Snuggling together, she had a good night's sleep. Early in the morning, Prince Hui went to the front courtyard again.
He woke up too early, so Yao Huang wrapped herself in the quilt and slept for another hour before getting up.
Aji came in carrying a washbasin. Looking at the princess sitting on the edge of the bed with rosy cheeks, she huffed, "Madam ran really fast last night. If you hadn't been smiling when you closed the gate, I would have thought you saw something unholy and left me behind to run for your life."
Yao Huang: "...Did I look like I was running for my life?"
Aji: "...Not exactly. Madam looked beautiful running, like someone rushing to meet her lover."
Yao Huang walked over to tickle the little maid, scaring Aji into dodging behind the washstand. She begged for mercy, "Madam, please don't be angry. Let me tell you something. The Qi family started arguing again this morning. My mother told me when I went over to boil water."
Yao Huang's attention was successfully diverted. She dipped her towel into the water and motioned for Aji to continue.
Aji: "Didn't Dalang of the Qi family come home for the festival? He was about to return to the academy this morning when Madam Lü discovered that Squire Qi had given him another five taels of silver. Madam Lü cried about Squire Qi being biased, saying he gave all the family's silver to the eldest son's family, making it impossible for Silang to go to the academy. She wouldn't stop making a fuss. Dalang was about to take the silver out, but then Qi's eldest daughter-in-law started yelling too. She said Dalang is going to the county in August to take the provincial exam and needs to socialize with his classmates. He'll have to stay at an inn for five days altogether. Taking five taels of silver is just a precaution in case something unexpected happens. If nothing happens, he will naturally bring the remaining silver back."
After listening, Yao Huang said, "It's a good thing the Second Master didn't accept Squire Qi's payment, otherwise he might have been scolded by Madam Lü over those ten taels of silver."
Perhaps she wouldn't do it openly, but there would surely be no shortage of indirect, sarcastic remarks.
Aji: "Madam Lü is definitely in the wrong here. Taking the scholar exam is a huge deal, and the Qi family is wealthy. They would certainly rather over-prepare than delay the exam due to a lack of money. Besides, her biological grandson, Silang, is obviously a troublemaker and not cut out for studying at all. Spending a lot of money to send him to the academy would be a waste anyway."
Yao Huang: "The silver in Squire Qi's hands is a fixed amount. If he gives five more taels to his eldest son's family, the share for Madam Lü's two sons will decrease by five taels. Of course she would make a fuss; reasoning can't be exchanged for silver to eat. Ultimately, it's Squire Qi who hasn't managed the household well. He should have either established his authority as the head of the family early on so that his wife and children wouldn't dare defy his decisions, or he should have ensured absolute fairness in distributing the silver. Arguing back and forth like this just leaves everyone unhappy."
Aji: "Listening to the neighbors' gossip, Madam Lü and her two sons have generally come out on top. The eldest son's family only spent some silver on their three children's education. On the other hand, Madam Lü's two sons received generous betrothal gifts for their marriages, and later opened shops outside. Every single expense was money. Plus, Madam Lü frequently buys herself jewelry. It's fortunate that the eldest son married a tough wife, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to support three scholars."
Yao Huang smiled and summarized, "A person has to be tough. If you're soft, you'll only get bullied."
Madam Lü and Qi's eldest daughter-in-law were both tough enough, so they both got the benefits they wanted. Squire Qi wasn't tough, so he could only be caught in the middle and worn down by both sides.
Yao Huang felt that the Qi family's mess wasn't fresh news anymore, so she didn't mention it to Prince Hui. When the time came, she simply pushed Prince Hui out to bask in the sun.
After strolling along the river for half an hour, they suddenly heard a commotion at the intersection of the main street leading in and out of the town as they returned. It didn't sound like an argument, but more like some emergency had occurred. Before Yao Huang could decide whether to go take a look, a woman hurried over to the stone bridge closest to the new house and shouted toward the Qi family, "Qi's eldest daughter-in-law, come out quickly! Something happened to Dalang!"
Yao Huang's expression changed slightly.
At this time, Qi's second son, who ran a grocery store on the main street, also ran over. Stumbling, he cried and shouted, "Father, this is bad! Dalang encountered bandits on the road!"
