Chapter 141
Chapter 141: Infighting
“What are you doing? I serve Second Madam. You can’t arrest me,” the man yelled as passing guards seized him, thrashing hard.
A guard clamped a hand over his mouth, searched him fast, and found a packet of powder at his waist.
He glanced at the powder on the ground and confirmed it matched, then snapped an order: “Take him.”
The man tried to bolt, but the guard knocked him out.
Xia Meng Yan was sleeping soundly when Nanny Song woke her in a whisper: “Big Miss, wake up, something happened.”
Rolling over, she mumbled, voice thick: “What happened?”
“Someone sprinkled powder outside our courtyard. The guards caught him. He’s been taken to the front hall. Eldest Master asks you to come hear what he says.”
Xia Meng Yan opened her eyes. Powder? Who was this bold? She said crisply: “Help me dress.”
The front courtyard blazed with light. When Xia Meng Yan arrived, the masters of each branch were already there.
After saluting, she sat beside the Eldest Master.
Seeing everyone present, the Eldest Master’s face was grave as he said: “Someone was caught sprinkling powder outside Yan’er’s courtyard. The doctor has checked it. The powder attracts poisonous insects. I called you to hear this together.”
Everyone was shocked.
Someone wanted to harm Xia Meng Yan, and they’d been caught. Who was it?
Second Master Qian shot to his feet, unable to sit still: “Elder Brother, who dared harm someone of the Lin Family? I’ll kill him.”
“You’re right, Second Master,” said Second Madam at once, eyes flashing as she spoke with indignation. “Meng Yan stays in her rooms, doesn’t mix with outsiders, and treats the servants kindly. Who could be so evil as to plot against her?”
Now that she managed the Lin Family’s inner courtyard, any slip would reflect on her. Worse, the target was Xia Meng Yan, the elders’ darling.
She had to be seen as active and righteous.
Third Master Zhou sat frowning, saying nothing.
Third Madam looked at Xia Meng Yan, full of concern: “Meng Yan, you’re okay, right? Did this scare you?”
Madam Jia almost spoke, then didn’t. She wanted to ask, but was afraid to say the wrong thing and anger the Eldest Master.
Reading everyone’s faces, Xia Meng Yan formed a guess and said gently: “I’m fine, Third Maternal Aunt. The guards caught him in time. I wasn’t hurt.”
“That’s good,” said Third Madam, face tightening. She turned toward Third Master Zhou: “Master, you must stand up for Meng Yan.”
Third Master Zhou set down his teacup and looked at the Eldest Master: “Elder Brother, we have to give Meng Yan an answer today.”
The Eldest Master nodded and called toward the door: “Bring him in.”
The guard led the man inside. He knelt in the center of the hall and kept silent.
“Speak. Who sent you?” asked the Eldest Master.
The man clenched his fists, acting like he didn’t want to live: “Kill me if you want. I acted alone. No one ordered me.”
Xia Meng Yan narrowed her eyes and looked him over. From his clothes, he was a servant boy working in the manor gardens.
She didn’t know him. A personal grudge was unlikely.
That left one option: someone behind him.
She had offended plenty of people lately. It was hard to guess which one.
The Eldest Master lifted a hand. A guard stepped forward and reported his findings aloud: “Eldest Master, his name is Wang Yu, a servant boy from Second Branch in charge of flowers and plants. At home he has a sick mother and a younger sister. One year ago, the sister drowned on Lin Family grounds. The Lin Family, for his sake, gave fifty taels as compensation.”
Hearing that he was from Second Branch, Second Madam grabbed her teacup and flung it, shouting: “Heartless dog, how dare you try to harm Cousin Miss! Tie him up and send him to the yamen.”
At that, surprise flickered in Wang Yu’s eyes, as if he hadn’t expected Second Madam to handle it so harshly. He begged: “Second Madam, I know I was wrong. Please, for the sake of how I’ve tended the gardens, spare my life.”
Second Madam gave him a cold, scornful glance and said: “What are you that I should show mercy?”
