Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Duke Yuguo's expression turned serious: "Speak."

"Xi Chun stole the old lady's ice allowance; he was the one who was in charge of the thievery."

A hissing sound came from inside the room. Stealing ice? That's a serious crime strictly prohibited by the government.

Liu Wenying continued, "This summer, the ice in the old lady's room was always insufficient, and it melted exceptionally quickly."

I felt something was amiss at the time, but I had no clue whatsoever.

Later, some servants whispered among themselves that even during the hottest part of summer, Granny Sun's room was much cooler than other places.

She paused, giving everyone a chance to react, and then looked at Xi Chun's increasingly pale face.

"Granny Sun and Xi Chun are related. I dare to speculate that Xi Chun stole the old lady's ice and gave it to Granny Sun."

Duke Yu's expression finally turned solemn: "Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes, there are signs of recent repairs on the inner wall of the ice mirror, but there is no record of any expenditure for the repair of the ice mirror in Mingxi Hall's accounts."

"Someone must have wanted to steal ice samples under the pretext of the damaged ice detector, but they were afraid of being exposed. Instead of finding out about the ice samples, they found out that they had not taken good care of them and caused the ice samples to be damaged, so they secretly repaired them in an attempt to cover it up."

"Imagine, repairing an ice mirror is no small undertaking; it requires hiring specialized craftsmen."

If it is truly a normal repair, there must be accounts to check.

But there are no accounts, so who made these repair marks? And why did they have to repair them so secretly?

Xi Chun's legs went weak and he knelt on the ground, trembling all over and his lips quivering.

His face was as white as paper, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"This servant...this servant did not..."

"You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin," Pei Zeyu glanced at Xi Chun, "Go and fetch Granny Sun, and bring out that ice mirror from the storeroom."

Before long, several strong servants carried the ice jar into the room. The heavy object landed on the ground with a dull thud.

Granny Sun was also summoned. Stepping into the main room, she first saw Xi Chun kneeling on the bluestone floor, her hair disheveled, and her heart sank.

What trouble has she gotten herself into that has alarmed the Duke to personally interrogate her?

However, when she saw the ice mirror, the color drained from her face.

Oh no, it's Bingli's fault.

Her mind raced, but she forced herself to remain calm as she walked up to her masters.

"This old servant greets Your Excellency, the Duke and the Second Master. May I ask what brings you here?"

Pei Zeyu ignored her and asked Xi Chun, who was on the ground, a question.

"Xi Chun, you embezzled public funds. There are account books to prove it. It's an indisputable fact, and there's nothing more to say about it."

"But what excuse do you have for stealing the ice for your own use?"

Stealing ice for personal use is a serious crime, but if her aunt helps her, she might still have a glimmer of hope.

Xi Chun trembled as she was about to open her mouth to defend herself.

But then, with a loud slap, a hard slap landed directly on her face.

The slap was extremely powerful, making Xi Chun dizzy.

She looked at the person who hit her in disbelief, and it turned out to be her own aunt!

Granny Sun stood with her hands on her hips, trembling with anger, and pointed at her nose, cursing loudly.

"You ungrateful wretch!"

I told you before that you didn't need to bring ice to my room, but you said it was a gift from the old lady, that she felt sorry for you because of the summer heat and that having ice at night would help you sleep well!

I... I actually believed your nonsense!

She got angrier and angrier as she spoke, and slapped him again.

"I can't believe you stole it! I... I don't have a niece like you!"

Senseless.

I was completely dumbfounded.

It was clearly her aunt who made her steal the ice, saying that it was too hot to stand in the summer.

Thinking of her aunt's kindness to her, she took action.

Once someone steals, they'll steal again and again.

Previously, her aunt had said she would protect her.

How come now that the truth has come out, all the blame is being placed on her alone?

A surge of anger rushed to her head, and she abruptly raised her head, opening her mouth to argue.

Another slap, this time making her nose bleed.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Granny Sun grabbed her collar and warned her quickly in a low voice.

"Idiot! If you bite me out now, our whole family is finished!"

If you take the blame, I can still manage things in the household. Your younger siblings' future and your parents' old age will still be within reach.

If I'm dragged into this too, our family will truly be doomed!

Xi Chun's face turned ashen.

She suddenly understood.

She was abandoned, abandoned by her own aunt.

But Granny Sun is right. If both of them were to perish, their family would have no place in the mansion.

