Chapter 31: A Death Occurs

Chapter 31: A Death Occurs

"Is that so?" Madam Zhou kicked Zhang Dezhi, who was lying on the ground, targeting the area where he had just been beaten.

Noticing no reaction from him, she smiled triumphantly.

"Qiu Ju, you've done well. Miss will remember your favor."

Qiu Ju secretly rejoiced and asked, "Madam, about the indenture you promised me? Have you brought it along?"

"What indenture? What are you talking about?"

Qiu Ju's face froze. "Nanny, please don't joke around. You promised that if I took the blame for this, Miss would find a way to retrieve the indenture and return it to me."

"Who told you that? Did I say such a thing?"

She looked at her son.

"Mother, when did you say anything like that? This foolish girl is lying."

Qiu Ju panicked. "No, how could I be lying? Nurse Zhou, you promised me! You said that if I took full responsibility for harming Chunmei, you'd give me my freedom papers. You can't go back on your word."

"Curse you, you little harlot, daring to slander me?"

"I...I didn't," Qiu Ju stammered in fear.

Zhou's son interjected, "Mother, why bother talking nonsense with her? This little wretch has no more use. All that's left is to shut her mouth, and only the dead keep their silence."

At these words, Qiu Ju's face turned ashen with terror.

Chunmei, outside the room, was also dumbfounded with shock.

So it was, so it was. It wasn't Qiu Ju who envied her and plotted against her out of jealousy; rather, it was the young lady who intended to eliminate her.

Within the room, Qiu Ju's terrified scream echoed. Chunmei clutched the purse in her hand tightly, stepping forward courageously, only to be frightened and hastily retreat three steps back.

Amidst the cacophony, she discerned Qiu Ju's voice growing fainter and fainter...

She's but a young maid, incapable of altering anything. She has fled.

Chunmei rushed back, her nerves shattered.

At that moment, Zheng Jinyu was seated by the candlelight, engrossed in a book.

"What's the matter?" Zheng Jinyu noticed the ashen look on Chunmei's face.

Chunmei took a deep breath and, with measured steps, approached Zheng Jinyu before prostrating herself at his feet.

Zheng Jinyu frowned. "Speak your mind."

Chunmei trembled violently, her voice laced with sobs.

"Second Miss, I beg for your protection."

"Protection? Who's after you?"

"It was the First Miss, she's the one who instructed Zhang Dezhi in that scheme. Qiu Ju... Qiu Ju was probably silenced by her."

Spring Plum recounted to Zheng Jinyu, in great detail, the encounter she had when she went to find Qiu Ju.

Zheng Jinyu wore a composed expression; she had long anticipated that the incident originated from Zheng Jinxiu's camp. In fact, she had even fueled the fire, deliberately letting Qiu Ju overhear Chunmei's accusations against her, thus instilling a sense of peril in Zheng Jinxiu.

Killing two birds with one stone, she had eliminated the two individuals close to Zheng Jinxiu.

One was discarded by Zheng Jinxiu herself, while the other now pledged unwavering loyalty to Zheng Jinyu.

What she hadn't anticipated, however, was that after driving them away, Zheng Jinxiu would still send Madam Zhou to silence them.

Too cautious, leaving no room for survival.

"From now on, attend to your duties diligently and act as if you know nothing. I shall protect you," the Second Miss assured.

"Yes, Second Miss." Chunmei bowed deeply to her.

"You may go."

The following day, Chunmei learned about the officials visiting the estate.

In order to pretend ignorance, she, like the other servants in the household, strained her neck to eavesdrop on any news.

"How else could he die? The body was covered in bruises, and Zhang Dezhi is nowhere to be found. It's clear he killed someone and fled."

"Goodness, you didn't see the corpse; it was terrifying."

"Zhang Dezhi has a history of abusing his wife anyway. Besides, it was Qiu Ju who got him kicked out by Lady. It's no wonder he'd turn on her."

"That was quick. Has he fully recovered from his injuries?"

"It's been several days. His wounds might not be completely healed, but he'd certainly have the strength to inflict harm."

A thirteen-year-old girl could never be a match for a thirty-year-old man, even if he was injured. Everyone was convinced that Qiu Ju had been killed by Zhang Dezhi.

Only Chunmei knew the truth.

After gathering all the details, she was trembling with fear but tried to maintain her composure as she returned to Yusheng Courtyard.

"Second Miss, Qiu Ju is dead – beaten to death. It was clearly Zhou Bo's doing, but everyone is blaming Zhang Dezhi. I distinctly heard Qiu Ju mention giving medicine to Zhang Dezhi, saying he wouldn't wake up. I thought she had poisoned him. From what I gathered, Zhang Dezhi even fled, and the authorities are currently searching for him."

Upon hearing Chunmei's account, Zheng Jinyu commented, "It seems they didn't feed her poison but some kind of sleeping drug instead. Even Qiu Ju was unaware of it."

Chunmei nodded and said, "Miss and Nurse Zhou are truly terrifying. They deceived Qiu Ju into taking the blame and tempted her with the promise of freedom from servitude to drug Zhang Dezhi. Who would have thought that the 'poison' was actually a sleeping drug? She was beaten to death by Zhou Bo and then framed for Zhang Dezhi's murder. With Zhang Dezhi's history of abusing his wife and their existing feud, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River. But..."

She looked at Zheng Jinyu, puzzled, "Why did Zhang Dezhi escape?"

"Perhaps the dosage wasn't strong enough, and he woke up earlier than expected. Or it could be that Zhang Dezhi never took the drug at all."

The possibility of him waking up early was slim, as the authorities had failed to apprehend him. He must have fled the city long ago.

She suspected that Zhang Dezhi hadn't taken his medicine.

Did he realize it himself, or did Qiu Ju deliberately keep an eye on it and conspire with Zhang Dezhi to withhold the dose?

Well then, even within the Zheng household, there were various underlings harboring their own intentions, vying for power so fiercely.

Indeed, in a large and influential family, troubles and controversies abound.

"Stay calm, let things unfold as they should. You're an intelligent person, I trust you know how to handle this situation."

Chunmei nodded eagerly.

...

To the Zheng family, the dismissal and subsequent death of a servant girl was merely a trivial matter. Soon, the name Qiu Ju faded from people's memories.

Life seemed to return to its tranquil rhythm until a letter arrived from the border region, sent by Zheng Hongyan.

Within the envelope, there was another letter specifically addressed to Zheng Jinyu.

The letter addressed solely to Zheng Jinyu wasn't terrifying on its own; the crucial point was that it was written by Prince Chen.

As Zheng Ji and his wife held the letter, their expressions were a sight to behold. Fixated on the wax seal, they wished they could chew it apart just to uncover its contents.

"Sir, what do you think Prince Chen means by this?"

"How would I know? Yan'er's letter didn't mention anything about this. She only said to deliver this letter to Jinyu. We can only understand the situation if we read the contents of the letter."

"Then, should we open it and take a look?" Mrs. Zheng wore a conflicted look.

She was an elegant lady with her own principles and would never breach someone else's privacy by reading their letters.

Especially a letter sealed with wax, clearly meant to be protected from prying eyes.

"Isn't this... somewhat inappropriate?" Master Zheng was also a man of principle. While he might secretly engage in such underhanded acts, he would never do so in front of his wife.

He couldn't afford to lose his dignity before her.

"Prince Chen is expected to marry Jinxiu in the future. What business does he have writing to Jinyu?"

Master Zheng remained silent.

Lady Zheng continued, "He hasn't even written to Jinxiu. There's not a single word from Prince Chen in Yan'er's letter. Something's amiss here. What do you think we should do?"