After the fifth princess' birthday, Wang Lingyi asked the middleman to re-inspect the commercial contract and the farm to verify whether the purchase price was appropriate.
At the same time, he asked Xuan Mo and Xuan Qing to find the old head of Huang Mengling's village who left seven or eight years ago.
After finally finding someone to ask, the head of the manor said, "We left not because anyone from the Duke of Xiangguo's Mansion asked us to leave, but because eight years ago, before the old lady passed away, she left a message to give this manor to the young lady, who is also our old lady's granddaughter.
But we have been staying at the manor for almost a year and have not been able to meet the young lady. We also heard that the manor deed somehow fell into the hands of the second lady.
The second young lady, Huang Mengling, was originally born to a concubine, but was made the legal wife after our young lady passed away. This estate was given by the old lady to her granddaughter, not to Huang Mengling.
We went to the deed office to ask, but seeing that we were just servants, they ignored us and, when we got tired of asking, just said that all the formalities were in place.
We had no other options, so we sent a message back to our hometown in Qiyang. The old lady had passed away, and no one was paying attention to our affairs here. We felt something was amiss, but since no one was paying attention, we left the village.
Once we, the managers, left, the atmosphere was completely shattered. But Huang Mengling didn't really care about the farm under her name, so there were probably still quite a few people working there, and outsiders couldn't see anything wrong. The remaining people gradually left, with some leaving every year. Originally, there were nearly a hundred people working on the farm, all of whom I'd seen in the beginning. Almost all of them have left in the past seven or eight years."
Wang Lingyi secretly felt ashamed. She had a preconceived notion and thought that it was her concubine Tang who bullied Huang Mengling, but in fact, she had nothing to do with her.
Someone asked, "Has no one seen your young lady in all these years?"
The village head replied, "No. After our young lady passed away, the youngest lived with her grandparents, and I saw them then."
Later, the young lady's grandmother passed away. Our brother-in-law did not observe filial piety and even went out to sleep with other prostitutes during the mourning period. This made the young lady's grandfather sick with anger. The brother-in-law treated him harshly during his illness, and the old man of the family passed away.
Since our little lady returned to her father and step-wife, we have seen less and less of her, and later we have not seen her at all."
Wang Lingyi nodded and arranged for the old village head to be escorted out. The village head bowed deeply to Wang Lingyi and said, "In the past seven or eight years, you are the first person to ask about our young lady. I will tell you everything I know. If you need my help, I will do my best. I only hope you can help me find our young lady."
Wang Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "Okay."
Since they had agreed, they would do their best. However, after sending someone to investigate, Huang Mengling's parents kept a tight lid on the young lady's situation. They only learned that she was "suffering from a serious illness, bedridden for years, and unable to recover." Further investigation, perhaps even a meeting, would be impossible without a clear reason.
If this matter happened in her hometown of Qiyang, it would certainly be easier if someone from her maternal grandparents came forward to meet her.
I asked the old village head, and he said, "After the old lady passed away, the eldest and second young masters separated. We sent people to look for them, but they kept making excuses and delaying the matter. The people from Qiyang couldn't wait for a long time.
Later, the son-in-law said that his second daughter, Huang Mengling, was the wife of Duke Xiangguo, and if anyone from Qiyang came to harass us again, he would tell Duke Xiangguo to punish us.
Qi Yang's hometown is just a merchant family. People don't fight with officials. They are usually polite even to the county magistrate, not to mention the Xiangguo Mansion, which is so important.
I also learned that the Duke of Xiangguo was a follower of His Majesty and had always held great power. Although I heard that the Second Miss was not favored, she was the Duke's wife after all, and her family in Qiyang had hundreds of people. I was afraid that it would bring trouble to the whole family, so I gradually stopped caring about it.
Wang Lingyi understood and said, "I understand this matter and will find another way to plan it. Do your young lady and your young mistress have any capable people around them?"
The village head said, "Our young lady has two maids, one named He Qing and the other Dao Xiang. They have been with her since they were young. After the young lady was born, Dao Xiang was assigned to her. I don't know if anyone else has been assigned to her."
The village headman took his leave. After leaving the farm, he and several others who had resigned with him found jobs as village heads in Kyoto. Wang Lingyi had originally considered recruiting him back, but then she thought about how he had worked there for seven or eight years and done a good job, while the farm here was in such a state of disrepair. She felt embarrassed to recruit him back, so she gave up. However, the village headman was thinking that if he could truly bring the young lady back, it would be a great favor, and how could he ever repay it?
Wang Lingyi prepared some fine wine and delicious food, and kept them warm in the small kitchen, waiting for the young marquis Jiang Heng to return.
Since Jiang Heng moved to Wang Lingyi's Fangfeiyuan, he has returned to the way he was before Chunliu poisoned him. Whenever he sees Wang Lingyi, he becomes shameless. He acts cold and aloof outside, but is as sticky as a piece of candy when he returns to Fangfeiyuan.
Now he strode into Fangfei Courtyard, still in his outer clothes, and hugged Wang Lingyi, burying his head in his wife's neck. Wang Lingyi couldn't push him away, so she could only say softly, "Stop making trouble. Change your clothes first."
Jiang Heng inhaled her scent on his neck, then reached out and opened his hand. "Thank you, my lady," he said, smiling lazily at Wang Lingyi. Wang Lingyi had no choice but to untie his belt, remove his crown, and cloak, handing each item to the maid.
After Jiang Heng changed into his regular clothes and washed his hands, he saw the maids filing in to serve wine and food.
Jiang Heng asked, "Why are all the dishes here today my favorites? Don't you usually use me as a food tester? It's a little strange that there aren't any weird foods."
Wang Lingyi smiled, "If you want to eat, I'll ask Chizhu to bring it to you."
Jiang Heng said hurriedly: "That's not necessary."
Wang Lingyi said, "I need your help, my husband."
Jiang Heng sighed, "I knew nothing was free. I can tell you made these dishes yourself. I was wondering what important day it was that I forgot about. Madam, please give me your orders. Your husband will do whatever it takes to get you there."
Wang Lingyi said, "You have no conscience. You ate all the food I made for free, and now you deny it?"
Jiang Heng said, "Don't mention conscience, you made me eat so many weird things, is that what a conscientious wife would do to her husband?
I really couldn't eat the cake you and Chizhu made last time, so I put it in my arms and went into the palace. When I met His Majesty and Dahei, I gave the cake to Dahei while His Majesty wasn't paying attention. Dahei sniffed it and refused to eat it.
When I turned around, His Majesty noticed me and asked me what it was. I told him it was breakfast my wife had made for me. His Majesty looked at Dahei and the cake and said to me, "It's pitiful."
Then His Majesty had the breakfast prepared by the Empress brought out, only for me to look at. He told the eunuch to go to the kitchen and get me two boiled eggs and some soup noodles. I ate and then went back to work. He said his portion wasn't enough for him, so he didn't give me any. I was so angry, it was clearly plenty.
Wang Lingyi knew that His Majesty got along with these military generals in this way, so she was not surprised. She thought to herself: This emperor is such a dog. Fortunately, my sister will not enter the palace.
She hurriedly comforted her husband, "Let Chizhu and I try a few more times. When we succeed, you can give it to Dahei to make him jealous. If he doesn't like it today, he won't be able to eat it tomorrow."
Jiang Heng: ...
"What does my wife need your husband's help with?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
