Black Lotus Concubine's Case-solving Notes

Chapter 138: Destroying Her Closest Family

"Isn't it you, brother, who was at fault first?"

"Xie Lanzhao, am I giving you too much face?" The veins on Xie Zisheng's forehead bulged inch by inch.

The two of them were arguing, and Feng Jia set her sights on the Third Prince not far away. Xiao Shi followed her gaze and suddenly understood something. She rolled her eyes and began to cry, "Miss, I appreciate your kindness, but how can a lowly servant like me be promoted to a concubine? A lowly servant is a lowly servant. Even if I have lost my innocence, it is my fault and has nothing to do with the master! I'd rather die!"

As he was speaking, the Third Prince's face suddenly turned pale. The usual arrogance and debauchery in his eyes disappeared. He clenched his fist and said, "What do you mean by a lowly servant or not? Am I not a human being? Can I be killed at will?"

Everyone knows that the Third Prince's mother was once a maidservant to the Empress Dowager. She was favored by Emperor Longqing because of her outstanding appearance. After a night of love, she became pregnant with a prince. However, because of her low status, the ministers opposed it. They believed that a humble maid could not possibly reach the threshold of the royal family. So Emperor Longqing killed the mother and kept the son. As a result, the Third Prince has never seen his biological mother since he was a child. Now Xiaoshi's fate is so similar to that of his mother!

The Third Prince could no longer hold back and angrily said, "The Xie family has always followed the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Prime Minister Xie, how could you be so permissive towards your own son?"

Xie Qian lowered his head, a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face, and he cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is right!"

The Third Prince said to Xie Lanzhao: "Since I am here today, I will grant you a favor and make this slave Xie San's concubine!"

Xie Zisheng was stunned and was about to retort, but Xie Qian said, "Rebellious son, why don't you thank me quickly!"

Xie Zisheng could only kneel down, gnashing his teeth to the point of breaking: "Your Majesty, thank you for your reward!"

"That's the marriage between the Xie family and my Sun family. I beg Your Highness to show some mercy! Just cancel it! Our Sun family can't afford to marry the third young master Xie!" Old Lady Zhao also knelt down and snorted angrily.

"This is a private matter between your two houses, so I will not interfere any more." The third prince was not a fool. He had already forced Xie Zisheng to bow his head once, so this was considered as giving Xie Qian some face.

Since the Third Prince had spoken, Old Lady Zhao had no choice but to give up. However, she was planning in her heart that she would return all the engagement gifts to the Xie family and find another good husband for her precious granddaughter Jiaojiao!

"Xiao Shi, why don't you thank the Third Prince for his kindness?"

After Feng Jia's reminder, Xiao Shi, who was overwhelmed by the great joy, finally came to her senses. She suppressed the corners of her mouth and said, "Your servant Xiao Shi, thank you for your kindness, Your Highness the Third Prince!"

Perhaps because Xiao Shi's experience was similar to that of his mother, the Third Prince felt pity for her and said, "She has become a phoenix. She should be like a master over there and live well in Xie's mansion!"

Xiao Shi was stunned, an ecstatic smile appeared on her face, and Feng Jia also smiled.

Xie Zisheng stood frozen in place.

She was just a concubine, and he had his own way to make Xiao Shi die without anyone knowing. However, the Third Prince's words were tantamount to giving Xiao Shi a golden ticket to avoid death, and were a warning to himself. Xie Zisheng's wishful thinking thus fell through.

As he was speaking, a servant came stumbling over from a distance. In his haste, he fell, and the flower hat on his head fell a long way away, and the water tray in his hand broke into two pieces.

"How dare you be so disrespectful in front of the two princes?" Xie Qian shouted.

The servant boy was trembling violently: "Master, something happened! My uncle, he, he..."

Xie Qian had always been dissatisfied with his brother-in-law, who was always causing trouble and had a treacherous mind. Upon hearing this, he frowned and said, "What's wrong with him?"

"My uncle fell into the pond and drowned!"

……

When everyone arrived, the servants of the Xie Mansion had already salvaged the body. Meng Yang's skin was swollen and had grown larger. There was mushroom-shaped foam on his mouth and nose, but corpse spots had not yet formed. It was obvious that he had drowned not long ago.

Xie Qian's face turned pale. It was a nice banquet, but first his third son was caught drunk and committing adultery, then his wife was caught drugging and murdering his daughter, and now another person died, and the person who died was the son of the Earl of Yongyi. What kind of thing was this?

Xie Zisheng's hands and feet were weak. How could his uncle die in his own pond? He couldn't help but look at Feng Jia. Although there was no evidence, his intuition told him that his uncle's death was definitely related to her!

