Chapter 675 Retribution
To make things easier, Lin Yuesha only brought Qingxing with her. The two divided the work, with Lin Yuesha saying, "Qingxing, you're in charge of the ceiling. Check if there are any of the Zhuang family's secret stashes on the beams."
Qingxing quickly nodded in agreement and asked, "Miss, what about you?"
"The Buddhist hall is paved with blue bricks. Every single brick must be inspected, as well as under the bed. Not even a single mouse hole can be overlooked."
Lin Yuesha held a small hammer in her hand, and the professionalism of her movements left Qingxing speechless. She had no idea where her young mistress had conjured up this tool.
"It was taken from the Lin residence."
Since we're here to steal the Zhuang family's letters, we must bring our own tools. In addition, a mask, dagger, gloves, and shoe covers are all essential items.
"Then why are you wearing a hood?"
Qingxing suppressed a smile, feeling a sense of relief.
No wonder the master treats Miss Lin so differently. Qingxing thought that if she were a man, she would also be attracted to Lin Yuesha, because being with her was magical, and all the bitterness could turn into sweetness.
"Never underestimate a woman's suspicious nature."
Lin Yuesha's hair is well-maintained, long and straight in black. If she were to lose her hair, it would be difficult to guarantee that the Zhuang family wouldn't find any clues.
Because of their guilty conscience, evildoers will not let go of the slightest disturbance, so she must be extremely cautious.
For so many years, Consort Fang suffered a fate worse than death, while Lady Zhuang, wearing a mask of hypocrisy, gained a good reputation in the capital and became a model of an official's wife. Her shady dealings remained completely unknown to the public.
After Lin Yuesha finished speaking, she squatted down and began to tap the bricks carefully, occasionally even lying on the ground and pressing her ear against the bricks to listen to the sound.
Qingxing touched around, then jumped down and shook her head. There was nothing on the roof beam; she found nothing.
Are they wrong? Zhuang came to the Buddhist hall only to atone for her sins. She did not want her secrets to be known and was afraid that her nonsense would be overheard by the servants, so she set up the Buddhist hall in the mansion as a forbidden place.
"If that's the explanation, then it makes sense."
Lin Yuesha felt that it wasn't that simple. The fact that Zhuang Shi wasn't in the Buddhist hall, the door was locked, and even her most trusted servants, Liu Ya and Xiang Ye, didn't have the key was enough to explain the situation.
Lin Yuesha searched the floor, walls, under the bed, tables, chairs, and benches meticulously. Finally, she turned her attention to the Buddha statues on the altar.
"Miss, perhaps we shouldn't?"
Qingxing grinned, realizing that her young mistress was carrying a hammer, a behavior that seemed somewhat offensive to Buddha.
Zhuang was so superstitious that he would not dare to be disrespectful to the Buddha, otherwise he would not have set up a small Buddhist hall and copied scriptures every day.
"Qingxing, if Lady Zhuang truly believed in Buddhism, would she have given Consort Fang such a despicable suggestion?"
Lin Yuesha sneered. Most bad people would beat someone up to vent their anger, and the more ruthless ones would scheme to make someone miscarry and lose their reputation. Who would think of cutting open the abdomen to take the baby?
Zhuangzi's actions have gone beyond the realm of humanity; he cannot be called human, and even animals would not do such things.
Jealousy makes people repulsive. When Lin Yuesha saw Zhuang's face, she couldn't help but want to take out her weapon and hit Zhuang with a hammer.
"In order to promote Lin Shusheng, Qin actually came up with the idea of creating a sensational case, which involved tearing out the heart of a woman in red. She and Lin Shusheng worked together to carry it out. Even novels wouldn't dare to write something like this."
Lin Yuesha stepped forward, knelt on the prayer mat, and kowtowed three times devoutly, saying, "Buddha, please forgive me. Yuesha had no intention of offending you. I only hope that the wicked will be punished and that we can obtain the letters between Zhuang Shi and Consort Fang so that Madam Qi can be exonerated as soon as possible."
