Mistress

Chapter 20

Li Yan glanced at the old woman over there to see how she reacted, she closed her eyes, let out a long breath, and said in a deep voice: "Li Qing's family, don't be afraid, tell me everything you know , as long as I am here, no one will dare to take revenge on you!"

After hearing this, Li Qing's family's eyes lit up, they straightened their backs, and began to talk at length, "Four years ago, Nanny Cui brought her niece Qi'er into the mansion. Evil. First, at the end of the year before last, when the master went to Youzhou, Madam Cui threatened my family, Li Qing, to burn the old account books and make new ones, making an extra 1 taels of empty accounts on the account , and it was all spent on the face money of the wife and aunts. In the spring of last year, Qier's parents bought a big yard and settled down with her family's dilapidated house. Don’t come out of such a yard! Cui Momo’s eldest son also welcomed his wife last year. The dowry gift for the woman alone was 600 taels, which is the salary of a seventh-rank official. The eldest son also opened a silk and satin shop outside. With Mammy Cui's monthly allowance of four taels of silver, he would never be able to save such money in his entire life!

Second, in July last year, in the scorching summer, Young Master Jun and Second Miss were sent to Hefeng Pond to escape the summer heat. It was a very cool place. Unexpectedly, both of them fell ill. Suffering from heatstroke, in fact, it is clear that the food and drink of the two of them have been tampered with.Followed to Hefengtang to cook is old Wutou, he has always been kind and is an old man in the house, the food made by him has never been wrong.But ever since Qi'er went to Hefeng Pond one day, something happened to Master Jun and Second Miss.Qi'er said that she came to visit the brothers and sisters on behalf of his wife, and brought a lot of delicious snacks. Master Jun and Miss Er ate several pieces on the spot.But as soon as Qi'er left, the two of them fell ill, and they had to drink medicine for a full month to recover. If it wasn't for their hard bones, they would have been... probably.... "

Li Qing's family choked up several times, and the tears flowed down her neck. She looked so pitiful. She raised her sleeve and wiped away the old tears, and then said: "Third, Aunt Zhang had a miscarriage for no reason in May this year. She said yes to the outside world. I accidentally slipped and fell in the yard, because there was a heavy rain that morning, and the ground was slippery. But at that time, the old slave was by Aunt Zhang's side, and it was obviously Cui Madam who pretended to be a congratulatory gift. I was old and fell down, and pushed Aunt Zhang down by the way! At that time, the old slave felt sorry for Auntie, and was going to sue Mrs. Tai and the master, but Auntie said forget it, saying that she already had Jun'er and Yue'er. Forget it, he also said that even if he told everyone that Nanny Cui pushed it, no one would believe it. Instead, he would think that Aunt Zhang fell on purpose and framed his wife and Nanny Cui with the life of the child. Swallow your breath.

Fourth, it is the matter of Dr. Xu and Sun Deng looting the prime minister's mansion. Dr. Xu has been close to Nanny Cui and Qi'er all these years like a family. Three months ago, someone said that Dr. Xu wanted to take Qi'er as a concubine. It's just that Qi'er said she didn't agree with her high-spirited heart, but secretly the two of them hooked up.Meng'er in Mrs. Tai's room said that she had a stomachache in the middle of the night and went to Miaoyi Pavilion to find Dr. Zeng, but she saw Qi'er coming out of Dr. Xu's room.The girl is sick and can only find Dr. Zeng, how can she find Dr. Xu?Who knows what shameful things the two of them are doing!And Sun Deng, his family has always been instructed by Nanny Cui. Sun Deng's wife has served the eldest lady for seven years. Who would believe what happened to the government? "

Li Qing's family's broken mouth finally finished, and everyone was dumbfounded. These four crimes are all serious crimes of losing their heads!
Li Yan's face was livid with anger, these are all messy and smoky things, they are all about the past, she wants to refute but there is no evidence at all, because she has no impression at all.

Li Qing's family obviously prepared the belly draft in advance, otherwise she would not be able to speak so smoothly, but also the first, second, third, and fourth, and said everything very clearly.Under normal circumstances, when expressing things after such an emergency, one would always think of what to say, and would never state it in such an orderly manner.

After Li Qing's family finished speaking, they also asked Meier to go to Fuliu Pavilion to bring Li Qing's account book, and also asked Menger from Mrs. Tai's room to stand up and testify.Meng'er didn't expect that what she inadvertently told Li Qing's family would be told by Li Qing's family in front of so many people, she stood up helplessly and nodded solemnly.

