Chapter 9: Won’t You Save Yourself?
Qin Niang is Lan Qin, one of the four maidservants that Yue Tang brought from Prince Duan’s Mansion to Imperial Manor Bieye back then.
She was also the only one left who stayed in Bieye to handle the aftermath that night when the incident happened.
After returning to the capital, they settled in the northern part of the city. After Yue Tang and Hua Lin entered the He Residence, Lan Qin stayed behind to manage the remaining affairs.
Afraid that Yue Tang wouldn’t be used to drinking tea from outside, she specially packed some in a sachet for Yue Tang to take with her.
After nightfall, Xiao Huo pinpointed Liu Shi’s exact whereabouts and conveniently informed: “Aunt Qin has also been helping at the medical clinic these past two days. She probably heard some news and will come looking for the master tomorrow.”
Yue Tang nodded. As usual, Madam He decocted Calming Soup for her, making her fall asleep, and then she left the He Residence from the small side courtyard in the back together with Xiao Huo.
Liu Shi naturally never imagined that after He Xu and Zhang Shi, the next one to get into trouble would be herself.
How could Nanny Li go kill He Xu?
This is impossible!
Someone must be framing her, and the purpose of framing Nanny Li is to frame herself!
He Xu knows martial arts, and the main house has plenty of servants. How could a single Nanny Li succeed?
She is the Second Mistress. Even if she doesn’t manage the household, she has plenty of opportunities to contact people in the Kitchen Department!
More importantly, since the incident in the main house, the one who has benefited the most is her, Liu Shi! — That smug remark she made in front of Lin Shi back then has now turned into her shackles!
Liu Shi sat in the cold prison cell, cold sweat frequently breaking out on her forehead.
But now she calls to heaven and heaven doesn’t answer, calls to earth and earth doesn’t respond!
Even though Liu Family Members arrived in time, they couldn’t stop the He and Zhang Families from joining forces to send her into prison!
And to prevent collusion, she and Nanny Li were locked up separately!
She didn’t want to die. She had earned merit for the He Family. She was originally supposed to be above everyone in the residence, enjoying all the good fortune of the matriarch. She didn’t want to die!
She couldn’t die either!
A faint beam of light gradually shifted over just as she was nearly in despair.
“Second Mistress?”
Liu Shi, shrunk on the ground, heard the voice and instantly came to the bars.
“It’s you?”
She was very surprised. The one who came was actually that little widow!
Yue Tang said softly through the iron bars, “Grandmother treated me well. I specially bribed the Warden to come in.”
Liu Shi was both shocked and suspicious: “You? Bribed the Warden?”
Now with the He and Zhang Families jointly applying pressure, even her biological father might not be able to do it!
“Yes,” Yue Tang touched her own face, “Didn’t Grandmother also think that with this face, I can do anything? Unexpectedly, even that Warden couldn’t pass my barrier.”
Liu Shi was choked.
These words seemed reasonable, but also a bit exasperating.
Yue Tang said: “The Warden only gave me a quarter of an hour. Now everyone believes Grandmother is the murderer. Does Grandmother have any words to entrust to me? I can handle it on your behalf.”
Liu Shi gritted her teeth: “What use is entrusting you? You can’t get me out!”
Yue Tang sighed: “I can’t. This trip is probably in vain. But the He Family is so ruthless, and Grandmother is such a strong person. Since it’s come to this, why not quickly think of a way to save yourself?”
Liu Shi frowned: “Save myself?”
Yue Tang’s face was full of gravity: “I heard that several generations back, both the Zhang Family and He Family were low-level generals, but three years ago they suddenly rose to prominence. Could there be no trickery behind this?
“Grandmother has already been forced into a dead end by them, with life hanging by a thread. Why not use any leverage you have on the He Family or Zhang Family to counterattack from desperation?”
Liu Shi was stunned: “Leverage?”
She shivered.
That’s right!
They assassinated Princess Yongjia!
Isn’t that leverage?
That was the only close niece whom the Former Emperor and Empress regarded as a pearl, the elder cousin born in the same year, month, and day as the current Emperor!
