Volume 1 Chapter 40: Stripping to Plead Guilty

Xie Mingyue gave a faint smile. "I didn't actually see anyone; I only found a headscarf, a cup, and other items behind the rockery at the second gate. Mother, please avoid alerting the enemy."

Madam Luo nodded. "I naturally understand. This matter is of grave importance, so do not breathe a word of it when you return."

After acknowledging the instruction, Xie Mingyue prepared to leave, but Madam Luo called her back, hesitating slightly as if she had more to say.

"Mingyue," she glanced at Xie Mingyue's slender waist and said earnestly, "Jingshan is now... no longer young."

Xie Mingyue knew what Madam Luo was subtly hinting at. Seeing that Xie Wanqing was already carrying her second child while she herself had yet to show any signs of pregnancy—and more importantly, given Qi Jingshan's prominent status—the lack of an heir would inevitably affect his future prospects.

When an official is without offspring, the monarch finds it difficult to exert control over him.

Knowing that Madam Luo's reminder came from a place of good intentions, she did not put on a cold face. Instead, she nodded lightly and smiled. "I know. Thank you, Mother, for the guidance. As for this matter... I shall take some time to nourish my body further."

Seeing that Xie Mingyue was not as resistant as she used to be, Madam Luo felt a measure of relief.

Regardless of whether Qi Jingshan was her biological son or not, she had now pinned the future of the marquis's estate on the eldest branch, and naturally hoped that the eldest branch would stay on the right track.

If the eldest branch prospered, the entire marquis's estate prospered; and if the estate prospered, her maternal family, the Luo family, would also fare well.

Among noble and influential households, things had always been this way. Family interests were intricately intertwined, and a single pull could affect the whole body. Even if her personal interests took a backseat, she had to look at the bigger picture.

Otherwise, it would not be just the Shunqing Marquis's estate that fell.

"You should invite an imperial physician to properly regulate your constitution. I heard that the palace has recently taken in a master gynecologist who specifically tends to the imperial consorts."

Madam Luo spoke with gratification. Xie Mingyue smiled and replied, "Very well. After the Spring Blossom Banquet, your daughter-in-law will focus entirely on this matter."

Before the Spring Blossom Banquet, one incident followed another. Most importantly, she still needed to use a borrowed knife to kill someone.

As for this matter... the mere thought of Qi Jingshan irritated Xie Mingyue, so she decided to put it out of her mind for now.

Suspecting nothing further and still preoccupied with planning how to catch the clandestine lovers, Madam Luo told Xie Mingyue to go back and rest.

Upon returning to Qionghua Courtyard, Xie Mingyue summoned Yuanbai, a second-class maid under Wutong's command.

"The matter I asked you to look into—is there any result?"

Yuanbai was a family-bred servant of the marquis's estate, and her mother had previously served in front of Old Madam Qi.

She was clever and quick-witted, yet refreshingly free of contention, focusing solely on her duties. Even when Xie Mingyue selected her to be a second-class maid in the courtyard, she showed no resentment whatsoever.

Yuanbai replied steadily, "Mistress, after so many years, coupled with the precautions taken by the Xie family's servants, even though I spent silver and sought out intermediaries, I was still unable to discover anything. All I managed to learn is that the two older maids who used to serve you were both sold to places outside the city. It seems impossible to find out anything through inquiries anytime soon."

Luzhulan and Cuilan had both been sold far away? Xie Mingyue fell into deep thought.

"What was the Xie family's reaction?"

Yuanbai lowered her head. "This servant is ashamed; I could not find out anything from the Xie family."

She had originally intended to use the Xie family as a breakthrough point, but she had not expected them to be guarded like an iron bucket, to the extent that even the gatekeepers at the outermost perimeter could not be bribed.

No doubt that was why the life and death of Madam Xie had ultimately become an unsolved mystery.

"Never mind, it is not your fault." Xie Mingyue suppressed a trace of disappointment in her heart and looked at Yuanbai. "Yuanbai, I chose you to come to this courtyard—do you harbor any resentment?"

Yuanbai opened her eyes wide in surprise and hurriedly dropped to her knees. "First Mistress, how could this servant harbor resentment when I am able to serve as your maid?"

Xie Mingyue watched her closely, yet could not detect the slightest trace of concealment in Yuanbai's expression.

