Chapter 237: Setting Up, Direct Confrontation
Eunuch Wei shot a glance at Auntie Fang and received her signal. Then, he solemnly pointed at Qingwei Garden and said in a serious tone, “Here, here it is. I feel evil things.”
Mo Huawen was choked with anger. If not for his good manners, he would have driven them out directly!
As expected, they made trouble at Tong’er’s place again. It looked like the wicked woman Auntie Fang wouldn’t stop before she killed Tong’er.
With a sneer, he stood before the garden to stop Yu Feng. “Sir Yu, this is my daughter’s yard. How can you, a man, enter my daughter’s house?”
Eunuch Wei interrupted with a smile. “Sir Mo, he’s not alone. He’s with us, a group of people. Moreover, we’re investigating. And, Sir Yu is a close relative, not a stranger.”
“Close relative! Who’s close with this wicked man?” Mo Huawen was raged. Clenching his teeth, he said coldly, “Auntie Fang is just a nobody in the manor. Since when is a concubine’s relative close to me? I heard Sir Yu has many concubines, and will you invite those close relatives to your manor during holidays and events?”
Mo Huawen’s words left Yu Feng speechless. Yu Feng was so awkward that he couldn’t say a word.
Which dignified family would treat a concubine’s relative as a proper relative? Normally, they weren’t even allowed to visit the family their daughters married into.
Hearing Mo Huawen depreciating her, Auntie Fang’s eyes flashed with enmity!
“Sir Mo, this is not how it works. Just now, we’ve signed the paper and so we have to search it.” Being a eunuch, it wouldn’t matter if he entered the inner residence. Moreover, at this time, given he had signed the paper, Mo Huawen really couldn’t stop him.
Auntie Fang suddenly echoed and said in a bitter and tearful tone, “Old sir, I just want to find out who did it. Even if I’ll die, I want to know what I die for.”
While they were talking about it, Yu Feng spoke. “Sir Mo, listen to my sister. Will you still trash her after that? Eunuch Wei said it was here. You should let us have a look. If we found nothing, I’ll personally apologize to your daughter.” He’s made up his mind. He would go in whatsoever.
Later, he could not only act as a witness, but also suppress Mo Huawen in the name of doing justice to Auntie Fang.
He’d heard the third miss from Mo Manor was not easy to handle. Thinking about his daughter’s resentful face and distorted look, he was more determined. Whether it was for his sister or daughter, this time, he must destroy that third miss.
Mo Huawen realized that Yu Feng had thrown away his dignity. Yu Feng kept mentioning the matter, which irritated Mo Huawen more.
Teeth gritted, Mo Huawen said in a hateful voice. “If that’s so, then get in. If you can’t find anything, don’t blame me for being heartless.”
After that, Mo Huawen stepped back to make way for them to get in.
In the yard, several nannies and maidservants were sweeping floors, while others were doing their duties. From the main room, they could hear occasional girlish giggles. They sounded in peace and happy.
Auntie Fang’s eyes grew increasingly vicious. She darted a grim look in the direction of the main room and then looked in another direction. A smug expression registered on her face. “In a while, that wretched woman can’t laugh as frivolously as that.”
Eunuch Wei led Mo Huawen to stop under a peach tree in the southeastern yard. “Sir Mo, there’s something under that tree.” In winter, nothing was hanging on the peach tree’s branches, not even a single leaf. Under the coiled roots, as expected, the soil looked like it had been plowed.
“Father!” A gentle voice rang behind, and they involuntarily turned around.
Under the eaves, Mo Xuetong was standing and looking in the direction of the group. Her watery eyes looked crystal clear and carried a somewhat tender smile. The wind lifted her dark hair. She looked as beautiful as the clear water. Her temperament was elegant and she looked noble and gentle.
Eunuch Wei couldn’t help but feel stunned. “She should be such a beautiful girl, prettier than the ladies in the palace.”
Mo Huawen looked at Mo Xuetong, saw how she stayed composed at the arrival of so many people, and eased his tone to ask, “Tong’er, come and have a look. What’s this thing here?”
Mo Xuetong turned to Mo Lan who had been following her behind. Mo Xuetong seemed to be also surprised at the plowed soil in the yard. “Mo Lan, Do you know what’s that?”
Mo Lan shook her head, stepped forward to check the mark, and said in doubt, “I don’t know either. Maybe the nannies in the yard plowed it in their spare time for fun.”
Yu Feng pointed to the tree beside him. “Sir Mo, we’ll know if we get it out from the ground.”
Earlier, some menial nannies had been waiting aside. Now, hearing that, they immediately picked up the tool to plow the ground. Soon, they found a green cloth bag under the soil.
Standing behind the group, Auntie Fang looked shocked and sad on the surface, however, she had been sneering in her heart.
Of course, she buried the clothes before. Moreover, she even planned Yu Feng’s visit to the manor today with Mo Xuemin in advance. Under the noise from the construction work in the backyard, it was too easy for her to bury something. With her brother and Eunuch Wei from Consort Yu’s palace testifying for her, Mo Huawen couldn’t favor his daughter anymore.
