Search the Courtyard

Yue Wan's eyes regained clarity. After thinking for a while, she finally nodded, "Miss... I believe you. As long as my brother is well, I can die with peace of mind."

Seeing that she understood, Fu Huaiying stood up and said, "Since it was the eldest lady who planted the seeds, then she must also bear the consequences. Yuewan, I want to see your corpse in the eldest lady's courtyard tomorrow."

Yue Wan closed her eyes. Since they were all going to die, she might as well find a good future for her brother. She nodded and said, "Girl, I promise you, but you have to let my brother live a good life."

Fu Huaiying nodded and turned to look at Lin Yan'an, "I'll have to trouble the young marquis to get me some paper and pen."

Lin Yan'an didn't understand why, but he did it anyway.

Fu Huaiying placed the paper and pen he had brought in front of Yue Wan and said, "Write it. Just write 'Miss, save me' and hide this paper in your shoes and socks."

Yue Wan did as she was told and wiped away her tears. "If I see my brother suffering in the underworld, I will not let you go even if I become a ghost."

Fu Huaiying chuckled, "I'm not the kind of person who would burn bridges after crossing them. Working for me is always safer than working for the Madam."

Lin Yanan stood quietly beside her until they left the room before asking, "Huaiying...if you want her to live...I can help you..."

Fu Huaiying raised her eyes and looked at him without any emotion. "I'm not a Bodhisattva. I didn't intend to let her live. Only the dead can shut up."

The maids in her courtyard were originally Wen Shuangye's people. She would not feel sad no matter which one died, because they were not hers.

Lin Yanan looked at her hesitantly, then pointed at the closed door, "Doesn't your personal maid treat you well?"

Fu Huaiying sneered, "I don't even have her indentures in my hands. How can I expect someone whose life is in someone else's hands to treat me sincerely? I just hope she doesn't make things difficult for me."

Lin Yan'an frowned, thinking to himself, as long as Wen Shuangye lived, she would constantly cause trouble for Huaiying, but he couldn't just kill her...

Fu Huaiying glanced at him and knew what he was thinking, "Have you met Yue Wan's brother?"

Lin Yan'an shook his head and paused. He immediately understood what Fu Huaiying meant, "Hefeng!"

He Feng thought he had nothing to do and was hiding not far away eating cakes, but suddenly he heard the master's voice, immediately wiped his mouth and ran over, "...Master..."

Lin Yanan closed his eyes, feeling a little embarrassed, and said, "Swallow it before you speak."

"Yes..." He Feng chewed it twice and swallowed it immediately, looking at them with an innocent face.

"Go find Yue Wan's brother. Once you find him, keep an eye on him. Don't lose sight of him."

"yes."

The next morning, Fu Huaiying combed her yellowed hair in front of the bronze mirror. She looked at her tired face after a night of hard work and whispered, "Da Hu, do I look much more haggard now?"

Da Hu stood behind her and met the eyes of the person in the mirror. "Even if you look haggard, you still look good. But you should rest early in the future and don't overwork yourself."

Fu Huaiying laughed and said, "Silly girl, if I wasn't haggard, how could I show the deep affection between Yue Wan and me as master and servant?"

She touched her hair and looked outside, just in time to see the nanny beside Wen Shuangye and her men rushing into the yard and blocking her door.

"Third Miss, I heard that a maidservant has gone missing from the young lady's courtyard. The prefect is sending someone to question her. You should go and listen."

Fu Huaiying nodded, tied her hair into a bun, loosened it, stood up and followed the nanny out, giving Dahu a look.

Da Hu understood, nodded, watched them walk out, and then took Chen Huanli over the wall.

Fu Huaiying followed her into the front yard. Fu Liusong was not there. Wen Shuangye was sitting in the main seat. When she saw her come in, she didn't even blink, looking very contented.

"Give the third lady a seat."

Fu Huaiying did not refuse and sat down directly. The prefect sat opposite her and looked at her sideways, then turned to look at Wen Shuangye, and asked, "When did the third lady find out that the maid was missing?"

Fu Huaiying shook her head. "A few days ago, my mother went to the temple to copy scriptures for my grandmother. Yue Wan said that there weren't enough people around my mother, so she borrowed her. Since that day, I haven't seen her..."

Wen Shuangye laughed out of anger. Fu Huaiying had indeed grown cocky and dared to push her in front of her. Would she still be so stubborn when she saw the people being searched out of her yard?

"Master Liu, Auntie...what's wrong?"

Liu Jin stood up, "General Wen..."

Wen Chuyan walked in from outside, looked at the people in the yard, then turned to look at Liu Jin, a little puzzled. What was going on today?

Wen Shuangye raised her hand, motioning him to sit down. "A maidservant of your sister's was missing from the courtyard. I was afraid she might have been locked up somewhere and couldn't get out, so I asked the prefect to search the courtyard."

Wen Chuyan found it even more strange. If it was lost in the mansion, couldn't the servants and maids just look for it? Why did they have to ask the prefect for help?

He didn't know, but Fu Huaiying knew everything. It was possible that the prefect had also been bribed by Wen Shuangye.

Wen Chuyan felt strange, but he didn't take it seriously. He sat down and said, "Then search."

Fu Huaiying paused with the hand holding the teacup, realizing that he really had no idea about what was going on at home. Who would ask the prefect to search the house if their maid was missing?

"It's so lively!"

A clear young voice came from outside. Hearing this voice, Fu Huaiying's lips curled up slightly. This guy came really quickly.

"General Wen, Lord Liu..."

