Chapter 17: Plot
Mingxi looked at the handkerchief carefully. It was stained with blood. The handkerchief was neatly folded. I wonder if it was the justice Zhulou wanted to seek. Looking at the crooked bloodstains on the handkerchief, some of them were already stained together. Mingxi could hardly distinguish them. "Mrs. Lin~killed~me~and~Lu~Luo"!
Mingxi read it out, and the parrot asked excitedly, "Girl, with this, can we wait for the master to come back and report Lin Qinshuang?"
But Mingxi was not so optimistic. She could occupy a place in Sheng Hong's heart by showing weakness and confessing, but it was only because she was obedient and sensible and would not cause trouble. If he really had to choose between herself and Lin Qinshuang, Mingxi was not sure of winning, not to mention that Sheng Hong loved his career and family honor more. If news of the murderous behavior spread at home, could Sheng Hong still be promoted to Tokyo smoothly?
Even if I expose this matter, Sheng Hong will only make a big deal out of a small matter. The life of a servant is worthless in Sheng Hong's heart. In the end, it will only let Sheng Hong see Lin Qinshuang's cruelty, but it will not affect Lin Qinshuang. What about me? The image I have worked hard to establish will be ruined, and this deal will be forgotten. So this matter must be exposed, but it must not be caused by me.
Mingxi thought about all this and shook her head at the parrot, "We can't do anything to Lin Qinshuang for the time being. She has been in this mansion for many years and has won the hearts of many people. I'm worried that if we make a fuss, she will be desperate and turn against us, then we will lose nothing."
The parrot was very disappointed, and Mingxi saw it, "Parrot, although we can't kill her with one blow this time, we can tear a piece of flesh from her body and make her feel pain. Parrot, come here." Mingxi thought of a good idea and called the parrot to come over. The parrot's eyes became brighter and brighter as it listened, and it did as Mingxi asked.
Mingxi gave the parrot 50 taels and asked her to find the servant left by Sheng Hong. Mingxi thought that Lin Qinshuang should have bribed the servant. Mingxi could guess the general content, which was nothing more than asking the servant not to say anything he shouldn't say in front of Sheng Hong. Since Mingxi had already given birth successfully, no matter how tortuous the process was, the result was that Mingxi gave Sheng Hong a son, and the servant could report to Sheng Hong, so he didn't need to say anything extra.
Why did Mingxi think so? After all, Dong Rong could be bribed by Lin Qinshuang, let alone others. But Mingxi asked the parrot to go, not to deliberately make things difficult for the servant, but to show it to Lin Qinshuang, so that Lin Qinshuang would think that Mingxi had always thought of her behind everything, and deliberately made fun of her, so that Lin Qinshuang would not pay too much attention to Mingxi's other actions. Sure enough, the servant refused.
Mingxi asked Xiaotao to take 100 taels of silver notes to find Xiaodie. Before, Sheng Hong gave Mingxi 1,000 taels of silver notes. The next day, he asked Xiaotao to send 100 taels to Xiaodie, and also asked her to do some odd jobs in his bookstore. The bookstore was full of scholars, so Mingxi could feel more at ease with Xiaodie, a girl. Xiaodie had a place to settle down, and Mingxi also completed the master-servant relationship for the real Wei Xiaoniang. But now, Mingxi needs Xiaodie's help. Xiaotao was asked to go because everyone in Lin Qinshuang's house was staring at the parrot, so Xiaotao would be more likely to act. Mingxi was still worried that Xiaotao would not remember things, so he repeatedly reminded her how to say it.
"Xiaotao, why are you here? Are you going to buy new books for the young lady? I'll take you to the front, so that the clerks in the bookstore won't see you and fool you."
Xiaotao came to the back door of the bookstore to find Xiaodie. Xiaodie thought she was here to buy books for Minglan, so she led her to the front yard, "Sister Xiaodie, Sister Xiaodie, my mother asked me to come." Xiaotao couldn't get rid of Xiaodie's hand, so she hurriedly told her the purpose of her visit.
Xiaodie stopped, "My lady asked you to come here. Could it be that she wants you to give me money again? I really can't accept it this time." Xiaotao's small face was full of helplessness, interrupting Xiaodie's reverie, "Sister Xiaodie, my lady asked me to come to you for help."
