“I have been away from home for so long, and even after returning a few times, I found no trace of anything. I can’t help but wonder if she had hidden away a large sum of money from the Song family back then.”
“Song Yichun harmed her to this extent, and while giving her some silver as compensation is understandable, she was unwilling to accept it, which is also quite normal. I didn’t pursue the matter. However, my wife was displeased and often made veiled remarks. One time, she angered my wife so much that she shouted at her, warning us not to look down on her, or we would regret it later. But when my wife confronted her, she merely sneered.”
“When it came time for the Yi family to marry off their daughter, she didn’t provide any dowry for the child. I confronted her, and she shouted back at me.”
“My wife, unable to contain her anger, searched her room with her maid.”
“They even got into a fight over it.”
“Aside from her usual clothing, we only found a few pieces of broken silver and three hundred taels in silver notes.”
“In the end, she gave a few gilded ornaments as a dowry for the Yi family.”
“Everything else was provided by me, costing me a year’s wages.”
“Because of this, my wife still complains that I always protect her. She is my sister; I know her well.”
“She must have some sort of backing to act this way.”
Li Liang said, casting a vague glance at Song Mo, lowering his eyes as he continued, “I heard that the second son of Duke Ying’s residence is the same age as Yi Gui. At that time, my sister was heavily pregnant, and I thought, could it be that she was having twins? The Duke Ying’s family kept a son but not a daughter… But the second son of Duke Ying is a legitimate child, and when the Duke’s wife gave birth, there were layers of servants around her. It’s impossible… Unless the Duke’s wife had a miscarriage, and the matriarch of the Duke’s family decided to raise the child under the Duke’s wife’s name…”
“But this thought only crossed my mind occasionally when I couldn’t make sense of things; I never dared to think deeply about it… That’s why when I met the heir, I blurted out whether he was the second son or the heir…”
He appeared quite frustrated.
Song Mo took a deep breath, suppressing the anger boiling within him, resisting the urge to kick this scoundrel to death.
In the end, he was still secretly calculating how his sister’s child had secured a place in the Song family, all while claiming to treat Yi Gui well! If Yi Gui were not a child of the Song family, would he treat her so kindly?
Thinking of Yi Gui’s plight, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, and his gaze darkened.
Chen Jia noticed the tension in his heart.
He quickly helped Li Liang up and said, “Heir, would you like a cup of hot tea to catch your breath? Yi Gui still knows nothing. When Lady Li comes later, should we let Yi Gui listen in? We wouldn’t want her to mistake enmity for kinship and let Lady Li take advantage of the situation.”
Song Mo, feeling suffocated, nodded in agreement and called out, “Duan Gongyi, send Liu Zhang to inform Du Wei to find out who delivered Lady Li’s child back then.”
He had a vague feeling that most of the people present when his mother gave birth, were likely no longer around. It would be more reliable to find out who had delivered Lady Li’s child back then.
Duan Gongyi left in response.
Chen Jia accompanied Song Mo out of the tea room.
Looking up, he saw Xia Lian hurriedly entering the courtyard.
“Where is Lady Li?” Song Mo’s expression suddenly turned extremely stern, causing Chen Jia’s heart to skip a beat.
Xia Lian spoke urgently, “Heir, it’s bad! Lady Li has hanged herself… A woman from the neighboring Li family was picking eggplants and saw a person hanging from the beam in the east wing of the Li house. She was so frightened that she almost fell off the ladder and hurriedly reported it to the authorities. When we arrived, the coroner was already examining the body.”
Chen Jia was horrified and asked repeatedly, “Which head constable from Shuntian Prefecture is handling the case? What are the neighbors saying? Has Shuntian Prefecture discovered anything?”
Song Mo sneered.
Perhaps having spent too long in the yamen, he had developed the habit of questioning men first when seeking justice. He hadn’t expected someone to be watching the Li family, taking advantage of this opportunity.
This might be a good thing.
As long as there was movement, there would be traces left behind; what he feared most was a stagnant situation.
Xia Lian took a breath and said, “The case is being handled by Constable Qin from Shuntian Prefecture, and they are currently examining the body. The results are not yet out. I have already sent someone to wait for news. The neighbors believe it was a crime of passion, saying that Lady Li often attracted attention, and it’s likely someone, out of jealousy, killed her and then hung her to make it look like a suicide.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a young servant rushed in.
He hurriedly bowed to Song Mo and Xia Lian, saying, “There’s news from Shuntian Prefecture. They say the young lady from the Li family committed suicide.”
Xia Lian frowned, wanting to say something, but Song Mo coldly interjected, “That’s easy enough; just find someone to hang her from the beam and watch her take her last breath.” With that, he headed toward the tea room.
Chen Jia thought that if it were him, he would do the same, so he naturally had no objections and followed Song Mo into the tea room.
Song Mo raised his chin slightly, looking arrogantly at Li Liang, “Your sister was killed before our people found her. Do you have anything to say to me?”
“What did you say?!” Li Liang’s eyes widened, his voice sharp, “My sister is dead? No, that’s impossible! She was still at Jinxiu Xuan yesterday, ordering two autumn dresses…”
Song Mo couldn’t be bothered to look at him, calling out “Chen Jia” before turning to leave.
Chen Jia sighed and squatted down in front of Li Liang…
Outside, Xia Lian asked Song Mo, “Heir, what do you think we should do about this matter?”
