I was sold when I opened my eyes! My sick and disabled husband comforts me every night after he wake

Chapter 173 Disappointed Mrs. Lin

Lin Xingliang let out a sigh of relief and said weakly:

"Say it!"

Madam Lin clicked her tongue, leaned forward slightly, and said mysteriously:

"Could you send someone to investigate that Lan Zhi?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xingliang immediately glared at her.

"Why are you investigating her? Let me tell you, stop doing those dirty things. Do you think I don't know? The last time you framed her for cursing Consort Liang, it was related to you."

Mrs. Lin shook her head, feeling guilty.

"That's not what I meant. I asked you to investigate her so that I could find out her background. This is very important."

Lin Xingliang sighed helplessly.

"Madam, please don't do anything wrong for Yuwei anymore. I heard that Xiang'er and Xiaoman died in the Ministry of Justice's prison. Tell me honestly, did you do it?"

After blinking hard a few times, Mrs. Lin hurriedly shook her head.

"No, how could I kill someone?"

"But their deaths were inexplicable. They shouldn't have died if they had just confessed. Someone must have wanted to kill them to cover it up!"

"Sir, I...I really didn't know. I wouldn't be so foolish as to want to kill someone."

"Did you curse Consort Liang?"

When asked about this, Madam Lin lowered her head guiltily, raised her handkerchief to wipe the corner of her mouth, and used this to hide her inner panic.

"Tell me, did you do it?"

Lin Xingliang's voice suddenly rose, startling Madam Lin, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that was my idea."

"Foolish..."

Lin Xingliang slammed his fist on the table and roared:

"How could you, Madam Lin, a second-rank noblewoman, do such a thing? Aren't you afraid of having no face to face the ancestors of the Lin family after you die?"

"master……"

Mrs. Lin immediately slid off the chair and knelt on both knees.

"I know I was wrong..."

"When Yuwei went to the Crown Prince's residence last time, Xiaoguo and Granny Qi died mysteriously on her way back. Now Xiaoman is dead in the imperial prison. How much do you know about these things?"

Mrs. Lin hurriedly shook her head, making a solemn vow.

"I didn't know any of these things, I really didn't know."

"Hmph! If you don't know, your good daughter certainly does. Otherwise, why would she give Xiaoguo's family such a large sum of money? And why would she kindly send a dowry to Granny Qi's daughter? Over the years, I've known her too well. If she didn't feel guilty, would she do such a good deed?"

Seeing that Lin Xingliang was blaming Lin Yuwei for the deaths of these people, Madam Lin immediately stood up from the ground, glaring at him angrily.

"How could you say that about her? We've raised her for seventeen years. Even if you raise a cat or dog, you'll develop feelings for it, let alone a living person. You shouldn't doubt her, no matter who you suspect."

"She arouses suspicion, so why can't I be suspicious? She dared to threaten suicide in front of the Emperor to become the Crown Princess and eventually the Empress. What wouldn't she dare to do?"

"you……"

Madam Lin trembled with anger at his words. "Lin Xingliang, you've gone too far! You can look down on her, you can dislike her, but you can't slander her. This child may be willful, but she would never kill someone."

"Alright, I don't want to argue with you anymore. The truth will come out sooner or later. I have something to do, so I'm leaving now."

"and many more……"

Madam Lin called out to him, then stepped forward to stand in front of him.

"You must investigate what I asked you to investigate."

Lin Xingliang ignored him, snorted, put his hands behind his back, and walked away.

Clearly, he believed that Madam Lin's investigation of Lan Zhi was an attempt to cause her trouble.

How could a second-rank official of the imperial court do such a despicable thing?

Seeing that she couldn't reason with Lin Xingliang, Madam Lin decided to investigate on her own.

She knew that Lan Zhi's elder brother was a steward in the Crown Prince's residence, so she decided to go and meet him first.

The weather in the Northern Wei Kingdom in December was a bit chilly, but the Crown Prince's residence was bustling with activity as everyone prepared for the wedding ceremony three days later.

Lan Zhi was summoned by the palace matrons early in the morning to familiarize herself with the etiquette for the wedding ceremony. These tedious details made her feel dizzy and overwhelmed, yet she had no choice but to follow along mechanically.

When Madam Lin arrived, she was busy. Ling Jiawei wanted to call her, but Madam Lin stopped him.

"You're Lan Zhi's older brother?"

Ling Jiawei nodded respectfully.

"Yes, my name is Ling Jiawei. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait for her. If you are, I'll go call her now."

Mrs. Lin hurriedly waved her hand,

"No need to call me, I just happened to be passing by and came in to check. There's nothing wrong."

Ling Jiawei knew that Madam Lin disliked Lan Zhi, but Lan Zhi was getting married in three days, and during this time, he absolutely could not let Madam Lin cause her any trouble.

"Alright, please have a seat. I'll have someone bring you some tea now."

"No need, I'll just sit for a while and then leave."

She wouldn't let him call Lan Zhi, nor would she allow tea to be served, saying she would leave after sitting for a while, which put Ling Jiawei in a bit of a dilemma.

He couldn't help but wonder, what was her purpose in coming to the Crown Prince's residence? Was it just to sit for a while?

Just as he was wondering, Madam Lin quickly explained:

"I actually have something to do. Yesterday when I was in the palace, I saw that the two little bells she wore around her waist were quite pretty. I wanted to make a pair for my unborn grandson, but the blacksmith couldn't make them without seeing the pattern. So I was thinking if I could borrow them to take a look."

Ling Jiawei blinked a few times, then smiled awkwardly.

“Madam Lin, those little bells aren’t anything special. If you want to make them, there’s no need to make them exactly the same!”

Mrs. Lin nodded.

"That's true. By the way, she said you gave her those little bells. Where did you get them? If they're not too far away, I'll go buy a pair too."

"That thing is..."

He wanted to say that it was left by Lan Zhi's biological parents, but he swallowed the words back.

Lan Zhi said that before she was made Crown Princess, no one should know that she was not her parents' biological daughter, otherwise someone would use this as an excuse to cause a lot of trouble.

He quickly changed his tune and replied:

"I did find that thing. I thought it was pretty, so I gave it to her."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin's eyes dimmed slightly.

"Oh, you found it? Where did you find it? You couldn't have only found this one thing, could you? The bell is so small, how did you find it?"

To make his lie seem more believable, Ling Jiawei rolled his eyes and replied:

"When I found these little bells, there were also some children's belongings, a pair of blue plum blossom-shaped blankets, a tiger-head hat, and a pair of tiger-head shoes..."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin felt a tightness in her chest, and all the blood in her body rushed to her head.

She pressed for more information.

"Children's items? Don't you have any children?"

"No, I found it at the foot of the mountain. There are many wild animals on that mountain. Even if there were children there, they would have been eaten by wild animals long ago."

Ling Jiawei thought his lie was so well-crafted that no one would suspect it.

Madam Lin did believe it, and her face turned deathly pale in an instant.

She swayed slightly, and the maidservant beside her rushed forward to support her.

"Madam, what's wrong with you?"