"Your Highness, there is no hope of saving him." Imperial Doctor Jiang checked Meng Yang's breathing and shook his head regretfully.

He was dead? Several women in the crowd covered their mouths in fear.

Shi Xun immediately sent his men to check. After a while, the men came back and His Highness the Ninth Prince frowned and asked, "How did Meng die?"

The subordinate bowed and said, "Your Highness, Mr. Meng Yang must have been drunk and accidentally slipped into the pond!"

The Ninth Prince nodded, and Shi Xun seemed to be thinking about something.

Xie Zisheng didn't believe it at all and asked, "Is it possible that someone deliberately murdered me?"

After saying this, his eyes drifted towards Feng Jia intentionally or unintentionally.

The subordinate once again clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Master Meng, there are no injuries on his body. I just asked the servants around him and found no suspicious people coming in and out. We have temporarily ruled out the possibility of homicide!"

Xie Zisheng clenched his fists and looked at Feng Jia with a poisonous look in his eyes. He absolutely did not believe that his uncle had drowned by accident! It must have been that vicious woman who did it!

The Third Prince just felt unlucky, waved his hand, and left with his men.

The Ninth Prince also had a sullen look on his face. He whispered a few words to Xie Qian and left with his entourage.

When the others saw that the two princes had left, they also took their leave.

Feng Jia's face turned pale and his body was shaky, as if he was very scared. He was supported by Song Huai and walked to the back hall. When he passed by, he heard a man's clear voice ringing in his ears.

"Ninth Miss, good tricks."

Feng Jia glanced at him sideways, biting her lip with a pitiful look, "Master Shi, I don't know what you are talking about."

There was a hint of sneer on Shi Xun's lips, as if he had seen through everything.

Feng Jia didn't say much to him. She bowed and left. When she reached the corner, the fear on her face disappeared. Her eyes dropped slightly, as if she was thinking.

Xie Qian sent people to put the body in a coffin, sent a letter to the Earl of Yongyi's mansion, and then took Xie Zisheng into the study and refused to see any outsiders.

After a while, the servants outside heard the sound of whips coming from inside, as well as the suppressed groans of Young Master Xie.

After being beaten until he was covered in blood, Xie San was helped down by the servants and lay in bed for a whole week without being able to get up. After Meng Shi knew that her brother had died, she made a big fuss in the house, but later, when she saw that Xie Qian really refused to see her, she gradually calmed down.

The Earl of Yongyi's residence brought people to the mansion several times to make trouble and ask Xie Qian for an explanation. Xie Qian avoided it several times on the pretext of going to court. Finally, seeing that he could not avoid it, he gritted his teeth and was scolded by the lady of the Earl of Yongyi's residence. In the end, it was the old lady Musk who came forward in person, and the two families ended up parting on bad terms.

Three days later in the evening, Feng Jia went to the main courtyard. The originally bustling Wutong Courtyard had become much quieter, and the people coming and going were all servants who were guarding Meng.

Feng Jia walked through the corridor and looked at the empty Wutong Courtyard. She suddenly remembered when she had just returned home. It was still spring, and the garden was full of flowers. In the pavilion, Mrs. Meng and several aunts were brewing tea around the stove. It was so lively. However, now everything has changed.

Xie Liu's arm was broken, Xie San was severely punished, Meng was imprisoned, Xie Wu committed suicide, all the flowers in the yard withered, and even the pavilion where they sat was covered with dust, giving it a desolate look.

Feng Jia withdrew her gaze and slowly walked towards the Wutong Courtyard. The Xie Mansion had changed unknowingly a long time ago, and the small fish and shrimps in the big river of Xie Mansion were naturally the first to feel it. When the servants on guard saw her, they all respectfully called her "Ninth Miss", and some flatterers led her all the way to the room where Meng was imprisoned.

The room was filled with sandalwood. Meng, with completely white hair at the temples, leaned against a corner, counting the rice grains in the bowl. Her eyes were empty, and she looked as if she was about to go crazy and collapse.

"Mother?" Feng Jia smiled and bowed.

Upon hearing this, Meng raised her head slightly, and her scattered gaze slowly focused when she saw Feng Jia's face. A continuous hatred appeared on her face, and her long nails dug into the ground, like a beast in the forest that could pounce on her at any time.

"You killed my Yao'er and destroyed my loved ones. I will definitely kill you!!!"

Feng Jia smiled, sitting in front of Meng, her tone as cold as ice: "Meng, you are the most beloved one, and you are not the only one!"

"I should have said this to you three years ago!"