After Mrs. Zhu left, Fang Yunxin scanned the female guests present.
With a smiling tone that carried an underlying warning, she said, "Maybe Mrs. Zhu is just too idle and can't help gossiping. Let her go. We should just enjoy ourselves."
After her words, the warmth of the room returned to its lively atmosphere.
Qi Jiao went outside the door to cut two branches of red plum blossoms in full bloom. She took them back and gave them to a maid of the Zhou family, asking her to put them in a white porcelain vase.
While she was chatting, someone gently tugged at the corner of her skirt.
Qi Jiao looked back and saw a somewhat familiar face.
The young lady with twin buns was still quite young. She was wearing a well - fitting sky - blue jacket and skirt. Her face was as cute as a powdered flower.
Qi Jiao stared at her for a moment before realizing that this was Miss Zhou, the one whose face was damaged when Mrs. Pan took her to the Zhuoxiang Pavilion.
Fortunately, after timely treatment, the rashes on her face had completely healed, and her complexion had also improved a lot.
Qi Jiao had a strong memory. Last time, Miss Zhou's clothes were very shabby, quite different from today. Now she truly had the air of a young lady from the county magistrate's mansion.
Miss Zhou was holding a basket of golden tangerines. She handed the basket to Qi Jiao and said shyly, "I picked these myself. I'm giving them to you."
Qi Jiao understood that Miss Zhou was expressing her gratitude in her own way. She nodded in return and said with a smile, "Thank you, Miss. You've put in a lot of effort."
Seeing that Qi Jiao had readily accepted the gift, Miss Zhou beamed with joy. She waved her hand and lifted her skirt as she left the warm room.
Watching Miss Zhou's back, Qi Jiao heard the maids of the Zhou family whispering:
"The young lady has only moved to the madam's courtyard for a short time, but she's changed completely!"
"You're right. Her mother died early. She's been living under the care of the third young madam all these years. It's really pitiful... Fortunately, she's finally escaped..."
Qi Jiao thought that her unintentional act had become the opportunity for Miss Zhou to break free from her step - mother. It was indeed a good deed.
Just as she was thinking, someone passed by her in a hurry and bumped into her arm.
The tangerines in her hand almost rolled to the ground. Before Qi Jiao could let out a cry, she looked up and saw that it was Mrs. Pan.
Mrs. Pan walked straight ahead, looking as if she had the words "arrogant and insolent" written on her face.
Qi Jiao suppressed her anger. This was not the time to start a conflict.
She dusted off her arm and carried the fruit basket to where Fang Yunxin and Guo Lingyi were.
After sharing the fruits, Mrs. Zhou entered the room.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Mrs. Zhou ordered the servants to serve the dishes and start the banquet.
Interestingly, during the banquet, as people were toasting each other, Mrs. Pan actually came to Qi Jiao's seat in person to pour wine for her, saying that the incident last time was just a misunderstanding.
Qi Jiao noticed that Mrs. Zhou in the main seat was looking in their direction frequently.
She smiled, glanced at Mrs. Pan, took the wine cup, and drank it all.
Since the banquet was hosted by Mrs. Zhou, Qi Jiao guessed that Mrs. Pan wouldn't dare to play any tricks.
She could see clearly that Mrs. Pan was a domineering person who liked to bully the weak.
Those who bully the weak must be afraid of the strong.
For now, with Mrs. Zhou keeping an eye on her, Mrs. Pan wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.
Qi Jiao drank some wine and said a few polite words. Mrs. Pan felt that she had regained her face and didn't bother Qi Jiao anymore.
When the plum blossom banquet ended, it was already pitch - black outside.
The Zhou family had set up a huge lantern shed outside the door, which extended halfway down the street.
The wine of the Zhou family was mellow. Qi Jiao's face was flushed after drinking, looking charming.
Pei Xia came to pick her up after work.
Pei Xia helped Qi Jiao into the carriage and touched her hot face. "How much did you drink? Are you drunk?"
Qi Jiao leaned against his arms and mumbled incoherently, "I'm happy to see my friends... But I'm unhappy when I meet villains..."
Pei Xia's face darkened slightly, but he didn't say anything. He leaned out of the carriage and told the coachman to go back to Pomegranate Alley.
He took out a handkerchief and placed it on her front to prevent Qi Jiao from vomiting due to the bumps on the way. Then he took out a bamboo tube and fed her some water.
After doing all this, Pei Xia held Qi Jiao steadily. His lips were close to her ear, and he murmured with a hint of cruelty, "I know. Whoever makes you unhappy for a moment, I'll make her unhappy for a lifetime."
---
In the early morning, as the sun was just rising, Second Master Shu rushed into the inner courtyard in a fit of rage. Even the dogs on the way were kicked by him twice.
