“I pretended to know nothing and only came back after going to look for Daoxiang. I stayed with Daoxiang by the young lady’s side.
After the young lady's grandparents passed away, the concubine who strangled her was made the legitimate daughter. Huang Mengling, the daughter she gave birth to, claimed she was older than the young lady and that she was the legitimate daughter. Her mother had given birth to her while she was a concubine, yet she had the nerve to claim she was the legitimate daughter.
Then, she brought people to torture us in various ways every day, such as letting dogs bite us, letting wild cats scratch us, and locking us and the wild cats in a cage. They poked the wild cats with sticks, and the wild cats scratched us when they felt pain.
She said whipping us was boring, so she found barbed caltrops and tied them up with hemp ropes to whip us. The young lady and we were covered in wounds. That was usually when the next round of torture would begin.
Huang Mengling used a branding iron to brand the young lady, testing it on my face and Daoxiang's. She told the young lady not to move, because if she moved, the words wouldn't be branded properly, and she would use a large branding iron to remove the words and find another piece of flesh to brand. While she was branding the young lady, she was also branding Daoxiang and me..."
Qinghe couldn't continue speaking. She bowed, ran outside and cried for a long time.
The room was silent.
When Qing He returned, she bowed again. Seeing how thin she was, Bicui cushioned the chair she was sitting on. Chi Zhu placed some snacks on the small table beside her and refilled her tea.
Qing He said, "Later, Huang Mengling and her daughter asked the young lady to write a letter to her grandmother asking for money. We asked for help in various ways but to no avail. The young lady could no longer bear it. There was no light in her eyes and she was dull. She refused to write or pay any attention to them.
We were tied up and locked in the room all day, living like prisoners in shackles in prison, and often subjected to torture. The young lady was speechless and ignored us. Huang Mengling and her daughter were so angry that they broke the young lady's legs, forcing her to lie prone on the ground.
They then said, "If you're not writing, what's the point of having your hands?" and broke her arms and fingers. They also took many business contracts and forced her to press her fingerprints. That day, they said her grandmother, our old lady, was dead, and that there was no need for her to live. They buried her alive along with Daoxiang, right in the courtyard where she had lived before.
Qinghe paused again, lowered his head for a long time before looking up again.
"They found someone with a figure and voice similar to the young lady, and asked me to wear a veil that only showed my eyes and stay with her. Whenever someone came to see the young lady, they told me that she was sick and wanted to see her through the curtain. If anyone wanted to be handed anything, I was the one to receive it. If anyone asked why I was wearing a veil, they would say that I was not feeling well after taking care of the sick young lady. After a quick visit, they would quickly send them away.
I thought the young lady had just been killed by them, and they were feeling guilty, so they needed to find someone to pretend to be the real one. Gradually, when no one cared, they would torture me to death. So I ran away. Later, I settled in that village."
Wang Lingyi waited until she had finished her tea and some snacks before asking, "Besides you, is there anyone else who knows about this?"
Qing He said, "Huang Mengling had several maids who had been with her in abusing and murdering people for years. They buried the young lady and Daoxiang alive by first having the servants of the mansion dig a pit, saying they were going to plant trees. Then, after closing the gate, it was these maids who filled the pit with dirt."
Huang Mengling's mother also had several maids around her, and they were the ones who strangled the young lady to death."
Wang Lingyi asked, "If you saw these people, could you recognize them?"
Qing He's eyes were filled with tears: "I recognize it."
Wang Lingyi asked someone to take Qinghe downstairs to rest and settle down in the mansion first.
After thinking about it, he sent another visiting card to Tang, the concubine of Duke Xiangguo. This time, his mood was completely different.
When Wang Lingyi met Tang Miao again, she directly showed Tang Miao the complaint written by Qinghe.
Tang Miao was astonished after reading this and asked Wang Lingyi why she had come today. Wang Lingyi said, "Excuse me, Madam. I've come to inform the Duke of Xiangguo about this matter. Two loyal servants are planning to file a complaint, and since I'm involved, I should at least inform them in advance."
Tang Miao said, "I have one thing I don't understand. If this is true, then Madam Hou is not a relative of Huang Zhiyi and her daughter in Qiyang, nor is she the head of the Ministry of Justice. Why would she be involved in this matter?"
Wang Lingyi said, "I originally bought that farm. The old owner said it was originally given by their old lady to her granddaughter Huang Zhiyi, and it didn't belong to Huang Mengling. If Huang Mengling and her daughter really killed someone to seize the property, then my farm was essentially stolen property. If I didn't know, it would be fine. But now that I know, I can't just ignore it.
Afterward, he promised the village head to look for the missing Huang Zhiyi. Later, he found Qinghe and listened to her story. No matter how upset he was, he wasn't afraid of being laughed at by his wife. Throughout all this, he had never considered himself an outsider getting involved. But now, even if he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to walk away. These past few days, he'd been dreaming of the scenes Qinghe described, and his heart was heavy, unable to let go.
Madam, please keep this petition and tell the Duke that Qinghe still has some."
When Ye Zhou returned home and heard what Tang had said about this matter, and read the petition, he was also shocked. In his opinion, Huang Mengling was not a good woman, but he was still shocked by her cruelty and brutality.
Ye Zhou told Tang to tell the Ningyuan Marquis' wife to do whatever was necessary. However, the reputation of the Xiangguo Mansion would be tarnished once again.
After receiving this reply, Wang Lingyi said to Tang, "Why bother dragging down the reputation of the Duke of Xiangguo's mansion? Has the Duke of Xiangguo never considered divorce?"
Tang gritted her teeth and expressed her true feelings. This might really be an opportunity. She smiled helplessly and said, "I think the Duke also has this intention, but he has no legitimate reason."
Wang Lingyi said, "Divorce requires a legitimate reason, but divorce by marriage doesn't. If a divorce allows them to take all their dowry and not be confined to the harem, I'm afraid they'll be more willing to take the initiative."
Seeing Tang Miao remained silent, Wang Lingyi said, "These dowries are a hot potato right now. It would be a good idea to sever ties with the Duke's Mansion as soon as possible."
Tang Miao was awakened by this, and the next day she arranged for a few maids to discuss that Ye Zhou wanted to ask for his son to be crowned the Crown Prince, but did not want Huang Mengling to be the Crown Prince's mother, so he intended to divorce her. She deliberately let Huang Mengling's maid hear this.
These maids have been trapped in the backyard with Huang Mengling for more than ten years. Several of the personal maids know a lot of inside information. Huang Mengling will not let them go, and Ye Zhou doesn't care. They think about what they have done and are afraid that they will be killed by Huang Mengling and her daughter if they leave the Xiangguo Mansion.
But the resentment in his heart accumulated day by day. Now, after hearing this letter, he quickly told Huang Mengling that they were all looking forward to a divorce and he could leave with her.
But Huang Mengling was a little hesitant.
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