Black Lotus Concubine's Case-solving Notes

In the back hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Prime Minister Xie Qian and Lady Musk sat at the top, with the first wife Meng, and the third and fourth wives sitting on the left and right respectively. Their children sat at the bottom, and all the maids and servants who served them were called down.

"Brother, what's going on?" Tan from the fourth room couldn't keep it to herself. She glanced at Meng and Xie Shu's pale faces, puzzled: "Isn't the title of county lady given to the ninth lady? Why is the fourth lady the one who was canonized?"

Meng held the tea in her hand, smiling but not saying anything, feeling extremely happy. Even if you, Xie Lanzhao, had three heads and six arms, the title of county lady you worked so hard to get still went to Shu Bai! You, Xie Lanzhao, stole the favor of her two children, thinking that being a legitimate daughter was great, aren't you just a pawn in the hands of the head of the family?

Humph! As long as Shu Bai is alive, Xie Lanzhao will never be able to turn things around!

There was a hint of cruelty in Meng's eyes. She was happier to see Xie Lanzhao in trouble than to see Shu Bai get the title of county lady.

Xie Shubai sat with her back straight, her face expressionless.

Xie Qian picked up the tea, skimmed off the foam, and said slowly: "Lan Zhao, you should understand your father. You are only thirteen, but your sister is already sixteen. She needs the title of county lady more than you do."

In a word, the final conclusion has been drawn.

The third and fourth wives showed surprise on their faces, and Tan even accidentally knocked over a bowl of tea. From beginning to end, Feng Jia's face was as calm as a deep pool.

"So, the fourth girl got the county title by stealing?" Tan opened her mouth wide, paused, and changed her words, "No! She stole! She should have stolen it!"

Hearing this, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Xie Shubai's eyes, while Meng stared at her with a pair of venomous snake-like eyes. However, Jiang from the third room, who had always been at odds with her, gave her a reserved smile.

Xie Qian's face darkened slightly, while Old Lady She glanced at Tan and said, "Fourth Household, you are the elder! Don't lose your sense of propriety when speaking!"

After that, he turned to Feng Jia and said, "Zhao'er, this is also for the sake of the overall situation. You have to understand your father."

Feng Jia sneered in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She just stood up and bowed obediently: "Zhao Er naturally understands."

Old Lady Musk and Xie Qian smiled at each other, but before the smile reached her eyes, she said, "But Zhao'er, I have two requests."

The old lady was stunned and asked curiously, "What request?"

"Father, the title of County Lady has been taken by my fourth sister," Feng Jia's sharp eyes shot towards Xie Shubai, as if he could see through everything. Xie Shubai's mask of pretending to be calm finally showed a crack. Feng Jia retracted his gaze and smiled lightly, "Father, I can let it go. After all, we are all family. No matter who gets the title of County Lady, it is in my Prime Minister's Mansion, right? So Zhao'er is willing."

"But Zhao'er survived a near-death experience in Cheng'en Temple, which was quite hard. That box of gold..." Feng Jia paused, looking at Xie Shubai with a half-smile, "Fourth sister wouldn't be reluctant to give it to me, right?"

Tan burst out laughing, Meng glared at Feng Jia fiercely, and Xie Shubai had an unpleasant look on his face.

A smile appeared on Old Lady Musk's lips. She had been prepared for Xiaojiu to make a big fuss, but she didn't expect that she would be so sensible today. It was only a few thousand taels of gold, so she just gave it to her.

Xie Qian felt the same way. He had even prepared some excuses to evade Ninth Girl later, but he didn't expect her to be so open-minded. If it was normal, he would never give her the thousand taels of gold, but now it was very different. He was even a little glad that she only wanted the gold.

"Let's move this box to Xingyuan later!" Xie Qian said to Meng.

Meng snorted reluctantly. Xie Qian said nothing, but he was disgusted. As the legitimate wife and elder, she was in stark contrast to Xiao Jiu. She was not only narrow-minded, but also petty and vicious! The more you look at her, the more annoying she is!