Mo Xuetong was shocked to see the item under the ground. At the time, she couldn’t say a word. Her hand that grabbed Mo Lan was slightly shivering. Her face turned pale from fright. Apparently, she had been so shocked that after lifting her lips, she could only utter such a short sentence. “Father, what’s that?”
A young maidservant who had just started to wear a teen hairstyle elbowed through the crowd. At the sight of the pouch under the tree, she trembled, flopped to the ground to kneel, and sputtered. “Miss, blame it on me. It’s my fault. Old sir, I was wrong. It has nothing to do with Miss. She didn’t do it.”
She rushed out to shoulder the blame, which stunned everyone.
Mo Lan’s face changed, and she immediately walked out from the crowd, snapping, “Why is a third servant who sweeps the floor making a fuss here? Now get lost.”
Stunned by Mo Lan’s fierce aura, the little maidservant shivered in silence and could only keep kowtowing to Mo Huawen on her knees.
Mo Lan scolded. “Take her away. What’s she got to do here?”
Two nannies came over and shot a hesitant look at Mo Huawen. Mo Lan glared at them, and then did they start to drag the young maidservant who was still on her knees.
“Wait.” Eunuch Wei stopped them and walked to the maidservant, snapping. “Say it, what did you do? You know what’s inside the pouch, don’t you? Who made you do this? If you tell one single lie, I’ll send you to the Ministry of Justice immediately. Under torture, no lie can be tolerated.”
The servant was reduced to tears by his words. Her body weakened and the next moment, she was half lying on the ground. Darting a glance in the direction of Mo Xuetong, she suddenly wailed. “Miss, please spare me. I don’t dare to lie. I need to look after my mother at home. Please, don’t blame me.”
She implied Mo Xuetong was behind everything they saw now.
Of course, she was related to the weird pouch too.
“Nonsense. What’s it got to do with Miss?” Mo Lan snapped and then knelt before Mo Huawen. “I’ve been with Miss, and why didn’t she order us first servants but instead let a third maidservant do it?”
“Sister Mo Lan, Miss asked me to bury it. She gave it to me herself and said the fewer people knew about it, the better. It was even better to hide it from her first servants. In that way, it would be perfect. Others couldn’t have guessed that Miss didn’t use the servants she trusted the most.” The young servant knew she must stick to her story against Mo Xuetong now. Therefore, she was now wailing and accusing Mo Xuetong.
As long as she successfully framed the third miss, even if she had to bear a beating, she would get the money Auntie Fang promised her afterward. Then, she didn’t need to be a servant anymore.
Another hesitant voice rang. Another menial nanny also knelt and reported in a low voice. “It’s Miss. I saw it too that day. Third miss… I remember it was before the thing happened to Auntie Fang…”
With the two servants leading them, a few more maidservants and menial nannies echoed. They told their own version of the story, but those stories were basically the same.
They all fingered Mo Xuetong for secretly ordering the young servant to bury the item. Then, terrible things happened to Auntie Fang and the first miss. Going through each and every one of the cases, they found Mo Xuetong seemed the most likely to be associated with all those things.
Mo Lan was choked with anger. Her finger pointed to one and another familiar face and she thought they looked somewhat twisted. “You’re all bullshitting. All of you have been bought to frame third miss…”
Eunuch Wei sneered. “Sir Mo. It looks like it’s really your daughter. She’s so vicious at such a young age. She not only harmed her concubine mother but also killed your son. Does Sir Mo want to turn a blind eye and hide such an evil woman from us?”
Auntie Fang flopped to the ground and cried. “Old sir, please do justice to me.”
Yu Feng followed. “Sir Mo, please do my sister justice. Though it’s your family affair, my sister and niece are involved. An unborn baby was lost like that. It was a homicide. If Sir Mo doesn’t punish her, I will even if I have to take her to the court of the Ministry of Justice.”
He was forcing Mo Huawen to punish Mo Xuetong, otherwise, he would take this to court.
Under everyone’s eye, such a thing happened. Mo Huawen couldn’t help Mo Xuetong even if he wanted to. He couldn’t help regretting his previous decision. His grim eyes fell on Auntie Fang. “I didn’t expect this vicious woman should frame Tong’er. All the servants and nannies in the manor fingered Mo Xuetong one by one. They look righteous, however, no one except Auntie Fang can order so many people around.”
Auntie Fang had always been in charge of the inner residence affairs. She knew everyone’s personality and family background. If she was up to something, no one could do it better since she knew the best how to order people about. However, Mo Huawen knew Auntie Fang selected most of the servants in Qingwei Garden. Tong’er was new here, and those people must obey to their only master, Auntie Fang.
He didn’t expect to be set up by the wicked woman and drag Tong’er into this too. Mo Huawen almost wanted to jump up to tramp on Auntie Fang’s face. He wouldn’t put Mo Xuetong at their disposal in any case. Nonetheless, now, there were witnesses and physical evidence. He couldn’t deny those and only secretly gritted his teeth.
“Doesn’t that wretched woman want status as a legal wife? I might as well promise her and cover this thing up now. Later, I’ll find other ways. I can’t let her harm Tong’er, can I?”
Having made up his mind, he was about to speak it out. However, suddenly, someone shouted in shock. “Aargh, what’s that?”