The elder sister killed the whole family, and came back to be beaten to death

Snapped.

The crisp and loud sound echoed in the room.

The slap stunned Doukou and also caused quite a stir in Qingyi Garden.

Shen Tang was a gentle person, always lenient to his servants, and rarely punished maids. It was the first time in his life that he slapped his own personal maid. Everyone was wondering what Doukou had done wrong to make the good-tempered Second Young Lady so angry.

Doukou was slapped and retreated crying.

But Shen Tang's expression didn't improve. Ginkgo thought she was still angry with Doukou and advised her carefully, "Miss, don't get angry and hurt yourself. Doukou is also worried about you..."

"No need to plead for her."

This slap was just the beginning. She would not keep such a traitorous maid by her side and leave hidden dangers for herself.

In her Qingyi Garden, besides Doukou, she didn't know how many other people were Second Madam's spies. For so many years, she had been living under their noses. She was afraid that Second Madam knew every word she said.

The Second Wife was reluctant to let her own daughter be a widow, but she didn't dare to offend the Jingyang Palace and Concubine Ye, so she plotted against her. Now Doukou failed to instigate her and was beaten. The Second Wife must have known her attitude, but there were many daughters in the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion. Besides her, there were also the Third Lady Shen Ran and the Fourth Lady Shen Luo, who were old enough to be pushed out by the Second Wife.

The second wife was just calculating. She, Shen Tang, would not let anyone get on the sedan chair at Prince Jingyang's Mansion, including Shen Xian.

She wanted the bridal sedan chair from Prince Jingyang's Palace to come empty and return empty!

She wants the Jingyang Palace to cancel the engagement!

Shen Tang thought that the Second Madam would give up after hitting a wall with her. After all, her father was the one who made the decisions in Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion. If she didn't want to, her father wouldn't let her go to the wedding on behalf of Shen Xi. It would be much easier for the Second Madam to plot against her adopted daughter Shen Ran, or her illegitimate daughter Shen Luo. However, the Second Madam seemed to have a grudge against her and kept her eyes on her. If one plan failed, she would try another.

Shen Tang was still feeling dizzy. In her previous life, she got on the bridal sedan with injuries, and she felt dizzy and almost died. She even vomited bitter bile in the sedan.

There is a tough battle to fight tomorrow, so she must get enough rest.

Shen Tang suppressed his urgent desire to see his father, drank the medicine and rested. In order to get a good rest, he also reminded Ginkgo not to wake her up.

Ginkgo responded very well, but she was the one who was shaken the most violently, shaking the back of Shen Tang's head so hard that it hurt and rubbed back and forth on the pillow. The pain made her want to die.

Shen Tang woke up in anger, but before she could get angry, Yin Xing said anxiously, "Miss, it's bad, the eldest lady vomited blood and fainted!"

The anger that was rising in Shen Tang's throat just dissipated.

Ginkgo has always been obedient. In Ginkgo's eyes, Shen Xian is the closest person to her, Shen Tang, in this world. If Shen Xian gets into trouble, even if Ginkgo has the courage, she would not dare to let her continue sleeping without waking her up.

But Shen Tang knew that Shen Xi's vomiting blood and fainting was just a way for her to avoid getting married to Prince Jingyang, and it was not a real accident.

Shen Tang propped himself up and sat up, then asked casually, "Why did you vomit blood and faint?"

Ginkgo quickly replied, "I heard from the maid that the eldest lady was in a bad mood and hadn't eaten much this morning. The old lady was very worried, so she ordered the kitchen to make bird's nest and had the second wife send it to the eldest lady. However, the eldest lady ate only a few bites when she suddenly vomited. The bird's nest she vomited was stained with blood, and then she fainted..."

Ginkgo didn't dare not wake Shen Tang up. Once Shen Tang woke up, it would be difficult for him to go back to sleep.

She knew that Shen Xi was not her biological sister, but others didn't know. It was too cold and heartless for her to see her elder sister vomiting blood and fainting, while her younger sister was still sleeping soundly.

Terrible.

Shen Tang lifted the quilt and got out of bed, sat in front of the dressing table, and asked Ginkgo to do her makeup.

