Chapter 164 - Beacon in Troubled Times 14 (2/2)

Madam Han frowned and thought about it. “I slept in the inner room. I often woke up to drink water so my two maids, Xiao Xue and Xiao Shuang, were waiting in the outer room. They can prove that I never went out all afternoon.”

Yu Hanjiang called the two maids over to question them.

Xiao Xue said that the madam had been feeling unwell recently. She would go to bed every afternoon and today was no exception. She took a break after lunch and woke up three times. It wasn’t until dinner when someone sent a message that she got dressed.

Xiao Shuang’s testimony was consistent with her companion. She also added that the madam had no appet.i.te recently. She would only eat a small bowl of porridge for her meals. She was pale when she woke up today and her forehead was covered in sweat. Seeing that she was ill, the two maids deliberately applied a lot of rouge and carefully painted her brows to enhance her look.

Both ladies had alibis.

Madam Qing’s testimony was more credible because the tree in her yard had indeed been chopped down by the third young lady. The cleaning of the yard could be heard by other maids pa.s.sing by and the messenger saw the madam in the yard giving commands.

For Madam Han, only the maids could testify.

At first glance, Xiao Xue and Xiao Shuang were the personal servants she brought into the mansion after she got married. In ancient times, these servants were very loyal to their master and some were even willing to die for their master.

Madam Han’s testimony wasn’t 100% certain but she couldn’t lie about her body. Xiao Lou studied medicine and he could always tell if people were sick or pretending to be sick. Madam Han was very sick. Even if her complexion improved due to the makeup, she still seemed to have no spirit. Xiao Lou had carefully observed her nails and the half-moon shape at the root of her fingernails had almost faded. The maids said that she only had one bowl of porridge for her meals recently. This was apparently due to a weak stomach and prolonged malnutrition.

She might have a gastrointestinal tract disease, causing her appet.i.te to be severely reduced. Based on her current condition, it was impossible for her to carry the eldest young lady to a tree and hang her… seeing her fragile appearance, it was hard to imagine she could even hang thin silk from a tree.

Xiao Lou told Yu Hanjiang his conclusion. “Madam Han isn’t pretending to be ill. Her health is really bad.”

Yu Hanjiang touched his chin. “It seems the focus is still on the young ladies.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Long Sen whispered, “It’s the Ninth Princess.”

YU Hanjiang raised his eyebrows. “What is she doing here?”

Xiao Lou smiled. “Let her come in. I remember she said she received a letter from the eldest young lady. Perhaps she will have a clue.”

Seeing Xiao Lou’s unconcerned appearance, Yu Hanjiang let go of his worries and motioned for Long Sen to open the door. The Ninth Princess wore men’s clothing and entered the room with Qu Wanyue. Then she declared bluntly, “I know who the murderer is!”

Yu Hanjiang was quite surprised. “Oh? Why do you say that?”

The Ninth Princess’ face was full of indignation. “Qi Yiwei must’ve done it! Ah Yao wrote a letter to me previously and mentioned something in the letter. You take a look at it yourself!”

She took out a letter and handed it to Yu Hanjiang. Yu Hanjiang took the letter and stood beside Xiao Lou. Xiao Lou moved closer in order to read it. Every character was written squarely as if the letter was printed. They saw that the letter said:

“Ninth Princess:

I hope you are safe and sound.

My marriage with Young Master Lin is scheduled to take place on the 15th of next month. As the marriage nears, I am afraid.

There are rumours that Young Master Lin spends all day in brothels and makes friends with many female entertainers in Jiangzhou. My mother said that a man having three wives and four concubines are very common. The Lin family promised that he wouldn’t take any concubines after marriage and especially favours me. As long as he changes the former thing after marriage, I don’t mind his indulgence for a while. Moreover, I can only obey my parents and the matchmaker when it comes to marriage.

However, a few days ago, I went outside the city to acquire incense and inadvertently came across Young Master Lin and my younger sister. She gave a hand-embroidered blue handkerchief to Young Master Lin and he was staring at her tenderly. He told her that she is his love in this life and the person he wants to marry is Yiwei, not Yiyao.

In recent days, my heart has been suffering and I didn’t know what to do.

I want to tell my mother about this but my mother and Mrs Han have always been at odds. Once things become serious then I’m afraid they won’t be able to come to a conclusion.

Ninth Princess, you and I have known each other since childhood and you are also the emperor’s favourite sister. If it is you then things might have a turning point.

Young Master Lin and I have only met twice and there are no emotions between us at all. Since he is infatuated with my Fourth Sister, I want to fulfill their wishes. However, there are rumours that I have a marriage contract with Young Master Lin and it isn’t easy for Fourth Sister to directly marry him.

For the best of both worlds, I have decided to become a monk.

As long as I become a monk, the marriage between the Lin family and the prince’s mansion doesn’t need to be terminated. Fourth Sister can replace me and has justification for marrying into the Lin family.

I grew up in an ancient temple in Qingyou since I was young. I no longer have nostalgia for all types of things in this world. It would be better for me to spend the rest of my life with Buddha.

Father won’t agree with me becoming a monk so I hope that you can persuade him and help me realize this wish.

From Yiyao.”

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