Chapter 375: Really Not Needed
At the front, the mourning hall had already been set up.
Xu Minghui had also been placed in the coffin. With white banners hung, incense burning, and servants all in white, the atmosphere was already heavy with grief, even though the mourners had not yet arrived.
As the saying goes, “One doesn’t shed tears until they see the coffin.” Standing before the coffin, Xu Mingshan thought of his little sister’s life, sat down on the ground, and began to wail. Xu Dasao was also burning paper money beside him, muttering something under her breath.
Liu Shi paced back and forth, pointing out places that needed adjustments.
As the young couple chatted, Wen Yu looked outwards, “The Marquis left a day early, I wonder if we can catch him.”
Qi Wu replied, “I sent a message to Eldest Brother by carrier pigeon. His plan was to return after the fifteenth. We’ll see if he can come back earlier after receiving the message. I just went to the shop and checked on things. Zhu Zhu asked if they should come over.”
Wen Yu shook her head, “Things are chaotic now, tell them not to come yet.”
Suddenly, Xiao Xiang came from behind and whispered something to Wen Yu.
Wen Yu smiled and said to Qi Wu, “The gossiping servant from Concubine Liu’s courtyard is dead.”
At that moment, Tan Shi was in her room, furious, “Are you all dead? Three people couldn’t even watch over one?!”
Two servant women and a maid knelt before her, still shaken. One of the servant women said, “This servant and Ju Xiang went to fetch breakfast, leaving Zhang Pozi to watch over her.”
Zhang Pozi said, “This servant didn’t leave her side. I was just standing at the courtyard gate for a moment. You’d think she would have made a noise knocking over the stool, but this servant truly didn’t hear anything!”
It turned out that while the two went to fetch breakfast, Zhang Pozi was guarding the door. It just so happened that a servant woman she knew was passing by outside, so she went to the courtyard gate to chat for a few words.
When the breakfast was brought back, they opened the door and went inside, only to see the stool overturned on the ground and the gossiping servant woman hanging from the beam, no longer moving… She had clearly been dead for a while.
Tan Shi’s guard stepped forward, “Madam, this subordinate has investigated, and it appears to be suicide. She used her own sash. This subordinate has examined it, and there’s nothing unusual.”
If this guard wasn’t still useful to her, Tan Shi would have cursed him out! Nothing unusual? That bitch had just completed her task and was waiting to be rewarded, why would she commit suicide at this time?
She pointed at the three servants guarding the woman, “Useless trash, all of you! Since you can’t do anything right, tie them up and sell them off!”
The three pleaded loudly, but she remained unmoved.
Instead, she churned inside. Wen Yu’s words yesterday weren’t just empty boasts; she truly dared to act ruthlessly. Killing right in front of her! Yesterday… there seemed to be a maid with decent martial arts skills.
Suddenly, she felt a chill on her neck. If Wen Yu was truly pushed to the edge, would she dare to hang her from the beam too? She finally realized: Wen Yu’s methods were no weaker than her own.
That little girl, how could she?
But then she recalled her own past…
Good!
She stood up and went to her small storehouse, opened a chest in the corner, which held some old miscellaneous items she never allowed anyone to throw away. She vaguely remembered there was that type of medicine… After searching for a while, she couldn’t find it.
“Go to the second gate and find Zhou Pozi!” she instructed as she came out.
The young couple at the front chatted for a while longer. Qi Wu said he had to go out; the Crown Prince had something for him.
Wen Yu quickly asked, “I haven’t asked these past few days, how is His Highness?”
Qi Wu smiled, “The court is in chaos. The Crown Prince is a bit agitated, but His Royal Highness the Prince, is quite calm. The other day, he even wrote some calligraphy and chose one piece to send to the palace.”
Wen Yu also felt a bit agitated, “But it’s been quite a few days, how long will this drag on?”
“I still have many things to do, let’s take it step by step…”
Laba was quite proud of herself. She found an opportunity and got the job done smoothly. It was laughable that the stupid guard investigated for so long, looking quite experienced… It was a pity that you wouldn’t be able to discern this lady’s handiwork!
She continued to watch from the shadows. After a while, the three guards were pushed out, crying and wailing. A little while later, Tan Shi’s maid led Zhou Pozi from the gate inside.
Soon, Zhou Pozi came out.
Laba thought for a moment and followed her.
Zhou Pozi walked west after leaving the residence. From time to time, she looked left and right, and even behind her. This forced Laba to constantly dodge, which was quite annoying.
After walking for a considerable distance, she finally stopped at the gate of a small courtyard. She knocked, someone opened the door, and without a word, she went straight in. A while later, a man came out of the courtyard, his steps hurried.
Laba’s eyes lit up. This seemed like he was going to deliver a message! She wondered if it was a verbal message or something he was carrying on him.
She decided to follow him and see!
After following for a while, she figured out the direction the man was heading. She chose a small alleyway, and once inside, she started running. As she ran, she sighed to herself. More than a year of comfortable living had diminished her skills. Her footsteps were so loud!
Her body felt as heavy as a pig!
If she returned to the team, she would probably be punished. Once the young mistress’s matters were settled, she would ask her to find her a husband so she could get married!
She couldn’t go back; she was accustomed to a good life now, and couldn’t bear those hardships anymore.
✿✿✿
While she was thinking this, a man happened to be coming out of his courtyard gate. He felt a gust of wind and saw a woman seemingly float past him, disappearing in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t help but be startled: Had he seen a female ghost in broad daylight?
