“What a useless fool, arriving so late that Ye Zhen nearly talked her way out of it.”
The Marquise cursed inwardly.
Then she thought, at least he made it in time.
Otherwise, if the Marquis had really launched an investigation, it would have been highly unfavorable for her.
Once trust between two people develops a crack, that fissure will endlessly widen, and many things once firmly believed will be overturned.
Fortunately, she had reacted quickly and set up today’s scheme with the County Magistrate in time.
As long as the Marquis believed Ye Zhen had committed adultery, he would disdain to delve deeper into the matter, allowing her to end everything with Ye Zhen.
Thinking this, the Marquise decided that after everything was settled, she would give the County Magistrate a clean death.
But unexpectedly, the Master Secretary knelt on the ground and cried out, “My Lord, I beg you to seek justice for our Magistrate. The Magistrate… he was hanged from the rafters in his room last night.”
He pulled an embroidered pouch and a handkerchief from his robe. “These were found at the scene. They don’t belong to our Magistrate, so they must have been left by the killer. Wrapped in the handkerchief are residues from under the Magistrate’s fingernails, likely what he scraped from the killer before he died.”
He presented all the evidence to Marquis Zhongyong.
When the Marquise saw the items clearly, her mind buzzed and she nearly fainted on the spot.
How could the County Magistrate be dead? And the evidence pointed to her.
Then what about the things she had given the County Magistrate? Where had they gone?
Who had ruined her plans?
Marquis Zhongyong’s expression darkened further.
He recognized the fabric fibers—they were from the uniform fabric worn by the estate guards.
“Do you recognize this?”
He held the embroidered pouch before the Marquise.
In his view, the Marquise had always managed household affairs excellently. If the killer was from the Marquis Estate, she, as the mistress of the house, might have seen this pouch before.
But the Marquise, guilty-hearted, exclaimed in alarm, “Why would I recognize this?”
As the words left her mouth, she realized she had overreacted and was about to explain herself when
Ye Zhen raised her hand. “I believe I’ve seen it before.”
The Marquise’s mind was in turmoil, her intuition screaming that Ye Zhen would say nothing good.
“Don’t interfere recklessly and bring trouble upon the Marquis Estate.”
But Ye Zhen said earnestly, “It seems to belong to Guard Wu, who serves by Mother’s side.”
If she didn’t point it out, even if any servants recognized it, none would dare speak up.
The Marquise was furious, her unease growing stronger.
Zizhu hastily jumped forward.
“Shaofuren truly lacks propriety! As the esteemed lady of the Marquis Estate, you actually pay attention to a guard’s waist.”
Ye Zhen removed her own embroidered pouch and held it high, addressing Marquis Zhongyong, “Because the pouch worn by that guard is even finer than mine, the Shaofuren’s. Mother manages the household alone with great effort. As her daughter-in-law, when I notice irregularities in the estate, I naturally pay closer attention.”
Ye Zhen’s pouch appeared exceptionally plain, even shabby, compared to the one brought by the Master Secretary.
Marquis Zhongyong slightly furrowed his brow, a trace of doubt flickering in his eyes.
Every time he returned to the estate, he heard about how well his wife treated their daughter-in-law, and how orderly the servants were under her management.
Yet just now, a maid had dared to reprimand her mistress.
Ye Zhen retrieved her pouch and looked at the Marquise. “I thought Mother had awarded it to Guard Wu.”
The fabric used to make the pouch was indeed bestowed by the Marquise.
But she had just denied recognizing it, and now she couldn’t admit it.
She wanted Ye Zhen to rot in the mud, not bring a murder charge upon herself.
Outside the door, Guard Wu also panicked.
He didn’t even know when he had lost the pouch.
After returning from the county town, I was assigned by the Marquise to monitor the Marquis’s movements. When I discovered it, I thought there wasn’t much silver in the embroidered pouch and I had duties to attend to, so I didn’t rush to retrieve it.
Originally, losing the pouch at the County Magistrate’s residence wouldn’t have been an issue. But now that someone has died, if I admit the pouch is mine, I wouldn’t be able to clear myself even with a hundred mouths.
He hurried into the room and knelt to clarify.
He then accused Ye Zhen, “Shaofuren, I have no grudge against you. You can’t frame me like this just because I avoided speaking with you last time to prevent gossip.”
Ye Zhen lowered her gaze, refusing to argue with a servant, a trace of mockery in her eyes.
Truly the Marquise’s person, cut from the same cloth. But his actions were actually harming the Marquise.
Marquis Zhongyong’s frown deepened.
Guard Wu grew somewhat pleased when Ye Zhen remained silent.
Unaware that the Marquise wished him dead.
