Dihuai appeared not to notice, and answered with respectful courtesy: “That goods depot is called the Fengxian Goods Depot. Liu Quan is the proprietor of the Fengxian Goods Depot.”

Dihuai had spoken only two sentences, yet the atmosphere shifted noticeably.

The household manager looked at the General somewhat awkwardly. The General was not aware of these minor details and said with displeasure: “What are you trying to say?”

The household manager had no choice but to brace himself and say: “The Fengxian Goods Depot is a Meng family enterprise.”

The Meng family — how many Meng families were there in Shun Cheng? Naturally it was the renowned Meng Mansion, whose several brothers held high positions and whose daughter was the ruling mistress of the General’s mansion. When the Meng family was mentioned in Shun Cheng, was there anyone who did not know them?

Now that the matter had drawn in the Meng family, the flavor of things seemed to change.

The General glared furiously at Madam Shi: “Did you know of this?”

Madam Shi forced herself to remain calm. “The Meng family’s enterprises are so vast, how would I know? Furthermore, even if he is a proprietor in a Meng family shop, does that not make it more likely that Luo Huaimeng borrowed a knife to kill someone, then placed the blame on me if things went wrong? And didn’t someone just mention a chain of evidence? Now you have carelessly found a person and want to drag the matter to the Meng family’s doorstep, then drag it to mine?”

“First Madam speaks perfectly well,” Yan Qing thought to herself — this Madam Shi was quite adept at applying lessons. She was using the very words Yan Qing had spoken moments ago to counter her. Still, since she wanted a chain of evidence, Yan Qing would give her one.

Madam Shi let out a cold snort.

Yan Qing said unhurriedly: “Since the person who brought Bizhu to Shun Cheng has been found, the next step is to find the person who made contact with her.”

“Made contact?”

“The child gu Yingtao just described — I have also heard of it. For this gu to be successfully cultivated, something must actually be taken from the body of the person upon whom the gu is cast. On each first and fifteenth of the month, this item is placed into the buried gu urn as a gu catalyst.” Yan Qing continued: “This item is urine. Bizhu was in Lanxiang Courtyard, while San Yitai is in Xuehua Courtyard. These two courtyards are one to the north and one to the south, with two gardens in between. Bizhu was a person of Lanxiang Courtyard and could not possibly have entered Xuehua Courtyard to successfully obtain San Yitai’s gu catalyst. So who was it that delivered the gu catalyst to her on the first and fifteenth of each month? Was it someone from Er Yitai’s courtyard? If so, San Yitai should recognize everyone from Er Yitai’s courtyard — she has so few servants to begin with. San Yitai, in the past several months, has anyone from Er Yitai’s courtyard ever visited yours?”

San Yitai glanced at the maidservants beside her. Being the mistress, she naturally would not have paid close attention to such matters.

Cai Yue and Cai Xia exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads.

Lanxiang Courtyard and Xuehua Courtyard kept strictly to themselves, and the servants all knew each other. If there had truly been any visits — especially for something so intimate — the two head maidservants could not possibly be unaware.

“It is quite a coincidence, actually.” Yan Qing said: “I have had someone watching Bizhu all along, to prevent her from stealing more of my mother’s belongings and sneaking out to meet her lover. I had them observe in the woods where she was seen exchanging whispered words with a woman. Thinking that woman and her lover were in league together, I had her detained as well.”

Madam Shi was so startled her jaw nearly dropped. She — she had even managed to detain that person?

“If the General wishes to see, the person can be brought in right now.”

“Bring her in,” the General commanded coldly.

Yan Qing said ‘yes,’ and gave Dihuai a signal with her eyes.

Dihuai seemed to have already made preparations, and very quickly brought someone in — none other than the woman in blue who had been speaking with Bizhu in the woods that day.

The moment Madam Shi saw this maidservant, her complexion instantly turned iron-grey.

“First Madam, do you recognize this person?” Yan Qing asked.

Madam Shi said: “A mere servant — why would I know her?”

“How fortunate then.” Yan Qing said: “I had someone inquire earlier. This maidservant named Qiqiao is the personal maidservant of the Third Madam of Meng Mansion. The Third Madam is your sister-in-law, is she not, First Madam? If it were barely plausible to say that Er Yitai could find a goods depot proprietor to travel to Lugou County to fetch a distant relative she had never been in contact with — for Er Yitai to also be able to persuade the maidservant of Meng Mansion’s Third Madam to do things for her — not only do I not believe it, but Er Yitai herself would not believe it either.”

The General listened, narrowed his eyes, and looked toward the maidservant kneeling on the floor: “Are you truly a person of Meng Mansion?”

Before she came in, Dihuai had already frightened her half to death with a combination of cunning and intimidation. By now Qiqiao was completely at a loss, and could only keep kowtowing: “Reporting to the General, I am a person of Meng Mansion.”

“Then why have you come to Shi Mansion? What were you sneaking around doing with this Bizhu?”

Qiqiao did not know how to respond and simply trembled incessantly.

Yan Qing said: “General, besides Qiqiao, there is one other key figure in this matter.”

The General paused and looked toward San Yitai: “Linghua, is there anyone suspicious in your courtyard?”

Qiqiao could not enter or leave Xuehua Courtyard freely, so to help Bizhu obtain the gu catalyst, she would need the help of someone close to San Yitai.

Cai Yue suddenly remembered: “It’s Liu Sao — the Liu Sao who manages cleaning. Liu Sao is responsible for the courtyard’s sanitation as well as the Yitai’s private facilities. Only she would have had the opportunity to access San Yitai’s personal items.”

Liu Sao was easily frightened, and upon seeing both the General and San Yitai present, she confessed everything immediately.

