Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 13 Treasure Chest?

Yuzhan's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Wenrou in disbelief. After all, she was Miss Wen Er's personal maid and had been serving her for three or four years. Now, this Wen Er had no regard for her face and just tore off her clothes. There were so many people in the hall, including strangers. Although she was a maid, she was also a girl of seventeen or eighteen!
Yuzhan thought that the Second Miss was unaware of the Master's actions, and that was why she couldn't protect herself. She never imagined that it was her who had caused her own misfortune! Yuzhan was filled with hatred! She wished she could tear Wenrou into pieces! Instead, Miss Wen, despite past grudges, helped her. How could she have been so blind to help the Second Miss drug the First Miss?
Yuzhan's face was filled with regret and shame. She slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were filled with resentment. She looked like she was going to burn herself to death. She stared fiercely at Second Miss Wen and sneered, "Second Miss, how could you wrong me like this? ... We servants have all seen it. The master seems to favor you more. You can eat, drink and have fun as you please, but all business matters are left to the eldest lady."

"In recent years, he has shown even more favor towards the eldest young lady. All those shops, manors, and docks have prospered and their profits have skyrocketed since she took over. They've even been revived. Even Siyi Garden, your favorite place that you've asked for three or four times in vain, the master gave it to the eldest young lady as a birthday present. The servants are saying that the eldest young lady is very thoughtful and that the master is interested in cultivating her. It won't be long before the master changes his will and gives all the property originally intended for you to her!"

"Second Miss, do you dare to say that you don't hate? Aren't you jealous? Aren't you afraid? As long as the master dies now, his previous will will still be valid, and all this property will be yours!"

"Didn't the master and the mistress have a quarrel a few days ago? If these properties were given to you and your daughter, they would be squandered in five years. Instead of squandering it all, it's better to give it all to the eldest lady! Second lady, I'm afraid you're furious!"

"It was this servant who handed the teacup to the Second Young Lady just now, that's true. But the Second Young Lady also touched that cup of tea! Besides, you get to decide who this cup of tea is given to. You also gave me that croton powder, and maybe it really did contain arsenic! Who knows who you gave the poisoned tea to!"

"Pa!" Wenrou stood up angrily and slapped Yuzhan. "You bitch! I should have sold you to Liuxiang!"

"Enough! Both of you are suspects. Anyone who was present at the time may have done it, even all the servants are suspects. Besides, who said the poison must be in the teacup? At that time, Master Wen drank tea and ate a red date cake. The poison may not be in the tea. When the doctor arrives and takes a closer look, everything will be clear. It's just that the tea was served by the second Miss Wen herself, so Master Wen would definitely drink it; but these five snacks were placed in advance, so Master Wen might not have taken the red date cake. Unless the murderer knew, he would definitely have taken it." Yan Mingzhang turned around and looked at the bottles and jars that had been searched out, frowning slightly. No, no, his thoughts were a little confused. What else had he missed?

Just when everyone was at a loss, Mo Yun ran in to announce that the doctor had arrived.

As he was speaking, Mo Yun arrived with the best doctor in the south of the city, Doctor Yan.

Doctor Yan made a careful diagnosis, then checked all the tea and snacks in the cups, the brown paper containing the jade hairpin, the various snuff bottles, and so on. Then, stroking his goatee, he slowly spoke, "Judging from Master Wen's symptoms, it seems he's been poisoned by arsenic. Fortunately, the amount is small, and the treatment was timely. I'll prescribe a few more medicines. After a few days of good rest, he'll be fine. Aside from the arsenic and croton powder found in Master Wen's teacup, no arsenic was found in any of the other items."

"Croton?" Rong Wanyin asked back, "Wenrou, did you really poison your father? You're so cruel. What else do you have to say? This is all true!"

Wenrou's face turned pale, and she shouted at the top of her lungs: "I didn't do it, it wasn't me!"

Madam Wen quickly protected Wen Rou, preventing anyone from taking her away: "You are such a stupid official, so incompetent! The poison was not given by my daughter!"

Yan Mingzhang consoled her, "Madam Wen, I'm only asking the Second Young Miss to stay in the room for a while. If it truly wasn't her doing, I'll investigate thoroughly! When the bailiffs arrive, I'll handle the matter impartially."

After Yan Mingzhang finished speaking, he had the two of them pulled apart and Wenrou and Yuzhan imprisoned separately.

"Mo Yun, go to the county government office again and borrow some help..." Yan Mingzhang hadn't finished his words when a loud boom erupted outside, like the crack of thunder—an explosion! Everyone's faces dropped with shock, and they hurried out of the hall. The usually magnificent white marble bridge and curved bridge connecting the east and west courtyards of the Wen Mansion suddenly seemed to have been broken by a tremendous force, crashing into the lake. The water splashed high, gleaming coldly in the setting sun.

"Miss Wen, is there a boat in the mansion?" Yan Mingzhang asked seriously. Wen Xin glanced at Butler Wen and said, "Butler, isn't there a boat over there on the lake?"

The housekeeper shook his head and said, "Indeed, there was one, but it suddenly leaked a few days ago and is still lying in the reeds! There is really no more."

Everyone sighed.

The lake was vast and boundless. Without this bridge, even Rong Wanyin, with her exceptional martial arts skills, would have been unable to fly across it. The other three sides of Siyi Garden were surrounded by towering walls, and beyond them were steep cliffs.

"Can anyone swim?"

"No, this pool of water is very deep and there are undercurrents in it. It's too late now. Even if we swim out, we can't get down the mountain tonight without a carriage. There are many ferocious beasts in the mountains. It's too unsafe..." the butler stopped him.

"Why did you build the villa here when it's so dangerous? Are you looking for death?!" Rong Wanyin was a little anxious. How could there be such a stupid person!
At this time, the sky gradually darkened and everyone was trapped in Siyi Garden.

"What is that?" Changfeng suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed.

Mo Yun raised his hand to his brow, forming a canopy, and looked out over the lake. He saw a huge box floating on the surface. The box was extremely beautifully shaped, with intricate carvings all over it. In the dim light, it exuded a mysterious aura.

"Isn't that the master's treasure chest?" a servant asked cautiously.

"Yeah..." The other servants immediately started talking at once.

"Butler, why don't you let anyone fish it out? The treasures inside have been soaked and ruined. Who among you can afford to compensate for it?" Mrs. Wen was already annoyed because she was trapped, and now she was even more furious. Her sharp voice cut through the gradually falling night.

The servants did not dare to delay and immediately picked up long poles and other objects to fish out the box. However, the box was too heavy and they struggled to get it ashore.

"How could it be moved to the lake without anyone noticing if it's so heavy? I didn't see anyone moving the box!" Mo Yun said in surprise.

(End of this chapter)