Chapter 380: Chapter 380: This Time, You Can Forget About Covering For Her

"Where did the clothes come from? Whose are they?" Xie Yuanjiu asked, trembling.

Second Madam Xie’s eyes darted away. "I forgot..."

Xie Yuanjiu took a closer look and realized they looked like a maid’s uniform from the mansion.

She sucked in a sharp breath, remembering how everyone in the mansion had been complaining about her mother, Second Madam Xie, when she had just returned.

A young maid who was very popular in the Xie Mansion had been assigned to serve Second Madam Xie, but one night, she had bizarrely died after hitting her head on a rock!

Seeing the bloody clothes, Xie Yuanjiu instantly connected them to what she had heard before.

She strode forward and grabbed Second Madam Xie by the collar. "You killed her, didn’t you!"

Second Madam Xie covered her face and sobbed.

"I didn’t want to kill her, but she was eavesdropping on me."

That day, she had hit the young maid, Wenxiu. At first, she just wanted to vent her frustrations, but somehow, she gradually lost control.

Second Madam Xie had grabbed the inkstone from the table and smashed it heavily against Wenxiu’s head.

Once, and then again...

At first, she could still hear Wenxiu’s pleas for mercy, but soon, Wenxiu stopped breathing.

By the time she came to her senses, Wenxiu was lying dead in a pool of blood.

Second Madam Xie curled into a ball, her eyes filled with panicked tears.

"I was so afraid Xie Ming’an would discover what happened, so I stripped off her clothes and pushed her body onto the rockery in the pond outside."

"Jiu Jiu, don’t worry. No one suspects me. It was just a maid who died. Nobody cares!"

Xie Yuanjiu gritted her teeth. "Why do you always cause me trouble? As my mother, what have you ever given me! Nothing but endless problems!"

As she spoke, she walked to the crack of the door and peeked outside.

The old servant women were sitting in the courtyard, chatting loudly, oblivious to the commotion inside the room.

’It might be possible to secretly get rid of the bloody clothes now.’

’But...’

Xie Yuanjiu’s dark gaze fell upon the clothes.

Second Madam Xie walked over, crying, and grabbed her hand.

"Jiu Jiu, Mother’s headaches have been getting more frequent lately. Please don’t be angry with me, okay?"

"These bloody clothes... find a way to take care of them for me! Your father can’t see them. If he comes to despise me, it won’t do you any good either."

Hearing this, Xie Yuanjiu closed her eyes, her fists clenched tightly.

’How could I not understand that?’

Her father, Xie Dizhi, loathed her mother for having drugged and harmed him all those years ago. Fortunately, Mrs. Xie Sr. was a stickler for rules and had forced Second Master Xie to marry her mother, who was already pregnant.

Otherwise, with a mother as witless as Second Madam Xie, Xie Yuanjiu had no idea where she would have ended up.

She opened her eyes again and looked at Second Madam Xie.

"If you don’t want to be completely thrown out of the Xie Mansion by Father, then from now on, you will do exactly as I say."

"After all, I am his flesh and blood. He can live without you, but even a vicious tiger won’t eat its own cub. No matter what, he won’t abandon me."

Second Madam Xie nodded hurriedly, her expression pale and helpless. At this moment, she chose to put her complete trust in her eight-year-old daughter.

Xie Yuanjiu secretly took the bloody clothes with her.

’Li Yuyi is coming tomorrow. I can use her to drive Shen Ningning out!’

’And I can clear the suspicion from the bloody clothes at the same time.’

...

The golden rooster announced the dawn as sunlight pierced the clouds, casting the first rays of morning.

Beneath the eaves of the Xie Mansion’s high gates, the front courtyard was bustling with activity in preparation for receiving distinguished guests.

Second Master Xie, leaning on the green bamboo crutch Shen Ningning had given him, slowly walked over to inspect the preparations.

Xie Yuanjiu’s voice came from behind. "Father, thank you for allowing me to invite Yuyi to the mansion to admire the flowers."

Second Master Xie turned around, his expression impassive.

He looked at his daughter standing in the shade of the flowers. She was clearly only eight years old, yet she exuded a maturity far beyond her age.

Second Master Xie sighed.

He felt that he had been ill for too long and, coupled with his poor relationship with Second Madam Xie, had neglected to care for his daughter.

He said, "It’s fine. No matter how angry I am with your mother, I won’t take it out on you."

"When Miss Li arrives, please give her my regards." The implication was that he would not be joining the reception.

Xie Yuanjiu’s smile stiffened slightly. "But Father, a servant from the Li Family just rushed over to report that Yuyi has also invited her father, Mr. Li."

Second Master Xie was slightly taken aback. "Mr. Li?"

He had thought it was a simple gathering for the young ladies. How had Li Yuyi’s father gotten involved?

In that case, the Xie Mansion would have to produce someone of equivalent status to greet him, so as not to be rude.

But his older brother, Xie Suzhi, had gone to the palace today.

Second Master Xie frowned. "Why didn’t you say so earlier? It’s probably too late to make arrangements now."

Xie Yuanjiu put on an innocent tone. "Father, it’s not as complicated as you think. Yuyi said her father is very easygoing. He’s also coming to visit you this time and won’t discuss any official matters."

"When they arrive, you just need to stay with me for a little while, Father. I imagine that since Mr. Li is about to take up his post as Chief of Staff, he probably won’t have much time to stay and admire the flowers."

