Chapter 264 The noble lady became a beggar
“Dead mice?” Madam Luo was pop-eyed with surprise, “Yi, did you put dead mice in the ancestral grave?”
He Danggui did not deny it, but corrected it, “It was not me who did it. I asked Xiaoyou to put them. They were not placed in the ancestral grave, but hung in the grove behind the ancestral grave. And most importantly, they were not dead mice, but dead minks, specifically, golden minks.”
“You...” Madam Luo was so angry that she couldn’t speak. She finally complained, “What’s the difference?”
He Danggui patiently explained to her, “A dead mouse is worth 0.5 wen, while a dead golden mink is worth over 1.4 liang silver. This is the difference. There are twelve small golden minks in total, and they are worth one month of my monthly allowance.”
Ling Miaoyi didn’t expect that before she provided more evidence, He Danggui admitted her guilty forthrightly. Therefore, she kept silent for a while, watching what Luo’s Family would do with He Danggui. And the people of Luo’s Family were shocked by such a reversal. Sun Meiniang couldn’t believe that good luck came upon her. He Danggui admitted to putting dead mice in the ancestral grave of Luo’s Family!
Just at this time, someone from outside came to report that Mammy Tang in the suburbs sent a letter saying that the Luo’s Family’s ancestral grave collapsed, as if it was destroyed by the heavy rain.
Sun Meiniang happily looked at Madam Luo, who looked annoyed. The ancestral grave collapsed! Sun Meiniang cast a look at her daughter Luo Baiqiong, who was able to speak properly. The latter immediately understood her mother’s intention, and pulled Madam Luo’s arm with tears and said, “Grandma, I’ve been numb and unable to speak since this afternoon. I was afraid that it would disturb your good mood for the New Year, so I didn’t dare to tell others. I planned to come to the ancestral hall and ask ancestors to help me get rid of the pain. After arriving at the ancestral hall, I suddenly fainted, and I don’t know what happened then. I didn’t set fire!”
Sun Meiniang was still dissatisfied and asked Luo Baiqiong inductively, “Did you see or hear anything unusual before you passed out?”
Luo Baiqiong was straightforward and unable to make up a story, so she went straight to the subject, “I saw He Danggui. I heard she said that she was going to set fire!”
Luo Baiji said angrily, “We just heard you said that you set the fire. How can you just frame Third Sister indiscriminately in order to escape crime? No one will be fooled by you!”
However, Madam Luo was easy to be fooled. Her fragile nerves could no longer sustain the whole night of torment. She looked at He Danggui with disappointment and asked, “Do you have any excuses? If you don’t say it now, you will talk about it after your mother gets home.”
He Danggui shook her head, “Grandma, you’re tired, and I’m tired, too. Why don’t we settle the case tomorrow morning? Several physical evidences are kept in the ancestral hall, and won’t be lost as our ancestors will guard them. What do you think, Second Aunt?”
Sun Meiniang became furious, and then commanded the servants, “Come on, tie her up and lock her in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. The most severe punishment of the Luo’s Family will be exerted on her tomorrow morning!”
Subconsciously, Luo Baiji wanted to argue with Sun Meiniang, but he was stopped by He Danggui. He turned around and saw that she was a little tired, so he turned to Madam Luo and said, “Grandma, let me send Third Sister to the Depositary. She was seriously ill and has not healed yet. Don’t tie her up, okay?” His soft tone was similar to that of Luo Baiqiong. This trick always worked for Madam Luo. It was a privilege for grandchildren. Madam Luo nodded, and asked some servants to “assist” the Second Master Luo Baiji to send the Third Miss He Danggui to the Depositary.
As a result, it was settled that night. When there was further news about the ancestral grave the next morning, He Danggui would be sentenced.
When He Danggui passed by the gate and saw Ling Miaoyi standing in the corner in a beggar’s suit, she couldn’t help smiling. Then she whispered, “I heard that Ling’s Family in the capital is one of the richest households. How could you become a beggar, Miss Ling? It will be justifiable if you beg in the street, but you are pathetic and disgraced. How could you come to other people’s house for a half-old cloak by playing as a clown? How pitiful.”
