Catching a thief
Since her return, although gifts were sent to Lingbo Garden several times, they were all returned unopened. Feng Daizhu now not only stays indoors but also refuses all visits, refusing to see anyone. Even when her wet nurse brings her two children to see her, she is often turned away by the gatekeeper.
Feng Daizhu used to be so dazzling and flamboyant, but now she's so low-key, which makes Lin Xu quite worried.
With two concubines by his side, Dou Yanzhou naturally no longer remembers his former wife with whom he shared a harmonious marriage. Furthermore, Madam Bai is disgusted by the fact that Feng Daizhu's suicide brought shame to the Dou family. Even when guests come to visit, she simply makes excuses, saying that the eldest son's wife is unwell and unable to receive them.
As a result, Lingbo Garden became increasingly deserted.
Since Madam Bai dealt with Granny Zhao and several of Feng Daizhu's close maids, the servants who now stay there year-round are all former laborers from the old mansion, each extremely timid and subservient. After being rejected by Feng Daizhu several times, Lin Xu had no choice but to secretly instruct the gatekeepers, demanding that they not mistreat Feng Daizhu and report any disturbances in Lingbo Garden to her immediately.
She had been busy with Kunrou and Liang Zhengyuan's affairs for the past few days and had neglected Lingbo Garden somewhat. Now that she had some free time again, she naturally started thinking about how to meet with Feng Daizhu. She needed to see her again and have a word with her.
Seeing her remain silent, Dou Yanxun also remained silent. The two stood quietly facing each other in the night, only their soft breathing audible. After a long while, his voice, still calm, mingled with the moonlight:
“Jiang Heng has been investigating this case for a long time and the basic evidence is conclusive. Once a verdict is reached, Yu Shi and his accomplices will be severely punished. Now that Prime Minister Zhao is suppressing these corrupt matters, elder brother should also be held accountable.”
Lin Xu's heart skipped a beat. A severe punishment? That would depend on the court's decision. All three members of the Dou family held official positions. Even if Dou Yanzhou wasn't the mastermind behind the embezzlement, he couldn't escape responsibility. She had initially thought the worst that could happen was dismissal and investigation, but Dou Yanxun's tone was so cold. Was there truly no room for negotiation...?
She tentatively pressed further, "How much money is involved in your case, brother?"
Dou Yanxun remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. His deep eyes pierced through the darkness of the night, like a pool of cold water.
“Yu Shi is a man who is insatiable and extremely foolish. My elder brother used to work for him and has earned four or five hundred taels of silver over the years. These days, Father has been searching for people after court to try to suppress this matter, but I'm afraid even Father is helpless and may even get burned.”
Lin Xu's brow furrowed. She hadn't expected that the Dou family, seemingly calm these past few days, was actually rife with turmoil and impending storm. It was probably because she was pregnant; the whole family had been deliberately keeping it a secret from her.
She also found it extremely ironic. Although she had always been eager for revenge, she never expected that the first person to bring disaster to the Dou family would be her eldest son, who was usually the most handsome and promising. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
When Dou Yanxun first spoke to her about these matters of the court, perhaps feeling that he had said too much, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"...But there's no need to worry too much. This matter is just to eliminate the remaining followers of Yu and Shi. As long as the Dou family doesn't try to get involved, it should be fine. You're pregnant and prone to overthinking, so it's best not to think about these things."
She leaned against his chest, feeling a chill creeping over his usually broad and warm chest. After all, Dou Yanzhou was his brother, and he must care about him deep down, right?
Lin Xu didn't know what else to say. She felt very complicated. After a busy day, she was exhausted and fell asleep in Dou Yanxun's arms.
.
The next day was another rainy day. Unexpectedly, ever since the New Year, the spring rains had been incessant, and the long-standing gloomy weather had also dampened people's spirits. Lin Xu had a poor appetite after getting up, only drinking a bowl of chicken and vegetable porridge before sitting by the window copying Buddhist scriptures.
