Chapter 438: Noise (Part 2)

Did Yuanniang cause Tong's miscarriage?

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

When she was in the courtyard, she discovered that the relationship between Xu Lingyi and Yuanniang had reached the point where they were at loggerheads and incompatible.

It is certainly not any one person's responsibility that the marriage has come to this point.

At that time, Xu Lingyi was successful and in a high position. The former made him very confident in what he did... because this was the reason for his success. How could such a person think that his own sacrifice or way of doing things was wrong or insufficient? The latter made him surrounded by people who flattered and fawned on him. Most of the time, others would follow his preferences, so that he could act according to his wishes without having to look at other people's faces. With such habits, how could he tolerate, retreat, and wrong himself?

She married without any hope.

In this society where the husband is the wife's bond, the only way to avoid drowning in this marriage is to adapt to him. He will never adapt to you.

What happened next was somewhat beyond her expectations.

Xu Lingyi is not a petty person. Although he doesn't talk much, he is willing to listen to you as long as what you say makes sense.

She had always wondered how his marriage with Yuanniang had come to that point. What irreconcilable contradictions had occurred between Xu Lingyi and Yuanniang...

Could it be that the death of pregnant Aunt Tong was the root cause?

As the thought flashed through her mind, she immediately realized that there was a big loophole in Aunt Yi's words.

Putting aside Aunt Yi's current stance, let's just say that back then, Xu Lingyi was in his hometown with an uncertain future, and Yuanniang had no children. Normally, those concubines who were pregnant with children should have been the ones to be protected by the whole household - because giving birth to children not only meant that the Xu family had successors, but also that Yuanniang would have someone to rely on if anything happened to Xu Lingyi during the three-year mourning period. Why did she choose to take action at that critical moment?

Moreover, there were also Concubine Wen and Concubine Qin at that time. In comparison, although Concubine Wen's birth was also low, it was higher than Concubine Tong and Concubine Qin who were born as maids. If it was just to establish authority, Concubine Wen should be the first choice. Why did he only harm Concubine Tong?

Shiyi Niang suddenly thought of the day when Xu Lingyi mentioned that he was sorry to Aunt Tong after drinking...

She was a little confused.

A thought that she had always ignored kept popping up in her mind.

Or maybe Aunt Tong has a special meaning to Xu Lingyi, which is why she is not tolerated by Yuanniang?

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but look at Aunt Yi.

Then I saw a pair of eyes that were anxious to the point of being red.

She shuddered, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured down on her, and a chill permeated her whole body.

What time is it now? Why am I making groundless guesses based on a few words from Aunt Yi?

She calmed down her emotions and soon regained her senses.

How could Qin Yi Niang, a maidservant who was a concubine, take advantage of the situation and kill Tong Yi Niang under the nose of the shrewd and capable Madam Tao? And how did Yuan Niang, the wife of the Marquis of Yongping, who was in charge of the reward at the time, bear the blame?

There are so many women and servants in the house and so many factions. Is it possible that there is not even a little clue?

Thinking about the respect Xu Lingyi had given Aunt Qin over the years...Shiyi Niang felt that Aunt Yi's words were worth pondering!

"Madam Yi!" She looked at Madam Yi who was held behind Amber with a disapproving expression, "You don't have to bully me because I'm young and think I don't know what happened back then and talk nonsense here. My sister is kind and generous, and the Xu family was in trouble at that time, so how could she harm a concubine..."

"Fourth Madam, I didn't lie to you. I really didn't lie to you." Seeing that Eleventh Lady didn't believe her, Aunt Yi became anxious, "Aunt Qin once told me this in person!"

How could Aunt Qin, who didn't even tell the truth to her personal maid Cui'er, tell Aunt Yi about what she did in the past and give her an excuse?

Eleventh Lady was very suspicious.

The most unbearable thing for people in this world is loneliness, and there is always a way to comfort oneself. Perhaps, this is the kind of friendship between her and Yi Niangniang.

"I've told you before," she said slowly, "you have to speak with facts!"

Seeing that Shiyi Niang's expression had eased, Yi Niang was delighted and said hurriedly, "Madam, think about it, if Qin Niang hadn't harmed Tong Niang, why would Qin Niang secretly light a long-burning lamp for Tong Niang in Ciyuan Temple, and keep it lit for more than ten years? If she hadn't done something wrong to Tong Niang, why would she hold a ceremony for Tong Niang every year during the first year of the Chinese New Year, praying to the Bodhisattva to bless her to be reborn, without interruption for decades? And every time we talk about Tong Niang, she keeps silent..."

Eleventh Lady was not very clear about these things.

But this does not prove that Aunt Qin harmed Aunt Tong.

"I heard that Aunt Tong entered the mansion two years earlier than Aunt Qin," Shiyi Niang pondered, "After Aunt Qin entered the Marquis's house, Aunt Tong took care of her, and the two had a very good relationship. Aunt Tong died a violent death. Aunt Qin hoped that Aunt Tong would reincarnate as soon as possible to escape from suffering and complete the sisterhood, which is not too much! How can you say that Aunt Qin killed Aunt Tong because of these?" She added, "Since you said that Aunt Qin once told you about this, what was the situation at that time? How did Aunt Qin kill Aunt Tong? How did she frame my eldest sister? I think you know it very clearly. You might as well tell me in detail, so that we won't all guess about this and that, but there is nothing worth pondering!"

