Qin Feifei let out a long sigh, glanced at Qin Shuying, and said: “It’s all because of the trouble Seventh Sister caused, using unscrupulous methods in business, making my shops unable to continue operating. Now I don’t have a single wen to my name and can’t even eat a proper meal, let alone dare to eat such expensive fish.”
Qin Shuying acted as if she were deaf, continuing to eat her meal seriously.
Qin Yunyun said: “Third Sister, you don’t need to blame Seventh Sister anymore. She has already received her lesson—the Liu family couldn’t stand her unruly behavior and broke off the engagement. I think Seventh Sister will be more careful in the future.”
“Now that you mention this matter, I’ve heard some rumors too. Is it all true?”
“Of course it’s true.”
“Seventh Sister, this…” Qin Feifei shook her head. “I said it before, didn’t I? For women, chastity, tranquility, virtue, and worthiness are most important. Such unscrupulous methods and showing your face in public will inevitably provoke disgust. It’s truly regrettable for you.”
Qin Shuying raised her eyes and looked at her calmly, her expression very peaceful—she even smiled slightly.
Qin Feifei immediately bristled, her gaze turning vicious: “Seventh Sister, have you become foolish from grief? How is it that you can’t say a single word?”
Zou Shi really couldn’t bear to watch anymore, but she was after all a concubine-born son’s wife, and her words carried no weight before these two young madams. She simply picked up some food with her chopsticks for Qin Lulu: “Eat more, you’ve gotten thinner recently.”
Qin Lulu was also quite indignant. Her hand moved, but Qin Shuying pressed it down under the table. Qin Lulu looked at Qin Shuying in amazement—were they really going to let Third Sister and Sixth Sister continue talking nonsense like this?
How could they be like this? Not showing even a bit of sisterly affection!
Qin Yue ate her meal quietly with considerable interest. She knew that Seventh Aunt would definitely not submit meekly—she only hoped Third Aunt could withstand what was coming.
Qin Shuying continued eating her meal quietly. Ziteng, who was serving at the side, had a dark expression, her eyes fixed deadly on Qin Feifei.
Qin Yunyun couldn’t stand seeing Qin Shuying’s calm and untroubled appearance the most. She laughed angrily: “After all, Seventh Sister has good composure. Even in this situation, you still have the mood to eat. If it were someone else, wouldn’t they cry themselves to death!”
“Don’t hit the face when hitting someone, don’t expose shortcomings when exposing someone”—yet the two sisters Qin Feifei and Qin Yunyun were most skilled at hitting faces and exposing shortcomings.
Qin Shuying finally swallowed what was in her mouth and smiled lightly: “Sixth Sister, according to what you’re saying, when Third Sister’s former fiancé Scholar Liao died, why didn’t Third Sister cry herself to death?”
“Pfft…”
Qin Wei couldn’t hold back the mouthful of soup she had just taken and sprayed it out. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and immediately turned around, spraying it on the ground.
Qin Feifei’s breath caught in her throat, nearly fainting from anger: “For a daughter to speak of marriage and such things—do you have no shame left!”
Qin Shuying smiled faintly again. She really didn’t want to engage in verbal sparring with her in front of so many people. If Qin Feifei didn’t want to eat, the rest of them still wanted to properly enjoy this delicious fish.
Qin Shuying said: “Third Sister, have you forgotten how you were refused entry?”
Qin Feifei was stunned. She had been refused entry because she had schemed for Third Uncle and Third Aunt’s belongings.
Qin Feifei immediately deflated. If she angered Qin Shuying and the old madam found out, she would be refused entry again, and who knew how Old Madam Lu and Lu Changju would humiliate her then!
Having said this, Qin Shuying said nothing more and continued eating her meal seriously.
With Qin Feifei no longer stirring up trouble, Qin Yunyun wanted to say something but was also concerned that if she couldn’t out-argue Qin Shuying, she would lose face again. She very sensibly kept her mouth shut. After all, with Second Brother’s planning, Qin Shuying wouldn’t come to any good end.
