Liang Yunshan sat in a daze for a while, then returned to Old Madam Liang’s bedroom and carefully examined her as she lay on the bed.
Qin Shuying was right. Already fifty-seven years old, yet Old Madam Liang showed no signs of aging at all. If someone said she was Liang Yunshan’s younger sister, people would probably believe it.
Today’s events exceeded Liang Yunshan’s understanding accumulated over forty years.
At the border, he had encountered countless more complex situations without ever losing his composure. But now, he was confused.
He was not Old Madam Liang’s biological son, and his birth mother had been killed by Old Madam Liang.
Old Madam Liang had cuckolded his father, giving birth to an illegitimate daughter, Luo Meixiang, with whom he himself had then had an affair.
Zhao Wanniang had discovered this secret and tried to prevent Luo Meixiang from entering the household, but he had repeatedly misunderstood her, even thinking Zhao Wanniang carried a bastard child, and she eventually died.
Now, his children and daughter-in-law said that Zhao Wanniang’s death was suspicious, meaning that her death was connected to Old Madam Liang.
They said that when Liang Zhen was caught in adultery with Qu Yi in public, that too was Old Madam Liang’s scheme.
In other words, Old Madam Liang was not only his mother’s murderer, but had also manipulated his entire life, treating him like a puppet on strings, playing him for a fool.
Why would she do such things?
Also, where exactly did those items from the Qifeng Dynasty come from?
Before Liang Yunshan’s eyes appeared Old Madam Liang’s transcendent face.
When young, Old Madam Liang must have been devastatingly beautiful. Otherwise, how could father have disregarded status differences and insisted on marrying her? One must know that father was a super first-rank marquis, while Luo Yanyan at that time was merely a concubine-born daughter from a fifth-rank official’s family!
The Qifeng Dynasty was known for producing absolutely beautiful women…
Liang Yunshan’s mind was chaotic. Sometimes he felt that Old Madam Liang was indeed the Luo Yanyan whom the old marquis had personally sought to marry.
Other times he felt that Qin Shuying’s parting words made perfect sense—that the real Luo Yanyan had died long ago, and the current Luo Yanyan was an imposter.
But…
Liang Yunshan sat by the bedside for a long time, finally making his decision.
The next day.
When Old Madam Liang awoke, she discovered that all her usual attendants were gone. The two maids serving by her bedside were both unfamiliar faces, appearing to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.
Old Madam Liang felt weak all over. Looking at the maid helping her sit up, her tone was ice-cold: “Where is Nanny Luo? Where are Jinxiu and Mu Jin?”
The maid called Qinglan lowered her eyes submissively and said, “Old Madam, Nanny Luo, Jinxiu, and Mu Jin have fallen ill from being haunted by Zao’er’s vengeful spirit. The others are all terrified, so Madam let them rest and didn’t dare let them disturb you.”
The Old Madam’s gaze was sharp as she looked down at Qinglan. “Fallen ill from being haunted by Zao’er’s vengeful spirit?”
“Indeed, Old Madam. Even you became ill from being haunted by Zao’er’s vengeful spirit. Now, thirty percent of the people in Ning Garden are sick.”
The Old Madam was greatly shocked but didn’t show anger. Her eyes circled twice over Qinglan and the unfamiliar maid behind her before asking, “How long have I been sleeping?”
Qinglan said, “Old Madam has been sleeping since yesterday morning until now. It’s currently the first quarter of the chen hour.”
Only then did Old Madam Liang remember something. She looked out the window and indeed saw that the sky was still dark. Winter mornings were always late to brighten. “So I’ve slept for a day and a night?”
“Yes.”
Old Madam Liang pondered for a moment and asked, “And where did you come from?”
“This servant Qinglan and Qingcao were both bought by Madam.”
“Where is Madam?”
“With Zao’er’s vengeful spirit causing trouble, everyone in the household is terrified. Madam has gone to handle matters. Does Old Madam feel hungry? There’s hot porridge warming on the stove. This servant will go fetch some for Old Madam.”
Old Madam Liang paused slightly before saying, “Mm, go ahead.”
Qinglan left, while the maid called Qingcao stood not far from the bed, eyes downcast and face somewhat wooden.
Old Madam Liang leaned against the large pillow, eyes narrowed as if resting, but her heart was filled with anger and frustration: What vengeful spirit of Zao’er? It was clearly the work of that man who impersonated Zhao Wanniang the night before last!
Zao’er was killed by Luo Meixiang and had nothing to do with Ning Garden at all.
That Nanny Cao was exactly the woman who had impersonated Nanny Shao, and the two maids were men in disguise. As for the clothes, with Luo Meixiang managing the household affairs, how difficult would it be to find similar garments?
Originally, even if Liang Zhen investigated this matter, it wouldn’t be a big deal. In the end, even if they couldn’t pin the murderer’s blame on Songtao Residence, it would be hard to pin it on Qianxi Garden either.
But Old Madam Liang simply wouldn’t allow Ning Garden to be searched. Two little slips of girls dared to show her attitude—they didn’t know their own worth and were truly rebelling against heaven!
If she had allowed the people of Ning Garden to be searched, wouldn’t that acknowledge that she, Luo Yanyan, was afraid of two little slips of girls? Wouldn’t that acknowledge that she had been caught by them?
Where would her dignity be? How could she control Liang Yunshan in the future?
If she couldn’t control Liang Yunshan, how could she make him obediently be her puppet and obediently follow her commands?
As long as she eliminated those two eyesores, Qin Shuying and Liang Zhe, what did it matter if the whole capital discussed how people from Ning Garden had killed Zao’er?
The victor writes history. Within a month, people in the household would naturally never dare to gossip again. Anyone who dared gossip would be killed!
As for people in the capital gossiging, let them gossip. She, Luo Yanyan, never left her home anyway. How did their gossip concern her? It wouldn’t cost her a piece of flesh.
She had done this before, and the effect was better than any other method.
Having thought through the matter, Old Madam Liang had the two maids attend her to the washroom. After cleaning herself and having them help her dress and arrange her hair, she then meticulously ate breakfast.
She didn’t know what drug that damned man had fed her, but her body remained weak. After eating only porridge, she felt tired again.
Also, that damned man must be one of Liang Zhe’s people.
So Liang Zhe couldn’t be kept alive—he had to die quickly!
Old Madam Liang returned to bed and waved at the three servants, “All of you go out. I don’t like having people nearby when I sleep.”
But Qinglan remained unmoved. “Old Madam, when you sleep, you often shout and scream, begging Zao’er not to harm you. This servant must stay nearby to attend you. If you have nightmares, this servant must recite sutras to drive away Zao’er’s vengeful spirit. This servant and Qingcao have been doing this all day.”
Old Madam Liang’s eyes flashed with severity. “Nonsense!”
Qinglan didn’t appear afraid. “Old Madam, this servant doesn’t dare leave. If Madam investigates, this servant cannot explain.”
These are not Luo Meixiang’s people!
This thought flashed through Old Madam Liang’s mind, but she remained composed. “Then you go outside, but don’t go far.”
“Yes.”
Old Madam Liang lay down.
Today was already the second day, and it had been a day and a half since she wrote the letter. She wondered if he had received it and whether he had written back.
But she could only know by checking the hole under the bed. Now, with these two wretched girls guarding outside, if she opened the hole, they would certainly notice.
What should she do?
Old Madam Liang felt somewhat anxious.
After thinking it over, she couldn’t come up with any good solution.
She wasted half the day like this and eventually fell back into a drowsy sleep.