Chapter 502 - 501: Nothing Goes Smoothly

Chapter 502: Chapter 501: Nothing Goes Smoothly

Seeing Yunluo frown, the old woman slapped her head and said, "It’s my confusion, madam. When you took over the housekeeping duties that year, Zizhu had already left the mansion, so her name wasn’t on the roster. No wonder you don’t remember her."

Yunluo picked up a cup of tea and took a sip, "What happened to that Zizhu?"

The old woman’s face darkened, and she said dryly, "She died last night, jumped into the well to commit suicide."

Yunluo’s hand trembled uncontrollably, "Committed suicide?"

"After she left the mansion, she married the son of a minor steward in the fourth wife’s shop. Her family reported this morning that when they pulled her out, she was already gone." The old woman said, shivering as she spoke.

Yunluo held the teacup, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Yesterday, Jin Ling had mentioned Zizhu to her, saying Zizhu seemed dazed and was quite frightening.

As it turns out, it was this kind of frightening.

She jumped into the well just like that at night!

If she hanged herself, it would be one thing, but to jump into a well!

Three years ago, Cangzhu died in the well, pushed down by Zizhu herself.

That murder case was closed as Cangzhu’s accidental fall, regardless of whether the people in the mansion believed it or not. Three years have passed, and no one brings it up anymore.

And only a few people knew that the killer was Zizhu.

Was Zizhu unable to bear the weight of her conscience, so she ended her life the same way?

Yunluo felt a bit cold, and the warmth of the tea comforted her somewhat.

She took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, then found the situation strange.

The life and death of a maid who had left the mansion and gotten married, even if it was suicide, wouldn’t necessarily be reported back to the mansion.

"Once she’s gone, may she rest in peace," Yunluo said.

The old woman nodded, following Yunluo’s words, and said, "Madam, that’s what we servants thought too, but her family said that ever since Zizhu learned that Mr. Si was gone, she had been mentally unstable.

When Mr. Si returned to the capital, she fainted, wanting to enter the mansion to bow to him. Her family stopped her, fearing the mansion was too busy with funeral arrangements.

Because of this, when Mr. Si was buried, she followed the procession the entire way and fainted again.

Oh! How pitiful!

During Qingming, she reportedly recited scriptures night after night for Mr. Si, mumbling in a daze that she dreamt of him and said he had no one to serve him below, and she wanted to go serve him.

At the time, we thought she was babbling nonsense, who knew that this morning...

Thus, her family reported it, saying she went to follow Mr. Si."

Yunluo exhaled slowly.

The dead cannot come back to life, and she went to serve Mu Lianyu, which seems like loyalty.

Her family reported it, probably hoping for more funeral silver.

This matter is not big, Yunluo can handle it, so she instructed the servants below to take care of it.

Returning to Shaohui Garden, Yunluo thought for a while and decided to have Jin Rui prepare some ingredients and medicinal herbs for pregnant women to send to Jin Ling.

Jin Ling invited Jin Rui inside and whispered, "Is it because of Zizhu’s matter? Her husband’s family sent someone to mention it, and Aunt Li went crying to see it."

Jin Rui put the things down and said, "It’s just that everything coincided, madam feared that you coming to the mansion for two consecutive days might make people speculate, so she sent me with these things to see you.

Zizhu’s family reported the death to the mansion, saying Zizhu dreamt of Mr. Si with no one to care for him, so she went to serve him.

You saw her yesterday, what do you think?

Was she already dazed enough to jump into a well?"

Jin Ling turned pale and sighed, recounting what Zizhu had said the previous day to Jin Rui, "In my opinion, it wasn’t about serving Mr. Si. She was completely broken."

The things Zizhu said were indeed frightening, claiming that everyone was dead except for her, which gave Jin Rui chills down her spine.

"Now that she’s dead, there’s no need to speak ill of her," Jin Rui recited a Buddhist blessing, "Where is that golden bracelet now?"

Jin Ling shook her head and said, "I haven’t seen it since then, she probably hid it herself. That bracelet was ornate, and if she wanted to melt it down, any goldsmith would ask questions to ensure it wasn’t stolen property."

Jin Rui nodded, gave Jin Ling a few words of advice, and then headed to Zizhu’s husband’s family.

Zizhu’s father-in-law worked at one of Mrs. Lu’s shops, and their home was nearby.

With a daughter-in-law dead in the family, the entrance was bustling.

Aunt Li’s cries could be heard from half a street away.

Jin Rui was about to approach when she saw a familiar figure in the distance, it was Nanny Zhu.

Seeing Zhu’s gloomy demeanor, Jin Rui didn’t want to be seen and turned into an alley, taking two turns back to Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

In Shaohui Garden, Yunluo was resting with her eyes closed when she heard Jin Rui come in, "How did it go?"

Jin Rui recounted what Jin Ling had said.

Yunluo sighed, "She just couldn’t hold on."

"I went to her husband’s house, and from a distance, I saw Nanny Zhu." Jin Rui added.

"Who?" Yunluo opened her eyes, smirking, "Nanny Zhu from Fengyu Courtyard? Did Aunt Second send her to pay tribute after hearing about Zizhu’s loyalty?"

Jin Rui quickly shook her head, "It didn’t look like it. Nanny Zhu’s face was very grim."

Yunluo took a deep breath, "Maybe she found something..."

Upon hearing this, Jin Rui’s heart started pounding.

Nanny Zhu found something related to Zizhu and Mu Lianyu, leading to Zizhu’s death?

No, if Nanny Zhu was uncovering old matters, she would need evidence to trouble the main branch, not silence them.

"Madam..." Jin Rui murmured.

Yunluo pressed her forehead, "The dead are silent, and Nanny Zhu’s words alone are futile."

Outside Fengyu Courtyard, Nanny Zhu had a terrible headache. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to question Zizhu before Zizhu jumped into the well.

Nanny Zhu forced herself to enter the room.

Lian Family looked up, "What did Zizhu say?"

Nanny Zhu shook her head.

"She didn’t confess?" Lian Family asked.

"No," Nanny Zhu lowered her eyes, unable to meet Lian Family’s, "Zizhu committed suicide last night, saying Mr. Si had no one to serve him, so she went to accompany him."

"Dead!" Lian Family stood up abruptly, dizzy from the sudden movement, almost collapsing.

Gripping the back of a chair, Lian Family took several deep breaths until the dizziness subsided a little, speaking in a deep voice, "Followed Lian Yu to serve him? Ha, how did I not realize she was such a loyal maid before? I just started investigating her, and she dies! Is this kind of coincidence possible in this world?"

Nanny Zhu supported Lian Family, urging her to sit, "Madam, I heard that from the moment Zizhu learned of Mr. Si’s news, she was not herself, claiming she dreamt of him during Qingming, and so on..."

Lian Family was stunned by the words, tears welling up, "Lian Yu didn’t even send me a dream, yet he went to find her? I don’t believe it, I simply don’t believe it!"

Even as she claimed disbelief, Lian Family clung to Nanny Zhu, sobbing and lamenting, "I just want to know the whole story, not to be deceived, why is nothing going right? Just began looking into her, and she dies, as if opposing me. Old Zhu, tell me, why is everything going wrong?"