Chapter Thirty: Zhou Mama's Confession

  Xu Mingjin had never been to this place where Zhou Nian's mother and others were detained before, a place known as the 'prison'.

  It's been two days since Old Lady Zhou and the others were caught, and tomorrow is the day Xu Mingjin agreed with Ze Gongzi to set off back to the capital. Today, no matter what, he must pry open Old Lady Zhou's mouth, Xu Mingjin doesn't believe it, she has already brought out the ten great tortures of the Qing Dynasty, how can those people still hold on?

  It turned out that Xu Mingjin had overestimated the loyalty of Zhou and others. Ze Gongzi's subordinates only read out the various cruel punishments listed on Xu Mingjin's paper, and those people were all scared into confessing. After learning about it, Xu Mingjin let out a long sigh, but it was unclear whether she was relieved that those people had loosened up so easily or if she was feeling sorry for Mrs. Xu, who had been betrayed by them so easily. Or perhaps she was regretting that she had underestimated herself? Chun Xing, who was best at guessing Xu Mingjin's thoughts and was known as the number one confidante among Xu Mingjin's maids, couldn't even figure out what Xu Mingjin's long sigh meant.

  Zhe Gongzi turned his head and glanced at Xu Mingjin, but didn't say a word.

  No, Xu Mingjin was no longer standing at the gate of the "prison cell" where Zhou Niangniang and others were detained. Because when she walked to the door, she suddenly remembered a very similar scene: She was in her own backyard in Liu City, looking after Hong Luo.

  The scene left a very bad impression on her, the environment was really unbearable for humans, it was dark, damp and smelly. The image of Hong Luo locked up inside was just like the female ghost in domestic horror movies. Watching the female ghosts in the movie was nothing, but seeing real-life female ghosts wasn't good for her heart. Although Zhou Yiyu and others could only be called "old female ghosts", Xu Mingjin still retreated. A few people walked to the door of the "prison cell" and then all returned to the main hall where Ze Gongzi was, where a trial against Zhou Yiyu and others was about to unfold.

  Today's weather is gloomy, as if it were a reflection of Xu Mingjin's mood. Xu Mingjin sat there, slowly and deliberately finishing a whole cup of tea. Zhou Mama and others were finally brought in, but they didn't look as miserable as Xu Mingjin had imagined. Xu Mingjin was surprised to see Zhou Mama and others with oily hair and clean clothes, and asked in surprise: "Is this how your subordinates treat captives?" Ze Gongzi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Aren't you afraid of their miserable appearance? You said they would have nightmares at night, so I ordered people to clean them up before bringing them over. Look," Ze Gongzi commanded a subordinate to pull up Zhou Mama's sleeve, revealing crisscrossing whip marks. Xu Mingjin only took one glance and quickly turned his head away. Ze Gongzi then slowly spoke: "I heard that this mama had been making things difficult for you on the way, even if she was willing to confess, I still ordered people to flog her severely."

  Xu Mingjin nodded, it seems that this Zhou Ayi has thick skin and flesh, has been flogged before, but still so spirited and energetic, impressive!

  "Zhou Niangniang, tell me everything you know!" Xu Mingjin looked down at Zhou Niangniang, who was kneeling on the ground.

  Zhou Ayi no longer had the arrogant attitude she had when they first met. Her expression was now humble and tense as she knelt there, listening to Xu Mingjin call her name. She trembled with fear. Zhou Ayi originally had a grudge against Xu Mingjin for ruining several of her good deeds, and now that she was at her mercy, she feared her even more.

  "The slaves all say so, they all say so!" Old Mother Zhou nodded repeatedly.

  Xu Mingjin looked at her like that, but lost the energy to interrogate her. She listlessly said: "Then confess who sent you, who was the mastermind that night, and who were the accomplices!"

  Here is the translation:

  Nanny Zhou heard this and hastily told everything she knew: "This matter started from this year's Qingming Festival." She was afraid that Xu Mingjin would say she was long-winded, so she couldn't help but glance at her with a cautious look. Seeing that Xu didn't have an impatient expression, but rather seemed to be eagerly waiting for the next part of the story, Nanny Zhou continued: "This time, the mistress followed Master back to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors and accidentally found out about Mistress Fan and Master's affair. She was furious, but didn't say anything to Master. Instead, when Master went to visit Mistress Fan, she tried every way to block his path, making it impossible for him to leave. At the same time, she found out everything from the clan leader's wife. After learning that Master had a son and daughter with Mistress Fan, she was enraged and smashed all the things in her room. She also ordered the clan leader's wife to spread rumors about Miss being unvirtuous." Nanny Zhou said this much, then anxiously glanced at Xu Mingjin again. This time, she wasn't so lucky. Xu Mingjin slowly said: "Nanny Zhou, if you look at me one more time, I'll dig out your eyeballs! Although I said I wouldn't kill you, I didn't say I wouldn't cripple you!"

  Zhou Ayi didn't dare to look up at Xu Mingjin's face again, she was so scared by Xu Mingjin's words that she almost fainted.

