Volume 1, Chapter 43: Searching the Inner Quarters

As soon as Xie Wanqing's voice trailed off, Qinghua quickly chimed in.

"Second Madam, it's someone from the Marquis's Lady's courtyard. They said the Marquis's Lady was furious upon hearing about the clandestine meeting between the Yu family's uncle-in-law and sister-in-law, so she has ordered an investigation."

Xie Wanqing furrowed her brow tightly.

She knew Lady Luo's temperament all too well; she was a woman of absolute resolve. Since Lady Luo had stated earlier that she intended to hush the matter up and investigate it privately, she would never have made such a public fuss about it.

Could she be using this matter as a cover to investigate something else entirely?

Her eyelids twitched, and her heart thumped wildly in her chest, filled with a sudden, overwhelming panic.

What on earth could have happened to provoke Lady Luo into making such a grand display?

Inside Shufang Courtyard, Lady Luo sat in absolute silence, her expression rigid and severe.

Xie Mingyue hadn't gone to sleep yet. After having Qi Jingshan rest in the courtyard, she had hurried over.

"Mother, why have you suddenly decided to investigate this matter again?"

Uncharacteristically, Lady Luo did not offer Xie Mingyue a smile. Instead, she swept her gaze across the room and commanded coldly, "Everyone out!"

Seeing her like this, Xie Mingyue frowned slightly.

Once the servants had closed the doors and windows and retreated, the muscles in Lady Luo's face twitched. With a tightened jaw, she reached into her sleeve and produced two rag dolls.

She slammed them down onto the table.

Taking a deep breath, she tightly closed her eyes and spoke in a deep voice, "I am practically beside myself with rage."

Xie Mingyue looked closely. The dolls were crudely stitched together from scraps of fabric, with several large characters written upon them in bright red cinnabar.

A chill ran through her heart.

"Mother, this is... sorcery."

Lady Luo's ashen face almost crumbled, and hot tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks.

"These bear the birth dates and names of Jingshan and Xiuyu! Such malicious and vicious things, hanging so blatantly within the rockery, exposed to the wind and rain! If my maid hadn't stumbled upon them today while rounding up the Yu family's relatives, who knows how long this would have continued to curse our Marquis's estate!"

Although she resented Qi Xiuyu for not being as capable as Qi Jingshan, Xiuyu was still flesh of her womb. Seeing her own son's name inscribed on these cursed dolls felt like a sudden bolt of lightning striking Lady Luo from the heavens, nearly shattering her wits entirely.

Xie Mingyue stared at the dolls, their dark, bead-stitched eyes gleaming with a baleful light.

So Lady Luo had used the investigation into the Yu family's relatives merely as a pretext to strictly probe into this sorcery.

"I am completely at my wit's end. If the outsiders were to find out that such vicious things have emerged within our estate, where would we, the women of the household, save face?"

Lady Luo sighed heavily.

"This is a grave matter. Afterward, we will inevitably have to ask the Marquis to visit the Guardian State Temple and invite an eminent monk down to perform rites for the two of them."

Burning with anxiety, she felt that the matter was impossible to conceal, yet too scandalous to broadcast, while also fearing the wrath of the Marquis of Shunqing should he find out.

More importantly, the realization that someone with a heart this venomous lurked within the household left her sitting on pins and needles.

Xie Mingyue clenched her handkerchief and offered soothingly, "Mother, do not panic. Younger Sister-in-law, Second Aunt, and Third Aunt will be arriving shortly. Please take a sip of tea first. When they arrive, we can simply claim that the Yu family's relatives are utterly audacious and have brought shame upon the family traditions, and that we must check whether there are any other shameless and brazen individuals left in the residence. After all, there are still unmarried maidens in the household whose reputations cannot afford to be tarnished. Thus, we must search the estate courtyard by courtyard. Doing so will surely unearth some clues and leads."

Search the courtyards?

On such a massive scale?

Lady Luo was startled and wanted to object, yet she could think of no better alternative.

"Very well, let it be done according to your plan."

She immediately summoned several capable matrons from her retinue and instructed Xie Mingyue to provide a few trusted women of her own as well.

"No young maids. This matter requires stern and experienced hands; young maids are bound to lack the gravitas to keep things under control."

Having made up her mind, Lady Luo acted with swift decisiveness. Together with the two senior matrons from Xie Mingyue's courtyard, a total of seven stern-faced women—armed with the chilling truth of the sorcery—stood solemnly in the room, eyeing the premises with predatory vigilance as they prepared for the raids.

That was the scene that greeted the Third Dowager and Fourth Dowager when they arrived from the West Garden.

