Chen Yu was terrified and sat up abruptly, asking, "Where did you escape to? How did you escape? Are there any witnesses?"
Dongqiao and Xiqiao shook their heads repeatedly, their eyes drooping and their expressions listless; they must have been drugged.
Xiqiao seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, "Madam, I was still watching over Liu Xiaoniang at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) when I suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. I vaguely smelled something, and I don't remember anything after that. When I opened my eyes, I heard Dongqiao say that Liu Xiaoniang was gone."
Shen Yu didn't want to complain too much, only blaming herself for rushing to find Hong Yu yesterday and failing to properly handle the matter at the Peony Garden.
At this time, the sun was just rising, and Madam Bai had not yet gotten up.
Shen Yu, accompanied by several maids, went straight to the Peony Garden. Upon closer inspection, she found both the front and side gates intact, and the dog hole well-sealed, showing no signs of damage. Given that Liu Xiaoniang was pregnant and frail, how could she possibly have escaped by climbing over the wall?
She then ordered all the servants to gather in the courtyard to check their numbers, and found that four young servants were missing. It seemed that Liu Yao'er must have escaped by climbing over the wall with the help of the servants.
She couldn't help but feel remorse, regretting that her single act of kindness had brought such trouble upon herself. If Liu Yao'er escaped back to the Zuo family, that would be one thing, but if she hid and pretended to disappear, how could she explain this to the Zuo family and Bai Yehua? It seemed she needed to plan ahead and take precautions.
"The Bai family is truly a misfortune. Ye Hua finally had an heir, but now he's disappeared without a trace." Madam Bai cried as she ran over, complaining to her endlessly. "Mu Chenyu, if you lived in the Bai family, Liu Xiaoniang wouldn't have been kidnapped. No, let's go report this to the authorities."
Reporting to the authorities? That's certainly a good idea.
"Alright! Madam, please go back and rest. Once the yamen opens, Chen Yu will immediately report to the authorities."
Shen Yu ordered someone to escort Madam Bai back, while she paced around the courtyard, scrutinizing the servants of the Zuo family. She said in a deep voice, "Liu Xiaoniang ran away because she wanted to make it impossible for me, the eldest daughter-in-law, to answer to the general. If my fate is tragic, then you will suffer the same fate as Lan'er and Hong'er!"
The fourteen servants remained standing upright, heads bowed and silent.
Shen Yu understood that Liu Yao'er must have returned to the Zuo family and promised to come back to rescue these servants. It seemed that getting them to reveal Liu Yao'er would require some effort.
She ordered Dongqiao and Xiqiao to bring dozens of bags of silver and place them on the stone table in front of her. Seeing that some servants were peeking, she deliberately raised her voice and said, "Whoever can testify that Liu Xiaoniang has fled to the Zuo family will be rewarded with two bags of silver and will be guaranteed to be safe and sound."
Upon hearing this, the servants whispered among themselves and did not step forward.
She had no choice but to resort to harsh words, saying sternly, "Anyone who refuses to testify will be beaten to death and thrown into a mass grave!"
Half an hour later.
As soon as the yamen opened, Chen Yu walked into the hall with a stack of papers. Even Master Gu in the hall was surprised. Just as he was about to ask a question, Madam Zuo came with four servants to report the case.
Madam Zuo stormed into the hall, first glaring at Chen Yu, then crying to Master Gu, "Master, my Yao'er has been married into the Bai family for only three days and has disappeared without a trace. Before, Mu Chen Yu forced my Yao'er to run into a tree. This time, Yao'er's disappearance must be Mu Chen Yu's doing."
Shen Yu wasn't in a hurry to argue; she simply stood aside and looked away nonchalantly. It was because Madam Zuo's tearful, listless appearance was truly chilling.
Madam Zuo wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, looked at Master Gu with tearful eyes, and continued to sob, "Master, my Yao'er is pregnant with General Bai's child. You must do justice for my Zuo family. Consort Gao has also instructed that Mu Chenyu must be arrested and interrogated properly so that my Yao'er can be found as soon as possible."
Madam Zuo is using Bai Yehua and Consort Gao to intimidate Master Gu.
