allonlinenovel Chapter 058 It was her doing.
Chapter 058 It was her doing.
Lu Yong led Lu Huai and Xie Chaoyun to the steward's courtyard. As soon as they entered, Lu Huai frowned.
The courtyard was shrouded in mist and filled with the strong smell of burning paper money. A Taoist priest was chanting incantations while wielding a peach wood sword. Passing through layers of spirit banners, one could see an ancient-looking bronze cauldron outside the main gate, with incense sticks inserted inside. Above the main gate, two bright yellow talismans were firmly affixed, while below the gate, two strings of Buddhist prayer beads hung.
Lu Huai touched his nose and asked Lu Yong, "With incense and a peach wood sword, is it for exorcising evil spirits or suppressing ghosts?"
“This…” Lu Yong lowered his body and led Lu Huai towards the main room. When they reached the door, he stopped, bowed, and took a half step back.
The room was cramped, and it was inconvenient for him, an outsider, to enter.
Lu Huai covered his nose and glanced into the house. The house reeked of corpses, and there were elderly people, women, and children crying and wailing nearby. He didn't want to go in. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Xie Chaoyun stood in front of him: "I'll go in with Madam."
“There is a coffin inside, and the place is cramped with women and children. It is inconvenient for Your Excellency to go in.” He turned his gaze to Lu Yong: “Your Excellency has never been to a country estate before. Why don’t you take him for a walk around the neighborhood?”
Lu Huai couldn't wait to leave, but as he turned to leave, he remembered his mother's instructions and said considerately, "I'll stay outside with Madam."
Xie Chaoyun did not refuse and stepped over the threshold into the house.
The candlelight was dim, and the coffin bed was placed in the center, with the steward lying quietly in his burial clothes. Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, and the weather was getting cooler, but the steward had been dead for several days. His head and face, which were visible from the collar of his burial clothes, and his hands, which were visible from the cuffs, were already showing signs of decomposition, and the degree of decomposition was far greater than that of an ordinary corpse.
Unfortunately, she didn't know medicine and couldn't see the strangeness of the corpse. If she could come with Physician Jiang... She shook her head slightly and turned her gaze to the steward's wife beside her.
Her maiden name was Xu, and the people in the village called her Xu Shi or Madam Xu to distinguish her from Xie Chaoyun, the real Madam Lu.
Xu looked haggard and, supported by her daughter-in-law, swayed as she stood up.
"This humble woman greets Madam! This is my eldest daughter-in-law, who is keeping vigil with me."
"No need for formalities." Xie Chaoyun supported her arm: "The deceased has passed away, please accept my condolences."
"My husband's death was suspicious. I beg you, Madam, to make the decision," Madam Xu said, wiping away her tears.
Xie Chaoyun and Lu Huai had come specifically for this matter. Hearing what Madam Xu said, they looked into her eyes and said, "Madam knows I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll ask you directly. What's the story with that mistress?"
“She was rescued by my husband last spring when he went to the capital to buy seeds.” Madam Xu smiled bitterly. “It was quite a coincidence. The road we usually took was blocked by some fallen rocks, so we had no choice but to ask the villagers for another way. When we passed by her courtyard, we saw Madam Ruan being torn apart by several men. My wife knows his nature; he’s a busybody, especially when he sees a woman who is even slightly attractive. He stepped forward to stop them and learned that she was a widow who had been sold to a brothel by her in-laws because she had no children.”
At this point, Xu wiped away her tears and glared at the coffin: "That old man bought her back, saying he took pity on her and couldn't bear to see her suffer in a brothel."
Something was amiss, confirming Xie Chaoyun's suspicions about the whole affair; this Ruan woman likely had a different background.
"Did they say these things? Has Madam sent anyone to investigate?"
The gentle demeanor faded, replaced by a chilling aura. Seeing Xie Chaoyun like this, Madam Xu and her daughter-in-law held their breath and whispered, "It was those two who said it. I also sent people to investigate Ruan's background, but we couldn't find that village, whether they took the wrong road or something else."
With tears welling up in her eyes, Xu said, "At first, I didn't know about their relationship and believed his lies. By the time I found out the truth, he was already keeping her outside. I cried and made a scene, but it was no use. Later, I figured it out. As long as he doesn't bring her back and doesn't have those messy children outside, I'll just turn a blind eye."
Xie Chaoyun inquired about what happened on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the physical evidence Lu Yong mentioned. Xu Shi did not shy away from the matter and, supporting the coffin, recounted the events in detail.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, someone threw a stone into their house. A tattered cloth was wrapped around the stone, and some words were written on the cloth. Xu, who couldn't read, showed it to her eldest son, who had attended a private school. The eldest son glanced at it and threw the cloth into the stove. Xu pressed him for details, and only then did the eldest son tell her that the cloth and stone had been thrown by people from the village, who said that Ruan had gone there.
Enraged, Xu grabbed a stick and was about to confront Ruan when her eldest son and daughter-in-law stopped her and replaced it with a food box and mooncakes.
Xie Chaoyun asked, "Did Madam see Madam Ruan?"
“No, that slut had already left when I arrived at the village.” Xu gripped the coffin so tightly it creaked. “That slut was quite the charmer; she not only sent mooncakes but also wine and food. I got angry and smashed a pot of wine. The person in the coffin saw that I was really angry and tried to appease me for a while.”
"you--"
“No, we just talked for a while.” Madam Xu waved her hand: “I’m already this old, and he has that slut, how could he be with me… The bed was messed up by the two of them.”
Xu blushed, her eyes filled with embarrassment.
“The evidence that the vile woman mentioned is true, but she was the one who harmed me first. I know in my heart that if it weren’t for the person lying in the coffin, Ruan wouldn’t have dared to come up to me and act so arrogantly. I want to teach Ruan a lesson, but I want to teach the person lying in the coffin a lesson even more.”
Halfway through her explanation, Madam Xu hurriedly added, "He didn't wear those clothes. They were discovered by that vile woman, Ruan, as soon as he took them back. He was angry with me because of this, and he hasn't come home since the Dragon Boat Festival, saying he was worried that I would kill him. If I really wanted to harm him, I wouldn't have used such a weak and ineffective method. That old man really broke my heart. It wasn't until he died that his two sons brought him back."
"Who taught Madam this method?" Xie Chaoyun pondered. "It shouldn't have been Madam's idea."
“It was my daughter-in-law who overheard it on the street.” Xu pointed to her daughter-in-law. “She bought the powder, and I delivered the items. I don’t know how that wretched woman Ruan found out.”
A sharp gaze swept over, and Xu's daughter-in-law trembled.
"Why aren't you telling the truth?"
“It was I who took money from that Ruan woman and deliberately plotted against my mother-in-law.” Xu’s daughter-in-law’s legs went weak and she knelt on the ground.
"You?" Xu felt a wave of dizziness and slapped her daughter-in-law. "I am your mother-in-law. How dare you... how can you help an outsider to sow discord between me and your father-in-law?"
"Outsider? In your heart, I'm an outsider too!" Xu's daughter-in-law covered her face and accused her, "Since I entered this door, have you ever treated me as family? Just because you got sick, you said it was my unborn child who brought you bad luck. When you forced me to drink that bowl of medicine, did you ever think that it was your own grandson and I was your own daughter-in-law?"