Early the next morning, the chief steward Chang Fu came to Yixinyuan to see Qin and said that he had finally found the man, but he was dead.
Qin had previously anticipated that the man was most likely dead. Rather than whether he was dead or alive, she was more concerned about where he was found, so that she could use this to determine whether her guess was correct.
However, when Chang Fu told her in a hesitant voice that he found it in the Yaoyue Residence of the former prince's wife, she couldn't help but be shocked.
"How did he end up there?" she asked in surprise. "It's been deserted for a long time. There's no one there, no money there. What could he steal?"
"I don't know what happened either." Chang Fu hesitated, "But the man's death was very strange. His pupils were dilated, blood was flowing from all seven orifices, and a branch pierced through his back. He was hanging on the tree with his back facing up. It was like, it was like..."
"What is it like? Speak properly." Qin said unhappily.
Chang Fu had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "It seems like he was harmed by some evil spirit..."
"Nonsense! How could such evil spirits appear in broad daylight?" Qin slammed the table and interrupted him harshly.
Chang Fu knelt down and kowtowed, explaining, "I am not talking nonsense. It is really impossible for three or two strong men to kill someone in that way. Besides, the door lock is not damaged at all, there is no sign of climbing on the wall, and there is not even a footprint in the yard."
Qin shuddered when she heard him speak so strangely, but she still didn't want to believe that there was really an evil spirit. She waved her hand and said, "Go away first. Let me think about it carefully. Remember, don't tell anyone about it."
"Then, how should we deal with that person? Would you like to take a look, Madam?" Chang Fu asked.
"I won't look at it. Throw it into the mass grave outside the city," Qin said.
"Yes!" Chang Fu took the order and retreated.
As a result, Qin had to overturn his previous judgment and start thinking from scratch.
Previously, she suspected that it was Zhao Jingyu and Xiu'er, but these two people would never bring anyone to Yaoyueju for any reason. First, Xiu'er had nothing to do with Xie Nanjia, and second, although Zhao Jingyu was unruly, he still respected Xie Nanjia as his sister-in-law and would not desecrate her residence when she was alive. Moreover, with Zhao Jingyu's arrogance, he could do whatever he wanted to people. There was no need to hide it, let alone play tricks.
So, who is this person who is secretly doing this? Is it the same person who is doing this as the "ghost" in the Ambiguity Pavilion? If so, what exactly is his intention? If not, there are too many people in the mansion with ulterior motives.
In fact, Zhao Jingyu really disdained to play tricks, and all this was done by Xie Nanjia to coax him into doing it.
In order to convince him, Xie Nanjia analyzed the situation with him for a long time and said that Zhao Lanya could not clean up the mess by herself and would definitely ask her mother for help. Qin was a shrewd and cunning person. A living person disappeared in Yilan Court without anyone noticing. She could guess that it was Zhao Jingyu's doing, because except Zhao Jingyu, no one would help the master and servant of Yilan Court, and no one had such ability.
Therefore, in order to eliminate Qin's suspicion of them, the only way to clear their suspicion is to take them by surprise and set up a plan that no one can understand.
Zhao Jingyu admired Xie Nanjia's reasoning ability, but he said that he didn't care about these. Whoever wanted to doubt could doubt. Even if Qin saw him killing someone with her own eyes, she couldn't do anything to him.
Xie Nanjia said, you don't care, but I do. If she can't do anything to you, how can she not do anything to me? If she wants to take advantage of the situation, no matter if it's a stranger or the second young master who breaks into Yilan Courtyard in the middle of the night, she can accuse me of having an affair. It doesn't matter if my reputation is ruined, the fourth young lady will also be implicated. You are the only person in this mansion who cares about us, can you really bear to ignore us
In this way, Zhao Jingyu was coaxed and deceived by her and agreed to her request without thinking.
Although Ma Sihai's body was hung on the tree to cover up the wound caused by the dart, and Ma Sihai himself was not a good person, out of guilt he still asked people to properly settle Ma Sihai's orphans and widows. After Ma Sihai was secretly thrown into a mass grave by the steward, he asked people to collect the body and bury it properly.
But Xie Nanjia didn't know any of this, and he didn't intend to let her know.
When Qin was at a loss for where to find Yao Yueju's corpse, a maid came in to say that the Crown Prince's wife wanted to see her.
Qin was just looking for someone to help her analyze the situation, when she heard her niece coming, she hurriedly called her in.
Qin Wanru entered the house and saw that her aunt was frowning. She thought she was still worried about the haunting of Nuanyu Pavilion, so she went up to sit next to her, took her arm and comforted her, "Aunt, don't be too upset. The reason why that person pretended to be a ghost must be for some purpose. At present, he has not achieved his goal, and he will definitely make other noises. As long as we pay close attention, we will catch him."