Liu Jin stood up and bowed, "Why is Master Qiao here?"

"The young marquis and I were passing by and saw that the people outside were all from Shuntian Prefecture. Curious, we came in to take a look. Madam Fu, please excuse me, shall we?"

Wen Shuangye clenched her palms, feeling as if something was out of control, but she could only smile and ask them to sit down, "Of course I won't disturb you, Shu'er, take care of the tea."

Lin Yan'an sat opposite Fu Huaiying and nodded at her. Fu Huaiying lowered her eyes, drank a sip of tea, and calmed down.

The officers searched the courtyard and, remembering Liu Jin's instructions, focused on searching Fu Huaiying's courtyard, but they found nothing.

Wen Shuangye stood up suddenly after hearing the reply from the visitor, her face darkening. She immediately turned to look at Fu Huaiying, but the latter didn't even glance at her. She just drank her tea as still as a mountain, as if nothing had happened.

Lin Yan'an crossed his legs, looking nonchalant. "Have you searched all the courtyards? Don't miss any."

The officer who came to report nodded, then shook his head. He looked up at Liu Jin, hoping to get instructions, but was stopped by Lin Yan'an. "What are you looking at, Master Liu? Master Liu doesn't even know which courtyards have been searched and which have not been searched."

The officer had no choice but to tell the truth, "In reply to the gentlemen, except for the courtyard of Mr. Fu and Mrs. Fu, we searched everything else."

Wen Shuangye's eyebrows jumped. Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by the tactless Lin Yan'an. "Then go and search. Don't let them be locked up somewhere and unable to get out. They have no water or food. Don't let them starve to death."

Liu Jin had no choice but to wave his hand and let them search.

After a while, they saw them carrying a stretcher covered with a white cloth and lying across the yard.

Fu Huaiying knew it was her turn to go on stage, and immediately turned to look outside. The teacup in her hand fell and shattered to the ground. She slowly walked forward and squatted beside the stretcher, her trembling hands still not daring to uncover the white cloth.

After a while, he slowly lifted the white cloth, revealing a pale and terrifying face covered with knife scars.

"...Moonlight..."

Fu Huaiying looked at Yue Wan's body, reached out to close her eyes, and collapsed on the ground. Tears filled her eyes, and she held that cold hand and cried heartbreakingly.

Lin Yan'an was two steps away from her. Seeing that she was crying so hard, he didn't dare to help her.

"Sister Huaiying! What's wrong with you?!"

Lin Yan'an's shout attracted everyone in the house to come out. Fu Huaiying understood and immediately fell to the ground. To outsiders, it looked like she had fainted from heartbreak.

Wen Shuangye's face turned purple. Even in this situation, if she still couldn't see the double act between Fu Huaiying and Lin Yan'an, then she would be a real fool.

She gritted her teeth and said, "Someone, come! Help Miss San go back and rest!"

Liu Jin's face was not looking good either. He had brought people to search the courtyard with the instruction of Wen Shuangye, but the body was found in her courtyard. In addition, the Dali Temple Minister and the young marquis were both there. How could he solve the case?

He didn't know how to solve the case, but Lin Yan'an did and immediately spoke for him, "Go get the coroner."

"Yes." Lin Feng received the instructions and walked out immediately.

Wen Chuyan stood behind him with a strange look in his eyes. He had good eyesight since he was a child and could see that Huaiying fainted after Lin Yan'an spoke.

When Fu Huaiying "woke up", the case had already been decided due to Lin Yan'an's intrusion. However, Yue Wan had signed a contract to sell herself, and Wen Shuangye did not receive any punishment. Wen Chuyan, on the other hand, put the interests of the country above his own and actually made his aunt kneel in the ancestral hall for three days.

Fu Huaiying was speechless when she heard the news from Lin Yan'an. He was very generous and didn't care about Wen Shuangye's face at all.

For torturing and killing a maid without any reason, Wen Shuangye was only sentenced to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days, but it was not that simple for Fu Liusong. He was the Imperial Censor, who advised the emperor and the court officials, but if such a thing happened in his mansion, he might even lose his official position.

But these have nothing to do with Fu Huaiying. Outsiders know that she is not raised in Wen Shuangye Courtyard, so naturally it cannot affect her.

Da Hu came in from outside and whispered in her ear, "Yue Wan's brother is kneeling in front of the Shuntian Mansion, holding a petition to sue the Madam. His brother is also a scholar, and he's shouting until his voice is hoarse. His literary talent is indeed not bad."

Fu Huaiying raised her hand to remove the hairpins and rings, letting her long hair fall down. "Her brother is quite a good person. I thought he would make a scene at the mansion and ask for some money, but I didn't expect that he would be sincere to this sister and not afraid of offending my father."

"Don't worry, young lady. The master has sent people to watch over him and will definitely not let anything happen to him."

Fu Huaiying blew out the candlesticks, and the room darkened. "Since your master has arranged it so well, I can't fall behind. I will also bring up this matter when I enter the palace tomorrow."

"In a few days, when spring arrives, the students will have to go to the capital to take the imperial examinations. Who knows, maybe this young man will get a good ranking."

Fu Huaiying chuckled, "How is that possible? The list is already filled with the children of various noble families and the disciples of various masters. How could there be a place for him?"

"But... didn't the girl promise Yue Wan before?"

Fu Huaiying recalled Yue Wan's last words, "I promised her that I would ensure her brother's lifelong happiness, but I didn't say I had to help him get into the government. Besides, there are so many candidates from both the north and the south, and he has offended my father. It's still unknown whether he can stay in the capital."