Zhang Liu glared at the head steward.
"Back then, after Master passed the imperial examination, he was sent to Chenyuan County. Liu Xiaohua, you know exactly what Chenyuan County was like. When Master first took office, he learned that there were three bandit dens within Chenyuan County's jurisdiction, and his first order of business was to suppress the bandits. At that time, Master was full of enthusiasm but had no experience, so things had to be done slowly. The following year, he found an opportunity. Do you know how Master was kidnapped by bandits? It was your brother who tipped off the bandits. Your brother pretended to be an honest farmer and gained Master's trust by saying that his sister had also been kidnapped by bandits. Not only did he tip off the bandits, but he also led Master astray. That's why Master was kidnapped."
"Afterwards, the lady spent a lot of money, running around to find help, stormed the bandits' den, and rescued you all. You told the master that you didn't want to go with him. The master was injured at the time and needed to recuperate, and he also had to handle the follow-up matters while injured. He had also thought that you were having a hard time in the village, so he sent me to pick you up. The first time, I was driven away by your mother and your brother. The second time, I went with silver, but I was still driven away. Your family's demand was that if they wanted to take you back to the mansion, they had to find your brother a job in the yamen."
"Hmph, they drove me away, but they've been collecting their money very quickly. But who is your brother? He's revealed all the bandits he caught, and he's panicked. He's afraid of being beheaded like the bandits, so he sent your mother to threaten the old lady and the madam. Your mother wants more than just your new identities; she wants to protect your brother. Is that even possible? What your brother has been doing since he left the stronghold is no different from what bandits have done. He's even more despicable than them!"
"When the old lady and madam refused to register your household, your mother tried to threaten them by banging her head against the wall. However, she lost control of her strength and died. The old lady and madam were terrified and fell seriously ill. The master was also ill, and there were many matters to attend to at the yamen. Why didn't your brother and sister-in-law cause a scene at the yamen when they took your mother's body back? Because they were in the wrong. They took the money and promised to take good care of you, but then they sold you, intending to run away with the money. In the end, they were caught. Your brother and sister-in-law confessed to how they sent the beautiful girls from your village to the mountain stronghold one by one. Those mountain bandits didn't wrong them."
"Is all of this because of Master? Because of the Old Madam and Madam? It's all because of your family, because your brother, sister-in-law, and mother are vicious and greedy, trying to extort money from our Master. And now you've come to seek revenge on our master! Shouldn't you be seeking revenge on your brother, sister-in-law, and mother in the afterlife?"
The head butler cursed angrily.
He never expected it was because of something that happened more than 20 years ago.
If Liu Xiaohua had heard about this last year, or if she had come to question the old man when he first took office a few years ago, this would never have happened.
But this person was secretly plotting to kill someone?
“No, impossible! Impossible! I clearly heard the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law say they couldn’t sleep and had been thinking about this all these years. They should have gotten our household registration done back then…” Zhang Liushi completely disbelieved the head housekeeper’s words and shook her head in denial.
"The old lady and the madam are kind-hearted. They did say they would process new household registrations for you and your daughter. But does your mother only want registrations for the two of you?" the head steward questioned.
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