Mrs. Tai was trembling with anger, and said harshly to Nanny Cui and Qi'er: "The masters in the mansion are all dead! I didn't expect that you two aunts and nephews would be so vicious and do so many unreasonable things." , even the young master and miss dared to murder, dared... dared to..."

She was so angry that she didn't know what to say, and she patted the table desperately, "Come on! Come on! Pull Nanny Cui and Qi'er down for me, beat a hundred boards, and then send them to Chengtian Mansion for punishment. Just wait for the beheading! Quick!"

A group of servants rushed in.

"Wait a minute!" Li Yan stood up abruptly, "Why does Mrs. Tai only listen to what Li Qing's family said? If she said that I murdered and set fire, would Mrs. Tai also believe it?"

Mrs. Tai rolled her eyes, "I haven't punished you yet, don't be arrogant! If you weren't instigating behind your back, how dare they do such things as slaves?"

Li Yan was about to argue, when Xu Cheng reached out and gestured for Li Yan, telling her not to speak.

Xu Cheng didn't change his face after listening to it for so long. He felt that he had just watched an excellent play, and the troupe he usually invited was not so devoted to singing, let alone such ups and downs.

He looked at Mrs. Tai and persuaded: "Mother, you have always been a calm person, so why worry too much, it will not be too late when you have all the evidence. In addition, at least let Nanny Cui and Qi Let’s argue, our Prime Minister’s Mansion has always acted in an upright manner, and we must not convict others with just a few words from an old woman, so there is no master in our mansion?”

Mrs. Tai was in a hurry, "Cheng'er, they really have nothing to argue with. Meng'er testified, and the account book will be brought later. Can they argue to the sky with empty teeth? If they are beaten to death, they will not admit it." , you intend to indulge them?"

Xu Cheng said calmly: "Mother, why don't we listen?" After he finished speaking, he looked at Nanny Cui, meaning to tell her to speak quickly if she had something to say.

Mother Cui was excited. She has been in the mansion for so many years, when did she do something harmful?Being so slandered by Li Qing's family today, she plans to fight it out.

She came to Xu Cheng and knelt down, "My lord, I have never asked Li Qing to burn any account books. They will bring the account books later and ask the lord to learn from them. The year before last, Li Qing wanted his son to come here. When the mansion is in charge, the wife sees that his son usually eats, drinks, prostitutes and gambles, so she disagrees, so he holds a grudge. As for the old slave pushing Aunt Zhang, it is even more out of thin air. I did send Aunt Zhang the day of miscarriage It was a congratulatory gift, but after I walked out of the gate of Fuliu Pavilion, I heard the movement inside. My wife has Young Master Xiao, Aunt Zhang also has Young Master Jun, why would this old slave risk his life to murder a fetus? Madam's love for Aunt Zhang, if this old slave really did such a wicked thing, would he still be alive today?
As for the purchase of a house by the old slave's family and the marriage of his son to open a shop, the master knew about it before. The old slave's man and Qi'er's father had been fighting with General Li since childhood. They were both seriously injured and sent back last year.General Li saw that the two of them were old and seriously injured, and would no longer be able to work hard, so he gave him a pension. Didn't the master ask the court to give a sum of money to the returned veterans?Lao Nu's family and Qi'er's family each received 1000 taels of silver.Qi'er's family bought the house and married the eldest son of Laonu's family, opened a shop, and bought the house. The money came from this. "

After Madam Cui said this, she looked at Madam Tai, "Madam Tai, if you don't believe me, you can send someone to search Laonu's house and Qier's house. The looting of the prime minister's mansion by Dr. Xu and Sun Deng was all instigated by Aunt Zhang. Chief Zhang came to settle the case, and Ma Xing will be able to clarify when he comes back later. The master is the prime minister, as long as you send someone to find Dr. Xu and Sun Deng, everything will be revealed."

At this moment, Qi'er also knelt down, "Madam Tai, Master, the slave is only 14 years old, how could he have an affair with Dr. Xu? The slave is still a virgin, Madam Tai can find someone to test it. Meng'er bumped into the slave in the middle of the night When I came out of Doctor Xu’s room, it was because my wife had a sore throat in the middle of the night, and the maid went to get medicine from Doctor Xu. Although Doctor Xu wanted to take the slave as a concubine, Madam didn’t agree at all. Later, I heard that Doctor Xu wanted to take Aunt Zhang’s house Mei'er in Li, I heard that Mei'er is still very happy."

