eurekapd Chapter 101: The Dust Settles Down
Chapter 101: The Dust Settles Down
Chapter 101 101 The Dust Settles
Marquis Anshi and Madam Song's expressions changed, and they both looked towards the gate of the Marquis's residence. There they saw Feng Ling, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and Prime Minister Gongsun leading several yamen runners, escorting a man dressed in black as they strode towards Meixiang Courtyard.
Arriving at Plum Blossom Courtyard, Prime Minister Gongsun glanced at the disheveled Aunt Song and Ye Wenjin kneeling on the ground and sneered, saying, "My lord, your manor is quite lively today."
Marquis Anshi hurriedly stepped forward to greet them: "Father-in-law, Lord Feng, what brings you two here?"
"Naturally, I've come to give you a very special gift," Prime Minister Gongsun said coldly. He glanced at Feng Ling beside him, who pushed the tightly bound black-clad assassin forward, bringing him face to face with Aunt Song.
Upon seeing the assassin, Aunt Song's pupils constricted sharply, and a look of terror appeared on her face as she struggled to back away, stammering, "You—you—"
"Lord Feng, what's going on?" Marquis Anshi found her reaction very strange and asked with a frown.
"Just as dawn broke this morning, this man rang the drum in front of the Shuntian Prefecture government office and came to the hall to confess to me. He said that last night, he was instructed by someone to sneak into the Marquis's residence with the intention of committing treason. After hearing the whole story, I felt that this case involved the Marquis's family affairs and was difficult to decide, so I brought my men to the Marquis's residence in person," Feng Ling said with a slight smile.
"What?" Marquis Anshi was utterly shocked. "This man sneaked into the Marquis's residence last night? Why did no one in the residence know? What did he do?"
"I think it would be best for Your Excellency to hear what he has done yourself," Feng Ling said. "Wang Shan, why don't you quickly tell Your Excellency everything you have done?"
The black-clad assassin named Wang Shan glanced at the terrified Aunt Song, then turned to Marquis Anshi and said:
"My name is Wang Shan. I am a wandering swordsman. Three days ago, I came to the capital from Ningzhou. While drinking tea in a tavern in the West Market, I heard that someone had offered a large reward for a highly skilled martial artist. I was short of money at the time, so I thought I would ask for some money to buy drinks. I asked someone to find the person who posted the reward. That person gave me one hundred taels of silver and asked me to sneak into the Marquis's mansion last night, use sleeping incense to knock out everyone in the mansion, and bury a headless dead cat in the courtyard of your lady to frame her."
Although the assassin in black didn't reveal who had hired him, everyone present simultaneously turned their gaze to Aunt Song. Aunt Song's expression grew increasingly grim as he spoke.
“I had successfully buried the dead cat in the lady’s courtyard last night, but after leaving, I felt uneasy for some reason. After thinking about it for a while, I felt that this matter was too sinister and might shorten my life. So I dug up the dead cat again and buried it in the courtyard of the person who instructed me. After dawn, I went to Shuntian Prefecture to turn myself in, hoping to alleviate my guilt.”
Having heard the assassin's words, Marquis Anshi understood the whole story. It seemed that Consort Song wanted to wrest the seal of office from Gongsun Yuan, and thus set this trap. The poisoned prayer beads given to Old Madam Song were likely the beginning of the scheme. However, the assassin suddenly had a change of heart and dug up the dead cat buried in Lanxin Courtyard. Otherwise, according to Consort Song's plan, it would have been Gongsun Yuan who was now unable to defend herself and was being blamed!
The thought of Prime Minister Gongsun standing right behind him sent a chill down An Shihou's spine, raising goosebumps.
Suppressing the tremor in his heart, Marquis Anshi asked, "The dead cat you mentioned, is it the one over there?"
The man in black had already spotted the dead cat and nodded hastily, saying, "That's right!"
Marquis Anshi then asked, "Do you know who exactly is the person who instructed you?"
As expected, the man in black pointed at Aunt Song: "It's her!"
Marquis Anshi asked, "Do you have any evidence to prove that she instructed you?"
“Of course I have them,” the assassin in black said, taking out several items from his robes: a hundred-tael silver note, some unused sleeping incense, and two bloodstained dolls. He handed them to Marquis Anshi, saying, “These are the evidence, Your Excellency, please take a look!”