“Sister?in?law, cutting ties so fast?” Madam Jia seized the chance. She couldn’t quarrel with Xia Meng Yan, but she had long wanted to crush Second Madam. She said sharply: “He belongs to your Second Branch and tried to harm Meng Yan. Don’t say you didn’t know. Father and Mother favor Meng Yan because she’s their niece, and you got jealous? Or did you hold a grudge because she helped Eldest Master with the business last time?”
“Nonsense. How could it be me?” Second Madam jumped up and came face to face with her. “He hates the Lin Family and lashed out in revenge. Don’t smear me. I think you’re jealous that I manage the house better than you, and you bribed Wang Yu to frame me.”
“Bull,” snapped Madam Jia. Losing the household keys had shamed her before the whole manor. She’d been holding this fire in her chest for days. “Wang Yu is from your branch. He must be acting on your orders.”
That point, Second Madam truly couldn’t refute, but she still had no proof aimed at her. She huffed: “Elder Sister?in?law, speak with evidence. Wang Yu has a grudge against the Lin Family. Private revenge makes sense. You’re helping an outsider for your own ends. I think you’ve long wanted to drive us out of the Lin Manor.”
Watching the two argue, Xia Meng Yan’s brows drew together.
She looked at Wang Yu and saw a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth.
She didn’t hesitate: “What are you smiling at?”
Both Madam Jia and Second Madam blinked, startled. Who was smiling?
Following Xia Meng Yan’s gaze, they saw it was Wang Yu.
“Enough. Be quiet. What are you two doing?” the Eldest Master said coldly.
Madam Jia, aggrieved, sat down with red eyes.
Second Madam, still unwilling, returned to her place because of all the people watching.
Wang Yu dropped his head, pretending he hadn’t heard Xia Meng Yan’s question.
She asked again, clear and direct: “Wang Yu, when Big Maternal Aunt and Second Maternal Aunt were arguing, were you pleased?”
Wang Yu looked away and said: “I don’t understand what Cousin Miss means. I acted because I couldn’t stand the Lin Family. It had nothing to do with Second Madam.”
“Really?” Xia Meng Yan seemed to think it over, then smiled slightly. “The guard just said you have a sick mother. Whoever is behind this must have given you quite a lot.”
At the word mother, Wang Yu’s head jerked up. He blurted, anxious: “My mother has nothing to do with this. She isn’t part of the Lin Family. You can’t touch her.”
Xia Meng Yan poured herself tea, then looked at the Eldest Master and said: “Uncle, if we search Wang Yu’s home, we’ll find clues. Lin Family goods all carry marks. We can trace their source.”
The Eldest Master nodded and sent men to search Wang Yu’s house.
As the guards left, Wang Yu dropped his act and kowtowed again and again: “Eldest Master, I lost my senses and wanted to avenge my sister. That’s why I went after Cousin Miss. Kill me if you must, but please spare my mother. She is innocent.”
The Eldest Master’s face was stern, his voice heavy with authority: “Your mother is innocent, but Yan’er isn’t? Your sister fell in by accident. The Lin Family already gave proper compensation. If you weren’t satisfied then, why didn’t you speak up?”
Wang Yu didn’t explain, just kept knocking his head to the floor: “I was wrong. I truly was wrong. Please, Eldest Master, spare my mother.”
Something still felt off to Xia Meng Yan.
Her eyes swept the room and fell on Nanny Sun, who looked nervous.
Wang Yu belonged to Second Branch. Nanny Sun was Madam Jia’s close nanny. They had no connection. So why was she nervous?
Maybe there was more under the surface.
“Nanny Sun?” called Xia Meng Yan.
Nanny Sun jolted, hurried out, and bowed: “Cousin Miss, do you have instructions?”
“Do you know him?” asked Xia Meng Yan, pointing at Wang Yu. “Tell the truth. What do you know?”
Second Madam slapped the table and blurted, eyes flashing with a sudden thought: “I remember now. Wang Yu belongs to the First Branch.”