Chapter 432

**Chapter 439: Curiosity (Part 1)**

No wonder Lord Xu had dealt with everyone involved in the witchcraft incident without even questioning them.

Investigating further would only trigger a domino effect, toppling everything in its path.

Now Lady Wen was dragged into this as well.

“Lady Xu,” Concubine Yi, fearing that Lady Eleven wouldn’t believe her, spoke louder and louder, “Concubine Qin has long harbored malicious schemes and treasonous plots. All these years, she’s been obsessed with making her own second son the heir. Inviting Zhu Daopo and crafting hex dolls—it was all her doing. It truly has nothing to do with me. I am also a victim!” With that, she fell to her knees with a thud. “Lady Xu, I bear no grudge against you, past or present. What good would harming the fourth young master do me? But Concubine Qin is different. If anything were to happen to the fourth young master, though it wouldn’t be your fault, as his stepmother, you would inevitably be blamed for negligence. Sitting peacefully at home, only to be struck by such a calamity—no matter how broad-minded you are, such injustice would surely make you furious enough to raise the dead. Under normal circumstances, you might lie down for a couple of days, take some medicine to regulate your qi, confide in your maids, and gradually move on. But right now, you are pregnant, and your condition is unstable. Even if you could endure this anger, could your unborn sixth son endure it? What if the child in your womb becomes restless because of this—” She paused, then kowtowed rapidly, her forehead thudding like pounding garlic. “Lady Xu, from start to finish, only Concubine Qin stands to profit. You must open your eyes and see clearly. Don’t grieve your allies and gladden your foes, giving those villains a free pass!”

Amber, listening nearby, felt her heart race.

Concubine Yi’s words made sense.

Everyone knew the fourth young master was frail—just being tossed in the air a couple of times by the fifth master had left him ill for days. If he were to die from fright or lose his wits and become unfit to be the heir, Lady Eleven would likely be blamed for negligence. And if Lady Eleven, in her distress, were to miscarry…

At this thought, Amber suddenly remembered how Concubine Qin had made a point of asking about Lady Eleven’s health in recent days.

Had Concubine Qin been plotting this all along?

Amber glanced worriedly at Lady Eleven.

“Concubine Yi, rise and speak properly,” Lady Eleven said with a grave expression. “I understand your meaning. I will discuss this matter with Lord Xu. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now. The fourth young master has been resting for some time, and I must return to care for him.” With that, she shot Amber a pointed glance, turned, and left the room.

“Lady Xu, please listen to me—” Concubine Yi’s desperate voice chased after her.

Lady Eleven, however, had already stepped outside, where she quietly instructed the matrons waiting nearby, “Don’t let Concubine Yi speak recklessly.” Then, with Amber in tow, she hurried out of the courtyard.

The sun had risen, casting its scorching rays on the thick camphor trees beside the courtyard steps. The heat amplified the camphor trees’ pungent scent.

Lady Eleven paused on the steps, dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling on her moon-white robes, making her appear pristine and composed. The air around her seemed to cool.

Amber, following behind, didn’t understand why she had stopped. Standing on tiptoe, she followed Lady Eleven’s gaze and saw the green vines of trumpet vines climbing the whitewashed wall.

Behind that wall lived Lady Wen.

“Madam,” Amber ventured, guessing at Lady Eleven’s thoughts, “should we visit Lady Wen’s quarters? Come to think of it, you haven’t yet given Qiu Hong her dowry gift. Why not take this opportunity to do so today?”

Lady Eleven paused to consider before saying, “Go to my jewelry case and fetch that pair of gold clove-flower hairpins. Put them in a pouch—that will be Qiu Hong’s dowry gift.”

A gentle breeze passed, leaving the eastern courtyard in silence.

Concubine Qin’s courtyard gate was tightly shut, while Concubine Qiao and Madam Yang’s gates were half-open. Two young maids with unbound hair were tossing sandbags under a large tree between the courtyards. Suddenly, as if hearing something, one of them jumped up, whispered something to the other, then slipped into Madam Yang’s courtyard, the gate creaking shut behind her.

The other girl slowly stood and shuffled into Concubine Qiao’s courtyard, her head hanging low.

Lady Eleven smiled faintly.

Without opening the gate, she nodded and headed with Amber toward Lady Wen’s courtyard.

Lady Wen was in the midst of sorting Qiu Hong’s dowry—items were spread across the table, chairs, and tea table.

“Let’s sit in the inner chamber,” Lady Eleven said with a smile, leading the way inside.

The inner chamber wasn’t much better. Dozens of rolls of silk and satin were precisely arranged on the eastern side of the large kang by the window.

Lady Wen quickly ushered Lady Eleven to the western side of the kang while she pushed the fabrics aside and sat half-on the eastern side.

"Is there something you needed, Madam?" With a smile, she accepted the teacup from Donghong and respectfully placed it before Eleventh Miss.