Ling Miaoyi had never seen He Danggui being so domineering. She couldn’t recover form shock for a while. She just said, “You’d better sympathize yourself. When you are driven out by the Luo’s Family, you are truly homeless. You will be a real beggar.”
He Danggui was not angry, and just said, “Is the leftover in Luo’s Family so yummy? The last time I saw you coming here to beg, you were so frustrated that you borrow money from the manservant. This time you went to Luo’s Family again. You even wear Second Miss’s old clothes. Originally, I was really curious about He’s Family in the capital and thought about writing to Miss Ling for more information, but now that you are so abject, I have no interest in exploring it.”
Unexpectedly, He Danggui saw her embarrassed look three years ago. Ling Miaoyi got angry, “I didn’t come here on purpose. I followed Chang Yan and Chang Yu to find their master. I borrowed money from my old friend Chang Nuo and didn’t take away anything from Luo’s Mansion. Why are you laughing at me? Mind your own business!”
When Ling Miaoyi ran away from home last time, she was still a noble lady of Ling’s Family. She carried much luggage and went out very beautifully. However, she didn’t have any experience in wealth management, so she finally spent all the money and became a beggar. But this time, she broke up with her family and ran out empty-handed. She went to Gao’s Family to find her brother-in-law Gao Jue, but she was told that Gao Jue was working in Yangzhou City. Ling Miaoyi hated her legitimate mother Li, and her second sister Ling Miaoqi was Li’s daughter. She didn’t know this when she was young, so she was close to Ling Miaoqi as her dead eldest sister, Ling Miaochun. But now she knew it and fell out with Ling Miaoqi, so she wouldn’t seek refuge with Ling Miaoqi who was in the Gao’s Mansion.
The poor Ling Miaoyi then went to Duan’s Family to find Duan Xiaolou, but the servants of Duan’s Family told her that the Marquis had gone to Yangzhou City for business and had just left for three days. Ling Miaoyi had no choice but to find her uncle He Jingxian, who had rarely been in contact with her, and stayed in his house for two days. With some money, she went to Yangzhou City to find her brother-in-law. However, she didn’t find her brother-in-law, and her money was robbed. As a result, she once again thought of Chang Nuo, who had not returned to Chang’s Mansion so far, and thought that he might still be living in Luo’s Mansion. She believed she could find him to borrow money, so she waited at the side door.
Unexpectedly, she didn’t see Chang Nuo, Chang Yan or Chang Yu, but she saw He Dangyou, the strong subordinate of He Danggui. After following him for half a day, she got a lot of secrets. Ling Miaoyi had heard from Luo Baiqiong in the past that He Danggui was in a bad situation in Luo’s Family. He Danggui and Baiqiong’s mother Sun were at daggers drawn. As the saying went, “The enemy of an enemy is a friend.” Ling Miaoyi then came to Sun Meiniang’s subordinates and said that she was willing to come forward to expose He Danggui’s crimes. She demanded 200 liang silver as a reward and guaranteed that it would be difficult to keep a foothold for He Danggui. Therefore, she was in league with Sun Meiniang.
…Chang Yan and Chang Yu? He Danggui was taken aback.
...Chang Nuo? He Danggui walked out of the ancestral hall in a daze, digesting this unusual information.
She didn’t know who was Chang Yan or Chang Yu, but she witnessed the manservant called Feng Yan or Feng Yu handing Ling Miaoyi a bundle of something on the side door. Afterwards, the manservant found her very anxiously and asked her to keep the secret. Besides, he told her not to speak to the “dangerous person” Ling Miaoyi...
So that was it!
He Danggui smiled. The one under Feng Yang’s mask was Chang Nuo, who would become famous as the top scholar in martial arts of the capital two years later. He was the childe of Chang’s Family in the capital, and the grandson of Chang Yuchun. Looking back on her previous life, He Danggui found that Bai Yangbai had mentioned the name Chang Nuo many times, as if he had a good personal relationship with Chang Nuo. It turned out that the outstanding talent that Zhu Quan recruited was Chang Nuo. No wonder that they had a lot of time to know each other and fall in love. They had all lived in the circle of power and wealth in the capital since they were young.
