“I am the eldest daughter of the Zhu family, born to my father’s first wife, Lady Cui. Zhu Yuanshu is the daughter of my stepmother, Xiao Cui, making her the legitimate second daughter of the Zhu family and my younger sister. I grew up in Yuanzhang Village, where I met your Young Master. The woman your Young Master always intended to marry was me.” Zhu Changsheng stood under the eaves, sweeping her gaze over the crowd. “After the imperial decree was issued, I was brought back to Shengjing by the Zhu family to marry Wei Lang. Wei Lang and I fell in love at first sight, sharing mutual affection. He told me many things about the inner household of Wei Mansion. This must be Bi Rui.”
She looked toward the plump, delicate-featured young maid kneeling at the front.
She appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, still young and innocent.
Hearing her name called, Bi Rui instinctively looked up at Zhu Changsheng. “This servant is indeed Bi Rui.”
Zhu Changsheng nodded slightly. “My late husband mentioned you to me. My mother-in-law picked you up and brought you to Wei Mansion, raising you as her own daughter. You are a clever and lovely girl.”
Upon hearing this, Bi Rui’s eyes immediately reddened, tears welling up as she choked out, “This servant’s life is worthless. It was only by the kindness of the madam that I was saved. I know my status is lowly and dare not hope for more. From now on, no matter who you are, as long as you are the woman the Young Master loved, I will serve you wholeheartedly. Thank you, Young Madam, for redeeming me from the brothel.”
Bi Rui’s voice trembled violently as she kowtowed heavily to Zhu Changsheng. Her words deeply moved the servants in the courtyard, and the others also wiped their tears, expressing gratitude to Zhu Changsheng.
From the moment Zhu Changsheng called out the names of Nanny Liao and Bi Rui and recounted their status and deeds in Wei Mansion, their doubts about her had vanished.
If she were not the woman their Young Master cherished, why would he have spoken to her about the inner household affairs?
Seeing the timing was right, Zhu Changsheng addressed the crowd in a clear, resonant voice. “All the men of Wei Mansion have died in battle, and the women have taken their own lives by crashing into coffins. Although I am a newlywed in Wei Mansion, I will be its sole master. As long as I stand, the honor of Wei Mansion will never fall. Among the sixty-eight people here, if anyone does not wish to remain in Wei Mansion, I will provide silver and grant you freedom to leave. If you are willing to stay with the Wei family, then from this day forward, you need only obey my commands!”
Not a single person below wished to leave Wei Mansion. They spoke in unison, “We wish to see our masters off on their final journey. We are willing to stay and assist Young Madam. We will not leave!”
“Good!” Zhu Changsheng knew of the Wei family’s integrity, but for the servants to go this far was truly rare.
She turned to Steward Feng and asked, “Steward Feng, are the torches ready?”
Steward Feng replied, “Yes, Young Madam, the torches are ready.”
With that, he raised his hand and waved. Servants from the Zhu family quickly emerged from the side gate, each holding two torches, lining up neatly in the corridor behind Zhu Changsheng.
The darkness was instantly dispelled by the torches, bringing light to the vast courtyard.
Immediately after, Shui Yao led a group of maids carrying rat cages into the courtyard. “Young Madam, the items you requested are also ready. I specially prepared many thin bamboo poles, just in case.”
Shui Yao was clever. Sometimes, with just one instruction from Zhu Changsheng, she could prepare everything thoroughly.Zhu Changsheng took a torch and a bamboo pole, staring at the sharpened ends of the pole before nodding slightly. “Well done, Shui Yao.”
Upon receiving Zhu Changsheng’s praise, Shui Yao beamed with joy.
Zhu Changsheng turned to face the crowd. “Do any of you know how to catch rats?”
Everyone looked puzzled.
A young man standing at the back stepped forward. “This subordinate is Ling Su. Whatever Young Mistress needs, please give the order.”
Zhu Changsheng looked at the lean young man.
He was only fifteen, with handsome features and slightly dark skin.
Wei Yuan had just told her that this person was quite skilled.
And she needed someone skilled right now.
Zhu Changsheng walked up to him, handed the torch to Ling Su, and said, “Someone intends to damage the bodies of the Wei Mansion’s masters.”
“What!” the crowd exclaimed in shock.
Nanny Liao asked indignantly, “Who dares to damage our masters’ bodies? Won’t they let our masters rest in peace even after death?”
Zhu Changsheng returned under the eaves and countered with a question. “Who was it that sent you all out of the mansion?”
“Lady Xiang!” everyone answered in unison.
Nanny Liao was horrified. “She… how dare she? She is Concubine Liu’s half-sister. Could it be… could it be because the late madam forbade her from entering the Wei Mansion again, and she holds a grudge against the Wei Mansion’s masters, leading her to commit such a heinous act?”
Zhu Changsheng did not deny Nanny Liao’s words, but…
“That’s only part of it. In their eyes, the Wei Mansion is a treasure trove filled with gold and silver but left unguarded. Before I married into the Wei Mansion, Lady Xiang even went to my Zhu family under the pretense of being the Young Master’s aunt to break off the engagement, doing everything she could to prevent me from marrying into the Wei family. But now that I have married in, the affairs of the Wei Mansion are no longer hers to control. So…”
“So, Lady Xiang is using rats to gnaw at the bodies, damaging the masters’ remains, intending to pin the blame on Young Mistress for negligence. To make matters worse, if this incident reaches the Emperor, he will surely punish Young Mistress. Then, the clan leader could unite with the other clan members to force Young Mistress to temporarily hand over the authority to manage the household, supposedly to learn household management from Lady Xiang, but in reality, to seize control of the Wei Mansion’s household authority rightfully.”
Bi Rui suddenly straightened her back and spoke her mind indignantly.
Then, turning to look at the others in the courtyard, Bi Rui added, “If even our Young Mistress is manipulated by Lady Xiang and the clan leader, then our fate will likely be nothing but death. Lady Xiang will never give us a way out.”
The servants of the Wei Mansion trembled with fear upon hearing Bi Rui’s words.
“Lady Xiang is vicious at heart. She sold both Tao Xin and me to the lowest brothels. If it weren’t for Sister Fu Xin’s timely appearance, Tao Xin and I would probably have been driven to death by the people in those brothels.” Bi Rui looked at the crowd, regarding Zhu Changsheng as her second lifesaver in her heart. “My life was saved by Young Mistress. Young Mistress is the one the Young Master favored. We must unite to overcome this crisis and never let Lady Xiang’s schemes succeed, nor allow the masters of our Wei Mansion to have their bodies gnawed by rats even after death.”
With that, Bi Rui stood up and took a bamboo pole from Shui Yao’s hands. “Young Mistress, this servant knows how to catch rats.”
Seeing this, Tao Xin also stood up and took a bamboo pole from Shui Yao. “Young Mistress, this servant is willing to use her own body to protect the masters’ remains.”
“And me.”
“Me too.”
At that moment, a guard from the spirit hall rushed into the small courtyard. “Young Mistress, a large number of rats have swarmed into the spirit hall courtyard.”Zhu Changsheng addressed the loyal servants of Wei Mansion: “Nanny Liao, you stay here to guard my husband’s body. Ling Su, take some people to the spirit hall to catch rats and protect the coffin. The rest of you, come with me to apprehend the culprit.”
“Yes!”