After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 264 He's Here (Part Two)
Bai Wanqing was surprised to find someone listening to them, and she suddenly tensed up.

Fengniang and Ruixin were also frightened, and the two of them ran to Bai Wanqing's side to protect the lady.

"Hey, hey, hey, I've only been gone a few days, you can't even recognize my voice anymore?"

Somewhat exasperated, the man stopped his charade and jumped in through the window.

The three people in the room then realized that the person who came in was none other than Cui Jingcheng, the young master of the Cui family.

"Young Master Cui, it's you? What are you doing here?" Ruixin blurted out.

“Yes! Young Master Cui, Lord Cui just left from here. If you want to come and pick him up, you’d better chase after him along the way. Maybe you can still catch up!” Feng Niang added.

Cui Jingcheng sensed the sarcasm in Feng Niang's tone, but remained calm and unperturbed.

His gaze passed over Feng Niang and Rui Xin, and went straight to Bai Wanqing.

"Wanqing, I can impersonate Lord Lin. I've seen him before, and we're about the same size!"

"Besides, given my status, even if the Prince of Huai finds out, he won't do anything to me. It's better than wasting my life, isn't it?"

Bai Wanqing frowned and refused, saying, "Young Master Cui, this is no joke. If you are not careful, it could implicate the entire Zhaonan Marquis's mansion."

"In my opinion, you should go back with the Marquis."

Cui Jingcheng was naturally unwilling, "Wanqing, you are underestimating our Zhaonan Marquis's Mansion."

"If you ask me, I don't know anyone more suitable than myself."

"And with me here, no one else can possibly take it from me."

"You decide for yourself!" Cui Jingcheng said, then walked straight to the table and plopped down, showing no intention of leaving.

Bai Wanqing had no choice but to say, "Fine!"

"Since you insist on participating, we need to agree on three rules."

Cui Jingcheng turned his head, "You speak!"

“Young Master Cui, if the Prince of Huai discovers your identity, please make sure to pin all the blame on me.”

“If you don’t agree, I’d rather not do it.”

"Just wait for the Prince of Huai to throw me in jail."

Looking at Bai Wanqing's determined gaze, Cui Jingcheng knew that he couldn't persuade Wanqing, and it could be said that he hadn't been able to persuade her since she was very young.

“Okay! Don’t worry, if anything really happens, I’ll be the first to find a way to escape without you even having to tell me,” Cui Jingcheng replied.

"Okay, it's a deal!"

"A word is settled!"

Bai Wanqing and Cui Jingcheng reached an agreement. Bai Wanqing told Cui Jingcheng about Lin Yunche's feigned illness that day, and then applied some medicinal powder to Cui Jingcheng's body.

“Young Master Cui, although these powders are somewhat toxic, they are not very potent.”

"It will just make your skin look a little scary, but don't worry."

Cui Jingcheng looked at the tiny red bumps that had already appeared on his arm and couldn't help but shiver. "Wanqing, this powder won't be applied to my face, will it?"

Cui Jingcheng was, after all, still a bright and handsome young man, and he hoped he could keep his good-looking face.

Bai Wanqing nodded and said, "I won't put it on your face."

Cui Jingcheng nodded happily, "That's great!"

“But we might put other powders on your face.” As she spoke, Bai Wanqing took out another purple medicine bottle from the box.

Cui Jingcheng glanced at the medicine bottle and inwardly cried out in alarm that something was wrong.

In the past, the medicine bottles that Bai Wanqing took out were mostly blue or white porcelain bottles. As far as he knew, the poisons in these medicine bottles generally did not cause much harm.

But he had never seen this purple medicine bottle before.

"Wanqing, should this be applied to the face?" Cui Jingcheng stared intently at the porcelain bottle in Bai Wanqing's hand and asked hesitantly.

"Yes! That's right!" Bai Wanqing opened the porcelain bottle, and an unpleasant smell immediately filled the entire room.

Even Fengniang and Ruixin, who were only five steps away from them, were so overwhelmed by the stench that they almost vomited.

"Madam, what kind of medicine is this?! It smells terrible!"

"This is a poison recorded in my mother's notes. However, my mother only recorded half of the recipe, and I added the other half later."

"I've only tested the effects on the back of my own hand."

"Although it's not quite as effective as my mother recorded in her journal, isn't this an emergency? We can still make do with it!"

Fengniang and Ruixin nodded, covering their noses, but Cui Jingcheng on the bed was in a bad mood.

"Wanqing, how about I use that bottle of poison you were holding earlier, the one with the long red envelope?"

"Let's not try these new products, haha!"

As he spoke, Cui Jingcheng raised his arm, which was covered in red envelopes, to reach for the celadon vase, but Wanqing stopped him.

“Young Master Cui, the poison in that blue porcelain bottle is not enough to disfigure you.”

"That might not be appropriate."

Cui Jingcheng wanted to refuse, but when he saw the worried look in Bai Wanqing's eyes, his heart softened.

Sigh, Mingming Wanqing clearly felt sorry for him and didn't want him to get involved, but he insisted on taking on this role just now with great confidence. Now he's starting to regret it, but it's too late. After all, the boast has already been made, and the die is cast. Cui Jingcheng gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! Apply it, apply the purple one."

