Song Anxin squinted at Madam Su: "Madam Liu, do you have an imperial title or is your husband an official? Why don't you kneel down and pay your respects to me!"
Looking at Song Anxin, who was dressed in official robes and had a sharp gaze, Madam Su felt a sudden chill. She quickly suppressed her panic and knelt down with her servants, saying:
"It was my rudeness. Greetings, Madam Hui. May Madam Hui be well."
Song Anxin sneered: "I'm not doing well. Although this is your family matter, Master Liu, Aunt Lin is my only sister-in-law. I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer."
Master Liu had always thought Madam Hui was very approachable, but now her imposing presence made him break out in a cold sweat. Upon returning, he heard from the servants that Consort Lin had gone into labor. He rushed over and found Madam Hui there as well. After learning the details, he felt extremely angry and embarrassed.
Master Liu immediately rebuked her sternly, "Little Madam Su, how dare you, as the mistress of the house, harm the concubine in the manor and the child in her womb? Do you plead guilty?!"
Madam Su raised her head, her face filled with astonishment: "Master, what are you saying? How could I do such a heinous thing? Since Consort Lin became pregnant, I have been taking meticulous care of her. I even took the most precious white fungus from my own private stash to stew for her to nourish her body."
Even the best midwife in the county was brought to my residence well in advance so that I could be ready for Consort Lin's delivery at any time. I have been devoted to Consort Lin. Tell me, which other lady in the household could be as attentive to her concubines as I am!
As she spoke, Little Su began to sob softly, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Seeing her like this, and thinking about what she had said, Master Liu's expression changed. Madam Su really cared a lot for Aunt Lin. No other lady could do that. Could it be that he had really misunderstood her?
Seeing that her husband's expression had softened, Madam Su sobbed and continued, "Master, I know I am not as virtuous as my sister, but I treat the servants in the mansion well, and I treat Aunt Lin like a sister. If you are going to wrong me like this, I might as well go with my sister."
Her sobbing and heartbreak truly made one feel that she had been wronged and suffered injustice.
When Master Liu heard Madam Su mention his deceased wife, he remembered that Jinxiu had said that this younger sister of hers was the most gentle and kind, which was why he felt at ease marrying her as his second wife. Madam Su had always been kind and tolerant to everyone since entering the mansion, and had never even been harsh to the servants. Thinking of this, Master Liu's face no longer showed the fierce anger he had just displayed.
However, he still asked with a stern face, "Then why don't you allow anyone in the manor to come or go? Even when Consort Lin was having a difficult childbirth, her attendants wanted to go out to fetch a doctor, but your maid, Granny Yan, sent them back. Mingzhu even managed to fetch a doctor, so why didn't you let the doctor into the manor? Tell me, what's going on? If it weren't for Madam Hui bringing the doctor in time, Consort Lin and her unborn child would have died long ago!"
Madam Su was shocked: "What!? Consort Lin is having a difficult childbirth? How come I didn't know? When did I forbid anyone from entering or leaving the mansion? Granny Yan, how dare you stop Consort Lin's people from going to fetch a doctor? Who gave you such audacity!"
The kneeling Granny Yan raised her head, her face full of astonishment, and said, "I, I, Madam is not you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Granny Qi suddenly appeared from nowhere and shouted sternly:
"Granny Yan, how dare you! Didn't Madam tell you to report anything immediately if anything happened? How dare you deceive Madam about such a serious matter!"
Granny Yan was completely bewildered by the reprimand. How could this be different from what was agreed upon?!
Before Granny Yan could speak, Granny Qi immediately knelt down and said to Master Liu, "Please investigate, sir. Madam would never do such a thing as framing Concubine Lin."
Madam rushed to Consort Lin's courtyard in the middle of the night before Consort Lin had even had time to wash up. Madam immediately instructed the midwife and servants to prepare for her arrival and ordered ginseng soup to be made, meticulously arranging everything. As the night deepened and the dew became heavy, Madam's constant worry aggravated her headache, prompting us servants to persuade her to go back and rest for a while.
Before leaving, Madam repeatedly instructed Granny Yan to report anything that happened, as everyone in the courtyard could testify to that. As for preventing people from entering or leaving the mansion, and blocking the doctor and Lady Hui, Madam only just learned of that.”
Madam Su cried even harder, saying, "Master, Heaven and Earth bear witness, I have never done such a cruel thing. Please investigate!"
Upon hearing what Madam Su and Granny Qi said, Master Liu immediately summoned the servants who had blocked the gate and the maids and servants in the courtyard for questioning.
A maid knelt on the ground and said, "Madam did indeed rush over as soon as Consort Lin started to move. Later, Madam said she was dizzy. Granny Qi and Granny Yan advised Madam to go back and rest. Before leaving, Madam instructed Granny Yan to take good care of this place."
A gatekeeper said tremblingly, "We were ordered by someone close to Granny Yan to not allow anyone to enter or leave the mansion, or else we would be held accountable. We thought it was the Madam's order and dared not disobey."
"This servant doesn't know either. We just do whatever Granny Yan tells us to do, since Granny Yan is someone close to the Madam."
"......"
In an instant, all the servants pointed at Granny Yan, who looked at Madam Su in disbelief, her eyes filled with fear.
Madam, Madam, are you planning to make her a scapegoat?!
She hurriedly cried out, "No, no, it's not like that! It was Madam, it was Madam! Madam ordered me to do it..."
Granny Qi slapped her again: "Shut up, you dog servant! You always act like a big shot in the mansion just because you're the madam's personal maid. Now you even dare to deceive your master, give false orders, and frame Concubine Lin. You're truly vicious! The madam has trusted you all this time."
"No, no..." Granny Yan crawled to Madam Su's side. "Madam, how can you treat this old servant like this? I've always been loyal to you. You can't treat me like this..."
"Granny Yan, why are you so determined to frame me? I have treated you well."
Madam Su looked furious, as if she had been falsely accused.
Granny Qi quickly said, "Guards, gag this disloyal and insolent servant and drag him out! How dare he falsely accuse Madam of framing Concubine Lin! He has no nerve!"
This sentence is tantamount to directly convicting Granny Yan.
Granny Yan's mouth was gagged, and she made muffled noises in frustration, but ultimately she couldn't utter a single word.
After hearing the testimonies of the others, Master Liu was convinced that this treacherous lackey was incredibly audacious. He angrily said:
"How dare you try to argue and harm Madam Yu! Take him away and sell him off!"
As Granny Yan was about to be dragged away, a hint of smugness flashed in Madam Su's eyes.
At that moment, a clear, cold voice rang out: "Wait!"
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