Qin sighed and said gloomily, "You don't know, I'm not only worried about this matter..." Then she told her niece everything about Zhao Lanya hiring a killer to kill someone.
Qin Wanru is no less cunning than Qin Shi. Except for being confused about her own affairs, she is very shrewd in other matters, especially when it comes to scheming against people. She is even better than her aunt.
Therefore, when she first heard that Zhao Lanya had hired someone to kill someone, she was really surprised, but she quickly calmed down, put all the things together and thought about them carefully, and then she found the clue that Qin had overlooked.
"Aunt, you think Xiu'er is not suspicious, but I think Xiu'er is very suspicious," she said.
"Why?" Qin said, "Xiu'er is actually a good girl. Don't be prejudiced against her just because she once tried to seduce Ping'er. You can say that more than half of the credit for your successful marriage lies with her."
Qin had already told Qin Wanru about Xiu'er's help in making plans and lobbying at the General's Mansion. Qin Wanru didn't think much about it at the time, but now thinking about it together with Zhao Lanya's failed attempt to kill her, she felt that the girl was a little too enthusiastic.
"I know she helped me, but that doesn't mean she's a good person." Qin Wanru said, "Aunt, do you remember that the reason I was kicked out of the house by the old lady was because of her? She's also close to Hualou Lvliu and is particularly concerned about the young master. I also heard that she has contradicted her two cousins for the sake of the fourth girl more than once, and she's also been ambiguous with Zhao Jingyu. Aunt, think about it carefully. Aside from the young master, aren't all the people she comes into contact with the ones you hate the most?"
"..." Qin was completely stunned after hearing what she said. She frowned and pondered in her mind. She immediately sat up straight. It was as if a basin of cold water was poured over her head, and she suddenly woke up.
"You're right. I almost forgot that it was because of her that Fourth Aunt came back from the farm. Later, she helped Fourth Aunt deal with me, and she still interacts with Fourth Aunt frequently."
"That's right!" Qin Wanru said, "I heard from Yunying that Xiu'er had provoked her many times and sowed discord between her and Yunyan, while she played both sides between the old lady and my aunt. Also, aunt, have you ever thought about it? When Xie Nanjia died, the general's mansion didn't make things difficult for us. Why did Sheng Qingluan suddenly put forward so many harsh conditions when she went to the general's mansion? Is it possible that she instigated it?"
When Qin heard that the mansion was haunted, she was just shocked but not scared. But now she got goose bumps because of her niece's analysis.
If that was true, then Xiu'er was too scary. The thought that she might have helped Sheng Qingluan to set a trap for herself, and that she was still grateful to her, praising her and rewarding her... Qin couldn't help but shiver, and her scalp felt tight.
No wonder people say that what is scarier than ghosts is the human heart. This girl's heart really makes her shudder.
"Why did she treat me like this? Is she related to the General's Mansion?" Qin hugged her arms and rubbed them hard, as if to rub away the goose bumps on her body. "But she clearly came from Zhuangzi, how could she be related to the General's Mansion?"
"I can't figure this out either." Qin Wanru said, "But one thing is certain, she is definitely not on our side, so aunt, cousin Lan Ya actually helped us a lot by getting into trouble."
"What big favor?" Qin looked at her blankly, feeling that her brain was not enough.
Qin Wanru stood up and poured her a cup of hot tea to calm her down, then said slowly, "Aunt, if it weren't for my cousin's accidental success, we wouldn't have noticed Xiu'er, let alone sit down and analyze her carefully, and therefore wouldn't have discovered her conspiracy. So now I can say with certainty that the ghost in Nuanyu Pavilion and the corpse in Yaoyue Residence are definitely related to Xiu'er."
"But why did she do this?" Even hot tea couldn't dispel the chill in Qin's heart.
Qin Wanru straightened her face and whispered, "I guess she wanted to avenge Xie Nanjia!"
"Revenge? No way?" Qin said in panic, "Hong Yi Niang is already dead, what revenge is there for her?"
"But Aunt Hong never admitted that she wanted to kill Xie Nanjia until her death. She only went after the child." Qin Wanru said, "Maybe other people wouldn't think too much, but if it was someone as scheming as Xiu'er, she would definitely think too much. Maybe she already knew that I..."
"Impossible, impossible." Qin interrupted her hurriedly, "Except for Xie Nanjia, no one else will ever know about this, so don't scare yourself. Besides, Xiu'er is really just a little girl from the farm. She can't possibly have any relationship with the general's mansion, so don't let your imagination run wild."
"No, aunt, now is not the time to escape. We must prepare for the worst so that we can take the most thorough precautions." Qin Wanru said.
