Chapter 953: Chapter 953: Lady Lu, Are You Crazy?

Shu Yu leaned closer to her, “If you confess now, you’ll suffer less.”

“You, you… ah, it hurts, it hurts so much.” Ms. Tang glared at her venomously.

Shu Yu chuckled, “Ying Xi, go soak the handkerchiefs and bring them over.”

“Yes.” Ying Xi went out and returned shortly with three soaking wet handkerchiefs.

Shu Yu grabbed one of the wet handkerchiefs and pressed it firmly over Ms. Tang’s mouth and nose. Ms. Tang’s breathing became labored instantly, and a dull, splitting pain began to spread through her head, as if it were about to explode.

Young Master Jiang, seeing this, hurriedly stepped forward to intervene. “Lady Lu, are you insane? If this goes on, she’ll die! And then when the officers come, they’ll arrest you.”

But before he could get far, Ying Xi blocked him with the dagger in his hand.

“Lady Lu!” Young Master Jiang was visibly anxious.

Shu Yu looked at the tears streaming down Ms. Tang’s face and smirked. “I know what you’re thinking. You think I wouldn’t dare kill you, because I wouldn’t be able to explain it to the authorities? Then go ahead and gamble, see if I dare or not.”

Ms. Tang’s eyes widened as she struggled for breath, starting to roll back in their sockets. Yet the young woman in front of her remained unfazed, even appearing slightly eager to witness her demise.

Ms. Tang couldn’t endure it any longer and waved her hand weakly.

Shu Yu raised an eyebrow and slowly removed the wet handkerchief. “Ready to talk?”

Ms. Tang bent over, coughing violently, gasping for air in large gulps. After finally catching her breath, she nodded tearfully, her voice hoarse as she began, “I… I’ll talk…”

Though Ms. Tang had a decent mental fortitude, she wasn’t a professionally trained Death Soldier or guard. She feared pain and death. As soon as Shu Yu exerted enough pressure and revealed intent to kill, Ms. Tang couldn’t hold out.

Sitting directly across from Ms. Tang, Shu Yu maintained an unyielding gaze at her, not allowing even the smallest movement to escape her notice, ensuring Ms. Tang couldn’t pull any tricks.

Things had reached a critical point now, and Ms. Tang could only confess everything.

She was indeed a distant niece of Old Man Cui. Just as Shu Yu had suspected, after she and Li Xiaoshan eloped and fled, they realized they were hemmed in from all sides. They wanted to live elsewhere but couldn’t leave without a travel permit.

Hiding in some deep forest was not a viable option. After careful thought, Ms. Tang sought out Old Man Cui.

Old Man Cui had naturally been suspicious of Ms. Tang’s sudden appearance, but she promised to pay rent and assured him they wouldn’t stay long.

Old Man Cui and Little Ya’er lived alone, barely making a living off a small patch of land with mediocre crop yields. Especially now, when the boss was considering selling the Manor and the land altogether.

Being as old as he was, he couldn’t do labor elsewhere like other tenants could. If he didn’t find a way to make money, both he and his granddaughter would starve. So, he agreed to let Ms. Tang and her companion stay temporarily.

At first, everything was fine. But a few days ago, Old Man Cui accidentally caught sight of Ms. Tang’s money.

It was a stash of two hundred taels of money, along with golden rings, golden bracelets, and other jewelry. The problem was, some of the jewelry had engravings on them. Old Man Cui couldn’t read, but he happened to recognize the character ‘Wang’ on one of the pieces.

Old Man Cui was stunned on the spot. He had only ever suspected that Ms. Tang had eloped, but this was far more serious–this was theft, and on a massive scale.

He could turn a blind eye to elopement, but theft? That was beyond him.

As fate would have it, Ms. Tang and her companion returned just then and saw Old Man Cui holding their hoard. They thought he was trying to steal it.