My wife has a secret

Chapter 167 The Truth
"Fourth Young Madam, it was...it was me who didn't follow the rules..."

Qin Shuying sighed as she looked at Xiaohuan's blushing face and her pitiful, timid appearance.

She was very perceptive and guessed the general idea at just one glance.

Servants in noble families had a low status, especially the young maids who accompanied the young masters, who were always abandoned because of the men's fickle nature.

Because of this, it is not uncommon for women to be kicked out of the house after becoming pregnant.

The female slave from the Jin Kingdom sent by Princess Danyang was so pretty that even she herself would be moved when she saw her. Xiaohuan, the personal maid, felt bothered and it was normal for her to come to the front hall to inquire about the news.

"Can you three talk?"

Qin Shuying did not punish Cui'er and the other two. Instead, she turned to look at the female slaves of the Jin Kingdom and asked with a smile on her face, "If you don't understand the Han Mandarin of the Great Qi, you will be responsible for cleaning the toilets and stables."

The Jin noblewoman, who had been silent at first, was startled when she heard this, but then she reacted and explained, "I...we can."

The latrines and stables were dirty and smelly, and everywhere they were, they were jobs for low-level servants.

The Jin Kingdom dominated the northern border, and its national strength was growing rapidly. It defeated the Liao and Qi countries for many years and these pampered noble ladies naturally felt that they were superior to the Han people.

Even if they were in the situation of prisoners, they were unwilling to do anything that would lower their status.

Qin Shuying looked at the beautiful woman in her twenties, with delicate eyebrows, red lips and white teeth, and said calmly, "Let the girl from the Wanyan family speak."

The woman surnamed Wanyan raised her head slightly, but the expression on her pretty face did not change.

She seemed to remember the situation of the three of them, and was afraid of being humiliated by this beautiful and charming noble woman, so she lowered her head tactfully, and her round and beautiful red lips slightly opened.

"Ah."

Although both Jin and Liao were foreign races, they coveted Qi's rich and vast territory and taught Han culture in their countries.

The first is for the convenience of ruling, and the second is that the history and culture of the two ethnic groups are stretched, and it is difficult to survive relying solely on weak culture.

Qin Shuying knew that these three women were all nobles of the Jin Dynasty, and naturally they also understood the Manchu and Chinese languages ​​of the Jurchens.

Seeing that the three girls seemed to be obedient on the surface, Qin Shuying assigned them all to Xiaohuan.

"From today on, the three of you will obey Xiaohuan and learn from her...Xiaohuan, if there are any chores in the front hall or in your husband's yard that are not done well, I will hold you accountable."

Xiaohuan, who was waiting to be punished, was stunned when she heard that the Fourth Young Lady not only did not punish her, but also assigned all the new female slaves to her.

Then she quickly squatted down and saluted and agreed.

"Thank you, Fourth Young Madam."

"Okay, Cui'er and Yangliu, come back to the courtyard with me."

After Qin Shuying walked out of the hall with two personal maids, she lowered her eyes slightly and said in a voice that was difficult for others to hear: "Find more time in the next two days to keep an eye on the actions of these three people."

……

Capital city, Dali Temple.

The Dali Temple of Da Qi inherited the old dynasty and had a long history. Therefore, it occupied a very large area, had a high status, and played an important role in the judicial field.

The new Minister of Dali Temple is a rising star in the court, Chen Jinzhang, who showed his talent in the last imperial examination and entered the palace examination.

However, because the ideas of his literary reform were inconsistent with the old system, he was sent by the Empress Dowager to inspect the local areas. He was not transferred back until the previous Chief Justice of the Dali Temple died in the turmoil in the capital.

The newly appointed Dali Temple Minister, who had been working outside for several years, had his edges smoothed out. Upon hearing that the upstart Marquis of Guangping was coming to visit, he stood up from his seat tremblingly and ordered the accompanying pavilion chief to welcome him in.

As soon as Xu Qing stepped over the threshold, the Dali Temple official, who was over 40 years old, bowed and said, "Hello, My Lord."

"You don't have to be so polite, Dali Temple Minister."

Because of his official rank and special status as a third-rank official, the Dali Temple Minister often does not need to perform salutes to nobles below the rank of prince, but Chen Jinzhang knew that Xu Qing had been transferred to Chengxuanfang and did not dare to be disrespectful.

The environment of Dali Temple is cold and the lighting is a bit dim compared to other government offices.