This news was really pleasing. The three generations of Chang’s Family were royalists. Like the Meng’s Family, they were valued by Zhu Yuanzhang. Chang’s Family was responsible for the inside, and Meng’s Family was responsible for the outside. Meng’s Family guarded the frontier for Zhu Yuanzhang, and Chang’s Family guarded on the doorstep of Zhu’s Family. Chang Nuo had authority over more than half of the capital guards, so he had great power to deal with almost everything, needless to say He Fu, the Guarding Commander of the Capital. If Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the sharpest Qingfeng Sword in the capital was in the hands of his seventeenth son, Zhu Quan, would he fall asleep tonight?
He Danggui laughed as she walked, feeling a little grateful for Ling Miaoyi’s visit. That was her good fortune. It turned out that Ling Miaoyi came here not for Sun Meiniang, but for her. Luo Baiji was walking next to He Danggui and heard her laugh. He didn’t know what she was laughing, but he was relieved, thinking it was better for her to laugh.
Luo Baiji asked the servants following them to be a little further, and then comforted He Danggui softly, “There are enough people questioning you, so I won’t ask you why you hung mice at the ancestral grave. I know, you always have your reason for what you do, and you will not do unnecessary things just to vent your anger. But now you are in the bad situation, and I don’t know how to help you, well... Let’s elope?” We could escape from this disgusting house.
“Elope?” He Danggui thought, “Second Brother, it was not me who would elope with you.”
Turning back, she saw Luo Baiji’s anxious and tired look, so she couldn’t help but console him, “It’s inconvenient for me to talk too much. I don’t want to talk about some things absolutely. After all, there are too many changes in the world. It’s common for a single move to change the game, but...” She told Luo Baiji, “This time, I am an angler on the shore, and Sun Meiniang is the fish in the water. But she is too fat. In order to pull this big fish out of the water, I have to put the fishing line longer. Second Brother, you don’t need to worry about me. Go back and sleep well. Wait for the good information tomorrow morning.”
Luo Baiji stiffened as soon as He Danggui approached him and whispered. He felt her soft voice was like the breeze of the summer morning and her delicate fragrance lingered on the tip of his nose. Her soft whisper only reached his ears, but did not reach his brain immediately. After a short while, he realized what she meant, and said, “The fishing line you put...” His voice suddenly turned low, “What happened tonight is all your tricks, right? But, it’s impossible to control the weather because you can’t know it in advance. Third Sister, what have you got up in your sleeve?”
He Danggui looked up at the night sky, accelerated her steps, and said, “You will know, and everyone will know.”
Luo Baiji did not force her to tell. He turned around and took a box from the manservant. As they approaching the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, he handed the box to He Danggui and said, “There are large quantities of dessert and dried meat in it. You keep it in the secret place of the Depositary. It is enough for you to eat for three or four days, and then I will find a way to send you much more. The following servants are bribed by me, so they will not talk about it. But the person who guards the Depositary is a trusted subordinate of Second Aunt. I’m sorry that you will feel wronged temporarily.”
He Danggui said gratefully, “Thank you. I’m really hungry. It’s good to have a midnight snack for studying at night. But I don’t need three or four days of serving. It will be someone else’s turn to be locked in the Depositary tomorrow. Why do you prepare food for her?”
Luo Baiji was puzzled. After thinking about it, he asked, “Do you have anything to talk to the people in Tao Yao Yard? Xiaoyou and Chan Yi will definitely be anxious if they knew what happened, right? Moreover, Second Aunt and Ding Rong’s wife are all villains. I heard that many people in Tao Yao Yard beat Ding Rong’s wife tonight, and threw away the Second Aunt’s subordinates from the courtyard. If any accident happens to you, Second Aunt will never let them go.”
As Luo Baiji said, He Danggui had already stepped on the threshold of the Depositary. She stretched out and said with a chuckle, “With so many people helping me, I have to work harder to defeat Sun Meiniang, so that she can’t make trouble for us anymore. Because I made up my mind that Sun Meiniang will never have a chance to trouble us, I then let everyone in Tao Yao Yard revenge on Sun Meiniang’s subordinates in the new year. I asked them to beat Ding Rong’s wife, but they were too kind. Ding Rong’s wife could still walk unexpectedly. I’m disappointed.”
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