The meal concluded this way.
Walking on the path back to Yilan Garden, Ziteng said coldly: “Miss, Third Miss has returned. Might she feel guilty about meeting Second Miss again?”
Qin Shuying stopped and began to laugh: “Mm, your reminder is very apt. She should stay overnight. At night, when yin energy is heavy and evil spirits roam freely, I’m afraid Third Sister is going to encounter a ghost.”
Qin Feifei spent the entire afternoon with Qin Yunyun, and at night she stayed in the courtyard where she had lived before marriage. Although Dong Shi had arranged for people to maintain it, after such a long time with only a few servants living there, the rooms still felt somewhat desolate.
At midnight, the several servants attending to Qin Feifei were awakened by her piercing screams. Nanny Wu hurried in to see Qin Feifei covering her eyes and shrieking like a ghost: “Second Sister, spare me, spare me, please spare me…”
Nanny Wu knew Qin Feifei was having another nightmare and quickly stepped forward to embrace her: “Madam, wake up, this is just a dream!”
Qin Feifei screamed for quite a while before calming down, her face streaked with tears, terrified and contorted: “No, Nanny, it wasn’t a dream. Just now, she came, she came! Look, look!”
Qin Feifei pointed at the table. When Nanny Wu looked over, she was immediately horrified, stammering for a long time without being able to say half a sentence.
She recognized them, she recognized them—those were the shoes Second Miss was wearing when she died! Even more, they were still stained with the blackened charcoal ash from the fire!
Nanny Wu’s vision went black and she fainted.
Then came Qin Feifei’s even more terrified screams.
Dong Shi came upon hearing the news. After listening to the maids and servants describe what had happened, and hearing the awakened Nanny Wu point at those shoes while speaking, she immediately understood seven or eight parts of the situation.
Second Young Madam’s death was likely connected to Third Young Madam. However, she would keep such words buried in her stomach and would never bring them up.
“Third Young Madam probably had a nightmare. All of you stay alert and don’t sleep too deeply.”
Dong Shi arranged for hot soup to be brought and instructed the maids and servants before returning. However, though her words sounded composed, she was also very frightened. If it was indeed a ghost, those shoes were sitting there quite tangibly.
Qin Yongtao and Qin Kaiyu were also awakened by the commotion. They came from the outer courtyard, and Qin Yongtao glanced at those embroidered shoes, his eyes immediately showing a cold gleam: “This is man-made. There are no ghosts—what’s there to fear!”
He arranged for a bold servant woman to clamp the shoes with tongs and throw them into the kitchen to be burned.
Qin Yongtao and Qin Kaiyu circled the room several times, trying to discover traces of human intervention.
However, on such a hot day, the windows had been open the entire time. For someone to climb in without leaving traces wouldn’t be difficult, so they discovered nothing.
Qin Feifei and the awakened Nanny Wu kept their eyes wide open, not daring to close them again until daybreak. As soon as dawn broke, they immediately rushed out of the room and stood in the courtyard, refusing to go back inside no matter what.
They didn’t dare enter, and others didn’t dare enter either, though as servants, they had no choice but to overcome their fear.
After breakfast, Dong Shi arranged carriages to send Qin Feifei away. After returning, Qin Feifei fell ill.
Qin Yongtao and Qin Kaiyu each went early to their respective government offices, but through last night’s conversation, they discovered a problem: who would use Qin Yaoyao to make Qin Feifei lose face? Even to give them a warning?
They certainly couldn’t believe there were really ghosts.
Moreover, through this disturbance, Qin Kaiyu also learned that Second Sister’s death was indeed connected to Third Sister. However, with the person already dead, someone was still using her to make a point—what was the reason for this?
This person actually knew that Qin Yaoyao was killed by Qin Feifei?!
Such damaging evidence was actually in someone’s hands.