The silver notes, like those in the fake Taoist's hand, came from the Song family's money exchange. The two bloodstained dolls bore the names of Consort Song and Ye Wenjin, and coupled with the fact that someone at Old Madam Song's Ciyuan Hall had indeed been drugged with aphrodisiacs the previous night, this overwhelming evidence made Marquis Anshi realize that he would not let Consort Song off easily today, no matter what. Otherwise, not only would Prime Minister Gongsun not let it go, but he himself would feel utterly humiliated!
Clutching the two silver notes tightly in his hand, Marquis Anshi's face hardened, and he gritted his teeth, saying:
"Song Yun, as a concubine, instead of being content to be a dutiful wife and mother, you actually hired an assassin to poison your mother-in-law and colluded with a charlatan Taoist priest to frame the wife with witchcraft. Your heart is so vicious, your crimes are heinous! You have committed three of the seven grounds for divorce, you are no longer qualified to remain in the Marquis's mansion! Guards, drag her away and give her fifty strokes of the cane, then expel her from the Marquis's mansion, never to set foot there again!"
"Yes!" The guards obeyed, grabbing Consort Song's arms and dragging her mercilessly out of Plum Blossom Courtyard. Consort Song struggled and cried out:
"No! No! My lord, please don't send me away! I have devoted myself to the Marquis's manor all these years, and I have worked hard for you, even if I haven't done it myself. You can't be so heartless!"
"Father! Please spare Mother! She's frail. If she takes fifty strokes of the cane, she'll surely die!" Ye Wenjin cried out, kneeling before Marquis Anshi and clutching his robe.
Marquis Anshi cruelly snatched the hem of his robe from her hand and issued another order: "Steward Ye, prepare a carriage and take the Second Miss to Qiu Qingshan's ancestral hall to reflect on her mistakes. Without my permission, she is not allowed to step out of the ancestral hall, nor is anyone allowed to visit her! From this day forward, the Marquis's mansion will no longer have Meixiang Courtyard!"
Ye Wenjin was terrified, her face turning pale: "No! I don't want to guard the ancestral hall!" She wasn't married yet; she didn't want to be like a nun, guarding a pile of ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall! Extremely anxious, Ye Wenjin caught sight of Ye Pianran out of the corner of her eye and, crawling on her knees, reached out her hand to Ye Pianran:
"Sister, sister, please plead with Father for me! Do you know what going to the ancestral hall means? If I go there, no one will dare to marry me again!"
Ye Pianran subtly stepped back to avoid her hand, and the guards promptly grabbed Ye Wenjin and dragged her away.
When her pleas for help went unanswered, Ye Wenjin's expression turned incredibly ferocious: "Ye Pianran, I will remember this grudge! If I ever return from the ancestral hall, I will definitely avenge this day!"
Ye Pianran was too lazy to waste words with her. She put her hands behind her back and watched her figure gradually disappear into the distance. Her eyes were as calm as an ancient well without any ripples.
Seeing that the matter had been settled, with Consort Song severely punished and expelled from the Marquis's mansion, and Ye Wenjin sent to the ancestral hall to guard the memorial tablet, the onlookers dared not say anything more and all left.
The noisy Plum Blossom Courtyard returned to silence. As soon as the old lady Song's ears were finally at peace, she immediately felt a wave of dizziness and almost lost her balance. Her face also turned extremely pale.
"Mother, are you alright?" Marquis Anshi worriedly supported her, then turned to Ye Pianran and said, "Ran'er, come quickly and take a look at your grandmother. What's wrong with her? Is it because the poison hasn't completely dissipated?"
Ye Pianran went forward to check Madam Song's pulse as instructed and said, "There's nothing seriously wrong. Grandmother has just exhausted too much of her mind and energy and is a little weak. She can recover after some rest at home."
"Hurry up and help the old lady back to Ciyuan Hall to rest!" Marquis Anshi said to the servants who were supporting the old lady Song.
Ye Yanxun stepped forward in time, took the arm of Old Madam Song, and said to Marquis Anshi, "Father, leave it to me. I will personally escort Grandmother back to her room, so you can rest assured."
