Shen Zaiye turned to look when he heard the words, startling Feng Ping who trembled and quickly said, “This servant only noticed the tea was gone and wanted to go refill it.”
“What tea?” Gu Qingying waved her handkerchief dismissively. “No one’s in the mood for tea right now. You’d better just stand there quietly.”
“…Yes.” Feng Ping pressed her lips together and lowered her head, returning to stand beside Mei Zhaoxue. Madam Mei remained silent, but her expression was no longer as composed as before.
Could there be another problem brewing?
As if on cue, the estate guards entered, escorting several servants. One look at their faces caused Mei Zhaoxue’s expression to change.
“My lord,” the guard knelt and cupped his hands, “We caught some people fighting in Zhengchun Pavilion. They had weapons and poison, which we’ve confiscated.”
Shen Zaiye was taken aback. Looking at the servants, he asked, “How could there be a fight? And weapons and poison? Whose servants are these?”
“Spare us, my lord!” The three servants kowtowed repeatedly. “We’re from the back courtyard. We just… we just went to look around Zhengchun Pavilion!”
“Just to look around?” Taohua stood up and walked over to one of the guards. She lifted the red cloth covering the tray he was holding, revealing gleaming daggers and two packets of poison. “You brought these things to ‘look around’ Zhengchun Pavilion while I was away? How clever of you to say that.”
Mei Zhaoxue lowered her gaze, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her handkerchief.
The three “family members” of Lianyi immediately knelt and pleaded, “We beg the lord for justice! We were almost silenced forever!”
Glancing at these three, his gaze falling on the hands of the two men, Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow and instinctively looked towards Jiang Taohua.
Taohua’s face was filled with righteous indignation. “My lord, you must investigate this matter thoroughly!”
“…I know.” Clearing his throat lightly, Shen Zaiye asked sternly, “What exactly did you say that warranted your silencing?”
The old man kowtowed while speaking, “We were just here to collect money. Someone came earlier to buy Lianyi’s life, offering twenty taels of silver for us to prepare her body! Our lives are hard, and we have no choice but to agree. Who knew that now Lianyi is dead, but we haven’t received the silver? That person said it was the madam who bought the hit, so we could only come to the madam!”
“Which madam?” Shen Zaiye asked.
The old man shook his head. “I don’t know that. I just heard them refer to her as ‘madam’.”
In the entire estate, besides Mei Zhaoxue, who else could be called “madam”? Everyone immediately understood and turned to look at Madam Mei.
“Nonsense!” Mei Zhaoxue let out a cold laugh and finally stood up. “Let’s not even mention the rest, but what servant girl’s life is worth twenty taels of silver? This is a deliberate slander!”
“Madam thinks twenty taels is too much for a human life?” Taohua looked at her in disbelief. “Could it be that you only gave ten taels?”
“I…” Mei Zhaoxue paused, then looked up at her and said, “Don’t try to trick me. This matter has nothing to do with me. How could I have given any silver?”
“If it has nothing to do with you, madam, then why are there servants from our estate attempting murder?” Taohua looked down at the kneeling servants in confusion. “Who ordered you to do this?”
The servants exchanged glances and lowered their heads without speaking.
“I’ll give you one last chance,” Shen Zaiye said sternly. “If you don’t answer Miss Jiang’s question, you’ll all be dragged out and given a hundred lashes!”
The servants were merely following orders for money and were afraid of offending anyone, so they hadn’t dared to speak. But hearing that they might lose their lives if they didn’t talk, how could they hesitate any longer? They rushed to speak over each other: “It was the madam’s order. She said someone in the estate was spreading rumors, and told us to… to deal with them.”
“What a fine way to deal with rumors!” Gu Huairou couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Even the official courts need to determine guilt before executing someone. But the mistress of our estate is truly remarkable – a mere accusation of rumor-mongering, without any investigation, and she’s ready to take a life!”
Mei Zhaoxue straightened her back and stood silently, her face turning pale.
In this situation, there was simply no way to defend herself! If only she had known, she would have denied everything from the start. Why did she have to act so rashly and try to silence people?
It was all Gu Huairou’s fault. Her sudden appearance and tears had made Mei Zhaoxue panic, leading her to make a terrible decision in the heat of the moment.
“Zhaoxue?” Shen Zaiye turned to look at her. “Do you have anything to say?”
Mei Zhaoxue pressed her lips together and said, “It seems Miss Jiang is determined to pin this on me today. What more can I say?”
“Is the madam admitting guilt?” Taohua raised an eyebrow.
“Do I have any choice but to admit it?” Mei Zhaoxue smiled faintly. “You came prepared, Miss Jiang, and your methods are impressive. I concede defeat.”
She just couldn’t understand what benefits Lianyi’s family had received to suddenly betray her and cause such a commotion.
She would accept this guilt. Attempted murder and Lianyi wasn’t even killed by her. Even if Gu Huairou’s injuries were counted against her, what could the daughter of a mere Ceremonial Officer do to her? But Mei Zhaoxue was not content. She had been confident she could win against Jiang Taohua, yet she still ended up losing.
Shen Zaiye’s expression was very unpleasant. With a wave of his hand, he smashed his teacup! The crisp sound instantly silenced the room.
