Chapter 245
Chapter 245
When Baihe raised her head, a distinct handprint marked her cheek. Evidently, Concubine Luo had already turned on her before they came.
The moment Old Madam Shen questioned her, Baihe tearfully repeated every mocking remark Concubine Luo had made about Ji Hanyi in the courtyard. She said she had merely offered a few words of advice, only to be viciously beaten. Having no other recourse, she had confided her grievances to Lianxin.
Her face streaming with tears, Baihe looked at Ji Hanyi. “I am insignificant and dared not oppose the concubine. I merely felt that what she said was improper, so I complained about it to Lianxin.”
“Lianxin was sent to the kitchen because she tried to advise the concubine as well. I was frightened. Old Madam, First Madam, Second Madam-please investigate and see the truth!”
With that, Baihe began knocking her forehead against the floor. Blood soon welled on her brow.
Had the matrons beside her not restrained her, she might have smashed her head open.
Concubine Luo’s expression changed drastically. She pointed at Baihe with a trembling finger, then immediately cried, “Please judge this fairly, Old Madam! It is true that I visited Second Madam, but I saw nothing at all. That wretched maid is slandering me.”
“Someone must have instructed her to do it!”
Concubine Luo lifted her beautiful but disheveled face and fixed red-rimmed eyes on Ji Hanyi. “Second Madam, there is no grievance between us. Why would I say such things about you?”
“Even if you were not from the Grand Princess’s Residence, you are still a master of this household. I would never dare behave so presumptuously.”
Ji Hanyi quietly studied her expression. All the evidence now pointed to Concubine Luo, but something about it did not feel right. Concubine Luo was the First Master’s concubine and had borne him both a son and a daughter. She enjoyed considerable standing in the residence. Madam Bai was forceful by nature, so for Concubine Luo to preserve her position beneath her, she ought to have been cautious and meticulous in her daily conduct. She should not have returned to her rooms and recklessly blurted out such words.
Nor could she have declared without evidence that Ji Hanyi had been taken by mounted bandits.
While Ji Hanyi considered this, Madam Bai addressed Concubine Luo coldly. “Someone bind Concubine Luo’s personal maids and take them outside for punishment under the household rules. Make them confess whether their mistress fabricated malicious gossip!”
“Let us see whether that ungrateful wretch still dares argue.”
The instant Madam Bai gave the order, wails erupted. The sounds of punishment soon came from outside.
Ji Hanyi turned to her. “There is no need to make such a commotion. I can question them carefully.”
She had barely finished when Madam Bai began earnestly advising her. “Sister-in-law, you must not be softhearted. How can we allow them to behave so wantonly in this residence and spread gossip about you? Would they not ruin your reputation in the future?”
“I know nothing of the sort could possibly have happened to you. Rest assured. If we do not use this chance to discipline these wretched servants properly, they will only become more lawless.”
“Besides, if we do not press the advantage and uncover the truth now, it will be even harder to determine later who has been causing trouble in the residence. Without punishment, why would those maids tell the truth?”
Madam Bai looked outside and ordered coldly, “Drag them beyond the courtyard and gag them. Do not offend the ears of the Old Madam and Second Madam.”
She had managed the household for many years, and nearly every servant obeyed her commands. At her order, another commotion quickly arose outside. The screams soon ceased; the maids had presumably been dragged farther away.
Old Madam Shen turned to Ji Hanyi and said sternly, “Your eldest sister-in-law is right. You must learn from her and never be too merciful.”
Ji Hanyi pressed her lips together and looked down at Concubine Luo. The woman’s face had gone stark white, and her entire body trembled.
She truly seemed afraid of what the maids might say.
Ji Hanyi frowned slightly but remained seated with her customary poise.
Before half an incense stick had burned, servants dragged in two maids covered in blood. One of Madam Bai’s trusted stewards stood beside them and reported, “Old Madam, First Madam, Second Madam-one of the maids has confessed.”
Madam Bai immediately looked down at them, her voice turning merciless. “Then speak at once!”
Ji Hanyi lowered her gaze. Both maids’ hands were sheathed in blood, with white bone faintly visible beneath. Unable to bear the sight for a moment, she closed her eyes.
