“This humble servant doesn’t know either. Right now, the eldest young master and the others have all gone to Nanny Tong’s room.” Before the words had finished, Li Shimin was already striding quickly toward the back courtyard. Indeed, when he arrived there, he found the place crowded with people. Li Jiancheng and Jirong were prominently among them. As for Nanny Tong’s corpse, it had already been taken down and laid out stiffly in the middle of the room. The rope that had claimed her life still hung from the beam above, swaying back and forth intermittently in the wind.

Li Shimin walked to Li Jiancheng’s side and asked, “Elder Brother, what exactly happened here?”

Li Jiancheng handed over a piece of paper, saying, “See for yourself.”

The paper bore crooked, uneven characters stating that she had once been punished by Jirong for inadequate care of Li Chengzong, and harboring resentment in her heart, she had sought out a woman named Ayue whom she had known before. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone had just moved into the residence and security was lax, she had secretly slipped into the manor, impersonating the eldest young madam’s maid. She had then enticed Qiulin to add honey to the bean curd, thereby causing Li Chengzong’s deafness!

She had originally only wanted to vent her anger, never expecting the matter to become so serious. Not only had the entire household been thrown into panic, but even Zheng Shi had been confined to her quarters. Under the dual assault of fear and guilt, she had ultimately hanged herself.

Li Shimin sighed, “One moment’s error not only harmed Chengzong for life, but also cost her own life.”

Li Jiancheng replied with a cold, hard tone, “How could one dog’s life be sufficient to compensate for Chengzong’s ears?” After saying this, he turned to Xue Wanche and ordered, “Immediately go to this old woman’s home and arrest all her family members to be imprisoned and await punishment.”

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin hurriedly said, “Elder Brother, although Nanny Tong committed a grave error, it was merely a momentary lapse in judgment. She wasn’t inherently vicious. Since she’s already dead, why must Elder Brother extend the misfortune to her family? Let it go.”

“Let it go?” Li Jiancheng shook his head. “Chengzong is my eldest son. I treasure him like a precious gem. Now he’s been turned into a cripple by this cunning old woman. I simply cannot swallow this anger!”

“But…” Li Jiancheng raised his hand to interrupt him, “I know you’re kindhearted, Shimin, but this is my family matter. Don’t interfere!” Before Li Shimin could speak, he continued, “Rest assured, I have my own discretion. I won’t take their lives.”

Seeing him say this, Li Shimin had no choice but to give up. After a moment’s pause, he said, “Since Chengzong’s matter has nothing to do with sister-in-law, please Elder Brother, lift her confinement.”

“I know.” As Li Jiancheng spoke thus, he heard suppressed sobbing nearby. Looking back, he saw Jirong standing behind them, her face as delicate as an orchid now covered with tear stains, the crying sounds coming from her.

Seeing her in this state, Li Jiancheng’s heart jumped with alarm, and he quickly went over to her, asking, “What’s wrong? Has something else happened to Chengzong?”

Jirong shook her head, saying through her tears, “Your concubine has just realized that the one who harmed Chengzong wasn’t someone else, but your concubine herself. If your concubine hadn’t scolded Nanny Tong initially, or hadn’t assigned her to care for Chengzong, none of this would have happened. Your concubine… your concubine is the real culprit.” By the end, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Her appearance filled Li Jiancheng with great pity. He put his arm around her shoulder and said, “It was that old woman who was cunning and vicious. How could it be your fault? Stop blaming yourself.”

Seeing that Jirong still looked sorrowful and couldn’t stop her tears, Li Jiancheng said, “Don’t think about these things anymore. I’ll accompany you to see Chengzong.” As he prepared to leave, Li Jiancheng turned back to glare at the corpse still lying in the room, saying with hatred, “Drag this old woman’s body to the mass grave and let her be gnawed by wild dogs day and night.”

With Nanny Tong’s death, the matter of Li Chengzong finally came to an end. Zheng Shi was released from confinement, and young Li Chengdao was also sent back to Zheng Shi’s courtyard.

That night, Jirong sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the sleeping Li Chengzong. Li Jiancheng had left at dusk because he still had military matters to discuss.

“Dong! Dong! Dong!” Hearing the night watchman’s sounds outside, a maid said softly, “My lady, it’s already the third watch. Please let this servant help you return to rest.”

Jirong stroked Li Chengzong’s thin face and asked softly, “Has Qiulin been dealt with?”

“She has been dealt with. According to my lady’s instructions, she was given fifty lashes and expelled from the manor.” After a pause, the maid continued, “This servant knows my lady is grieving, but fortunately, all those who harmed the young master have been punished. It can be said that Heaven has eyes.”

“Heaven has eyes?” Jirong showed a cold smile. “Do you truly believe all this was Nanny Tong’s doing?”

The maid looked at her in surprise. “Didn’t Nanny Tong already confess?”

“What confessed was only that letter, not she herself.” Jirong tucked in Li Chengzong’s blanket corner and stood up. “Setting aside how Nanny Tong could have had such audacity, just regarding the matter of bean curd and honey causing deafness – how would an ordinary woman know such a thing?”

The maid thought for a moment. “Could it be that she heard it by chance?”

Jirong stepped out the door with gathered sleeves, gazing at the pitch-black night beyond the silk-red lanterns, slowly saying, “That’s possible, but more likely…” She paused, then continued, “Tell me, after Nanny Tong confessed, who benefited the most?”

“Naturally it was the eldest young madam, she…” Halfway through her words, the maid suddenly understood something and said in horror, “My lady, are you saying that all this was arranged by the eldest young madam, and Nanny Tong was just a scapegoat?”

“This is the most reasonable explanation.” Faced with Jirong’s words, the maid asked in confusion, “Since my lady thinks so, why didn’t you tell the eldest young master before?”

Jirong shook her head. “My husband may not have failed to consider this point, but firstly, Nanny Tong’s suicide note cleared Zheng Shi completely; secondly, Zheng Shi is pregnant and is a daughter of the Zheng family of Xingyang. Based on mere speculation, he wouldn’t punish Zheng Shi.”

The maid sighed. “Who would have thought that the eldest young madam appears kind on the surface but has such a vicious heart? The young master is only two years old and has always been very close to her. If I were in her position, I absolutely couldn’t bring myself to harm him.”

Jirong laughed coldly. “How can you compare yourself to her? I knew long ago that she wasn’t simple, but I never expected her to be so cunning and vicious. However…” She slowly clenched her fists, gritting her teeth, “The revenge for harming my child cannot coexist under the same sky. As long as I, Jirong, still have breath in my body, I will never let this matter rest with her, Zheng Guanyin!” At this point, the corners of her mouth suddenly curved into a smile that appeared particularly eerie in the pitch-black night. The maid only glanced at it once before lowering her head, not daring to look again.

The matter of Nanny Tong naturally reached Yunyi’s ears as well, but it only made her more confused. Among the three people – Jirong, Zheng Shi, and Nanny Tong – who was the real culprit? Or perhaps… was there a fourth person she didn’t know about?

The next day, while Jixiang was helping Yunyi with her morning toilette, she said, “Master, we haven’t returned to Chang’an for many years. I’ve heard that these days, under the general’s governance, Chang’an has restored its former appearance. Why don’t we go out and take a look?”

Ruyi, who was just bringing in water, laughed upon hearing this. “That’s a good idea. We’ve been staying in the manor all these days. It’s really quite stifling.”