Squire Qi, Madam Lü, and the three daughters-in-law all ran out. Qi's eldest daughter-in-law rushed out the fastest. Grabbing the second son, who had slumped by the bridge, she fired off a string of questions: "Where is Dalang? Is he okay? Did you see him?"
Pointing at the main street, the second son said with a pale face, "He's back. Two mountain villagers carried him back. Eldest brother took him to the clinic..."
Qi's eldest daughter-in-law dropped him and ran toward the main street.
Squire Qi ran after her. Madam Lü, being a step-grandmother after all, wasn't as anxious. She pulled her son up and asked, "How is he? Is he injured or...?"
The second son: "He was beaten! His face is bruised and swollen, and he's covered in footprints. He's still unconscious!"
Confirming that he was still alive, Madam Lü breathed a sigh of relief. She told her two daughters-in-law to stay home and watch the children, while she went with her son.
All the neighbors who heard the news were rushing to the main street. Seeing that Aji was also squeezed in the crowd, Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui back to the east courtyard.
After entering the house, Zhao Sui said to the princess, "Go if you want to."
Yao Huang glared at him: "I only like to watch happy events, not miserable ones."
Listening to it afterward was fine, but Yao Huang had no interest in seeing the miserable state of someone after being beaten.
Handing Prince Hui over to Feiquan, Yao Huang went to the west courtyard.
After waiting for about half an hour, Aji returned and sighed, "Dalang woke up. He said he encountered mountain bandits. His silver was robbed, and he's covered in external injuries. My father checked him over and found internal injuries too. He needs to stay in bed and rest for at least five days before checking his condition again."
Madam Gao patted her chest: "Fortunately, it's not too serious. There are still about twenty days until his provincial exam. If he rests well from now on, he should be able to make it."
Aji: "Qi's eldest daughter-in-law is making a scene. She is dead set on believing that Madam Lü sent someone to do it, and wants to report it to the authorities."
Madam Gao: "That can't be, right? Madam Lü only found out this morning that Dalang got the silver. She's been staying at home the whole time, and the second and third brothers..."
Aji: "They were both at the shop. The nearby neighbors testified to that. So Squire Qi said it's fine to report to the authorities, but he only allowed the officials to investigate the whereabouts of the two mountain bandits, forbidding Qi's eldest daughter-in-law from making baseless accusations. When I came back, the eldest and second brothers went to report it together."
Yao Huang listened to the details and then went to tell Prince Hui: "Second Master, do you think this was done by mountain bandits, or...?"
She pointed in the direction of the Qi family.
Zhao Sui: "Solving a case requires evidence. A conclusion can only be drawn after an investigation."
Yao Huang: "I didn't ask you to solve the case, I just wanted to hear your thoughts."
Zhao Sui looked at the princess's eyes, which looked like she was eager to hear a story, and only then put down the Buddhist scripture in his hand, saying: "There are three possibilities. First, it was done by mountain bandits, and the authorities just need to investigate the mountain bandits. Second, nearby villagers knew the Qi family had money and knew Dalang would take that road to the academy, so they pretended to be mountain bandits to rob him. Third, because Madam Lü and her sons are at odds with her stepson, they hired thugs in advance to rob Dalang. If he had silver, they would steal it; if not, beating him up would still let them vent their anger. Thus, Madam Lü's argument this morning cannot serve as evidence that she and her sons are unrelated to this matter."
Yao Huang was more interested in Prince Hui's third analysis: "So, Madam Lü's side is still under suspicion?"
Zhao Sui nodded.
Yao Huang: "If Second Master were the magistrate of Lingshan County and received this case, how would you investigate it?"
Zhao Sui said, Before coming here, I sent someone to scout the area. There haven't been any highway robbery cases in recent years, so Dalang being robbed seems more likely born of a personal grudge. I would first ask Dalang or any passersby who saw the bandits for their physical descriptions, and then interrogate anyone who recently had a grudge against him one by one. This would include the whereabouts of relatives and friends who might be willing to act on their behalf, from last night through this morning.
Small towns rarely had hired thugs; to settle a grudge, people usually directed trusted relatives and friends.
Yao Huang's eyes lit up. If Madam Lü really did it, since both of her sons are in town, she must have asked her brothers or nephews from her maiden home for help. As long as we check whether those people were at home last night and this morning, we can lock down the suspects, right?