They executed imperial clan members. This is the crime of deceiving the Emperor!
Once the Emperor finds out that the commandery princess’s death back then was not an accident, but plotted by court officials, ten He Family members wouldn’t be enough to chop!
Not to mention the He Family—even the Zhang Family was involved!
None of them can escape!
The sudden agitation made her ten fingers curl up.
Yue Tang’s voice grew even lower: “Even ants cling to life, let alone Grandmother, who has parents above and children below. If something happens to Grandmother, I don’t believe the Second Young Master will treat her well.
“Doesn’t Grandmother feel sorry for such a young child?”
Ferocious light appeared in Liu Shi’s eyes. That bastard He Hui, when he was splashing dirty water on her today, disregarded husband-wife bond to protect her and instead kicked her when she was down. How could he possibly treat her child well?!
She tightly grasped the bars: “What way do you have to help me?”
Yue Tang stuffed the small bundle she casually brought in: “I have no other method. I just thought Grandmother might have words to pass on, so I specially brought some paper and brush. Does Grandmother need it?”
Upon hearing “paper and brush,” Liu Shi’s waist instantly straightened!
This little widow was right. Since there’s a way to live, why sit and wait for death?
With paper and brush, she could get the word out!
She wanted to threaten the He Family to withdraw the lawsuit! Regardless of whether they could find the real culprit or not, they must immediately take her back! They must let her continue to be the Second Mistress properly!
Otherwise, she would go all out to tear everything apart, exposing all the things the He and Zhang Families did to the government officials!
Either way, she was going to die. She didn’t believe the two families could withstand the Marquis of Guangling’s interrogation at that point?!
She gritted her teeth and yanked the bundle into her hand: “I’ll write a letter. You take it back to the Master for me! Once the matter is done, I’ll reward you heavily later. Now, turn your back to me!”
Yue Tang turned around as instructed.
Soon, the sound of paper and brush rustling came from behind.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and gazed darkly toward the depths of the prison corridor.
……
When Yue Tang came out with the letter, Xiao Huo also came up from the shadows.
He handed her a skin flask of hot herbal medicine that he clutched tightly to his chest: “Mr. Hua instructed this. It’s medicine to restore the tendons and bones. It must be taken on time.”
Yue Tang took the medicine, then gave him the letter: “This prefect has a crooked stance and is close to the Marquis’s Mansion. Change the envelope and submit it as a petition to his desk.
“After it’s done, remember to leak some news to the jailers.”
Xiao Huo took the letter and vanished into the night.
Yue Tang glanced at the long sky, tilted her head back to drink the medicine, and slipped back to the He Residence from another direction.
The He Residence, plagued by frequent accidents, presented a deathly silence after extreme exhaustion this night.
In just two short days, one after another, it made He Jianzhong’s head throb.
After Liu Shi was sent to prison, he was also starting to hold out no longer.
Madam He was making a fuss in the main room, so he was too lazy to return to his quarters and fell asleep leaning on the chair in the study.
He felt like he had just closed his eyes when someone shook him awake. In the morning light before him stood the panicked butler: “Master! Big trouble!”
He Jianzhong felt blood surge to his heart, a fishy sweetness overflowing from the corner of his mouth: “What happened again!”
“Last night, the Second Mistress wrote a petition in the prison and suddenly accused the He and Zhang Families of plotting treason!
“And she shouted it so all the jailers knew!
“Fortunately, the Shuntian Prefecture magistrate knows both families are under the Marquis of Guangling. After receiving the petition, he immediately suppressed it and sent it early to the Marquis, but the Marquis is furious—Master?! Oh, Master!”
Before the words were finished, He Jianzhong pitched forward!
The butler hurriedly supported him, but He Jianzhong gripped his arm like an iron claw with both hands: “Plotting treason? Plotting what treason?”
The butler shook his head: “This servant doesn’t know! But even the people coming to relay the message and summon the Master to the mansion had bad expressions!
“Master should hurry over. This servant has never seen the people from the Marquis’s Mansion treat us so without regard for old ties…”
He Jianzhong looked at him, feeling his two feet light and floating, his soul already scattered!
