Chapter 429 Friendship (Part 2)
At this time, a maid was sent over!
Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang were both a little surprised.
Eleventh Lady thought that Madam Wen was also a member of the main house, and her heart moved slightly. She ordered the little maid: "Let her in!"
The little maid responded and brought Donghong in.
"My Lord, Madam." She trembled with fear, her eyes only looking at Xu Lingyi with a frightened look.
Eleventh Lady smiled at Xu Lingyi and beckoned to Donghong: "Come, come to my side."
Donghong walked up to Shiyi Niang as if she was facing an abyss.
"Madam Wen asked you to come and see me!" Eleventh Lady took her hand affectionately.
Donghong nodded hurriedly and her eyes moved towards Xu Lingyi again.
Xu Lingyi didn't understand. He coughed and went to the east room.
Donghong saw that she and Shiyi Niang were the only ones in the room, and she felt relieved. She couldn't help but let out a long sigh and whispered in Shiyi Niang's ear: "My aunt told me to just tell Madam. A few days ago, Aunt Qin asked her to help her exchange a lot of gold. In just two or three months, the total amount was more than two hundred taels. I don't know what Aunt Qin wants so much silver for?"
Shiyi Niang was slightly startled. Seeing Donghong carefully looking at her, she quickly smiled and said, "Go tell Aunt Wen that I know."
Donghong felt relieved, smiled, knelt down, saluted, and retreated.
Xu Lingyi comes in.
Shiyi Niang told Xu Lingyi what Donghong said.
When Xu Lingyi heard this, his brows furrowed tightly: "Qin?"
"Hmm!" Eleventh Lady groaned, "Madam Wen has always been very good at dealing with people. Delivering such a message at this time, I'm afraid it's not that simple!"
Xu Lingyi nodded slightly and was about to say something when he heard hurried footsteps outside.
The little maid guarding outside the door just called out "Fifth Master" when the curtain was lifted and Xu Lingkuan rushed in.
His head and body were wet, and his face was ashen. As soon as he entered the room, he called out "Fourth Brother" with a slight purse of his lips. Just as he was about to say something, he looked up and saw Eleventh Lady. He pursed his lips and swallowed the words. Then his expression paused slightly, and he slowed down his voice and respectfully called out "Fourth Sister-in-law".
"Fifth Master!" Eleventh Lady greeted her with a smile and told Amber to serve tea.
Xu Lingkuan looked at Xu Lingyi, a hint of anxiety flashing in his eyes, and it was obvious that he had something important to say to Xu Lingyi.
"I'll tell the maid to get a basin of hot water for Fifth Master to wipe his face!" Eleventh Lady knew what was going on and found an excuse to go to the east room.
As soon as she stood still, she heard a "bang" from inside, the sound of falling porcelain.
"What did you say!" Xu Lingyi's deep voice was as thick as a dense dark cloud. Even through the curtain one could feel the oppression from being pressed down by it.
Eleventh Lady's heart shuddered, and she tilted her ear to listen, but she only heard a series of unclear syllables uttered by Xu Lingkuan.
Amber had already brought in the little maid with some hot water.
Shiyi Niang signaled her not to go in, and the two of them stayed in the east room.
As the hot steam from the copper basin gradually dissipated, the curtains dropped lightly, and there was still no movement in the room.
Eleventh Lady was secretly anxious and couldn't help but think of all sorts of things.
What did Xu Lingkuan find out? It could make the usually calm Xu Lingyi so angry. It has not appeared for such a long time. Is the evidence against Yanrong? Or against Concubine Qin? Or has there been a new discovery? And Concubine Wen, who anxiously asked Donghong to pass on this message to me, is she reminding me to pay special attention to Concubine Qin? What did Concubine Wen find out? If I ask her, I wonder if she will tell me everything... If Concubine Qin really did it, how did she do it?
She thought of Aunt Tong's death, Xu Lingyi's words "I'm a jade girl" when he held her, Qiu Luo's death, Qiu Luo's son's death, and even Yuan Niang's death... In the past, she thought that as long as she didn't curiously flip through those yellowed memories, these things would slowly disappear with the passage of time. But now, it seems as if there is a thread that connects the past and the future, making it impossible to escape or avoid.
While he was thinking, the curtain was opened with a swish. Xu Lingyi and Xu Lingkuan, both with solemn expressions, walked out one after the other.
"My Lord!" Eleventh Lady stood up involuntarily, with some worry in her eyes.
Xu Lingyi saw it clearly, nodded to her in a comforting tone, and said, "Xiaowu found a little man with a needle stuck in it, with my brother's birth date written on it, next to the steps at my mother's back door."
Witch!
The first name that came to Eleventh Lady's mind was Aunt Qin.
She looked at Xu Lingyi inquiringly.
Xu Lingyi's eyes were cold and his expression was stiff, and it was impossible to tell whether he was sad or happy.
Xu Lingkuan's eyes dimmed slightly.
"Sister-in-law, this matter involves a lot of things." He whispered, "You are pregnant now, don't worry about these messy things, I and Brother are here to take care of it! It's getting late, you should go to bed early!"
Eleventh Lady bit her lip.
Finding the villain with the needles was completely different from pretending to be a ghost to scare people. Even if the prince was involved, he would be deposed. No wonder Xu Lingyi was furious. It was indeed not appropriate for him to intervene in this matter!
She nodded to the Xu brothers and was about to speak out her position, but Xu Lingyi, who looked cold and sullen, suddenly explained to her: "Those things must be hidden in a secret place. The best way is to search the house carefully. But if you just search randomly like this, you may not find anything. That would be a big joke. Let's ask the lady to call Yi Niang to ask her if she knows anything!"
