Chapter 273

Chapter 273: Catching the Affair Cui Lingying clung to Du Cheng, her body burning with heat, desperately needing a cool spring. "Cheng-gege, you... look at me... please?" Cui Lingying tilted her head up. The more Du Cheng ignored her, the more she wanted him to become her conquest. To be fair, Cui Lingying was quite beautiful, possessing that resilient quality of a wild mountain flower. But her relentless pursuit only made Du Cheng more disgusted. Du Cheng shoved Cui Lingying away. "Did the County Mistress send you to test me? Or did she tell you to ruin my reputation?" Du Cheng had no intention of being gentle with a lady. When Cui Lingying lunged at him again, he grabbed her hand and flung her off, but she stuck to him like a stubborn plaster. Du Cheng was so entangled that sweat beaded on his forehead. The contact of her delicate skin made Du Cheng feel stifled and hot, his breathing gradually growing heavier. By the time Cui Lingrong arrived with Lady Cui, they saw Cui Lingying clinging to Du Cheng's arm, her cheeks flushed as she muttered incoherent words, while Du Cheng's face was equally red. "Lingying!" Mrs. Cai rushed over to pull her daughter away but found her body burning hot. "Lingrong, help your sister quickly! Something's wrong with her!" Just as Mrs. Cai finished speaking, Du Cheng suddenly grabbed hold of her, making her shriek in fright. With a single look from Cui Lingrong, Nanny Qiu knocked Du Cheng out with a club. Cui Lingrong then turned to Mrs. Cai. "What are you screaming for? Do you want your daughter's reputation completely ruined?" Without needing to think twice, Cui Lingrong knew that Cui Lingying and Du Cheng had been set up. She covered her nose and mouth, had people escort Mrs. Cai and her daughter out, then ordered someone to strip Du Cheng of his clothes and leave him on the floor. Cui Lingrong hurriedly led everyone away. Mrs. Cai was still shaken, and when Cui Lingrong tossed her a wet handkerchief, she asked in a daze, "What do we do now? With Lingying and Du Cheng in that state, she won't have to marry him, will she?" "You wish!" Cui Lingrong said sharply. "Someone set a trap for Lingying to ruin her reputation. If this blows up, Lingying would have to marry Du Cheng—but as a concubine!" "A concubine? How can that be? A daughter of the Cui family can never be someone's concubine!" Mrs. Cai panicked. "Lingrong, you have to help your sister. If this gets out, it will affect you and Yu-jie too." Mrs. Cai's mind was in chaos; she couldn't think of any solution. Cui Lingrong told Mrs. Cai to calm down. "If it wouldn't affect me, I wouldn't have brought you to find people. Now listen to me—as long as you don't speak of this and I don't speak of this, no one else will know." Nanny Qiu and the others were all Cui Lingrong's trusted confidants and would never breathe a word to anyone. "But what about Du Cheng... What if he spreads the word?" That was Mrs. Cai's fear. "Evidence? What witnesses are there? Without witnesses or proof, if he slanders the purity of a Cui family girl, we can sue him!" After a pause, Cui Lingrong smiled. "Besides, he should be too busy dealing with his own problems right now." Mrs. Cai didn't understand. "What do you mean?" "Madam, you should drink another cup of tea to clear your head. Whoever drugged Lingying and Du Cheng will surely come to catch them in the act. But now only Du Cheng is in there, and the room is still filled with knockout powder. What do you think will happen to the first person who walks in?" Cui Lingrong had Mrs. Cai tidy herself up. "County Princess Rongjia wants to catch Lingying and Du Cheng in the act. We're the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Let's go see if they've made their move." Mrs. Cai understood, and inwardly marveled that she was truly no match for Cui Lingrong. With this kind of strategy and calculation, no wonder Cui Lingrong could stay one step ahead even under pressure from County Princess Rongjia and the Rong Prince Mansion. Thinking of how County Princess Rongjia wanted to ruin her daughter's reputation, Mrs. Cai felt a surge of hatred. After confirming her daughter was safe, she followed Cui Lingrong out. Cui Lingrong learned that County Princess Rongjia had brought Madame Jiang and other ladies toward the courtyard. She then took Mrs. Cai to find Song Shulan. Song Shulan was drinking tea with Zhuang Huaiming