Sure enough, after a long silence, Mrs. Lin closed her eyes. When she opened them again, it was clear that she had made up her mind.
"Tell me," she said.
Yi Qing knew she had won the bet.
It was the middle of the night when she returned from Mrs. Lin's room. She was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open and was about to go back to her own room to sleep. But the excited Xue Miao'er pulled her into her room to talk.
Yi Qing yawned and said, "Can we talk about it tomorrow? Anyway, it's not urgent."
Xue Miao'er replied, "I'm so curious! If you don't tell me, I won't be able to sleep."
Yi Qing had asked Mrs. Lin several questions, and Mrs. Lin had answered them all. Some of the questions were quite embarrassing, but Xue Miao'er didn't understand the logic or the purpose behind them. She only vaguely guessed that Yi Qing was trying to figure out who the man was.
Yi Qing explained, "I asked about the positions and the time because I wanted to know the man's height, build, and physical condition. This way, we can rule out some people."
"What about the rest?" Xue Miao'er asked.
"Didn't I ask her to write letters?" Yi Qing said.
"But we don't know who did it. Who should we send the letters to?" Xue Miao'er was very confused.
"We'll send them to everyone. The one who gets nervous is the culprit," Yi Qing said.
Yi Qing had asked Mrs. Lin to write some "pornographic stories" describing the intimate things the man had done with her and the dirty words he had said, and then ask the man to come to her.
"I didn't tell her to write just one letter," Yi Qing said. "I told her not to sign them and send them to different people. We'll know who the culprit is by seeing who gets nervous."
Xue Miao'er said, "Is this going to work?"
"Not necessarily," Yi Qing replied. "If someone who is innocent spreads this as a joke, the plan will fail."
"What should we do then?"
"So now we need to find a way to separate everyone so that they don't have a chance to discuss it."
Xue Miao'er was completely stunned.
Yi Qing smiled and said, "I'll take care of this."
She planned to ask Xiao Tian to do it.
After ruling out some people, there should be no more than ten left. After all, in this era when most men were short, tall men were rare. Xiao Tian was like a giant panda.
In fact, if Yi Qing were Mrs. Lin, she could easily tell that the man was taller than Lord Meng.
But unfortunately, Mrs. Lin was so excited about her success that she didn't notice anything strange.
There were no more than ten people left. It would be a bit of a hassle for Xiao Tian, but he could sneak into their rooms at night, deliver the letters, and then hide in the dark to observe.
Even if they found it strange, they wouldn't go around gossiping at midnight.
But the real culprit would definitely be panicked.
Yi Qing also taught Mrs. Lin to write a vague letter to her family, saying that she had discovered the biggest secret of the Meng family. To prevent the Meng family from killing her to cover it up, she had already sent someone close to her to hide the secret. This was to protect herself.
Yi Qing told Mrs. Lin that this was to make her family realize her value, so Mrs. Lin agreed.
But in fact, it was because the Meng and Lin families were in cahoots, and this "secret" was also something the Lin family was deeply afraid of.
The next night, Xiao Tian completed the task successfully and brought back a man.
"What do you want?" the man, who had been thrown to the ground by Xiao Tian, struggled to get up, but Xiao Tian stepped on his back, and he couldn't move.
Yi Qing squinted her eyes and sized up the man. With a half - smile, she said, "Who are you? You're really capable of doing such a thing."
Xiao Tian sneered and said, "This is Meng Da, Lord Meng's personal servant. He's been studying with Lord Meng since he was a child."
"Tsk tsk," Yi Qing sighed. "Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its den. You eat and use your master's things, and you even sleep with your master's daughter - in - law. You're really something."
Meng Da recognized Yi Qing. "You're the maid beside the Second Young Mistress!"
So he had been targeted by these people!
"Yes, it's me," Yi Qing raised her eyebrows. "Do you have something to say?"
Meng Da gritted his teeth and said, "If it was the Eldest Young Mistress who found out, I have nothing to say. But what does this have to do with you?"
Yi Qing said, "I like to mind other people's business. So what?"
Meng Da said, "You!"
After Yi Qing had laughed enough, she said, "Do you like Mrs. Lin so much? I don't think she's that beautiful. Why are you so infatuated with her that you not only betray your master but also risk your life? There are so many women who would line up for you if you just said you liked women. Why did you do such a thing and leave yourself open to criticism?"
Meng Da turned his head and refused to speak.
Yi Qing continued, "Well, who can really understand the affairs of lovesick men and women in this world? I'm not here to make things difficult for you. I'm here to show you a way out. Since you like Mrs. Lin, I can help you. As long as you do something for me."
"What is it?" Meng Da looked at Yi Qing warily. "What's your real purpose?"
"I want the evidence of your master's rebellion," Yi Qing said straightforwardly without beating around the bush. At the same time, she motioned for Xiao Tian to let Meng Da go.
Meng Da almost fell to the ground.
"What did you say?" he looked at Yi Qing in disbelief, not understanding how she knew about this.
"I said, re - bel - lion," Yi Qing said slowly, emphasizing each word. "Don't play dumb with me."
Meng Da slowly got up and sat on the ground. Looking at Yi Qing, he said, "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Who I am is not important. What's important is that I already know about your master's plan to rebel," Yi Qing said. "You should know the consequences if this gets out. The fall of the Meng family is just a matter of time. Do you want to die with the Meng family? Or do you want to elope with the woman you love and be together forever?"
Meng Da didn't say a word, but his face was full of resistance.
Yi Qing wasn't in a hurry. "I can guess now. You think you have your master's scandal in your hands, so even if something goes wrong, you won't be punished. That's why you're so bold, right? Of course, you really do love Mrs. Lin, so you're willing to take risks. Am I right?"
Meng Da still remained silent.
Two hours later, Xiao Tian asked Yi Qing, "Aren't you afraid he'll play tricks if we just let him go?"
Yi Qing leaned on the table with her chin in her hand. She was so sleepy that her head was nodding. "I'm not afraid. He's not a loyal servant. Or rather, his desires will eventually overcome his loyalty. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done such a thing. So no matter how conflicted he is, he'll definitely cooperate in the end."
She yawned widely. "I'm going to take a nap. This matter is basically solved. I'll leave the rest to you. I don't want to care anymore."
Xiao Tian looked at her lovingly and said, "You've worked hard."
He couldn't rest yet. He was worried and wanted to keep an eye on Meng Da.
Xue Miao'er chased after Yi Qing to ask about the progress, but Yi Qing evaded her questions and refused to tell the truth.
But Yi Qing knew that this matter was coming to an end.