If it wasn't for Yuanbai's exceptional acting skills, then she truly thought this way.

She couldn't help but smile faintly. "Get up quickly; I am not blaming you."

Without any false modesty, Yuanbai stood up, patted her own chest, and spoke candidly, "The mistress treats us servants with leniency, and there are no troublesome chores in the courtyard. Serving the mistress makes me immensely happy, so how could any resentment arise?"

Xie Mingyue laughed in spite of herself. "You are very honest."

Yuanbai smiled so widely that a row of teeth showed. "Not to hide it from the mistress, this servant has been straightforward since I was a child. When eating, I always consume a bowl more than anyone else, filling my stomach thoroughly."

Her speech was amusing, her disposition was pleasant, and she handled affairs reliably. After pondering for a moment, Xie Mingyue asked her, "Would you be willing to be promoted to my personal maid?"

She had far too many matters to attend to, and Wutong alone was completely overwhelmed. Yuanbai was capable, and Xie Mingyue felt quite reassured by her.

Yuanbai immediately dropped to her knees again, bowing respectfully. "Thank you, Mistress, for your appreciation. This servant is naturally willing."

Wutong was also delighted to have a companion and immediately pulled Yuanbai aside to teach her numerous points of caution.

"The eldest master is likely to come to the mistress's chambers tonight. Both of us must keep our wits about us and serve attentively, ensuring the master has no cause for displeasure."

Wutong reminded Yuanbai, who, upon hearing this, widened her eyes in astonishment.

"But... doesn't the mistress have her monthly flow?"

She had heard that it was improper to engage in intimacy during a woman's monthly period, though there were ruthless men who disregarded their wives and concubines as human beings, using them merely for casual release.

The eldest master did not seem like that kind of person!

Wutong gently tapped her forehead. "You brazen little girl, where has your mind wandered? Can't the eldest master simply come to talk with the mistress?"

Yuanbai rubbed her head and laughed. "Ah, my fault, my fault, I thought wrongly."

Despite saying that, as night fell, Yuanbai still secretly instructed someone to boil extra hot water.

She had peeked at illustrated guides on avoiding misfortune and knew that certain matters were unaffected by a woman's monthly cycle. Seeing that the affection between the mistress and the eldest master was growing daily, what if, just in case, an occasion arose?

Better safe than sorry.

At night, Qi Jingshan arrived as promised.

Xie Mingyue kept the door closed, refusing to let him enter.

To her surprise, he simply stood outside the door and said with a deep, smiling voice, "Is the mistress truly so heartless? I have brought a generous gift to offer my apology."

Xie Mingyue's anger had not completely subsided, but curiosity got the better of her. She signaled Yuanbai with her eyes: "Open a crack in the window and take a look."

Yuanbai approached the window, pried open a narrow gap, and was about to look closely when her expression suddenly shifted, and she retreated hastily.

"Mistress, this servant..."

She stammered, grabbing Wutong's hand and firmly preventing her from stepping forward.

"What is it?" Xie Mingyue asked with a puzzled look. Yuanbai only shook her head frantically. "Mistress, you had better look for yourself."

Giving her a strange look, Xie Mingyue walked over to the window.

She wouldn't have known if she hadn't looked, but Qi Jingshan was standing right outside the door, in the process of unfastening the belt of his outer robe piece by piece.

What was this brazen scoundrel trying to do?!

Xie Mingyue quickly pulled her head back, marched over to the door, and rebuked angrily, "Qi Jingshan, you may have no shame, but my maids still want theirs!"

The man's deep voice slipped through the crack of the door directly into her ear. "If the mistress lets me in, the maids won't be frightened anymore."

Xie Mingyue's eyes twitched, her teeth clenching repeatedly, until she finally yanked the door open.

She felt as though, after all the chaos of the day, Qi Jingshan had completely lost his mind.

As the door swung open, Qi Jingshan was revealed holding a bundle of thorny branches, stepping leisurely into the room.

Wutong and Yuanbai kept their heads lowered, turned around, and hurried away to give them space.

Left alone in the room, Xie Mingyue turned her face away and demanded urgently, "What on earth are you trying to do?"

Qi Jingshan hooked the corners of his lips into a smile, set the thorny branches aside, and began unfastening his belt and stripping off his robes of his own accord.

"To apologize."