Chapter 41: Beaten to Death While Alive, Still Carrying a Child

Pei Lao Furen's eyes brightened, and she instantly became interested: "Oh? What are the three matters? And also, you tell me so freely—didn't she ever tell you not to inform others?"

Deng Mama smiled: "Reply, Old Lady, the young lady is clever; she already knew you would be curious, so she instructed this old servant that if you ask, it would not be difficult for me, and I may tell you without problem."

Pei Lao Furen laughed, "Ha ha": "She truly no longer regards me as an outsider. Then should I uphold the gentleman's way and cease asking, or be a meddlesome old lady who must break the pot and get to the bottom?"

Deng Mama: "Old Lady, you are not a gentleman, why bother with these? Let this old servant tell you."

Deng Mama, knowing Pei Lao Furen was very curious, ignored her nodding and began to babble: "The first matter, the young lady, is that I was sent to find several people."

Pei Lao Furen: "Who?"

Deng Mama: "They are the two concubines of the General before. One surnamed Zheng, the other surnamed Lou."

Pei Lao Furen, though she hasn't been in the mansion these years.

But in fact she has heard of many affairs of Jiangjun Fu.

After all, spending idle days at Qing Song Temple, she passes the time by entertaining herself with these matters in Jinling City.

So, at this moment when speaking of these two, Pei Lao Furen can instantly continue: "Aunt Zheng, Aunt Lou? I recall both of them were sent to some manor, weren't they?"

Deng Mama: "Old Lady, you are not mistaken. However, Aunt Zheng disappeared on the way to the manor back then, her fate unknown. Aunt Lou is easier to find; she has a daughter, and now she is also at the manor."

Pei Lao Furen, though she will not intervene, is extremely curious.

She wonders what Li Qingluo is actually planning to do.

Why is she now inquiring about her father's concubines?

"Anything else? What are the other two matters?"

Deng Mama: "The second matter concerns Prince Yun's Mansion. The young lady said a plump woman has lately been coming and going there frequently, surnamed Liu, a butcher's wife."

"She instructed this old servant to send people to get close to Liu Madam, preferably to become familiar enough to act at any moment."

Pei Lao Furen, upon hearing the surname, instantly thought of something.

"Could it be that Liu family?"

Deng Mama: "I have not yet clarified, but in two days I will know."

"But Old Lady, you say how does the young lady know about Prince Yun's Mansion? In the past two days she knows everyone who comes and goes; she is unfamiliar with Jinling, and besides us no one helps her gather this information—how did she learn it?"

Pei Lao Furen glared at Deng Mama and scolded: "You are still too stupid! She has been missing these days—do you really think she is merely fleeing? I bet she has gone near that mansion, because she saw that Liu woman, which made her care about this matter."

Deng Mama recalled something, clapped her hands excitedly: "Ah, the people I sent back said that the mansion has been quietly searching for a runaway slave these past two days! Yet there was no fanfare... This matter, it wouldn't be related to our young lady, would it?"

Pei Lao Furen, hearing this, was also astonished: "She wouldn't be that bold, would she? Perhaps it's just a coincidence."

"But if the Liu family members have all gone to that mansion, and the one being kept there is indeed Li Qingzhu, doesn't that mean she has already had dealings with the Liu family?"

Deng Mama nodded, looking at Pei Lao Furen.

Pei Lao Furen's face turned cold: "If this is indeed the case, my foolish son, my stupid daughter‑in‑law, and my mad grandson have truly been deceived and toyed with by that little scoundrel."

"Zhang Mama!"

Zhang Mama, who had been listening nearby, now lifted the curtain and came over to listen.

Pei Lao Furen: "Go investigate who Li Qingzhu was involved with before she set herself on fire. Specifically the Liu family—when did the contact start? And what is her connection to Prince Yun's Mansion!"

Zhang Mama hesitated: "Old Lady, before her death, all the maids who served Miss Qingzhu perished in that great fire. If her close associates are all dead, investigating this… will not be easy."

Pei Lao Furen: "These maids have no families? As long as even one is still alive, we must find a way to pry their mouths open!"

Zhang Mama: "Yes."

After issuing this order, Pei Lao Furen promptly asked about the third matter.

Deng Mama, not daring to hesitate, continued: "Reply, Old Lady. The third matter concerns the eldest son."

"The young lady instructed this old servant to investigate a maid named Mei Xue who used to be by the eldest son's side."

Pei Lao Furen: "Investigate a maid for what? What is special about this maid?"

Deng Mama: "I have discovered that Mei Xue died two years ago…"

Pei Lao Furen: "Died? Died unnaturally?"

Deng Mama nodded repeatedly, "Old Lady, Mei Xue was beaten to death while still alive. When she died, she was still carrying a child in her womb…"

Pei Lao Furen was stunned, her mouth half‑open.

This matter she had never heard of at Qing Song Temple.

It shows that in the mansion, the matter was kept tightly hidden!

Two living lives were actually murdered within that mansion.

Pei Lao Furen felt both sorrow and anger.

"Did you find anything?"

Deng Mama: "Regarding Mei Xue, the people I first asked privately all keep their mouths tightly shut; not a single person dares to speak."

"But money can make ghosts grind stones; the young lady gave me twenty taels of silver, letting me handle it. Once I used it, hey! there was no longer any secret."

"The most common rumor about Mei Xue's death is that she was personally … given … by the eldest son."

Pei Lao Furen's chest rose and fell rapidly: "Nonsense! Is Mei Xue actually his concubine?"

Deng Mama: "They say she's only a warm‑bed maid, not even a proper concubine."

How pitiful.

Pei Lao Furen's chest rose and fell rapidly: "Could he be so ruthless!? Then the child she was carrying—could it not be his blood!?"