Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C012

It was already dark.

Wushuang knew that there would be a tough battle in the next two days, so she did not insist on staying up all night. She left two servants to keep vigil at night and returned to her residence with Bailu, Xiaohong, and the others.

After returning, she found out that the people who came in the afternoon were from the Marquis Huaiyin's mansion. Because they encountered heavy rain on their way, there was no other place nearby, so they could only come here to take shelter from the rain and stay overnight.

Although the Marquis Huaiyin's mansion and the Marquis Changyang's mansion were not related, the aristocratic families in the capital were all acquaintances. Besides, the Marquis Huaiyin's mansion was now in full swing, and it was much more powerful than the Marquis Changyang's Mansion. Since they came to the door, they naturally had to be accommodated.

For this reason, Steward Chen specially lent the other empty courtyard to the other party.

Because the other party brought a lot of guards, there was not enough space for them to live, so the house in the back wing room that was originally allocated to the servants of Marquis Changyang's mansion was also emptied and lent to these people for temporary accommodation.

Previously, Steward Chen had sought out Nanny Zhao to discuss the matter of moving the house, and Nanny Zhao had agreed.

Wushuang was exhausted from the day, especially after all that had happened in the past few days, and she had no interest in concerning herself with this matter. She only knew that there was such a matter, so she had someone prepare water for her to bathe, and after eating dinner, she quickly went to rest.

***

At the same time, in the small courtyard where people were staying, the main room was brightly lit.

This house that had been unoccupied for a long time, no matter how much it was cleaned, it was inevitable that there would be some smell when it rained, but after a while, the whole house changed its appearance.

It seemed that some kind of incense was burning in the room, light and faint, but it calmed the mind and soothed the spirit.

In the inner room, a middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue round-collared shirt bowed and whispered, "Your servant sent someone to ask. It is said that the old lady passed away last night. She was waiting to see Third Miss one last time. Once she saw her, she passed away. The funeral is being organized by Third Miss. The housekeeper who came with her doesn't seem to be very dedicated. It seems like she's looking for something... She said that the conditions here are limited, and there's no ice. It's also raining heavily outside, so the funeral will be held in three days. The coffin has also been sealed..."

Although it seemed like only a few words, there was a lot of information contained within.

What was the steward granny looking for? Why was the burial taking place after only three days? Nowadays, unless there were circumstances that did not allow it, people generally waited at least seven days, which was known as the first seven days.

Of course, there were also those who waited for three days. Wasn't it already said before? Unless there were special circumstances, but what special circumstances could there be here?

Moreover, according to funeral customs, the small burial and the grand burial were separate.

The small burial was to help the deceased change into burial clothes, and the grand burial was to put the deceased in the coffin, but the coffin was not sealed. It needed to wait until before the burial to seal the coffin. Why were they in such a hurry to seal the coffin?

There was only one possibility, that the Third Miss had encountered some difficulties and had to do so, and the reason she did so was most likely because she was afraid that someone would disturb the deceased.

Why would she be afraid of someone disturbing the dead?

Combined with what the steward granny was looking for, it was almost clear.

Anyway, Fusheng understood it.

Over the years, because of his master's relationship, he also knew a lot about the Mei family. It was said that there were many conflicts in the older generation. Later, after the Mei family's eldest master died in battle, the old Marquis also passed away. The great aunt who gave birth to General Mei took the initiative to live in seclusion on the manor outside.

After the master learned about this matter, he didn't say anything. Fusheng knew that this was actually good. Taking a step back might lead to a broader world, and the master couldn't possibly intervene in the affairs of another family, especially those of women.

He naturally also knew that this old aunt would send silver to Marquis Changyang's mansion every year to raise the child, so Fusheng thought about it and thought it should still be related to this money.

“It is said that the old Marquis Changyang divided the family property among his sons. Although they still lived in the same mansion, each managed their own expenses. The eldest master of the Mei family married a merchant's daughter back then. At that time, it was quite a sensation in the capital. Many people mocked the Mei family for being greedy for the merchant's daughter's money.

“After the eldest master of the Mei family passed away, the old madam still sent silver to the mansion every year. Therefore, the property of the second branch of the Mei family should be in the hands of the old madam. This servant estimates that the steward granny is looking for something, and the Third Miss is in a hurry to seal the coffin and bury the old madam. These should all be related to this matter.”

