Although the Sheng Mansion covers less than a hundred acres, the population is even smaller. Since the three daughters got married and the eldest son was sent away, the three infants all live with their eldest relative in the main courtyard where Sheng Hong and his wife and several concubines live, the courtyard where Chang Feng and his wife live, and Shou'an Hall.
Because Changdong was getting older, Sheng Hong had given him the small courtyard where Molan had lived (if he wanted to move into Rulan and Minglan's courtyards, he would have to see what the old lady and Wang Shi agreed to). As a result, many houses were still empty. Therefore, it wasn't difficult for Minglan to find a secluded place with few people for interrogation.
Aunt Kang was dragged along for a long distance by two maids, her eyes dazed and dazed, until she reached a rowhouse. She vaguely remembered it as a place where miscellaneous items were stored. The maids carried her around a few corners, then hid her in a small room inside. Mrs. Kang wanted to curse and beat the maids, but her jaw was dislocated and half her body was limp, so she couldn't shout or break free. Just as she was filled with resentment, she heard a noise. She looked up and saw her sworn enemy leisurely enter the house.
Xiao Tao placed a stool on the open ground, and Minglan slowly sat down. Several burly men dragged four maids in from outside and forced them to kneel side by side in front of Minglan. The maids' clothes were disheveled, and there were several scars on their hands and faces, showing that they had struggled before. At the moment, a fierce old woman was restrained and shouted angrily, "We are from the Kang family. I don't know what you mean. Even if my wife and I are not harmonious, there is no reason to take it out on us..."
Tu Hu slapped him and roared, "You are only allowed to speak when I tell you to!"
The old woman's face immediately swelled up on one side. She coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood with a few teeth mixed in. Tears came out of her eyes. The three maids beside her were silent as a cicada, shrinking in fear and not daring to struggle.
Minglan looked up and said, "Thank you, Master Tu." This was a good way to show his power; he really knew the tricks of interrogation.
Tu Hu clasped his fists in a gloomy expression.
Minglan turned back and said bluntly, "My old lady is ill. Your wife poisoned her. I invited you all here today to discuss this matter."
The four people's faces changed drastically, two of them were more genuinely shocked, and two were more pretending to be shocked. Their eyes rolled around a few times. Aunt Kang in the small compartment inside also changed her face drastically. These four maids were all her confidants. Two of them did know about the poisoning, and the other two should have a vague idea of it.
The four of them stared at each other for a long moment. A kind-looking woman, encouraged by her companions' glances, forced a smile and said, "Oh my God, my dear aunt, I bet you've made a mistake. How could our wife, for such a serious matter,..."
Tu Hu slapped the woman again, hard. Her mouth immediately filled with blood, and she covered her face with her hands, sobbing softly. The doors and windows were tightly shut, letting in only a few beams of light. In the dimness, Tu Hu's face looked terrifying, like a ghost. He coldly said, "Don't you understand? I'll tell you to speak before you can."
The four women's faces turned pale with fear and their bodies trembled like sieves. No one dared to speak anymore.
Minglan's heart was as hard as stone, unmoved. "The Sheng family is about to confront your wife, so I'm sorry to bother you all. Please tell me everything related to this matter, even the smallest detail. I'll reward you handsomely later."
The four of them were silent for a moment. After a while, a young wife slowly straightened her back. She was by far the calmest of the four. She said proudly, "Madam has been so kind to us that we could never repay her with our lives! You want us to frame Madam for money, but that is absolutely impossible!"
Minglan clapped her hands softly and said with a smile, "Well done, what a loyal servant!" Then she raised her voice, "Come here, bring him up."
Two guards brought in the half-dead Qian Mama and threw her to the ground. Four maids went to see and saw that several fingers on each of Qian Mama's hands were covered in blood and flesh. Their hearts began to beat wildly.
Tu Hu pointed at Mother Qian and said, "I pulled out four nails and told her everything."
Minglan said in a cold voice: "The Sheng family has been bullied to the point of being bullied. Let me be honest, your wife can forget about going back..." Upon hearing this, Aunt Kang inside was shocked.
"If you're willing to talk nicely, I'll send you back safe and sound, and I'll give you some silver as a reward to calm your nerves. Otherwise..." Minglan's tone changed, and she turned around and said, "Second Master Tu, don't be too rough with your hands. It won't look good if you're dragged out."
Tu Hu grinned and said, "Don't worry, Madam. I have plenty of ways to make them suffer a fate worse than death."
The four maids were so frightened that they collapsed.
——At this moment, a low male voice suddenly came from outside: "Madam, we are back."
Minglan recognized Tulong's voice and quickly ordered the door to be opened. Tulong and several other guards came in carrying three writhing sacks. They slammed the sacks to the ground, then bent down to untie the ropes at the sacks' openings, slowly revealing the people inside. Everyone in the room looked and saw that the three men were tied tightly, their mouths stuffed with cloth scraps.
