Lin Zhiyi awoke again to find someone standing by her bed, their eyes dark and foreboding as they stared at her.
Upon recognizing the face, she panicked, getting up and looking at the other person defensively.
It was Chen Sulan.
She bore little resemblance to the elegant and dignified Madam she remembered.
Perhaps the decline of the Chen Family had struck her hard; her hair was now streaked with silver, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Once she had seemed only frail, but now she exuded an air of death.
Lin Zhiyi got out of bed and took a step back, "Madam, what do you want to do?"
Chen Sulan didn’t speak, instead she smoothed her hair at her forehead and slowly sat down on the chair opposite, every movement reflecting the poise of a lady of high status.
Once seated, she lifted her eyelids and looked at Lin Zhiyi with disdain.
"We were so close last time, you and Gong Chen would have been beyond redemption."
Lin Zhiyi was stunned for a moment, then understood.
"That night was you."
The events of that night became clearer in her mind as she stared at the face before her.
Autumn was crab season.
Chen Sulan had booked a crab feast at a hotel owned by the Gong Family.
The Gong Family had many banquets each year, usually prepared by her as the eldest daughter-in-law, so no one thought much of it at the time.
After eating the crabs, they would all have some wine to warm themselves.
Lin Zhiyi’s memory was fragmented from after that small cup of warming wine.
She had no idea how she ended up in Gong Chen’s room.
So when the Gong Family accused her of drugging and climbing into bed, she was left speechless.
But everyone drank from the same bottle, why did only she and Gong Chen react?
Chen Sulan noticed her thoughtful expression and sneered, "Don’t bother thinking, the food and drink I prepared for you had no issues, it was just the dipping sauce for your and Gong Chen’s crabs that I added different seasonings to, which happened to react differently with the wine."
Lin Zhiyi looked at the elder she once respected, her heart filled with anger and desolation.
"Why would you do such a thing? I had no grudges with you! I never even took part in any of the Gong Family’s affairs!"
Chen Sulan laughed softly at this, lifting her eyes to observe Lin Zhiyi’s face.
"Because it could only be you!"
"According to the plan, Gong Chen would have to take responsibility for you, your relationship would inevitably make him the laughing stock of the city, and the old man would definitely find ways to get rid of you, at which point father and son would turn against each other because of you."
"When the old man no longer relied on Gong Chen, the entire Gong Family would have no choice but to trust Gong Yan!"
At these words, Lin Zhiyi’s body swayed, her complexion pale as paper.
So her and Xingxing’s tragic lives were merely pawns in their power struggle.
She leaned against the wall, slowly moving closer, and scoffed, "What a pity, your perfect plan was wrong, with or without me, you and your son were always bound to be losers!"
Her words enraged Chen Sulan, whose lifeless eyes suddenly blazed with madness.
The one who was supposed to be dignified lunged at Lin Zhiyi.
"It’s all because of you, whore! If you had obediently admitted to what happened that night, everything of the Gong Family’s would belong to the Chen Family now!"
Chen Sulan was delusional.
In a past life, she had admitted to it, but every one of them met with a bad end!
But why did Chen Sulan say the Gong Family belonged to the Chen Family?
Logically, shouldn’t she say it was Gong Yan’s?
There was no time to think further, as Lin Zhiyi raised her hand to grab Chen Sulan’s neck, her body pressing down on her.
To immobilize her, to silence her.
While she might not be able to deal with bodyguards and Gong Yan, Lin Zhiyi was more than capable of handling a sickly woman.
Taking advantage of this, her hand reached for Chen Sulan’s phone on the small table.
Private planes have signal, but she wasn’t foolish enough to make a call.
She opened Chen Sulan’s WeChat; several Gong Family members were at the top. Not finding Liu He, she clicked on Gong Chen’s WeChat.
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