Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Next, we found the steward of the marquis’s mansion and had him summon every maid and older maidservant who had been on duty that day.

Before long, a whole crowd of women were kneeling on the floor.

Yuan Nanshan whispered to me, “Doesn’t this feel like we’re back at Jinlan Courtyard?”

I smiled. It did, a little.

Only, there were far more people here than at Jinlan Courtyard!

Just looking at them made my head spin.

With the steward accompanying me, I began questioning them one by one.

“During the banquet that day, did anyone leave for an unusually long time?”

“In the manor, had Concubine Xu offended anyone?”

“What was Concubine Xu’s temperament like? Did anyone ever quarrel with her?”

After going through all of them, I did not obtain even a scrap of useful information.

The servants of these wealthy households understood the principle of “speak less, work more” all too well.

To avoid bringing trouble down on themselves, every one of them said Concubine Xu was kind and gentle, and had never made enemies with anyone.

Ask any further, and they knew nothing at all.

I looked at Yuan Nanshan. “No choice. Go back to Dali Temple and bring more people.”

Chapter 8

To get the information we needed, Yuan Nanshan returned to Dali Temple and brought over five or six clerks.

If they refused to talk, there were ways to deal with that too.

Using the list provided by the steward, I divided the maids and older maidservants into six groups, then questioned each person separately in turn.

Beforehand, I warned them that if someone else in their group mentioned something in their testimony but they failed to say it, they would be suspected of shielding a criminal.

That was not a crime they could afford to bear.

After a few words meant to frighten them, they finally answered every question.

“…Concubine Xu was domineering by nature. She beat and scolded the servants at the slightest provocation. She was not easy to get along with at all.”

“Half a year ago, Concubine He miscarried. They say Concubine Xu pushed her… but the Marquis of Ningyuan only had Concubine Xu confined to her quarters…”

“Concubine Xu was disrespectful to Lady Song. She often pretended to be ill so she would not have to pay her respects… and she frequently spoke ill of Lady Song in front of the Old Madam…”

“Concubine Xu’s older brother was always coming to the marquis’s mansion to sponge off them. Master Xu liked to harass the maids. His character was hardly decent…”

If only one person said Lady Xu was no good, it was possible she had been misunderstood.

But if everyone said she was no good, then there truly was something wrong with her.

According to the servants’ statements, Lady Xu relied on the Marquis of Ningyuan’s favor, as well as the fact that she was the Old Madam’s niece, to throw her weight around at Ningyuan Marquis Manor.

Not only did she bully the other concubines and servants, she was also disrespectful to her lawful mistress, Lady Song.

A way of living that made enemies everywhere instantly gave me a headache!