Chapter 87 Chapter 87 The old lady dared to be angry but not to speak.
Jasmine always has trouble sleeping in a strange place.
But strangely enough, she adapted quickly from the first day she moved into the small courtyard of the Duke's Mansion, to the main courtyard two days later.
Other than that, no matter where it was, it took her a long time to get used to it.
Jasmine didn't know how many times she tossed and turned in bed. When she seemed to be falling asleep, she was suddenly awakened by something.
She sat up and listened carefully, only to find it was completely dark and silent. She had no choice but to lie back down.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already dawn.
When Jasmine arrived at the living room, she found that the old lady and the others were already dressed and ready, just waiting for her.
In consideration of her meritorious service yesterday, the old lady did not get angry and just said, "Let's go."
Jasmine couldn't help but ask, "Mother, is the letter still there?"
The old lady wanted to slap her. "I'm sorry to disappoint the Duke's wife. The letter wasn't lost, it's still with me."
Many of the Xu family's elders live in a manor outside Xuzhou. After the old lady got off the boat yesterday, she sent someone to inform the Xu family's eldest elder that she would be paying a visit tomorrow.
She also asked the Great Elder to gather all the other elders of the Xu family early in the morning, and she would explain the reason for her visit then.
Of course she didn't say it, but the elders all knew it.
When the old lady arrived at the manor, the elders of the Xu family had already gathered.
Except for a few, many elders sat motionless. The old lady did not care. She greeted them one by one, briefly explained her purpose, then took out a wooden box containing a letter from her sleeve and handed it to the chief elder for inspection.
"...This is my father's suicide note. I'm a married woman, and if the Xu family were safe, I wouldn't have cared much. But now, with one disaster after another happening to the Xu family, they've fallen further and further into decline, less than half the glory they enjoyed when my father was alive, especially with so many properties being sold off and ceded. I can no longer disobey my father's wishes and sit idly by. Today, I ask all my uncles to bear witness for me."
"As long as the letter is truly written by your father, everything will be fine."
"yes."
"That's right."
Jasmine quietly looked at the elders seated on both sides. She didn't know if it was because she was petty, but she always felt that the elders were not sincere in nodding their heads.
Especially the elder with triangular eyes who said, "The letter was written by your father." Logically, he didn't know that the letter was fake, so why did he say that?
Did he know the letter was fake?
No, the letter is obviously true.
Jasmine's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly looked at the letter that the Great Elder had taken out of the mailbox.
The letter, written twenty or thirty years ago, had a sallow tinge. Jasmine turned to look at the old lady, but she didn't see anything unusual on her face. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that she was overthinking it.
The letter slowly unfolded in the hands of the Great Elder.
The elder's gray brows slowly furrowed, and he asked the old lady uncertainly, "Did you take the wrong one?"
Jasmine looked up in surprise when she heard this.
The old lady was also confused: "I didn't take the wrong one. It's this one. What's wrong?"
"Think about it again. But you're wrong?"
The elder asked again in a deep voice, and the old lady realized something was wrong. She hurriedly took the letter and found that the two pages of letter paper that she had been waiting to read were blank.
The old lady couldn't believe it, thinking that she was dazzled. She turned the letter over again, but after turning it over and over several times, she couldn't find a single word.
Even though the other elders' eyesight was blurry, they could still see the white piece of letter paper.
It was still the elder with the triangular eyes who spoke up, "Are you here, old lady, to play a trick on us old guys today?"
"How is it possible? How is it possible?" The old lady continued to flip through the letter.
Nanny Qian came forward and grabbed the old lady's hand with a look of grief, saying, "Madam, this must have been switched!"
"Yes, it must have been switched last night. You should have received this letter, Great Elder. My father must have given it to you. Please say something." The old lady was terrified and looked at the Great Elder anxiously.
The Great Elder nodded: "Indeed..."
After saying only two words, the Great Elder looked at the elders below who were staring at him in disbelief and could not speak any more.
Turning around, the Great Elder said to the Old Lady with difficulty, "Without evidence, what's the point?"
The old lady collapsed.
Madam Qian fell to the ground as well, unable to support her. Fortunately, Jasmine was quick to support the old lady on the other side.
