Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 433 Be in the Clear

When Jiang Tan and his party went to find He Shuijin, they didn’t know where Shuijin had gone. So, for fear that they would miss her, they walked along slowly to find her. But they travelled much faster when they came back to Jing City. As each of them took more than one horse, they galloped back by changing horses. It only took them two days and a night to reach Jing City!

When they arrived at Linlang Jewelry Store, which was a dowry of He Shuijin, they violently rushed into the store and dragged the manager away, even though she was a small and slight woman. And then they, without drawing breath, hurried to Marquess Qin’s Mansion to report.

Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan were waiting for their news. So, after hearing that, they were both surprised, “Just bring her and the hairpin there. Let’s see how she is going to tell us!”

A few moments later, the disheveled manager was brought here. She still cried out to complain of being wronged. And when she saw Qiu Yelan, she cried even more bitterly, “The nineteenth madame, don’t you remember me? I am…”

“Look at that!” Qiu Yelan and her husband were not in the mood to listen to her nagging. They directly took the hairpin that He Shuijin had handed to Jiang Tan. And then the manager’s cries crashed to a halt! In a flash, she not only quickly straightened her dress and smoothed her sideburns but also changed her demeanor from that of a soft-hearted daughter-in-law to that of a calm, professional manager.

“My lady has told me that if someone takes the hairpin to see, I should treat him as if he were my lady in person! Madame, as the hairpin is in your hands, I am entirely at your disposal!” Linlang Jewelry Store was a dowry of He Shuijin, and it was opened with her own money before she got married. And the manager had never served in the Marquess’s Mansion. So, she still called He Shuijin Lady Shuijin.

Qiu Yelan also did not say anything needless but straightforwardly told the whole story, “Do you have anything to say to make your lady cleared?”

The words stunned the manager. But after a moment of silence, her eyes flashed, “I know what my lady means!” And then she begged, “It is not appropriate to let many people know this matter…”

“All here is trustworthy!” Qiu Yelan had cleared out the place before she was brought in. Except for Jiang Yashuang and her, people like Jiang Tan and Su He were all trusted subordinates. They could even do the job of making He Shuijin taste the pain of losing her son again as long as she could not give a credible account. So, what else could they not know?

As such, she just said coldly, “Just go ahead!”

The manager bit her lip and she didn’t force it. She said, “The nineteenth madame, you know why Lady Shuijin avoids being in Jing City to ensure that her baby is well. I am not going to say more about that.” With that, she continued, “The nineteen madame, you also know why Lady Shuijin lost her first baby, right?”

With that, Qiu Yelan thought about something in her heart.

Sure enough, the manager pressed on, “Only the parents can understand how painful losing a baby is! Even though that person is a senior and a blood relative, she did that. Each time when my lady thinks of her lost son, she can’t help but finally take action to seek justice for the innocent junior young master!”

… He Shuijin managed to leave Jing City with the help of Madame Zhuang as she had thought about killing two birds with one stone. For one thing, she could avoid being attacked by Madame He and attend to her unborn baby at ease. For another, she could take revenge on Madame He for her miscarriage!

It was the same difficulty that had been repeated! Given Madame He was the aunt of He Shuijin, the revenge should get Madame He what she deserved but not have the descendants of the He Family or her children involved! Moreover, it had to be done in such a secretive way that no one would find out!

Fortunately, when He Shuijin cleared up the accounts of Qingfeng Ji, she found a silver lining, a box of the poison Youmianxiang!

Without hesitation, she sent her trusted subordinates to the place recorded in the account book to take it away. And then they found the moment when there was no one else and burned the account book!

Anyway, there were so many books in Qingfeng Ji that no one would find one or two missing even though it was important. Even though somebody noticed that, He Shuijin could just say that she didn’t see them as her subordinates had burned all the books. After all, she took care of things with illness at that time. As long as there were no big mistakes in the accounts, no one would blame her. If something was missing, then, of course, it was because the servants didn’t keep an eye on it or put it away properly. What did that have to do with her?

