Having followed Elder Chen for so many years, her husband could be said to know the Chen family inside and out. The trap he had personally designed was enough to catch the Chen family completely off guard and make them utterly defeated. Madam Fang didn’t know whether to praise the Song family’s precise judgment or praise the Song family’s brilliant methods for winning people over—taking into their fold and putting to good use a strategist like her husband from under Elder Chen. Now the Chen family…
Now the Chen family had descended into complete chaos. Second Madam Chen simply hadn’t made it back in time. When she returned, she discovered that the trunk that had killed Nanny Wu had been carried away. She immediately widened her eyes and looked at Old Madam Chen: “Mother! Where is that trunk?!”
Old Madam Chen thought her second daughter-in-law’s vision was still so shallow. She glanced at her sideways and said neither coldly nor warmly: “The constable from Shuntian Prefecture carried it away. We still have to go through the motions. In a few days, have a servant take the inventory list, go verify it, and bring it back.”
Even stupid as Second Madam Chen was, she sensed something wrong. She stamped her foot, feeling her breathing stop, her chest so stifled it hurt fiercely. Both shocked and frightened, she shouted to Old Madam Chen: “What do you mean! Mother, inside there is evidence of Third Uncle taking money from others!”
Old Madam Chen was just about to leave, but hearing this, she turned back suspiciously to ask her: “What evidence? Whose money did he take?”
Third Master Chen slowly looked at them, his gaze vacant like a ghost drifting past them, as if he didn’t care at all what they were saying. From the moment the officials rushed in, he knew he was finished. Since he already knew he was finished, what others were thinking and what schemes they were plotting no longer concerned him—these people couldn’t wait for him to die. In the inner quarters of a high minister and elder’s household, were those people from Shuntian Prefecture able to enter just because they wanted to? If someone hadn’t deliberately gone to submit a notice, would those officials have come so quickly? And there was what his legitimate mother had said to the officials earlier—this clearly meant they wanted him dead, wanted him utterly ruined!
No! After drifting like a ghost out of the Chen family’s main residence, Third Master Chen wandered unsteadily on the street for a long time, then suddenly understood. This wasn’t just about wanting him dead—this was about wanting him to take the blame for his father. No wonder his legitimate mother had wanted to see him before, and had been so frantic after hearing he wanted to divide the household. His legitimate mother and the others were afraid that once he divided the household and left, there would be no one to take the blame for his father! He thought of that evidence, thought of his wife’s terror and tears when she was taken away, and suddenly felt very tired, truly very tired.
Old Madam Chen hadn’t had time to concern herself with him for the moment. She heard the anxiety in her second daughter-in-law’s words. Matters that could frighten her two daughters-in-law were basically never small. These two daughters-in-law both had very hard hearts. If something didn’t concern them, they ordinarily wouldn’t care, much less show panic and alarm. She stopped in her tracks without moving, staring at her daughter-in-law’s face.
Second Madam Chen truly was on the verge of tears. Stamping her feet in shock and panic, she said: “Inside there are IOUs for Third Uncle taking money from Zhou Chengfang and Lu Bingyuan. I saw them with my own eyes!”
Old Madam Chen almost thought she had misheard. As if struck by lightning, she swayed and nearly couldn’t stand, feeling waves of pain in the right side of her head. She gritted her teeth, widened her eyes at Second Madam Chen, and asked almost through clenched teeth: “What did you say?!”
So that’s why they so suddenly insisted on dividing the household, that’s why they dared to kill someone over these things—inside there was actually evidence of him taking money from others?! Old Madam Chen’s heart turned ice cold, ice cold, and her whole person suddenly fell backward.
Second Madam Chen regretted it as soon as she finished speaking. Old Madam Chen had already been in poor spirits recently because of Elder Chen’s matter. Now being stimulated by her like this, if something happened…
The whole group frantically moved Old Madam Chen into the main room, then hurried to have someone fetch a doctor. It wasn’t good to disturb the imperial physicians so late, and the Chen family had already had too many incidents tonight. If they summoned an imperial physician now, they might as well open the main gate and tell others the Chen family was in trouble.
Second Master Chen stood in the room with an iron-dark face, glaring as he questioned Second Madam Chen: “Are you certain you saw clearly? It was definitely IOUs, no mistake?”
Second Madam Chen was almost crying. Though she loved money and had long grown cold toward the family because her merchant daughter status had always been looked down upon, she wasn’t a fool. She understood the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. Not to mention her children all bore the Chen surname—if something really happened, she herself wouldn’t escape unscathed. She immediately cried out: “I really saw clearly! Inside there wasn’t just that—there were also examination papers Third Uncle had written for others…”
Second Master Chen himself also staggered back several steps before managing to stand firm. He closed his eyes to suppress the shock in his heart, then spat viciously on the ground: “That ungrateful wretch! Quickly bring him back to me!”
Actually, what to do after bringing him back, Second Master Chen himself didn’t know. He only knew that now these things were all deadly items. If Father’s political enemies at court learned of this, this would be an excellent knife to stab Father and the Chen family with.
Third was simply a fool, utterly stupid! Taking money from others, he actually wrote receipts and IOUs! Unable to care that there was still a doctor inside, he urgently instructed his eldest nephew repeatedly: “Quick, quick, quick! Quickly take people and find your Third Uncle. We can’t let him leave!”
They absolutely couldn’t let him escape, or it would truly be over!
First Young Master Chen listened in a daze. With his brain overtaxed from recent exhaustion, it took him quite a while to finally comprehend that Third Uncle had gotten into huge trouble. Grandfather was currently in prison, but the one truly in charge of the family was still Grandfather, because Censor Tao and the others simply couldn’t catch any evidence. When all was said and done, it was just the same old refrain, saying that Grandfather was too close to Zhou Chengfang, Lu Bingyuan, and those examination cheaters. But if they found out Third Uncle had actually taken money from those people… They were all one family surnamed Chen. If Third Uncle took money, it was the same as Grandfather taking it. Who would believe Grandfather didn’t know?!
He wanted to jump up and bite off a chunk of Third Uncle’s flesh. Hearing Second Master Chen’s instructions, he immediately nodded in agreement and quickly selected people to go out and capture him.
As for what to do next, Second Master Chen himself was somewhat at a loss. He waited for the doctor to come out, asked to confirm that Mother had already awakened, then had Second Madam Chen send someone to take the doctor down to receive his reward, while he himself entered the inner room to see his mother lying on the large carved sandalwood bed.
Old Madam Chen tremblingly extended her hand to point at him. After a long while, she finally exhaled a breath and said breathlessly: “Quick! Quickly go invite Master Fang…” Quickly go invite Fang Xiaoru to come. The family couldn’t go on like this!