For a moment, Dou Niang remained silent when questioned by Earl Yongchang.
“Speak! How exactly did I deceive you?” Earl Yongchang’s forehead veins bulged, his eyes filled with icy coldness.
Dou Niang looked at the furious Earl Yongchang in disbelief, the hatred in her eyes almost tangible: “How can there be someone as shameless as you! Back then, you told me you fancied me, that’s why I… that’s why I gave myself to you…”
A gust of wind blew through the courtyard, sweeping fallen leaves across many people’s shoes.
All the servants kept their heads lowered, not daring to show any unusual reactions.
Xie Qingyao kept shaking her head: “It can’t be, it can’t be, my father isn’t that kind of person!”
Xie Yinlou placed his hand on Xie Qingyao’s shoulder, offering her silent comfort.
“My Lord, now that we’ve discovered Dou Niang is the culprit, there’s no need to listen to her nonsensical ramblings that tarnish your reputation. Let’s hand her over to the authorities for severe punishment,” the Chief Steward advised in a low voice as he approached Earl Yongchang.
Earl Yongchang raised his hand, resolutely saying: “No, I must get to the bottom of this today! Dou Niang, you say I told you I fancied you, why do I have no recollection of this?”
Had his memory deteriorated to such an extent? He wracked his brain but couldn’t recall any interaction with Dou Niang.
Since his marriage, apart from his wife, he had only been with two women, both arranged by his wife as concubines.
Dou Niang let out a cold laugh: “You’re the high and mighty Earl, how could you possibly remember a little maid you slept with over a decade ago!”
“Enough!” Earl Yongchang roared, unable to contain his anger any longer. “Dou Niang, do you dare swear to the heavens that I said these words to you?”
Dou Niang immediately raised one hand: “I swear to the heavens—”
Halfway through her words, she suddenly stopped, her expression growing increasingly unpleasant.
“Why did you stop?” Earl Yongchang asked through gritted teeth.
He truly felt cursed to encounter such a mad woman!
Under Earl Yongchang’s intense questioning, Dou Niang took a breath and said hatefully: “You didn’t say these words to me directly, but had someone relay them to me.”
Earl Yongchang felt the woman before him was increasingly deranged: “Who was this person? Are you fabricating someone just to sling mud at me?”
“I’m not fabricating anything!” Dou Niang screamed as if provoked, her eyes darting around until they suddenly stopped on someone. She pointed abruptly, “Back then, you had him pass on the message, and he arranged everything afterward!”
Everyone followed Dou Niang’s finger and was shocked to see who she was pointing at. Many couldn’t help but exclaim: “Chief Steward?”
The person Dou Niang pointed out was indeed the Chief Steward of the Earl’s manor.
The Chief Steward was Earl Yongchang’s confidant and had been working for him for over a decade.
“You, you’re spouting nonsense!” The Chief Steward’s face changed dramatically, his eyes filled with panic.
Earl Yongchang’s gaze fell on him, his brows furrowed: “What’s going on?”
“My Lord, please don’t listen to this mad woman’s ravings—”
Earl Yongchang kicked the Chief Steward in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and shouted: “Do you all take me for a fool? You won’t speak? Fine! Steward Liu, counts the number of people in Steward Li’s household and sells them all off. Don’t let them take even a scrap of paper with them!”
Even though the Chief Steward had served him for many years, being baselessly slandered by a mad woman and even losing his wife because of it had left Earl Yongchang with no patience.
He just wanted to know the truth, as quickly as possible!
The Steward Liu that Earl Yongchang mentioned was the Second Steward of the manor, who had been under the Chief Steward for years. Hearing the order, he immediately responded loudly: “Yes, sir!”
The Second Steward walked up to the Chief Steward, looking down at him sitting on the ground, the corner of his mouth slightly raised: “Chief Steward Li, if you please.”
He had a feeling that after this incident, the Chief Steward who had been above him for years was finished, and he would finally get his chance.