Marquis Anshi had no objection and nodded, saying, "Alright, go ahead."
Ye Yanxun helped the old lady back to Ciyuan Hall. Anshihou turned around and saw the fake Taoist priest that Consort Song had brought still kneeling tremblingly on the ground. He then remembered that there was still a major problem to be solved and hurriedly said to Magistrate Feng:
"If Lord Feng hadn't come, I would have brought this charlatan to Shuntian Prefecture anyway. Now that Lord Feng is here, let's hand this fake Taoist over to Lord Feng for disposal."
Feng Ling smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord, I will handle this according to the law and give you and your wife an explanation." After he finished speaking, the yamen runners behind him immediately stepped forward and seized the fake Taoist priest, binding him tightly just like the black-clad assassin.
"In that case, I shall take my leave." Feng Lingchao bowed to Marquis Anshi and Prime Minister Gongsun, and led the black-clad assassin and the fake Taoist priest away as swiftly as he had arrived.
For a moment, only Gongsun Yuan, Ye Pianran, An Shihou, and Prime Minister Gongsun, who had come with Prefect Feng, remained in Plum Blossom Courtyard.
When Marquis Anshi dealt with Consort Song and Ye Wenjin, Prime Minister Gongsun didn't offer much comment, but his sharp gaze always followed Marquis Anshi closely, making him feel like he had thorns in his back. Now that there were fewer people in the courtyard, that feeling became even clearer, and Marquis Anshi looked at Prime Minister Gongsun with some trepidation:
"Father-in-law..."
Prime Minister Gongsun snorted coldly, not even glancing at him, but instead pulling Gongsun Yuan and Ye Pianran aside, asking with concern:
"Did the assassin harm you when he infiltrated your courtyard last night? I heard from the assassin that the sleeping potion was very potent. Are you feeling unwell? Should I call Mo Youguang to take a look at you?"
Prime Minister Gongsun's next words directly humiliated Marquis Anshi, but Marquis Anshi had to suppress his anger and continue to step forward with a smile: "Father-in-law, is there anything important? Since you've come to the Marquis's residence, why don't you come to my study and have a cup of tea together?"
Prime Minister Gongsun finally deigned to turn around and look at him, but his attitude remained lukewarm: "No need. Your Excellency is busy with state affairs, and I dare not disturb you. Lanzhi and Ran'er can keep me company and catch up with old friends."
"This..." Marquis Anshi hesitated.
"What, are you afraid that I might do something underhanded in your residence?" Prime Minister Gongsun said calmly.
"Your son-in-law wouldn't dare!" Marquis Anshi quickly said. He looked at Gongsun Yuan with a very gentle attitude, "Lanzhi, then you stay with your father-in-law. I'll go and deal with the aftermath of today's matter to avoid any potential problems in the future."
"Yes," Gongsun Yuan replied.
Marquis Anshi led his men away in a hurry. After he had gone some distance, Prime Minister Gongsun, having completely changed his cold demeanor towards Marquis Anshi, gave Gongsun Yuan a very gentle and kind smile:
"It's been a long time since I've visited your manor. Come on, let's go sit down for a while and see if Kang'er has grown taller again."
Gongsun Yuan smiled brightly, just like the young girl who was still in the Prime Minister's residence and had not yet married: "Alright, it has been a long time since I have been able to brew tea for Father myself."
"Ha, just mentioning this makes my mouth water. It seems I really made the right decision to come today."
Ye Pianran watched her mother and grandfather walking ahead, arm in arm, and her heart swelled with emotion, as if something wanted to burst forth. She had been given a second chance at life, all for the sake of seeing this scene again. If this scene could last forever, that would be her greatest wish in this life…
"Young Miss..." someone caught up from behind, "Young Miss, what should we do with the cat poison in Plum Blossom Courtyard?"
Ye Pianran turned around and looked at the plaque behind her that read "Plum Blossom Courtyard". She paused for a moment and said, "It's not a good thing. Burn it."
"Yes."
She finally cut off one of Ye Yingrou and Ye Yanxun's arms in the Marquis's mansion with her own hands. From now on, there will be no more Concubine Song in the Marquis's mansion, nor will there be any more Plum Blossom Courtyard. Everything finally settled down with those curling and scorching tongues of fire.