“Zhaoxue, you’ve been in this household the longest,” he said, looking at her sternly. “The eldest daughter of the Chamberlain for Ceremonials, the mistress of this estate, how could you do such things as harming concubines and plotting murder? If you don’t care about your Mei family’s face, at least consider the face of my estate!”
Trembling slightly, Mei Zhaoxue lowered her head, but her back remained straight. “I have failed to live up to your expectations, my lord.”
Gu Huairou collapsed into her seat, staring at Mei Zhaoxue for a long moment before suddenly lunging at her as if she had gone mad. She lifted the black veil from her face and cried, “Madam! The kind and generous Madam Mei! Look at my face! I never offended you, how could you be so cruel to me?”
The maids nearby quickly held her back. Shen Zaiye reached out to embrace her, covering her face with the black veil again, and said softly, “Calm down.”
“How can you ask me to calm down?” Gu Huairou cried miserably, clutching Shen Zaiye’s robes. “I didn’t just want to see you at night, my lord. I wanted to look at you all the time, even if you wouldn’t like me anymore in the future. But now? I don’t even have a face to show you!”
Taohua was startled, and Shen Zaiye also paused before patting her shoulder and saying, “I will give you justice.”
“What justice? What can make up for my face?” Gu Huairou glared at Mei Zhaoxue through gritted teeth. “Even if she dies, my face won’t heal!”
As the official wife and the eldest daughter of the Chamberlain for Ceremonials, it was impossible to have someone executed for such a matter. Taohua pressed her lips together and took Gu Huairou from Shen Zaiye, whispering, “Calm down first and listen to what the lord has to say.”
Gu Huairou wept loudly, clinging to Taohua and shaking with sobs.
Shen Zaiye frowned at the sight. He stood in the middle of the room, thinking for a long while before finally saying, “Mei has lost her virtue, harmed lives, and is unfit to remain as the mistress. She will be demoted to concubine and confined to Linghan Courtyard for reflection. After I meet with Mei Chamberlain and Gu Ceremonial Officer to discuss the matter, her punishment will be determined.”
Mei Zhaoxue swayed, her eyes reddening as she looked up. “My lord, do you think there’s someone more suitable to be the official wife in this household than me?”
Her father was the head of the Nine Ministers! Shen Zaiye wasn’t a fool, so why would he antagonize the Mei family for the sake of a small family like the Gu’s? If she lost her position as the official wife, would her father let the matter rest?
Taohua looked at the slightly twisted expression on her face with a calm demeanor, thinking that Mei Zhaoxue was indeed a woman who could guess a man’s thoughts. Unfortunately, Shen Zaiye was no ordinary man, and she knew too little. That’s why she thought she could avoid punishment by relying on her father.
However, Shen Zaiye was certainly going to move against Mei Chamberlain as well.
“With such vicious methods, how can you still hold the position of official wife?” Shen Zaiye shook his head. “Reflect well on your actions.”
After saying this, he glanced at Gu Huairou again. “Don’t be too upset. Taohua will continue to help you find medicine.”
How could Gu Huairou not feel resentful? She had ended up like this, yet Madam Mei could still be fine. How could she feel at ease?
However, she also knew that the affairs of the back courtyard were complicated and not so simple. It was already rare for the lord to seek justice for her.
“I understand,” Gu Huairou wiped her face and turned to leave.
Taohua reached out but couldn’t stop her. She could only look at Shen Zaiye and sigh, “My lord, you should comfort Huairou more.”
“Don’t worry,” Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together. “I’ll go to Wenqing Courtyard tonight.”
Though he said he would go, in the end, wouldn’t it be Xu Yangui doing all the work? Taohua pouted, glanced at Mei Zhaoxue’s somewhat distorted expression, and quickly lifted her skirts to leave.
The servants who had attempted murder were expelled from the estate by Shen Zaiye, and Lianyi’s “family members” were also sent away. After dealing with all these matters, Shen Zaiye stood before Taohua with a dark expression.
“You’re still in contact with Xu Yangui?”
Taohua blinked. “My lord, why do you ask this first? Even if you don’t ask how I did it, shouldn’t you at least ask what I plan to do next?”
“Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?” He reached out to lift her, narrowing his eyes. “The ‘family members’ of Lianyi who came today had calluses on their palms and fingers, steady breathing, and were trained fighters with a strong jianghu aura. Don’t tell me you found these people yourself.”
Laughing dryly, Taohua clung to his arm and said, “They were provided by Xu Yangui. How could I, confined to the house, find such people? Since you’ve figured it out, my lord, why don’t you accuse me of framing the madam?”
Shen Zaiye sneered, “If she were truly innocent, she wouldn’t have reacted that way. You were bluffing her, and she didn’t even realize it, admitting guilt so confusedly. It’s quite foolish.”
“My lord is so clever!” Taohua wagged her tail, so to speak. “You’ve seen through it all!”
“Stop with that act!” Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on between you and Xu Yangui?”
He had just warned him last time, but it seemed to have had no effect.
Taohua cautiously said, “It seems Mr. Xu has some interest in Miss Gu. He came to me earlier saying he wanted to help her, so naturally, I cooperated with him. Didn’t you know about this, my lord?”
(End of Chapter)