Chapter 778 - 780: A Perfect Setup
Chapter 778: Chapter 780: A Perfect Setup
"But the source we tracked down is definitely a maid serving Lady Liang," Minghai said. "However, I didn’t pull my subordinates back. I ordered them to keep an eye on her."
"You’ve worked hard these past few days," Gu Wenheng said. "Don’t let your guard down over there, though. Keep watching."
Once Minghai and the butler had withdrawn, Jin Qianqian finally spoke up. "I have a feeling Lady Liang definitely isn’t the one who orchestrated this."
Gu Wenheng chuckled. "Since someone wants to stir up trouble, I should play along. Rest assured, since they want to drag Governor Liang down into the mud with us, I’ll make sure they get their wish."
"You want to confront Governor Liang directly?" Jin Qianqian asked.
"Someone wants to see the two of us fight, which means they’re prepared to offend both of us at the same time. I imagine Governor Liang isn’t willing to be someone else’s scapegoat, either."
「Meanwhile.」
Liang Shi, of course, was entirely unwilling to take the blame. He immediately summoned his wife and the maid in question, laying everything out in the open right in front of Gu Wenheng and his wife.
Mrs. Liang He looked utterly bewildered. Just recently in the backyard, she had been eagerly gossiping about this with her niece as if it were a joke, ready to watch the drama unfold and see how Jin Qianqian would clean up the mess. It had only been a day or two; how had the trouble found its way to her doorstep? And how was she implicated?
She turned to the dowry maid she had brought with her when she married. "Winter Granny, what on earth is going on? I never ordered you to do such a thing."
Winter Granny dropped directly to her knees before the crowd, kowtowing incessantly. "I don’t know, I truly don’t know! I only heard others chatting about it and shot my mouth off, but I really wasn’t the first one to say it."
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Mrs. Liang He knew they were dissatisfied with the answer. But this was her servant. If the matter wasn’t cleared up today, she would be the one forced to shoulder all the blame.
"Then tell us exactly who you heard it from, and be quick about it. Otherwise, I won’t be able to protect you, and I can only hand you over to the Master to deal with."
"Madam, I don’t know who the other party was, either!" Winter Granny said frantically. "I went to the cosmetics shop and accidentally overheard someone mention it. I just thought it was interesting, so I repeated it to others as idle gossip. I truly didn’t know! It was the cosmetics shop at the east end of the street. I suppose the shopkeeper there should know who it was." She was terrified. If she were handed over to the Master, even if she managed to keep her life in the end, she would be flayed alive.
"You dared to spread it everywhere without even knowing the source?" Mrs. Liang He felt a stifling tightness in her chest. Even if she were stupid, she knew by now that they had fallen into someone’s trap. She wanted to believe Winter Granny, but her husband and Mr. Gu obviously did not.
At this point, she could no longer bother maintaining her dignified facade. She raised her foot and delivered a swift kick to Winter Granny. "Hurry up and think hard! How is it possible that you were in the same shop and only heard a voice without seeing the person?"
"I really wasn’t paying attention! The person had their back to me at the time, and even when I left, they hadn’t turned around. Madam, I’m truly not lying! The shopkeeper of the cosmetics shop was there, too."
Mrs. Liang He then looked toward Liang Shi. "My Lord, why don’t we call that shopkeeper over and ask him? I genuinely never instructed the maid to do such a thing. It would be better for you to have someone investigate this clearly, or else I will truly be wronged."
As early as when Winter Granny mentioned the cosmetics shop, Liang Shi had already sent someone to fetch the man. Fortunately, the shop wasn’t too far from his residence. It didn’t take long for the shopkeeper of the cosmetics shop to arrive.
Manager Xiao was covered in sweat. Aside from being forced to jog the entire way there, he was also panicking over being summoned so abruptly.
"G-Greetings, my Lords," Manager Xiao stammered, unsure of how to properly bow. He opted to simply drop to his knees before them.
Liang Shi let out a cold snort. "This old woman claims she heard some gossip in your shop. You’ve been brought here to verify this. If you can identify the person responsible, I will consider it a great merit on your part."
Manager Xiao groaned inwardly. He spent his days in the shop dealing with people from all walks of life. Over the course of a single day, he saw dozens, if not a hundred, different faces. How could he possibly remember them all clearly? He glanced sideways at Winter Granny kneeling beside him, finding her somewhat familiar.
Mrs. Liang He nudged the still-dazed maid. "Tell the shopkeeper exactly when you ran into those people in his shop. Don’t leave out a single detail."
Winter Granny snapped back to her senses. She hastily grabbed Manager Xiao’s hand and said urgently, "On the ninth of this month, bright and early in the morning, I went to your shop..."
After listening for a moment, Manager Xiao’s impression of Winter Granny deepened, and he slowly recalled that day. "I do remember you. You were my first customer of the day. As a result, business was exceptionally good that day, and I didn’t get a moment’s rest..."
"Just tell me this," Liang Shi interrupted. "Do you remember the two customers who were speaking at the time?"
"Now that she mentions it, I do have a vague impression. It’s just that there were too many customers in the shop. Since the other party didn’t buy anything, I really didn’t pay them much mind. So many days have passed, and I have no real memory of it in my head. I only know that it seems there were indeed two such people in the shop at the same time. As for what they said or what they looked like, I truly don’t remember."
Manager Xiao complained bitterly in his heart. He was busy running his shop every day; how could he possibly memorize every single person’s appearance? Not to mention, he had to manage his business—he didn’t have the luxury of listening to others make idle chatter.
Obviously, Governor Liang was dissatisfied with this answer. "If you are shielding someone, I will hold you criminally responsible."
"My Lord, everything I’m saying is the truth! My cosmetics shop does fairly well, and with so many customers coming and going every day, I really can’t remember them all. However, the wonton stall across the street directly faces my storefront. Perhaps someone there might remember." Manager Xiao hurriedly added, "Many customers who buy cosmetics from me also go over there to eat a bowl of wontons. I just don’t know if the boss of that stall has any impression."
"Go and bring him here. I simply refuse to believe that we won’t get to the bottom of this today!" Upon hearing this, Liang Shi knew for certain that Winter Granny had walked right into someone else’s trap.
Just as Gu Wenheng had analyzed, if the other party was deliberate about it, the investigation would likely hit a dead end here. But Liang Shi refused to believe it. A stone leaves a mark when stepped on, and a goose casts a shadow in flight—nothing is done without leaving a trace. Those two people couldn’t have just appeared out of thin air.
Evidently, the perpetrators were well-prepared. By the time night fell, the men Governor Liang sent out had not returned with a single piece of news.
Gu Wenheng had long known this would be the result. His visit today was simply a show of his stance.
"It seems the culprit is even more cunning than I imagined. They want to direct all the conflict toward your esteemed residence," Gu Wenheng said. "Lord Liang, my wife and I naturally believe that your Madam wouldn’t stir up trouble for no reason. However, the motives of whoever fabricated these rumors are truly malicious."
Mrs. Liang He, who had been keeping them company, quickly took the opportunity to declare her innocence. "Mr. Gu, there is no grievance or enmity between our two estates. I naturally wouldn’t target you."