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  Before long, the old women of Jingyi Temple pushed a woman in her thirties out of the peach forest. The woman was wearing a light-colored coarse linen garment, with a small bun on her head and only one bamboo bone hairpin inserted, looking sorrowful and fearful, her eyes filled with anxiety. Her footsteps were slow, almost being dragged to Ming Huan's front.

  Ming Xuan glanced past, saw that she was holding a bamboo basket with yellow paper in her hand, grasping it tightly and refusing to let go. Instead, she looked at her deeply and asked softly, "What's your name? Where do you work?"

  This voice was warm and gentle, yet it had a sharp and powerful aura that commanded respect without being angry.

  The woman's body trembled, and she didn't dare to raise her head. However, through the corner of her eye, she could still identify the identity of the noble person in front of her. Her eyes flickered, and her expression had changed three times. She stammered for half a day before finally opening her mouth to answer, "I am Liu Jia's second-class servant, responsible for sweeping the courtyard of Jingqiu Temple. Others call me Liu Jia's."

  Jingqiu Courtyard is also a courtyard under the name of Chang Fang, and now the people living in the courtyard are several concubines under Prince Pei Xiao'an. Pei Xiao'an indulges in women, usually not drunk and dreaming in the flower street, after returning to the mansion, Pingsha Hall is just a superficial matter, he spends most of his time staying with those concubines in Jingqiu Courtyard.

  An old woman chimed in from the side, "Going back to what you said earlier, this old woman is indeed from the Liu family. I've seen her before, her husband is Liu Fu, the manager of the second gate, and she also has a son named Da Hai, who often runs errands for Young Master."

  Ming Xuan's eyebrows slightly raised, she hadn't expected that this strange-looking woman in front of her would actually be a housewife with a family and a career. She knew that in places like the Town National Duke's Mansion, being able to manage affairs was no easy feat, it must be someone born into a good family. This woman's son was already serving by the Crown Prince's side, so this woman must also be an old-timer in the mansion, she shouldn't not even understand this basic etiquette.

  If it weren't for someone who absolutely had to make an offering, that woman wouldn't have taken such a risk.

  Ming Xuan's eyes slightly drooped, and her voice was still soft and gentle, "Liu's family. Can you tell that secretly worshiping in the peach forest and burning these paper money is a taboo?"

  Liu's wife bowed her head even lower, "Please forgive me this time, madam. I beg of you to spare my life!"

  He didn't deny it or ramble on in a panic, asking for mercy. He seemed like someone with insight.

  Dan Hong saw the inquiring expression on Ming Xuan's face, and for a moment she was silent, thinking that the big madam had never met such a slick servant before and didn't know how to deal with her, so she took two steps forward and blocked Ming Xuan behind her.

  She took over the conversation and said, "The Liu family is an old family in the mansion, and everyone in the family works in the mansion. They naturally know the taboos of the high-ranking families, but they still committed them. There must be some reason for this. The eldest lady has a kind heart and did not immediately order the servant to take her to the residence of the second son's wife, but if there is no convincing reason, I cannot let the eldest lady show mercy."

  She sighed softly, "It's already a big mistake to hold a private memorial service, and it's even more wrong to light a fire in the peach forest. If the young master's wife finds out about this, she'll be furious, and the consequences will be unthinkable. The Liu family doesn't care about their own reputation, but because of this matter, they might lose their official position and dignity too? Moreover, you still have a son!"

  Next to her, a clever woman immediately chimed in, "Right, right, Big Madam has always been kind and compassionate. If it's really a forgivable situation, covering this up would be considered a good deed. We've always kept our mouths shut, we won't go around spreading rumors everywhere. Liu's family, if there's anything going on, it's better to just come out and say it."

  Mrs. Liu looked frail, but she had a few points of insight and backbone, and was not intimidated by Dan Hong's words, except when mentioning her husband and son, her shoulders slightly trembled, still lowering her head and remaining silent, as if she had made up her mind not to speak.

  It would be better if she casually made up a name, even if it took some time to investigate the matter. Ming Xuan couldn't keep bothering the old woman from Jing Qiu Yuan day and night. If others saw this, it wouldn't be good for Ming Xuan either. After the fuss died down, even if no one was found, there would be no evidence left, and Ming Xuan would have no way to deal with the people in Gong Ye's wife's courtyard.

  But the Liu family's tight-lipped silence was even more eerie, as if they were about to become martyrs. The more she acted like this, the more it seemed that she was hiding secrets in her body. Looking at her eyes again, which had been disheveled and mixed with hatred just now, Ming Xuan felt that Pei Jingchen's speculation should be correct.

  This old woman was an acquaintance of the concubine who drowned back then. It's a fact that can't be mentioned, but it really has something to do with the death of the Princess of Yongjia.

  Although Dan Hong was eloquent and had more than enough to deal with that kind of shrewd woman, when she really faced the one who gritted her teeth and didn't speak, her momentum was completely useless. After asking several times and being ignored by the other party, she was a little stunned.

  Can't you just ask questions without resorting to violence?

  Pei Jingchen gazed deeply at the woman who was kowtowing with her head almost touching the ground, a cold smile floating on his lips. In a low voice, he said, "If the former master of Qinglian Temple knew that the Pei family still had such a loyal maid, it would be worth remembering her, and not in vain for this life."

