Chapter 330

Chapter 330: The Witch "That was so many years ago, and here you are teasing me." Yuan Mingzhu had a rare smile on her face. You Shuyi went over and put her arm around her. "Oh, just keep me company. We're doing a good deed, consider it accumulating merit for the children. And with a martial artist like you around, I'll feel at ease." "Alright, alright, I can't out-argue the two of you." Yuan Mingzhu finally agreed. On this visit, You Shuyi had also brought jewelry for Song Yu. The Luo family had run a medical clinic for generations, and Luo Feng was the eldest legitimate grandson, so the Luo family gave generously. You Shuyi had only one son, so there was no favoritism to worry about, and since the in-laws were Cui Lingrong's family, she always thought of Song Yu whenever she had something nice. This was one of the reasons Cui Lingrong was quite satisfied with this marriage. Cui Lingrong entertained her two good friends, and when they were having afternoon tea, the people she had sent out returned to report that a maidservant had died in Wutong Courtyard. "How did she die?" Cui Lingrong asked. Er Shun said she had drowned herself in a well. "That's what the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion is saying. The one who died is Qiuju. Does the mistress still remember her?" Cui Lingrong did remember her. Qiuju was one of the quieter ones around Zhao Susu. Drowned herself in a well? "She was fine one moment—why would she drown herself?" You Shuyi found it strange. "But then again, serving a mistress like Zhao Susu would indeed make anyone lose hope. Lingrong, you're still keeping people watching the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion—is there something you're investigating?" With You Shuyi and the others, Cui Lingrong didn't need to keep secrets. "A while back, I discovered that Zhao Susu has been in contact with Madam Bai. After Madam Bai's incident, the nanny by her side even went to see Zhao Susu. Logically speaking, they should be sworn enemies, so I found it strange." You Shuyi and Yuan Mingzhu also thought it didn't make sense. Yuan Mingzhu said, "As for the Lou family, I heard my mother-in-law mention once that Madam Lou treats Madam Zeng poorly. Even though she's her own daughter, she speaks viciously about her in private." She had no dealings with the Lou family, so she'd only heard it in passing and hadn't asked further. "It's normal to favor one child over another, but wishing ill upon one's own child—I've never seen that before," You Shuyi said. Cui Lingrong nodded. "Yes, when I went to the Zeng residence for a banquet before, Madam Lou gave me a cold look. Madam Zeng told me not to mind it, saying it wasn't directed at me. Looking back now, that's also strange. If one's own daughter has become prosperous, shouldn't she be even happier?" "Unless..." A bizarre thought suddenly flashed through You Shuyi's mind. "Unless Madam Zeng isn't her biological daughter?" In some wealthy households, when a man had children with a woman he kept outside, he would bring the child home to give them a legitimate status. Usually, they would be claimed as children of a concubine, since outsiders wouldn't know the specifics anyway. Some children favored by the head of the household would also be entrusted to the legitimate wife to raise. Hearing this, Cui Lingrong also thought it quite possible. "That could indeed be it. Otherwise, how could a person hate her own daughter so much?" She certainly wouldn't be like that. Neither would You Shuyi or Yuan Mingzhu. "But what would Madam Lou want with Zhao Susu? It's not like Zhao Susu could be her daughter," You Shuyi said. That was true. The bloodline of the imperial clan could not be confused. And the Rong Prince Mansion was such an eminent household—how could they possibly let Madam Lou swap a child? Especially since Princess Consort Rong disliked Madam Lou and would certainly be on guard against her. It was simply impossible to accomplish. The three women chatted for a while, only concluding that Madam Lou and Zhao Susu were strange, without figuring out the specific reason. However, You Shuyi and Yuan Mingzhu promised to help make inquiries on their end and see if they could find anything useful. Cui Lingrong saw them off and was just about to have Nanny Qiu prepare the evening meal when Xie Yunting climbed over the wall. "Smells wonderful, Sister Cui." Xie Yunting invited himself in as if it were his own home. "I came by suddenly today, so your household hasn't prepared anything for me. Mind if I join you all for dinner?" Before Cui Lingrong could say anything, Song Yu had already nodded and said yes. With Song Yu having spoken, Cui Lingrong found it hard to refuse. Still, she had another table set up separately, citing the fact that there were no men in the household at