After saying that, she went up to the offering table and went directly behind the Buddha statue.
The small Buddhist shrine was entirely maintained by Zhuang Shi's meticulous care. The Buddha statues were all gilded by Zhuang Shi, and Lin Yuesha was covered in gold dust from just brushing against the Buddha statues.
We must act swiftly and decisively; we cannot afford to delay any longer.
There were no hidden mechanisms under the altar, and the Buddha statues on both sides were solid with no place to hide anything. Lin Yuesha held her breath and focused her attention on the large Buddha statue in the middle.
If Mr. Zhuang came to read the letters every day, he certainly wouldn't have hidden under the Buddha statue; otherwise, moving the Buddha statue every day would have been a physically demanding task.
Lin Yuesha touched it and found that there was a groove under the lotus flower on which the Buddha statue sat, which was not noticeable unless you looked closely.
Reaching into the groove, Lin Yuesha took out four or five envelopes.
"Qingxing, come and see!"
Lin Yuesha was as excited as if she had been injected with chicken blood, almost ready to cheer and jump for joy. However, she had to move very carefully, afraid of bumping into the Buddha statue.
As the master and servant were talking, footsteps sounded in the garden.
"Miss, someone's here."
The other party was not far away. To avoid being exposed, Qingxing blew out the tinderbox. In the darkness, she and Lin Yuesha stared at each other.
The Buddhist hall was small and cramped. Lin Yuesha looked around and found that the only place she could hide was under the altar.
"Qingxing, let's hide first."
Lin Yuesha held onto the letter tightly, but after thinking for a moment, she handed it to Qingxing.
"If Zhuang comes to check the letters out of concern and discovers you, you'll be exposed!"
This is the Zhuang family's residence, where there are many people and great power. Lin Yuesha is in danger, so Qingxing decided to put the letter back first, which would also provide an explanation.
No, you don't need to worry about me.
Lin Yuesha handed the letter to Qingxing. She hadn't had a chance to read it yet, but since it was hidden so well, it was probably true.
Having finally found the letter, Lin Yuesha was determined not to give up this opportunity, so she and Qingxing went into hiding separately.
"Stop talking nonsense, do as I say, hide on the roof beam!"
Lin Yuesha used her status to intimidate people, and then crawled under the altar.
"Big brother, the Buddhist shrine isn't locked, let's hide inside!"
Zhuang Wanjun was having a secret rendezvous with the eldest son when she suddenly heard her aunt, Zhuang Shi, speaking. In a moment of panic, she pulled the eldest son into the Buddhist hall.
When she came in, he realized he had done something foolish; he had practically walked into a trap.
"Cousin, let's hide first."
The eldest son pulled Zhuang Wanjun along. His mother had already made it clear that she had arranged a marriage for his cousin and that things were looking good. For the sake of the Zhuang family's reputation, the two of them should not be too intimate.
Fang died along with her unborn child. He was saddened but also felt it was retribution. When he was ten years old, he was playing hide-and-seek with the maids and servants when he entered his mother Zhuang's small storeroom and saw the letters his mother and Consort Fang were exchanging.
My mother is gentle and kind, very dignified and virtuous, but it's all an illusion.
Later, the daughter of the censor he was betrothed to drowned, and he became engaged to Fang.
Only he knew in his heart that this was his mother's compromise with the other family.
Since the Qi family was exonerated, the Fang family has no longer been given important positions and has relied entirely on their own family's support, which is why they ruined his original marriage.
Now that Fang has been disemboweled by Yu Zicheng, resulting in the deaths of both her and her unborn child, he is not only saddened but also increasingly convinced that this is retribution!
Because of the evil deeds of Consort Fang and his mother, they took revenge on him and Fang, preventing their hard-won child from being born...
Over the years, he has endured so much hardship, yet he has been helpless.
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