Zheng was urging her youngest son Su Jinyang to practice calligraphy in the study.
After the Little New Year, the old Duke would arrange for the children to write Spring Festival couplets for various places in the mansion. If they were well written, they could be posted in conspicuous places such as the main door and the second door for friends and relatives who came to pay New Year's greetings to appreciate. If they were not well written, they could only be posted in the corners of the chicken coop and the stable and no one would care about them.
Zheng appears to be an optimistic and easy-going person, but in fact she is very strong-willed and cares about her reputation. She is unwilling to lag behind others in everything. She wants to be better than her sisters-in-law, and her children want to be better than their brothers. If she cannot be better than them in one aspect, she will feel unhappy.
Su Jinyang is Zheng's third son. He has Su Jincheng and two older brothers above him, and a group of younger brothers below him. He is neither big nor small and cannot stand out among his brothers in the mansion. Therefore, Zheng wants to seize every opportunity to let him show himself, so that he will not be outdone by other brothers.
But Su Jinyang was a restless person and had no interest in writing or drawing. He would fall asleep as soon as he held a pen. Zheng was so angry that she wanted to give him a hard time.
Just at this moment, the gatekeeper's servant brought the letter over.
Zheng's parents lived in another place, and they usually exchanged letters frequently, so he didn't think much about it. He accepted the letter, gave the errand boy some money, and let him go.
"Mother, is this a letter from my uncle?" Su Jinyang didn't want to write, so he put down his pen and moved closer to Zheng.
"Write your handwriting well!" Zheng scolded, and walked aside to open the letter alone.
When the letter was pulled out, it was a piece of very rough paper. Zheng was stunned. Her family was not a family that could not afford good paper, so why did they use such low-quality paper
She unfolded the letter with doubt, and when she saw the content on it, her face suddenly changed, her hands trembled, and the letter slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground.
"Mother, what's wrong with you?" Su Jinyang asked, standing up and coming to help her pick up the letter, "Did something happen at my grandparents' house?"
"Don't move, go away!" Zheng shouted in panic, bent down to pick up the letter paper, and with a dark face, ordered Su Jinyang to continue practicing calligraphy, and then stumbled out of the study.
"Go and call the doorman for me." She returned to her room and immediately instructed Cuizhu, the maid beside her.
After a while, Cuizhu called the servant over.
"I greet the Second Madam." The servant bowed and saluted. Zheng impatiently exempted him from the ceremony and asked, "What kind of person is the messenger?"
The servant thought for a moment and said, "He is a man in his fifties, dressed in ordinary clothes, with an accent from another place. I didn't get a close look at his appearance, but there seems to be a black birthmark on the back of his left hand."
Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and her voice changed: "Where is he now?"
"I put the letter down and left."
"Which direction did you go?"
"I haven't paid any attention to this young man." The servant asked, "Does the Second Madam want to find him back?"
Zheng's face turned pale, and she waved her hand and said, "It's okay, I just asked casually, you can leave now!"
Of course the servant didn't believe that the Second Madam was just asking casually, but he knew very well that he shouldn't pry into his master's affairs casually. The more he knew, the more trouble he would get into, so he retreated respectfully.
Zheng paced around the room in a panic, saying to herself angrily, "This bastard is really abominable. He took my favor and promised to never have anything to do with me again, but now he is blackmailing me. He must be tired of living..."
After pacing back and forth several times, he gradually came up with an idea. He went into the inner room, opened the money box, took out ten taels of silver and wrapped it in a handkerchief. He tore off the address on the letter, called Cuizhu in and gave her detailed instructions, asking her to deliver the silver according to the address and to be careful not to be discovered by others.
Cuizhu was Zheng's personal maid and had always been loyal. After receiving her master's order, she left the house without saying a word.
As soon as she left, Zheng sent a trusted guard to follow her secretly, but when the man showed up, he was killed on the spot to eliminate the root of the problem and prevent future troubles.
The news here soon spread to Tianxiangju. Xie Nanjia immediately sent the secret guard who followed him daily to track down Zheng's guard and ordered him to capture the guard at all costs.
The secret guard was only ordered to protect Xie Nanjia and did not obey her, so he rejected her directly.
