Because the missing Hao Manqing had been located by the police, and Cheng Zhiyuan and others had already arrived at the scene.
The entire scene was incredibly lively, with residents watching from the surroundings and major media outlets rushing to the scene.
A dense crowd of people packed the dilapidated area, making it impossible to move.
"So scary, such a thick python could easily swallow an adult."
"This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event. It's my first time seeing someone locked up in a house like this. Why are there so many bad people in this world?"
"That woman... looks like Mrs. Cheng! She usually carries herself with such arrogance, looking down on everyone. She must have offended someone to be targeted like this."
"So it's Hao Manqing, then she doesn't deserve sympathy. I almost feel like laughing. Karma comes around, and heaven spares no one."
Cheng Zhiyuan, supported by Cheng Yanze, his face drained of color from sheer terror, cried out, "This is my wife... hurry and save my wife!"
"Manqing, Manqing, hurry and dodge! Why are you standing still?"
Cheng Zhiyuan roared. If Cheng Yanze hadn't held him back, he would have rushed towards Hao Manqing.
He saw his once glamorous wife locked in a glass room, completely naked, disheveled, with messy hair, and a python tightly coiled around her lower body.
The snake's head was facing Hao Manqing's face, staring at her with an almost 'affectionate' gaze.
The python moved slowly and deliberately, intending to slowly strangle Hao Manqing. Compared to toads and rats, it was clear it considered Hao Manqing its most delicious meal.
Cheng Yanze and Ye Qingning had not expected that Hao Manqing, who had been missing for so many days, would be subjected to such inhuman torture for so long in a location less than five hundred meters from their villa.
"Yan Ze, who would do such a cruel thing to Auntie! We need to find a way to save her quickly. If this continues, Auntie will be eaten by the python."
Ye Qingning, seeing such a large python for the first time, was so scared that she clutched Cheng Yanze's arm from behind him.
However, she was also thinking that Hao Manqing was definitely being retaliated against by an enemy.
Cheng Yanze was naturally anxious. Even the usually elegant and somewhat rebellious violin prince looked haggard and exhausted these past few days.
But he knew he couldn't collapse!
"Mr. Cheng, please move to a safe area. We are about to commence rescue operations."
The police pushed Cheng Yanze and the others to a safe zone, then smashed the glass room.
A foul odor spread, making people feel nauseous.
The python, about to devour Hao Manqing, was startled by the sudden loud noise. Immediately, the police, skilled marksmen, aimed their guns at the python.
With a series of 'bang, bang, bang' sounds, the terrifying, cold-blooded python was shot dead.
After the police pulled Hao Manqing from the danger zone, medical personnel quickly placed her on a stretcher and rushed her to the ambulance.
Hao Manqing's eyes were vacant, her expression blank. The media, holding high-definition cameras, took close-ups of her face. The onlookers also recorded videos with their phones.
Although Cheng Zhiyuan and the others detested the media's actions, they were powerless to stop so many people at this moment and could only board the ambulance.
Although Hao Manqing was taken to the hospital for treatment, news about her spread like wildfire online.
All the media outlets wrote articles referring to her as 'Hao Manqing, wife of Cheng Zhiyuan of Cheng Group.' Even though they later changed it to Ms. Hao, it was of no use. The entire nation of China knew about the incident, and it was even reported by foreign media.
The accompanying image was the one of Hao Manqing looking dazed and stunned as she was carried on a stretcher.
"This is outrageous! It's too much. Husband, you must get justice for me."
Hao Manqing, upon regaining consciousness and seeing the news online, was furious and smashed her phone to the ground as if it were a monster.
She valued her reputation more than her life. Now that she had been so humiliated in public, how could she possibly live on?
"Wife, don't worry, I will definitely get justice for you. The culprit has already surrendered. I won't let him have an easy time in prison for humiliating you like this."
Cheng Zhiyuan looked at Hao Manqing's hysterical yet haggard and desperate state, feeling immense heartache.
His wife had lived a life of luxury and comfort since marrying into the Cheng family. When had she ever been bullied like this?
"What? The culprit surrendered?" Hao Manqing was stunned. "Why is there no news about it online? Who is the culprit?"