Qin was frightened, put down the teacup and hugged her.
"Wanru, my dear child, don't be afraid. Even if it is true as you said, your aunt will protect you. It's not easy for you to marry Ping'er. Your aunt won't let anyone hurt you."
"I won't let anyone hurt my aunt." Qin Wanru hugged her back, "So, aunt, we have to plan carefully."
"You tell me how to plan, and I will listen to you," said Qin.
Qin Wanru helped her sit down, thought for a moment and said, "The most important thing right now is to confirm whether our inference is right or wrong."
"How can we confirm it? If she is really that scheming, she will definitely not reveal her true colors so easily." Qin said.
"She's cunning, so let's avoid her." Qin Wanru said, "I think Hualou is silly. Since they are good sisters, why not use Hualou to test her."
…
The aunt and niece talked secretly for more than an hour before Qin Wanru got up and returned to Nuanyu Pavilion.
At this moment, she was calmer than ever before, just waiting for dark to implement the plan she had discussed with her aunt.
But before it got dark, new rumors suddenly spread in the mansion. Yaoyue Residence was also haunted and a person had died. Some people saw the steward taking the body out of the mansion with their own eyes. The death was horrible.
Last time it was Nuan Yu Pavilion, this time it was Yao Yue Residence. People naturally thought of the former prince’s wife, and became more convinced that it was her ghost coming back for revenge.
But the concubine Hong who killed her has clearly confessed her crime and committed suicide. Who else can she seek revenge on? Could it be that concubine Hong was used as a scapegoat for someone else
Later in the evening, a rumor came from somewhere that someone in the mansion had dreamed of the former prince's wife. The former prince's wife said that there was indeed someone else who killed her, and that person was hiding in the back house. As long as the murderer was not brought to justice, the prince's wife's wronged spirit would not leave.
As a result, everyone in the Marquis' Mansion was in a panic, and everyone was guessing who was the real murderer who killed the previous prince's wife. They were eager to find the murderer themselves so as to calm the previous prince's wife's resentment and restore peace to the Marquis' Mansion.
When the news reached Qin's ears, she was so terrified that she didn't care that it was getting late, and called Qin Wanru to Yixinyuan for a secret talk.
Yunying was already frightened by the "ghost" the night before. When the rumor spread this time, she became even more frightened like a frightened bird. She hid in the servants' room pretending to be sick and dared not go out.
Qin Wanru couldn't rely on her, so she took other maids to Yixinyuan.
After Qin Wanru left, Yunying was alone in the room and became more and more frightened. Finally, she hardened her heart, sneaked out with incense, candles, and paper money, and found a deserted place to burn incense and pay tribute to the former prince's wife.
"Madam, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me, please forgive me!" She knelt on the ground and begged.
A gust of cold wind blew, causing the incense paper to fly everywhere. A spooky voice, male or female, asked overhead: "What did you do wrong?"
Yunying was so frightened that her heart and liver were broken. She kowtowed heavily and lay on the ground, trembling, "Madam, please calm down. Please spare my life. I was only responsible for buying medicine and keeping watch. I did nothing else. It was my cousin and the midwife who gave me the medicine and did the manipulation. The midwife has been silenced. If you want to take my life, go find my cousin. It's none of my business. Please spare me, please spare me!"
"If you want me to spare you, go to the old lady now and expose the young lady's crimes, and I will spare your life." The voice said again.
"I'll go, I'll go, I'll go now..." Yunying didn't dare to delay for a moment, she got up and ran towards Ci'anju.
After she left, two figures floated down from the tree, one was Feng Lun and the other was Xie Nanjia.
"Do you still want to follow her?" Feng Lun asked.
"No need, go back!" Xie Nanjia said, "It's enough for me to know who it is."
Feng Lun didn't ask any more questions. He put out the fire and walked back with her.
After the two men left, a slight noise was heard from another tree, and a figure rushed towards the west wing like an arrow.
"After all the twists and turns, it turns out that she wanted to avenge the Crown Prince's wife." After listening to Huangfu's report, Zhao Jingyu frowned deeply, and his doubts about Xiu'er returned to the starting point. "How did a little girl from a farm get connected with the General's Mansion?"
Wei Jun and Huangfu looked at each other, and neither of them could answer.
Zhao Jingyu thought about it for a while but couldn't figure it out. So he gave up and asked Wei Jun, "Where were those servants from Yaoyueju who were sold by Madam placed?"
"After buying it from the human traffickers, it is sent to the embroidery shop and rouge shop." Wei Jun replied.
"Yes!" Zhao Jingyu nodded, "Take good care of it, it may come in handy soon."
(End of this chapter)