Second Master Xie’s expression darkened, but he could only nod in agreement.

A short while later, the Li Family’s carriage arrived.

Xie Yuanjiu led the maids out to welcome them.

Mr. Li was dressed in casual attire. He had a long, thin face with the naturally smiling eyes of a "smiling tiger," but the corners of his mouth were turned slightly downward.

"Mr. Li, my apologies for not coming out to greet you sooner. Please don’t take offense." Second Master Xie, giving Xie Yuanjiu plenty of face, took the initiative to come out from inside the mansion to greet them.

Only then did Mr. Li smile and step forward, clasping his hands in a salute. "Second Master Xie! It’s been a long time. The last time we parted, if I recall correctly, was ten years ago when I was leaving the capital to take up my post in Nanzhou."

While the two men exchanged pleasantries.

Li Yuyi pulled Xie Yuanjiu aside and asked in a low voice, "I did what you said and even brought my father. Are you sure you can make Shen Ningning suffer for this?"

Xie Yuanjiu nodded firmly, leaned in close to her ear, and whispered a few words.

Li Yuyi’s eyes widened. "She’s that bold? She dared to throw out the bloody clothes of someone with the plague? If you ask me, she’s got a death wish!"

With that, she sneered, "Hmph. Fine. With my father here today, the Xie family won’t be able to protect her. Let’s go, we’re heading in."

Xie Yuanjiu quickly went forward and said gently to Second Master Xie and Mr. Li, "Father, Uncle Li, we have prepared cooling tea inside. Let’s go in and talk."

The father and daughter from the Li Family entered the main hall of the Xie Mansion. During the brief exchange of pleasantries, Second Master Xie remained emotionally distant and didn’t offer many compliments to Mr. Li.

So, after sitting for only a short while, Mr. Li looked toward his young daughter.

Li Yuyi understood his meaning and said coquettishly, "Yuan Jiu, didn’t you say your family has a Peony Wei Zi that was gifted by the Emperor? Take my father and me to see it!"

Xie Yuanjiu quickly stood up. "Father, may I?"

Second Master Xie nodded.

Only then did she politely invite them, "Yuyi, Uncle Li, please follow me."

As Second Master Xie had difficulty walking, he simply sat back down in his wheelchair and had a servant push him along behind them.

The group walked through a flower garden where butterflies fluttered about. The stone path, rockery, and flowing water made for a particularly charming scene.

On a white wall not far away, wisteria vines climbed, looking especially beautiful under the caress of the summer sun.

"So beautiful! No wonder you invited me to see it," Li Yuyi said with a grin.

The group walked onto the Jade Belt Bridge and were about to cross a small stream that flowed through the mansion when suddenly, something blood-red floated toward them.

Li Yuyi screamed in terror, "What is that!"

Mr. Li immediately looked over with a serious expression. Second Master Xie also frowned and had the servant push him closer.

The thing floating down with the current was, unexpectedly, a piece of clothing.

Mr. Li immediately ordered his attendant to fish it out and throw it on the ground.

Terrified, Li Yuyi hid behind her father. "It’s a piece of bloody clothing that floated down! Where did it come from? How horrifying!"

Xie Yuanjiu, as if startled, turned deathly pale.

She said tremulously, "The source of this stream is near the side courtyard. Could it have fallen out from there?"

Second Master Xie’s expression changed abruptly. He rebuked her coldly, "Yuan Jiu! Do not speak nonsense."

Hearing his tone, Mr. Li narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Second Master Xie, what’s going on with the side courtyard in your mansion? Why would there be bloody clothes?"

"Yuan Jiu, last time you said that your sister, Fifth Miss Xie Yuanning, has taken a person with the plague into the mansion. Could they be living in the side courtyard?" Li Yuyi pressed.

Xie Yuanjiu’s expression became awkward. Normally eloquent and quick-witted, she now stammered.

"I... I..." She glanced cautiously at Second Master Xie.

This gesture further convinced Mr. Li that a patient with the plague was indeed living in the Xie Mansion’s side courtyard!

He was instantly furious.

"Second Master Xie, if you have a sick person in your mansion, you should not have invited my daughter over to admire flowers! Otherwise, if anything were to happen to her, how could you possibly take responsibility!"

"Furthermore," Mr. Li’s tone was grim, as if he had caught the Xie family by the throat, "for bloody clothes to be floating in the pond, I suspect you may have more than one person with the plague in your mansion. According to the rules set by the Emperor, if more than five people in a single household are infected with a disease, it must be reported to the Imperial Department!"

"The Xie Mansion is the residence of the Prime Minister. How can you know of this and not report it, concealing the situation? It would be best if we all went to see for ourselves!" After speaking, Mr. Li followed the stream forward, heading straight for the side courtyard.

Li Yuyi glanced at Xie Yuanjiu, then immediately ran to her father’s side.

Seeing them all leave, Xie Yuanjiu feigned anxiety and asked Second Master Xie, "Father, what should we do!"

Second Master Xie’s face grew somber. "We’ll follow them."

Xie Yuanjiu discreetly pressed her lips together, suppressing the glee in her eyes that betrayed her imminent success.

’I’m going to blow this whole thing up.’

’Shen Ningning bringing a sick person back to the mansion was selfish in itself!’

’Once Shen Ningning is condemned by everyone, let’s see what she has to be happy about.’

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