Xie Nanjia said, "Since mother asked you to follow me, it means that you are working for me. Moreover, this matter is closely related to what mother is investigating. If you make mistakes because of your stubbornness, it will not be good for you."
The secret guard had no choice but to carry out her orders.
After the secret guard left, Xie Nanjia told Biluo to continue to keep an eye on Zheng's movements, and she took Liusu to Qionghua Courtyard to meet Sheng Qingyun.
This matter cannot be kept secret. Even if she doesn't say it, the secret guard will report it to Sheng Qingyun after returning. Instead of this, it is better for her to confess voluntarily.
When they arrived at Qionghua Courtyard, Sheng Qingyun was discussing all matters concerning the New Year's Kitchen God Festival with the managers in various places. Xie Nanjia didn't want to disturb her, so he waited outside for a while and only went in after she finished her business.
Sheng Qingyun had been busy all morning and was exhausted, so Xie Nanjia took the initiative to go over and give her a massage.
Although this skill has not been used for a long time, it is not rusty. Sheng Qingyun was kneaded comfortably, squinting his eyes and sighing: "It is said that a daughter is a mother's little cotton-padded jacket, it is really true. When I think that you will marry someone else in two years, your mother is really reluctant to let you go."
"Then I won't get married and will stay at home with my mother for the rest of my life." Xie Nanjia said with a smile.
"You are talking nonsense again. How can a girl stay single for her whole life?" Sheng Qingyun also laughed. "I can't bear to part with you because you have been with me for too short a time. If we had been together since childhood, I might have hoped to marry you off sooner!"
"Yes, it's all the fault of that evil-hearted thief." Xie Nanjia took the opportunity to say, "Has mother found out anything in the past few days?"
Sheng Qingyun opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing that only Lan Yan was in the room, he whispered, "We have some clues. The initial judgment is that it was done by one of our own people, but it is hard to say who it was. We need to find the middleman with the black birthmark on his hand that your stepmother mentioned. However, twelve years have passed. It is not easy to find a stranger who has no clues."
"It's not necessary to find that person!" Xie Nanjia said, "I have a simpler way to find out who is behind this. Would you like to hear it, mother?"
"You're just a kid, what can you do?" Sheng Qingyun asked with a smile, not really caring.
Xie Nanjia told her his action plan in detail, and then said: "If nothing unexpected happens, the secret guards should bring the witness back soon, and then everything will be clear in the first trial of mother."
Sheng Qingyun was shocked and sat up straight immediately. He sent Lan Yan to guard outside and scolded her, "How could you do such a dangerous thing without telling your mother? What if someone finds out and tries to harm you?"
"How could that be? Mother is overly worried." Xie Nanjia said, "Since I have made a comprehensive plan, I must first ensure my own safety. Mother can rest assured about this."
"How can I feel at ease when you act on your own?" Sheng Qingyun said, "Even if there is no danger, your behavior is too reckless. What if it's not Second Aunt?"
"If not, then just keep trying!" Xie Nanjia said, "Anyway, my letter didn't mention anyone's name, and the wording was very vague. People with nothing to hide will naturally not take it seriously, but people with something to hide will definitely take the bait."
"..." Sheng Qingyun was unable to refute for a moment, and hesitated, "You, your second aunt really sent someone?"
"I sent two people out one after another. As for whether they went to the place I designated, we will have to wait for the secret guards to come back to find out." Xie Nanjia said, paused and added, "I am 90% sure it was her."
Sheng Qingyun sighed and fell silent.
Over the years, the sisters-in-law had obviously been getting along very harmoniously, and had never had any quarrels over big or small things. They were simply a model of sisters-in-law in the capital. If the second sister-in-law had really done what happened back then, she couldn't imagine what her motive would be. But when she thought about the fact that there was such a person hiding by her side wearing a mask for more than ten years, she couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
This feeling is really creepy.
Xie Nanjia understood how she felt. While continuing to massage her shoulders, she gently advised her to relax and not think too much.
Sheng Qingyun was still very depressed and had no mood to talk. He closed his eyes and thought drowsily.
After an unknown amount of time, Lan Yan came in to report that the secret guard had returned.
(End of this chapter)