Chapter 4 — Catching Them Red-Handed on My Wedding Day

He stepped down the stone steps, coming to stand beside me, his gaze dropping heavily onto Jewel Jade, who was struggling and writhing on the ground. His voice was not loud, yet it carried an innate frostiness of unquestionable authority.

Someone there, drag her away.

Several guards immediately stepped forward.

Drag her down to the woodshed and keep a strict watch.

My voice remained calm and lucid.

At early dawn tomorrow, escort her to the yamen. A woman praised by the imperial court for her chastity has openly violated her vows of purity; let the judges pass whatever sentence the law demands.

Jewel Jade finally collapsed entirely. She lay flat upon the ground, repeatedly kowtowing against the blue flagstones with a series of heavy, hollow thuds.

Wild Goose! Wild Goose, I beg you to spare me! I am your former mentor’s wife! Your master taught you how to read, and I used to cook your meals—you cannot treat me this way!

You cannot!

Without turning my head, I stepped directly across the threshold into the bridal chamber. Behind me, her shrieks and wailing grew increasingly distant, until they were completely muffled by the heavy courtyard doors. In my past life, she had reveled in the boundless wealth and glory of the Marquis’s estate, living luxuriously as the lady of the house for ten full years. In this lifetime, however, she could not even withstand a single night. And this was merely the beginning. Her daughter was still waiting.

Li Binh was dragged into the middle of the courtyard with his arms twisted behind his back by two guards. The backs of his knees were kicked hard, forcing him to drop heavily onto the flagstones with a dull thud. All the blood drained from his face, yet he still stiffened his neck, gritting his teeth in stubborn defiance.

Lord Marquis!

He raised his head to look at Lu Mo, his voice hurried and harsh.

Every word your subordinate spoke is the absolute truth! It was you who ordered me to approach Lady Jewel, and you who claimed that marrying Lady Shen was nothing more than a disguise. How could you—

Smack!

A wooden box was hurled down right before him. The lid sprang open, revealing stacks of silver banknotes and a golden hairpin resting inside. Li Binh’s voice was severed as abruptly as if by a sharp blade, falling instantly silent.

Standing upon the steps, I could not even be bothered to look at him. My tone remained as serene as though I were instructing a servant on meal arrangements.

Maid, read it aloud.

The elderly servant beside me bowed and picked up the stack of banknotes.

Hui Tong Bank, five silver notes of one hundred taels each—five hundred taels in total.

A collective gasp of cold air rippled through the courtyard. A guard of the Marquis’s estate earned a mere two taels of silver per month. Such a sum of five hundred taels was an amount he could not possibly accumulate even if he worked for twenty lifetimes. The servant then picked up the golden hairpin, bringing it close to the lantern light for careful inspection. At the head of the pin was a finely crafted swallow-tailed butterfly, yet a tiny red pearl no larger than a grain of rice was missing from its left wing, leaving behind an unsightly and glaring hollow.

This hairpin...

The elderly servant looked up.

This old slave sees it as an exact match to the one Lady Jewel wore year-round.

Li Binh’s countenance finally shifted, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. Still refusing to glance at him, I spoke with a measure of profound indifference.

There are three keys to the courtyard gate in total. One is held by the estate manager, and another by the gatekeeper.

I paused, finally shifting my gaze to fix upon his face.

The final key was in your keeping. As the personal guard by the Lord Marquis’s side, assigned to night patrols, you were responsible for the gate keys.

The gatekeeper has already confessed.

Li Binh shuddered violently.

She stated that last night you brought her wine and food, claiming it was a reward bestowed by the Lord Marquis. After drinking two bowls, she lost consciousness completely. By the time she woke up, the lock on the courtyard gate had already been broken.

I stared straight into his eyes, my voice as flat as a mirror's surface.

Do you require me to summon her here so she may confront you face-to-face?

Every bone within Li Binh’s body seemed to have been instantly sucked dry. He could no longer even manage to kneel properly, his entire torso leaning sideways. Had a guard not seized him firmly by the collar, he would have collapsed into a limp heap upon the ground.

Lord Marquis, spare my life!

His voice completely warped, turning piercing and shrill as though squeezed forcibly from his throat, laden with the terror of a dying man.

It was Lady Jewel who instructed your subordinate to speak thus! It was all her doing! Yesterday evening, those were the exact words she told me in the woodshed...

She claimed the Lord Marquis was simple-minded and easily deceived! She said that by making a scene before everyone today and ensuring all the guests witnessed the Lord Marquis and a widow embracing in the water, Shen Wild Goose’s reputation would be utterly ruined! She also promised that once she became the mistress of the house, she would promote your subordinate to chief steward of the Marquis’s estate and reward him with five hundred taels of silver!

She called the Lord Marquis a common soldier, someone whose brain worked in a straight line and who was the easiest to fool! And she referred to Shen Wild Goose as a hopeless fool! She also declared that once her innocence was publicly compromised today, the Marquis’s estate would be forced to grant her justice...

The faster he spoke, the more frantic his delivery became, as though he sought to disgorge every single secret harbored within his chest.

She even boasted that her daughter’s endeavors in the Heir Apparent’s residence were nearing success. Once she herself firmly planted her roots here, mother and daughter would join forces—one managing the Marquis’s estate, the other ruling the Heir’s manor. From that day onward, a radius of a hundred miles would belong entirely to the two of them!

The guests gathered in the courtyard remained so utterly silent that even the falling of a pin could be distinctly heard.