Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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“Mother,” Yu Pianpian nestled close to Madam Huo, giggling, “I was just thinking that Linlang, having been away from home for so many years, hasn’t learned any manners. When she comes home, she keeps making you sick with worry.”
“If Linlang could study more at the academy, learn some manners and understand human relationships, it would be a good thing for the whole family.”
Yu Pianpian sighed. “Linlang must have suffered a lot of injustices after all these years away. She must be feeling resentful and upset; I understand all that.”
“She dares to feel resentful and upset?” Madam Huo’s anger was indeed ignited by Yu Pianpian’s words. “Her parents gave her life and raised her, but she doesn’t know how to repay them and has repeatedly disobeyed them. This kind of child shouldn’t be brought back to cause trouble.”
“Mother, don’t say that,” Yu Pianpian gently comforted her. “Think about it, once Linlang learns manners and etiquette at the academy, won’t she be able to serve Father and Mother together with me?”
“Isn’t it a good thing for Mother to have another daughter to enjoy her company?”
Madam Huo was deeply moved by her beloved daughter’s filial piety, hugging Yu Pianpian and calling her “my darling” repeatedly, her face beaming. “I knew it! My Pianpian is the kindest and most sensible. She even thinks so much about that wild girl.”
“But Shuyun Girls’ Academy isn’t something you can just get into; you have to pass the entrance exam yourself, right?”
“No problem. Father will just have to put in a word with Headmaster Yang. It’s just that getting one person in will likely be difficult; I’m sure the headmaster will give Father, the governor, face.”
Madam Huo smiled broadly, then snorted, “That wild girl is getting off easy. Our Pianpian got in on her own merit, while she needs your father to pull strings.”
“Your father is busy lately. I’ll talk to him after the case is closed; whether it works or not depends on fate.”
“Mother, I knew you loved your daughters the most. Linlang will definitely know how good you are to her in the future. I will also try my best to get along with her and become her best friend as soon as possible.”
“You,” Madam Huo shook her head helplessly, tapping her forehead with her finger, “I don’t know if I’ve taught you the right way. You’ve become so gentle and kind, never thinking of yourself.”
“Mother,” Yu Pianpian snuggled into Madam Huo’s arms, suppressing a sly smile in her eyes, “With Father and Mother protecting me, Pianpian will never suffer.”
….
Meanwhile, the Mu family mansion was brightly lit late at night.
A servant brought in another pot of fresh tea, bowed respectfully, and withdrew.
“Young Master, Sir,” Wu Yong strode in, cupping his hands in greeting, “I led the constables to Niujia Market again and found a small bag of silver there.”
Wu Yong had made quite a haul this time.
When he untied the small bundle and revealed five or six silver ingots to everyone, Chen Buyu couldn’t help but stand up.
“Could this all have been found at Niujia?”
There were forty or fifty taels of silver in the small bundle!
That was a considerable sum; an ordinary farming family might not even be able to save ten taels a year.
Wu Yong nodded excitedly, “Yes, Lord Chen, we’ve made a great haul this time. We also asked around the neighborhood and inquired carefully. They said the two sons of the Niu family have been gambling for years. They go to the gambling dens whenever they have a little money, and they’re regulars at the gambling houses in the county. Later, when they had more money, they started going to the prefectural city to gamble more often.”
“How’s the situation at the Chang Le gambling den?” Chen Buyu asked.
“I asked the steward, but he couldn’t remember clearly. He only said that the two brothers lost almost every time they gambled, probably losing three or four hundred taels in total.”
“When they lost money gambling, they sold their land. Of their original twenty mu of permanent farmland, they gambled it all down to just two mu. These two brothers are lazy and don’t know how to farm, so they had leased out those two mu to a neighbor in the village.”
“You can imagine how tight their finances were. According to the villagers, the Niu family had always been impoverished, so their lavish wedding banquet at the beginning of the year was quite surprising.”
“After making inquiries, everyone said they only started getting rich two years ago. The neighbors also said that Madam Niu has a very fiery temper and has argued with almost everyone in the village. That young lady from the scholar’s family is the one they married with all their money.”
“After she married into the family, Old Lady Niu was very proud. She told everyone that the young lady from the scholar’s family was well-read, beautiful, and intelligent, and that she would definitely give them a bright and successful grandson who could pass the imperial examinations, and one day produce a top scholar for the Niu family.”
“So, all in all, it must have been around five hundred taels of silver, enough for the two brothers to squander on gambling. In other words, they made a fortune two years ago.” Chen Buyu said in a low voice, “Can you find out if anything special happened two years ago?”
“The villagers all say there was nothing special, but they all remember it very clearly. It seems that they became rich after their first daughter-in-law died.”
“Niu Erji gambled even more fiercely than his older brother. The neighbors said that not long after their eldest daughter-in-law died, the two brothers had a fierce fight. They even went to the village head to threaten to divide the family property, but Old Lady Niu suppressed them in the end.”
“After that, Niu Erji took his wife to work in the city, and the money he earned was resold and sent to the gambling den almost every month.”
“In that case, the crux of the problem is very likely with this deceased former daughter-in-law.” Lu Qian couldn’t help but speak up after listening for a while.
“I also think it’s very likely. So I asked around in the village, and the villagers all said that the former daughter-in-law fled from Jinzhou and married into the Niu family alone. Jinzhou is far away from here, so it’s impossible to find out all her information right away.”
At this point, a guard from the Mu family rushed in and reported, “Your Highness, the Liang Wang’s Mansion is on fire.”
Mu Zhao quickly stood up, “Have you notified Governor Yu?”
“I have already notified him and asked him to take the fire brigade to put out the fire.”
Mu Zhao nodded and took a cloak from the side and put it on, “Let’s go take a look.”
On the other side, Miss Yu was completely numb.
She really didn’t understand what was wrong with the governor. Why did he have to send someone to wake her up and take her to watch the fire at the Liang Wang’s Mansion?
Yu Linlang was still half asleep, with three or five question marks above her head, and she simply couldn’t believe it.
The first thing Hu Mama said to the woman knocking on the door was, “Someone in your family has died again?”
“Miss, Master says he may have caught the murderer who disguised himself as a demon! He wants you to hurry to the gate; the carriage is already there.”
The carriage rumbled wildly along the empty street, bypassing Yong’an Gate and heading straight for Ansheng Street, where the Liang Wang’s Mansion was located. She rushed there, but the water rescue team had already been there for some time.
Yu Linlang couldn’t understand why she was being summoned…
Amidst the clamor of the crowd, she alighted from the carriage and stood before the Liang Wang’s Mansion gate, illuminated by firelight. Turning her head, she met the vast, starry eyes of the Young Master Mu.
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