and others. Seeing Cui Lingrong approach, he was somewhat surprised, thinking something must be wrong. But instead, he heard Cui Lingrong mention that the autumn crabapple blossoms in the garden had bloomed again. "Marquis, isn't that novel? I thought such a rare sight was worth seeing, so I came to invite my cousins to take a look as well." Song Shulan's eyes darkened. He and Cui Lingrong had been cold to each other lately—barely exchanging two words in half a month. For Cui Lingrong to come and invite people now, he felt there must be an ulterior motive. But Zhuang Huaiming set down his teacup first. "That does sound interesting. I'll go take a look." Seeing Zhuang Huaiming rise, Song Shulan had no choice but to follow. As he passed by Cui Lingrong, Song Shulan deliberately paused. "What are you plotting?" "It's just crabapple blossoms. What schemes could I possibly have? Marquis, you think too ill of me." Cui Lingrong shot Song Shulan a glance and stepped forward to catch up with her cousin. On the other side, County Princess Rongjia walked quickly, eager to catch Cui Lingying and Du Cheng in bed together. Madame Jiang and Madam Li had both been summoned by County Princess Rongjia. They didn't understand what she was up to, but since she had spoken, they had no choice but to follow. At the doorway, County Princess Rongjia shot a glance at Wang Hechun's Wife, who hurried over to open the door. When she saw Du Cheng lying on the ground, his pale flesh exposed, Wang Hechun's Wife hadn't even registered what was happening before County Princess Rongjia had already led Madame Jiang and the others to the doorway. Du Cheng was wearing only his undergarments. Madame Jiang and Madam Li both turned their heads away. Madame Jiang furrowed her brow and asked, "What is this? County Princess, you brought us here to see... this?" Madam Li was too embarrassed to speak. County Princess Rongjia only wanted to catch them in the act. She swept her gaze across the room but didn't see Cui Lingying anywhere. Unwilling to give up, she went inside to search. "What's going on?" County Princess Rongjia asked in a low voice. Wang Hechun's Wife searched high and low but found no trace of Cui Lingying. She was equally baffled. "That shouldn't be. I had someone keep watch. If things hadn't worked out, she would have stopped us." But no one had. Just as County Princess Rongjia and her servant were speaking, Du Cheng woke up. The fragrant scent in the room made Du Cheng's throat parched. He staggered to his feet, thinking he was dreaming. When he caught sight of County Princess Rongjia, he forgot the propriety between men and women and, in his dazed state, reached out to grab her hand, even calling out, "County Princess, you... you came to find me?" Hearing Du Cheng's words, Madame Jiang, despite her embarrassment, was curious enough to turn back and saw Du Cheng gazing at County Princess Rongjia with a foolish, lovesick expression. Just then, Cui Lingrong and her party arrived in the courtyard. Song Shulan saw the scene inside the room and was consumed with rage. "What are you doing?" County Princess Rongjia immediately shook off Du Cheng's hand. He staggered backward and landed on his rear, but still kept calling out, "County Princess, please don't ignore me. I'm willing to be your pawn. Don't be angry with me, alright?" County Princess Rongjia hadn't expected that instead of catching Cui Lingying in the act, she would be caught by Song Shulan while Du Cheng was in his muddled state. She kicked Du Cheng in the chest. "You worthless wretch, how much wine did you drink to be spouting such nonsense?" At that moment, Cui Lingrong stepped over the threshold. "I find the smell in this room rather strange. Was it truly just wine?" County Princess Rongjia whipped her head around. In Cui Lingrong's eyes, she caught a hint of a smug smile, and only then did she realize with a shock—Cui Lingrong had turned her own scheme against her! Du Cheng, having taken the kick, sobered up somewhat. As he rubbed his eyes, Wang Hechun's Wife splashed a cup of tea in his face. He shuddered and, seeing how many people had gathered in the room without his knowledge, felt utter despair. Song Shulan had lost all face. Du Cheng was someone he had driven away, yet County Princess Rongjia had insisted on summoning him. He demanded through gritted teeth, "County Princess, what exactly is going on here?"