The guard said, "Madam Lu has more than just these two maids in Jiangnan. There is also a head housekeeper and two second-class maids in the mansion. Before she got married, she arranged marriages for all her maids."
"The two maids who accompanied the bride were no exception. I found their families. The two of them were originally going to wait until Madam Lu gave birth safely and the child turned one year old before getting married."
"But alas, Madam Lu died of postpartum hemorrhage. The eldest daughter was also very weak when she was born, so they each sent letters to their families and fiancés' families, saying that they would only consider marriage after the eldest daughter had recovered a bit."
"The men also expressed their understanding and were willing to wait for them for a few years." The men that Madam Lu had arranged for them were all young men who were successful in various businesses of the Lin family, so naturally they had no objections.
Zhu Dan's guard immediately continued, "I also found out that in the two months before the incident, they had each written home saying that Miss Lu's health had improved considerably and that they would be able to return to Jiangnan soon."
Lu Yucheng immediately said, "I remember this. When I returned to Shengjing that year, they told me that Xiaoyun's health had almost recovered. After the New Year, when I took my sister to the Southern Frontier, they wanted to ask Father for a favor and let them return to Jiangnan. I agreed on Father's behalf, and they immediately wrote letters to each of them."
Unexpectedly, just a few months after he returned to the Southern Frontier, news came that they had both died. In addition, his sister's health was fluctuating, and the Chen Kingdom was frequently harassing the border. Therefore, he gave up the idea of taking his sister to the Southern Frontier.
Zhu Yu immediately interrupted, "Did you bring the letter?"
The guard hurriedly took out a letter from his pocket; the envelope and the paper inside were old and yellowed.
The guard from Prince An's mansion frowned. No wonder when he arrived, Peony's family said that someone had taken the letter before him. He had thought that Madam Fang had discovered him.
Fang had no idea that these two lowly maids dared to send a letter to Jiangnan behind her back, and she was so angry that her teeth itched.
The guard said, "We only got a letter from one of the maids, named Shaoyao. Her family has been keeping the letter safe. The letter from the other maid, Wenxin, is missing."
The letter contained only a few words, but the gist was that the young lady's health had improved considerably, and that in at most another six months, after the Duke and the heir took her to the Southern Frontier, they would be able to return to Jiangnan. She asked her fiancé to wait patiently for another six months.
Given that they had this letter, it was impossible for them to have both jumped into the well two months later.
At this moment, the servants brought in a group of witnesses.
Upon seeing Wei's mother, Fang Shi was terrified and screamed as she backed away: "Ghost! Ghost! Ghost!"
Seeing the people coming in one after another, he was utterly desperate. After nearly twenty years, the truth finally came out.
Zhu Dan stood up and walked to Wei Mama's son: "Who gave you five hundred taels of silver back then?"
Wei's mother's son is in his thirties and has a pair of beady eyes. As soon as he entered the front hall, his two eyes started darting around.
He pointed at Fang: "It was her, it was her who gave it to me."
Why would she give you so much money?
The rat-eyed man shook his head: "I don't know about that. My mother is the personal maid of the head of the Zhenguo government's wife. Maybe the head of the government's wife made my mother do something shameful, and this is hush money. But before that, my mother came home once and said some strange things."
"What did you say?"
"They told us to leave Shengjing City as soon as possible, lest we have the life to collect the money but not the life to spend it. My mother was right. If I hadn't been arrested and imprisoned for gambling, I would be meeting the King of Hell with my father, wife, and children by now."
Upon hearing this, Wei's mother's lips turned white, her whole body trembled, and she roared at Fang, making unpleasant, whimpering sounds.
Large tears rolled down her cheeks as she gestured at Lu Xiaoyun, indicating that she was going to expose her and write down everything Lu Xiaoyun had made her do over the past few years.
Lu Xiaoyun gestured to her servants to prepare paper and pen for her.
Mother Wei walked away to the side to write, her steps unsteady.
When Fang saw that Wei's mother could actually write, her pupils shrank in surprise.
The manor in Liucun is now under the name of Prince An's Mansion. Although the servants from back then have been sent away, it is not difficult to find them.
The person brought in was a man in his fifties, surnamed Meng.
“This old servant, Meng Nan, has remembered this incident for fifteen years. When Shaoyao and Wenxin first came to the estate, they were both ill, and they seemed quite ill. It was the evening of the third day of the seventh month, just as it was getting dark, and this old servant saw them jump into the well one after the other.”
"First, it was Peony who jumped into the well. I was terrified and rushed over to pull Wenxin away, but Wenxin was in a daze and had great strength. Even I, a man, couldn't hold her back. I could only watch helplessly as they took their own lives one after the other."
"The way they looked was terrifying. They were clearly possessed. Oh, right, and Old Chen and Miss Zhu'er, they all saw it too."
Lu Xiaoyun asked, "Who said they would hear strange noises in the middle of the night, and that made Fang sell the estate?"
Meng Nan glanced at Fang Shi furtively: "Yes, it was Wei Mama who came. She asked us if we had heard anyone crying in the middle of the night. Actually, we didn't hear anything at all, but Wei Mama said so anyway, and the deaths of Shaoyao and Wenxin were too strange. So..."
So what is it? Needless to say.
Zhu Yu snorted softly; he won the third round again.
After these people left, Zhu Dan's guards brought over several doctors from the pharmacy.
When the doctors came in and saw this scene, they knelt down with a thud and presented the account books from the pharmacy back then.
Lu Xiaoyun took the account book. On the 26th day of the eighth month of the seventh year of the Jiahe reign of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Mother Wei bought a medicine at Huichuntang.
On the same day, he bought one medicine each from two pharmacies, Jishetang and Miaoshoutang.
The Duke of Zhenguo sent someone to invite Elder Hong over.
When Hong Lao saw the three herbs, he was shocked: "Your Highnesses, Duke, each of these three herbs is a potent medicine!"
"What would happen if it were given to a pregnant woman who is about to give birth?" Lu Xiaoyun asked.
Old Master Hong shook his head repeatedly: "Absolutely not! Just one small bowl of it will surely cause the pregnant woman to bleed to death, and if things go wrong, it will be a double tragedy!"
The original owner, Lu Xiaoyun, was born on the 28th day of the eighth month of the seventh year of the Jiahe era of the Great Zhou Dynasty. She prepared these three medicines two days in advance.
The guard pointed to one of the old women: "She was the midwife who delivered Madam Lu's baby back then."
Fang did deal with some people, but her abilities and financial resources were limited, and she couldn't possibly get rid of everyone.
Turning the ledgers to the back, there were no problems with Jishetang and Miaoshoutang.
However, a clue was found in Huichuntang's account books: on the third day of the second month of the eleventh year of Zhou Jiahe, Wei's mother went to Huichuntang to buy a medicine.
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