Mrs. Zhu was scolding the servants while lying on the warm couch.
Seeing the second master coming back, Mrs. Zhu quickly stopped scolding. She waved her hand and sent the two maids away.
"Master, why are you back again? Don't you have to go to the yamen today?" Mrs. Zhu put away her harsh look and walked towards him coquettishly.
In the past, Second Master Shu would have taken her hand and whispered sweet words to her.
But today, he had just found out what a terrifying demon his wife was...
He flicked his sleeve and pushed Mrs. Zhu away forcefully.
Mrs. Zhu accidentally bumped into the edge of the couch. She turned her face, stared at him in disbelief, and said, "Master, what's wrong with you? Did something go wrong outside, so you come back to take it out on me?"
"Humph! Look at the good deeds you've done!"
Second Master Shu was a kind - hearted man. This was the first time in Mrs. Zhu's memory that he had gotten so angry.
Mrs. Zhu thought for a moment, then lowered her head and started sobbing while holding a handkerchief. "What good deeds have I done? I've been married to you for more than a decade. I've always put you first in everything. I've given birth to children for you and cooked for you. What's wrong with me?"
Mrs. Zhu's sobbing and excuses made Second Master Shu hesitate.
Yes, no matter how bad Mrs. Zhu was, she had given birth to a son and a daughter for him. Even if she had made some mistakes, she didn't deserve to die.
But when he thought of the evil deeds Mrs. Zhu had done behind his back, Second Master Shu was so angry that his face turned blue.
His hands were trembling. "Fine, you say you've done nothing wrong. Over the years, I've doted on you and granted your every wish. I've entrusted you with the management of the Second Branch's properties, shops, and my private assets.
But what have you done? You've emptied the money of the Shu family to support your ungrateful younger brother. Giving him money is one thing, but what about my former concubines? I trusted you and let you decide their fates. Whether to send them to the manor or demote them to laundry maids, as long as you weren't bothered by them, I had no objections. But I was really blind. I never thought that you, this cruel woman, would send Cuiqiao and the others to a brothel, where they were tortured to death by your younger brother!
Zhu Lian'er, over the years, how many lives have you stained your hands with? How much money have you spent to save Zhu Yaozong's life? Are you mute? Speak!"
Second Master Shu's usually kind - looking round face became distorted. He grabbed Mrs. Zhu's neck tightly. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was so angry that his eyes were almost popping out.
Mrs. Zhu was ruthless and willing to spend money to cover up her tracks. She never expected that her husband would find out about the things she had done to clean up her brother's mess.
She had thought that she would be able to control Shu Jing forever, but the suffocating feeling in her throat made her tremble with fear.
"Master... Don't... kill me. Please... Our children..."
Mrs. Zhu never thought that Shu Jing would really want to kill her. At this moment, she didn't care about anything else. All she wanted was to survive.
Seeing Mrs. Zhu gasping for breath with veins bulging on her neck, Shu Jing's eyes flashed with pain. He let out a long sigh and finally let go of her.
Zhu Lian'er and Zhu Yaozong had blood on their hands. But did he really want to become a wife - killing demon?
Second Master Shu stepped back a few steps and looked at Zhu Lian'er, who was lying on the ground coughing violently, as if she were an ugly ghost.
He tried hard not to think about it, but the more he suppressed his thoughts, the more they flooded his mind.
Uncontrollably, the image of the bones that Constable Pei had taken him to examine appeared in his mind - a total of twenty - eight skeletons, and it was very likely that they were not all of them.
It was dry in winter, and there had been a strong wind last night.
For some reason, a shop on Yongfu Street caught fire at the third watch. The entire street was made of wooden buildings, and the fire quickly spread. Coincidentally, it just happened to affect the brocade workshop, the shop of Zhu Lian'er's natal family.
The sky was filled with flames, and the county magistrate summoned the soldiers to fight the fire.
As a member of the county magistrate's office, Pei Xia rushed to the front without hesitation.
Because he arrived in time, he led his men to rescue the embroiderers and clerks in the brocade workshop.
Although the warehouse of the brocade workshop was completely burned down, fortunately, there were no casualties.
The bad news was that when Pei Xia turned back to clean up the dangerous objects, he accidentally found a severed limb of a woman. It looked fresh in color, as if she had been killed not long ago.
Pei Xia immediately suspected that there was something wrong with the brocade workshop. He quickly reported the situation secretly to Magistrate Zhou and Magistrate Hui and started to investigate further.
The embroiderers and clerks in the brocade workshop were detained by Pei Xia on the pretext of the loss of valuable property, so the news of their investigation didn't leak out.
Pei Xia didn't sleep all night. He and his brothers in the county magistrate's office dug overnight.
To everyone's horror, under the heavy flower walls and shrubs in the backyard of the brocade workshop, there were nothing but bones.