Chapter 101 Qi Liang Boundary (Thirteen) Grandma Zhang Manbao.

Upon hearing this, Liu hesitated, her eyes darting between the two men. "Are you actually from the government?"

Du Zhong said smugly, "Of course! Otherwise, why would we bother with your business? We came here early this morning to ask you some questions about your husband."

Liu then asked with a smile, "Is it alright if we don't go to the yamen? My house is just ahead. Why don't you two come to my house for a seat and have a cup of tea?"

People have always feared officials, and this Liu was feeling guilty because of the "false accusation." Seeing that she was indeed somewhat afraid, Jiu Li nodded and agreed, "You lead the way."

Not far ahead is Xiaowang Lane. The second house inside is Chen Zifang's house. It is a two-story house with a small yard but a large house. However, it is not well maintained. A bunch of things are scattered haphazardly, making it look messy. Perhaps because there are no children, this house lacks human warmth and doesn't seem like a place where people live.

Liu hurriedly cleared away the bowls and dishes on the octagonal table, and soon brought over two bowls of hot tea. While smiling, she changed the subject, saying, "Actually, I know that we men didn't burn to death. I was just afraid that the government would abandon us because we were servants, so I thought of making a big fuss about it and letting everyone know. The government can't just not give an explanation."

Jiuli smiled at her sideways, "You can make a scene all you want, but why did you write on the banner that Doctor Yu set fire to your husband's house and burned him to death, even though you knew the truth?" She then sneered sarcastically, "We know even if you don't tell us, someone came up with this idea for you, didn't they? You were thinking of taking advantage of the situation to extort some money from the Yu family, weren't you?"

Liu's face flushed red. She lowered her head and wiped her hands on her skirt. She didn't say anything for a long time, only laughing "hehehe" repeatedly.

Jiuli glanced around the room and saw a cabinet about half a zhang tall against the wall. There were two doors at the bottom and two open shelves on top, holding small jars and boxes, presumably for storing delicate items. However, a small brown cloth bag was blocking the way, with one leg turned up, revealing a gleaming silver corner inside.

"Speaking of which, your family earns quite a lot, so why are you still so greedy and greedy? You'll make money by doing anything against your conscience, but that will shorten your lifespan."

Following her gaze, Liu went over and lifted the brown cloth bundle. “Miss, you misunderstand. I didn’t take any money from Doctor Xu. This is a funeral allowance from the eldest mistress, thirty taels. She just sent it to me this morning, but I was in a hurry to leave and forgot to put it in.”

As they spoke, he put the silver into the bedroom. Jiuli raised her voice and asked, "Are you talking about Qi Xuyun's wife, Zhang Manbao, the eldest mistress you mentioned?"

"It's her!" Liu chimed in. "Among the whole family, apart from the eldest master, the eldest mistress is the most kind and generous!"

"Isn't Second Aunt kind and generous?"

"Second Madam is also kind and generous, though not exactly. She manages the affairs of the household according to old customs. Normally, when an old servant like us dies, we only receive twenty taels of silver. If Second Madam were in charge, we would only receive twenty taels of silver."

Jiuli had met Manbao before, but they hadn't exchanged more than a few words. When he went to the Qi family, Manbao was just there to keep him company, occasionally chiming in, but mostly sitting quietly to listen to the two ladies talk. He remembered that she had a beautiful face, a gentle and kind smile, and was about twenty years old.

"When a servant in your household had a death, did the eldest mistress also give thirty taels of silver?"

"No, that's not true. It wasn't the eldest mistress's place to make the decision before. But this time, the madam is frightened and falls ill. The second concubine is already busy taking care of the madam, so she can't take care of anything else. Naturally, the eldest mistress should make the decision."

That's true. In a scholarly family like the Qi family, there is naturally a strict hierarchy. It is only right for concubines to serve the principal wife. I have seen how much respect the second concubine always showed to that principal wife. It is rare for two people who have lost their husbands to support each other through these years.

Du Zhong sat at the table and drank half a bowl of tea. He asked, "Now that your family has these thirty taels, plus your usual savings, and the money left by Chen Zifang, you will be well-off in the future. Why are you trying to take advantage of the Yu family?"

Upon hearing this, Liu cried out in despair, “Oh dear, what are you saying? Although I usually earn more, how can I afford to let that heartless man spend money like that, living for today and not for tomorrow! Let me tell you, he doesn’t bring a single penny home from his own earnings; instead, he tries to take mine. If I express the slightest dissent, he kicks me in the face. What money do I have left besides this house?! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have listened to his instigation and done something so foolish!”

Du Zhong tilted his head to the side and said, "I heard that Chen Zifang made a fortune somewhere recently, but he didn't bring any home?"

"Hmph, I'd be grateful if he didn't empty the house, let alone bring anything home?"

"Do you know where he got that money from?"

“He’s always been the one making his money in this family, and I’m not allowed to ask how much he makes. If I do ask, he gets angry and says I’m after him. Anyway, it never ends up in my hands, so I eventually stopped asking.”

Seeing her speak so frankly, Jiu Li was momentarily disappointed. What kind of murderer would make no attempt to hide their resentment towards the victim? She could only ask another question: "Do you two usually stay at the Qi residence or come home to rest?"

“We are not servants who serve our masters closely, nor do we have to stand guard at night, so naturally we go home to sleep. However, I always leave earlier than him. On the 12th, I went home first, and when he didn’t return by nightfall, I thought he had probably gone out gambling and drinking somewhere again, so I didn’t pay any attention to it and just went to sleep. But when I went to the mansion early on the 13th, I didn’t see him either. I asked everyone in the mansion, and they all said they hadn’t seen him, nor had they heard of any errands for him to run. That’s when I started to feel strange. I thought that if I didn’t see him for another two days, I would go and look for him. But then the mansion caught fire that evening, and on the morning of the 14th, his body was pulled out of the fire!”

