Chapter 243
Chapter 243
Elsewhere, Madam Bai reclined on a chaise longue with her head propped on one hand. Someone had long since reported the commotion in the old madam’s quarters to her.
As Yinxiang massaged her feet, she asked, “Madam, are you not going over to take a look?”
Madam Bai sipped her tea at leisure and gave Yinxiang a sidelong glance. “Why would I go now? To invite trouble in front of the Old Madam?”
“She would rather seal a matter like this away so tightly that not a whisper escaped. Why would I join the excitement?”
“Even if I do go, now is not the right time.”
Madam Bai turned to Matron Zhang. “Go tell Concubine Luo that I have nearly recovered. She need not manage the household affairs for the time being.”
Matron Zhang nodded, then leaned closer. “I have had people watching Concubine Luo these past two days. She has been nowhere near as arrogant as before. In the past, whenever she found the slightest opening, she would run about currying favor and trying to win people over, especially the Old Madam. Yet she has been remarkably well behaved these last two days.”
Madam Bai sneered. Flicking tea leaves aside with the lid of her cup, she said coolly, “She has always known how to put on a performance. She thinks she alone is clever and everyone else is a fool. Let her go on believing in her own cleverness. I would like to see how much longer she can remain smug.”
Curiosity suddenly got the better of Matron Zhang. She asked softly, “Did Second Madam truly encounter such a thing?”
Madam Bai shot her a sidelong look. “What does it matter whether she did? All we need to know is that the Old Madam cannot tolerate such a scandal. I certainly do not care whether it is true.”
Matron Zhang nodded repeatedly. Realizing that First Madam meant to ruin Second Madam’s reputation, she dared ask nothing further. She was about to leave when a maid came in to announce that Concubine Liu was waiting outside.
Madam Bai raised a brow. She knew perfectly well why Concubine Liu had come at this particular moment.
The woman must have heard the disturbance in the kitchen, grown frightened, and come seeking a solution.
Concubine Liu was timid by nature, no more than a household-born maid with no judgment of her own. Madam Bai decided she needed a firm warning lest she ruin everything, and ordered that she be shown in.
Concubine Liu entered with great trepidation and immediately knelt before Madam Bai. She recounted what she had seen that day, then wept, “I do not know how those rumors began in the residence, or why people are saying Second Madam encountered mounted bandits. I merely happened to glimpse something that day and told Nanny Zhang. Afterward, I obeyed Nanny Zhang and kept my mouth firmly shut. I did not dare utter a word.”
“Now that Old Madam means to investigate, I am truly terrified. Please save me, Madam.”
“Otherwise, perhaps I should go explain everything to the Old Madam.”
Madam Bai stared coldly at Concubine Liu. She had always known the woman was as timid as a mouse. If she were allowed to go say whatever she pleased, would she not drag Madam Bai into it as well?
This visit was no plea for help. Concubine Liu was clearly trying to bind them all to the same rope.
Madam Bai set down her teacup and calmly sat upright. Looking at Concubine Liu on her knees, she said, “If you did not start the rumor, why are you panicking?”
Concubine Liu froze and lifted her tearful eyes. Deep down, she believed Madam Bai had started the rumors and might ultimately pin the blame on her. She had come here to cry and make her position clear. If the worst came, she would bring everyone down with her.
Only now did she realize how naive she had been. With trouble upon her, fear had finally set in.
Madam Bai was the Marchioness, and Concubine Liu’s indenture contract remained in her hands. If Madam Bai wanted her to take the blame, Concubine Liu could die ten times over and still be no match for her.
Seeing the look in Concubine Liu’s eyes, Madam Bai frowned. “I have been ill these past two days. I had no idea you witnessed such a thing. Nanny Zhang never mentioned it to me.”
Nanny Zhang hurried to interject. “I thought it was a minor matter, and since it concerned the Second Branch, it did not seem proper to gossip about it. That was why I did not tell you and disturb your peace of mind, Madam.”
She promptly slapped herself twice and dropped to her knees. “Please punish me, Madam.”
Concubine Liu stared blankly. With only a few words, Madam Bai had removed herself from the matter entirely, leaving Concubine Liu even more uncertain of her fate.
Madam Bai fixed Nanny Zhang with a stern, cutting gaze. “You should have told me. But I have no time to deal with you now. Get up.”
She turned back to Concubine Liu. “Since the Old Madam is investigating, let her investigate. If you did not spread the story, what are you afraid of?”
“Acting this way will only tell everyone that you have something to hide.”
Concubine Liu listened in a daze, then hurriedly wiped away her tears. Grasping part of Madam Bai’s meaning, she asked, “Then what should I do?”
Madam Bai truly thought her as stupid as a pig. If she had not feared that the woman’s cowardice might implicate her, she would not have wasted another word.
Drawing a deep breath, she forced herself to answer patiently. “What should you do? Behave exactly as you ordinarily do. Do you want everyone to notice how strangely you are acting?”
“Pretend you saw nothing. Forget that entire incident.”
“If you did nothing, stop behaving as though you did. The Old Madam’s eyes are still sharp. If something truly goes wrong, do not say I failed to warn you.”
Concubine Liu understood what Madam Bai meant. She had only come because she feared Madam Bai intended to use her as a weapon against Second Madam.
She hastily promised to obey.
But after leaving First Madam’s quarters, Concubine Liu felt as though her body might collapse beneath her.
Even if something happened and she implicated First Madam, could she prove First Madam had done it? First Madam came from a noble family. How could a woman like her possibly prevail? The thought left her just as fearful as before.
The maid beside her supported her and whispered, “Do not worry, Concubine. Let us wait and see. Whatever else may happen, First Madam is right. If you keep looking terrified, will others not notice? No one knows you saw anything that day. Do not frighten yourself.”
Concubine Liu could only nod. “That is all we can do for now.”
Meanwhile, Ji Hanyi sat beside Old Madam Shen, listening as the servants came in one after another, wailing to heaven and earth that they were innocent. It was as though they had rehearsed together; not one admitted anything.
Of course, who would dare confess to such a thing? Fabricating gossip about one’s masters was a capital offense.
They would rather all be punished together than admit guilt.
Madam Zhang, the head cook, sobbed so bitterly that she nearly threw herself against a wall to prove her innocence.
Old Madam Shen’s face turned green with rage. Just as she was about to order everyone from the kitchen dragged away for punishment, Ji Hanyi spoke softly. “Mother, might you allow me to try?”
Old Madam Shen looked coldly at her and frowned. “You can make them confess of their own accord?”
Ji Hanyi answered gently, “I cannot promise it, but I can try.”
Old Madam Shen paused at the humility in her expression, then nodded. “Very well. I will leave it to you.”
She, too, wanted to know what method Ji Hanyi could possibly use to make these people talk.