Cai Yue said: “I remember now — Liu Sao’s elder sister is the most capable steward of Meng Mansion’s Third Madam.”

Whether it was Liu Quan, Qiqiao, or Liu Sao — once the identities of all three were stripped back, they connected in a remarkable way to a single point: the Meng family. And the Meng family was Madam Shi’s maternal home.

The General looked at Madam Shi with a mixture of shock and fury: “You — speak up. How do you explain this? No matter how capable Er Yitai may be, could she truly command people of your Meng family? Meng Qiu, you vicious woman.”

From the day she had laid out this scheme, Madam Shi had envisioned San Yitai dying together with her unborn child and Er Yitai being expelled from the Shi family — which would naturally implicate her own son Shi Ting as well. It was a long-laid trap, but one that had seemed infallible.

A wave of dizziness swept over Madam Shi. Er Yitai was still kneeling there, half-lidded eyes, prayer beads between her fingers, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

And San Yitai, nestled in the General’s arms, showed not the slightest trace of the sickness she had displayed before — no more crying out in pain, not even a groan. The corners of her lips curved in a faint cold smile, the look of someone waiting to enjoy a good show.

Madam Shi knew she had been outmaneuvered. The fine scheme she had devised had been turned against her by the very people before her eyes, trampling her deep into the pit.

“Vicious woman, what more do you have to say?” The General’s voice was full and commanding, carrying the fury of thunder. If her plan had succeeded, this fury should have been borne by that wretch Luo Huaimeng.

It was over, over!

With this thought, Madam Shi rolled her eyes back and fainted dead away.

With Madam Shi’s fainting, the room descended into chaos again — some calling for a physician, others pressing on her philtrum.

The General was so vexed by the commotion he could barely stand it, and impatiently waved his hand: “Drag them all out. Drag them all out.”

Once the room had quieted, the General immediately and concernedly asked: “Linghua, how are you feeling? Does your belly still hurt?”

“It feels a little better now.” Du Linghua said: “But the gu poison is still within me. I fear that the child of the General and myself…”

As she spoke, she began to sob again.

“This vicious woman Meng Qiu — how brazen of her. Not only did she seek to harm the blood of our Shi family, she even tried to use it to frame another.” Having said this, he remembered Luo Huaimeng was still kneeling and went personally to help her to her feet.

“Your constitution is not strong. Go back and rest.” The General offered a rare word of concern.

Luo Huaimeng’s expression was indifferent; she said nothing. As for the General’s heart, she had long since seen through it and no longer cared.

“General, I hear that Shi Ting mentioned there are many capable and extraordinary individuals at the black market. Perhaps there is a way to break San Yitai’s gu poison,” Yan Qing stepped forward.

“Good, good, good — quickly go to the military police and call Xingzhi back. Have him make a trip to the black market and by all means find someone to cure Linghua’s illness.”

“Yes.” Yan Qing supported Luo Huaimeng, and the two retreated with small steps.

Outside, the night had grown deep. Several dark clouds drifted across the sky, obscuring the moonlight, filling the air with a dense, heavy gloom.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked ahead, with several maidservants following at a distance behind them.

Yan Qing had no worries about the matter of the ‘antidote’ — because San Yitai had never been afflicted with any gu poison at all. The genuine gu poison had already been killed by Shi Ting and Zheng Yun using pomegranate root water. What Bizhu had later obtained was nothing more than a pill of Shiquan Dabu, a general health tonic.

The whole affair had proceeded so smoothly in large part due to the participation of Du Linghua. Earlier, Du Linghua had harbored a grudge against Madam Shi over the matter of Shi Yutong’s marriage prospects. Upon hearing that Madam Shi intended to move against her again, she was naturally willing to cooperate with Lanxiang Courtyard. For Du Linghua, who had come from a background as a dance performer, putting on a performance was no trouble at all.

“Mother, do you think First Madam truly fainted or pretended to faint?” Yan Qing said, unable to suppress her amusement as she spoke.

Luo Huaimeng glanced at her, gave a helpless shake of her head, and sighed. No matter how deep one’s schemes, she was still a child at heart.

She gently curled the corners of her lips: “Then which would you prefer — that she truly fainted, or that she pretended?”

“Whether truly fainted or pretended, there is some of both in it. But this fainting has given First Madam an opportunity to catch her breath.” Yan Qing supported Luo Huaimeng, her steps unhurried.

“I think as you do.” Luo Huaimeng let out a quiet sigh: “Meng Qiu stands behind the Meng family. You and I both know how important the Meng family is to the General’s hold on power.”

“Mother, are you saying that First Madam will still emerge from this unscathed?”

“So long as the Meng family does not fall, so long as she does not attempt to assassinate the General, she will be fine.” Luo Huaimeng had seen too clearly into the General’s disposition toward Madam Shi. Precisely because she saw so clearly, she had no desire to fight with Madam Shi. It was likely San Yitai reasoned the same way — no matter how many of Madam Shi’s mistakes they exposed, nothing would happen to Madam Shi.

It was like cutting leeks: no matter how many you cut, they would always grow back — unless you pulled the root out entirely.

Yan Qing’s bright eyes turned thoughtfully: “Mother, although this affair cannot topple First Madam, it will tie a knot in the General’s heart that cannot be undone. The General values power above all else. If the Meng family continues to grow so mighty and powerful, will the General not grow suspicious? Will he not want to suppress them?”

Luo Huaimeng paused mid-step and looked over: “Is it that Xingzhi has some plan in motion?”

Yan Qing smiled: “Mother is as perceptive as ever. This affair is merely to first tie that knot in the General’s heart and let it grow. When the knot has grown large enough that the General feels genuinely threatened — do you think he will continue to indulge the Meng family? When the Meng family falls, First Madam’s good days will naturally come to an end as well.”