She wasn't originally a Buddhist, but pregnancy was inevitably boring, and after Luo Shilan gave her these Buddhist scriptures, she gradually developed the habit of copying them down regularly every day. Over time, it actually had a calming effect on her mind.
Rongwei had been playing with Xuetuan'er in the courtyard since early morning. She lifted the curtain and came in, bowing to her before saying:
"Madam, I just saw what appeared to be Lianrong, who serves Consort An, heading towards the back garden..."
The tip of the wolf-hair brush that Lin Xu was holding paused.
An Chan? An Chan was very proud after becoming Dou Yanzhou's concubine. Not only was she arrogant, but she also asked to move to a side room not far from the main courtyard where Bai Shi lived, citing the reason that she had to take care of and serve Bai Shi every day.
At that time, Madam Dou was still staying at the mansion, and An Chan personally went to serve her every day, doing her a great deal of work. Seeing this, Madam Bai turned a blind eye. Usually, An Chan would go to Madam Bai's place or serve Dou Yanzhou when he returned from his shift, but she rarely needed to pass through the back garden.
The side room she is currently in is accessible only through the back garden, and within the mansion, the only other place to go is Lingbo Garden.
Seeing that she looked unwell, Rongwei nodded as well: "That's what I suspected, which is why I specifically reported it to you. Lianrong seemed suspicious and not at all. Shall we go and take a look?"
Although An Chan was born a maid, she was very proud and arrogant. In the past, when she was by Bai Shi's side, she was always overshadowed by Fu Lian. Now that Fu Lian has married out of the mansion and Fu Zhen is not as beautiful as her, she is able to become a concubine and accompany Dou Yanzhou. Naturally, she is even more pleased with herself.
Lin Xu had heard before that Dou Yanzhou was extremely dissatisfied with Feng Daizhu after her suicide attempt, and the two had lost all their former marital affection, with Dou Yanzhou becoming very cold towards her. Meanwhile, An Chan, who had just taken a concubine, added fuel to the fire, even verbally attacking Feng Daizhu, her legal wife. With such a person lurking nearby, Feng Daizhu's current situation was predictable.
Rongwei is right. Anchan's decision to send Lianrong over today for no apparent reason is probably not that simple.
Lin Xu pondered for a moment. Although Dou Yanxun had repeatedly told her to rest quietly in the villa, she was still worried. So, while putting on her outer robe, she quietly instructed Zhu Ling, "Go to the storeroom and get a top-quality ten-year-old ginseng and two boxes of dried abalone. We're going to Lingbo Garden."
As the sun rose higher, Lin Xu led Zhu Ling and Rong Wei along the path in front of the villa, and soon they arrived at the gate of Lingbo Garden. The once magnificent courtyard was now desolate and quiet. A few wild grasses grew sparsely in front of the gate, and a sparse plum grove was not far away. There was no one guarding the gate.
Before Lin Xu could even frown, Zhu Ling pointed to the figure that flashed past behind the plum trees and whispered:
"...Madam, it seems someone is hiding there."
Lin Xu gave her a look, and Zhu Ling immediately understood. She then shouted sharply at the figure behind the tree:
"Who's there!"
Before the words were finished, the figure trembled, as if it were shaking with fear behind the plum branch.
Seeing this, Lin Xu lowered his eyes slightly and said slowly, "I was wondering why things had been going missing from the house these past few days. It seems that a petty thief has indeed broken in. Zhu Ling, quickly go and fetch Steward Qi. Today we've caught him red-handed!"
The group exchanged glances, and sure enough, the figure was trembling even more violently. Rong Wei then chimed in, raising her voice:
"I've heard that Steward Qi is very skilled at interrogation. His men won't tell the truth unless they've been through the wringer! I heard that a few months ago, Wang Yougui, who stole something from the master's place, was beaten half to death by Steward Qi during his interrogation, and now he's crippled..."
