Chapter 81: Poison 7: Does Madam Du remember a servant named Deshun? ...

The punishments suitable for female prisoners in the Dali Temple Prison include flogging, caning, torture with the thumbscrew, and shaving of the head.

While Zhang Qian'er was wailing in agony from the torture in prison, the dead Li Jianye was buried smoothly.

Su He later stayed at the Li family for two more days, living in the previous Yixiangyuan.

After all, Li Jianye was dead, and even if it was just a formality, she had to pretend to take care of things at her parents' home.

Yixiangyuan had not been occupied for a long time, and thick dust covered everything, with cobwebs hanging even in the corners.

Zhang Xiuhua couldn't help but complain, "The Li family is truly heartless. The young lady is just married, not like she's never coming back, yet they've let this yard fall into disrepair and haven't even sent anyone to clean it regularly."

Su He didn't care: "What the Li family is like has nothing to do with us."

Anyway, she is not the real Li Shuli.

Chunlan walked into the courtyard with heavy steps. Thinking of how her face was stabbed by Li Shuli that day, she felt anxious: "Young lady, how long will you stay here?"

She really hates the Li family.

Su He comforted her: "Don't worry, you'll only stay for two days."

Chunlan breathed a sigh of relief and replied "Okay".

Two days later, Su He went to Lihuayuan to say goodbye to Li Taian.

Lihuayuan is the residence of Concubine Yue. Since Li Jianye contracted tuberculosis, Li Taian rarely returned to the main courtyard and almost lived with Concubine Yue all the time.

When Su He walked into the courtyard, the two men were teaching Li Mingze how to walk.

Li Taian was still holding a drum in his hand, shaking it and shouting cheerfully, "Ze'er, my dear boy, come here quickly, come to Daddy."

The sound of the splashing drum also made Li Mingze laugh, and while laughing he tried to lift his short legs and take a step forward.

Aunt Yue was cheering her on: "Be good, Ze'er, walk a few more steps and show Daddy how to walk."

What a happy and harmonious family scene.

It was as if there had never been a funeral in this family, and as if the legitimate son Li Jianye had never existed.

Thinking of this, Su He couldn't help but sigh again.

She stepped forward, bowed, and called out "Father," then "Auntie Yue."

Aunt Yue's face lit up when she saw her, and she hurriedly greeted her, "Lili is here, come in and sit down."

Su He replied, "Don't worry, Aunt Yue. I'll just have a few words with my father."

Aunt Yue sent her maid to prepare tea and snacks, saying, "It's a rare opportunity for Lili to come here. Even if she wants to say a few words, she can't just stand there."

Ever since Li Mingze transferred the money to the main wife's name, she has been extremely grateful to Su He.

When the tea was ready, she carried Li Mingze to the spare room to play, leaving the space for the father and daughter.

Li Taian glanced at his daughter and asked, "What on earth do you want to say, Li'er?"

Su He smiled slightly. "Nothing else. It's just that my eldest brother just passed away, and I'm worried that my father will be too sad. Besides, I've been staying here for a few days, so it's time to go back to the Xie family."

Li Taian sighed: "Father has already said it, there is no need to grieve or not. Mingze will take care of everything. You don't have to worry about it. Just go back when you want to."

As he spoke, he glanced at her suspiciously again. His daughter had grown into a strange appearance, making him feel difficult to control and even difficult to approach.

For example, when she was in front of Xie Wuhen, she didn't support him as a father at all.

For example, when she was behind other people, she deliberately showed her concern for him as a father.

He even felt that even her polite smile concealed aloofness and scheming, and she was completely different from the willful and domineering daughter he had in mind.

Perhaps this is how a woman changes after she gets married, he thought.

Su He still had a smile on her face: "Since my father is safe, my daughter is relieved."

Li Taian nodded: "Don't worry."

Then he sighed, "My father's career has been full of setbacks, and there has been no hope of promotion for many years. When you go back, remember to persuade Wuhen to help me in my career. If I am doing well, the Li family will be well. If the Li family is well, you will have someone to rely on."

As expected, every three sentences he spoke were about interests.

Su He pretended to be well-behaved: "My daughter will keep it in mind and will definitely persuade her husband." After saying that, she bowed and turned to leave.

When leaving, Su He passed by the main courtyard and walked in.

Now only He Manyun lives in the main courtyard, and the number of servants has been reduced by half. The courtyard has become much quieter, and the flowers and plants everywhere are neglected, making it look bleak.

When Su He walked into the room, He Manyun had just finished taking her medicine and was leaning against the head of the bed to rest.

Since Li Jianye was buried, she has been ill. Several doctors have come and all of them said that it was a heart disease and she needed to be nursed back to health.

He Manyun didn't care about raising her child slowly or not. Her son died and all her plans were in vain. She had been a concubine for half her life and finally became the mistress of the Li family, but everything was gone. She hated it so much and regretted it so much that she felt like she would rather die than live.

Su He's sudden appearance made her a little dazed.

She turned her head to look at her, her desperate face showing a hint of resentment: "Why, you little bitch, are you here to laugh at my joke?"

Su He said calmly, "The dead cannot be resurrected. I hope my mother will express her condolences."

Compared with Li Taian's coldness, He Manyun has some true nature.

He Manyun gritted her teeth and said, "What qualifications do you, a little bitch, have to advise me to mourn? If it weren't for you, how could Ye'er and I end up in this situation?"

Su He replied: "Your fate is your own fault. What does it have to do with me?"