Cheng Zhiyuan quickly handed his phone to Hao Manqing. Upon seeing it, a chill ran down her spine.
This culprit was none other than the man she had hired to threaten Lin Xingwan!
It wasn't that Hao Manqing had a good memory; it was that the man's scar, running from his forehead to his chin, was unforgettable.
How could this man have suddenly kidnapped her from the Vienna Hotel?
And using such a method?
Lin Xingwan's face immediately flashed in Hao Manqing's mind.
This was definitely that woman's revenge!
Thinking of this, Hao Manqing's expression turned extremely grim.
"Mom, I'm sorry. This is my fault. You were supposed to attend the banquet with us, but this happened. I am an unfilial son."
Cheng Yanze walked to Hao Manqing's side, utterly dejected.
He felt his life was quite a failure. He couldn't be with the woman he loved in his youth, and now he couldn't protect his mother.
He wanted to maintain an invisible balance, to do everything to satisfaction, but it seemed the more cautiously he acted, the more chaotic his life became.
"Son, you must avenge me. When have I ever been so humiliated in all these years?" Hao Manqing cried, hugging Cheng Yanze, but her mind was already formulating a vicious plan.
Lin Xingwan had done such a thing to her. She was provoking her, retaliating for what she had done to her in the past.
Did she really think she could do whatever she pleased just because she had a connection with the Dongfang Consortium?
Her wings hadn't even fully grown, yet she dared to dream of soaring.
Let's see how she would nip her in the bud!
"You've all been through a lot these past few days. Go back and rest. I can manage on my own." After releasing Cheng Yanze, Hao Manqing looked at her son and husband's haggard appearances and felt a pang of heartache.
It was all Lin Xingwan's fault, that bitch. She would add the revenge for her son and husband to her own.
"We'll stay here with you," Cheng Zhiyuan said, unwilling to leave his wife alone.
"Yan Ze, Uncle Cheng, you've barely slept these past few days. I'll stay with Auntie here. Besides, there are bodyguards at the entrance. What are you still worried about? Health is the foundation of revolution. If you fall ill, Auntie will worry."
Ye Qingning's face was filled with concern. At this moment, she was a sensible and understanding future daughter-in-law.
"Alright, then call us if anything happens."
Cheng Yanze was truly exhausted. After speaking, he and Cheng Zhiyuan left.
In the spacious hospital room, only Ye Qingning and Hao Manqing remained.
"Auntie, you should get some sleep too. I'll just read on the sofa for a while. Call me if you need anything."
Ye Qingning said to Hao Manqing with a smile. However, Hao Manqing sighed and murmured to herself, "It's nothing. Today's outcome is my retribution. If I hadn't done such foolish things back then, this wouldn't have happened. But... but I had my reasons back then."
Ye Qingning glanced at Hao Manqing's clumsy acting but was certain that this woman wanted to tell her something.
So Ye Qingning asked, "Auntie, what happened back then? What were your reasons?"
Hao Manqing recounted everything she had done to Lin Xingwan to Ye Qingning, tears streaming down her face afterward. "I didn't mean to be so cruel to Lin Xingwan back then. I watched that child grow up. I treated her like my own daughter. But she should never have set her sights on Yan Ze. If Yan Ze had ended up with a woman like that, he would have had no future. As a mother, I couldn't just stand by and watch Yan Ze jump into a fire pit. But I never expected Lin Xingwan to treat me like this..."
Ye Qingning, now aware of the full story, was horrified.
She hadn't expected Hao Manqing to have done such things to Lin Xingwan.
But then again, Hao Manqing's actions had ensured that Lin Xingwan and Cheng Yanze would never be together.
Ye Qingning was overjoyed.
"Auntie, I think what you did was right. The Cheng family treated Lin Xingwan so well. If she didn't appreciate it, she still tried to seduce Yan Ze and did this to you. She's truly an ungrateful wretch."
Ye Qingning's words brought immense comfort to Hao Manqing.
"The reason I'm telling you this is so you can be wary of Lin Xingwan. She's always had her eyes on my son. With Yan Ze back, they'll inevitably interact. Yan Ze is kind-hearted and could easily fall into this woman's trap. You need to keep a close eye on Yan Ze."
