Chapter 33: Contraceptive Soup Have you been drinking Contraceptive Soup? ...

That night, the two did not have a deep conversation about Du Yuting's murder.

In order to avoid suspicion, Su He naturally didn't dare to ask more questions.

Xie Wuhen was investigating a case, so naturally he couldn't reveal too much.

Both of them stopped at the right time.

Before going to bed, Xie Wuhen couldn't help but want to be intimate, and Su He happened to have her period, so he caressed her and held her in his arms to sleep well all night.

The next day, at dawn, Xie Wuhen got up early to go on duty.

He still tiptoed when he went out, for fear of waking Su He, and only breathed a sigh of relief after walking down the stairs outside the house.

As he reached the archway of Chunhua Courtyard, he saw Ah Si coming back from outside.

Ah Si paused, then hurried forward and saluted: "Greetings, son-in-law."

Xie Wuhen looked at his dusty appearance and asked in a deep voice, "Did you stay out all night?"

Ah Si lowered his head and replied "yes".

"What were you doing?"

Ah Si replied, "I heard that Du Yuting had died, so I went to pay my respects to my father and sat at his grave all night."

Xie Wuhen said, "Hmm," and said, "Go and have a rest."

After Ah Si turned around and left, he called out again, "Wait."

Ah Si paused, "Sir, is there anything else you need?"

"Do you know who else Du Yuting killed besides your father?"

At the mention of Du Yuting's murder, Ah Si was filled with righteous indignation. "Du Yuting is a vicious man. My father wasn't the only one killed by him. I haven't had much contact with the Du family, so I don't know the details."

Xie Wuhen asked again: "Then what do you know about Du Yuting?"

Ah Si lowered his head again and said, "I am incompetent. I don't know anything about Du Yuting."

The lady had warned him not to speak carelessly in front of her son-in-law, so he naturally obeyed her orders. After all, it was the lady who avenged him.

Xie Wuhen didn't ask any more questions, "I'm fine, you can go back to the house."

Ah Si bowed and turned back to the back room.

Xie Wuhen took a carriage to the Dali Temple public housing.

At noon, Wu Sheng finally showed up hurriedly. "Boss, I've conducted a long, secret investigation overnight, and I haven't found any evidence that Du Yuting has been involved in any murders. Even some merchants who once hated him were later recruited by him to join the Chamber of Commerce and make profits together. To the point that many people are grateful to him when they mention him."

"Isn't Ah Si's father the one whose life he was convicted of?"

Xie Wuhen snorted coldly: "Some people are kind and righteous in front of the strong, but worse than beasts in front of the weak."

Wu Sheng pondered for a moment: "Boss, what you mean is that the murderer might be a servant of the Du family? Or perhaps a descendant of this servant?"

At the end, he still couldn't believe it: "That's not right. How could a servant be so meticulous and even know about fragrance?"

"It's not about understanding fragrance, but understanding poison."

Xie Wuhen then ordered: "Go to the government office's yellow book library to find the Du family's 'market certificate' and record all the changes in the Du family's population over the years."

The so-called "market certificate" is the book used by wealthy families to register their slaves in the government office.

Wu Sheng answered "Yes" loudly and turned to leave.

In just one hour, Wu Sheng brought the Du family's market certificates, a thick stack that recorded in detail the population information of the Du family, both noble and humble, the amount of land, and the tax and labor service status over the years.

Xie Wuhen opened the first page and first saw the situation of the Du family this year.

The three words "Liu Dabao" appear in the front position.

His details were recorded at the end: his father Liu Erzhu was Du Yuting's long-time attendant, and he passed away in the 29th year of Yonglong. His son Liu Dabao took over his father's position.

He ordered in a deep voice: "Go and summon this Liu Dabao."

After receiving the order, Wu Sheng hurried to find Liu Dabao.

In Chunhua Courtyard.

Su He was sitting in front of the door making tea, while Zhang Xiuhua was fanning the stove with a palm-leaf fan.

