Eldest Sister Has Avenged You

Inside the hall, Zhao Zhi sat up straight and exuded a fairly suave air. He didn’t show any unhappiness toward the fact that Wen Yuansi was here and was very professional when talking to Wen Yuansi.

He tapped a finger against the table and glanced emotionlessly at Wen Yuansi. “So, have there been any developments in your case over the last two days? Since we’re going to combine the cases, it’d be best if we can crack both cases and find the killer for both cases.”

They had the same goal, and Wen Yuansi agreed wholeheartedly with what Zhao Zhi said, so he immediately began talking about the most recent changes in the Mi family.

“The eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Wang, is severely ill and unable to get out of bed, so she’s unable to take charge of the household and the second daughter-in-law, Madam Sun, is temporarily in charge. Madam Sun is a more prideful person, so technically speaking, given how she’s been competing with Madam Wang for so long, she should be very happy that she’s allowed to take charge of the household. And she does seem very happy and is very confident, plus she’s been rewarding the servants rather generously, but I just feel like… there’s something wrong somewhere.”

Song Caitang was confused. “Something wrong somewhere? In what way?”

Wen Yuansi recalled what Madam Sun looked like and frowned slightly. “The impression I got was that she was very smug and vindicated now that she gets to be in charge, but there’s also this strange sympathy for Madam Wang, like how a fox would be sad over a rabbit’s death because they’re both animals. She seems rather upset over Madam Wang’s condition. I have a feeling… she’s hiding some secret. It’s very important, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. There are some servants who know, and some who don’t. Those who know would change the topic and not allow me to ask about it.”

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. “Does it have something to do with Madam Liang’s death?”

Was it something to do with a motive for killing?

“I don’t think so,” Wen Yuansi shook his head, “I tried sounding her out, but Madam Sun’s sensitivities are not brought out by this aspect.”

As for the others…

The eldest daughter-in-law and the one in charge of the house was ill, the second daughter-in-law who should have seized the chance to make sure she could take charge of the house forever did not, and the third daughter-in-law, Madam Liu…

She was as silent as ever. As long as nobody called for her, you wouldn’t even know she existed.

She seemed to have given up on herself, but she also seemed to just want to avoid everyone in the house. She was just very quiet, but she didn’t seem to hate interaction.

The men were as serious and proper as ever, doing what they ought to be doing. The changes in the home didn’t seem to affect them in any way, and they were not concerned at all.

This was one really strange family.

“What about Mi Gaojie?” Zhao Zhi tapped the table with his fingertips. “Are we able to confirm that he had no idea before this that Yuetao was his biological younger sister?”

Wen Yuansi paused to give it serious thought, then said, “Based on his reactions, I doubt he knew. He’s the young master of the family who’s been spoiled from a young age, plus he doesn’t excel in any particular area, so I would not think he would be capable of handling severe consequences. If he knew that Yuetao was his younger sister, I don’t think he would have dared to behave like that.”

“What about Madam Fan?” Song Caitang thought of Fan Zishi, who was a suspect in this case as well. “What kind of person is she? Does she hate the Mis? Would she want to kill the family members?”

Wen Yuansi was well aware of all the suspects in the serial murder and who they were related to.

He rubbed the rim of his teacup as he considered this question, then said cautiously, “Madam Fan is a gentle and timid woman. She was repudiated because of her health. She couldn’t get pregnant, so she couldn’t carry on the family line. The Mis place great importance on having descendants, so they repudiated her on these grounds. I did talk to her at the Fan’s. I don’t think it’s possible to say that she doesn’t hate the family at all. A woman repudiated on the grounds of not being able to get pregnant? She’d be ridiculed for the rest of her life. But to say that she’s so full of hatred that she wants to kill the Mis out of revenge…”

Wen Yuansi looked up with a calm gaze. “That doesn’t seem to be the case. She did not like the Mis, so her life after leaving the family was actually more peaceful and comfortable.”

Zhao Zhi remarked, “So Madam Fan was happy to be able to get out of suffering.”

Song Caitang asked another question, “What about Madam Liang’s maid, Lanping?”

“She did serve Madam Fan, but she’s the daughter of a maid of the family. Madam Liang did not like Madam Fan and did not like her servants and maids either, but Lanping’s mother saved Madam Liang’s life once and passed away when Lanping was very young, so Madam Liang decided to keep Lanping on account of her mother.”

“Compared to Lanping, Auntie Huang, the one closest to Madam Liang, is a lot more suspicious…”

Wen Yuansi continued to slowly go through the new clues he had found and analyzed them one by one. This Auntie Huang seemed to have a lot to do with Yuetao’s disappearance.