"These past few days have been busy," Eleventh Miss said with a smile, "and I haven’t had the mood to come sit with you." As she spoke, she signaled Amber to present the dowry gifts to Lady Wen, who thanked her repeatedly and called Qiu Hong out to kowtow three times before Eleventh Miss.

Eleventh Miss acknowledged the gesture with a smile and sipped her tea delicately.

Lady Wen, perceptive as ever, dismissed all the attendants with a glance.

Eleventh Miss then asked softly, "I heard that when you first entered the household, Lady Wen, you lived in the west wing of the old residence’s rear courtyard, sharing the same courtyard with Qin Yi and Aunt Tong?"

Lady Wen’s smile faded slightly as she sighed inwardly.

Some things couldn’t be avoided.

But perhaps this was for the best.

Instead of suppressing it, it might be better to tell Eleventh Miss and let her uncover the truth of those past events—then she herself could finally rest easy.

She nodded. "My family never imagined I’d become a concubine in the marquis’ household, so the dowry they had prepared was no longer suitable. The only ones I was reluctant to leave behind were the maidservants and matrons who had served me.

"Since I was marrying from the south to the north, where customs differed greatly, my family spoke with elder madam, who allowed me to bring along those I was accustomed to. Per household custom, they also assigned maidservants and matrons to me. Because I had many attendants, I was given the west wing to myself. Aunt Tong and Qin Yi were each assigned two maidservants and two matrons for rough work. Since they had fewer people, they shared the east wing."

By convention, a concubine should have one third-rank maidservant, two junior maidservants, and two matrons.

"Why weren’t Aunt Tong and Qin Yi assigned attendants according to the usual practice?" Eleventh Miss set down her teacup.

The delicate porcelain made a crisp, clear sound.

"At the time, the household was unstable—people were leaving day after day. Elder madam was ill, the third wife was pregnant, and both needed extra hands. The second wife was tending to elder madam and helping manage the outer courtyard, while the late fourth wife had just taken over household duties. It was inevitable that some oversights occurred, so those in her own quarters had to make do. They reassigned a few newly arrived maids from the outer courtyard to serve Aunt Tong and Qin Yi. Worried these newcomers were untrained, the late fourth wife even sent one of her own former attendants to oversee them."

Lady Wen’s expression was transparent, her manner frank—a stark contrast to her usual playful yet distant and guarded manner.

Eleventh Miss knew she was speaking candidly now and didn’t mince words. "Though I only met the eldest daughter a few times, I always thought her a shrewd, capable, and intelligent woman.

"Logically, especially during such turbulent times in the marquis’ household, concubines who were pregnant should have been carefully tended to. Why enforce such rules on them? How exactly were these formalities enforced?"

"The late fourth wife’s rules for us were nothing more than morning and evening greetings, setting the table, serving meals, and needlework," Lady Wen said. "But I was new here, accustomed to being eldest daughter in my own family, and couldn’t adjust right away. Besides, I became pregnant soon after entering the household and had a difficult time, so I only served the late fourth wife for a few days. Aunt Tong and Qin Yi, however, had been trained since childhood—they felt uneasy if they weren’t working. Seeing how busy the late fourth wife was day and night, they resumed serving her once they recovered."

She hesitated, then added, "After the marquis left, he entrusted the outer courtyard to Steward Bai. But at the time, rumors spread that Yongping Marquis’ household was doomed. Some stewards, seeing the Xu family’s true masters absent and only women and children remaining, grew restless. They hoarded control of their sections, hoping to abscond with assets when the Xu family fell. Steward Bai was newly promoted, and among these unruly stewards were a few who had served under the old marquis. Gradually, he struggled to maintain order. Elder madam had to step in despite her illness. The second wife, who had been attending to elder madam, was skilled in arithmetic and occasionally helped with minor accounts when elder madam was too weak. As elder madam’s condition worsened, some outer courtyard matters were handed over to the second wife and Steward Bai.

"Seeing the outer courtyard’s state, a few senior stewards in the inner courtyard also grew disloyal—some claimed supplies were depleted and demanded funds, others reported broken items needing replacement, yet they couldn’t produce proper accounts. Some, previously favored by the second wife, suddenly found themselves under a new mistress with entirely different ways. Uncertain how long their positions would last, they did the bare minimum. Others simply watched idly, doing only what was necessary to avoid blame, dragging their feet all the while.

"The late fourth wife suppressed one issue only for another to arise—she was stretched too thin. Over time, she grew anxious. She couldn’t understand why everything had run smoothly under the second wife but became chaotic under her. She told no one, fearing ridicule, and stubbornly clashed with the stewards. Exhausted, she would collapse into bed upon returning to her quarters, speaking little and visiting elder madam even less. How could she spare the energy to oversee us? She entrusted all inner courtyard matters to Madam Tao!"

Eleventh Miss was surprised.

For some reason, she thought of the eldest daughter. "And how did Madam Tao treat you...?"