Today is a rainy day, neither cold nor hot.

A gentle breeze blew, knocking down many dead leaves from the trees.

This is what we call a peaceful and quiet life.

Su He casually asked, "Auntie was once my mother's best friend. Do you know why my last name is 'Su' and not 'De' like my father?"

Zhang Xiuhua glanced at her unhappily and said, "So what if your mother and I are close friends? I can't possibly interfere in your family affairs, can I?"

Su He refused, and said in a playful tone: "Aunt, just tell me the reason."

Zhang Xiuhua sighed as she recalled the past, then forced a smile. "What's the special reason? It's just that your mother is overbearing, and your father is soft-hearted. He always gives in to your mother, and as a result, he spoiled her."

Su He was silent for a long time, then murmured: "That's good, mother is a happy person."

The two were chatting when Ah Si suddenly ran into the room in a hurry: "Madam, something bad has happened. Liu Dabao has been summoned to the Dali Temple by his son-in-law."

Su He paused after hearing this: "When did it happen?"

Ah Si replied, "Just now, I wanted to go to Chenjia Lane to inform Liu Dabao of Du Yuting's death, but I unexpectedly saw him being taken away by Brother Wu Sheng."

Then he asked, "Madam, Liu Dabao shouldn't... tell anyone about us, right?"

Su He continued to brew tea slowly and leisurely.

The plum blossoms used to make tea were brought back by Xie Wuhen when he went out of town last time.

She replied: "Liu Dabao is a smart man and won't talk nonsense."

Zhang Xiuhua was also worried: "Miss, do you trust him so much?"

"It's not that I believe in him, but that's just human nature."

Su He poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. "Last night, I sent someone to give Liu Dabao some money. That money is enough for him and his mother to start a new life. Unless he is stupid, he would let himself get involved in the Du family's mess again."

Zhang Xiuhua breathed a sigh of relief.

Ah Si also smiled brightly: "Madam is indeed wise."

As soon as she finished speaking, Chunlan came in and reported, "Miss, I've sent for you from the main courtyard."

Su He asked, "What is it?"

Chunlan shook her head: "No, but judging from Nanny Han's stern face, it's probably not a good thing."

Su He stood up from the table and said, "Change my clothes and go to the main courtyard."

When the enemy comes, we will fight back; when the water comes, we will flood it with earth. Let’s go and take a look first.

At this time, the main courtyard.

Mei Zi was holding the stolen medicine residue and letting the old lady examine it carefully.

He couldn't help but exaggerate and say a few words: "Old Madam, this is indeed the recipe for contraceptive soup. Look, this is musk, and this is stewed safflower."

Xu was still a little bit unbelieving. She took the residue in her hand and looked at it carefully, sniffing the smell from time to time.

Zhang Qian'er, who was standing nearby, also chimed in, "This is definitely the contraceptive soup. When Mei Zi first brought the dregs to me, I didn't believe it either. I even went outside the palace to have several doctors examine it. They all agreed that this dregs was the contraceptive soup."

Then he took the opportunity to instigate: "Aunt, you are too kind-hearted and indulge the young lady too much. Don't you think she is...trying to make the Xie family extinct?"

Ever since she was rejected as a concubine last time, she has hated Su He.

She felt that this woman appeared gentle and harmless on the surface, but was actually two-faced, saying one thing in front of her and another behind her back.

She had clearly compromised - she was willing to be a concubine, but Brother Zi Yu still rejected her, and was still so ruthless. It must be Su He who was behind this, and it must be Su He who was whispering in his ear.

So she secretly showed Mei Zi a little favor and asked her to keep a close eye on the movements in Chunhuayuan.

As long as we are human, we will make mistakes.

As long as you can find her mistakes, you can defeat her in one move.

Sure enough, she got what she wanted.

Even though Su He had many good qualities, she was childless, which was one of the seven grounds for divorce.

The Xie family could then divorce her openly.

