Chapter 24: Life is as Cheap as Grass!

Chapter 24: Life is as Cheap as Grass!

As Xiao Yuchen left Shi'an Garden, he was still astounded by Tang Shuyi's words. Miss Wu actually wanted to break off their engagement. He didn't think too highly of himself, but did Miss Wu not understand the immense harm a broken engagement could do to a woman's reputation?

"What kind of person is Miss Wu?" Xiao Yuchen asked Changming, who was by his side.

Changming was bewildered, "How would I know?"

The young master rarely mentioned Miss Wu, so why suddenly ask about her today?

"Never mind if you don't know; there's no need to know anymore."

He was merely curious. However, since Miss Wu had chosen such a drastic way to break off their engagement, he wouldn't worry about her. It was just a bit of sentimentality.

………

Lord Liang and Lady Liang returned to their residence, both seething with anger. The servants in the room didn't dare to breathe too loudly.

“What's there for Tang Shuyi to be proud of, now that she's a widow?" Lady Liang seethed, the memory of Tang Shuyi's mocking words and scornful expression at the Hou residence causing her heart and lungs to ache with anger. “Isn’t she just a first-grade imperial widow? What’s so great about that?”

Liang Jian'an, already irritable, frowned impatiently upon hearing her rant, “Enough. What does her pride have to do with you? With Xiao Huai gone, are you still pining for him?”

“Liang Jian'an, don't slander me,” Lady Liang retorted, though she would never admit her past infatuation with Xiao Huai, especially now that he was deceased. But she couldn’t help her distaste for Tang Shuyi.

Liang Jian'an was not in the mood to squabble over such trivialities. He asked sternly, “How did you come by that letter? Tell me again.”

By now, he was beginning to suspect that someone was playing a cruel joke.

Lady Liang too harbored a bitter resentment toward the person who had sent her the letter. If not for that letter, she wouldn't have intruded into Tang Shuyi's residence, which led to the subsequent debacle. She wouldn’t have had to apologize to Tang Shuyi today and become a laughingstock.

She recounted the story of how she received the letter. Upon hearing it, Liang Jian'an clenched his teeth and ordered the guards who were on duty at the gate that day to be summoned. He was already infuriated by Xiao Yuchen today, and he was itching to vent his frustration. Since he couldn’t target the Yongning Marquis residence, he would find someone else.

Shortly, two guards came trembling before him, aware of the turmoil the letter had caused. They had been restless these past days, and upon seeing Liang Jian'an, they knelt immediately, narrating the events of how a young beggar had delivered the letter without being asked.

“A young beggar?” Liang Jian'an inquired.

When the guards nodded, he pressed on, “You didn't see anyone else?”

The guards shook their heads, “No, we only saw a young beggar.”

Narrowing his eyes in thought, Liang Jian'an pondered who might have sent the beggar with the letter. Meanwhile, Lady Liang commanded, “Find that beggar and bring him here.”

The guards looked to Liang Jian'an, and upon receiving his nod, they promptly rose to fetch the person.

Beggars had their territories, and the one who delivered the letter frequented the vicinity of the Liang residence. It didn’t take long for the guards to locate him and, without further ado, they apprehended him and brought him to the Liang residence.

Neither Lord Liang nor Lady Liang cared to interrogate the filthy beggar themselves, delegating the task to their steward. Terrified, the beggar spilled everything without reservation as soon as the steward questioned him.

The steward then reported back to Lord and Lady Liang, “According to the beggar, it was a girl around seventeen or eighteen years old who gave him five copper coins to deliver the letter to our residence.”

“What did she look like?” Lady Liang demanded.

The steward replied, “The girl wore a hood, so the beggar didn’t see her face. He only remembers her light blue attire. Judging from the style of her clothing described by the beggar, I suspect she might be a maidservant.”

“Is that all?” Lady Liang asked sharply. “No other information?”

The steward carefully shook his head, “That’s all. The beggar is unlikely to lie.”

"Then let him die," Lady Liang's chest heaved with rage. She had thought they'd catch the culprit behind the letter, allowing her to vent her fury, but alas, they hadn't found even a shadow of a lead.

The steward's forehead was beaded with cold sweat. A beggar's death was inconsequential, but he feared Lady Liang's wrath might fall upon him since the letter had passed through his hands. His fears materialized when Lady Liang turned to him and Mother Cai, decreeing, "You and those two guards will be punished together, thirty strokes each."

Petrified, the steward dared not utter a word, while Mother Cai collapsed to the ground. Thirty strokes might cost her half her life, but she dared not plead for mercy, knowing Lady Liang's temperament; any plea might only invite harsher punishment.

The steward cast a pleading glance at Lord Liang, who indifferently gestured for them to leave. With trepidation, the steward and Mother Cai departed. Once outside, they exchanged glances, words failing them.

What was there to say? It was their misfortune to serve such masters.

Blaming the beggar for their predicament, the steward gritted his teeth and strode towards the servants' quarters, where the beggar was being held. Entering the yard, he saw the beggar trembling on the ground, flanked by two guards.

"Lord and Lady have ordered us each to receive thirty strokes," the steward informed the guards. "As for this beggar... execute him by beating."

Upon hearing this, the beggar fainted from fright. The courtyard's inhabitants, however, remained indifferent. The guards fetched a stick thick as a man's arm from the storeroom and, approaching the unconscious beggar, raised it high before bringing it down with vicious force.

A sickening crack echoed; the beggar let out a bloodcurdling scream. The steward frowned, "Gag him."

A guard stuffed a rag into the beggar's mouth before they resumed their brutal task. The boy, no more than eight or nine and frail, whimpered and struggled initially, but after a dozen blows, fell silent and still.

"Dispose of him," the steward said nonchalantly, as if discarding a small animal.

Yongning Marquis Residence

Tang Shuyi was discussing clothing matters with Cuizhu and Cuixian. With deep autumn upon them and winter approaching, it was time to prepare for the cold season.

"Have the tailor come tomorrow to take measurements. Later, let's visit the storeroom to see what fabrics we have," Tang Shuyi instructed, when the steward arrived, bowed, and stood hesitantly.

Noting his demeanor, Tang Shuyi prompted, "What's the matter? Speak."

With a sigh, the steward relayed, "A spy I had watching the Liang household reports they've beaten a beggar to death. Further inquiries revealed that the beggar had been paid by a young lady a few days ago to deliver a letter to the Liang residence."

Tang Shuyi sat in stunned silence for a moment. The pieces fell into place; it must have been Wu Jingyun who sent the letter to the Liang household through the beggar. Liang Jian'an had gained nothing from this affair but trouble and had taken out his frustrations on the beggar.

Human life, so cheap and expendable!

A lump formed in Tang Shuyi's throat, discomfort rising within her.

"Madam," the steward ventured cautiously, seeing her distressed expression, "what shall we do next?"

Tang Shuyi snapped back to reality. "Where is the body of that little beggar?"

"At the chaotic grave mound," the butler replied.

"Find a place to bury him," Tang Shuyi instructed. "Gather as much evidence as possible and subtly inform Miss Wu Er about this matter."

If it weren't for Wu Jingyun sending the little beggar to deliver a letter, he wouldn't have met his demise.

In fact, if Wu Jingyun's vengeance was solely directed at Xiao Yuchen and didn't implicate the marquis's residence or others, as long as she didn’t kill Xiao Yuchen, Tang Shuyi wouldn’t have intervened.

The butler didn’t understand why they needed to reveal the letter to Miss Wu Er, but seeing Tang Shuyi's foul mood, he refrained from asking.