Did you see him at the manor during the day on the 12th?

Liu nodded emphatically, "I saw him drinking with others in the guardhouse outside the second gate just before I went home around noon!"

It was just past mid-Shen Shi (3-5 PM). Liu Shi, seeing that all the vegetables for dinner were prepared, wanted to go home. She looked everywhere for Chen Zifang and saw him drinking with two servants in the guardhouse outside the second gate. She went into the room and said, "If you're going home early, go and get some rat poison. The rats in the house are causing a huge disturbance."

Chen Zifang casually waved his hand, "I won't be back until tonight, you'll have to make the ingredients yourself." He turned to the two servants and boasted, "You won't believe me when I tell you, but I've checked out that shop. The rent is only sixty taels a year. Once I've taken over the business, I'll connect the two sides, bring in some wine, and I guarantee the business will take off!"

The two servants said, "Doing business isn't difficult, the difficulty lies in the capital. Sixty taels for rent plus payment for goods will bring you to a total of one hundred taels. Can you afford that? We know you're good at making money, but you're also more extravagant than others. Can you gather all that money in such a short time?"

Liu didn't know what nonsense he was talking about again, and she didn't care. She walked out the door, only to hear him laugh and say, "A hundred taels of silver is no problem. I'll earn it for you tomorrow!"

Inside, they just thought he was bragging, but Liu was puzzled. She had noticed that he had suddenly become less aggressive recently. Could it be that he had another opportunity to make money?

Madam Liu placed a plate of pastries on the table and said to Jiuli and Duzhong, "To be honest, we do make some money doing purchasing in the mansion, but the two of us only buy small items. We can't possibly earn a hundred taels of silver a day from vegetables and daily necessities. Only big items like antiques and furniture are profitable. So I was quite worried at the time, afraid that he had embezzled the money somewhere. If Madam found out, it would be terrible!"

After hearing this, Jiu Li immediately realized that Chen Zifang had most likely died on the night of the 12th, so she asked her, "Why did he say he would only go home at night? Was there anything else going on at the mansion?"

"I didn't ask him either."

Du Zhong hurriedly said, "Perhaps the two servants who drank with him know something about what happened that night."

The two men asked the two servants their names, left Xiaowang Alley, went home, had lunch, changed their clothes, and took a few pills from the shop to treat internal injuries and vomiting blood. They then went straight to the Qi family's house.

It just so happened that Yu Qi and Zhang Da were also at the Qi residence. They had been there for half a day and were watching the commotion in front of the ruins of the Four Seasons Pavilion. It turned out that several Taoist priests from the White Cloud Temple had been invited to perform a ritual today. An altar had been set up, and gongs and cymbals were being played. Xu Bai and Man Bao were also standing in front of them watching.

Xu Bai watched for a while and then, finding it uninteresting, looked toward the path ahead and saw the servant leading Jiu Li and Du Zhong towards him. He was suddenly delighted and wanted to laugh, but then he remembered that Yu Qi was standing right next to him, so he glanced at him secretly. However, he still couldn't help but smile at Jiu Li from afar.

Jiu Li smiled along the way. When Yu Qi saw this, he glanced at Xu Bai and went to greet the two of them, asking, "What are you doing here?"

Du Zhongxi said with delight, "Master, we now know when Chen Zifang died!"

Yu Qi wasn't surprised. He glanced at the two of them and asked, "Did you find out from Liu?"

Jiuli nodded with a grin, "Chen Zifang must have died on the night of the 12th. According to Liu, the last time she saw him, he was drinking with two servants in this mansion. One of the servants was named Zhao Wu, and the other was named Ma Jin."

At this point, Xu Bai and Zhang Da also stepped forward. Xu Bai chimed in, "I'll have someone bring these two to my study for questioning later." As he spoke, he glanced at the altar, "It's too noisy here, sir. Let's go to the study first."

Unexpectedly, Jiuli saw Manbao standing there as well. Thinking of the thirty taels of silver that Manbao had given to Liu, she had some doubts and said, "I haven't seen any religious ceremonies yet. I'll go and take a look."

Yu Qi could only nod and walk away. But Jiu Li heard a clattering sound, turned around and saw that he was wearing shackles. She quickly ran back to him and exclaimed, "Why are you wearing these?!"

Zhang Da laughed and said, "Lord Yan said that you are suspected of arson, so you need to cover your eyes when you go out, which is why you are told to wear this."

Jiuli had never seen Yu Qi suffer such injustice. She lowered her head and looked at the chains, feeling a lump in her throat. In front of these people, she dared not look up, afraid that they would see the tears welling up in her eyes.

However, Yu Qi could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her dark, bushy hair. He smiled indifferently and said, "Didn't you want to watch the religious ceremony? If you don't go now, it'll be over soon."

Jiuli blinked twice and nodded, then walked in that direction.

She first bowed to Xu Yun and Man Bao to greet them. Fortunately, the two of them treated her the same way and did not give her a hard time because of the rejection of the marriage. Man Bao, in particular, was still as kind and gentle as ever, nodding to her with a slight regret in her eyes.

Seeing this, Jiu Li felt embarrassed and didn't know what to say to her, so she could only ask, "Madam, is Madam feeling any better?"

Manbao shook his head and sighed, "This is not a proper ritual, but I hope it can truly ward off disasters and evil spirits."

Just then, the cymbals rang out loudly, startling everyone. The ritual was over, and a fat Taoist priest led the way to pay his respects. Jiu Li noticed that Man Bao seemed to feel a little uneasy on his face.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.