Since they were still outside, Emerald and Qiao'er exchanged a glance and temporarily held back their words.

The three of them, master and servant, returned to the Yin residence in silence.

Along the way, Qin Sheng had already roughly sorted out the situation in his mind and had a plan in mind.

They returned to Zhefang Courtyard.

As usual, Qin Sheng changed her clothes first, rested briefly, and then continued to handle the various matters in the mansion.

Half an hour later.

With the affairs of the manor mostly settled, Qin Sheng glanced at Emerald at the entrance of the small hall, and Emerald immediately came in and whispered in her ear.

Upon returning, Qin Sheng rushed to handle matters, but Emerald and Qiao'er quietly investigated and identified the maid who had tampered with the incense burner used by the madam.

“It’s Abi,” Emerald said softly.

Abi...

Qin Sheng picked up her teacup and took a sip, a few things flashing through her mind.

Abi was originally Yin Wenxiao's head maid, but later, the old lady of Yin took her in as the young master's concubine.

Later, Yin Wenxiao married Qin Sheng. The old lady was afraid that the new wife would feel uncomfortable, so she transferred Abi away.

After that, there was a shortage of staff at Zhefang Courtyard. Some of the head maids in the mansion were confused and transferred Abi to the new madam's Zhefang Courtyard, where she became a second-class maid along with Caiyue.

"It really is her."

Qin Sheng was not surprised.

Qin Sheng knew that Abi harbored resentment towards her, and she had even considered replacing Abi. However, Abi was, after all, Madam Yin's person, so she couldn't make it too obvious.

This delay has brought us to where we are now.

"Madam, what should we do next?" Emerald asked worriedly. "Should we write a letter to Master and Madam?"

"Yes, after I write the letter, please send it back to the Qin residence as soon as possible."

After a pause, Qin Sheng continued, "You and Qiao'er work together to find a way to catch Abi red-handed. Remember, don't alert her. You must find out where she hid the poison."

She knew in her heart that this was the best time to divorce Yin Wenxiao.

The idea of ​​poisoning her to kill her was probably not Yin Wenxiao's doing, but rather the work of Old Madam Yin.

What Qin Sheng needed to do was catch Abi red-handed, and then, with lightning speed, have the people from the Qin family come to uphold justice for him.

"This servant understands."

Jade withdrew.

...

Abi was always very careful. Every morning, she would quietly pour out the ashes from the triangular auspicious beast bronze incense burner and bury them at the foot of the tree outside the yard.

Tong Lu taught her to clean it very carefully, leaving no trace.

In the evening, she would take advantage of the time while the lady was bathing and washing up, and while tidying up the house, to scatter 'King Yama's Chase' into the bronze stove.

The 'King Yama's Pursuit' was originally a fine black powder, so once it was sprinkled in and spices were added, it was completely invisible.

The old lady said that as long as she handled this matter well, she would be promoted to be the Earl's concubine.

Even her parents and elder brother, who were exposed to the elements on the estate, could benefit from this arrangement, as the old lady promised to arrange for them to do some light work in the mansion.

If she becomes the Earl's concubine and gives birth to a son for him in the future, she will be incredibly wealthy for the rest of her life.

The saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold."

Although Abi was afraid, she made up her mind as long as she thought about how much she and her family would benefit after the lady's death.

The 'King Yama's Chase' can only be applied a little bit each time.

The old lady said that no one should be aware of the situation, and that the death of the lady must not be made in the slightest.

Abi moved very quickly.

She went out quickly.

But they ran into Qiao'er at the door.

Abi was startled and instinctively put her hands behind her back. Qiao'er, however, seemed oblivious to her panic and frowned as she asked, "Has Madam cleaned all the incense burners? Madam will need to burn some calming incense tonight."

"It's all cleaned up."

Qiao'er ignored her and went inside. Abi stood at the door and saw Qiao'er come out with spices.

She left quickly.

Qiao'er closed the door, snorted, and then took out another identical triangular bronze incense burner shaped like an auspicious beast.

Qin Sheng and Emerald also came out of the clean room.

"Look, Madam!" Qiao'er took the small stove that Abi had tampered with, spread a cloth on the table, and emptied its contents.

When fine black powder is poured onto a white handkerchief, it appears to gleam with an eerie, ghostly light under the lamp.

Qin Sheng's gaze was fixed on the black powder on the handkerchief.

"Jadeite, prepare a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for me."

"Yes." Emerald hurried off to prepare.

With pen, ink, paper, and inkstone prepared, Qin Sheng sat at the table and began to write a letter.

After writing it, she blew the ink off the paper and said, "Tomorrow morning, have someone send the letter out. Remember to be careful and don't let anyone in the manor notice."

Emerald and Qiao'er exchanged a glance, and for some reason, they both felt a strange mix of nervousness and...excitement.

...

Songliuyuan.

It was late at night.

Madam Yin suddenly sat up in surprise. A moment later, the lights in the room were turned on, and Granny Shi came over wearing a robe.

"Madam."

Granny Shi placed the lamp on the table and poured a cup of hot tea over: "Are you having a nightmare? Don't be afraid, this old servant is here."

"Ayu, I dreamt about Kangning!"

Madam Yin was panting heavily, her face was deathly pale, cold sweat streamed down her forehead, and her body was trembling slightly.

Kang Ning was the old master's concubine, and they were childhood sweethearts.

Back then, the elders of the Yin family made the decision, promising that as long as the old master married Madam Yin, he could bring Kang Ning into the household as well.

Later, when Kang Ning entered the household, he won the old master's favor.

After his parents-in-law passed away one after another, the old man doted on his concubine Kang even more, and even had the idea of ​​favoring his concubine over his wife.

How could Old Madam Yin tolerate this? Taking advantage of one of the old master's absences, she had Kangning, who was already six months pregnant, thrown into a well...

By the time Old Master Yin returned, Aunt Kang had already been buried.

However, no one knew that in reality, Madam Yin had an empty coffin buried, and the drowned Concubine Kang, along with her unborn child, was thrown into a mass grave to be eaten by wild dogs.

"I haven't dreamed of her for so many years..." Old Madam Yin murmured.

In fact, the old master had more than just Concubine Kang. The Yin family was small, so he thought of taking more concubines to have more offspring. However, none of those concubines had a good ending. More than one of the old master's concubines died at the hands of the old lady Yin.

"Ah Yu, do you think this might be a bad omen?" Old Madam Yin asked anxiously. "Could it be that Heaven is warning me about something?"

You're overthinking it.

Granny Shi said, "Madam, now that we've made up our minds, there's absolutely no reason for us to back down halfway, otherwise..."

"I know."

After drinking the hot tea, Old Madam Yin took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I don't know if Heaven is treating my Yin family well or badly."