Lady Zhao

Chapter 11

In the middle of the night, when everyone was sleeping soundly, they suddenly heard a long scream from someone outside, followed by the sound of pushing the window and opening the door, footsteps, and questions. After a long time of chaos, someone lit the lantern under the eaves. Suddenly, the entire backyard was brightly lit.

Zhao Wenwan was woken up in a daze, and then Baochan came in in a panic from outside to announce that a pair of bloody pants had appeared in the hut in the servant's yard. There are also scattered medicine residues, which the doctor said were used for abortion, and now the owner of the pants is checking for blood in the backyard.

"The trousers look like they were pulled out of the soil by wild dogs, and they got into the yard somehow. It's really scary!" Baochan added with lingering fear.

Hearing this, Zhao Wenwan's drowsiness faded a bit, covered her lips and yawned, and said lazily, "Okay, I get it, this is not a trivial matter, it's in the lower house, let Jin Ling come over."

Baochan responded, and went to call Jin Ling, who came out shortly after entering Xiangzhu Garden, still holding something tightly in his hand, with a slightly happy face, before Baochan could ask, Jin Ling hurriedly said: Say goodbye and rush back.

"Sister Xueyan, you can see why that girl Jin Ling is not worried about such a big thing, but it still happened in her residence." Baochan was puzzled, and subconsciously asked the people around her.

"As long as she didn't do this, there is nothing to worry about." Xueyan heated up almond cheese in a small pot, put a bowl on the tray and handed it to Baochan, and continued, "Woke up at night? It’s good to fall asleep, take this in and give it to the lady, it’s good to moisten your mouth.”

Baochan took it, and was about to step out the door when she heard the steady voice behind her again, "Your maidservant's life is low, but you can't tolerate being abused by yourself. Serve a good master and don't think about those who have nothing. Save some money and get out of the house." Going is the right way."

"……Um."

In the farthest corner of the north courtyard, the light and shadow of the lantern was shaken by the wind. There were many people standing in the courtyard, and some people rushed in with a lantern, echoing the little scarlet under the eaves.

In the middle of the courtyard, Li Guanshi, the head of the inner house, stood behind him a group of women and girls with solemn faces and sturdy figures. Well, everyone in the room didn't dare to express their anger, lest she would kill themselves with a single word - of course, she did have this right.

Li Guanshi has always been vigorous and resolute in his work, so she didn't have any nonsense when she opened her mouth, and pointed directly at the center of the incident: "Who does this thing belong to? You can stand up and admit it by yourself. I can save you from suffering and go to reincarnation earlier. If you are lucky If you think you can hide it, don't blame me for being cruel."

Everyone's eyes followed the direction of her fingers and looked at the ground not far from her feet, but they saw a pair of bloody trousers there, emitting a stench and fishy smell, which made people feel nauseous.

There was silence in the yard, of course no one would readily admit to such a thing, and Li Guanshi was not in a hurry to ask, he just asked a woman behind him to pour well water on the obscene trousers, the sound of water rushing through the entire backyard, It was midsummer, but everyone felt a terrible and oppressive chill pressing on their bodies, as if the bucket of water was pouring on themselves instead of their pants. Bang together.

After rushing for a while, the blood on the top has faded a lot, and I can barely see the general situation.Li Guanshi indifferently ordered the other woman, "Go and see, what kind of material is it, what color is it, then pick it up and show it to these people. If anyone can recognize who these pants belong to, they will give you five taels of silver immediately." .”

The woman came out in response, but the hand lantern handed over by the person next to her came up, covered her nose with a handkerchief, looked at it for a while, then got up and replied, "Return to the supervisor, the style of these trousers is specially made for my servants." According to the rules, the servants get three sets of clothes each year. According to different grades, the styles and textures are also different. This is made of second-class thick silk. According to the grade, only the third-class maids in the Fuzhong have it. This thing."

As soon as this remark came out, the maids who were the third-class maids in the mansion all panicked and shouted for grievances. They even looked at the people around them strangely, as if they were afraid of being implicated, and wished to find out the culprit immediately. The culprit is coming.Standing among them was King Die with a pale face, and the fingers under her sleeve pinched the sides of her legs heavily so as not to make herself faint.

She had buried that thing well this morning, why... just... King Die was terrified in her heart, and was even more afraid that Manager Li would find out, so she lowered her head slightly and tried her best to cover it up.

"After all, which one of you did a good deed? If you say you're going to die, don't you mean that you plan to be with that person?" Li Guanshi calmly sat on the chair brought out by his mother-in-law, and sat on the porch to relax. I'm ready to break this matter apart and smash it into pieces to make it clear.

The voice floated over slowly and lightly, but it was like a ghost chant from the underworld, and all the fourth-class maids who faced her shuddered.

However, it was only for a moment, and then the eyes of mutual suspicion turned between several people. King Die was already guilty, and when she met Li Guanshi's chilling gaze, she simply gritted her teeth and let it go, "Go back to the steward, this servant knows who it is!" !"

"Oh, talk about it."

King Die's brain was buzzing, she tried her best to maintain her composure, and said firmly, "It's Han Yan, it's Han Yan who killed the child, and the slave girl saw her pouring medicine with her own eyes, and her menstruation has been delayed. Everyone in the house knows about it!"