Such a fool who thinks himself clever.
The Marquis valued rules above all. Before a formal conviction, Ye Zhen remained a mistress of the Marquis Estate.
Having one person after another disrespect Ye Zhen before the Marquis would shatter the false image she had carefully constructed.
Wan Xing’s heart ached for Ye Zhen and she grew angrier at how the Marquise dominated the Marquis Estate.
She moved forward on her knees, “Please see clearly, Marquis. Though my master was only a fifth-rank official, my young lady is still an official’s daughter. How degraded would she have to be to entangle herself with servants? These are all slanders.”
Her voice trembled with tears in her urgency.
Ye Zhen tightly held her hand.
In the Marquis Estate, she only had Wan Xing.
In her previous life, they hadn’t even had the chance to defend themselves.
This life, they had made it before Marquis Zhongyong – things were already different.
Lifting her gaze to Marquis Zhongyong, Ye Zhen declared resolutely, “Father, my aunt once told me you were the most sincere and passionate general, with justice in your heart. If you’ve misunderstood your daughter-in-law, it must be because my conduct was improper. But I stand by my words – I’m willing to go to court to seek justice for myself.”
Marquis Zhongyong’s expression darkened.
No one had told him that Ye Zhen had proposed settling this in court, only hinting that the County Magistrate intended to shield Ye Zhen.
“Have you been in contact with Ye General?”
Ye Jinghong, the war goddess of Da Yuan, also his former comrade.
“My aunt often sends letters to guide me.”
Mentioning her aunt made Ye Zhen’s heart ache.
When her aunt returned to the capital to report on her duties, she had specifically detoured to visit her.
At first sight, Ye Zhen had felt drawn to her. Back then, as a young child, she had thought it was because her aunt was the only relative from the Ye family who visited her, which made her so attached.
Little did she know it was the bond between mother and daughter – her aunt was her birth mother.
Unfortunately, they had only met that once before being separated by death.
Yet even in that single meeting, her mother had secretly found her a martial arts instructor, ensuring she wouldn’t be bullied at the estate.
For this sole familial bond, Ye Zhen had to live well in this life. Her back straightened even more.
Marquis Zhongyong then asked Wan Xing, “I heard you were the one who reported to the authorities.”
The Marquise’s palms grew damp with sweat.
Things shouldn’t have developed this way.
Wan Xing quickly explained, “It was Granny Feng who gave the order. I was afraid of the corpse and didn’t dare approach at first. I never imagined it would be Second Young Master. Only when the County Magistrate identified him as Xie Yunzhou did I gather courage to approach. Everyone at the estate can testify – I didn’t do it intentionally. But I’m willing to accept punishment, only begging the Marquis and Marquise not to take it out on my young lady.”
Her explanation was flawless. Xie Yunzhou had been dead for three years – who would have expected him to appear here? And as a woman, being afraid of a corpse was perfectly normal.
Simultaneously, she reminded them that it was the County Magistrate who had identified Xie Yunzhou. If the Marquis pondered deeply, he might consider whether the Marquise held a grudge against the County Magistrate for this.
“Granny Feng was speechless at the time. It’s all your speculation.”
Zizhu refused to back down.
Marquis Zhongyong fell silent again, his gaze gradually deepening.
Ye Zhen met his eyes frankly, her back straight and upright.
What her maid said could be verified simply by interrogating the servants in the manor—there was no need to lie.
He didn’t know Ye Zhen well, but he knew Ye Jinghong—that woman was extremely particular, and only those with excellent character could earn her approval.
Let alone correspond with her through letters.
Moreover, when they had arranged the match between Yun Zhou and Ye Zhen, his wife had also praised Ye Zhen highly.
If what Ye Zhen said was true…
He glanced darkly at the Marquise.
“Someone, take my token to Dali Temple…”
Upon hearing this, the Marquise’s heart trembled.
Just as she was about to feign fainting to stop this, she saw Xie Tingzhou supporting Old Madam Wang as they entered. “There’s no need to report to the authorities.”
The Marquise had never found Xie Tingzhou so pleasing to the eye.
But the next moment, he added, “Last night, Guard Wu did indeed go to the County Magistrate’s office.”
A bucket of cold water seemed to drench the Marquise, chilling her to the bone.
Things had completely spiraled out of control.
She immediately made a decisive move, pointing at Guard Wu with an expression of disbelief.
“Is what the Heir said true? What were you doing going to the County Magistrate’s office behind my back?”
Meanwhile, Ye Zhen calmly asked the Master Secretary, “Shouldn’t the County Magistrate’s murder be reported to Jingzhao Prefecture or Dali Temple?”