Fusheng spoke after carefully considering his words. He spoke based on the information he knew. Normally, Fusheng would not dare to speak like this. A qualified servant only had ears and no mouth, let alone overstepping their boundaries and making decisions for their master. However, this was a small matter that did not require the master to worry about, so he dared to overstep his boundaries.

"This servant estimates that once the rain stops, it won't be peaceful here." Fusheng said implicitly.

It must be said that Fusheng had guessed the truth. Based on just a few words, he had guessed the ins and outs of the matter. Although there were some omissions in the details, the general idea was correct.

Sitting in front of Fusheng was a man wearing a purple brocade robe with a dark pattern of traditional auspicious symbols. He was tall and slender, with high sword-like eyebrows, a high nose, and very thin lips. His raven-black hair was gathered on top of his head and tied with a gold wire hair crown.

Under the brocade robe was a white cross-collared tunic. The dazzling white set off the noble purple, and together with his handsome face, he had a cold and noble temperament.

He wore a white jade thumb ring and was holding a teacup to drink tea. The steam blurred his face, making his cold and stern expression appear much gentler. “Since we’ve met, let’s go and offer incense tomorrow before we set off.”

Fusheng knew that this was not about asking him to offer incense, but that the master would go in person, so he immediately agreed.

It was obvious that the departure tomorrow seemed impossible, because the rain had not stopped.

Except for a brief pause in the middle of the night, it started raining again before dawn. Although it wasn't as heavy as yesterday's downpour, the rain was still quite heavy.

Wushuang woke up and saw that it was still raining, and she immediately felt relieved.

The rain from the previous life had lasted for several days. After visiting her great aunt, she had thought she would be able to leave the next day, but for some reason, Nanny Zhao kept delaying her departure. Coincidentally, it started raining, so she stayed there for a few days.

Now that she thought about it, Nanny Zhao had probably delayed her departure in order to persuade her great aunt to hand over her wealth. However, she had been too tired from the journey and the rain to go out, so she had been completely unaware of what had been happening behind the scenes.

Wushuang had not thought about the rain, but after it started to rain, she remembered. That was why she had colluded with Steward Chen to forcefully held a grand funeral and a simple funeral for the grandmother at the same time, and finally sealed the coffin directly. 

She knew that the rain would last for three days. After the rain stopped in three days, she could just bury her grandmother before the Marquis's mansion sent someone. In this way, no matter how much trouble there would be, at least it would not disturb her grandmother.

After Wushuang woke up, it was already the hour of sishi*. After having breakfast, she hurried to the mourning hall and heard that someone had come to offer incense to her great aunt.

TN: 9-11am

It was the people from Marquis Huaiyin's Mansion who had stayed overnight.

She thought that people knew there was a funeral here and came to offer incense out of courtesy, so she didn't think much of it.

However, given the weather, people who were staying overnight would not be able to leave for a while. The rain prevented people from coming here, and it also prevented people from leaving.

Nanny Zhao seemed to have given up as well. She had searched everywhere she could think of and found nothing, so she could only wait quietly for the rain to stop and for someone from the Marquis's mansion to come and deal with it. 

She had rarely appeared in front of others these past two days. Wushuang had sent someone to ask about her once, and the only response was that Nanny Zhao seemed to be ill and had been shutting herself in her room.

With the continuous rainy days, everyone was in a bad mood. Except for Wushuang who went to the mourning hall every day, the other servants who came with her were nowhere to be seen in the Marquis's mansion.

Wushuang acted as if she didn't notice and just continued to do her own things in an orderly manner.

***

The rain lasted for three days.

On the third day, the rain finally turned into a drizzle. Although it still affected the journey, it did not affect other things.

When the third day arrived, Wushuang presided over the burial of her great aunt. Although the arrangements were somewhat rushed and not all the customary rites and ceremonies were observed, Wushuang knew that if her great aunt knew about it in the afterlife, she would certainly understand.