“… According to what Lady Shuijin told me, after the Spring Festival, I would use the excuse that there was a big problem with the accounts to get the third Madame out of the mansion to preside the most important shops for a few days. And then this box of poison Youmianxiang should be lightened secretly by her side!” The manager said truthfully, “There are two reasons that the poison should be put at that time. For one thing, it is because Lady Shuijin’s delivery is in the first month and she’ll naturally have to return to Jing City afterward. So, she’ll be able to take over and complete the whole story!”

“For another, relatives need to visit each other in the first month. Among the women in the third branch, the sixth madame is a widow. It is not appropriate for her to go out or go to the store. And the seventh madame is the only one that can visit relatives on behalf of the third branch. If the third Madame has to check the accounts, she cannot bring the seventh madame together! And also, the eighth madame will not be with her… So, no one else will be hurt by mistake!”

The manager exhaled and said severely, “Lady Shuijin has even taken the eighth madame and the seventh madame into consideration. How could she harm your beloved sons?” And then she told something about the poison Youmianxiang, the account books that had been tampered with, and the room which was ready to set Madame He up… And she said that Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan could check all these things as they wanted.

What she mentioned were all in Jing City. So, under the instruction and cooperation of the manager, everything was checked with an afternoon.

Despite other things, the account books that were made for getting Madame He to go to the stores were over a foot high. They looked so real that Qiu Yelan, a housewife at normal standard, found it quite wrong when she took one to check in person. If that were real, she would also rush to the stores and find the butlers to discuss solutions!

None of this could have been done in just a few days.

After all, even if He Shuijin gave birth in the first month, she would return to Jing City on the 15th day of the first lunar month. And she would take over these books herself then. But according to the questions listed on these accounts, would the rest of the Jiang Family not be concerned about such a big issue?

These fabricated accounts should be in line with the accounts that were made to cover them. And then the operation in between must also be reasonable. Only by that could the holes of what He Shuijin did be covered. Qiu Yelan thought that even if He Shuijin were good at accounts, the efforts she spent would not be less than that involved in the plot of setting up Jiang Jinglang.

Originally, Qiu Yelan suspected that He Shuijin was involved in the plot to kill her son because she thought she was trying to use Jiang Yashuang’s and her hands to deal with Madame He. But when it came to what He Shuijin wanted to use to take revenge, the poison Youmianxiang, Qiu Yelan knew it well!

It was no exaggeration to say that, in the days before General Ruan’s death, the poison made his life a living hell!

With such means, would it not be superfluous to borrow the hands of the fourth branch again?

As such, they first confirmed that what the manager hid was exactly the poison Youmianxiang. And then they checked the room that was ready for Madame He to check the accounts in the first lunar month. The room had been decorated not long ago. All the things there were prepared in two sets, one for current and the other for the substitute, which could prevent anyone from noticing the traces of the poison incense being burned in the room. After that, Qiu Yelan and Jiang Yashuang both thought that He Shuijin was innocent, “We were worried about our son so much that we have offended our fourteenth sister-in-law. We can’t take time off now. When our fourteenth sister-in-law is back, we will make amends to her!”

They sent Jiang Tan, on behalf of them, to make amends to He Shuijin first.

As for what He Shuijin planned to set up Madame He, the two returned the poison Youmianxiang to the manager as if nothing had happened. And they asked her to send some jewellery in a couple of days there, “You can tell others that we need to buy some silver pins and rings from you in case the servants wear something bright and colorful after our youngest grand uncle’s death. And because we are buying a large quantity for the family, we call you over there in person.”

The manager tacitly put away the poison and said respectfully, “Master and madame, you are so filial to the elder and considerate to the servants. You are such good people that no one like you can be found again in the world…”

She gave several compliments and then calmly asked for leave.

Only the couple were left there, sighing, “It is not our fourteenth sister-in-law… And then who is behind that? Who?”

They could not make a big deal out of it. They also could not threaten and intimidate others one by one. He Shuijin did not go after them. However, the others would have told Marquess Qin immediately, wouldn’t they? That was not different from not agreeing to Mr. Jiang’s request!

