Seeing the wife's expectant and anxious expression, the fifth steward suddenly felt a great deal of pressure, and he said carefully and cautiously: "I have interrogated the leaders separately and tortured them. They should not be able to tell lies, but they all said that a young man asked them to do it. He gave each of them ten taels of silver and said that if they went to cause trouble, the Marquis' Mansion would consider their reputation and give them a lot of silver to keep things quiet. Regardless of whether the matter was successful or not, he would give them another ten taels of silver each afterwards."
"Who is that young man? What does he look like? Have you found out?" Miao asked again.
Sima Wu shook his head. "None of them knew the young man. From the descriptions of several people, he was about 20 years old, not very tall, with a fair complexion. He spoke and dressed like a traveling merchant, wearing a bamboo hat. Apart from that, there were no other clues."
Tianshui is a big city with all kinds of people coming and going. There are countless young men dressed like these hooligans in Tianshui City. It would be difficult to find him based on this clue. What's more, the man is most likely no longer in Tianshui.
"Could it be that those ruffians colluded with each other and lied? They dared to extort money from the Marquis's mansion for just ten taels of silver. Are they tired of living?" Luo Lingxiu couldn't help but speak.
The fifth steward looked up at Luo Lingxiu and said respectfully, "Big sister, those rascals either have trouble making ends meet at home or owe a lot of gambling debts. If they don't pay up, they'll have their hands chopped off. Ten taels of silver is enough for them to survive for a while."
Luo Lingxiu blushed, then saw Miao glaring at her. She realized that she had made a fool of herself because of her lack of experience, so she stood next to Miao awkwardly.
Miao only cared about one thing, that is, whether she could find out whether Aunt Yu was the mastermind behind the incident. Sima Wu had followed the Marquis for many years and had been through many ups and downs. If even he couldn't find out, then it was almost impossible to find out Aunt Yu. However, Aunt Yu had given her such a big obstacle and made her lose face, so she was unwilling to just let it go.
"Fifth Steward, I think this matter looks very strange." Miao said slowly, "Could it be that there is a thief in the family? Someone was beaten to death yesterday, and today they come to make trouble. Outsiders don't react so quickly!"
"This..." The Fifth Steward smiled and said, "I just didn't find out anything. I'll go and interrogate him again later to see if I can find out anything more. We can neither let the bad guys go, nor wrongly accuse the good guys."
Miao sneered in her heart. Sima Wu was indeed very smooth and his words were flawless. Ignoring the words of the Fifth Steward, Miao continued, "The Marquis's Mansion has a simple staff. There are only a few masters, the old lady, me and the eldest grandma. It is impossible for them to invite a group of people to mourn at their doorstep. The second grandma is a well-behaved and sensible girl, so she is not that bold. Fifth Steward, tell me, who could it be?"
Who else could it be? It was clearly Aunt Yu! Sima Wu was not so bold to respond to Miao's words. He hesitated for a long time. He was naturally aware of the grievances between Miao and Aunt Yu, and he did not want to get involved in this mess. Finally, facing Miao's knife-like eyes, he said with a stiff face: "Madam, I think it is better to send these troublemakers and blackmailers to the government for punishment. Please have a good trial, my Lord, by the prefect."
Miao's face was gloomy, and she was so angry that her liver hurt. This Sima Wu was clearly protecting that little whore and trying to cover up this matter. What was the prefect of Tianshui? They still listened to the Anxi Marquis's Mansion. Sima Wu's meaning represented the Marquis's meaning. They would not investigate further. If they sent the case to the prefect, they would only sentence the scoundrel.
Originally, she wanted to take this opportunity to punish Aunt Yu and drive her out of the Marquis's Mansion, but she didn't expect it to be in vain! How could Miao not be angry? Looking at Sima Wu who was about to leave after paying his respects, Miao gritted her teeth and said, "Wait! Tell the prefect that not only should these lawless scoundrels be severely punished, but also Zhang Meizi's parents should be investigated as well. The Marquis's Mansion is not a place where people can blackmail you!"
Sima Wu saw that Miao looked unhappy, so he took the order and quickly said goodbye and left.
Miao's long-cherished wish was dashed, and she was naturally depressed. She glanced at Luo Lingxiu beside her and was furious. If she hadn't been incompetent, there wouldn't have been so many problems. In her rage, Miao had long forgotten what she had said before that she would not pursue the matter, and couldn't help but scold Luo Lingxiu inside and out.
Finally, Miao added, "I originally had high hopes for you, but look at you, you are so rash and not as steady as Mingyu at such a young age!"
Luo Lingxiu's face flushed, and she was filled with indignation. She suppressed her anger and bowed to Miao, then returned to her own courtyard. She closed the door and slapped Hong Xian and Hong Xi several times, "You unreliable people! If you two weren't useless, would I have lost face like this? If I hadn't wanted to protect you two useless people, would there have been so many problems?"
Hong Xian Hongxi knelt on the ground, with clear slap marks on her cheeks, and she dared not say a word.
