Chapter 14: Down the drain
"Come here! Send Butler Zhou to the government office to report to the authorities, and then notify the Duke and his men. Let them interrogate him with severe torture to find out where the money he embezzled over the years has gone!" The Duke's wife ordered sternly.
Since she couldn't get the answer from him, she would send him to the government office, which was a place specifically for interrogating criminals. She believed that the tortures would definitely make Butler Zhou unforgettable for the rest of his life.
When Butler Zhou heard that he was going to be sent to the government, he was panicked. He thought: If he was in the Duke's Mansion, he could still bear the whole thing on his own. I think the Duke's wife would still show mercy to him because he had been in this mansion for more than ten years. But if he was sent to the government, he was afraid that he would not be able to bear it. His death was a small matter, but he was afraid that Rumeng would be implicated. Her life was already hard, and the silver must not be discovered.
Thinking of this, Butler Zhou instantly broke free from the servants' restraints and banged his head hard against the pillar.
"Oh no, he wants to commit suicide! Stop him!" The Duke's wife hurriedly asked someone to stop him, but she was still a step too late. Butler Zhou's body slowly fell down along the pillar, blood splattering on the spot.
The Duke's wife was so angry when she saw this that her chest heaved. It took her a while to come back to her senses. She said sternly, "Throw this body into the mass grave and let the servants of the Duke's Mansion take a good look. This is the fate of those who betray their own people!"
When the servants heard the words of the Duke's wife, they all became silent and trembling with fear, as if they were on the edge of an abyss.
The people from the second and third houses were not that scared. Instead, after they came to their senses, they looked at the Duke's wife with sharp eyes and asked, "From now on, our monthly salary will be 18 taels, right? And there will be eight bird's nests every month?"
The Duke's wife nodded and said, "Of course, after all, the termite has been eliminated, and you will have what belongs to you."
"That's great, thank you ma'am!" The second house, headed by Qin, all expressed their gratitude to the Duchess's wife.
The Duke's wife listened to the praise from the second and third rooms, and looked at Xu Qingyan who was standing beside her. She walked forward with a smile, took Xu Qingyan's hand, and said softly: "It's not me you should thank, but Qingyan. If it weren't for her today, you would have thought that you were at a disadvantage when this happened, and the truth would never come to light."
"Yes, yes, yes... I really have to thank the Crown Prince's wife! Otherwise we would still be kept in the dark." Qin was not awkward at all. She was probably already forgetting her previous aggressive look. Now she only felt grateful towards Xu Qingyan.
"Qingyan, you did a great job this time. It's not easy to pull out the old pest who has been in this Duke's Mansion for more than ten years! Qingping, go and get that night pearl. I want to give it to Qingyan." The Duke's wife took Xu Qingyan's hand affectionately. She is now more and more satisfied with this daughter-in-law.
"Wow! It's a night-shining pearl! Mom, you are so good to me. I have never seen a real night-shining pearl. This time I can feast my eyes!" Xu Qingyan said excitedly.
Xu Qingyue, who was standing aside, bit her lips tightly. She didn't expect that she not only failed to bring Xu Qingyan down today, but made the Duke's wife like her even more. This time, Housekeeper Zhou also lost his life. If Aunt Liu knew about it, she couldn't imagine how angry she would be.
The whole story of this incident quickly spread in the Duke's Mansion, and Liu Rumeng knew about it in a short while. She immediately asked someone to call Xu Qingyue to her room.
"You're a waste! You're more likely to cause trouble than to do anything good. Do you know how much effort I put into training Steward Zhou?" Liu Rumeng saw Xu Qingyue standing there as if it had nothing to do with her, and she was so angry that she picked up a teacup and smashed it in front of her.
Over the years, in order to live a life of luxury in the Duke's Mansion, she had kept Housekeeper Zhou under her thumb. In simple terms, Housekeeper Zhou was her money bag. But now, Housekeeper Zhou helped Xu Qingyue frame Xu Qingyan, causing all his years of hard work to go down the drain. He really lost both his wife and his army.
Xu Qingyue knew she was in the wrong and didn't say much, but just stood quietly aside.
Liu Rumeng continued angrily, "Not only did you fail to get your dowry back, but you also lost my person, Xu Qingyue. How could the Xu family raise a waste like you! If I had known you were such a rubbish, I would have let Jingyuan marry that concubine's daughter. I think she's quite smart!"
"Aunt!" Xu Qingyue heard Liu Rumeng say that she was a waste and was not as good as a concubine's daughter. This was a great humiliation for her, and she finally couldn't help but shouted angrily.
Liu Rumeng glanced at her and said sarcastically, "Why, are you still angry? Don't you think about it yourself? Isn't it that what has happened now proves that you are inferior to her in every way?"
"Aunt, I will make sure Xu Qingyan is kicked out of the Duke's Mansion this time. My husband has already drugged the prince. If Xu Qingyan doesn't have a child, she will definitely be despised. Moreover, I am already pregnant with my husband's child, and it will be made public in some time. Then Xu Qingyan will definitely be embarrassed." Xu Qingyan said anxiously.
"Okay, I'll trust you again, but you shouldn't act on your own regarding future matters of the Duke's Mansion." Liu Rumeng glanced at Xu Qingyue's belly, and the anger in her heart dissipated a little.
Liu Rumeng thought at this moment: "As long as Pei Jingchuan has no offspring, the position of the Crown Prince will sooner or later belong to her son Pei Jingyuan. Even if the Duke dotes on them, he will definitely not let the Duke's Mansion die out.
————Qingyu Pavilion————
Pei Jinyu had been under house arrest for ten days. She felt like she was living a year without leaving her house. She looked at the "Female Commandments" that she had copied as punishment with a face full of complaints, feeling very irritated.
"Copy, copy, copy... What's the point of copying all this? I'm almost bored to death. What happened last time was just a coincidence. She, Xu Qingyan, is not a god. She can't always be so accurate. Master Lin is definitely not that kind of person! So much time has passed. I wonder how Master Lin is doing now?" Pei Jinyu held the brush and held his chin with one hand, muttering to himself.
"Miss, Madam said that she would take you to Jinxiufang today to make clothes and jewelry. In a while, there will be a banquet in the princess's mansion, and she said that she wants you to go with her." Xianglan whispered to Pei Jinyu after entering the room.
"Mother, are you going to take me out today? You are not lying to me, are you?" Pei Jinyu stood up from the chair in an instant.
"Miss, it's true! Madam just sent someone to tell you. Miss, you should get dressed and get ready to go out with Madam!" Xianglan nodded when she heard it.
"Great, I can finally go out!" A smile instantly appeared on Pei Jinyu's face. After dressing up a little, she excitedly went to find the Duke's wife.
Ever since the Duke's wife heard Xu Qingyan's thoughts last time, she has been worried about Pei Jinyu. She thought about it for a few days and decided to find a date for Jinyu first. She thought that as long as Pei Jinyu's marriage was finalized, she wouldn't have to worry about those things anymore.
Therefore, she planned to take Pei Jinyu to attend the banquet at the Princess's Mansion in a few days. At that time, those who could attend the Princess's Mansion must be from wealthy families, and it would be convenient for them to see each other. And to attend such a banquet, one must dress up well.
Therefore, she took advantage of today's free time and planned to take Pei Jinyu to the famous Jinxiu Workshop in the capital to make clothes and a pair of jewelry.
But she didn't know that just when they walked out of the Duke's Mansion, a sneaky figure appeared behind them.
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