Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Under the careful guidance of the Xiao family's maid, Xiao Lan finally stepped slowly into the secluded and elegant courtyard of the Hou family's mistress. Looking up, she saw that although the courtyard was not large, it was exquisitely decorated, revealing the refined taste of its owner in every detail.

At this moment, only one servant stood quietly to one side in the courtyard, while four maids were either busy or leisurely doing their own things. One of the maids caught Xiao Lan's attention, because she was the one who had accompanied Lady Hou to the Prefect's Mansion that day. Presumably, this maid must be Lady Hou's most capable head maid.

Just then, the head maid seemed to sense someone's arrival. She looked up, her gaze meeting Xiao Lan's. She quickly walked over, gave Xiao Lan a graceful curtsy, her movements elegant and poised, displaying the demeanor of a well-bred young lady. Then, she said softly, "Miss Xiao, please come in with me." With that, she turned and led the way, guiding Xiao Lan into the room.

Upon entering the room, Xiao Lan immediately noticed Lady Hou sitting upright in a chair. Lady Hou's once beautiful face was now marred by red, swollen eyes, with a faint blush around them, clearly indicating she had just been crying. Seeing this, Xiao Lan felt a surge of pity.

She paused briefly, took a deep breath, and then spoke first to comfort her: "Madam Hou, please don't be so sad anymore. This is something we didn't want to happen. No one could have predicted or avoided it! However, right now there are several important matters that we need to discuss with you."

"Miss Xiao, please speak." In the quiet moment before, when no one was around, Madam Hou's thoughts drifted into the distance. She thought of her daughter, whom she had never met, who had tragically died, and a wave of sorrow washed over her. And now, she herself had been wrongly married to Xiao Dayi, a beast among men, and had ended up in such a desolate and miserable state; grief overwhelmed her.

After receiving Lady Hou's permission, Xiao Lan gathered her thoughts and slowly began to speak: "Firstly, regarding that young lady, after she was cruelly pushed into the water by that courtesan, her body has never been recovered. Therefore, I was thinking that while you are still in Xiwu Prefecture these days, could we work together to set up a cenotaph for her, so that she can have a place to rest in peace? What do you think?" As Xiao Lan spoke, she gently inquired about Lady Hou's opinion.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Xiao Lan finished speaking, Madam Hou grabbed her hands tightly as if she had been electrocuted, and asked with unusually agitated emotions, "Are you serious? Does my child not even have a grave yet?"

Seeing Xiao Lan nod slightly, tears welled up in Hou Niangzi's eyes and flowed uncontrollably like a burst dam. She gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "That heartless beast Xiao Dayi! And that little Jin Shi, I swear I will never forgive you! I will fight you to the death in this lifetime!"

Looking at the tear-streaked, grief-stricken Lady Hou before her, Xiao Lan couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. She never expected that her suggestion would cause this poor woman such immense pain, and worse, it had further deepened Lady Hou's hatred for Xiao Jin Shi.

In truth, Xiao Lan's initial thought was simple: she just wanted to find a peaceful place for the child with such a tragic past. She might not have believed in ghosts and spirits before, but after her rebirth, many things that were once unbelievable gradually became real. By blood, that child should have been her younger sister! Therefore, even if she couldn't find her body, Xiao Lan sincerely hoped to build a cenotaph for her sister, so that she could enjoy some offerings in the afterlife, and not be left destitute and forgotten after death.

However, it cannot be denied that Xiao Lan's actions were indeed driven by ulterior motives. She planned to use this incident to incite the Lady Hou's deep resentment towards Xiao Jinshi, so that when Jiang Nihuang arrived, she could easily inquire about the accounts, avoiding the need to start the investigation from scratch, which would undoubtedly be an extremely difficult and tedious task.

But now, hearing Lady Hou's desperate, hate-filled cries, Xiao Lan began to reflect on whether she had been too hasty. Perhaps she should wait until the time was right before slowly revealing the truth to Lady Hou. After all, who could bear to learn, in just one day, that their child had been switched, died innocently and tragically, and even died without a proper grave? Even for a mother, such a heavy blow would be difficult to bear. Thinking of this, Xiao Lan sighed inwardly, hoping that there would be a chance to make amends for the mistakes she had made today.

However, after witnessing Lady Hou's ruthless treatment of Xiao Jinshi, Xiao Lan secretly resolved not to let such a rare opportunity slip by. After a moment's hesitation, she finally mustered her courage and said to Lady Hou, "Lady Hou, I know you deeply hate Xiao Dayi and Xiao Jinshi, but I wonder if you could lend me a hand? This is precisely the second important matter I wish to discuss with you!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Hou first turned her gaze slowly to Xiao Lan, her eyes revealing a hint of doubt and speculation. Then, she narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly pondering something rapidly. A moment later, Madam Hou asked without hesitation, "Could it be that what you mentioned concerns the accounts of Xiao Jinshi?"

"Exactly!" Xiao Lan, always decisive and efficient, spoke frankly since Lady Hou had asked, "That young Lady Jin has been in charge of the Xiao Marquis's household for over forty years. In the beginning, perhaps she was somewhat hesitant and dared not embezzle too much wealth. However, since my father remarried and stopped setting foot in the Xiao Marquis's household, her audacity has undoubtedly grown daily. It should be noted that this young Lady Jin is not from a prestigious family; her maternal family, the Changzhou Jin Clan, was once merely a declining branch of the Jin family. But unexpectedly, in just twenty years, the Changzhou Jin Clan has flourished like a withered tree sprouting new life, its momentum growing ever stronger." In my opinion, the majority of the reason for this is that Xiao Jin secretly misappropriated money from my Xiao family to cover the losses. Now, Xiao Dayi has no children and has committed the heinous crime of murdering his own daughter. In my grandfather's eyes, he has probably already become a worthless person. In the future, the Xiao family's wealth will ultimately fall into the pockets of my father and brothers. Therefore, I am determined to make Xiao Jin return all the family property she has embezzled to me, not a penny less. If the Changzhou Jin family is unable to cover the losses, then I will not be merciful and will definitely sell their entire family into slavery to pay off the debt. Of course, if the Hou family intends to purchase slaves in the future, considering our deep friendship, I will certainly give you the most favorable price.”