Eleventh Lady understood immediately.
Although they suspected Qin Yi Niang, it was just suspicion after all. They dug deep to find evidence, that was their duty. If they could not find any evidence, it would be because the Xu brothers were incompetent. Maybe there would be rumors that the Xu brothers did this to clear Shiyi Niang and frame Qin Yi Niang. How would Xu Siyu, who was far away in Le'an, feel if he knew about this? Moreover, they would be making trouble, and they might never find the caster of the witchcraft.
The best way was to start with Yi Niang, who was on good terms with Qin Niang. However, Yi Niang was from the third wife's family, so it was not appropriate for the brothers to ask her in person. They had to ask the Tai Madam to come forward. Even though Yi Niang was wrongly accused, it was the Tai Madam who asked her to come for questioning. Not to mention Yi Niang was the concubine of one of her sons, even if it was the Third Madam, the Tai Madam could only endure the grievances given by her, and it would not be too rude.
Since the lady is going to come forward, who will take care of the unconscious Xu Sizhen?
Eleventh Lady pondered: "What about Brother Zhe..."
"Mother Du is here." Xu Lingyi said, "You should take a good rest! Don't fall down again before that guy wakes up!"
Xu Sizhen's kick always made him feel uneasy.
That's right. Everyone is busy right now, so not causing any trouble for them is helping them.
"Then I'll have to trouble the Marquis and the Fifth Master!" Eleventh Lady exchanged a few cordial greetings with Xu Lingkuan, and then went to the East Room accompanied by Amber.
With such a big thing happening at home, even a blind man would know to be cautious. The lady's residence was very quiet, and the slightest sound would be amplified.
Eleventh Lady was lying on the beauty couch in the east room. She heard the little maid report, "Madam Yi is here," heard the lady's vague scolding, heard Madam Yi's frightened rebuttal and sorrowful crying... When things quieted down there, it was already Yinzhong the next day.
"Madam, I'll go see what's going on!" Amber's heart was in a knot, hoping that this matter would have a result soon. Otherwise, as time went on, the news of Yan Rong's detention would spread widely, and even if they didn't do it, they would be considered the ones who scared Xu Sizhen.
No matter what time it is, everyone loves gossip. Especially when it comes to the secrets of a wealthy family involving the stepmother and the legitimate son, such as the fight for the title, the inheritance, and the murder, etc. Naturally, the sooner there is a conclusion, the sooner it is settled, and the better it is to control the situation within a certain range.
"Be careful!" Eleventh Lady warned her. "Don't force yourself!"
So as to avoid seeing things that you shouldn’t see or hearing things that you shouldn’t hear, and getting yourself entangled in them.
"That's for sure!" Amber nodded in understanding and tiptoed out of the door.
About half a cup of tea later, she turned back.
"Madam!" Her eyes sparkled, her face full of joy, "The Marquis and the Fifth Master went to visit Aunt Qin."
In this way, Xu Lingyi and Xu Lingyi have already obtained the evidence.
"Oh!" Eleventh Lady perked up and pointed at the small stool in front of the beauty bed, "Tell me quickly, what's going on!"
Amber half sat on a small stool and whispered, "When the Madam loses her temper, Aunt Yi speaks out like a bamboo tube pouring beans. Everything is according to Aunt Yi's words. Aunt Qin has always been thinking about Xu Siyu who is far away in Le'an, so she wanted to ask someone to help Xu Siyu perform a few rituals to bless Xu Siyu to be safe and smooth in a foreign land. Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager fell ill, and Master Jining was invited by the Marquis of Jianning and had no time to spare. Aunt Qin inadvertently said, She thought that Zhu Dao Po, who used to hang out with the mother of the third wife, was good at praying for peace amulets and chanting the mantra for peace of mind. She was highly respected by the mother of the third wife, and her price was much cheaper than that of Master Jining. So she introduced Zhu Dao Po to Aunt Qin. As a result, Aunt Qin and Zhu Dao Po hit it off and often came to live there. Aunt Qin often gave some incense money to Zhu Dao Po's Taoist temple, and Zhu Dao Po helped Xu Siyu light a long-lasting lamp and chanted the mantra for Xu Siyu every morning and evening.
Because Xu Lingyi disliked Qin Yi Niang burning incense and worshipping Buddha, Qin Yi Niang did not dare to bring Zhu Dao Po to live at home, and only saw her at the back door. Sometimes when it was inconvenient, she asked her to help pass on a message or pass on money for incense.
Later, for some reason, Concubine Qin suddenly began to reward Taoist Zhu with hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver. She became suspicious and after several inquiries, she discovered that Concubine Qin had followed Taoist Zhu's instructions and installed several shrines behind the shrine in the warm pavilion.
She was also an expert on these things, and she knew at a glance that it was a formation of witchcraft. She was frightened and trembled with fear. She tried to persuade Qin Yi Niang several times, but Qin Yi Niang did not respond. She wanted to tell the lady about this, but she was afraid of being implicated because she thought that Zhu Dao Po was the one who introduced Qin Yi Niang to her. So she hesitated and dragged on.
Last night, Aunt Qin came to visit her room, and she persuaded Aunt Qin for a long time. Aunt Qin became impatient and left after sitting for less than half a cup of tea.
When Xu Lingyi sent someone to ask, she didn't know what it was about and didn't think much about it, so she just responded vaguely.
"That is to say, this matter has nothing to do with her at all!" Eleventh Lady smiled, with a hint of sarcasm flashing across her lips. "Not only does it have nothing to do with her, she even tried to persuade Concubine Qin with all her heart!"