The injury was on the head, and dressing up was almost like torture. No matter how careful Ginkgo was, the pain made Shen Tang gasp several times.

Before she finished dressing up, a little maid ran in from outside the beaded curtain and said hurriedly, "Miss, the second wife sent someone to capture Doukou..."

A cold light flashed in Shen Tang's eyes.

As soon as Shen Xi got into trouble, the second wife sent people to arrest Doukou, and it was obvious that they were targeting her.

Regardless of whether she drugged Shen Xi or not, the crime would be pinned on her.

The hair bun was already done. Shen Tang picked out two plain hairpins and pinned them on the bun, then stood up and went out.

Shen Tang lived in Qingyi Garden and Shen Xi lived in Qinglan Garden. The two courtyards had similar names, but were not very close to each other. It would take half a cup of tea to walk to them by taking a shortcut. Qinglan Garden was not as big as Qingyi Garden, but it was more elegantly decorated. More importantly, it was much closer to Songhe Hall where the second wife and the old lady lived.

The circle of the Qingyi Garden is so small that it is not very noticeable, but the distance that is walked less every morning and evening is real.

But then again, what mother wouldn't keep good things for her daughter?

In the current Pingyuan Marquis Mansion, the old lady is nominally in charge of the finances, but in fact, all matters big and small are handled by the second wife. The old lady loves Shen Xi the most. When the second wife takes things from Shen Xi's yard, no one thinks she is partial, but only says that she has no selfish motives.

Shen Tang walked from the small path to Qinglan Garden. From a distance, he saw the old lady coming over with the help of her maid. The old lady was really worried about Shen Xi. Her face was full of worry and she walked very quickly.

Shen Tang slowed down her pace. She was wondering whether the old lady knew that Shen Xi was the second wife's child.

Shen Tang felt that the old lady should not know that his second uncle was her biological son, as was his father. His eldest brother was lost at the Lantern Festival, and the old lady fell seriously ill. His father had no children, which had always been a concern for the old lady. After his mother passed away, the old lady worried a lot about finding a remarriage for his father. His father and mother had a good relationship and he was unwilling to remarry. The old lady even threatened to commit suicide.

The father had no choice but to give in, but the second wife was not able to enter the family. After the marriage was decided, they were preparing to marry her, but who would have thought that war broke out at the border. The father went to the border, and the marriage had to be put on hold. When he finally came back to hold the wedding, the girl fell ill and died.

My father didn't even know what the girl he was going to remarry looked like before she died of illness. As a general, my father was used to seeing life and death on the battlefield, and birth, old age, sickness and death were things that no one could escape. But somehow, my father's reputation as a wife-killer spread. This reputation, coupled with the fact that my father was twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old at the time, meant that even if he didn't object to remarrying, the old lady wouldn't be able to pick one she liked, and the matter of remarrying was left unresolved.

Since there was no mistress in the eldest house, the household affairs were managed by the old lady. However, the old lady was old after all, and she could not take care of so many things. At first, she only gave the embroidery room to the second wife, and later added a garden, and then a big kitchen. Finally, all the housekeeping power was in the hands of the second wife.

The eldest branch has no son, let alone the household expenses of the Marquisate. In the future, after my father dies, the huge Pingyuan Marquisate will be handed over to the second branch.

Shen Tang could feel that the old lady sincerely hoped that his father could have a son, even if it was a bastard. In his previous life, his father died of a "relapse of an old illness". The old lady could not bear the blow and fell ill. After a month, she also passed away.

Shen Tang shook these things off his mind, stepped into the yard, and saw Doukou kneeling on the ground from a distance.

The old lady asked the second wife, "Did you make the interrogation clear?"

The Second Wife shook her head. "This maid is very stubborn. I'm afraid she won't tell the truth unless she's tortured."

"Then use torture!"

As soon as the old lady spoke, the second wife turned around and winked, and two maids pulled Doukou up and pressed her onto the bench.

Doukou's face turned pale with fear, and she said anxiously, "I say, I say, it was the Second Miss who asked me to put drugs in the bird's nest..."