Zhao Sui replied, Unless they crack under interrogation, even if they did do it, they could just claim they went somewhere else this morning with no witnesses. For assault cases like this, unless they are caught in the act, it is very difficult to convict them through an investigation afterward.
Yao Huang instantly deflated. How many timid people who would confess upon the first interrogation would actually dare to go out and beat someone up?
In the afternoon, a head constable from the county magistrate's office took two constables to the Qi family's house. Seeing the neighbors gathering to watch the spectacle, Yao Huang took Madam Gao and Aji over as well, and Fei Quan followed along.
The head constable had already investigated. The Qi family's Dalang was ambushed from behind and did not see the physical appearances of the two bandits. The mountain dweller who brought him back only saw Dalang unconscious on the ground and didn't witness the bandits committing the crime.
Hearing the head constable ask Squire Qi if Dalang had any recent enemies, Yao Huang knew the authorities also suspected this was the work of someone with a grudge against Dalang.
Qi's eldest daughter-in-law jumped out and immediately pointed at Madam Lü, cursing her out!
After a bout of commotion, the head constable shouted for the surrounding circle of nosy neighbors to step back. Yao Huang and the others immediately retreated to the west courtyard, standing at the base of the wall to listen in. They discovered the head constable was interrogating the second and third Qi brothers about their movements over the past few days. He also asked about their usual friends and inquired about the maiden families of Madam Lü and her two daughters-in-law.
The interrogation did not go very smoothly, accompanied by various cries of injustice and weeping from the Qi family. The head constable had to reprimand them several times before getting a clear picture.
After coming out of the Qi household, the three constables confirmed the discord among the three branches of the Qi family with neighbors like the Liao and He families before heading elsewhere to investigate.
Yao Huang excitedly ran to the east courtyard and said to Prince Hui, This head constable seems to be quite a character. He actually had the same idea as Second Master.
Head constable...
Zhao Sui glanced at the princess consort and reminded her, He might have just received instructions from the county magistrate.
Yao Huang said, That's true. Then that means the local county magistrate is quite a character, not just someone eating for free.
Prince Hui thought about how Pan Xuniang's ultimate destination in that cliffhanger storybook was the county magistrate, and fell silent.
The constables did not obtain any confessions or hard evidence from the relatives and friends of Madam Lü's two branches, but the Qi family was turned upside down because of it. Ultimately, on the fourth day after the Qi family reported the case to the authorities, ignoring the objections of Qi's eldest daughter-in-law, Squire Qi had the eldest and second Qi brothers go to the government office to withdraw the case, deciding not to pursue it any further.
Madam Lü and her daughters-in-law stopped crying and making a fuss, and surprisingly, Qi's eldest daughter-in-law also quieted down. This lasted until the twenty-fourth of the seventh month, when Qi's eldest daughter-in-law personally escorted Dalang, whose internal injuries had mostly healed, to the academy. After returning home in the afternoon, Qi's eldest daughter-in-law suddenly caused a massive uproar: she wanted to divide the family estate.
Yao Huang went from initially watching the drama with great relish to getting a headache the moment she heard the Qi family arguing.
At dusk, she pushed Prince Hui to the backyard. After lying down, she somewhat reluctantly discussed it with him, How about we return to the capital early?
They were originally scheduled to go back on the eighth of the eighth month, but the Qi family was squabbling all day long. Yao Huang herself was fine, but she worried that Prince Hui would be annoyed, and having this worry made her annoyed as well.
Zhao Sui said, If you've stayed here long enough, we can. If you are just worried that the Qi family's affairs are bothering me, they aren't.
Yao Huang said in surprise, I thought Second Master wouldn't be able to stand such clamor and foul language.
Zhao Sui replied, With the windows closed, it isn't very clear.
Yao Huang said, Then let's stay a few more days? I also want to know if they will actually end up dividing the family.
In the middle of the night, Jinbao, who was sleeping in his doghouse in Qing'ai's room, suddenly pricked up his ears and let out a bark.
Qing'ai jolted awake. Just as she was about to check what was wrong with Jinbao, a woman's scream suddenly came from the Qi family next door, sounding like Madam Lü's voice.
Master! Who killed my Master!