Zhang Qian'er thought of this, a smug smile curling her lips as she continued to add fuel to the fire: "In my opinion, this young lady is relying on Brother Ziyu's favor to ignore my eldest aunt. This time, my eldest aunt must not be soft-hearted and must teach her a lesson."

Xu glanced at her sideways and said, "It seems that you have bribed Mei Zi as well?"

Zhang Qian'er was stunned and pretended to be wronged: "How could Auntie misunderstand me like this? I just felt unfair when I saw Mei Zi being kicked out of the room, so I contacted her a few more times. After all, I did this for Auntie's sake."

Xu sighed and waved to Mei Zi.

Mei Zi understood, took two steps back, and carefully placed the medicine residue on the table.

Xu softly comforted him, "Don't take what happened last time to heart, and don't harbor any resentment. We need to take our time. After all, we are all family."

Zhang Qian'er pouted and lowered her head to twist the handkerchief in her hand: "Of course I won't take it to heart. Anyway... I will listen to my aunt in everything."

Xu smiled with relief: "In this case, I am relieved."

Just as she finished speaking, Nanny Han came into the room and reported: "Madam, the young lady is here."

Mei Zi's face turned pale when she heard this, and she hid behind the screen.

Xu also sat up straight and said, "Pass it on quickly."

When Su He walked into the house, the house was filled with an eerie silence.

Zhang Qian'er and Xu both stared at her solemnly, and even Nanny Han, who was always considerate, had a gloomy face.

Su He calmed himself down and bowed towards Xu.

Zhang Qian'er then stood up and bowed to Su He, saying something rather ambiguous, "It's not easy to invite the young lady to come here, and you've kept us waiting for so long."

Her eyes were blazing and her face was full of pride, which clearly showed that she was a successful person. She was completely different from her previous weak and pitiful appearance.

Su He was sure that there would be a big trap waiting for her on today's trip.

She said, "I came to see my mother. If I have to wait, it will be my mother who has been waiting for a long time."

Zhang Qian'er choked and was speechless for a moment.

Then he gritted his teeth, flicked his sleeves and sat down in the rose chair beside Xu.

Xu's expression was solemn. She didn't even bother beating around the bush and pointed directly at the small pile of medicine residue on the table. "Do you know what this is?"

Su He glanced at the medicine residue, his chest tightened, and he instantly understood.

It turns out that this pit was waiting for her here today.

She was calm and collected: "Isn't this just medicine residue? Why do you ask, mother?"

Xu said with a cold face: "Do you know what this medicine residue is?"

She replied: "My daughter-in-law is stupid and doesn't know."

Xu spoke each word with great emphasis: "This is the residue from the contraceptive soup."

Su He remained silent, using stillness to control movement.

Xu added, "And it was found in your Chunhua Courtyard."

Su He had a calm expression and met Xu's gaze calmly.

She asked, "Could it be that Mother has planted spies in Chunhua Courtyard?"

Xu's expression grew increasingly grim. "This is the Xie family. I can find out what's going on anywhere in the family if I want to know. Do I need to say hello to you?"

Su He smiled slightly and answered the question irrelevantly: "Mother's eyeliner is plum, right?"

Mei Zi, who was hiding behind the screen, was so frightened that she staggered and dared not breathe.

Zhang Qian'er, who was standing by, couldn't stand it any longer: "Eldest Aunt is Brother Ziyu's mother, and she's also the Young Madam's mother-in-law. The Young Madam's attitude is a bit too overbearing."

Su He continued calmly, "Mei Zi is the spy, and Miss Qian'er is responsible for adding fuel to the fire, right?"

Zhang Qianer pointed at her angrily: "You..."

Su He smiled again: "Miss Qian'er, please don't be domineering."

Xu shouted at Su He, "Stop talking nonsense here."

Then he pressed her, "Tell me the truth, have you been drinking contraceptive soup?"

Su He remained calm and composed, lowering his head and answering, "Yes, mother."