After Xu Qing explained the purpose of his visit, Chen Jinzhang opened the back door for him and ordered the headman to take them to the warehouse where the case files were stored.

When he reached the door, the headman unlocked the huge copper lock, pulled the chain, and opened the warehouse door that had been sealed for a long time.

Xu Qing and Shan Yongpei strode in, and the latter walked to the southeast corner of the room and flipped through two bookshelves according to memory.

"Master, I found it."

Xu Qing took the file handed over by Shan Yongpei and read the contents under the light of the torch.

Sure enough, everything was just as Shan Yongpei had said before. The evidence at the back of the case file was in serious conflict with the confession.

"The case file shows that Liu Shifeng coveted the beauty of Princess Danyang's biological mother, Su, and sneaked into the mansion after midnight... But the location where the body was found and the time it took to decompose do not match Princess Danyang's confession."

Xu Qing found the coroner's records, compared them and said, "First, the location of the two deaths. Su was in her bedroom, while Liu Shifeng was in the courtyard. There were traces of blood from dragging. If it is true as Princess Danyang said, the two died in a fight, how could Su, who was seriously injured, have the energy to deal with the bodies?"

"The owner analyzed it."

Although Shan Yongpei found the case suspicious, he did not have the clear thinking like Xu Qing to accurately deduce the unreasonable aspects.

After denying the records in the case, Xu Qing also came up with another bolder idea.

"If Liu Shifeng died in Su's own room, the murderer would not have to go to such lengths to cover up the truth. This shows that Liu Shifeng died somewhere else... But this also proves that Liu Shifeng did not come to Su's house, but came to the mansion with other purposes."

Xu Qing followed the inference and unraveled the mystery step by step.

"Since the young Emperor Xuan was taken into the palace, only Su, Princess Danyang, and a group of servants were left in this mansion. With Liu Shifeng's fame and prestige at the time, it would have been easy for him to ask Su for a few servants, so his target could only be Princess Danyang."

Shan Yongpei's eyes widened as he listened, thinking this was too ridiculous.

"My Lord, Princess Danyang was only ten years old at the time, so she could only be considered a young girl..."

Having said this, Shan Yongpei seemed to realize something and stopped talking abruptly.

He had also heard some rumors in Suzhou that the national customs of Da Qi were corrupt and the life of the upper nobles was unimaginable for ordinary people.

In the eyes of these people, ordinary wives, concubines and mistresses are not worth bothering about. Those noble masters like young women with delicate bodies and fair skin the most.

What's worse, he doesn't even look at women, but likes to molest boys.

But he didn't expect that this kind of trend actually existed and was involved in a mystery that lasted for many years.

"This Liu Shifeng, most likely died at the hands of Princess Danyang." Xu Qingxin's inference was hard for Shan Yongpei to accept.

"Master, Princess Danyang was only ten years old when the incident happened. Although Liu Shifeng is a little old and not in his prime, he is also a strong adult man... How can a ten-year-old child defeat him?"

Xu Qing shook his head and pointed back to what the coroner said.

"Look here. The coroner clearly wrote in the record that Liu Shifeng's body had traces of being dragged, leaving a long bloodstain. If the murderer and the person who dragged him were very strong, would they have left such a trace?"

Although the autopsy records were not kept, Xu Qing was still able to find important clues from these fragments.

"And after Princess Danyang killed Liu Shifeng, she also attacked her biological mother, Su, who was in the house."

Shan Yongpei was already wide-mouthed, and when he heard Xu Qing's final bombshell, he was completely stunned.

His voice was slightly trembling, and he frowned and asked, "Master, is there something wrong? It is really horrifying for a ten-year-old child to do such a thing."

"No, it would make sense if the latter died in his sleep."

Xu Qing said calmly, "And this is the only way to explain the strangeness of this matter... Think about it, there are many servants in the mansion, and Liu Shifeng doesn't know martial arts, and he didn't climb in from outside the courtyard. It is only possible that the biological mother Su secretly reached a deal with him and offered her daughter away."

"This……"

“Only then does this all make sense.”

After Shan Yongpei recovered from his shock, he thought carefully for a while and suddenly discovered that Xu Qing's reasoning was flawless from beginning to end and perfectly restored all the doubts in this matter.

"Moreover, after this incident, my aunt gave her the Princess's Mansion and allowed her to do evil in the capital and hosted the Paradise Banquet."

Xu Qing expressed his guess.