Although Shen Yu was somewhat disappointed, she was not afraid. After all, the Gu family and the Mu family were about to be married, and Master Gu would certainly not protect Madam Zuo.
Mr. Gu nodded and asked, "Does Madam Zuo have any witnesses?"
Madam Zuo pointed to the four servants at the door, the very four who had escaped from the Peony Garden.
Shen Yu sneered and handed a stack of papers to a nearby bailiff. Only after the bailiff presented the papers to Master Gu did she speak: "Master, Liu Yao'er is mentally unstable. On her first day of marriage into the Bai family, she ran away without permission and even attempted suicide by crashing into a tree. Last night, she instigated four servants to help her escape over the wall. May I ask, Master, what concubine would run away so frequently? Especially since she is pregnant..."
Before she could finish speaking, Madam Zuo pointed at Chen Yu and angrily rebuked her, "My Yao'er is perfectly fine! Mu Chen Yu, you're making false accusations! You're plotting to murder a concubine..."
"Smack!"
The gavel slammed down, and Master Gu shouted, "Silence! Madam Zuo, fourteen of your servants have signed and sealed documents confirming that Liu Yao'er instigated the servants to secretly escape back to the Zuo family. I ask you, is Liu Yao'er currently in the Zuo family?"
"My daughter is missing. If she were in the Zuo family, why would I need to report this to the authorities?"
Seeing that Madam Zuo still denied it, Chen Yu smiled contemptuously, took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to the yamen runner, saying loudly, "Sir, as the eldest daughter of the Bai family, I, Chen Yu, have the right to take concubines for my husband, and I also have the right to dismiss them. Liu Yao'er ran away again without informing Old Madam Bai and me, which damages the reputation of the General's Mansion. Therefore, I, Mu Chen Yu, have decided to dismiss the concubine!"
After reading Madam Bai's testimony, Master Gu nodded repeatedly and handed the paper to the bailiff. "Madam Zuo, take a look. Madam Bai testifies that Liu Yao'er ran away on her own. It seems that Liu Yao'er's disappearance has nothing to do with Mu Chenyu or the Bai family."
Madam Zuo stared intently at Madam Bai's testimony, her mind instantly thrown into turmoil. However, Yao'er's escape back to the Zuo family was a pretext to eliminate the female fetus in her womb, in order to give birth to the Bai family's eldest son. If she failed, wouldn't Yao'er's efforts have been in vain?
Thinking of this, Madam Zuo crumpled the paper in her hand into a ball and threw it at Chen Yu, angrily shouting, "Mu Chen Yu, you rely on your status as the eldest daughter-in-law to force my Zuo family servants to give false testimony. I'm afraid even Old Madam Bai gave false testimony to avoid being called a wicked mother-in-law. Your Bai family is the mastermind behind the murder of my Yao'er!"
"Hmph! What a hypocrite!"
Upon hearing this voice, Chen Yu turned her head and saw that the person who came was none other than Gu Erlang, the second brother of the Gu family. Gu Erlang led five constables into the hall, all of them listless and yawning incessantly.
*Crack!* The gavel struck, and Master Gu asked, "Second Young Master, you are not on duty today, what brings you here?"
“Sir, last night while we were on duty at the yamen, we received a report that thieves had scaled the wall of the Bai family’s house. Erlang was worried that they were robbers, so he led his men to the scene and found a woman and four men escaping from the Bai family’s house. Erlang originally intended to follow the trail and wipe out the thieves’ den, but unexpectedly, those people went into the Zuo family’s house. Erlang knew the relationship between the Zuo family and the Bai family, so he did not investigate further.”
Shen Yu had some doubts about this explanation. Given Gu Erlang's lazy nature, he would never go out to handle cases in the middle of the night. It must have been Liu Yu who secretly plotted and used some money to make Gu Erlang and his group so diligent.
At this moment, Madam Zuo's face was flushed red. She quickly lowered her posture and said softly, "Master, my Yao'er's escape must be due to mental instability. She is pregnant now. How can the Bai family abandon her? This is a matter of two lives!"
Master Gu nodded, looked at Chen Yu, and asked, "Mu Chen Yu, as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Bai family, can you give Liu Yao'er a chance?"
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