The young wife exclaimed, "Manager Qi! Second Manager Qi...Manager Song..."
Minglan smiled and said, "Master Tu is very skilled. He's back so soon."
Tu Long pointed at the steward Song and said, "I made some inquiries and found out that this guy is one of the most popular people among Madam Kang. So we just caught him and brought him back."
Following Minglan's instructions, Liu Kun's family went to commit fraud and went directly to the gatehouse to find Qi Mama's two sons. They said that Wang had fainted and the Sheng family was in chaos. Aunt Kang did not have enough trustworthy people to help, so she asked her to ask the Qi brothers to help.
The Sheng family was wealthy and prosperous, and in times of chaos, it would be a good job to take advantage of it. Everyone was tempted, but Liu Kun's family said that Aunt Kang only wanted the most trustworthy people, and with the help of Tu Long and a few others who pretended to be servants of the Sheng family, they were able to believe it.
As soon as the Qi brothers and Manager Song walked out of the door, they were covered with sacks and then put on the carriage.
Minglan pointed at these three people and said to them, "Even if you don't say it, they will definitely tell it." Then the two maids looked at each other, their expressions flickering.
"Alright, you guys go get busy." Minglan said calmly, turning to Tulong, "Is one day enough?"
Tulong glanced at the few people huddled on the ground and said with a smile, "It will only take three or two hours. I guarantee they will vomit out everything!"
Minglan pointed at the arrogant young daughter-in-law and said to Tu Hu, "As for this loyal one, please let Second Master do it yourself." The more loyal she is, the more she probably knows.
Tu Hu laughed heartily and picked up his wife. "For your own evil heart, you poisoned a kind old man. Pah, a lackey of a corrupt official is still loyal! Fine! I want to see who is more powerful, old Tu, or who is more stubborn!"
The daughter-in-law's face was ashen, filled with pain, and she bit her lips tightly. The people on the ground were all terrified. One daughter-in-law had her eyes rolled back and fainted from fear. Then the guards dragged people out of the door one after another.
After everyone had left, Aunt Kang was finally pulled out of the small compartment by the two maids. One of them held up Aunt Kang's jaw while the other helped with some loosening and blood circulation. Minglan stood up and watched with a smile.
Aunt Kang leaned against the chair, half of her face was numb with pain, and after a while she said hoarsely: "Okay, I underestimated you! I didn't expect that there was such a big shot like you in the Sheng family? This time I'm in trouble!" She never dreamed that she came to inspect the fruits of victory, but ended up being a meat bun hitting a dog and never returned.
Minglan hated her to the core, picking at her nails. "I should have thought of this when my aunt sent my cousin to the Marquis' Mansion."
Kang Wangshi trembled with anger, filled with hatred and regret. She hated the man for being so difficult to deal with, and regretted why she hadn't been more careful. She had anticipated what would happen if someone discovered her, but she calculated the timing. First, Wang Shi would be suspected, then she would be implicated, and then there would be a barrage of questioning and wrangling... It would take at least a day or two for the situation to flare up.
She had never imagined that in just one night, this damn girl would act so quickly, arrange things so thoroughly, act at lightning speed, be the first to act everywhere, kidnap and deceive, and do everything she could - she was so bold and audacious that she caught her off guard.
This wasn't some boudoir-dwelling young lady; she was clearly a seasoned officer! Who would have guessed?!
"Don't think you're so great just because you've captured a few slaves!" she said bitterly. "No one will believe a confession forced upon them by torture! If you want me to confess, dream on! If you have the guts, torture me! I want to see how you explain yourself to the Wang family and the Kang family!"
Minglan laughed softly, "Who said I want you to confess? It doesn't matter whether you confess or not."
Aunt Kang was stunned for a moment. "You don't want me to confess? Then what do you want to do with me?"
"Whether you did it or not, we both know." Minglan's face was gloomy as she spoke slowly, "I only regret that I was too cautious, thinking of our brotherly love and the Sheng family's kindness in raising me. If I really wanted to risk it, I would have stabbed you three times and six times, hung you upside down from the beam and slowly drained your blood, letting you die in agony, then put you in a sack and threw you in a mass grave to feed the dogs!"
Aunt Kang's heart sank when she heard this. She was frightened for a moment, then sneered, "Alright, get rid of me, and silence the rest of the people. Then my sister will be completely cleared of all charges. You are so filial to your stepmother!"
Minglan raised her eyebrows and said, "Who said I would let her go?" As for the few people under Aunt Kang who knew about it, there was no need for her to do anything. I guess someone would be more anxious to keep it secret.
Aunt Kang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha, silly girl, silly girl, you thought you would be fine if you gave your sister away! Don't you know that you have raised a wolf cub...!"
