Jinyi Spring

The old Duke was about to hit someone again when the old lady suddenly rubbed her forehead and said in a low voice, "Alright, stop arguing, it's giving me a headache."

Seeing that his wife looked unwell, the old Duke stopped what he was doing and sat back down, asking with concern, "Rong'er, shall I have someone come and give you a massage?"

The old lady shook her head and sneered, "If there weren't some things that couldn't be said, I would have taken Xia Achan directly to the Jingzhao Prefecture for trial, then had her squat in a prison cart and dragged to the execution ground to be beheaded. Would there have been a need for a trial tonight?"

Ming Changli and Ming Shanfeng both looked at her in surprise.

Just then, Ming Shanyue walked in.

He greeted each of his elders.

As soon as she sat down, the old lady asked, "How's the case going?"

Ming Shanyue said, "Although the case is not closed, the ins and outs are mostly clear. Qingxin Fagu was bewitched by Cixi and lost her mind. She ran out in the middle of the night and was devoured by a pack of wolves."

"Ci'an died in the imperial prison, several others were silenced, and someone has been sent to arrest the third. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, any intelligent person can guess who ordered it. With Second Uncle still not back, the Xue family's situation is already dire."

He paused, a hint of sarcasm creeping onto his lips. "The Emperor is very sad, and the Empress Dowager is crying uncontrollably, repeatedly saying, 'Poor little Wan'er.'"

The old Duke raised his voice and said, "Someone, bring Xia Achan here."

Ming Shanfeng sat up straight immediately, a look of surprise and doubt flashing in his eyes. "These things...are related to Aunt Xia?"

The old Duke spat, "That troublemaker, what kind of aunt is she? Humph, she eats like a pig and doesn't care about anything."

Ming Changfeng pouted in anger.

The old lady sighed deeply, her gaze complex. "You'll understand after you hear this. From now on, you must learn to judge people. Don't be like us, misjudging someone and harming not only your own family but also other families."

Xia was restless in Baosu Courtyard.

After dinner, a maid came to report, "The old lady said that there are important matters to discuss tonight, and asked that you, aunt, not rest."

Xia asked, "What is it? Why can't we discuss it now?"

The maid replied, "This servant does not know either."

She waited until the end of Hai hour (9-11 PM) before there was any movement in the courtyard.

Instead of maids and old women, two tall and burly men arrived. One was Steward Wei, the head of the guards, and the other was the personal attendant of the Duke of Ming.

Manager Wei stood at the door, his voice low but sharp as a knife, "Xia Achan, let's go."

To address someone by their first name.

Xia's heart sank suddenly, sinking to the bottom.

She forced herself to maintain her composure and shouted sternly, "How dare you, you uncouth servants, barging into the inner courtyard in the dead of night! Yuxiang, throw them out!"

At this moment, only Yuxiang was by her side.

Yu Xiang, however, seemed not to hear her, and stood there motionless with her head slightly lowered.

Xia looked at Yuxiang in surprise, "Yuxiang!"

Manager Wei was too lazy to waste any more words and coldly said, "Xia Achan, if you don't care about your dignity, don't blame us."

As soon as she finished speaking, another person stepped forward and stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth, silencing all sound. The two men, one on each side, lifted her up and carried her outside.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the night wind was biting cold. There was no one on the road except Xia Achan, who was being dragged along, staggering through courtyard after courtyard, looking like a mouse being pulled out of its den.

Fear seeped into her body like a cold wind.

What did she do that got discovered? Murder? Informing on someone? Or the undergarment and jade pendant? Whatever it is, she can't confess. Confessing means death.

She was dragged all the way into the Bamboo Sound Building in the outer courtyard.

The room was brightly lit. She was suddenly forced to kneel on the hard brick surface, and she groaned in pain.

Xia Achan raised her head and looked around. Apart from Ming Changqing, who had not yet returned to the capital, all the other masters of the Ming family were present. Her hands were finally free, and she ripped the handkerchief from her mouth. Tears streamed down her face. "Father, Mother, why are you treating your daughter like this?"

The old lady's anger subsided, and she turned to the old duke, saying, "Look at him, how innocent he's pretending. For over twenty years, we've given him our hearts and souls, and this is the ungrateful wretch we've raised."

Xia's tears flowed even more freely. "Mother, what have I done to offend you that you must humiliate me like this?"

