Meng Qi sat back down. A murder had been committed, yet no one in the palace had heard of it. How had the case been resolved? Knowing he was a servant, the victim couldn't help but come to the Rui Palace to cause trouble. How could it have been so peaceful? Song Chengze was probably completely unaware of it. Even if Madam Hai was the head nanny of the Rui Palace's inner chambers, she wouldn't have been able to keep this matter under wraps without a single word of warning.
Meng Qi rapped the table. Could someone be secretly helping Matron Hai? It must be, and this person must have close ties to the palace.
"Then what?" Yuan Dong asked softly when she saw Meng Qi remained silent.
Wang Chenghai glanced at Meng Qi and continued, "It is said that when he was at home in the west of the city, a family moved in to visit relatives. The daughter of that family was very beautiful. Since he couldn't find any relatives, he simply rented a house and planned to live there for a while to do some work, and then go back home when he had enough money. After a few visits, he took a fancy to the little girl of that family. He told the family that his wife had died and he ran a shop, doing business all over the country. Because he lived in a nice yard, was fair-skinned, and was generous with his money and had servants to serve him, the family mistakenly believed it was true. They thought that since he took a fancy to their daughter, they might as well marry her to him. The money from the betrothal gift would be just enough to cover the money for the trip back home.
"He kept saying yes, but he only gave a small amount of money. When everyone else was out, he cornered the girl in the house. She refused to comply, so he tried to coax her, saying they were going to get married sooner or later, so what did it matter if it was earlier or later? But she was so stubborn that she picked up the teapot and tried to hit him, but he hit her back. She hit the corner of the table and died instantly."
Yuan Dong exclaimed, "Oh my God, he even told that woman all this?"
Wang Chenghai nodded. "When he said this, Jiang Wu's people were listening in the cubicle. Although he was talking nonsense, he was very proud of himself. He also said something regretful, saying that since he was going to die, why not let him live happily before dying?"
Meng Qi snorted. At that time, he must have thought that he had the support of the Rui Palace, so he didn't take this life seriously at all.
"Later, the family returned and saw this scene. The son took a knife and chopped off his arm, shouting that he would report it to the authorities. Only then did he get scared and said that he was from the Rui Palace and his mother was the steward's nanny, but she had been with the Rui Prince since the palace and could offer a lot of money. At first, the family was skeptical, but it happened that Madam Hai went to her house that day and met her. She also agreed to pay the money to settle the matter. The family originally wanted to exchange their daughter for the money, so they thought that the money would be enough. They asked for 1,000 taels, otherwise they would report it to the authorities, and Madam Hai agreed without hesitation."
Yuandong was surprised. One thousand taels? Nanny Hai really dared to agree.
Wang Chenghai thought for a moment and continued, "But at that time, Madam Hai had already been paying off her son's gambling debts, and the family had nothing left. Even if they sold the house, they couldn't raise enough for one thousand taels. At this time, two people came to their house."
Meng Qi looked at Wang Chenghai, sat up straight, and felt that the key point was coming.
"He said he was lying in his room, his arm aching so badly that he couldn't sleep, and he could hear the noises outside clearly. Late at night, a man and a woman came looking for Madam Hai, trying to suppress their voices, so he couldn't hear clearly. He only heard fragments. They told him to just do as she was told and not to worry about the rest. They told him to send him away and not to let anyone know. They also said that after the matter was settled, she would give her 10,000 taels of silver for household expenses. If there was anything else, someone would contact her when she returned to the mansion. She just wanted to know a few things, nothing more. The drug took effect, and he fell asleep. The next day, Madam Hai, with red eyes, told him that the matter was resolved, and she would ask the prince to take him south, and told him not to mention the matter to anyone again. She said that in a few years, once she had saved up some money, she would ask the prince to take her younger brother and his wives to look for him."
Meng Qi stood up again. This was terrifying. If that was true, could it be that Matron Hai had been bribed? Was his son's incident not an accident? Furthermore, anyone who could promise ten thousand taels of silver was no ordinary person, even if it was just empty talk. But given Matron Hai's status and experience, she must have had the strength to convince him.
Wang Chenghai looked at Meng Qi standing in front of the window, thought for a moment and said, "Princess, do you think Madam Hai has been set up by a witch hunt?"
Meng Qi nodded. Yes, this was a trap set up for her by someone who was targeting Madam Hai.
"what else?"
"That's all he said. Everything went well, and he was sent south."
"Where is that woman?" Meng Qi asked.
Wang Chenghai immediately understood who Meng Qi was asking about. "Jiang Wu's people said that he was given a mute drug and given money. Don't worry, Princess, he is an illiterate person."
Meng Qi nodded. "Tomorrow, have Jiang Wu go to Madam Hai's former home in the west of the city and ask if there's a similar family that moved into their neighborhood in the past two years, and where they've gone since. The village chief must have a record of them renting a house there."
"Yuan Dong, now that she's been told what to do, someone in the mansion will be there to help her. I'm afraid it's someone from the inner chambers. Find out who she's been friends with on a daily basis. Don't alert the enemy before you get to the bottom of this."
They both responded in unison.
Wang Chenghai thought for a moment and continued, "It's just that Jiang Wu said that this time he was secretly following Madam Hai's son, and he always felt like someone was following him for a whole day every now and then."
"Oh? Maybe he, a stranger, attracted other people's attention?" Since the town is small and remote, it is likely that there are few strangers visiting throughout the year.
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