Jasmine looked up at the Great Elder and asked, "The old marquis must have gone beyond the Great Elder to discuss this matter. Are there no other elders who can testify? As long as more than half of the elders come forward to testify that this incident is indeed true, then the East Warehouse can surely be taken over by the Old Madam."
The Great Elder looked around again.
Jasmine followed the Great Elder and looked around. All the elders were watching, their eyes and noses focused, as if this matter had nothing to do with them. Jasmine could not understand this.
They returned to the villa in shame.
Jasmine didn't even wait to sit down before speaking directly, "Those old guys must have colluded with Master Xu a long time ago. Even if the Great Elder wanted to stand on Mother's side, he knows that fighting alone is futile, so he'll eventually compromise."
The old lady was furious and resentful, and her head was dizzy. She leaned on Madam Qian's arms and muttered: "It must be him, there is no one else but him... It must be, it must be..."
The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she became. After a while, the old lady suddenly sat up, waved away Jasmine who was leaning in front of her, and shouted outside, "Come on, go! Go to the Marquis' Mansion and bring Xu Laoer to me! I don't believe that he will not confess even if I torture him to death!"
"Yes, madam!" The leader of the guards took the order and ran out.
Jasmine asked Tao'er, "Did the old lady keep the mailbox on her last night? Did she take it away because it was uncomfortable?"
Tao Er shook her head: "No. The old lady has been keeping the letter box."
After Tao'er finished speaking, Madam Qian corrected her: "No, the old lady didn't keep it in her pocket all the time. When she fell asleep, the letter box was placed on the bedside."
Jasmine thought about it and asked again, "Who were the people on duty last night? Go and get them all here."
After a while, four maids and six guards came in.
Jasmine said in a soft but resounding voice, "I'm asking a question now. Whoever I ask gets to answer. No one is allowed to interrupt."
"yes."
"Was there anything unusual last night? Let me start with you."
The rightmost maid lowered her head and said, "Last night, this servant was on guard for the first half of the night, and Xiu Huang was on guard for the second half. Until the handover, this servant did not notice anything unusual."
"In the second half of the night, I didn't notice anything unusual. Oh, by the way, the old lady only got up once and asked for hot water. But I wasn't the one fetching the water. When it was fetched, I handed it in. I really didn't notice anything unusual."
"...I will be guarding the door. If anyone comes in or out, it will be impossible for us to fail to notice."
“…”
Jasmine thought for a moment and asked, "Did anyone enter or leave the old lady's bedroom last night? I'm not talking about strangers, Madam Qian counts as well."
Jasmine looked at the rightmost maid, who said, "It's just Madam Qian and Sister Tao'er, no one else."
Aunt Qian was puzzled. "There's no suspicious person coming in or out, so how could the letter be replaced? Did someone sneak in through the window? Or did they dig a tunnel? Go, two people, go into the bedroom and take a look."
There was no time to think about anything else at this moment, and the two guards immediately entered the old lady's bedroom.
The old lady wanted to go and see too, and was supported by Nanny Qian as she followed behind, watching the guards search through all the boxes and cabinets, but found nothing.
Jasmine said, "Where's the mailbox? Bring it over and have a look."
Tao'er looked at Madam Qian, who said anxiously, "What are you standing there for? Why don't you show it to the Second Madam?"
Tao'er hurriedly took out the mailbox from her sleeve and handed it to Jasmine with trembling hands.
Jasmine quickly glanced at Tao'er and looked down at the mailbox in her hand.
There was nothing unusual about the mailbox. Jasmine thought it was the same one the old lady was showing off. She opened the mailbox but didn't rush to take out the letter. Instead, she carefully examined every inch of the box.
She sniffed again, then took out the letter and unfolded it, but it was still blank.
Jasmine held up the blank piece of letter paper and approached the old lady. "Mother, do you find anything unusual about this letter?"
Before the old lady could say anything, she continued, "What I'm asking is whether the smell, color, and folding of the letter paper are the same?"
The old lady looked at the letter and shook her head for a long time.
Jasmine's eyes lit up, and she heard the old lady say, "There is a difference."
Madam Qian beat her chest and stamped her feet. "This shameless fellow must have made preparations long ago. I'm afraid he's already hidden a blank piece of paper and is taking this opportunity to replace the original with a fake one!"