The maid called Han Yan looked timid, and she looked at King Die in disbelief after hearing the words, and after a long time, she couldn't say a second word.

"Yes, yes, we can all testify." A few of the rest of the people couldn't wait to agree, and they didn't care so much at the moment, in short, it was fine if they didn't die themselves.

Han Yan seemed to be unable to bear this one-sided accusation. Looking at the gaze cast by Manager Li, with a pale face, he could only say three words: "I don't have any."He recovered because of his illness, and his whole body was so weak that he was on the verge of falling. In Li Guanshi's eyes, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Li Guanshi flicked his cuffs, and a hint of impatience flashed between his brows, "I didn't want to be punished at every turn, but this matter is no small matter, and it has been spread out to tarnish the reputation of the female family members of the Dingguo Mansion, so... If you are sensible, you should recruit them quickly." , when the rod is used, the bones are broken and the tendons are broken, and you can't breathe, then you will suffer."

During the conversation, two women had already moved the torture tools, and then walked towards Han Yan, whose already pale face faded away, and he almost couldn't stand still. "I'm not the only one who is late for menstruation..."

"Han Yan, you should recruit it. If you recruit it, you will avoid the pain." King Die hastily interrupted.

It's just that he can't escape death.Seeing the old woman approaching, Han Yan seemed to wake up from a dream, and looked sad and joyful, sweeping away those who said she was guilty, and suddenly changed into a stubborn and decisive look, and slammed on the pillar fiercely. Hit hard.

"I didn't do it. I was forced to death by you. After I die, I will turn into a ghost and come to you to collect debts!" ​​The moment the voice fell, the blood burst, and the weak figure fell to the ground lightly like torn cotton wool, and was quickly soaked into a piece of blood. Yin Hong.

Everyone was stunned by this turn of events, and Jin Die, who was closest, took a step back unsteadily, Han Yan's resentful eyes before her death made her unable to recover for a long time.

"I remembered, there is also Kingdie, and Kingdie is... also a few days late." A weak voice in the crowd said before everyone recovered.

"You're talking nonsense——" Jin Die stared fiercely at the person who spoke, as if she had been touched against the scales, but the person just stared blankly at Han Yan's corpse and continued unmoved, "Han Yan is testing the medicine for the master, but her body is weak and she can't bear it, so her menstruation came late. After a few days of rest, she still complained to me that there are signs of coming, it can't be hers, it can't be... "

It's just that it's useless to say more, because she was timid for a while, and she didn't speak out at the moment, and her life was lost. Li Guanshi frowned, and after a moment of sympathy, he just told his mother-in-law to deal with the aftermath properly, and then looked at Jindie There is something different in his eyes.

Let the mother-in-law cross-examine them one by one, but still got no answer. Li Guanshi finally sneered, looked at Kingdie, who was the most suspect, and said, "I have exhausted my patience. Follow the old method—come on, hold down and beat until you speak."

Several wives holding sticks agreed in unison when they heard the words, rushed forward aggressively, pressed King Die on the long bench that had been prepared, tied up her hands and feet several times, and immediately swung the thick wrist His stick beat her down mercilessly.

The first time it went down, King Die couldn't stand it and yelled loudly. Following the mother-in-law's movements, she became hoarse from crying after a while, with tears and snot running down her nose, and the wail resounded through the yard.

"You are just a third-class lowly slave. The Dingguo government must not tarnish its reputation because of your misconduct, so if you admit it, it's fine. If you refuse to admit it, you will have to be beaten to death." , this matter is very important, I would rather kill a hundred by mistake than let one go."

King Die's heart immediately became cold when he heard the meaning of extermination, and the physical pain on his body reached the limit. With blurred eyes, he saw Zhao's mother standing beside Li Guanshi, and immediately shouted, "Zhao's mother , save me, save me."

Zhao's mother, who was ordered to check the situation, felt that something bad was going to happen, and when she thought of her nephew, she even had a headache, but she didn't show the slightest bit on her face. Instead, she preemptively said, "Kingdie, if you did this, you will be killed." It's your lady who can't help you, and Mother Zhao is just working next to the eldest lady, let alone saving you."

King Die's mind was confused for a while, as if she just understood the meaning of her words, she opened her eyes wide and gritted her teeth and said, "Mother Zhao, you can't just ignore death."

The wives who gave the cane didn't care about the conversation, but one of them was tired, and Jin Ling cleverly replaced her, and the moment she got close to Jin Die, she said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "The doctor said, if you use more of the package of medicine A little bit, life is gone." The words hit the point directly, seeming to imply something.

As the stick fell, King Die was in a trance for a moment, laughed sternly, looked at Mrs. Zhao distortedly, and beckoned to Guanshi Li, "Stop beating me, I'll recruit them all, that man is Mrs. Zhao's nephew, Mrs. Zhao He was the one who seduced me, and he gave me the abortion pills, so please forgive me, Guanshi Li!"

As soon as everyone heard this, they all looked at Mama Zhao in unison. Mama Zhao was taken aback, unable to hide the panic in her heart anymore, her face suddenly became gloomy and cold under the dim candlelight.

(End of this chapter)