"I, I, I..." Aunt Yi avoided her eyes.

Qin Yi Niang was a person that no one trusted except herself, so how could she say these things to her. If she hadn't had any children and the Third Madam was harsh to others, she would not have wanted to save money for her coffin, and she would not have been moved by Qin Yi Niang's few hundred taels of silver and introduced her to Zhu Dao Po. She thought that with Qin Yi Niang's cautious character, she would never be discovered, but she was so bold that she personally took action to scare the prince, which led to the situation today...

Now that everything has been revealed, if she doesn't want to do anything, even if Xu Lingyi spares her life for the sake of brotherhood and sends her to Shanyang, given the relationship between her and the Third Master, the Third Master will probably punish her personally to give Xu Lingyi an explanation. Her only hope now is to arouse Shiyi Niang's dissatisfaction with Qin Yi Niang. When she pushes the responsibility onto Qin Yi Niang, Shiyi Niang will help her say a few words in front of Xu Lingyi in order to strike Qin Yi Niang down. With Xu Lingyi's respect for the principal wife, she may still have a chance of survival.

Aunt Qin never told her about these things, so how could she have any real evidence!

Aunt Yi couldn't help sweating profusely.

In a hurry, she suddenly remembered something.

"Madam!" She cheered up as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw, "What Aunt Tong lost back then was a baby boy!"

Eleventh Lady was surprised.

This was the first time she heard of this!

"A baby boy?"

When the Xu family needed a son the most, they gave birth to a baby boy...

"Not bad!" Aunt Yi looked at Shiyi Niang's expression, and her heart was filled with hope again. "If you don't believe it, you can ask the old lady. The old lady was also there at the time. And the second lady also knew. If the child of the middle lady was born safely, he would be the eldest son, and there would be no place for Aunt Qin! Aunt Qin wanted to harm Aunt Tong for this reason. Yes, she wanted to harm Aunt Tong for this reason." Aunt Yi became more and more certain, "Aunt Qin also pretended to have a miscarriage, so she was sent to the second lady by the old lady, and the second lady took care of her personally."

"At that time, Aunt Tong was only four months pregnant, right?" Eleventh Lady looked at her gently and said, "How did Aunt Qin know that Aunt Tong was pregnant with a boy?" She added, "If I remember correctly, the Third Madam was also pregnant. I wonder where Aunt Yi was? What was she doing? Could it be that she wasn't serving the Third Madam? How did the people in the Third Madam know so much about the Fourth Madam's affairs?"

There was sweat on Aunt Yi's temples.

"I, I heard it from our Third Madam." She stammered, "The Third Madam said that it was because of this that the Madam Tai had always been somewhat dissatisfied with the late Fourth Madam. She felt that the late Fourth Madam was short-sighted, narrow-minded, intolerant, and only cared about her own small family, not a big family..." When she said this, she suddenly saw Eleventh Lady smile slightly, and an idea flashed in her mind. She immediately felt that she had said something wrong and was speechless. "No, but, Madam Tai, Madam Tai was still, still quite good to the late Fourth Madam. She dealt with all those who knew that Aunt Tong was punished. Later, she accompanied the late Fourth Madam to seek medical treatment everywhere, and that's how the Fourth Young Master came into being..."

Aunt Yi's incoherent words reveal a lot of information.

Eleventh Lady's mind was spinning rapidly. She said "Oh" and interrupted her coldly, asking, "According to what you said, my sister had punished Aunt Tong in the past, and Aunt Tong's miscarriage was related to this, right?"

Wrong words again!

Aunt Yi wished she could bite off her tongue.

"It's not to punish Aunt Tong." She argued in a panic, "It's to set rules. Set rules for the aunts!"

"Nonsense." Eleventh Lady's expression froze, and she looked at her coldly, "Can the rules be set to the point of killing a four-month-old baby? What kind of rules are those? Why is Madam Wen fine? Why is Madam Qin fine? But Madam Tong's child is gone?"

Aunt Yi's heart was pounding as she watched.

I don't usually have any contact with this Fourth Lady, but I never thought she would be so troublesome. It's better to get over these unclear things as soon as possible, otherwise, if I keep going on about them, when will it end?

While thinking, she had already shouted out her grievances: "Fourth Madam, Madam Wen was a concubine who was brought in officially. She was placed in the west wing in the backyard right after she entered the house, and was provided with maids and old women to serve her, unlike Madam Tong and Madam Qin who were born as maids. Although Madam Tong was later promoted to a concubine, she still lived in the warm room with Madam Qin. She moved to the east wing in the backyard with Madam Qin only after she became pregnant. After three months, she began to set rules in the house like when she was a maid. Others may not know these things, but Madam Tao knows them. Even if Madam Tao hesitates and does not tell the truth, there is still Madam Wen. She lived in the west wing at that time. Others may not know, but she knows it best!"