Xie Wanqing followed behind them, and seeing Lady Luo mobilize so many people, her inward unease grew exponentially.

"The clandestine meeting of the Yu family's relatives today is far more scandalous than ordinary servants dallying. Originally, I wished to turn a major issue into a minor one and let it pass. But when I thought of the unmarried maidens in our household, especially with the upcoming Spring Flower Banquet approaching, I realized I must exercise stricter discipline. That is why I have summoned you all here to deal with this matter together."

Seeing Xie Mingyue's composed and serene demeanor, the raging fire in Lady Luo's heart slowly subsided.

Indeed, why panic? The culprit would be caught eventually.

With Xie Mingyue present, Lady Luo always felt that nothing remained an insurmountable obstacle.

This matter could not be allowed to leak. Taking a deep breath, she spoke these words with calculated calm.

Madam Jin and Madam Ma exchanged a glance. Thinking of the two young maidens in the West Garden, they naturally had nothing to say. Xie Wanqing endured and endured, but finally could not help asking, "How... how does Mother plan to handle this?"

Lady Luo's lips twitched into a grim line. "We will search the courtyards. From this moment on, no one in the residence who knows of this matter is permitted to leave. We will start from my courtyard and search them one by one. You may only move to the next location after the previous one has been thoroughly combed. No word of this must leak. If anyone attempts to carry tales or tip off others, they will be given twenty heavy strokes on the spot and sold off."

Cold sweat broke out instantly across Xie Wanqing's body.

She began to frantically replay the scene inside her room just before she had left.

Qi Haosong had only stayed for a brief moment; surely he hadn't left behind any traces?

Xie Mingyue glanced at her indifferently and smiled as she rose to her feet. "Mother is right. This daughter-in-law will supervise the proceedings close at hand. Now, let us begin."

By this time, it was late in the night, and the doors of every courtyard in the estate were firmly shut. The group walked swiftly and lightly, having been strictly admonished to remain silent. Thus, when they finished searching Lady Luo's courtyard and arrived before the Qionghua Courtyard, the female relatives finally learned that Qi Jingshan was lodging with Xie Mingyue again that night.

Lady Luo was taken aback, but upon reflection, she reasoned that such a sinister and venomous method could not possibly be the handiwork of Xie Mingyue. She instructed the matrons in a low voice, "Move lightly and with nimble hands. Take a quick look and withdraw immediately; do not disturb the Eldest Young Master."

Hearing this, the matrons understood that they did not need to dig too deeply, and merely rummaged perfunctorily through the servants' quarters.

Yet they unexpectedly turned up several silk handkerchiefs, snail-brow cosmetics, and similar items that clearly were not standard provisions available to ordinary servants on the market.

Just as Lady Luo was about to flare up in anger, Yuanbai smiled and said, "The Marquis's Lady need not be displeased. These were all bestowed upon us by our Madam, originally given to her by the Eldest Young Master. There were simply too many, and since Madam could not use them all and loathed to waste fine things, she bestowed them upon us to show her consideration."

Hearing this, the others began to whisper among themselves.

Madam Jin looked on with undisguised envy. "My goodness, even the items in my own quarters aren't as exquisite as these. The Eldest Young Master actually hauls chests of them into Mingyue's rooms! Perhaps I should come and work as a maid here one of these days, just to get my hands on some fine goods to take back."

As soon as she spoke, Lady Luo chuckled.

"When has your own courtyard ever lacked anything? To utter such a vulgar remark!"

As the women exchanged light banter, their underlying apprehension eased somewhat. Only Xie Wanqing remained consumed by anxiety.

She was next. Yet her heart felt entirely ungrounded.

"Is Younger Sister-in-law feeling unwell?"

Xie Mingyue suddenly spoke up out of the blue.

Lady Luo's gaze instantly locked onto Xie Wanqing.

She forced a tight smile. "I am merely feeling somewhat drowsy."

"Then let us make haste."

Lady Luo quickened her pace. The matrons, highly adept at reading cues, stepped forward to knock open the door. Taking advantage of the dazed state in which Xie Wanqing's servants found themselves, they darted rapidly into the room.

Xie Wanqing stood outside in the chilly night air, her cloak wrapped tightly around her, while cold sweat soaked straight through her undergarments.

A sharp clatter echoed from inside the room, followed immediately by Lady Luo's senior maid, Matron Zhong, emerging with a wooden box in her hands.

The moment Xie Wanqing laid eyes on that wooden box, her mind went completely blank with a deafening *buzz*.

When on earth had such a thing found its way into her room?