As Rongwei spoke with increasing enthusiasm, a dark figure suddenly pounced out from behind the plum tree. Zhuling and Rongwei quickly shielded Lin Xu behind them, only to see the dark figure trembling and kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down its face.
"...Please spare my life, Second Madam! I'm not a petty thief. I just saw someone suddenly appear and panicked, so I hid. I'm very honest and would never dare to steal anything!"
Zhu Ling glanced down and saw that the person kneeling on the ground was Lian He, who was now working at Lingbo Garden. She was one of the people Lin Xu had ordered to look after Feng Daizhu.
Lin Xu recognized him and said gently, "Since you say you haven't done anything wrong, why are you hiding?"
Just then, a slight noise came from behind the plum branch.
Lianhe usually guarded Lingbo Garden on Lin Xu's orders. Knowing that Lin Xu was kind and generous, she never wanted to offend her. At this moment, she gritted her teeth, stopped crying, and looked up at Lin Xu, saying:
"Madam, it's Lianrong...she's here to see me..."
Before the words were finished, another figure emerged from behind the sparse plum grove. It was indeed Lianrong, An Chan's head maid.
Lianrong bowed respectfully to Lin Xu, her smile very humble.
"Lianrong greets the Second Madam."
Rongwei became increasingly certain that the furtive figure she had seen in the villa was indeed Lianrong. She secretly winked at Lin Xu and then said to Lianrong:
"Just now Lianhe said that you asked her to hide it? Lianrong, why are you here at Lingbo Garden in broad daylight instead of being on duty with Aunt An?"
Lianrong curled the corners of her mouth, but her smile looked very forced.
"I was just about to explain to the Second Madam! My aunt was worried about the First Madam's health and specially asked me to come and check on her. I didn't expect that before I could finish explaining, the Second Madam came over. I have only been serving my mistress for a short time, and I was so flustered that I lost my manners and displeased the Second Madam. That's why I did such a foolish thing in my haste. Please don't blame me, Second Madam."
The others could easily tell that Lianrong's words were all lies, but they noticed that she was half-lowering her head and unconsciously tucking her sleeves in, clearly hiding something.
Lin Xu had been observing this and already knew what was going on. She softened her tone and gently asked Lian He, who was standing beside her, "Tell me, what happened?"
Lianhe stopped sobbing, looked up at Lianrong with a conflicted expression, and finally bit her lip and said:
"Reporting to Second Madam... This servant dares not conceal anything. Lianrong came to find me just now and specifically pulled me aside to talk, saying that she wanted me to find some strands of the First Madam's hair. This servant was completely confused and hadn't even asked for clarification when you arrived. Lianrong quickly pulled me to hide behind the woods... Everything this servant has said is true, and I would never dare to conceal anything!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback. Why would Lianrong want to collect Feng Daizhu's hair? Lianrong was An Chan's confidante; could this also be An Chan's idea?
Seeing that Lianhe had confessed everything in just a few words, Lianrong's face turned ashen, but she could only bite her lip tightly:
"Second Madam, this servant doesn't understand a word Lianrong is saying! Why would she slander this servant for no reason! This servant is just worried about the First Madam and wanted to find out what was going on!"
Even the most upright person like Zhu Ling felt a chill run down her spine at this moment, and said to Lin Xu:
“Madam, I have heard since I was a child that there are some witchcraft and curses circulating in the countryside. One of them is to collect the hair of the person being cursed. Madam, could it be that Aunt An has evil intentions and wants to harm the First Madam?”
Upon hearing this, Lianrong became even more flustered, frantically shaking her head without stopping, and then suddenly knelt down on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Second Madam, there is absolutely no such thing. This servant was working for Consort An, and Consort An had no such intention whatsoever!"
Lin Xu merely glanced coldly at Lian Rong, who was kneeling on the ground, and said to Zhu Ling and Rong Wei:
"Take out what she's hiding in her sleeve."
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