Laba reached the front and returned to the main road, walking towards the man. At this time, there were many people on the street, some standing in the middle of the road talking. The man passed by them.
Laba approached and bumped into him lightly. Everyone felt a slight jostle, but didn’t think much of it. The people chatting continued their conversation, and the man continued walking.
But a letter had already landed in Laba’s hand. She didn’t run off with the letter; instead, she bought some snacks from a roadside vendor and followed the man while eating, observing where he was going.
After walking for quite a while, she saw the man enter a large gate.
On the gate, written in gold characters against a black background, were the words: Zhou Residence.
Laba suppressed her excitement. So the old madam was indeed connected to this Master Zhou!
It was him who she met at Fanghua Temple!
Now that she knew, Laba didn’t dare to be careless. That person’s subordinates were all exceptional. Without lingering, she lowered her head, pretending to fiddle with her snacks, eating and walking. Therefore, she didn’t see the man come out of the residence not long after, jogging, his forehead covered in sweat, looking for something with his head down.
Laba didn’t return to the residence; instead, she quickly went back to the small courtyard where Zhou Pozi had gone, chose a hidden corner, opened the letter, and carefully read it. After pondering for a while, she decided to keep the letter.
She waited in the same spot. After a long time, she saw the man in the distance running back, searching frantically. She then tossed the letter near the courtyard gate. The man finally returned home and was overjoyed to see the letter on the ground. He picked it up, carefully tucked it away, and hurried back out again.
Laba clapped her hands and returned to the residence!
At that moment, Xu Dasao finally found a suitable opportunity to speak to Wen Yu alone.
Since she had chosen her path, she lowered her stance, “Fifth Young Madam, thanks to you yesterday, we were able to understand what happened to Minghui. At least, she didn’t leave this world in confusion. I, I am truly grateful to you. It’s just… that scene, it might have been a bit disrespectful to you, I apologize…”
Wen Yu didn’t want to pay any attention to her. This woman was cruel, greedy, and too afraid to take risks. A couple of nice words and you expect me to help you?
No way!
“You are too kind. After all, she was your own sister-in-law, and you were grieving. You handled it very respectfully, how could I mind such things?”
Xu Dasao nodded gratefully, “Fifth Young Madam, I never imagined your family’s old madam would be like this! She is known in the capital as a charitable person… You don’t know, Minghui said that in the entire Qi family, only the old madam treated her sincerely.”
“So, for the old madam’s sake, she quarreled with her own mother-in-law. She was also jealous of you and caused trouble with you. In the end, she even had conflicts with her own husband. Sigh, this silly girl!
Actually, I had my suspicions too, I advised her: how could you not be close to your own mother-in-law and instead get close to a stepmother? I swear, I really tried to advise her!”
These words weren’t entirely insincere.
Wen Yu smiled faintly, “You don’t need to swear, I believe you.”
“But she wouldn’t listen! Poor Minghui, she lost such a good life, lost her son, and even lost her life.” She sobbed heavily, “The old madam, for the sake of the title, really killed without spilling blood! Too cruel! Fifth Young Madam, you are the one in the most danger now, please be careful!”
“Thank you for your reminder,” Wen Yu said calmly.
“Fifth Young Madam!” Xu Dasao suddenly bowed deeply to Wen Yu.
“What are you doing?”
“Fifth Young Madam, to be honest with you, life is tough for the Xu family! Minghui’s elder brother… I can’t even bear to mention him. For so many years, we have relied entirely on Minghui’s help to barely scrape by. With her death, we will soon have to sell our house and beg on the streets!”
She covered her face and wept bitterly.
“It can’t be as bad as you say!” Wen Yu said dismissively.
“It’s true, Fifth Young Madam. Our house has already been mortgaged once! The point is, I’ve figured it out. Minghui, she was just used by the old madam until she was no longer needed… What nonsense about Concubine Liu using witchcraft? I don’t believe any of that! All those schemes were aimed at the eldest branch.”
Her words were sincere, but Wen Yu felt bored. What was the use of saying all this now?
Xu Dasao continued, “Originally, I wanted to expose the old madam’s true face and avenge Minghui! After all, with nothing left to lose, I’m not afraid of anything. If it came down to it, I would really go to the Court of Judicial Review!”
Wen Yu nodded, “Eldest Sister-in-Law Xu is loyal and courageous, Wen Yu admires you.”
“But, I’m worried that with the Xu family’s meager influence, we wouldn’t be able to achieve anything and would only end up getting ourselves killed!”
“Yes, it’s wise of you to think of that!” Wen Yu said indifferently.
“Fifth Young Madam, there will definitely be a struggle between the eldest branch and the old madam. Although Minghui is gone, but we are closer, aren’t we? And there’s still Bao’er! I’ll be frank, if there’s anything you need me to do, just say it. But please, also help me gain some benefit, will you?”
Wen Yu smiled, “Eldest Sister-in-Law Xu, firstly, Minghui was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Xu family and died giving birth to a child for the Qi family. No matter how you look at it, the Qi family wouldn’t let the Xu family suffer.
Secondly, you trust me and have come to me for help. Even for Bao’er’s sake, I will do my best to help you gain something. But I, I really don’t need you to do anything for me.”
The next chapter will be very late. Everyone, please go ahead with your own matters. Check back tonight…