Meier went to take the ledger, wondering how she would react if she heard this.

Qi'er continued: "Last summer, Madam was worried that Master Jun and Second Miss would miss their homework by playing wildly in the Hefeng Pond, so she asked the servants to come and have a look, and bring some snacks along the way. Dr. Xu said that the two of them really suffered from heatstroke , because they played wildly all day and got hot in the afternoon, and after eating some snacks, they lay down on extremely cool stones and slept for an hour, so they became seriously ill."

Seeing that Qi'er had made it clear, Nanny Cui kowtowed to Xu Cheng and Mrs. Tai, and Qi'er followed suit.After knocking, Madam Cui said again: "Madam has devoted herself to managing the affairs of the house for so many years, when did she have any selfishness? She treats Young Master Jun and Second Miss as well as Young Master Chi and Young Master Jiao as equals, never before. Biased, everyone can see it. If Lao Nu and Qi'er really did so many evil things, how can they hide it until today?"

Li Yan was finally relieved to hear the two of them argue like this.

Everyone was a little confused when they heard it. At first, it was Zhang Auntie who testified how sinister Cui and Qier were, and secretly pointed out how vicious Li Nianyun was.But in a blink of an eye, all the charges were placed on Aunt Zhang's head again.

Mrs. Tai firmly believed that her well-behaved and filial niece would not do such a thing. She threw a cup of tea on the table in front of Nanny Cui and Qi'er, and the tea splashed all over Nanny Cui and Qi'er.Mrs. Tai shouted sharply: "You bastards, who have reached this point without repentance, and are still spitting at others, then investigate! After the investigation, not only your heads will be lost, but your whole family will have their feet and arms cut off! "

The implication is that Li Nianyun will also be spared the death penalty, and the living crime is inevitable!
Everyone else was dumb, and no one dared to say a word.I thought that Li Nianyun and Aunt Zhang got along in harmony, but I didn't expect that they would turn against each other to such an extent in private.

Xu Cheng swept down the hall, and ordered coldly: "This feast ends here, Cui Nanny, Qi'er, and Li Qing's family all go to my Zhihui Hall, and when Meier and Ma Xing arrive, they all follow .”

Afterwards, he ordered his personal bodyguards Su Bai and Zhu Yan to take people to the residences of Meier, Qier, and Ma Xing, as well as the homes of Nanny Cui, Li Qing, Doctor Xu, and Sun Deng to investigate them one by one.

After finishing the order, Xu Cheng glanced at Li Yan and then at Aunt Zhang, "Ma'am, Aunt Zhang, you all go back, remember, don't interfere with my trial, who was wronged?" I will return her justice tomorrow. Of course, whoever does evil will naturally receive the consequences!"

Mrs. Tai's face paled with anger just now hadn't recovered, Xu Jing helped her get up and went back to Cui Song Courtyard, and then took a sedan chair back to her Prince Bao's Mansion.The second master, Xu Ze, had a headache a long time ago. He believed that his elder brother could handle the matter well, so he shook his sleeves and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Li Yan believed that Xu Cheng had the ability to clarify everything. It was impossible for a prime minister to be played around by an aunt. She took Xiao'er and Xu Jun and left Xianghe Tower in stride.

And Aunt Zhang was also very confident, she stepped out of the threshold of Xianghe Tower with her head held high.Just in case, she had asked Li Qing's family to hide things in Qi'er and Nanny Cui's room. She wished someone would investigate, the more detailed the investigation, the better!
Aunt Song sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, she was very happy in her heart, it would be the best if the two sides could fight to the death and both of them died in the end.

Xu Cheng looked around the entire Xianghe Tower, it was magnificent just now, but now the servants are busy cleaning it up, it is in a mess.It was lively just now, but now only the suppressed boos of the servants can be heard.

He walked out of the door quickly and walked towards his Zhihui Hall. He wanted to have a thorough trial, even if he couldn't sleep all night.He can tolerate a woman's hypocrisy, as long as this person has him in her heart.However, if he has a heart of snakes and scorpions, he will never bear it, no matter who it is!

(End of this chapter)