Mo Xuetong blinked her nimble eyes and asked, “Were the old servants who served those distant relatives still there?”
Mo Xuetong was at a loss of what to do if she did not disturb or hurt the Old Madam of Fu General. Now that Luo Mingzhu had taken the initiative to investigate it, it was much more suitable than her to do it and would not arouse the suspicion of her grandmother. As such, Mo Xuetong led Luo Mingzhu in the direction she was suspicious of.
“I didn’t ask that question carefully, but the old servants I asked didn’t serve them. Otherwise, they would tell me more details. I vaguely heard that some people had gone out because of their age. If they were really out, it would be hard to find them after so many years.” Luo Mingzhu was stunned by Mo Xuetong’s words, but then she became worried again.
Every once in a while Fu General Manor would release some elderly servants. They had been working hard for Fu General Manor for so many years, and it was sort of a reward for them. Fu General Manor would also give them a sum of money in case they got too old and had no one to rely on.
Fu General Manor had carried out this rule for many years. The incident had happened for a long time, so it was very likely that the relevant servants had been sent out. Luo Mingzhu’s words gave Mo Xuetong a new idea. Her eyes lit up and she said, “Second Cousin, you can investigate who served those people, and transfer the details of those people to me. I will investigate next.”
As long as Luo Mingzhu sent the information of those people to her, Mo Xuetong felt confident to find them. Those who had gone out were all old people. There were detailed notes about them in Fu General Manor. They were old and would not be willing to go to other places, so it was very likely that they were still in the same places where they lived. Follow this clue, she would have the best chance of finding them.
Luo Mingzhu felt relieved after she told Mo Xuetong what on her mind. She thought for a while and answered, “Well, I have to go back and ask secretly.”
Mo Xuetong rolled her eyes, looked at Luo Mingzhu and said, “Then Second Cousin, we might as well go to Fu General Manor again and visit Grandmother and Eldest Cousin by the way. I’ve been too busy recently to have time to visit them.” No time like the present. Since she was free today, she might as well go to her grandmother’s home to look for clues.
Since she had been alone in the past, there were some things that she could not find out and she didn’t know whom to ask. Now that she could get help from Luo Mingzhu, the situation was completely different. Compared to Mo Xuetong, Luo Mingzhu occupied the right time, place, and people. Mo Xuetong had always wanted to find out what had happened back then. After all, it implicated Fu General Manor. Furthermore, what shocked Mo Xuetong the most was that Consort Jin did not seem to have been dead…
It was just like a hidden danger in Fu General Manor. If it broke out, it would involve more than one or two people.
After the discussion, Mo Xuetong ordered someone to come in to help Luo Mingzhu put on makeup again. Then they went to Fu General Manor together. This time, Luo Mingzhu’s horse carriage followed them, and she entered the same horse carriage with Mo Xuetong. The maidservants accompanying them were all sent to the other horse carriages.
“Cousin Tong, what if my mother asks me later?” Luo Mingzhu grew worried again as she sat in the horse carriage. She had overheard what her father and mother said that day. When she returned to Fu General Manor after that, she had only sent people to find the elderly who were her maidservants’ relations, such as her personal maidservant’s aunt. However, she had to get the information through her mother now.
It would not be easy for her to get the list of old servants who had been sent out without anyone knowing. Her mother was a person who was inquisitive. Luo Mingzhu had a headache. She had been thinking about what to do before, but now she realized that it was very difficult to carry out their plan.
It was inappropriate for the married daughter to ask her mother for the information about the old servants who had been released.
Mo Xuetong smiled slightly as she looked at Luo Mingzhu whose worries increased. There was a slight ripple in her beautiful eyes and a faint smile crept over the corners of her lips. “Second Cousin, are you going to tell Second Aunt about this matter straightforwardly?”
“If I didn’t tell her, why would Mother give me the information?” Luo Mingzhu was distressed.
Her mother had always been a shrewd person. It was impossible for her to get the information from her without an explanation. But what should she say? Could she say that she had heard the quarrel between her father and mother and thus she wanted to investigate what had happened back then? How could she open her mouth? Moreover, it was against filial piety.
“Second Cousin, if you tell Second Aunt about it, you have to make it clear why you need this information. Given Second Aunt’s character, it is impossible for you to get this information if you don’t explain it clearly, right?” Mo Xuetong smiled gently. She took out a box of candied fruit from the small compartment in the carriage, opened the box and had one piece. Then, she pushed the box towards Luo Mingzhu.
“Second Cousin, if you really think so, then this matter will be exposed to the public. After Second Aunt knows it, Second Uncle will also know it, and then Grandmother will know it as well. Soon even a servant in the manor will know it. Second Cousin, we don’t know how big this matter is now. By then, if we don’t find out anything and others find out about it, it will be a big deal!”
There was a hint of coldness in Mo Xuetong’s watery eyes. When she looked at Luo Mingzhu, the latter felt as if she had been pierced through by the cold. “Second Cousin, if my mother was adopted by Grandmother, she was not Grandmother’s biological daughter. Such a big thing has been hidden for so many years, and it is equivalent to deceiving the Emperor. Then, what will Fu General Manor do? What will Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle do? Will they be punished by the Emperor? It might even harm the whole family?”