Cui Jingcheng looked like he was going to his death, which made Bai Wanqing burst out laughing. Ruixin and Fengniang, who were standing nearby, also laughed at the scene.

In this situation, only Young Master Cui can make Madam still smile.

After everything was arranged, Bai Wanqing escorted Cui Jingcheng back to the courtyard where Lord Cui had previously lived.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, a group of people knocked on the door of the Lin family's house.

Bai Wanqing and the others had long anticipated this scene, but what surprised them was that the leader of the group that knocked on their Lin family's door was Meng Zhan.

“Madam Lin, it has been some time since Lord Lin fell ill. Today I brought some people to visit him. I hope I haven’t disturbed you, Madam Lin?” Meng Zhan raised his head, barely glancing at Bai Wanqing.

Bai Wanqing smiled slightly and said gently, "It's not an inconvenience at all; it's Lord Meng who is so kind."

As Meng Zhan spoke, he waved his hand lightly, and the soldiers behind him stepped into the courtyard and surrounded Bai Wanqing.

Feng Niang wanted to argue, but Bai Wanqing stopped her.

"Lord Meng, if I heard correctly, you came to visit me in my illness."

"If this is supposed to be a visit to someone in the hospital, what's the logic behind this?"

Bai Wanqing looked at the soldiers surrounding them and then asked.

Meng Zhan smiled and said, "Madam Lin, please don't be afraid. We did come to visit you, but we forgot to ask if it's convenient for Lord Lin to see anyone right now?"

Rui Xin glared at Meng Zhan; Meng Zhan was clearly threatening her on purpose.

Knowing full well that we wouldn't let him see anyone easily, they preemptively threatened him with these soldiers; how despicable!

Meng Zhan glanced at Rui Xin, knowing that Rui Xin was cursing him in her heart, but he wasn't angry at all.

You can imagine how excited he was when he met the Prince of Huai yesterday.

That's the Prince of Huai! The Prince of Huai's power is far more promising than that of the Liu family or the Yang family.

Therefore, he is now willing to be a dog of the Prince of Huai. As long as he becomes the Prince of Huai's confidant, not to mention the small city of Huaizhou, it will be just around the corner for him to take up a post in the capital.

What does Lin Yunche's life matter! And what does Bai Wanqing's life matter!
Meng Zhan kept telling himself that once he reached a higher position, he could have as many Bai Wanqings as he wanted!
Yes! He could have as many Bai Wanqings as he wanted!

Meng Zhan looked down at Bai Wanqing with a haughty gaze, his eyes filled with reluctance, determination, and desire.

Bai Wanqing showed no hesitation. She met Meng Zhan's gaze and said with a smile, "Just as Lord Meng guessed, my husband is indeed unable to see anyone at the moment."

"Please come again in a few days, Lord Meng." After saying that, Bai Wanqing asked Fengniang to open the door wide, as if to see the guest out.

Meng Zhan laughed out loud, "Wanqing, you're still so clueless."

"Now, if you still want to protect the Lin family, you'd better see if you can even manage to do so."

"Come here, search for me!"

"You want to see people alive, you want to see corpses when you're dead!"

As soon as Meng Zhan gave the order, the soldiers in the courtyard ignored Feng Niang and the Lin family's attempts to stop them and began searching each courtyard in a chaotic manner.

"There's no one in this courtyard!"

"There isn't one in this courtyard either!"

Listening to his subordinates' reports, Meng Zhan's smile deepened. Just as the Prince of Huai had said, Lin Yunche was not in Huaizhou City at all.

Pretending to be sick and abandoning their posts. The Lin family! The Lin family is doomed!
Just then, the soldier who had searched the last courtyard returned to report.

"Lord Meng, we have found Lord Lin. He is in a courtyard in the southwest corner."

Meng Zhan was slightly taken aback and turned to look at Bai Wanqing.

Bai Wanqing looked nervous and quickly stepped forward to stop Meng Zhan.

“Lord Meng, my husband’s illness is really strange. The reason I let him recuperate alone in the courtyard is to prevent the disease from spreading.”

"Please, Lord Meng, do not investigate further, lest you inadvertently pass the buck to Lord Meng."

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhan looked suspicious. Just then, the soldier who had just discovered Lin Yunche's location quietly approached and whispered a few words in Meng Zhan's ear. Meng Zhan's eyes widened in surprise.

Could it be that Lin Yunche is really still in Huaizhou City, and has really contracted a serious illness?

Meng Zhan then confirmed with the soldier, "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

The soldier nodded firmly and said, "Lord Meng, it's impossible to be wrong. That person is wearing the same clothes as the portrait you showed us before."

"But his body was covered in pustules. It was terrifying."

"My lord, you'd better not go see for yourself."

Meng Zhan also began to have second thoughts. After all, it was a strange disease that even Doctor Luo couldn't cure. What if he really contracted it?
Meng Zhan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

"Alright! Since Lord Lin is indeed unavailable at the moment, we will not disturb him any longer!"

With that, Meng Zhan tossed his head slightly, and the soldiers in the courtyard vanished instantly as if they had never been there.

Meng Zhan also turned around, his heart filled with resentment yet helpless.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly turned around. "Bai Wanqing, are you sure you still want to stay with this Lin family, with this Lin Yunche?"

(End of this chapter)