That night, after Xie Nanjia helped Fourth Aunt to bed, he asked for leave from her, saying that he had not seen his mother for many days and wanted to go home to stay for a night and talk to her.
The Fourth Aunt was not very willing, but considering Xie Nanjia's dedication to her, she agreed and told her to come back early the next morning.
Before leaving, Xie Nanjia went to the two maids' residences to say hello, saying that he would not be there that night and asked them to take good care of his aunt.
Mrs. Liu was still sarcastic and mocking, saying that she was treating chicken feathers as a token of authority and dog shit as a delicacy.
Xie Nanjia responded bluntly: "If you have the guts to say this to your aunt, I will respect you as a hero. Otherwise, you are just a dog barking behind my back."
Mrs. Liu was so angry that she fell backwards and pretended to tear Xie Nanjia's mouth, but was stopped by Mrs. Ma.
"Be quiet, everyone. No one will be happy if you disturb Auntie." Ma stopped her and said to Xie Nanjia, "Just go ahead. I'll get up and check on her twice at night."
Xie Nanjia thanked her and left. Mrs. Liu curled her lips and said, "Little hoof, you really take this job seriously."
Ma Pozi said, "It's just an official job. She was right last time. Here, Auntie is the master. She might make a comeback someday. We'd better leave a way out for ourselves."
"Well, you all are far-sighted, but I am the only one who is short-sighted." Mrs. Liu snorted angrily and fell asleep.
Mrs. Ma blew out the light and lay down too.
A half moon hung in the sky, and its pale light enveloped the earth, which seemed more terrifying than complete darkness.
After three o'clock in the morning, a figure tiptoed to the window frame of Fourth Aunt, listened attentively to the noise in the room, gently poked a hole in the window paper with his fingers, and blew a bamboo tube into the hole a few times.
"Fourth Aunt, please don't blame me." She murmured, "Every wrong has its perpetrator. If you want to seek revenge, go find the real perpetrator. I was forced to do it."
After saying that, she bowed three times towards the window and turned to leave.
As soon as I turned around, I saw two figures, one black and one white, standing silently in the moonlight, just like the soul-snatching Black and White Impermanence.
Just after she did something wrong, the ghost of death came to claim her life. She was so scared that her heart and liver were broken. She screamed and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Who's outside?" The fourth aunt was awakened and asked loudly in the room.
The white figure lit up the lantern in his hand: "Don't be afraid, Auntie, it's me, Xiu'er, and the chief steward."
The black figure bowed to the room from a distance and said, "Fourth Aunt, I am Hu Sanmu. Someone has released poisonous smoke into your room. Please change your clothes and come out to avoid being poisoned."
"What? Who wants to harm me?" The fourth concubine was so frightened that her voice changed. She had no intention of changing her clothes. She stumbled out in her middle clothes, "Xiu'er, Xiu'er, come quickly!"
Xie Nanjia walked over with a lantern in hand and pointed to the man lying on the ground. "Don't be afraid, Auntie. The thief fainted on his own."
The fourth aunt sobered up a little, grabbed Xie Nanjia's hand tightly and asked, "Didn't you go home? Why did you come back suddenly?"
Xie Nanjia said: "Please forgive me, Auntie. My return home was just a pretext to lure the snake out of its hole."
"Lure the snake out of its hole?" Fourth Aunt was shocked. "Did you know that someone was going to harm me?"
"I just had a suspicion, but I wasn't sure," Xie Nanjia said. "I pretended to go home, but actually went to the housekeeper's house and asked him to help catch the thief. I didn't expect that the thief was so timid that he scared himself to death."
The fourth concubine was still frightened and said in a trembling voice, "Take a quick photo of his face, so that I can see which heartless person wants to kill me."
Xie Nanjia walked forward with a lantern in her hand, and the light reflected Ma Po's face, which was as pale as a death.
"It turns out to be this old fool!" The fourth concubine was angry and kicked Ma Po hard.
Mrs. Ma groaned.
The fourth concubine was startled and shouted at Hu Sanmu: "Hurry up and tie her up for me."
Hu Sanmu stepped forward and grabbed Ma Pozi, handcuffing her hands behind her back. As there was no rope at hand, he asked Fourth Aunt to lock her up in the woodshed first.
The fourth concubine agreed: "You take the person over first, I'll get some clothes and come back. I will definitely find out who is the mastermind behind this thief."
She was afraid of the poisonous gas in the room, so she asked Xie Nanjia to go in and get her clothes.
Xie Nanjia covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, went in to get clothes, and opened all the doors and windows for ventilation.
The two of them went to the woodshed together.
Mrs. Ma had woken up. Hu Sanmu tied her hands and feet with straw ropes and was interrogating her, but she clenched her teeth and refused to speak.
The fourth concubine said that maybe Mrs. Liu was in cahoots with her, so she asked Hu Sanmu to tie up Mrs. Liu and interrogate her together.
Hu Sanmu took the order and left.
Fourth Auntie walked up to Ma Po and asked in a stern voice, "Tell me quickly, who ordered you to harm me?"
Mrs. Ma looked up at her and said nothing, but just grinned.
This smile was eerie and strange, and it was really scary in the middle of the night. The fourth concubine couldn't help but take two steps back and asked in fear, "You thief, what are you laughing at?"
Before she finished her words, blood suddenly gushed out from the corner of Ma Po's mouth. Her body tilted and she fell on the firewood.
(End of this chapter)