The old woman scolded, "You've committed countless evil deeds, yet you blame this old woman for humiliating you. You shameless woman, how dare you covet my Changqing? If you can't covet her, you resort to harming her!"

Madam Ming understood; the old lady wanted to strip away Xia's dignity layer by layer. Since it was something a man couldn't say, she would do it herself.

She chuckled lightly and said slowly, "I only found out later that Xia had taken a liking to Second Uncle when she was eleven years old and even confessed her feelings. However, Second Uncle didn't agree and didn't even give her a second glance."

"My second uncle is really something. If he had told us this back then, it would have been a wake-up call for us, so we wouldn't have raised this vicious person as family for so long."

The old lady sneered, "That foolish boy, to save face for this vile woman, kept it a secret. Little did he know, his refusal made this wicked woman hate our Ming family to the core. Not only did she harm Changqing, but she also harmed Wan'er, harmed you, and harmed our whole family—all this misfortune in the mansion is her doing!"

Xia was filled with shame and indignation, wishing she could die immediately. The dignity she had maintained for half her life had shattered completely at this moment.

She forced herself to speak, "Innocent...my daughter is innocent..."

The old woman spat, "Pah! You shameless wretch! We're not lucky enough to have a daughter like you. You shameless, brazen, ungrateful bastard..."

She grew angrier with each word, her voice becoming increasingly shrill. "How dare you call us 'father' and 'mother'? In these past twenty years, how have we, the Ming family, wronged you? We've provided you with food and clothing, given you dignity, and treated you like our own daughter."

"And what about you? What do you take the Ming family for? A ladder! You use them to climb up, and when you can't climb up, you tear them down! If you can't tear them down, you set them on fire! And the Kong family, no matter what, they are still your husband's family, your daughter's closest relatives. The slightest disagreement, and you ruined their family and caused their deaths. How can there be such a black-hearted wretch like you in this world!"

Madam Ming then slowly continued, "Mother, don't get too upset. In my opinion, she's not just heartless, she's utterly devoid of conscience. Anyone with even a shred of conscience wouldn't have done such heinous things. Second Uncle rejected her back then because he thought she wasn't good enough for him. Now it seems she's not only unworthy, but also incredibly filthy."

She glanced at the Duke of Ming and said, "When I gave birth to Shanfeng, Xia wished I would die along with my unborn child. I suppose Second Uncle Xiao never expected that she would want to become the master's second wife."

Duke Ming chuckled and shook his head. "Look at what Xuanxuan is saying. I don't just take any woman seriously."

Xia was trembling with rage. Those words were like knives, cutting into her body piece by piece, leaving her face and pride riddled with holes.

And what about the Kong family? How did they find out about the Kong family's affairs? We can't acknowledge them, no matter what, we just won't!
She screamed, "Ah—ah—Nonsense, nonsense! How could you humiliate me like this...I'm innocent! I've never done anything to wrong the Ming and Kong families."

She cried and lay on the ground.

To prevent her voice from being heard, even the windows were covered with mattresses.

The old Duke slammed his hand on the table, "They really won't shed a tear until they see the coffin."

He picked up the white silk undergarment and a jade pendant from the table and asked, "Do you recognize these two things?"

These are Ming Changqing's undergarments and jade pendant. Didn't she give them to Madam Xue? How did they end up back in the Ming family's hands?

Xia's heart was in turmoil, but she shook her head blankly and said, "My daughter doesn't recognize her."

The old duke snorted coldly and tossed a few papers and an earring from the table over, saying, "You should recognize these, right?"

Papers fluttered to the ground, scattering around her knees—several letters she had written to Xu Hu and a letter from Consort Xue to her. The words were clear and legible, written in black and white.

The earrings were a gift from Consort Xue.

Xia's pupils contracted sharply, and her heart nearly stopped for a moment. Xu Hu… that fool, he actually kept the letter. And Consort Xue's letter and tokens… who among her entourage betrayed her?

Her thoughts raced through her mind. She looked up, her eyes blurry with tears, and cried out to the old Duke, "I don't recognize any of these things. Father, Mother, I'm innocent!"

The old Duke was too lazy to waste any more words on her, and besides, he had to make this woman suffer a bit.

He nodded to Ming Shanyue.

Ming Shanyue stood up, walked to Xia Shi, and looked down at her. His gaze was calm, as calm as if he were looking at an inanimate object.

He didn't speak, but instead took something from his sleeve—an extremely thin silver needle, which gleamed coldly in the candlelight. (End of Chapter)