Xiaodie immediately shut up, squatted down and looked at Xiaotao, and stretched her head out of the door to see if there was anyone else. After confirming that no one was following, she squatted in front of Xiaotao again, "What did my lady say to you?" Xiaotao whispered to Xiaodie's ear for a while, and Xiaodie nodded to indicate that she had remembered everything.
The next day, it was reported in Yangzhou City that the Sheng family in Tongpanfu had a concubine who was beautiful and beautiful.
"She is extremely beautiful, and she smells fragrant when she walks past. Her appearance has not changed for decades!" A person who helped dress up in the teahouse spoke first.
Some people were not convinced. We were all peasants, and you said you had seen her. "You are bragging, right? Where did you see her?"
Helper A retorted, "I saw her in the Sheng Mansion. At that time, the Sheng Mansion wanted to transplant plum blossoms, and I went to help. That's when I saw her. Although I was far away, I could see that she was very beautiful. I heard from the servants in the mansion that the plum blossoms were transplanted for her, and they said she liked plum blossoms the most."
Some people in the teahouse believed it, but there were still those who questioned it, "How do you know that her appearance has not changed in decades?"
Helper A said, "I heard it from the servants in the mansion when we were chatting. They also said that why did Master Sheng favor her instead of his wife?" The crowd talked even louder. Seeing that what he said was very convincing, most people believed it.
"How can a normal person keep the same appearance for decades? It seems that she is sucking human blood as the rumors say."
"Really? I heard that the Sheng Mansion sent out two maids a few days ago. They are in their prime, and their blood is most useful..."
"I also heard that the Sheng Mansion sends out a lot of maids every year, all of whom are there to suck blood from that lady."
"How could the Sheng Tongpan not care? He is the official!"
"Care? Care about what? She has been bewitched by that witch. I have heard that the Tongpan favors his concubine and kills his wife!"
"I have heard that too. It is said that the wife of the Sheng family is a daughter of a noble family. She married Master Sheng, but in the end Master Sheng still favored his concubine and killed his wife."
"These officials don't care about the lives of us ordinary people. Whose daughter does they treat so badly!"
"Alas, the people should not fight against the officials..."
Such talk was everywhere in Yangzhou City, whether in restaurants, teahouses, or on the streets. Common people liked such bizarre topics the most, and since they involved officials and nobles, they were even more enthusiastic about talking. Although the officials did not believe in the nonsense of sucking human blood, they were also keenly aware of the secrets hidden in it. There were even officials' families who were curious about whether drinking human blood could really keep their beauty forever.
Such talk continued to ferment and intensified, but because the master and the eldest lady of Sheng Mansion were not in Yangzhou City, the most powerful old lady in the mansion was indulging in her grandchildren, and this matter was only circulated among the servants, and no one dared to spread it to the ears of the masters in the mansion.
Mingxi was very satisfied with the speed of the rumor's spread. She wanted everyone to know about it. Sheng Hong needed a good reputation, so those who ruined his reputation should be punished. It would be interesting to see if Sheng Hong could still protect her with such a good temper. But this was not enough...
When the rumor was spreading, many insiders came out and said that the concubine of the Sheng Mansion did have witchcraft and could turn water into ice. The evidence was that this witch had the lingering fragrance of plum blossoms.
It was also said that she not only liked to suck the blood of young girls, but also liked the flesh and blood of newborn babies. It was said that she couldn't wait until another concubine in the Sheng Mansion was eight months pregnant. She used the magic of controlling water to turn into ice and suddenly turned into ice under the concubine's feet. The concubine didn't expect there would be ice and fell directly. Fortunately, a loyal servant protected her and saved her life. It was also said that when the midwife went out, there was a large piece of ice outside the door. The midwife walked close to the wall to avoid falling. Why did you say she wanted to harm the midwife? Of course, the witch didn't want to harm the midwife. She just wanted the midwife to go later, and wait until the woman in labor died and had a caesarean section to take the baby, and then she would take the baby to eat its flesh and blood. She also said that this was all true. The midwife in the south of the city was the midwife who delivered the aunt of the Sheng family. She could prove that the door was covered with ice when she left the house that day. She was confused at that time. The young girls and pregnant women in Yangzhou City were in a panic, fearing that they would be the next to suffer.