"With my current influence, Lin Xingwan wouldn't dare to openly seduce Yan Ze for now, but I'm afraid of what might happen in the future..."
Ye Qingning stopped at the right moment. How could Hao Manqing not understand her meaning?
"Don't worry, I will never let that woman walk all over us! I will make her understand what it means to fall from a great height."
Hao Manqing's eyes were fiercer than the python's, and Ye Qingning watched her expression with a cold smile.
Let Lin Xingwan and Hao Manqing fight, and she would reap the benefits.
Meanwhile, Lin Xingwan, at Lin Yin Temple, also learned about Hao Manqing's incident.
Of course, she had no idea that Hao Manqing had orchestrated the events of that year. What concerned her was that the culprit had surrendered, and her 'injustice' was finally being cleared.
Lin Xingwan wanted to share the good news with Liu Mengqin, but her calls went unanswered.
Lin Xingwan checked the time. It had been two hours since Liu Mengqin went to bathe in the pool.
Could something have happened to her in the pool?
Thinking this, Lin Xingwan quickly got up and ran towards the pool.
The entire pool area was surrounded by sheer, misty curtains, creating an ethereal and beautiful atmosphere as the breeze blew.
"Sister Qin? Sister Qin..."
Lin Xingwan called out to Liu Mengqin as she walked, her gaze fixed on the pool water, imagining countless scenarios of Liu Mengqin drowning.
She didn't even care that she was wearing pajamas and waded into the pool.
Pushing aside the flower petals, she carefully looked into the water.
She searched everywhere but found nothing.
Strange... Could Sister Qin have gone somewhere else?
Thinking this, Lin Xingwan got out of the pool.
She took off her wet pajamas, put on a dry bathrobe from nearby, and continued walking.
This time, Lin Xingwan hadn't walked far when she heard a sound like a woman crying.
It sounded like... Sister Qin's voice.
Lin Xingwan quickened her pace. When she reached a rock garden, she was stunned by what she saw.
She saw the 'missing' Sister Qin with a man in a smaller pool!
Sister Qin's hands were braced on the edge of the pool, her head tilted back, her face flushed.
She was naked, half her body submerged in the water. A man, his back to Lin Xingwan, with a sturdy build, was bringing Sister Qin to the peak of pleasure.
The flower petals floating in the pool now clung to their skin, adding to the atmosphere of the scene.
Lin Xingwan's eyes widened, unable to believe that in such a place, Sister Qin was so passionately engaged with a strange man.
However, the man's back seemed somewhat familiar.
As Lin Xingwan frowned in thought, a force suddenly came from behind her. Her mouth and nose were covered with a wet towel.
Lin Xingwan gasped, inhaling a sickly sweet scent that rushed into her brain. She quickly lost consciousness.
At the same time, Zhou Jinbai had just finished a conversation with Monk Buan.
"Mr. Dongfang, this humble monk has calculated that you will face a calamity tonight. If you stay in the southeast direction, you can avert it," Monk Buan said with a smile as he was leaving.
"Thank you."
After speaking, Zhou Jinbai walked directly in the opposite direction of the southeast, right in front of Monk Buan.
Monk Buan saw this and merely shook his head.
Ignoring the monk's words, one suffers the consequences.
Chen Yuchu, following behind Zhou Jinbai, said, "Young Master, this Monk Buan does have some skill. Why don't you stay in the house to the east tonight?"
Chen Yuchu was still thinking about Monk Buan's fortune-telling for her earlier.
This monk had accurately predicted her past experiences with a hundred percent accuracy. Chen Yuchu no longer dared to underestimate him.
"No need." Zhou Jinbai handed his fan to Chen Yuchu. "You first return this fan to the little old lady. I'll be back after a night's rest."
Chen Yuchu could only nod and left with the fan.
Zhou Jinbai returned to the detached courtyard where he was staying.
As he opened the bedroom door, he casually looked up and saw a woman lying on the bed with a lace blindfold over her eyes. His heart seemed to stop beating instantly.