When the old lady heard what Nanny Qian said, she became angry again and slammed the table and wiped her tears.
Jasmine didn't respond, but only asked, "Where should the mailbox be placed beside the bed?"
Nanny Qian supported the old lady with one hand and pointed above the pillow inside the bed with the other. "Right here. I know the old lady is afraid of being robbed while she's asleep, so she always hides here and props it up with a pillow. If anyone comes to take it, she'll know immediately."
Jasmine's chilling voice echoed behind him: "If I was drugged, how would my mother know?"
Everyone looked at Jasmine in shock.
The old lady and Nanny Qian both stared at her in disbelief.
Jasmine: "Was it Aunt Qian who accompanied Mother last night?"
Aunt Qian shook her head: "It's Tao'er."
Jasmine raised her eyebrows and looked at Taoer.
Tao'er said, "It was me. But if someone tried to knock the old lady unconscious, I would definitely be the one to be killed. But I was afraid that the old lady would need to drink water or change clothes during the night, so I never dared to fall asleep. I can confirm that I was awake and there was nothing unusual in the bedroom last night."
The old lady and Nanny Qian were only confused and distressed when they heard this. Nanny Qian said: "No one came in. It's impossible that the words on the letter disappeared on their own."
The old lady said firmly, "Impossible! Others wouldn't know what they saw, but you saw the letter. My father wrote me two full pages, covered in ink. How is that possible?"
Madam Qian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I am talking nonsense. The letter must have been swapped!"
Jasmine was still sizing up Tao'er, and she said lightly, "Could that be you?"
No one reacted, except Tao'er, who looked up and said excitedly, "How could the Second Madam doubt this servant?"
Tao Er looked at the old lady again and said, "I have been following her since I was little. She was afraid that I would be tortured if I stayed in the Marquis' Mansion because of my young age, so she brought me with her. Even if I die, I will never betray her in this life!"
The old lady said angrily: "Tao'er, that's impossible."
Madam Qian: "Did the Second Madam make a mistake?"
Jasmine still stared at Tao'er with a half-smile on her face: "Yes, the old lady is so good to you, why do you want to hurt her feelings?"
"I said I'm not a slave!"
Jasmine threatened: "Why are you so fierce? Don't think you are right just because you are fierce."
The old lady couldn't bear it any longer: "Who told you to scare her?"
Jasmine stared at Tao'er. "Look how good the old lady treats you. Don't tell me I don't know, just tell me what I've seen with my own eyes. Your daily food, clothing, and shelter at the Duke's Mansion are all very respectable. Many times I've brought snacks to the old lady, and she's always said, 'Give Tao'er a taste.' Seeing that you like them, she won't give them to anyone else, letting you take the whole plate. But what about your parents?"
The old lady and Madam Qian listened anxiously, both thinking that Jasmine was going too far. The old lady was about to yell "Shut up" when she heard her mention Tao'er's parents.
The old lady and Nanny Qian looked at each other, their expressions no longer necessary.
They both knew that although Jasmine liked to talk nonsense and tell lies, she would never bother about irrelevant things.
She actually mentioned Tao'er's parents, which must have been prepared. Once again, the old lady had to admit that she was indeed smart. Could it really be related to Tao'er?
Jasmine: "Have your parents ever come to see you? Did they write you a letter? No, they definitely did. But I'm afraid they asked you for money. Think about it, is that right or not?"
Tao'er buried her head lower and lower, and no one could see her expression clearly.
Jasmine continued, "Do you know what will happen to your beloved old lady without the old marquis's letter? Yes, she is still the old lady of the Duke's Mansion. But you know better than anyone the suffering she has endured over the years. If this incident were to get out, I'm afraid everyone in Daqi would laugh at her wishful thinking and try to seize her brothers' property. The old lady's reputation is already bad, and I'm afraid she won't be able to face people in the future."
Jasmine shook her head and continued, "But in my opinion, shamelessness is nothing. If it were me, I could still walk around in front of people for the rest of my life without shame. But what do you think the old lady will do? At her age, she's not only in physical pain, but she also has to endure the pain in her heart. You never know when she'll become overwhelmed."
The old lady glared at Jasmine, thinking to herself, "Who can be so depressed? Even if you are depressed, I won't be depressed either!"
