Hearing Song Xizhi's sigh, Wu Mama's tone carried a hint of reproach:

“You valued her years of service to Miss Mingyue, but Miss Mingyue designated her to take care of you before she died. However, she didn’t take care of you for long and ran away to get married. This doesn’t seem like she valued your years of service at all.”

Granny Wu sighed again, recalling the hardships she had endured in the Song family: "She ran away, leaving this old servant to take care of you all by herself, and causing you to suffer such great injustice in the Song family."

Su Mingli felt a pang of sympathy as he listened to Granny Wu's complaints. He looked at Song Xizhi's face with pity and said, "Zhizhi, you've had a hard time before, as have the nannies around you."

"I was completely unaware of what happened before; I'm truly incompetent."

Song Xizhi grasped his hand, looked at him gently, and shook his head: "Uncle, you're too busy taking care of yourself to help me."

Su Mingli sighed: "I never expected that my sister would bring four maids with her from the Su family. They have served her since they were little and should be loyal, but they have turned out like this."

Listening to Su Mingli's words, Song Xizhi looked in the direction of Granny Wu: "So, who did Xuexin marry? And where does she live now?"

After thinking carefully for a moment, Granny Wu replied, "She married into the Song family's estate outside the city. She married the second son of the estate's manager, who was also a servant of the Song family."

Song Xizhi frowned slightly: "A son born into a family is considered a slave and cannot take the imperial examinations. The son of a steward in the suburbs is not from a wealthy or noble family. Why is Xuexin in such a hurry?"

Su Shaoyuan was still waiting at home, so Su Mingli had to go back first. Since Xuexin had married into the Song family's estate, Song Xizhi decided to set off to see her right away.

It took her half an hour in the carriage to reach the estate that Granny Wu had mentioned.

The gate of the manor was tightly shut. Song Xi stepped forward and knocked on the door. The two waited for a while before an elderly woman hurriedly came to open the door.

The door was only slightly ajar, and a stout old woman peeked out. Song Xizhi went straight to the point: "Has Xuexin married into this family?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman's face darkened instantly, and she became more wary. She quickly asked, "Who are you? What do you want with her?"

Upon hearing this, Granny Wu stepped forward and blocked Song Xizhi's path, saying with great dissatisfaction, "Answer your questions! The master has come to the estate, what kind of attitude is this?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman's eyes widened instantly: "You...you are?"

“The eldest daughter of the Song family,” Wu Mama replied coldly.

The old woman hurriedly opened the door, her face instantly plastered with a fawning smile: "This old servant was blind to your greatness. Young lady, you have come from afar to inspect the estate?"

"Hurry up and invite them inside?"

Song Xizhi stood at the door without taking a step. She shook her head at the old woman and then said, "I came here to find Xuexin, my mother's personal maid. I heard she married the son of the steward of this estate?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman's eyes flickered, and she said awkwardly, "Then Xuexin... she's no longer here."

Song Xizhi looked at her in surprise, clenching his hands: "When did you die?"

The old woman couldn't help but roll her eyes as she recalled the past. She clicked her tongue and said, "I thought I had married a capable wife, but I never expected to marry a harlot. She went to have an affair not long after we got married, and when she was discovered, she hanged herself."

Song Xizhi's heart sank, and her voice grew increasingly cold: "You married into the family and then cheated on them? Explain yourself clearly."

Hearing her tone, the old woman's voice softened, and she explained the matter clearly in detail.

"Everyone in the village knows that at first glance, they thought she was a good person, but later they realized that the way she wanted to marry into the family probably meant she was a slut from the start."

"What kind of new bride goes out in the middle of the night after marrying into her husband's family? Isn't that cheating? Some people even saw a man sneaking into her room in the dark."

"Originally, the steward's son wanted to catch them in the act, but he couldn't catch the man and had no evidence. Who knew that not long after, Xuexin would hang herself from the roof beam, probably from shame. The steward's son then married a new one."

Song Xizhi closed her eyes briefly, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "What about the things Xuexin left behind? Are there any more?"

The old woman shook her head: "After such a disgraceful incident, who would keep her things? They've all been burned!"

All four of the mother's maids are dead, and none of them can testify to the truth.

After bidding farewell to the old woman, Song Xizhi turned around and walked towards the carriage.

Sensing her low spirits, Granny Wu felt a pang of regret: "Since she disobeyed Miss Mingyue's orders and abandoned you to marry someone else, given her personality, she might very well have an affair on the estate."

"It's a real pity, though. It would be better for them to stay quietly by your side and serve you."

Song Xizhi grasped the old woman's hand and shook his head at her: "It's definitely not a simple affair. Xuexin's death may also be related to my mother. There must be something wrong here."

She trusted her mother's judgment; since she had been a maidservant since childhood, her character couldn't possibly be that bad.

Moreover, if Xuexin was marrying out of the city, and the son of the steward was already the highest-ranking person in this manor on the outskirts of the capital, how could she possibly go out and have an affair right after her wedding?

As Wu Mama listened to Song Xizhi's heavy words, her heart grew even heavier.

With the trail broken, Song Xizhi didn't go anywhere else, but instead sent the carriage directly back to the Marquis's residence.

After dinner, bathing and changing clothes, Song Xizhi, as usual, performed acupuncture and limb exercises on He Jingyan, but his mind was still on this matter.

More than ten years have passed since then, and after Zhao Qianlan married into the Song family, her mother's traces completely disappeared from the Song household.

Will the Song family find out about this?

As Song Xizhi was thinking, his left hand caressed the man's bulging muscles, searching for acupoints, while his right hand held the silver needles, ready to insert them once the acupoints were found.

But at that moment, her gaze fell on He Jingyan's calves and she noticed something unusual.

Song Xizhi pursed her lips.