang Cuihua.

Wang Cuihua, frightened by his look, prostrated herself and hurriedly explained, “Master, if it were another poison, I wouldn’t dare to guess, but judging from Miss Zhao’s condition… it really seems she was poisoned from below…”

“I haven’t seen this myself, but I’ve heard of such a thing…”

“Legend has it… fifty or sixty years ago, in our Iron Ox Town, the richest family wasn’t the Xue clan, but the Fengs. Later, something happened to the Feng family head—he fell ill and died suddenly on the night he took a new concubine, together with the girl…”

“Later, rumors spread…”

“It was said that Master Feng had offended the Fragrant Teachings cult, and someone poisoned his concubine from below, causing their deaths…”

“Master, I heard this from a senior colleague; her mother was the midwife who examined Master Feng’s concubine…”

Seeing Li Yuanjing about to kick Wang Cuihua, Yuniang swiftly pulled him back, kneeling before him in tears, “Brother, I was wrong, it’s all my fault. You mustn’t blame Aunt Wang…”

Even as Li Yuanjing’s fury threatened to explode and his hair stood on end, he could not bear to take it out on Yuniang.

He took a deep breath, lifted her up, and held her tightly, saying, “Silly girl, don’t overthink it! This isn’t your fault! I’ve already found the clue!”

He signaled Wang Cuihua with his eyes.

Wang Cuihua immediately understood—Li Yuanjing wanted her to comfort Yuniang.

But before she could speak, Li Yuanjing sighed deeply, “Yuniang, I’ll say it again, this isn’t your fault, don’t let your thoughts run wild. Since Zhao Yinling has entered the Li family…”

“It is my own oversight. Give her a proper burial.”

After some thought, Li Yuanjing continued, “Let her be buried in the Li family tomb.”

“Brother… wah…”

As soon as he spoke, Yuniang could no longer hold back, throwing herself into his arms and bursting into tears.

She could never have anticipated that even after such a grave mistake, her brother would not utter a single reproach, but instead take care of everything for her…

…

After comforting Yuniang, instructing Wang Cuihua and Da Ya not to leave her side, and ordering Chen Chunyan to clean up Zhao Yinling’s remains, Li Yuanjing, his expression dark as water, strode swiftly towards Wang Baotian.

“Are you going to talk or not? If not, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the dogs right now!”

Li Yuanjing had clearly lost all patience with Wang Baotian.

At this point, Wang Baotian, having endured a thorough beating from Zhang Kun, had already lost his psychological defenses. Seeing Li Yuanjing’s murderous intent, he dared not delay a moment longer, and kowtowed desperately, “Master Li, Master Li, I’ll tell, I’ll tell! Just spare this wretch’s life…”

“All of this was ordered by Master Dong…”

“He has been wanting to capture my master, Wang Youdao, but for various reasons failed. Wang Youdao’s wife didn’t escape with him.”

“The day before yesterday, Master Dong finally lost patience and seized Wang Youdao’s wife, tormenting and interrogating her…”

“Unable to withstand it, Wang’s wife confessed everything to Master Dong…”

“Perhaps Master Dong learned that Wang Youdao had given you five hundred silver taels, and so he ordered us to attack you…”

After finishing, Wang Baotian desperately kowtowed for mercy.

“You bastard!”

“At death’s door and you’re still trying to mislead me? Do you think I’m made of clay?!”

Unable to suppress his rage, Li Yuanjing kicked Wang Baotian hard in the head.

“Ugh…”

But in the next moment, something unexpected happened—

Perhaps the kick was too forceful.

Wang Baotian convulsed, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, his legs stiffening.

He was killed instantly by Li Yuanjing’s kick.