Minglan didn't want to listen to her crazy talk anymore, so she just ordered calmly: "Two maids, start."
Upon receiving the order, the two maids immediately took out a ball of cloth from a large bundle on the ground and shook it gently. It turned out to be a gray-black coarse cloth half a foot wide and more than ten feet long. Aunt Kang was frightened when she saw it. She hurriedly got up and tried to run, but was grabbed by one of the maids and pressed onto a chair.
Then the two of them kept wrapping their hands around her, left and right. The wide strips of cloth first tied her hands, feet and torso flatly, and then continued to wrap around her, wrapping up the person and the chair, and finally wrapped around the pillar, with dozens of layers.
Aunt Kang was tied tightly to the chair, her back pressed against the pillar, her whole body like a silkworm cocoon. The coarse cloth was very strong, and she couldn't even move a finger. She couldn't help but scream, "What do you want to do? You, you want to torture me?!" She shouted in a high voice, and she was already timid in her heart.
Minglan looked around with satisfaction: "On the contrary, I'm afraid that my aunt will be unable to get over it and hurt herself." If this damn woman goes all out and bangs her head or hurts herself, the rest of the play will be difficult to perform.
She turned around and smiled, "Thank you for your hard work, Madams. The palace's methods are truly remarkable."
A maid said, "This is a trick that originated in the palace. It's used to treat those ignorant nobles and prevent them from harming themselves."
Aunt Kang was so angry that she opened her mouth to scream again, but the maid next to her quickly stuffed a piece of rag into her mouth, and she couldn't make a sound.
Minglan nodded and instructed: "Give her some soup every hour or two. She doesn't need to eat. She can do the toilet and defecation herself." As long as she is not dehydrated, going hungry for a day is nothing.
The two maids responded and then sent Minglan away. Two guards were left at the door to watch over her so that they could take turns to rest.
It was almost noon, and the kitchen staff in every area were at work. Under Wang's strict control, no one dared to say a word, and no one dared to approach the rear courtyard. Shocked and frightened, Wang groaned and lay back in her room. But Hai was constantly busy, managing all the affairs of the mansion and preparing a place to rest and food for the guests from the Marquis' residence.
She was cautious by nature, and had no questions about the various anomalies that had occurred last night. She treated the many guards who appeared out of nowhere with affability, warmth, and politeness, as if they were servants brought by her own sister-in-law.
After a long day of work, until the sun was setting, she returned to her room to prepare some food. A daughter-in-law who had been waiting inside hurried out and whispered in Hai's ear, "The person has been sent out."
Hai heaved a sigh of relief, but still worriedly asked, "But what about those yellow pony horses my mother's family brought?"
The daughter-in-law said, "Don't worry, Madam. We can take turns riding two horses. We can reach the destination in half a day."
Hai clasped her hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer, "God bless us! Our family has been through a tragedy. I just hope you can come soon!"
…
The Sheng Mansion was exceptionally quiet that day. From a secluded row of houses behind the mansion, faint screams and wails could be heard. The sounds were carried by the wind and vaguely reached the courtyard on the west side of the mansion.
Chang Feng craned his neck to look out the window and murmured, "Why has there been no sound for so long?"
Liu was sitting on the bed, teasing the child softly. Hearing this, she looked up and said, "My husband is really interesting. He gets restless when there's a sound, and he's worried even when there's no sound."
Chang Feng smiled bitterly, walked to the bed and sat down, "My heart feels like it's being scratched by a cat."
"I'm afraid it's already been found out." Liu tucked the swaddling clothes, picked up her daughter and coaxed her, whispering, "Don't overthink it, my husband. The less we know about this, the better. Father hasn't said a word to you yet, so I guess that's what he meant."
The baby babbled, its pink little hands twitching, its big eyes looking straight at its father. Chang Feng, filled with love and affection, reached out and held the baby, saying softly, "My wife is right."
…
The sun sets and the moon rises. A night passes, and as the sky begins to brighten, a maid runs hurriedly to Shou'an Hall and whispers a few words to Fang Mama. Then Fang Mama walks to the door of the inner room and says, "Miss, someone from the Wang family is here."
Minglan got up from the recliner and stretched: "Didn't anyone from the Kang family come?" This was even more interesting.
Mother Fang whispered, "Only one Young Master Jin came from the Kang family, but quite a few came from the Wang family."
Minglan walked to the old lady's bedside and saw that her face was gradually losing its grayness and seemed to have a bit of color. She felt relieved. She was happy and felt full of strength. She raised her voice and said, "Change my clothes."
Thinking of what Xiao Tao had said last night, there was a smile in her voice, "Let my good aunt change her clothes too."
Let her spend the night covered in shit and urine, so I can vent my anger and put an end to her today.
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