Do you want to make her sound so pitiful and miserable? The old lady couldn't stand it any longer and was about to tell her to shut up when she heard a "thump". She turned around and looked at Tao'er in disbelief.
"I don't want to do this, I really don't want to do this, but they are my father, mother and brothers. I can't watch them die, old lady!"
Tao'er crawled over and hugged the old lady's legs, crying: "In my heart, the old lady is the most important. The old lady believes in Tao'er..."
The old lady looked at Tao'er helplessly: "You mean, it's really you? Did I hear it wrong?"
"The old lady heard correctly. The truth has been revealed. It was Tao'er who did it."
Jasmine gestured to Shancha to pull Tao'er away. "Speak clearly. I'll spare your life in consideration of your years of service to the old lady. Otherwise, you'll suffer."
Tao'er had never been frightened by the old lady's harsh words, but when she heard what Jasmine said, her shoulders shrank.
He quickly explained the whole story.
Taoer was threatened by Master Xu, who threatened her family's lives. Taoer was unwilling to obey, but Master Xu sent someone to give Taoer a hand. Taoer recognized it as her father's and agreed immediately.
It happened that she was on duty that night. Tao'er lit a piece of calming incense in the incense burner. After the old lady fell asleep, she dripped the medicine given by Mr. Xu into the mailbox.
She took the potion bottle away and threw it away, but after several hours of evaporation, the potion completely removed the ink stains.
When the old lady got up early, she opened the mailbox and took a look. Seeing that the letter paper was still the same as before, she didn't think much about it. She put the mailbox in her sleeve and set out to meet the elders.
After listening to Tao'er's story, the old lady slapped her. "Am I not good enough to you? You, a lowly servant, are trying to harm me?"
Tao'er prostrated herself on the ground and begged, "I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Please spare my life, old lady!"
"I shouldn't have brought you with me in the first place. I deserve it!"
Nanny Qian pinched Tao'er harshly, then turned around and calmed the old lady down: "Don't be angry, it's not worth it. Right now we still have to find a way to get the East Storehouse back."
The old lady nodded: "That's right. We have to get the handwriting on the letter back."
Upon hearing this, Madam Qian pinched Tao'er's arm again and said, "Tell me, how can we restore the handwriting?"
"pain!"
"You have to tell me even if it hurts!"
"I don't know. Master Xu's confidant only told me to drop the potion on the letter paper and didn't say anything else..."
The old lady thought there might be something written on the bottle, so she asked quickly, "Where's the bottle containing the potion?"
Tao'er: "I...I threw it away..."
Aunt Qian increased the strength of her hands and said, "Where is Reng? Tell me quickly!"
"I threw it into the lake..."
"It's over." The old lady leaned back in her chair in frustration.
Nanny Qian was at a loss as to what to do, and turned around and pinched Tao'er several times in frustration.
Nanny Qian was thinking of something and looked at Jasmine eagerly: "Second Madam is very smart. I wonder if she has any ideas?"
Hearing this, the old lady also looked at Jasmine.
Jasmine said sweetly, "My mother and I are family. I am willing to die for her."
The old lady regretted looking at her. But right now, she was truly helpless. "Stop talking nonsense. If I can get the East Warehouse back, just ask for whatever you want."
"Mother, you're joking. My daughter-in-law is not that kind of person." Seeing that the old lady's face was getting more and more anxious, Jasmine decided to stop while she was ahead.
"Even if we could restore the ink on the letter, Master Xu wouldn't be able to tell us how. Especially since we've only heard of this potion that can make the ink disappear, but we've never seen it before. It might be impossible to restore it, and our search would likely be futile. It would be better to create another letter."
Madam Qian: "But this letter from the old marquis was written thirty years ago. If I forge a copy, I'm afraid it will be discovered, right?"
"It's okay as long as no one notices." Jasmine looked calm, shocking everyone.
Jasmine was too lazy to waste any more words and just said, "Leave it to me." Then she opened the mailbox, took out the letter paper and spread it out on the table.
"What do you want to do?" the old lady asked anxiously.
"It's a letter. It's not good to use brand new stationery. It's not like all the elders have poor eyesight."
Jasmine said this, walking around the room with the letter paper until she came to a window where sunlight was pouring in.