Luo Lingxiu smashed a few more things in the room, and then she felt that the anger in her heart had subsided a little. She sat on the couch, panting, thinking of Miao's words, thinking of the heartless Sima Xi, and thinking of Bao Ge'er who betrayed her. She couldn't help but feel sad, and said to herself: "Is that little girl safe? She doesn't do any housework, and has nothing to do except eating free meals. I am fine, I have to worry about this mansion, I have done a lot of mistakes, and I can't get a good result!"
Hong Xi covered her painful cheek and self-righteously offered a suggestion to please her: "Madam, why not let the second madam be the housekeeper as well and give her some work to do. When she makes a mistake, the madam will know how good you are!"
Before she finished speaking, Luo Ling couldn't help but kick Hong Xi in the chest, "Brainless thing!" She had finally obtained the housekeeper's power from Miao, and she was going to give some of it to that little girl? She must be crazy!
Sima Wu returned to the office and told Sima Qing everything that had happened today. Although the Fifth Steward spoke very tactfully, the Marquis could tell what was going on. His wife suspected that it was Aunt Yu who was behind this.
"That's unlikely." The Marquis didn't quite believe that the gentle Concubine Yu would be so scheming as to plan such a thing. It would ruin the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion and would not do her any good.
The fifth steward lowered his head and said nothing. It is not appropriate to talk about the master's woman without proper manners.
At night, Sima Qing went to Aunt Yu's place. Miao sent the maid who was guarding the gate to go back and report. Miao was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
Before Sima Qing entered Aunt Yu's yard, he heard a melodious sound of piano. When he went in, he saw Aunt Yu sitting under the shade of a tree, listening to Sima Lian playing the piano. Both of them were wearing plain white double-breasted shirts and pleated skirts with the same color embroidered flowers. They were both beautiful and graceful. From a distance, they really looked like a mother and daughter.
The servant shouted quickly, "The master is here!"
Aunt Yu and Sima Lian came to their senses and quickly stood up to greet Sima Qing. Lian Jie pulled Sima Qing to sit down affectionately and said coquettishly, "Father, father, I just learned a new song and I'll play it for you."
Aunt Yu smiled and scolded: "The Marquis just came back from the office and he is tired all day. Let him have a good rest and don't bother him."
Sima Lian's delicate little face immediately showed a look of grievance. She looked at the zither and then looked at her father eagerly. Sima Qing was reluctant to let such a well-behaved and lovable daughter be unhappy, so he said with a smile: "What song did Sister Lian learn? Play it for me to hear."
Sima Lian immediately laughed happily. The little girl laughed sweetly and beautifully. She sat down and played a good song for Sima Qing. Aunt Yu sat aside with a gentle and affectionate smile on her face. She looked at Sima Lian lovingly and looked at Sima Qing with admiration from time to time.
As the sun sets, Sima Qing sits in the yard, enjoying the beautiful sound of the piano. Beside him is his cute and well-behaved daughter, and his gentle, considerate and beautiful concubine. He suddenly feels that life is very comfortable and beautiful.
This feeling of happiness that almost made him faint occupied Sima Qing's heart until he turned off the lights and made love with Concubine Yu for several times. The gentle and beautiful concubine lay breathless and weak on the Marquis' chest. Only then did the Marquis suddenly remember the purpose of his visit today.
It seemed a bit unfair to question someone right after finishing the job... However, if he didn't ask clearly and didn't give his wife a satisfactory explanation, she might roar like a lion again. Sima Qing hesitated for a long time, unable to decide how to start.
It was Aunt Yu who spoke first, very considerately. She drew circles on the Marquis' chest with her five delicate fingers and asked softly, "Is there anything bothering the Marquis?"
Sima Qing thought for a moment and asked, "Does that group of hooligans who came to the gate of the mansion to cause trouble today have anything to do with you?"
Under the moonlight, Aunt Yu's beautiful eyes were filled with tears. She looked at Sima Qing sadly, "My Lord, do you doubt me? Madam does not like me, but I will never ruin the reputation of the mansion for my own personal grudge!"
When Sima Qing saw the beauty crying, he immediately softened his heart, hugged Aunt Yu tightly, and comforted her: "I was just asking casually, why are you crying? I will never doubt you even if I doubt anyone else!"
Aunt Yu curled up in Sima Qing's arms, sobbing in grievance, like a frightened little rabbit. This greatly satisfied Sima Qing's machismo, and he comforted her with kind words for half the night.
The next day, according to the old rules, as long as the Marquis stayed at her place, Aunt Yu would be unwell and would not come to pay her respects to Miao. Miao was very considerate and did not even get angry. She was very calm. She sent someone to invite a doctor on the spot and also sent a maid, instructing the maid to watch over Aunt Yu and make sure she drank all the medicine prescribed by the doctor.
Mingyu guessed that the medicine must taste bad, as she could tell from Sima Lian's pale face. It was estimated that Madam Wen must have drunk a lot of the mistress's "love medicine".
This incident, under the suppression of the Miao family, is likely to end in vain. Mingyu sighed in her heart, and she was unwilling to accept it. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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