He Manyun suddenly threw the pillow from the bedside table at her, hysterically saying, "If it weren't for you, how could Ye'er have contracted tuberculosis? How could the master have abandoned us, mother and son? If it weren't for you, how could the illegitimate son have had the chance to be promoted, and how could Yue Niang have had the chance to act so arrogantly? You're clearly the one who started it all, yet you're still here crying wolf, pretending to be sympathetic and asking me to 'empathize'. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Su He's expression remained unchanged: "If you didn't harbor evil intentions and repeatedly pick on me, I would naturally not pick on you either."

He Manyun panted and glared at her: "You won and I lost, why are you still talking nonsense? That day you wanted to poison me with arsenic, and I escaped by luck. Now my fate is not much better than the day I took arsenic. But Li Shuli, remember this, even if I, He Manyun, become a ghost, I will make sure that you will not live in peace... I will make sure that you will not live in peace..." As she said this, she threw another pillow at her.

Su He slightly turned sideways and dodged.

Nanny Jiang hurriedly pulled her out of the house and gently advised her, "Young Master's sudden passing has deeply devastated Madam. She hasn't slept for several nights. Miss, please don't bother with her."

He then said, "Miss, could you go and persuade the master to come to the main courtyard and show his face, so that the mistress can feel at ease and cheer up quickly?"

Su He replied, "Madam Jiang has been in the Li family for many years. She should know that if I could persuade my father, I would not be demoted to the other courtyard, and I would not be married off to the Xie family so soon."

Nanny Jiang choked and was speechless.

When Su He left the Li family, he took one last look back at the vermilion lacquered gate.

The gate was still the same as it was eight years ago, except that the lintel had been repainted.

She asked, "Aunt, do you remember the first time we walked into the Li family's house?"

Zhang Xiuhua sighed, "Of course I remember. Back then, we were passed around by people, and finally bought by Xia Zhuang from the Li family. Oh, and by the way, we didn't go through this main gate, we went through the other corner gate."

She was qualified to go through the main gate only after Su He replaced Li Shuli.

Only they themselves can understand the bloody and violent experiences they went through.

Su He was also full of emotion: "Yeah, at that time we were not qualified to go through the main gate."

He added, "We may not come back to the Li family's place before we leave the capital." After saying that, he turned around and walked slowly towards the Xie family's carriage.

Zhang Xiuhua and Chunlan also looked up at the gate and followed Su He towards the carriage.

Fu Sheng, the driver, cracked the whip and galloped towards the Xie family.

It was already afternoon when we arrived at Xie's house.

At that time, Xie Wuhen had not returned home yet, and Chunhua Courtyard was quiet.

Su He had a simple meal and asked Zhang Xiuhua to change the medicine on her arm. Then she called Ah Si over and asked, "Have you heard anything about Zhou Yuanze's situation these days?"

Ah Si looked embarrassed. "I've put in quite a bit of effort and finally made the acquaintance of the son of a gatekeeper in the Zhou family. He told me that ever since the incident at Yichun Tower, Zhou Yuanze has been locked up in the courtyard by his father, Zhou Ping, and he's not allowed to leave."

Su He asked, "Have you found out how long he will be held captive?"

Ah Si replied, "It is said that he will be imprisoned for half a year."

Su He paused and remained silent for a long time.

She doesn't have half a year left.

She then asked, "Did Zhou Yuanze really never sneak out?"

Ah Si sighed, "The Zhou family mansion is as fortified as an imperial palace. The walls are so high and thick, he can't get out."

"Then how is his food supplied?" Perhaps by finding a loophole in Zhou Yuanze's diet, we can find an opportunity to kill him.

Ah Si replied, "I heard that the housekeeper in the mansion is personally in charge."

Su He thought for a moment, then instructed: "Go and find out more about Zhou Yuanze's food supply and eating habits. The more detailed the better."

Ah Si was still confused: "Zhou Yuanze's food all comes from the Zhou Mansion, and we can't get in, so it's useless to find out."

Su He chuckled: "The food in the mansion is all from outside the mansion, so why is it useless to find out?"

Ah Si's eyes gleamed with light: "I'll go right away."

While Su He was trying hard to find out about Zhou Yuanze's diet, Xie Wuhen was also trying hard to find out the reason why the Queen's child had a feud with Zhou Yuanze.

He even took out the Du family's market certificate again, flipped through it page by page, and found the name "De Shun" again, as well as the eight words below: Beaten to death for disobeying superiors.

According to Zeng Yidao's description, the eunuch named Shunzi was beaten to death in the Du family's backyard.

This De Shun must be Shunzi!

Next to the name "Deshun", there is another name clearly marked: Wife, Su Xueer - this may be the name of Empress Duofu outside the palace.

She and Shunzi pretended to be a couple, gave birth to a child in the Du family's backyard, and lived together.

But the child’s name was not on the city certificate, perhaps because he was too young to be included in the register.

He regretted handing the Du Yuting case over to Liu Qinian. If he had insisted a little longer that day, perhaps he would have found the Empress's child earlier.

But taking a step back, what would they do if they found her in such a situation? Would they behead her as if she were a murderer?

Xie Wuhen's thoughts turned around and around, and finally he sent someone to summon Liu.

Liu came hurriedly, confused: "Master Shaoqing, is it because of Mr. Zeng again?"

She felt that she was really unlucky. The husband she married was murdered and her master was involved in a serious case, which forced her to go to the Dali Temple from time to time.

Xie Wuhen answered the question irrelevantly: "Madam Du, do you remember a servant named Deshun in your mansion?"

Liu paused, then shook her head in denial: "I don't remember this person existing in the mansion."

He asked, "Do you remember having it? Or are you sure you didn't?"

Liu replied firmly: "I'm sure there isn't."