Chapter 107 - A Cruel Twist of Fate (1/2)

Silence descended on the lower floor of the teahouse. Li Bo's lackeys weren't any less stunned than Madam Zhong or the female guests hiding in the corners of the teahouse.

”Ah … Ah Lei?” Madam Zhong fell to her knees next to her husband and shook his shoulder. ”Ah Lei?” She waited but he didn't get up or react in any way. ”Ah Lei!” She shook him once again but to no avail.

Madam Zhong's hands trembled. This couldn't be true. This couldn't be happening! She had known this man since they had been children. He was the one who had smiled at her and convinced her to come back with him when she ran away from home at five years old. He had been the one to beat up that boy from the neighboring village who had dared to say something mean about her when she was ten. He had been the one to take her hand when she had just come of age and asked if she wanted to marry him.

He had stuck with her when she couldn't get pregnant in the first years after their marriage. He had accompanied her when her father died and when she didn't know how to cope with his loss.

He had been so considerate, so sweet … She had thought that they couldn't be any happier until she finally got pregnant with Jing Yi. They had both thought the heavens were on their side and wanted to reward them for leading an honest life all these years. Her husband had become even sweeter and had given in to every strange demand of hers.

She still remembered how he had worried more and more about her well-being with every passing day and how he had run out in the dead of the night to get the physician from the nearest town when they noticed that something was amiss.

He might not be the best husband one could imagine but he was still the only one she needed, the only one she wanted! Nothing could happen to him!

”Ah Lei!” Madam Zhong hugged him. Her eyes swam in tears but she fought them back. No, she wouldn't cry. This … This wasn't the end. There was certainly something that could still be done!

Madam Zhong looked up at the people around her, her tears still threatening to fall. Was there nobody who could help them? Anyone …

Qiang Wei, who had waited in the shadows of the teahouse to monitor Jing Yi, ran over and knelt beside her. His face was grim. As a dragon, he could already hear that Mister Zhong's heart had stopped beating just now. But he, too, didn't want to believe. He hoped for a miracle and took Mister Zhong's wrist, fumbling for a pulse. Anything, just a trace of some life left in him would be enough. Just a heartbeat, only one …

Qiang Wei held his breath and calmed his own madly beating heart. His fingers steadied and he continued to search for some sign of life.