Zhao Zhi and Song Caitang let him finish, and finally came to one conclusion. Regardless of how the investigation in Madam Liang’s case went, one thing was for sure. “Madam Fan probably didn’t know this happened, so Fan Zishi couldn’t have known who Yuetao really was.”

Wen Yuansi nodded. “Yup.”

By the time they were done discussing and sorting out the details of both cases as well as deciding what to do next and who would be in charge of those things, it had gotten quite late.

Song Caitang took her leave and was about to head home when Qi Yan came looking for her.

Qi Yan had come to apologize on behalf of his cousin, Ling Qianqian.

Perhaps he felt really embarrassed about the whole thing, but Qi Yan didn’t try to explain things away or defend Ling Qianqian, and he didn’t even dare to look at Song Caitang. He just bowed really deeply, then held up a large box of stuff as compensation, including dollar notes.

Song Caitang didn’t even know what to say.

Ever since she arrived in this world, she had gotten richer and richer. Besides the first two days, she had never been short of money.

When she recalled how Qingqiao had squatted next to her and counted the tiny pieces of silver with a worried look on her face… she could barely remember that scene clearly. Did that really happen?

Song Caitang sighed inwardly.

Qi Yan gritted his teeth. “If she does something like that again, go ahead and teach her a good lesson, Miss Song! You don’t have to hold back!”

Because of this matter, he had been too embarrassed to look Song Caitang up. His body was all tensed up and his face was even a little red. He could barely hold on to his folding fan.

Qi Yan knew that the atmosphere was awkward, so in order to make it less awkward, he changed the topic by turning to look at Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi, then accused them loudly, “I have to leave once the weather gets cooler and I won’t be here for much longer, yet you won’t let me tag along during investigations! Miss Song, don’t you think that’s terrible of them?!”

He was still trying to get close to Song Caitang and was trying to tattle on the two men.

But Song Caitang just stared at him in disbelief. Was this boy’s brain broken or something? What made him so confident that she would be able to do anything about these two men?

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi were very coordinated this time. One was scowling and the other was smiling, but they stood next to one another in front of Song Caitang and did not allow Qi Yan to get any closer to her.

Qi Yan was speechless.

He was about to cry.

“You’re all bullying me! So irritating! So irritating! So IRRITATING!!!!”

With that, he ran off without turning back, like a lit rocket.

If he hadn’t done all that in the most rough and inelegant way, his behavior, and that last bit especially, could really be described as extremely effeminate behavior.

Song Caitang burst out laughing.

Qi Yan was a very strange boy. Every time he appeared, the atmosphere would go in a completely different direction, which made the somber mood around the case much more relaxed.

Just like…

She glanced at the tree branches and rooftops basking in the golden sunshine.

Just like this exceptionally warm and brilliant evening sun.

She received a pleasant surprise when she got home too.

Guan Wan heard from the servants that Song Caitang had arrived home, so she had run to the second gate to receive her. She grabbed hold of Song Caitang’s hand when she spotted her and started pulling her further into the house excitedly, rambling on and on about completely unrelated things that even she herself barely understood. It was only after they had passed through the last door and gone round the corner where there was nobody before Guan Wan finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. She whispered, “Eldest Sister has taken revenge for you!”

Song Caitang raised an eyebrow at first, but got it soon after. “Ling Qianqian?”

“Yeah!” Guan Wan smiled especially sweetly and started pulling Song Caitang toward Guan Qing’s residence. “Come, let’s go talk to Eldest Sis!”

Guan Qing was sitting beneath the shelter, checking the accounts while sipping tea.

The little mahogany table had an exquisitely designed teapot on it along with some chilled fresh fruit of the season. The smoke rising from the three legged censer plus the slight breeze…

A beautiful young lady seated leisurely outside her residence. What a relaxing sight.

Guan Wan held onto Song Caitang’s hand and came running over. “Eldest Sister! Eldest Sister! We’re here! Quickly tell our cousin how you’ve avenged her!”

Guan Qing’s first reaction was to frown. “Why are you in such a hurry? Aren’t you afraid you might fall down and others would laugh at you?”

Guan Wan stuck her tongue out cheekily, then stood properly.

“It’s just the simple matter of teaching someone a lesson. There are so many ways to do that. What’s there to talk about?”

Guan Qing looked up and pointed the pen she used to mark the ledger books with at Song Caitang, her gaze bright and sharp, “You too. If you’re so timid, aren’t you afraid that you’d get bullied a second time? That Ling Qianqian hurt your hand, so you should have hurt her right back! Make life difficult for her!”

So… Guan Qing’s way of revenge was by making life difficult for Ling Qianqian?

Song Caitang laughed nervously, “Isn’t that… a little difficult to do?”