As for the promise to have great aunt and grandfather buried together, the Mei family's ancestral home was not in the capital, but far away in Shaanxi. Plus, she didn't have the ability now, so she could only bury the person first, and wait until later to find an opportunity to send them back to their hometown. Back then, after her grandfather died, it was two years later that he was sent back to Shaanxi. 

Digging the soil and lowering the coffin, these were all done by Steward Chen and his men. When it was time to bury the coffin, Nanny Zhao showed up, but didn't stay long, and left in a hurry.

She probably knew that someone would come to the mansion soon, so she didn't care about anything else now.

***

It was possible that Wushuang had caught a cold because of the rain and keeping vigil for these two days.

In particular, she went to send the coffin for burial early in the morning. After she came back, she fell into a deep sleep, but she did not sleep peacefully. After having a bunch of messy dreams, she woke up again.

After waking up, she sat there in a daze for a while, before she remembered that she still had something to do. She hurriedly called Xiaohong and Meifang.

"How is the matter I asked you to inquire about?" 

Xiaohong and Meifang glanced at each other, and Xiaohong said, "These past two days, Nanny Zhao went to look for Granny Chen and Qian Si, but these two people have been avoiding her. Later, Nanny Zhao stopped going out, and every time she eats, she has someone deliver it to her room."

After a pause, she said again, "Bailu went to see her twice, but she didn't see Bailu." 

"Miss, what are you--"

Xiaohong hesitated, and Meifang also stared at Wushuang with her eyes wide open. 

Wushuang thought for a while and said, "Grandmother's death prevented Nanny Zhao from getting what she wanted. That day, Nanny Zhao went to see Grandmother alone, and Grandmother died after seeing her."

No one knew that Wushuang had gone to see her great aunt after Nanny Zhao left that night, so in the eyes of outsiders, Nanny Zhao was the last person to see her great aunt.

There was also a night granny, but she didn't really count. Her ending was already set. The point was that Nanny Zhao had gone to see her great aunt with a mission.

Why did Nanny Zhao go in alone to see the great aunt?

She wanted to take credit for it, and also to keep it a secret. It just so happened that after she saw the great aunt, the great aunt died. If it had been any other time, it wouldn't have mattered, but Nanny Zhao had gone with a mission.

She would not let it go, so Nanny Zhao would be the first suspect. The Old Madam would wonder if Nanny Zhao had already gotten the item but swallowed it with audacity. Then there were Granny Chen, Qian Si, Wushuang, and others.

Why did Granny Chen and Qian Si avoid Nanny Zhao these two days? It showed that they had already seen through the pros and cons and wanted to avoid suspicion and trouble.

The great aunt's plan actually had a big omission. Although she was dead, her things could not disappear with her, so they still existed. Since they existed, they had to go somewhere, so Nanny Zhao was jumping around everywhere looking for them.

Nanny Zhao had been so anxious these days, but she had never suspected Wushuang. It was because of the "darkness under the lamp," and also because Wushuang had always given people a fixed impression, making it impossible for people to think that she had anything to do with it. 

Thinking about it, after such a long time of alienation, with so many eyes and ears around her, it was impossible that Third Miss had the opportunity to meet her great aunt. Therefore, Nanny Zhao suspected everyone, but she had never thought of Wushuang.

She even secretly thought that maybe this was an accident. After all, the great aunt didn't have many days left. Dying sooner or later was beyond her control. She could only blame her bad luck.

Let's not mention what Nanny Zhao thought for now. Nanny Zhao would be blind to the obvious because she was involved, so her mind was in chaos. But when the people from the Marquis's mansion came after the rain stopped, they wouldn't be in chaos.

As latecomers, they would suspect everyone without distinction.

At this time, Wushuang could not hide it anymore.

Come to think of it, Wushuang was the great aunt's biological granddaughter. The great aunt had spent years painstakingly planning for her. How could she possibly die "halfway through"?

As long as one thought this through, Wushuang would almost immediately be highlighted, and the great aunt's plan and efforts would be in vain.

In fact, as early as the day the great aunt passed away, Xiaohong had thought of the fact that great aunt's plan was still missing a link to close the loop, but she was still hesitating whether to say it.

She didn't expect Third Miss, who seemed to be fine, had already thought of this point.

"So, Miss wants to make Nanny Zhao a scapegoat to divert the attention of the people coming to the mansion?"