  Qinglian Courtyard was a small courtyard in Pei Manor that had been abandoned for a long time, separated from Jingqiu Courtyard by only one wall.

  He thoroughly investigated the matter of that year, and the clue was cut off here. Among the servants who had worked in Qinglian Temple on the list of housekeepers, some were suddenly ill without reason, while others disappeared unknowingly. There were also two who were sent to the outer fields under false pretenses, but when asked about past events, they either refused to mention it or were bewildered and didn't know.

  Actually, Pei Jingchen wasn't sure if the Liu family was really related to Qinglian Institute, he just made an educated guess based on various signs and intentionally leaked those three to trick her. He desperately needed some clues to investigate the truth of that year, but every time there was an invisible hand that ruthlessly cut off the trail when he was about to find the answer.

  This glimmer of hope from the Liu family was inadvertently revealed, and he must grasp it.

  The old woman heard this and her body shook slightly, she couldn't help but lift up her head, her eyes revealing an incredulous gaze, "How did you know..."

  Bai Jingchen's eyes relaxed, and he was no longer as tense as before. He said in a cold tone, "If you want to keep it from others, don't do it yourself. Although I've changed my identity, there's no wall that doesn't leak air in this world. Moreover, acting rashly without knowing how to avoid suspicion, what's so difficult about wanting to know these things?"

  His lips were slightly pursed, but his eyes were unreservedly scanning Liu's face, he was gambling.

  When he saw the frightened and confused eyes of the Liu family, Pei Jingchen knew that he had gambled correctly. From the time he came to his senses until now, he spent more than a decade searching for the maid of Qinglian Temple. If this Liu family hadn't changed their identities, he would never have missed this fish that slipped through the net. And as for a mere servant, without the help of their master, it was absolutely impossible to evade the sharp eyes of the steward and deceive heaven and earth.

  If Liu's family had indeed changed their name, then it would prove that the people who had been obstructing him from getting close to the truth all these years were powerful enough in this mansion to make the steward yield. There were only three such people in this mansion: his grandfather Pei Xiang, his father Pei Xiao'an, and the wife of the young master Yang.

  When Qinglian Temple was closed, Yang had not yet entered the door.

  In the past, Pei Jingchen had always suspected that his grandfather, in order to get rid of the negative influence brought by Chu Xiang Wang's defeat, had manipulated things during his mother's childbirth, and all the evidence indeed pointed to Pei Xiang without a doubt. Of course, he had also suspected his father, Pei Xiaoan, but as the eldest son of the Duke of Town, he was known for being incompetent and there were no obvious flaws on the surface, so he gave up on this lead.

  But at this moment, a chilling thought suddenly took over.

  Although Liu's family strongly controlled her shock and fear, she didn't say a word, but her expression and eyes thoroughly betrayed her. She was indeed a servant of Qinglian Temple, had indeed changed her name and surname to live, and was indeed caught by the couple of Jingyi Temple.

  In the blink of an eye, Ming Xuan had already thought of countless countermeasures in her mind. She knew that this Liu family's dead duck was hard-mouthed, and this round of questioning hadn't extracted anything from them. It was likely that they wouldn't utter another word again. Rather than making things difficult for her here, it would be better to let her go and then closely observe her. After all, it was better than really letting the Crown Prince's wife's people take her away to the torture chamber, cutting off the trail of clues.

  Actually, after verifying the information about Liu's family, it is already sufficient to start the next round of investigation.

  She sighed softly and bent down to say to Pei Jingzhen, "If she knew enough, she would have been a dead person long ago. Let her go, cast a long line to catch a big fish."

  Pei Jingchen nodded slowly, "Okay."

  He wasn't afraid of the Liu family, and would tell today's events to the person who had changed her name, she didn't have the guts to do so, being careless and getting caught would implicate her family, this would be different from handing herself over to the young master's wife's mercy, although private mourning was a taboo, the crime wouldn't extend to her family members, her husband and son were also well-known in the mansion, they wouldn't really be implicated because of this matter.

  It's not good for anyone to mention what happened at Qinglian Temple.

  That Liu is an intelligent person, he can distinguish between right and wrong.

  Although it was unbelievable, when the Liu family heard that they were going to let her go, they breathed a sigh of relief. Her face did not show any gratitude, but rather less panic, and she quickly bowed and grabbed the basket in her hand, then swiftly pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom to cover herself before hurrying away.

  The sky was still sunny and beautiful, but the heart that had been shrouded in a layer of gloom no longer had any interest in playing around. Ming Xuan saw Pei Jing Chen's silence along the way and didn't intentionally try to talk to him or cheer him up. Her thoughts were always meticulous, and although she didn't fully understand what happened back then, she had heard some rumors. After today's events, it was inevitable that she would have her own speculations. However, if Pei Jing Chen didn't bring it up with her first, there was no way she would mention it.

  As soon as they returned to Jingyi Courtyard, Pei Jingchen and Changgeng went into the study for a private conversation.

  Soon, Yan Laolao came in from outside, her face looking a bit unsightly. She waved everyone away and whispered to Ming Xuan's ear, "Big Madam, the Young Master's wife rushed out of the door just now. Our people sent over news that Empress Yu has given birth to a prince."

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