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"Sister Mu is the daughter of my mother's accompanying maid, and she has been serving me since we were children. She has always been steady and cautious, and after Ling Yao was born, I arranged for her to take care of Ling Yao," Lady Nangong hesitated before saying, "Ms. Yang, Sister Mu has always served Ling Yao diligently; there should be no issues."

"Has Sister Mu ever been married?"

"Sister Mu had a betrothed fiancé since childhood, but he suddenly fell ill and died just before their wedding. Thus, Sister Mu became Sister Steward."

"How many maids does Uncle Nangong have by his side? Are they still around?"

As far as Yang Mengchen knew, in addition to attendants or manservants, the sons of affluent families had maids by their side, many of whom would be taken into their chambers.

After glancing at her own husband, Lady Nangong truthfully said, "My lord had one maid named Qiu Yue, who also served my lord since childhood. Later, she was given to my lord's attendant Nan Dong, and they left the mansion. A few years after, both of them drowned unexpectedly."

Noticing a slight unnatural expression on Nangong Yelin's face, Yang Mengchen's thoughts shifted as she asked, "If I'm not mistaken, Qiu Yue must have been infatuated with Uncle Nangong and even committed despicable acts, right?" Her tone was affirmative, not questioning.

"My lord..."

Lady Nangong looked towards her husband since she had married him just half a month after Qiu Yue and Nan Dong had left the mansion, unaware of any hidden secrets.

The expressions of Long Xuanmo and Nangong Lingfei were slightly somber, as if deep in thought.

"Ms. Yang's guess is not wrong." With apologies in his eyes towards his wife, Nangong Yelin slowly began to recount the story, "Qiu Yue was Sister Nai's daughter, smart and clever. My mother arranged for Sister Nai to manage the affairs of my courtyard, with Qiu Yue responsible for my daily needs. I always treated her like a sister;

Unbeknownst to me, Qiu Yue developed those kinds of feelings towards me. Out of respect for Sister Nai, my mother agreed to let her become my concubine;

However, I had already promised Huiru (Lady Nangong's maiden name) that she would be my only wife for life, so I resolutely refused. Since Qiu Yue was already twenty-two years old, my mother and I discussed finding her a steward position in a shop;

Qiu Yue outwardly accepted, but one afternoon, half a month before my wedding to Huiru, while Nan Dong and I were discussing wedding preparations in the study, a maid brought in tea and a plate of pastries. At that moment, I was anxious because the red coral I'd ordered for Huiru hadn't arrived, so I paid no attention to the tea and pastries. However, Nan Dong ate some.

Just then, the steward reported that the servants had escorted the red coral back, so I quickly left the study, leaving Nan Dong to organize the list;

When I returned after arranging things with the red coral, I found many servants clustered outside the study, and even my mother was alerted. Inside, Qiu Yue and Nan Dong were in disarray;

With things having reached this point, I released Sister Nai, Qiu Yue, and Nan Dong from their service contracts and gave them some money, asking them to leave the mansion and live their own lives. I also found another maid to replace Qiu Yue as the steward of that shop;

A year before Ling Yan was born, someone sent a message saying Qiu Yue and Nan Dong had drowned by accident. They had no children, leaving Sister Nai alone and destitute, so I had people bring Sister Nai back to the mansion;

I'm sorry, Huiru, for not telling you about this matter concerning the reputation of Nangong Mansion."

"It's all in the past, my lord. Don't keep it on your mind anymore, and there's no need to apologize to me," Lady Nangong softly consoled her husband.

Nangong Yelin held his wife's hand tightly, his eyes tender. With such a wife, what more could a husband want?

Yang Mengchen raised an eyebrow, unexpectedly dousing the couple with cold water, "Does Aunty Nangong really think that the matter is over? I'm afraid it's not that simple!"

"Ms. Yang?" The couple turned and looked at Yang Mengchen in astonishment, as did Nangong Lingfei and Long Xuanmo.

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