Mo Xuetong was not exaggerating. In her past life, Fu General Manor had fallen because they were implicated in the matters of King Jin’s Manor. Even though it was not enough to confiscate the property and exterminate the family, the n.o.ble family that had been high above for centuries had fallen all of a sudden. Mo Xuetong had not figured out the twists and turns in her past life, but she had seen through it completely in this life.
It was a crime of deceiving the Emperor to make King Jin’s daughter the eldest legitimate daughter of Fu General Manor. Besides, King Jin was guilty of treason. Such a serious crime would be much more serious than the crime in her past life. Everyone in Fu General Manor would be implicated. Mo Xuetong felt that it was necessary to explain this matter to Luo Mingzhu.
Otherwise, once Luo Mingzhu made a mistake, they would lose overall!
Mo Xuetong had a faint impression of her second aunt, Madam Qu. She was not conspicuous and was usually nice to others. Even though she did not treat her niece as her own daughter, she was at least polite to her. Mo Xuetong did not know if because she had sealed herself up in her past life, other than some special people and special matters, she really could not remember anything special about her second aunt.
However, after the matter about Madam Qu’s sister’s daughter, and hearing what Luo Mingzhu had overheard, Mo Xuetong felt for the first time that Madam Qu was a canny person. She was not only canny but also very tolerant. She had never said anything extra in front of anyone but hid everything in her heart. Furthermore, she was very selfish. Or rather, she did not treat Fu General Manor as her own home at all.
Of course, it was because the future Madam of Fu General Manor would be her eldest aunt, instead of her second aunt. However, in accordance with the principle that they would sink or swim together, her second aunt was still a little selfish. Subconsciously, Madam Qu thought more highly of the Qu family than Fu General Manor. She regarded a n.o.ble young master even more lightly than her sister’s daughter.
Mo Xuetong was not Luo Mingzhu who was Madam Qu’s daughter, so she saw things objectively. Mo Xuetong did not believe that Madam Qu had known nothing about Yun Ya’s condition. However, if she had known about it, why was she so determined to make her marry Luo Wenyou? She had even especially plotted against Luo Wenyou and wanted to push Yun Ya to him.
She used such a despicable method to force her junior and pushed a shameless woman into his arms. She did not even care that the young man was unmarried and hadn’t decided whom to marry. After such a thing happened, the reputation of Fu General Manor would be ruined. But she continued to set up her nephew with Yun Ya as they wanted.
Anyway, Mo Xuetong was very disappointed with her second aunt.
That was why she did not want Madam Qu to know that she and Luo Mingzhu were investigating the matter 30 years ago. If she were to find out about it, she might get involved and cause the simple matter to be complicated. Furthermore, Mo Xuetong wasn’t sure if Madam Qu would betray Fu General Manor for some benefit.
It was necessary to remind Luo Mingzhu.
No matter what, Mo Xuetong did not wish Madam Qu to know that she and Luo Mingzhu were investigating this matter. This was a life-and-death matter of grave importance. If anything went wrong, there was a chance that blood would flow like a river.
“I won’t tell Mother, absolutely not.” Luo Mingzhu was not stupid and immediately understood the meaning of Mo Xuetong’s words. She was so stunned that her face turned pale. Her fingers trembled on the candied fruit box Mo Xuetong had pushed to her. Then, she asked Mo Xuetong softly in a trembling voice. She was not Mo Xuetong and had always led a smooth life. She was still in shock as she encountered something like this.
Especially when Mo Xuetong’s eyes looked so cold, and the coldness seemed to have entered her heart. She did not dare to try to get the information from her mother.
“But what should I do?”
“Second Cousin, let’s go in and visit Grandmother first. Second Aunt will definitely come. I will speak with Grandmother and Second Aunt outside…” Mo Xuetong rolled her eyes, leaned over and whispered her plan in Luo Mingzhu’s ear. Not only did Madam Qu have a solution to find the information secretly, but there was also someone else who could do it.
Luo Mingzhu nodded as Mo Xuetong spoke. By the time Mo Xuetong finished speaking, Luo Mingzhu had already nodded non-stop as she felt that it was a good idea.
Luo Mingzhu heaved a sigh of relief as they could cross over her mother so quietly.
The two of them discussed in a low voice in the carriage as the wind blew, and lifted half of the bead curtain, revealing Mo Xuetong’s beautiful side face. A woman saw her from a private room on the second floor of the roadside teahouse. She was putting down the curtained hat in her hand. She froze for a moment to see Mo Xuetong’s side profile. Then, she lowered her gaze and looked at King Xuan’s Manor’s carriage that Mo Xuetong was sitting on. She held the curtained hat tightly and a trace of hatred that was as chilly as a poisonous snake flashed in her eyes!
A middle-aged man came out respectfully and said to the woman, “Mrs. Sima, please come in and have some tea!” The woman nodded, looked away, and turned to follow the middle-aged man in.