What will happen to my parents? What will happen to my younger siblings?

Granny Sun abandoned her and knelt down to kowtow to the main seat.

"My masters, please forgive me. This old servant has failed in his duty to discipline her and has allowed her to commit such a grave error. This old servant is willing to accept any punishment!"

"I only beg my masters to spare my lowly life, considering how many years I've served in this household, and to allow me to continue working here to atone for my sins, even if it's just menial labor!"

She banged her head against the ground repeatedly, scraping her forehead and drawing blood that covered her face.

His appearance was as miserable as could be.

Xi Chun also bowed down, "Yes, it was all done by this servant. I stole the ice, and I broke the ice jar, which I also had someone repaired."

"Everything was done by...this servant alone."

Seeing that Xi Chun's psychological defenses had collapsed, Liu Wenying pressed her for answers again.

"Xi Chun, do you think that once you've settled your charges of stealing methamphetamine and embezzling, the matter is over? Did you make the ointment?!"

Xi Chun trembled, raised her head, and met her gaze.

Granny Sun knelt to the side, not knowing what the ointment was all about, but when Liu Wenying asked her question, she knew that this matter was even bigger than stealing ice.

She gave Xi Chun a wink, as if to say, "Say it all, and don't involve anyone else."

Xi Chun gritted her teeth and said in a pained voice, "It was...it was this servant who did it."

I couldn't help it, I couldn't help it at all.

She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with an overflowing madness and distortion.

"It was me! I put sumac sap in the ointment!"

"I hate you! Why did you become a head maid when you just arrived at Mingxi Hall? Why does the old lady value you so much!"

"I'm going to get rid of you!"

The sap of the lacquer tree is poisonous and can easily cause allergies in ordinary people. The old lady is already very old and has a weak constitution.

"What a vicious woman!"

Duke Yu slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his face ashen and his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Embezzling and stealing methamphetamine is already a capital offense, but to dare poison your master! Guards! Drag him out and give him eighty strokes of the cane!"

"If Mother is safe and sound, you will be sold into the household; if anything happens to Mother—"

He paused, then shouted sternly, "I'll make you pay with your life!"

The guards stepped forward and dragged the limp Xi Chun to his feet.

Xi Chun stopped struggling, just smiled foolishly, letting the guards drag her away.

As she passed by Granny Sun, she suddenly whispered.

"Aunt, how cruel you are..."

Granny Sun trembled and lowered her head, not daring to look any further.

She continued to kneel on the ground, her forehead bleeding from repeated kowtows, pleading incessantly.

Duke Yu didn't even glance at her, and only asked Doctor Ye.

"Now that the poison is known to be lacquer tree sap, is there any way to treat it?"

"Your Excellency has been poisoned by lacquer tree sap. You need to clean the affected area as soon as possible, apply an antidote ointment externally, and take a decoction to clear heat and detoxify internally."

"I'll go and prepare the medicine right away, then have it decocted and sent over."

Duke Yu nodded and said no more.

The commotion lasted until midnight before Mingxi Hall finally quieted down.

After taking the medicine, the old lady's breathing gradually stabilized, and the redness and swelling on her body subsided somewhat.

Although still unconscious, his life was no longer in danger.

"Father, it's late. You should go back and rest. Let me stay with Grandmother. I'll send someone to report as soon as I have any news."

With him there, Duke Yu felt at ease and finally left, exhausted.

Only a few servants remained in the room.

Pei Zeyu stood by the couch, his gaze fixed on the old lady's face, and remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, he turned around, his face darkening, and said:

"Liu Wenying, come out with me."

The servants inside the room looked at each other in bewilderment.

Second Master was always gentle and aloof, rarely getting angry.

With that expression, is he about to scold Liu Wenying?

…………

There's something I want to tell my dear readers. I've revised the character relationships in this story. The three gentlemen have been changed to adopted sons of the Duke's mansion, with no blood relation to each other. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get out of the "black room" (a term used to describe a restricted area for writing comments). The reason I couldn't comment before was because I was reported and locked in the "black room," where I had to delete about 10,000 words and revise the character relationships. Due to the large word count, I will carefully review the revised logic and details before making further changes. All my efforts are aimed at releasing the book and giving everyone a satisfying ending. Thank you all for supporting me through these difficult days. I wish you all the best and good health!