That glance carried a hint of caution and deeply hidden affection. It so happened that Jiang Si looked over at that moment, and their eyes met. Yu Jin quickly averted his gaze.
He still remembered the cold words Jiang Si had spoken that day. Based on his inexperienced but extraordinarily gifted intuition for pursuing young ladies, he deduced that he had probably been too forceful before and should ease up for a while.
Yu Jin’s avoidance piqued Jiang Si’s curiosity. She paused for a moment before looking away.
Yu Jin cleared his throat and asked, “Where’s the coachman?”
A dull thud followed, accompanied by a chorus of startled cries.
Yu Jin frowned as he walked forward. He saw a middle-aged man in short attire lying on the ground by the enclosure wall, his forehead caved in and bleeding profusely.
A servant, pale with fright, stammered an explanation: “This lowly one couldn’t… couldn’t hold him back…”
Yu Jin cast a cool glance at Zhu Shaoqing and the others, his face expressionless as he asked, “Is this the coachman?”
Very well. What had initially required questioning was now certain – the perpetrator was indeed the coachman, and there must be a mastermind behind him.
For such a small Shaoqing Manor to harbor such filth and corruption.
Zhu Shaoqing nodded gravely.
He too was shocked that a coachman from his household would dare to harm his master, but he quickly realized the implications.
What deep grudge could a coachman possibly have against the eldest daughter-in-law? Moreover, the eldest daughter-in-law had a gentle and virtuous nature, ruling out the possibility of her abusing servants. Therefore, the coachman must have been acting on someone else’s orders.
In Zhu Shaoqing’s view, whoever dared to harm the master’s family must be rooted out, but this was a matter to be discussed behind closed doors. He couldn’t possibly air the family’s dirty laundry at the magistrate’s office. So the coachman’s death secretly brought him some relief.
Yu Jin lowered his gaze slightly, staring calmly at the coachman’s gruesome corpse on the ground as he asked, “With so many of you here, not one of you noticed he was about to take his own life?”
The servants all exclaimed, “Who could have imagined? He suddenly rushed out and smashed his head against the wall…”
“Did he say nothing before he died?”
The servant who had spoken first replied, “He said that today’s incident was his doing, and no one else was involved. He said his wife died because of the First Madam, and he was avenging her… This lowly one thought something was amiss, but before I could react, he had already rushed out. I reached out but grasped nothing but air…”
The servant’s words caused Jiang Yi’s face to suddenly turn pale as if remembering something, and she began to tremble.
Yu Jin turned his gaze to Zhu Ziyu, ready to hear his explanation.
Questioning her sister in front of Jiang Si would certainly not be pleasant, but since husband and wife are one, Zhu Ziyu must know the meaning behind the servant’s words.
Zhu Ziyu sighed and explained, “The coachman’s wife used to work in our courtyard. Three years ago, when my wife was pregnant with Yan’er, she went into premature labor due to the coachman’s wife’s negligence. My mother was furious and punished her by sending her to work in the laundry room. Unexpectedly, one day while fetching water from the well, the coachman’s wife slipped and fell in. By the time she was pulled out, she was already dead…”
Listening to this, Jiang Yi swayed, nearly collapsing.
The coachman’s wife was an elderly woman who had been working in her courtyard since she married into the family. Perhaps seeing her as easy-going, the servant had become presumptuous, and Jiang Yi found it difficult to manage her.
She remembered that day in the garden when she suddenly felt unwell and sent the coachman’s wife to call for help. It took an unusually long time, causing the maid attending to her to cry with worry. Later, they learned that on her way to call for help, the coachman’s wife had met her daughter, who worked in the mother-in-law’s courtyard, and the two had chatted for quite a while before parting.
When her mother-in-law learned of this, she immediately sent the coachman’s wife to work in the laundry room and quickly married off the coachman’s daughter to a young man from the estate.
The coachman, who originally had a fairly decent position, was also affected by this and was reassigned to work in the stables.
Looking closely, this family’s fortunes had indeed plummeted within the manor due to a moment’s carelessness, and later a life was lost. Thinking about it made Jiang Yi feel uneasy.
Jiang Yi didn’t believe she should be held responsible for the coachman’s wife’s death, but it was still a human life lost due to an accident, which was undeniably tragic. If the coachman blamed her and sought revenge, it didn’t seem entirely unreasonable.
A cool, soft hand grasped Jiang Yi’s.
Jiang Yi turned her head and met Jiang Si’s eyes.
The young woman’s bright eyes were like water, but the ripples were cold, flickering with light that made her emotions unreadable.
Jiang Yi was momentarily stunned, but Jiang Si had already spoken: “Brother-in-law, are you suggesting that the coachman had sufficient motive to harm my elder sister?”
Zhu Ziyu’s eyes flickered slightly.
After all, he had said, did it need to be asked whether the coachman had the motive to harm his wife?
Jiang Si looked displeased: “When faced with a situation where one’s wife’s life is threatened, naturally, no possibility should be overlooked. While the coachman may have had a barely plausible motive, who can guarantee that this was truly why he harmed my elder sister? Perhaps it’s just an excuse concocted by the real mastermind behind this. Moreover, shouldn’t the coachman’s resentment be directed at Madam Zhu rather than my elder sister? After all, it was Madam Zhu who sent his wife to work in the laundry room, not my elder sister.”
“Fourth Sister…” Hearing Jiang Si so bluntly drags Madam Zhu into the matter, Jiang Yi anxiously tugged at her sleeve.
Jiang Si remained unmoved, turning to the visibly upset Madam Zhu with a radiant smile: “Madam Zhu, what do you think?”
Madam Zhu’s hands trembled with anger.
She had never seen such a sharp-tongued girl speak so boldly in front of her elders.
At that moment, Madam Zhu suddenly felt that Jiang Yi was quite a good daughter-in-law. If they had married this Fourth Miss Jiang instead, she feared she would have suffered from angina every day.
Jiang Si turned to Zhu Ziyu with a slight smile: “Brother-in-law, you see, even Madam Zhu agrees with my reasoning.”
Silence is acquiescence – there was nothing wrong with that logic.
When it came to matters involving his mother, Zhu Ziyu was rendered speechless, and Madam Zhu, constrained by propriety, could hardly argue with a junior. For a moment, no one could refute Jiang Si’s forceful reasoning.
Meanwhile, Yu Jin watched Jiang Si’s flower-like smile directed at Zhu Ziyu, feeling a twinge of jealousy.
To think she would smile so sweetly at such a hypocrite, he was quite displeased.
Soon, however, the Seventh Prince Yu cheered up as he heard Jiang Si say, “I have something to report to this officer in private.”
Yu Jin carefully confirmed that Jiang Si was indeed pointing at him. His heart instantly blossomed with joy, though he had to suppress his delight and put on a serious face. He nodded slightly: “Very well. Zhu Shaoqing, please show us to a suitable place, preferably an open pavilion without any cover.”
He had no desire for a man and woman to be alone in a closed room.
“Well…” Zhu Shaoqing hesitated.
It was this Fourth Miss Jiang who had reported the incident to the authorities in the first place. Who knew what else this young lady might stir up?
“What’s the matter? Does your manor not have a suitable place?”
Seeing Yu Jin’s displeased expression, Zhu Shaoqing hurriedly ordered a servant to lead the two to a nearby pavilion.
Madam Zhu stared at Jiang Si’s retreating figure, shaking her head.
Such a girl, truly lacking in propriety!
The pavilion was open on all sides, with no cover, and at a distance from the others that ensured their conversation wouldn’t be overheard. Ernui sat down outside the pavilion, keeping watch for his master and the young lady.