Guan Qing scoffed. “That’s not difficult at all.”

She flipped her sleeves back and said, “As the saying goes, a mighty dragon can’t defeat a snake in the snake’s territory. Even the aristocrats in the capital would not support the sort of things she said. She’s not even considered a dragon in her own territory, yet she dares to be arrogant and ignorant and hurt someone from MY family in MY territory?”

“I’ve cut off her grain supply. Let’s see what she’ll eat now!”

Song Caitang’s eyes widened. Guan Qing was amazing!

Guan Qing raised a finely trimmed eyebrow slightly and glared at her two younger sisters with a frustrated look on her face. “The Gaos are an influential family with loads of money, but that doesn’t mean you can really buy anything you want. If you want such valuable food, such high quality and fresh food, you’ve got to get it from our stores. I’m not going to do anything else. Just cutting off her grain supply is enough to make Ling Qianqian suffer. She’s from the capital and she’s an aristocrat, so she’s very used to eating high grade ingredients. Do you think she’d be able to endure eating anything of lower quality?”

Guan Wan piped up naively, “She can always go to a restaurant to eat. You can’t possibly cut off supply to the entire city.”

Guan Qing rolled her eyes and didn’t say anything.

Song Caitang patted Guan Wan’s head, “A young, unmarried lady heading to these restaurants full of men for every meal every single day? Her reputation’s going to take a big hit.”

Guan Wan got it now. “Oh… that’s true. I heard that the empress is very strict about the unmarried women living in the capital where she is. If even it’s just a small matter, as long as it adversely affects the woman’s reputation, she won’t be able to find anyone to marry, or any family that will take her in.”

“I won’t do anything to reduce the number of clothes or jewelry she can buy. I don’t care about that. She can buy whatever she wants. But the servants of the Gao family…” Guan Qing fanned herself with a pretty folding fan and smiled brightly, “will have to suffer a little.”

Guan Qing took this chance to teach these two younger ones, since such important ways of defending themselves didn’t seem to occur to them. She put on a serious expression and began to explain and analyze for them what she did and why she did it this way.

“No matter whose family you work for, a servant is a servant, and they can never enjoy the same things as their master. If their master uses a high grade item, the servants won’t get to use even a mid grade item. Servants are servants, those are the rules. As for the Gao family, their servants get to eat two vegetable dishes and one meat dish every meal, and there’s always enough rice for everyone. They’re considered one of the most generous families out there, and there are many ordinary people who don’t even get to eat such good meals every day. After eating like this day in, day out, they get used to the food. Tell me, would they be willing to eat low grade rice, or porridge, or eat cheaper, pickled vegetables?”

Of course they wouldn’t.

It was much easier to start spending more on your lifestyle than to spend less. Habits were a very scary thing.

“I’m not going to curb how much their employers use, but I will make it difficult for the servants. The Gaos have a huge estate, but the weather is terribly hot and they can’t possibly stock up too much, so the servants will have to do marketing every day or so. I’m going to make sure they don’t get to buy grain. If they can’t buy grain for one day, they’d just go without it for the day. If they don’t want to go hungry, they will have to buy lower grade stuff and eat plain porridge made from rice bits. Never mind enduring this for days – I don’t think they’ll be able to take it after three meals straight.”

“In most cases, the master doesn’t really care if the servants are suffering. Besides, it’s not as if they really have nothing to eat. They still have food to eat.”

Her round fan covered half her pretty face, but her voice could still be heard clearly, “Guess how long it’ll take for the servants to get angry? And if they know that this is happening to them because of Ling Qianqian, do you think they’d eventually be unable to hold their temper in and take it out on Ling Qianqian?”

Song Caitang got it now.

One needed to use different methods on different people. As masters of indentured servants, they were allowed to own the servants and use them as they wished. But servants were human too. They could think for themselves. And if they were bullied, they could think of a way to fight back.

It was the same in the royal palace. Many concubines who did not gain the favor of the emperor lived even more poorly than the palace maids.

Servants knew how to get back at their masters. They had plenty of methods up their sleeves.

On top of that, Ling Qianqian was the one who started the argument and hurt Song Caitang, so Guan Qing was justified in fighting back on her cousin’s behalf and the Gaos would not dare to chide her for it. Also, Guan Qing was only doing this to make things a little difficult for Ling Qianqian. It was only temporary, did not seem very mean and did not affect the Gao family members. Making things difficult for the servants allocated to Ling Qianqian was within this society’s acceptable behavior, so nobody would say anything about that.

And so, if the Gaos would not do anything about the situation and Guan Qing continued doing this, eventually someone would become resentful and take the risk of getting back at Ling Qianqian.