Xiao Lan had made her point so clearly that Lady Hou naturally understood her intentions. The thought of that woman, Xiao Jinshi, who had lived a life of luxury and tyranny, only to end up as a slave in her old age was truly gratifying!

However, after a moment's thought, Lady Hou frowned and said, "Even if you sell everyone off, no matter how useless Xiao Dayi is, he is still a son of a concubine in the Marquis's household. Even if he doesn't get much of the family property in the future, the Marquis and your father probably won't treat him too badly, right?" After all, blood is thicker than water, and the bond between father and son is undeniable.

Recalling her daughter's tragic death, Madam Hou felt as if a thousand steel needles were piercing her heart, causing unbearable pain. Although Xiao Jinshi had played a part in the schemes and tricks, Xiao Dayi certainly couldn't escape blame either. If they weren't punished as they deserved, wouldn't her poor daughter's death be far too unjust?

"Madam Hou, you've already submitted the petition today! I plan to enforce our family rules tomorrow. After things are settled here, the Prefect will send someone to take you in for questioning. By then, all the evidence will be complete and clear. According to the laws of our Great Xia Dynasty, while a biological father selling his own daughter isn't a crime, secretly switching children is a serious offense! He'll have to serve at least three years in prison." "It's a prison! And think about it, those cells are full of people who've committed crimes and are locked up. Everyone's crammed together, a real mixed bag. Who knows, one day you might run into a hot-tempered guy who'll start a fight, hurt someone, or even kill them. That possibility isn't entirely out of the question." Xiao Lan said earnestly, then gently patted Hou Niangzi's hand, indicating that she had said everything she needed to say. If the other party still couldn't grasp the deeper meaning, then there was nothing more she could do.

No sooner had Xiao Lan finished speaking than the Hou family's wife burst into unrestrained laughter, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. The laughter was initially somewhat restrained, but it quickly became unrestrained and wild, as if she wanted to release all the emotions that had been pent up in her heart for a long time.

“Miss Xiao, you are such a kind-hearted person! I didn’t know you before, but I know very well what has happened in the Hou family in the past ten years, especially the shady dealings of Xiao Jinshi!” The Hou family lady smiled as she gently wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

After calming herself down a bit, she continued, "Do you know? This little Jin's appetite is like a bottomless pit! Every year, she tries every means to embezzle nearly 50,000 taels of gold from the Marquis's household funds! And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Besides that, she also takes every opportunity to secretly resell the shops and estates under the Marquis's name. Some of those shops and estates are located in Shaozhou, some in the suburbs of the capital, and some even in other faraway places. Take those estates worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, for example; she actually resold them to the Jin family for a mere 3,000 taels of silver! Such methods are truly astonishing!"

The more Hou's wife spoke, the more agitated she became, unable to stop, as if she wanted to pour out all the grievances and resentments she had suffered over the years. Xiao Lan, standing to the side, listened quietly, a look of surprise on her face. She had originally thought that Xiao Jin was just an ordinary, greedy woman, but she never expected that her methods of accumulating wealth would be so varied and impossible to guard against.

If Xiao Lan hadn't had the good fortune to hear Madam Hou's account today, she probably would never have imagined that such a seemingly peaceful and harmonious mansion harbored so many unknown dirty deals and ways of accumulating wealth. Thinking of this, Xiao Lan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "The waters of the Hou family mansion are truly deep!"

After listening quietly to Madam Hou's account, Xiao Lan nodded slightly, then spoke solemnly, "In fact, all of Xiao Jin's children were involved in the child-swapping incident. After investigation and deliberation, I have ordered Qi Shu and Qi Lanlan to be sold to others. From now on, they will no longer possess the noble status of young ladies. This can be considered a punishment for their past actions, a form of atonement. As for Qi Jing'an, it's highly likely..." She was also involved in Xiao Jin's embezzlement and falsification of accounts. After all, she is not my grandfather's biological daughter, and her identity is already questionable. Once these accounts are thoroughly investigated, she will likely be sentenced to exile along with Xiao Jin's entire family. At that time, I will personally speak with the prefect and ask him to arrange a suitable place of exile for them. It's just a pity that I am currently still in the capital with unfinished studies, and my trip to Xiwu Prefecture is actually on His Majesty's orders to read out the imperial edict. Therefore, I really cannot stay here for long.”

After Xiao Lan finished speaking, her gaze fell on the puzzled face of Lady Hou, and she couldn't help but sigh softly. Then she explained again, "To be honest, I have already written a letter home to inform my parents of what has happened. If nothing unexpected happens, my mother should arrive at the Hou residence tomorrow. At that time, she will take over the responsibility of managing the household affairs, and as for the matter of checking the accounts, that will naturally be left to her. However, there is something you may know: although my mother has been married into the Xiao family for more than twenty years, she has not actually stayed in the Xiao family for long. Therefore, these accounts have been going on for so long, and to thoroughly investigate them, I'm afraid it's not enough for her to do it alone. Ultimately, she will need someone to assist her."