The old housekeeper's pupils suddenly shrank, as if pricked by a needle, and he lowered his voice to a very low voice: "The eldest lady said... Liu was transferred out..."
"Apart from those shady land deeds and jewelry, could it be the arsenic she hoarded?" Shen Weiwan sneered, thinking of the three small bottles of arsenic she found in Liu's makeup box the day before, with white powder on the bottle mouths. "That vicious woman bought so much arsenic, half to harm me, and half because she was afraid that people would find out that she was hiding it." As she spoke, her fingertips lightly brushed the edge of the paperweight. The cold touch reminded her of the coldness of the snow in her previous life.
The midnight bell rang, and the moonlight, gnawed by dark clouds, was incomplete, like a gnawed piece of shortbread. The old housekeeper, accompanied by four burly servants, crouched down and crept into the cellar on the west side of Xiefang Courtyard. The rotten wooden ladder creaked, each step like stepping on rusted strings. The musty odor mixed with the earthy smell assaulted the face, choking and itching the throat. As the lantern light passed through the cobweb-covered corner, several half-man-high cypress boxes came into view. The lids were thick with dust, but the edges showed signs of being wiped.
"Open it!" the old butler's voice trembled, brimming with suppressed rage. The moment the servants worked together to lift the lid, the brilliance of pearls and jade was blinding. A string of oriental pearls slipped from the box, leaving a streak of light on the moldy soil. At the edge of the topmost stack of land deeds peeked the vermilion seal of the "General's Mansion of the State Guarding"—the very same batch that had suddenly "lost" three years ago. The ink was still vibrant, like congealed blood.
"I knew it!" The old man was so angry that he was shaking all over, and his fingers poked the wall of the box, making a thudding sound, as if he wanted to smash all his anger into the wood. "The property that the general exchanged his life for was hidden in such a place by this vicious woman!" He remembered the words the general had given him before he went to war, and his eyes instantly turned red.
Before he could finish his words, shuffling footsteps echoed from the cellar door, accompanied by the sound of matches being struck. The old housekeeper blew out the lantern abruptly and hid behind a wooden box with his servants, holding his breath. When the torchlight came on, Liu's shrill voice pierced the darkness like nails scraping against glass: "Why are you rushing me? Once that little bitch Shen Weiwan dies, these things won't be yours, right?" As she spoke, the torchlight shone on her twisted face, the dirt embedded in her nasolabial folds making her look particularly hideous.
Shen Ruorou's voice was filled with greed, a little sharper than usual: "Mother, I heard that the Seventh Prince has been going to Tinglan Courtyard a lot recently... What if he..."
"The Seventh Prince?" Liu spat, her saliva splashing on the wooden box, "Just an unfavored prince! Wait until I use arsenic to get rid of Shen Weiwan, and then ship these things out. Let's go to the south and buy a farm. It's a hundred times better than having to read people's faces here!" She kicked the wooden box, making a dull sound, which startled the rats in the corner of the wall and made them run out of the hole.
The old housekeeper clenched his fists in the dark, his nails almost digging into his flesh, and cold sweat broke out on his palms. Suddenly, there was a light sound of tiles above his head, and a copper-plated key fell on Liu's shoulder with a "clang". The key was the fake key that Shen Weiwan deliberately placed on the window sill.
"Who?!" Liu was so frightened that she dropped the torch. The flames licked the spider webs in the corners of the wall, and instantly blue smoke rose, and the smell of burning filled the air. The old housekeeper took the opportunity to rush out with his men. The account book slammed against the wooden box with a loud bang, like thunder: "Liu! You have hidden the family property and intended to murder the legitimate daughter. Do you know your crime?"
In the embers of the torch, Liu looked at the crowd that had suddenly appeared, then at the familiar copper-plated key on the ground. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the moldy soil. The silver hairpin in her hair dropped to the ground with a ding. Shen Ruorou screamed and tried to grab the account book from the old housekeeper, but was held down by the servant. The gold hairpin in her hair fell into the jewelry box, clashing with the pearls with a crisp sound, like a dirge of despair.
Inside Tinglan Courtyard, Shen Weiwan listened to Chuntao's breathless report and placed the teacup on the table. The celadon bottom made a clear sound against the surface, and the remaining tea in the cup sloshed out the edge. "Take her to the main hall." She stood up, her moon-white skirt sweeping across the floor. "I want to hear what else Liu can come up with."
In the main hall, Liu was lying on the ground with her hair disheveled. The headband on her bun was tilted to the tip of her nose. Two strands of her jade armor were broken, revealing the rough nails inside. When she saw Shen Weiwan coming in, she suddenly struggled and screamed, her voice hoarse: "Old housekeeper! How dare you commit treason? I am the widow of the second master of the general's mansion!"
"Can a widow hide the family property?" Shen Weiwan threw a stack of account books in front of her. The pages flipped and revealed records of Liu's embezzlement, and every entry was signed with her name. "Can she buy arsenic to poison the legitimate daughter?" The account books fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Liu stared at her signature on the account book, her lips trembling and unable to speak. The powder on her face was washed away by sweat, revealing her sallow skin. But Shen Ruorou suddenly broke free from the servants and rushed towards Shen Weiwan with disheveled hair, her nails almost scratching her face: "It's you! You are the one who schemed against us! You bitch!"
Shen Weiwan dodged, while Chuntao quickly grasped Shen Ruorou. They heard the rapid clatter of horse hooves from outside the door, approaching from afar, shaking the doorframe slightly. Seventh Prince Xiao Yu strode in, dressed in casual attire. The jade belt buckle around his waist gleamed coldly in the candlelight. A corner of the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand was lifted by the wind, revealing the dragon pattern on the scroll vividly.
"I am following His Majesty's orders to investigate the corruption case at the General's Mansion." He glanced at Liu lying on the ground, a sneer curling up at the corner of his mouth, his eyes sharp as an eagle. "It seems that I am still a little late."
When Liu heard the word "imperial edict," her eyes rolled back and she nearly fainted. She was barely revived by the servant pinching her philtrum. Shen Weiwan stepped forward to offer a salute, only to hear Xiao Yu's voice, lowered so only the two of them could hear it, tinged with a hint of teasing, "This 'entice the enemy into a trap' is even more ingenious than the last 'tickling skirt'."
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