One of the maids quickly confessed. She said that on the day she accompanied Concubine Luo to Songhe Courtyard, she seemed to have seen Rongchun carrying out a garment stained red near the courtyard gate. It had only been a glimpse, and she had not seen it clearly.
At those words, Madam Bai cast Ji Hanyi an almost imperceptible glance.
Concubine Luo’s cries of injustice grew louder. Sobbing, she insisted that she had seen nothing and had certainly never uttered those words in the courtyard.
Old Madam Shen’s face was livid. She gave Ji Hanyi a cold look and was about to order Concubine Luo dragged away for punishment when Ji Hanyi’s gentle voice rang out, quieting even Concubine Luo’s wails.
Ji Hanyi lowered her gaze to the woman. “I merely twisted my ankle while offering incense at the temple and knocked into a box of cinnabar used to ward off evil. Some of it spilled onto my skirt, so I had a maid take the garment away to wash. A misunderstanding over something that never happened has somehow led to all this.”
She continued, “Although I believe you would not casually say such things, Baihe, your personal maid, has accused you. If you feel wronged, what evidence do you have? Or whom do you suspect?”
“I am not someone who orders beatings and executions on a whim. Think carefully and speak at your own pace. The rumors in this residence could not have appeared from nowhere.”
Seated in her round-backed chair, Ji Hanyi looked entirely candid. Her fine brows were delicate as spring, her clear eyes lowered slightly. She spoke as though lamenting some unfortunate affair, with a trace of tolerant helplessness in her gaze.
Her face had always been pleasing, her features pure and her eyes bright, revealing no calculation. The slightest crease of her mist-soft brows lent her an air of compassion that made others instinctively believe her.
Her measured voice gradually took on a note of melancholy. Such a small matter had now left the entire hall in terror and even drawn blood.
Though the fierce First Madam and the spring-gentle Second Madam sat together, their temperaments could not have been more different.
At Ji Hanyi’s explanation, Old Madam Shen’s cold expression relaxed. She believed her.
Above all, Ji Hanyi looked too candid, without the slightest trace of panic.
Dressed in splendid clothes, with a delicate rosy face, could she truly have remained this calm if she had suffered such an ordeal?
Besides, she had been absent for only a day, not very long at all. Her explanation was reasonable, and she had indeed sent word in advance that she was going to a temple. There was no flaw to seize upon.
Concubine Luo knelt rigid and shaking. Asked for evidence, what could she possibly produce to prove her innocence? Every detail pointed at her, and she alone had visited Ji Hanyi’s courtyard that day.
She shook her head, sobbing. “I truly do not know where the rumors came from.”
Then she lunged for Baihe’s throat. With a twisted expression, she cried, “Who ordered you to do this?”
Baihe did not resist as Concubine Luo strangled her. She continued to insist that Concubine Luo had spoken those words.
Old Madam Shen watched Concubine Luo’s frenzy with open disgust. She had once considered the woman sensible and respectful. Now she looked like a madwoman-one audacious enough to slander her masters.
Concubine Luo was still protesting her innocence when Madam Bai cut her off. “You have always relied on the Master’s favor to behave arrogantly. All these years, I tolerated you because you raised the Second Master well.”
“But now your arrogance has reached the Second Branch and thrown the entire residence into chaos, yet you still dare argue!”
“All the evidence is here. Several maids serving you have confessed. Do you imagine stubborn denials alone will save you?”
Old Madam Shen had always been stern and devoted to propriety. She gave Concubine Luo a detached glance, unwilling to hear another defense. “This residence has no place for a woman who spreads malicious gossip. Drag her away and give her fifty strokes as a lesson. Withhold her monthly allowance for a year and confine her for six months.”
Then she swept a cold gaze over everyone else, now silent as death. “As for the others in the kitchen who gossiped, each will receive twenty strokes and lose two months’ wages.”
“Baihe and Lianxin will receive twenty strokes, then have their tongues cut out before they are sold away.”
“From this day forward, anyone in the residence who dares mention the matter again will be beaten and sold.”
The stewards hurriedly summoned servants to gag the offenders and drag them away.
Having delivered her judgment, Old Madam Shen rose and went into the inner chamber without another glance at the room.
Madam Bai carefully supported her. As they walked, she murmured, “Rest assured, Old Madam. I will not allow this affair to trouble you again. I will deal with Madam Luo.”