  "It turned out that the rumor was quashed by Master's exercise of power, which made Madame even angrier. She knew it wasn't the time to make a scene yet, and she didn't want Concubine Fan to enter the household either. If she made a fuss, Mistress Fan would definitely be allowed into the Xu family's gate, which Madame absolutely wouldn't permit. So, she hastily advised Master to return to the capital, and at that time, it just so happened that Master's official business had encountered some problems, so he also followed Madame's advice and left Liu City after staying for only a few days."

  "After the lady successfully persuaded the old master to return to Beijing, she secretly bought two maidservants, trained them a bit, and easily mixed into Madame Fan's residence. Those two maidservants were Hong Luo He and Yu Qin, who had already been dealt with by Miss. The medicine that the lady gave to Madame Fan was a slow-acting poison that ordinary doctors couldn't diagnose, while the one she gave to Miss was a drug that made women infertile." When she said this, everyone except Xu Mingjin showed shocked expressions on their faces, especially Yan Yuwei, who was sitting next to Fan Dichen. Although they had only known her for a short time, she already considered them friends and looked extremely angry, more so than anyone else. Fan Dichen's face was also iron-gray, but his eyes looking at Xu Mingjin were filled with deep sadness."

  Xu Mingjin's face was pale, she was just surprised, originally, at that time, Mrs. Fan often fainted, originally poisoned? Not ordinary poison, no wonder those doctors couldn't figure it out. She saw Fan Yicheng looking at her with a sympathetic gaze and knew he was pitying her, but he didn't know Xu Mingjin hadn't taken the medicine under the red gauze. However, Xu Mingjin didn't explain this matter, in her opinion, there was no need to explain it to people like Zhou Nian, she would tell Fan Yicheng when they got back.

  Ze Gongzi didn't believe at all that Xu Mingjin would fall for such a shallow trick.

  On the side, Chun Xing couldn't help but speak up. She saw that everyone was staring at Xu Ming Jin with strange eyes, while Xu Ming Jin himself had an air of being above it all. So she couldn't help but explain for him: "Miss is so clever, how could she have fallen for Hong Luo's trick? Those porridges that Hong Luo laced with medicine were all switched by Miss and fed to Hong Luo instead. Even if there was no pregnancy, shouldn't it be Hong Luo who should be blamed?! Moreover, Yu Qin, the one who gave medicine to Madame, only succeeded once, but on the second attempt, she was caught red-handed by Miss and executed directly!"

  Ze Gongzi had an expression I already knew, Fan Wei Chen was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but show his joyful expression. Xu Ming Xuan didn't know what they were talking about, but seeing everyone happy for Xu Ming Jin, he also joined in the joy. Yan Yu Wei went forward and pulled Xu Ming Jin's hand, happily saying: "I knew it, Ming Jin sister is so clever, she must be able to turn bad luck into good fortune, just as I said!"

  Xu Mingjin was amused by her words. Seeing that everyone was genuinely happy for her, she no longer blamed Chun Xing for taking matters into his own hands.

  Zhou Ayi listened to everyone's laughter, and her heart became even more wary of Xu Mingjin. At just 12 years old, she could already see through the calculations of a woman like Madam Xu. It was truly terrifying. In the rear courtyard of the Shangshu Mansion, there were only two or three concubines who had gained favor, and none of them had borne children. The Xu family's rear courtyard was even more barren, without even a single child born out of wedlock. Madam Xu herself had only one daughter, with no sons at all. She feared that if Fan Ayi brought back Xu Mingxuan, they would seize the Xu family's wealth. This was why she had tried to eliminate them on their way to the capital. Although Fan Ayi had died, Xu Mingjin and her siblings were still safe and sound. This incident had put Xu Mingjin on high alert. It could be said that if Madam Xu wanted to plot against these siblings again in the future, it wouldn't be so easy.

  "Go on!" Chun Xiang glared at Zhou Mama. Zhou Mama, who was lost in her own thoughts, was startled and quickly continued: "The medicine was given to the two maidservants. At first, both of them sent messages back to Jing City, and they had already started taking the medicine without arousing suspicion. The mistress was overjoyed, but she didn't dare make a move in Liu City to harm Lady Fan and the young lady, as that would have led Master to send someone back to investigate, and who knows, maybe even discover some clues pointing to the mistress herself. So, the mistress waited for them to send another message back, and then she was going to take action. However, the two maidservants never sent any more messages back, and the mistress thought they must have been caught. At this point, the mistress knew she had already alerted the enemy, but she didn't want to give up on her plan. So, she convinced Master to send someone to deliver a message to Lady Fan, saying it was time for her to return to Jing City. Master was initially surprised - hadn't he discussed this with his wife before, and wasn't she opposed to it? Why had she suddenly changed her mind? The mistress scolded Master, saying he was being narrow-minded. She planned to bring Lady Fan back as a noble concubine. Master, in high spirits, personally wrote the letter and sent someone to deliver it to Lady Fan's hands."

  "After that, the lady sent slaves and servants to Liu City, secretly arranging another team of horses, preparing to make a painful kill when Madam Fan returned to Beijing halfway."