The Second Steward’s smugness made the Chief Steward collapse completely. He grabbed the hem of Earl Yongchang’s robe: “My Lord, I was bewitched. Please, for the sake of my years of service, forgive me this once!”
As he spoke, the Chief Steward began slapping himself hard, one after another, until both his cheeks were swollen, clearly not holding back.
Earl Yongchang was unusually calm, but every inch of his body was tense, making others tremble with fear.
“I don’t want to hear this nonsense. I want to know exactly what happened back then!”
The Chief Steward knew Earl Yongchang’s temperament well. Seeing him like this, he knew the situation was hopeless and said with a trembling voice: “Back then… back then, when the Madam was with child, she wanted to select a concubine for you, my Lord. Many maids in the manor were eager, including Awan, who is now Dou Niang. Awan was beautiful, and I had been interested in her for a while, but I knew she was proud and wouldn’t want to be my concubine, so I couldn’t win her over. At that time, Awan came to me for help, and I saw it as a good opportunity. So I deceived her, saying that you, my Lord, were interested in her, and told her to wait in the garden pavilion after dark. Awan believed it and went there at the appointed time. I had placed fruit and tea on the stone table in the pavilion and hid nearby, watching Awan wait for quite a while. Out of boredom and nervousness, she drank the tea laced with a sleeping drug and soon fell asleep, so I—”
Everyone could imagine what happened next.
“After I had my way, I left Awan a gold bracelet. I thought she wouldn’t dare to speak up when she woke up, and getting a gold bracelet wasn’t such a bad deal. But I didn’t expect her to come to me again, asking about that night. Fearing she would make a scene, I had to lie to her, saying the bracelet was left by you, my Lord, and that you had promised to speak to the Madam about taking her in. Later, when the Madam announced that Spring Mei would be the concubine, Awan came to question me again. I had to deceive her further, saying that although you were pleased with her, the Madam didn’t agree, and she should wait patiently for a year or two. But I never imagined Awan would be so intolerant of this slight and went directly to the Madam to argue…”
He had taken advantage of other maids besides Awan, but the others were easier to deal with. Awan was like a persistent plaster that he couldn’t shake off, so he had to keep deceiving her. Fortunately, when the Madam heard Awan’s words, she flew into a rage and immediately ordered Awan to be driven out. The Earl hadn’t even noticed Awan’s existence, which finally gave him some peace.
“It was all my fault. I never calculated that Awan would sneak back into the manor as Dou Niang after fifteen years to harm the Madam. My Lord, please spare this worthless life. I was momentarily bewitched back then—” The Chief Steward knew his crimes were unforgivable and could only kowtow repeatedly, hoping for a miracle.
Dou Niang suddenly rushed to the Chief Steward, grabbing his collar with both hands: “Is what you said true?”
She clearly couldn’t bear the shock of the truth, her bloodshot eyes revealing a hint of madness, her grip tightening: “Speak! You’re lying to me, aren’t you?”
If this was the truth, what meaning did her revenge have? The person who had truly harmed her was still alive and well before her eyes.
She wanted to kill this bastard.
“Cough, cough, cough, stop it, you mad woman—” The Chief Steward pushed Dou Niang away forcefully.
“Enough!” Earl Yongchang looked at Zhen Shicheng with a weary expression, “Magistrate Zhen, please take these two away immediately. I don’t want to see them for another moment!”
A tear silently rolled down from the corner of Earl Yongchang’s eye to his mouth, tasting infinitely bitter.
What had he done wrong to be meticulously plotted against by a deranged woman he didn’t even know? And what had his wife done wrong to lose her life so unjustly?
Perhaps it was his failure to judge character, keeping someone like the Chief Steward by his side that brought about this calamity. Or perhaps he should have firmly refused his wife’s proposal to select concubines for him in the first place.
But in this world, there are never that many “what ifs”.
Earl Yongchang clutched his chest, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his heart, and collapsed to the ground.