“Apart from everything else, I have to go to my grandmother and ask a favor for my fourteenth sister-in-law!” Qiu Yelan stood up unhappily, “This time she has to come back to pay her final respect. And we don’t know how Madame He will plot her! However, she cannot make it open for the sake of the reputation of the He Family… I will go and ask our grandmother to see if she can stay in Sir Jibei’s Mansion on the pretext of helping them! And then she cannot come back to the third branch. As such, she may get less annoyed with us.”

Even though He Shuijin might be a little busy at Sir Jibei’s Mansion, she would be able to cope with it with her ability. Especially, the busiest time of the funeral ceremony had gone. Anyway, that was better than her going back to the third branch, wasn’t it? When she came back, people might think she would “feel free to nurse her baby”. But in fact, she would be put on thin ice to be on guard against Madame He.

Qiu Yelan didn’t expect that when she reached the door of Madame Tao’s room, she saw Chu Yitong coming out with red eyes. Chu Yitong seemed to be a little awkward to see her. And she barely managed to pull out a little smile, “How is Lang’er?”

“He has been fine. Thank you for your concern!” Qiu Yelan nodded. She was not familiar with Chu Yitong. So, even though she found her look strange, she did not ask too much but pretended not to notice it. After a few words, Chu Yitong said she had something to deal with and then excused herself to leave.

Qiu Yelan watched her for a while and then entered the room. As soon as she entered, Madame Tao, who was sitting at the top, said, “You’ve come at the right time. These days, you should visit your eighth sister-in-law more often with some small presents. Let others know that there is nothing wrong between you two sisters-in-law!”

“Did someone say that? What an injustice! It has only been a few days since my eighth sister-in-law married into the family, hasn’t it? While we don’t know each other well, there couldn’t be any beef between us!” Qiu Yelan felt a total mess in her mind and said.

Madame Tao sighed, “She has just presented tea after marriage. And then your youngest grand uncle was not well, followed by Jinglang’s accident. Some servants commented that she was unlucky and she had brought all these things into our family. You know, despite your mother’s management, there is something wrong with your eighth brother’s yard!”

“So that’s what it’s all about!” Qiu Yelan felt speechless but she promised, “I will ask someone to make some snacks and bring them to visit my eighth sister-in-law.” She had deep sympathy for her previous eighth sister-in-law, Madame Tao Junior. But her tragedy had nothing to do with Chu Yitong. So, she had no problem with the new eighth sister-in-law. And she wouldn’t think that her son’s poisoning was caused by her.

After hearing Madame Tao’s explanation, she thought that it was really tough to be Jiang Yadan’s wife. She had just married into this family while others were sneering at her behind her back. There must be a lot to come to her!

Madame Tao said, “I know you are clear on that. And I have told her not to worry about it. You won’t blame her.” And then she asked, “At this moment, you come to me rather than stay with Lang’er. What’s going on?”

“Grandmother, I do come here for a reason!” Qiu Yelan weighed her words carefully. It was not proper to publicize what Madame He had done. So, Qiu Yelan found it really hard to choose words that could persuade Madame Tao to talk to Madame Ou and have He Shuijin stay at Sir Jibei’s Mansion to avoid Madame He. Qiu Yelan had just thought about a sentence. It was on the tip of her tongue when a servant rushed into the room and reported, “After hearing Sir Jibei’s death, Old Master Tianchi left the army behind and galloped back to Jing City for paying respect. Even Madame Zhuang was left far behind!”

Madame Tao was surprised. But she said instantly, “He is not the only one in charge of the Northern Army. Jingbo is also in charge out there, isn’t he? He is such a filial person…” With that, Madame Tao found the servant was not considerate at all. She thought to herself, “Anyway, Tianchi is on his way back. So, what if the news is told later? What’s the point of rushing in and scaring us like this?”

However, the servant spluttered, “Madame! The news that Old Master Tianchi’s personal return to Jing City for paying respect was known by Beihu on the same day as he set off! The news from the carrier hawk said that Beihu would invade in ten days at the most. But when the messenger stopped Old Master Tianchi, he said he would get Beijiang back if it is lost. He said he must come back to see Sir Jibei before he passed away! Old Master… Old Master was so angry that he fainted!”

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