"This shows that... Auntie saw in her cruelty and unscrupulousness, and wanted to train Princess Danyang into her own minion, using her to eliminate those who are difficult to deal with in the court, and by the way, control the nobles and royal relatives."

"Master, the analysis is."

Although Shan Yongpei came from a military background, he was also a man who was good at thinking.

Xu Qing's analysis today was well-organized and every word made sense, which made people admire him.

"So, Princess Danyang is the Queen Mother's person?"

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "That's half right. Although she works for the Queen Mother and her status as a princess was given to her by my aunt, this does not affect her identity as a member of the White Lotus Sect."

"Master, how should Princess Danyang deal with this?"

"Just do it."

Xu Qing closed the case file and put it back to its original place. He said to Shan Yongpei, "I have always been worried that Princess Danyang's secret would implicate my aunt, and touching her would lead to my own death... But today, after checking the files, I found that Princess Danyang is just a vicious dog raised by my aunt. Since she appeared as a willful princess and hosted the Paradise Banquet, she has offended too many people. Even if we don't touch her today, she will be kicked out by my aunt in the future."

As the saying goes, when the birds are all gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked.

Princess Danyang was different from herself. She had a bad reputation and was abandoned by her aunt to consolidate her power.

No matter when she was dealt with, the Queen Mother could always put all the blame on the Princess Danyang and clear her name, so she could do it to her with confidence.

……

Capital city, princess's mansion.

Princess Danyang was sitting on a pear wood chair in the front room, with her slender, snow-white legs and feet crossed.

Even when sitting casually, she looked upright and elegant, and her whole body exuded a noble and beautiful aura.

At this moment, the whole room was filled with thank-you gifts sent by various nobles in the capital.

Everyone knew that the princess liked new and novel things, so they tried their best to collect treasures and sent servants to bring them to her.

These mountains of gifts often require four groups of treasure appraisers and servants to count them for a day and a night before they can be barely counted and stored.

At this moment, Yuheng Xingjun, who had changed his appearance again, was waiting on the side, wearing the clothes of a maid in the princess's mansion.

"When Shen Shuangxu was favored by the Queen Mother, she was not as popular as she is today, and the gifts she sent were much less..."

Princess Danyang moved slightly and commented with a lazy smile.

Her graceful curves were wrapped in a tight dress, which reached her ankles. Her small wooden clogs were visible from the bottom of the skirt, which was covered with tassels and gold pendants, revealing her white and tender feet and toes on her three-inch golden lotus.

Although the young Princess Danyang was not very tall and straight as a girl, but stood proudly, it must be said that in terms of the delicacy of her skin and the beauty of her facial features, this Princess Danyang was not afraid of anyone.

"Since Shen Shuangxu has fallen out of favor, more people have come to cling to me. Now... almost the entire court treats me as the queen mother's confidant, and they have spent all their money to give gifts to my mansion."

Although Princess Danyang's eyes were smiling, Yuheng Star Lord beside her did not feel the joy from the bottom of her heart.

"Princess, this shows that your status is already second only to one person and above ten thousand people."

"Ah……"

Princess Danyang stretched lazily, her thin white gauze lifted up by her arms, even revealing the pointed part of her chest, which was quite eye-catching.

"One man is below ten thousand men..."

Princess Danyang repeated this sentence again and said with a playful tone: "That is indeed the case, but Yuheng, you should know that the nephew that the Queen Mother values ​​the most is only a marquis. Why does she praise me so highly?"

Yuheng was slightly stunned and shook his head.

Among the North Star Gods of the White Lotus Sect, she is famous for her various abilities. Although she is quite smart, she is not as good as the Saint Girl, a genius whose intelligence is almost like a demon.

"Because I'm going to be abandoned."

The Princess Danyang referred to herself as such, but there was no Princess Danyang at all.

In fact, she knew in her heart that the treasury of Da Qi had been empty in recent years, and she was able to host the Paradise Banquet entirely relying on the strong support of the White Lotus Sect behind her.

The empress dowager is not a fool who only knows how to fight in the palace. She has been in charge of power for several years, and her subordinates and confidants have already spread throughout the six ministries, the capital and every other place. Chengxuanfang is also the result of her painstaking management.

The Queen Mother must have known all the tricks in the Princess's Mansion, and she was even aware that she had some connection with the White Lotus Sect.

The reason why the other party did not investigate was because she still needed me, so she could suppress all the events related to the Princess' Mansion and discuss them later in the autumn.

(End of this chapter)