"You two, bring the table over here. Shancha is grinding ink."
After they sat down at the table, Shancha handed the pen dipped in ink to Jasmine, and Jasmine started writing immediately.
The old lady thought she was joking. She hurriedly stopped her, "Wait! I'm not stupid. The letter paper is the original one, but didn't you forget that the ink is new? Anyone can tell by the smell without even looking."
Jasmine: "As long as it's exposed to the wind and sun for a few days, it should be fine."
"Wait a minute!" The old lady couldn't help but roll her eyes. "But your handwriting isn't my father's either. Just like you said, the elders aren't blind."
The old lady sighed and said, "Besides, do you know what you are going to write before you start writing?" The old lady was so angry that her voice was a little out of tune.
Jasmine wrote the first word amid the old lady's slippery and out-of-tune voice. The old lady almost fainted: "Go quickly, stop her!"
Nanny Qian took the order and quickly walked over to Jasmine: "Second Madam, you should..."
Nanny Qian suddenly stopped talking, her face full of surprise. After a while, she hurried back to the old lady and whispered to her.
Immediately, the old lady's face was filled with disbelief. Then, supported by Madam Qian, the old lady came to Jasmine's side.
When the old lady saw the handwriting on the letter, tears filled her eyes. She seemed to see the scene when the old marquis was writing in front of her when she was a child.
The old lady and Madam Qian stood beside Jasmine, motionless and silent. An unknown amount of time passed, and as the sunlight shifted, Jasmine paused. The old lady glanced and saw she hadn't finished. She heard her say, "Someone, help me move the desk outside."
The old lady didn't know what she was doing all of a sudden, but she just followed the table.
It was almost evening, and Jasmine was writing furiously as the sun was setting.
Yes, the old lady saw her writing furiously!
The old lady wanted to lean over to take a closer look, but before she could see clearly, she was scolded: "Go away, you're blocking my light."
The old lady dared to be angry but not to speak.
Until Jasmine stopped writing again. She even let out an exaggerated breath and sat back in her chair.
Shancha cleverly brought her a cup of tea and massaged her shoulders and arms.
The old lady then stepped forward and took a look at the contents of the letter. She was dumbfounded again.
"This is... my father's... How is this possible?"
Jasmine, fearing she might scare the old lady, told her the truth: "The potion only removes the ink, but it can't erase all traces. The strength of the old marquis's brushstrokes, the marks left by the ink, are still there. As long as we hold it up to the sunlight, we can see the marks clearly, and then we can copy it."
"Madam, we've done it!"
Nanny Qian grabbed the old lady's arm. The old lady was speechless and kept nodding, extremely excited.
Jasmine was exhausted after a long time and suggested going back to her room to rest. At the moment, the old lady was only thinking about how to teach Master Xu a lesson, so she nodded amiably and said nothing else.
The Fourth Young Master's wife followed him out. Ever since the Fourth Master's accident, the Fourth Young Master's wife had become particularly taciturn, but now she was genuinely curious. Seeing Jasmine turn around and greet her, she asked, "How did you do that?"
Jasmine wanted to say that her explanation was not clear enough, but then she realized that was not what she was asking.
"Fourth sister-in-law asked me how I found out Tao'er was a spy?"
The fourth young master's wife nodded.
Jasmine smiled slyly: "I didn't find anything, I was just guessing. Fourth brother's wife is fine, I'm going back."
Jasmine did not explain further. Seeing the Fourth Young Master's wife nod again, she turned around and left.
"With her around, I'm afraid I'll never be able to make a name for myself in this mansion." The Fourth Young Master's wife murmured.
When Ting'er heard this, she worriedly advised, "But Madam, the old lady won't agree to you, and my family won't agree either. What can we do? You can't do anything stupid!"
Ting'er knelt down in front of her. The Fourth Young Master's wife looked at her coldly: "Don't worry, do you think I have that kind of ability? Who can deal with her?"
The fourth young master's wife said this and left.
Shancha had never imagined that her wife, the Duke's wife, could win Tao'er over with just her words! She was incredibly impressed.
"I thought Madam was the mastermind and had Tao'er's weakness long ago. I said, how could that be possible?"
"You seem to be getting dumber."
Shancha's smile disappeared: "What do you mean, Madam?"
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