present. But Xie Yunting ate with gusto. "The cooks in your household really know their craft. Brother Cui treats you so well—knowing you prefer Suzhou flavors, he specially found you a chef who cooks Suzhou cuisine." As soon as Cui Zeyu had bought the residence, he'd hired the cooks, and even when Cui Lingrong wasn't staying there, they were kept on. Cui Zeyu's invitation for Cui Lingrong to come stay anytime was no empty promise. "My uncle hired two chefs—there's another one who cooks Bianjing-style food. He said whatever we like to eat, we can have it," Song Yu added cheerfully. Zhuang Qi praised, "Master Cui is so thoughtful." If only her father could have that kind of consideration. But her father never brought it up, and she couldn't very well say anything herself—it was driving her crazy. And this General Xie—although he couldn't... perform in that way, she always felt that the way General Xie looked at her aunt was not ordinary. Zhuang Qi's thoughts wandered wildly. Cui Lingrong felt the same. Regarding her situation with Xie Yunting, she truly couldn't sort out her feelings. As for disgust—certainly not. But as for liking him, it wasn't to the point of being utterly captivated. While Cui Lingrong was pondering this, she heard Zhuang Qi say she wanted to return to the Zhuang family for a visit. "Is something the matter?" "Nothing special, just missing my brother and sister. I'll go back and stay for a couple of days." Zhuang Qi's thought was that General Xie lived so close by and came over every few days. She needed to go back and persuade her father again—if they didn't put in more effort, her maternal aunt would truly become the General's wife. "Alright, I'll have someone escort you back tomorrow," Cui Lingrong said. After dinner, Xie Yunting didn't linger long. Cui Lingrong washed up but found herself unable to sleep. At the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, Qiuju's family had been crying all day. Though they had taken the silver Zhao Susu gave them, privately they were still in turmoil. Qiuju's mother looked at the silver on the table. "The mistress said our daughter threw herself into the well on her own, but I saw it—there was a footprint on our daughter's back. Do you remember how Qiuju came back a few days ago, flustered, and gave us all her savings?" "I remember. I thought it was strange at the time. Now that I think about it, she must have sensed something would happen to her, which is why she gave us the silver and such." Qiuju's father's chest felt tight. He had only one son and one daughter. He had thought his daughter serving at the Wutong Courtyard was a matter of honor, but instead she had lost her life. The couple sat by the dim light of an oil lamp, and Qiuju's mother began to cry again. "We're so useless. We know our daughter died wronged, yet... sob... yet we can't seek justice for her?" "How can we seek justice? Our indentures are all in the mistress's hands, and our son works for her too. We're servants, born lowly. Who can we reason with?" Qiuju's father could only sigh. "If it were just the two of us old folks, we could risk everything. But we still have to think of our son—we can't let the whole family be dragged down with us?" Qiuju's mother was heartbroken. She cried so hard that her eyes were swollen the next day. The mistress told them to bury their daughter themselves. The couple pulled their daughter's body to the outskirts of the city. After watching her burial, on the way back, Qiuju's mother didn't return to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. Instead, she went to a nearby fortune teller. After a moment, Er Shun saw Qiuju's mother come out. He went in and directly placed a silver ingot on the table. "That woman who was just here—what did she come for?" Er Shun asked directly. The fortune teller's eyes gleamed at the silver, but she still tried to play hard to get. "Well... this isn't a matter of silver. When I do business for people, I must keep my clients' secrets." Er Shun took out another silver ingot. "And now?" "Well..." "If you won't say, then forget it. But you should think it over—doing what you do, you'd be lucky to earn ten taels of silver in half a year." As Er Shun reached to grab the silver back, the fortune teller snatched it away immediately. "Oh dear, young man, you're too impatient. If it were anyone else, I certainly wouldn't say. But you look kind to me, so I'll tell you a bit more." The fortune teller looked around left and right, then leaned in and whispered, "That woman just now said her daughter was killed by her master's family and asked me to make a curse doll. But who she is, I don't know." The fortune teller tucked the silver into her bosom. Since she'd spoken, the silver was hers now. Having gotten the information, Er Shun immediately returned to the Cui residence.