Rebirth of a Concubine's Daughter

Hearing this, Aunt Lan came in holding her belly which was not bulging. She looked weak and seemed unable to do anything.

"My lady, you have a very good eye. This girl used to work in my courtyard, but she was kicked out a month ago because of her dirty tricks. I don't know which courtyard she works in now."

As she spoke, Aunt Lan turned her gaze to Mrs. Lu, and the implication of her words was obvious, but Mrs. Lu didn't buy it and didn't even raise her eyelids.

"Madam Lan, how can you cross the river and burn your bridges? I was just following your instructions and telling the old lady about the drought. When have I ever stolen anything? You can't frame me just because the crime was exposed."

Things have come to this point. Feng'er is not stupid. She recognized the hairpin in Lu's hair. When Zhao Ma brought the conversation here, she already knew what Lu meant. For the sake of her family, what else could she do? She could only follow Lu's wishes and start to criticize Aunt Lan.

Feng'er's words instantly made Aunt Lan angry. When she saw Feng'er, she had already guessed Lu's plan. She couldn't just sit there and wait for death, so she called the nanny in charge of the courtyard.

"Madam Qi, come and talk to the master."

"Yes, Master. A month ago, Miss Feng'er stole a jade hairpin from Madam Lan in our courtyard. Someone discovered it and reported it to Madam Lan. Madam Lan wanted to sell her off, but Miss Feng'er threatened to commit suicide. Madam Lan felt really sorry for her, so she had this old servant personally take her to the back to do laundry. Since then, no one in our courtyard has seen Miss Feng'er again."

"No... no, sir. It was Aunt Lan who told me to leave the courtyard first so that it would be more convenient for me to do things in the future. That's why I went to wash clothes. Just two nights ago, Aunt Lan... Qiutou, who was beside Aunt Lan, found me and asked me to go to the old lady's courtyard today and tell her about the drought. Miss Qiutou also said that the old lady disliked Aunt Lan the most. If she died of anger, Aunt Lan would have a comfortable life. If Miss Qiutou hadn't told me these things, how would I know? What's more, even if there was a severe drought, how could I, a servant who washes clothes, know about it if I didn't go out? Master, all this was done by Aunt Lan. I'm innocent..."

Qiutou, who was beside Aunt Lan, immediately knelt down.

"Master, I have never been to see Feng'er. When Aunt Lan was pregnant, I served by her side the entire time and never left her side."

"Dad, Grandmother has disliked Auntie for years. Why did Auntie wait until she was pregnant to take action against Grandmother, instead of taking action earlier or later? Apart from anything else, doesn't Auntie even try to do good deeds for the child in her belly? If you think about it carefully, there must be something fishy going on."

Shen Rongying, who had been silent the whole time, dispelled most of Shen Zongyuan's doubts with just a few words.

When something happened to the old lady, the biggest suspect was naturally Aunt Lan, but Aunt Lan shouldn't be stupid enough to use someone related to her, not to mention she was pregnant. However, nothing is absolute, Shen Zongyuan didn't dare to take the risk, and his mind became more and more confused.

"Being pregnant won't delay anything. It's just a few instructions. It's not like Aunt Lan has to do it herself. In the whole mansion, the one who hopes that something bad will happen to the old lady the most is Aunt Lan."

Lu fanned himself and spoke softly, as if he were an idler who didn't care about anything.

"Madam, if you're talking about people who hate the old lady, you should be counted among them. It seems that it was Grandmother who punished you to go to the ancestral hall last time."

"That wasn't as shameful as Aunt Lan standing in the corridor as punishment. My mother only went into the ancestral hall to copy scriptures, but she didn't embarrass herself under the eyes of the servants."

How could Shen Lingxi tolerate a concubine's daughter making up stories about her mother? She immediately hit Shen Rongying in the face. Shen Rongying was so angry that the fan in her hand was about to break.

"I think we need to torture Madam Qi and Qiutou to find out whether their words are true or not, and to clear Madam Lan of suspicion."

"Yes, if she doesn't change her words even after being beaten, then the suspicion against Aunt Lan will be cleared to some extent."

"You... Daddy, if they really were beaten, wouldn't that mean you're suspecting my aunt? My aunt has been close to you since childhood. How could you bear to see her sad?"

Shen Rongying pulled Shen Zongyuan's sleeve, pleading with a trembling voice and tears in her eyes, but Shen Zongyuan lowered his head, and didn't know if he was thinking that everything was fine, and didn't say a word to her.

"Fourth sister is right. Madam Qi, Qiu Tao, and Feng Er are all servants of Madam Lan, yet they have two versions of the story. So, why not just leave Madam Lan out and beat all three? The one lying won't be able to stand it and will confess. Otherwise, beating just any one of them wouldn't be appropriate, and Daddy would be in a difficult position being caught in the middle. It's not that I feel bad for these servants, but it would ruin the relationship between Daddy and Madam Lan."

Shen Nanyan spoke softly, saying that none of these people were her own people anyway, so even if they were beaten to death it would have nothing to do with her, so she might as well beat them all, since it would be the Lu family who would suffer anyway.

If Feng'er was beaten and died, Mrs. Lu would naturally be happy. But if Feng'er confessed before she died, Mrs. Lu would be panicked.

"This won't do. The matter hasn't been thoroughly investigated yet. Feng'er can't die. She should be sent to the government office. She dared to harm the old lady. She can't be let off easily."

Shen Zongyuan couldn't help but look up at her because of Lu's righteous words. In his impression, this was the first time that Lu spoke for the old lady in this way.

But the first thing Shen Nanyue thought of was Lu's delaying tactic. If Feng'er couldn't bear the torture now, she would tell the truth immediately. But if she was sent to the yamen, Lu would have many opportunities to take action.

After all, it is normal for a prisoner to commit suicide out of guilt.

"Grandmother is fine now. Could it be that Madam wants to make this known to the whole city?"

"No, no, no, even if I kill you quietly, I can't make it public and make a fool of myself."

Shen Zongyuan was definitely unwilling to do so. What he cared about most was the reputation of the Shen family. How could he let all the people in Beijing laugh at the Shen family because of a servant? So he immediately refused.

"Let's quietly send him to the government office without making any noise. No one will know. We can't let the old lady suffer in vain."

"Okay, stop talking. Someone, come and fight me, right here in the yard."

"Yes, sir."

Lu's delaying tactic failed. Shen Zongyuan cared more about the Shen family's reputation than any other Shen family, so he could only watch Feng'er being dragged out, tied to a stool and beaten with a stick.

Qiutou and Madam Qi were also tortured together. Aunt Lan and Shen Rongying didn't say a word. Even though they knew they were implicated, they couldn't stop it. The more they tried to stop Aunt Lan, the more she would be suspected.