Chapter 73: Vengeful Spirits Gather
The night deepened.
Madam Song had not yet slept.
“Little Madam, it’s time to rest!”
Granny Yang’s old eyes were squinting; she was finding it hard to stay awake.
“You go down and sleep! I’ll have Liuyun and Hua Hong serve me,” Madam Song said, seeing that she couldn’t hold on any longer.
“Granny Yang, please go and rest! The Little Madam has us by her side!” the two maids also said.
“Then this old servant will withdraw first,” Granny Yang said, tapping her back. Lately, she had been feeling that her body was not as strong as before, which showed she was truly getting old.
As soon as she reached the outer room, a dark shadow lunged at her, startling her.
“Oh my! It’s the Fifth Young Master, you scared this old woman to death!” Granny Yang clutched her chest, her heart pounding uncomfortably.
“I want Mother to sleep with me,” Gong Bao’an had pretended to be asleep earlier and had actually fallen asleep. Now that he was awake, he couldn’t sleep again.
“Oh dear, Fifth Young Master, that won’t do. The Little Madam is not feeling well right now! Don’t go bother her, be good!” Granny Yang stopped Gong Bao’an.
Because he was too small, Granny Yang had to squat down and hug him.
Suddenly, she smelled a fragrance from Gong Bao’an’s neck, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, even pushing Gong Bao’an away.
Gong Bao’an fell on his backside and started crying.
“What is it?” Madam Song asked displeasedly from the inner room.
“Little Madam…” Granny Yang’s voice had changed slightly, clearly quite shaken.
“Granny Yang, are you alright?” At this moment, He Hua happened to come in from outside. She first picked up Gong Bao’an and then went forward to help Granny Yang up.
“Bring the Fifth Young Master in, let me see him,” Madam Song said, worried about her son.
Gong Bao’an was led in by a maid, sobbing.
“Where did you hurt yourself? Come here and let Mother hug you,” Madam Song extended her hand, and Gong Bao’an climbed into her arms.
In just an instant, Madam Song’s pupils dilated.
She desperately suppressed her racing heart and, after a while, said, “Liuyun, you and Hua Hong go and coax the Fifth Young Master to sleep, and let Granny Yang come in first.”
“Fifth Young Master, let’s go, this servant will coax you to sleep,” the two maids took Gong Bao’an away.
“Little Madam…” Granny Yang was still shaken, “Just now I smelled something on the Fifth Young Master… Did you… did you smell it too?”
“What smell did you detect?” Madam Song asked her.
“It was… it was the smell of Rose Cake, and… and a milky scent…” Granny Yang was so nervous she kept hiccuping, “That was clearly… clearly the Third Young Master…”
Gong Kang’an was only one year old when he died and had not yet been weaned, so the milky scent on him was particularly noticeable.
And his favorite dim sum was Rose Cake; he had indeed been poisoned after eating Rose Cake.
These two scents were impossible to be on Gong Bao’an, which was why Granny Yang was so panicked.
Madam Song’s brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this, “Don’t talk nonsense!”
“It’s true!” Granny Yang trembled involuntarily, “Could it be… could it be that the Third Young Master has really returned?”
“Stop talking nonsense! It’s possible someone is playing tricks,” Madam Song was unwilling to admit it.
“Everyone in this courtyard is our own people. Although the Fourth Young Master came here during the day, it’s been so long. Besides, we didn’t smell this scent on the Fifth Young Master before!” Granny Yang’s eyes darted around, feeling as if the room was full of ghosts, “Little Madam, if you don’t believe me, you can smell him yourself. That scent… I will never forget that scent in my lifetime…”
“Calm yourself!” Madam Song, with a strength she didn’t know she had, grabbed Granny Yang’s shoulders and stared at her fiercely, “So what if he’s back? What can he do to you and me?!”
“Little Madam, I’m scared… I’m afraid the Third Young Master’s ghost has returned to claim our lives…” Although Granny Yang had a wicked heart, she couldn’t help but fear ghosts and spirits at this moment.
“Hmph! If he’s coming to claim a life, it won’t be mine. If anyone’s life is to be claimed, it should be the one surnamed Wen! I gave him his life, and I had my own difficulties back then. If anyone is to blame, it’s his own bad luck!” Madam Song’s face was so ferocious that under the candlelight, she looked like a vengeful spirit had possessed her.
Granny Yang looked at her, and a sense of dread welled up from the bottom of her heart. An ominous premonition told her that retribution was coming.
“I’m telling you, being afraid is useless,” Madam Song saw her fear and hesitation, “We have no way back! Even if we have to go to hell after death, we must enjoy wealth and status while we are alive!
Think of your children and grandchildren. As long as I become Madam, what benefits won’t you get? You are my confidante! I will give you at least thirty percent of the private wealth, so they won’t have to be servants anymore and can live like nobles!”
It had to be said that the reason Madam Song and Granny Yang colluded was that they were cut from the same cloth.
Madam Song understood what Granny Yang feared, but she also knew better what could move her the most.
Money makes the world go round, and money can also make people unafraid of ghosts.
As expected, a light rekindled in Granny Yang’s eyes. Her body was still trembling slightly, but her voice was steadier than before.
“Little Madam, what do you think we should do?”
“What to do? Naturally, we go with the flow,” Madam Song sneered, “Even if his vengeful spirit lingers, I will use this vengeful spirit to write an article and bring Wen Mingqian down!”
Lingyue Pavilion.
Wen Mingqian had not slept yet either.
She stared at a game of unfinished chess on the table, lost in thought.
“Miss, it’s late, you should sleep!” Zhang Ma urged.
“You heard what He Hua just said. Granny Yang was so scared, she clearly has something to hide. My guess is correct, they are the ones who killed that child Kang’an, and they are crying thief while being the thief,” Wen Mingqian said.
He Hua was originally sent by Madam Song to serve Wen Mingqian. Later, when Madam Song became pregnant, Wen Mingqian sent back some people, including He Hua.
But before that, she had already bribed He Hua. Madam Song was not bad to He Hua, but she wasn’t particularly good either.
The benefits Wen Mingqian gave He Hua were more than ten times what Madam Song gave. He Hua had no reason not to agree.
Moreover, what Wen Mingqian asked her to do was just a small matter of reporting information, not something that would put her in such a difficult position.
“It’s just that I still can’t figure out the crux of the matter,” Wen Mingqian gently tapped a chess piece, her brow furrowed.
Why would Madam Song kill her own biological son? Wen Mingqian still couldn’t understand.
“Human hearts are dark. For someone as wicked and ruthless as Madam Song, her thoughts are indeed difficult to fathom unless she says them herself,” Zhang Ma said.
Wen Mingqian’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she smiled, “Yes! I was so foolish, I couldn’t even think of such a simple method.”
“What did you think of, Miss?” Zhang Ma asked.
“Your words just now reminded me,” Wen Mingqian smiled and got up, “This time I can rest easy.”
