The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"Mother!" Hongtao called out, and immediately ran forward, very excited.

When Madam Dong saw her second daughter whom she hadn't seen for many years, she was very excited. Tears instantly fell, and her voice choked with emotion, "Red Peach."

Seeing that her mother seemed unwell, Hongtao was worried. "Mother, has something happened at home?"

Before Madam Dong could speak, Du Mingxian spoke first, "This is not the place to talk. If Hongtao can go outside, we'd better find somewhere else to talk."

Hongtao looked at the unfamiliar Du Mingxian with confusion, thinking she was her sister-in-law. "Mother, I already asked for leave before I left. I can come back tomorrow. Let's find a place to talk."

Dong Shi held Hong Tao tightly as she left, leaving Du Mingxian to hold Cheng Bao.

Dong pulled Hongtao and started walking back. Du Mingxian didn't stop them, since some things couldn't be said in public anyway.

Upon arriving at their lodgings, Hongtao didn't even glance at the room. Instead, she asked anxiously, "Mother, what happened? Why did you come to the prefectural city? And you brought my sister-in-law and the child with you."

Hongtao hesitated after speaking. The last time she saw her older sister, her sister said that her sister-in-law had left after her older brother passed away. Why was she back?

Knowing that Hongtao had misunderstood, Madam Dong hurriedly explained, "She is not your sister-in-law, this is your nephew Chengbao. I came because... your sister is gone."

"What?" Hongtao stood up in surprise. Over the years, she had been in the prefectural city. Although the two of them lived in different prefectures, she still had the opportunity to leave the prefecture and sometimes even meet with her elder sister.

Therefore, she was closest to her older sister in the whole family, and when she suddenly heard the news, she was more shocked than anything else.

"That's impossible. When I saw my sister last time, she was fine, just looking a little unwell."

Tears streamed down Dong's face like broken beads. "It's true, your older sister is gone. She died a terrible death."

Hongtao couldn't stop trembling. "Sister, tell me, what exactly happened?"

Dong recounted everything that had happened, and also introduced Du Mingxian.

Hongtao was no longer a young girl. Working in a wealthy household, she had some discernment, and now she looked at Du Mingxian with a hint of wariness.

“How could something have happened to my sister? When she was in the Ming Prince’s mansion, she was in the Ming Princess’s courtyard. So many people would kill to get in there. The Ming Princess is also a kind person. How could something have happened to her?”

When Madam Dong was saying all this, she deliberately concealed the fact that Hongguo's belly had been cut open. Now, hearing Hongtao's ramblings, she asked, "Do you know how the relationship between Prince Ming and Princess Ming is? Does Prince Ming have many women in his harem?"

Hongtao shook her head, "Not many. Prince Ming and Princess Ming have a very good relationship. Prince Ming has several concubines in his mansion, and he rarely visits them. He usually stays in the Princess's courtyard."

Her older sister told her all of this.

Hongtao reacted quickly and immediately realized something was wrong. "Mother, is there something you haven't told me? What exactly happened to my sister?"

Mrs. Dong was too heartbroken to speak. Du Mingxian added from the side, "Her abdomen was cut open, her uterus was gone, and there were stretch marks on her abdomen, so she may have been pregnant."

Hongtao was so shocked that she stopped breathing for a moment, then hesitated, realizing something, "No way, when I saw my sister last time..."

The last time she saw her sister, her sister's clothes were very loose. At that time, she complained that the people in the Ming Prince's Mansion's sewing room were incompetent and gave her sister such ugly clothes.

At that time, my sister was probably already pregnant.

"What we need to investigate now is whose child is Hongguo carrying. That will help us find out who killed her."

Hongtao didn't rush to reply to Du Mingxian, but stared at her instead. "My mother is just an ordinary woman, and there is no one else in the family. Although I work in the Yao family, I am just a second-class maid and have no access to any important matters."

"If you're hoping to get something done through us, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

Du Mingxian looked at Hongtao with appreciation. Since the other party had already said that, she naturally could not hide it anymore. "You guessed right. I want you to do something for me, but... given your current position, you probably can't help me much. I'm helping your mother only because I feel sorry for her, nothing else."

Madam Dong was a little embarrassed. She tugged at Hongtao and said, "It was I who stopped Qing back then. It had nothing to do with her. Besides, regarding the family matters... if it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't have been able to come to the prefectural city. Hongtao is our family's benefactor."

She was the one who helped Chengbao when he was sick.

Hongtao was also frank, "I am currently a second-class maid in the courtyard of the eldest daughter of the Yao family. I am nothing. If you want me to do anything, I may not have the ability."

“We’ll talk about this later. You should help your mother analyze how your sister died. As a woman myself, I sympathize with your sister’s fate.”

“But you…” Hongtao was a little worried about Du Mingxian.

Du Mingxian shrugged. "Whether you can help me or not, I have already safely brought your mother and nephew to the prefectural city. It would be great if you could help me, but I won't force you if you can't."

Madam Dong tugged at Hongtao, "Listen to her, she's a really good person."

Du Mingxian thought to herself that she might not be a good person. The initial contact was accidental, but later it was purely for a purpose.

Hongtao stopped dwelling on it. If it weren't for this person, her mother really wouldn't have been able to come to the prefectural city. And her nephew, her sister was gone, her mother must be very sad. If it weren't for her, she didn't know what would have happened to her mother.

"I really can't imagine who got my sister pregnant."

Mrs. Dong said somewhat anxiously, "That's why I came to find you."

"To kill someone and then dump them in a mass grave, they must have some status and not be afraid of getting into trouble. Don't even consider hiring any servants from the manor."

After Du Mingxian reminded her, Hongtao thought about some things about the Ming Prince's Mansion. "It's unlikely that it's the Ming Prince, because what he cares about most is the Ming Princess. My sister is just a maidservant by the Ming Princess's side, but not a first-class maidservant. In the past, she couldn't even enter the Ming Princess's room."

“Even if Prince Ming is short of women, he wouldn’t want someone of my sister’s status. The only other men in the manor who can go to Princess Ming’s courtyard are the princes and heirs of Prince Ming’s family.”

"They will go to pay their respects to Princess Ming. The heir of Prince Ming is a playboy who is always surrounded by women. He is a womanizer, so it is very likely that it is him, but we cannot rule out other young masters."

Now, any man who can enter Princess Ming's courtyard is a possibility, and if he can kill Hongguo without being punished by Princess Ming, then even fewer will be able to do so.