"What's the second request?" Xie Qian looked at Feng Jia.

Feng Jia suddenly knelt down and said, "Father, grandmother, please spare the life of my maid, Song Huai!"

With surprise in her eyes, She glanced at Xie Qian subconsciously, and then said, "Tell me about it."

"Father, grandmother, there were so many people present at the Cheng'en Temple event, but the imperial edict to confer the title of Grand Sister still came down. This means that father must have bribed all the nobles who knew about this matter to ensure that nothing would go wrong. Those maids and servants who accompanied him were naturally dealt with secretly..."

Xie Qian's eyes narrowed. It was Meng who proposed the idea of ​​exchanging the fourth girl for the ninth girl. After explaining the pros and cons, he felt that it was indeed feasible. It also happened that the other people who knew about this matter were subordinates of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He asked the Crown Prince to step in, and the matter was immediately resolved. Of course, if the matter was exposed, he had also thought of a way out to ensure that it would not be contaminated by himself or the Xie Mansion!

As the Ninth Girl said, those servants whose lives were worthless would naturally be killed. A look of contempt appeared on Xie Qian's face.

"So I beg father and grandmother to spare the life of Song Huai in my room! This is a capital crime of deceiving the emperor. I know my limits. I promise that Song Huai will never reveal a single word!"

There was wind blowing in from the corridor. After thinking for a while, Xie Qian said, "I agree."

Except for Song Huai, who was kept alive by Feng Jia, all the maids and servants from the Xie Mansion who followed their masters to Cheng'en Temple were dealt with.

In the apricot garden, the servants were terrified, but they also had a vague idea that the wind direction in the mansion was slowly changing.

Before, the eldest lady was the sky of the harem, and she was the one who decided the weather. But since the ninth girl came into the mansion, even the two most favored maidens in front of the eldest lady, Madam Liu and Madam Mei, one died tragically in prison, and the other was executed for unknown reasons.

There is a hidden consensus in everyone's mind: following the Ninth Girl will ensure a meteoric rise and immortality!

"It must have been that vicious woman Meng who instigated it!" In the room, Song Huai frowned, "It's really a bargain for the mother and daughter of the first wife! That's a fifth-rank official title! Looking at the entire Dali period, there are not many fifth-rank female officials!"

"Even if Meng Shi instigated it, Xie Qian had to make the final decision. They are all birds of a feather." She sneered, "Have you never heard of the saying, 'The higher you stand, the harder you fall?'"

Song Huai looked at the other person's face. He did not see any anger or resentment, but was confident of victory. He could not help but murmur, "Do you have a plan?"

Feng Jia shook her head and smiled faintly: "Just wait and see, if you steal my things, you have to live to enjoy them."

After a while, he remembered something: "Go somewhere with me."

Song Huai nodded, followed Feng Jia out the door, turned left and walked around to the back door of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The two did not go forward, but hid behind a rockery.

This place is remote, and apart from the servants who come to clean the courtyard in the morning, almost no one comes. Song Huai is puzzled: "What are you doing here?"

"Wait someone."

Song Huai was even more puzzled: "Who wants to come here?"

Feng Jia didn't answer, but just said, "During the time we were in Cheng'en Temple, I asked Qingshu to keep an eye on the movements in the mansion. She told me that Nanny Zhen in the Madam's room has been acting very strange recently. Not only is she nowhere to be seen all day, but she sneaks out of the back door every noon and doesn't come back until noon. She sneaks out again in the afternoon and doesn't come back until the moon is at its highest. What do you think she does?"

Song Huai shook her head. She knew her own limitations and didn’t have the smarts like Xie Lanzhao.

"Shh! Someone's coming!"

Song Huai looked carefully and saw a maid in a blue sweater coming up stealthily. She was holding a bamboo basket in one hand, which was covered with a towel so that it was unclear what was inside. In the other hand, she was holding a small brass kettle. The maid looked left and right very cautiously, and when she saw that there was no one there, she immediately opened the back door and slipped out quickly.