Chapter 79

Volume 1_Chapter 79: The Death of Qingli

Soon, they knew what Yun Qiyue wanted their indentures for.

After Yun Bo brought the indentures over, Yun Qiyue didn't take them but said indifferently, "Yun Bo, sell these people off."

Upon hearing this, those people were shocked.

"Eldest Miss, you can't do this," someone said immediately, "You cannot sell us off."

Yun Qiyue looked up and looked coldly at that person, "I can't?"

Yun Qiyue seemed to have heard a huge joke.

That person's heart skipped a beat, but still enduring the fear that had instantly risen in his heart, he said, "Eldest Miss, we were just curious about why you summoned us, and now you want to sell us off. Isn't that a bit too unreasonable?"

Yun Qiyue looked at the other six, "Do you all think so too?"

Hearing this, the six people looked at each other and then all nodded.

Clearly, they all thought so.

Yun Qiyue then looked at the other eleven, "What do you think?"

Those eleven people looked at each other.

At first, no one spoke. After a while, a maid stood out and said cautiously, "This servant only knows that I am a servant; whatever the master says is what it is. This servant dares not question the master's words."

Yun Qiyue was very satisfied upon hearing this, "What is your name, and what do you do in the mansion?"

Hearing this, the maid hurriedly knelt, "This servant is Cai'er, a fire-stoking maid in the kitchen."

Yun Qiyue nodded, "Very good. From now on, you will go to serve in my Mingyue Courtyard."

Hearing this, Cai'er was both surprised and happy, and hurriedly thanked her, "Thank you, Eldest Miss, for your promotion."

The other servants looked at Cai'er with envy, regretting not being the first to stand out and answer the Miss's question.

Yun Qiyue looked at the seven people again, "Do you have anything else to say now?"

The seven people lowered their heads; they had nothing to say.

Cai'er was right; whatever the master says is what it is. As servants, they had no right to question.

They were used to not taking the Eldest Miss seriously, but they forgot that the Eldest Miss was no longer the same as before and was not someone they could question.

For a moment, the expressions of those seven people were very ugly.

However, they didn't want to be sold off, so they all knelt and begged for mercy, "Eldest Miss, please forgive us. We will never do this again. Please give us a chance to change."

"Yes, Eldest Miss, we have served in the General's Mansion for so many years; even if we haven't made any great contributions, we have worked hard. Please don't sell us off."

As they spoke, the seven people kowtowed to Yun Qiyue repeatedly.

Yun Qiyue, however, sneered, "Hard work? Your hard work was for the Marquis Mansion, right?"

The seven people's kowtowing stopped, and a flash of panic appeared in their eyes.

How could this be?

How did the Eldest Miss know?

"If you don't want people to know, don't do it. Selling you off today means the past can be let bygones be bygones. If you say anything more, I can only handle it according to the rules of the General's Mansion."

For these harmless minor characters, she didn't have to kill them all, provided they didn't fall into her hands again.

But if these people didn't know what was good for them, then her methods might not be something they could withstand.

The seven people looked up, met Yun Qiyue's gaze, and instantly felt a sense of dread.

They knew that being sold off was their best outcome.

Otherwise, if it came to punishment for betrayal, then they...

In the end, the seven people said nothing and quietly let Yun Bo take them out to be sold.

After resolving the seven people, Yun Qiyue scanned the rest of the people present.

"Those who serve in Mingyue Courtyard, stand out."

As Yun Qiyue's words fell, four maids and one old woman stood out.

Among those four maids and the old woman, two were second-class maids and two were lowest-class maids. The second-class maids were responsible for cleaning inside the rooms, the third-class maids were responsible for cleaning outside, and the old woman was responsible for managing these four maids. Qingyan and Sixue were directly managed by Yun Qiyue, and their status was above these people.

These maids were all arranged by Yun Bo in Mingyue Building after Yun Qiyue recovered.

"Where were you all last night? Is there any witness?" Yun Qiyue asked, her expression quite serious.

The few maids were trembling, but they answered Yun Qiyue's questions one by one.

Because there were too many people in Yun Qiyue's courtyard, except for Qingyan and Sixue, the other servants did not stay in the courtyard at night. Therefore, those five people all lived in the servants' quarters of the General's Mansion, so there were witnesses for all their actions after leaving Mingyue Courtyard.

Only one of them, a maid named Bizhu, indicated that she had returned to Mingyue Courtyard last night.

"Why did you go to Mingyue Courtyard last night?" Yun Qiyue asked.

Hearing this, Bizhu's face was full of nervousness, "This servant lost an earring; I went back to Mingyue Courtyard last night to look for it."

As she spoke, Bizhu pointed to a maid beside her, "Xiaolian can testify for me."

Xiaolian, who was named, hurriedly stood out from the crowd, "Replying to the Miss, Bizhu did indeed say she lost an earring yesterday."

Yun Qiyue looked at Bizhu, her eyes deep.

Bizhu became even more nervous under her gaze, but there was only nervousness, no guilt.

Unless this maid was too good at acting and had extremely strong psychological endurance, there was no possibility of her lying.

Yun Qiyue then shifted her gaze to the others, seeing that their faces were also nervous but not guilty, which made Yun Qiyue frown.

Could it be that she thought wrong? The spy was not among these people?

Just as Yun Qiyue thought this, she saw Bizhu looking hesitant, as if she had something to say but didn't dare to.

"Speak if you have something to say."

Hearing this, Bizhu immediately said, "When this servant went back to Mingyue Courtyard last night, I seemed to see... see Qingli."

The reason Bizhu hesitated was because everyone knew before that the Miss liked Qingli the most.

Although later no one knew why the Miss had Qingli bitten by dogs, it was hard to guarantee that the Miss wouldn't remember her and continue to reuse her.

Qingli?

Yun Qiyue frowned.

She had almost forgotten this person.

Just scanning the servants, Yun Qiyue did not see Qingli's figure.

Yun Qiyue then looked at Qingyan beside her, "Go, bring Qingli here."

If Qingli had really appeared in Mingyue Courtyard last night, then the possibility of Qingli being that spy was quite high.

Qingyan went to carry out the order, but not long after, Qingyan returned, but she didn't bring Qingli back.

Yun Qiyue frowned and asked, "Where is she?"

Qingyan's expression was not very good, "She's dead."

Upon hearing this, Yun Qiyue's eyes became even deeper.

She scanned the people serving in the courtyard and finally let her gaze linger on Bizhu's face for a moment.

"Let's go, let's take a look."

As she spoke, Yun Qiyue got up and headed toward where Qingli was.

When Yun Qiyue arrived, Qingli's eyes were wide open.

Whether it was Yun Qiyue, Qingyan, or Sixue who followed, none of their expressions changed much when they saw Qingli's corpse.

Yun Qiyue walked to the side of the corpse and touched Qingli's skin lightly. The next second, Yun Qiyue's eyes became deep.

"Eh?"