Song Mo smiled, “Could it be that even Duke Ying is dead?”
He said it so casually that Xia Lian felt as if a cold wind had swept past him.
He lowered his head, bowed, and took his leave.
Song Mo went to the side room.
Dou Zhao was speaking softly with Yi Gui.
Compared to earlier, Yi Gui appeared much calmer. However, upon seeing Song Mo, she still nervously stood up and hid behind Dou Zhao.
Song Mo sighed inwardly.
Fortunately, Dou Zhao was there; otherwise, this sister would truly be a handful.
Dou Zhao smiled reassuringly at Song Mo.
With a sister like this, he must feel both sad and helpless!
Dou Zhao turned and took Yi Gui’s hand, gently saying, “He is your brother; don’t be afraid. You will have many opportunities to interact with him in the future! He may seem a bit cold, but he treats people very well. Let’s sit down and talk.”
Yi Gui thought for a moment and sat down next to Dou Zhao.
Seeing this, Song Mo hesitated for a moment before telling Dou Zhao and Yi Gui about Lady Li’s death.
The news came so suddenly that not only Yi Gui but even Dou Zhao was momentarily stunned.
However, after the initial shock, Dou Zhao immediately nervously grabbed Yi Gui’s hand. Yet, contrary to Dou Zhao’s expectations, Yi Gui did not burst into tears or demand to find Lady Li. Instead, she lowered her head and began to sob quietly.
There’s something deeper here!
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but glance at Song Mo.
Song Mo’s brows were furrowed tightly, his beautiful lips pressed together, a mix of rage and a hint of eeriness.
Unable to resist, Dou Zhao stepped forward to gently smooth his brow, as if that could wipe away the shadows in his heart.
Song Mo held her hand, softly saying, “It’s okay,” and quietly shared what Li Liang had said with Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao’s brows furrowed as well.
No wonder Yi Gui was so timid; it was clear she had been frightened by Lady Li since childhood.
She softly said to Song Mo, “You go out first; I’ll talk to Yi Gui.”
Song Mo squeezed her hand and left the side room.
Dou Zhao took out a handkerchief to wipe Yi Gui’s tears.
Only then did Yi Gui notice that Song Mo was no longer in the side room.
She asked Dou Zhao, “Is what he said true?”
Dou Zhao nodded.
Yi Gui silently cried for a while before whispering, “Am I very heartless… She’s gone, and while I’m sad… I also feel relieved…”
Dou Zhao spoke gently, “Even if we suddenly lose a little cat or dog, we would feel sad. But you feel relieved, which shows she must have done something to make you unhappy. That’s not your fault.”
A flicker of gratitude flashed in Yi Gui’s eyes as she lowered her head and began to sob quietly again.
Dou Zhao embraced her as if comforting a child.
She hurriedly said, “I’m fine… You should take care of the baby in your belly…” Her voice was as soft as a spring breeze in March, almost reminiscent of Song Mo.
Dou Zhao’s heart softened.
She released Yi Gui and gently patted her hand, asking, “Do you want to talk about Lady Li with me?”
Yi Gui remained silent.
The room fell silent, becoming oppressive.
Dou Zhao felt a bit anxious and was about to change the subject when Yi Gui lowered her head and said, “She didn’t like me and didn’t want others to know I was her daughter. When guests came to our house when I was little, she would stuff me into the wardrobe; as I grew older, she would lock me in the inner room, never allowing me to appear before others. That day, she suddenly wanted to take me to the temple to pray and even changed me into a beautiful dress. But when we got to the temple, she made me wait in the main hall while she disappeared. Someone coaxed me with candy to take me home, and another person pulled me, claiming I was her lost niece. If I hadn’t tricked a little monk in the temple, I would have been forcibly taken away that day…”
“Later, she made some snacks for me.”
“From childhood to adulthood, she had never made me anything to eat. I pretended to break a plate, and when Xiao Huang ran over to grab a piece of pastry, I chased after it, only to see Xiao Huang wobbling and collapsing on the ground… She said the butcher sold her bad meat…”
Dou Zhao was so angry that she drank two cups of tea.
Thank goodness Lady Li was dead; otherwise, she would have encouraged Song Mo to deal with her properly.
“When she wanted to marry me off to Wei Bai Rui, she praised him endlessly, saying how good he was and how I would enjoy a life of luxury if I married him. I saw Bai Rui dressed neatly every day, clearly wearing a silk robe, yet he claimed to spend ten taels of silver to buy her things, flattering her. I knew he was just a facade, but I still felt relieved and happily married him…”
Dou Zhao suddenly thought of her past life, where she had also happily married Wei Ting Yu.
Only Yi Gui’s fate was far more difficult.
Her eyes immediately became moist.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Dou Zhao instinctively wrapped her arms around Yi Gui’s shoulders, softly comforting her, “Yantang is your real brother; he will protect you in the future.” She added, “I am your sister-in-law. If there’s anything you don’t want to tell him, you can tell me. We will support you.”
Yi Gui hesitated, “Am I a daughter of the Song family?”
“Of course!” Dou Zhao replied firmly, “Don’t you think you look a lot like the heir?”
She shook her head, “The heir is much more handsome than I am!” Then she murmured, “Sometimes I secretly hide under the blanket and cry, wishing I were someone else’s child, kidnapped and then found by her. When I opened my eyes, my real parents would have come to find me…”