Chapter 302: I Investigated That Child-Stealing Maid
Chapter 302: Chapter 302: I Investigated That Child-Stealing Maid
The Chief Clerk led her into the prison, where she saw Xie Ming’an.
He was dressed in black robes, practical for interrogations.
They were chosen so that bloodstains wouldn’t show.
Before Shen Ningning arrived, Lifen and her family had already been tortured.
The little girl stood before Xie Ming’an, lifting her watery eyes and waiting for his report.
Xie Ming’an paused, then pulled several sheets of written confessions from an attendant’s hands.
"They’ve all confessed."
"Mrs. Ma Sr. plotted to splash you with a pot of hot oil, fearing you would retaliate."
"She then colluded with her family to secretly transport the goods out of Xiangyun Village, thinking they could get away."
Shen Ningning turned her gaze to the cell, looking at the bruised and immobile figures of Lifen and her family.
Her voice was soft and sweet as she stared at Lifen.
"What a shame. And I thought you were going to marry my grand-uncle."
"It seems you weren’t fated for it."
It was a good thing this was discovered before their wedding.
If she had only found out after they were married, Shen Ningning would have definitely found a way to drive the family away.
Lifen threw herself against the bars of the cell, begging pitifully, "Commandery Princess, I know I was wrong."
"I never wanted to cause you trouble! It was all my mother’s idea."
"She was the one who knocked over the pot of oil to hurt you! I didn’t do a single thing, from start to finish!"
Aunt Ma was lying on the floor behind her, too weak to get up.
But her eyes, as if coated in poison, stared venomously at Lifen’s back.
"You wretched girl! The moment something goes wrong, you push all the blame onto me! You’re unfilial! May you be struck by lightning!"
Shen Ningning’s large, bright eyes were dark and calm.
"I’m not stupid. I know you just wanted to bully me."
"You’re probably so used to being selfish that you thought everyone else would just let you have your way."
"What if I weren’t a Commandery Princess? Would you still have been unafraid to offend me?"
At this, Shen Ningning turned around.
She said to Xie Ming’an, "Lord Shaoqing, please just handle this by the book. There’s no need to call for me."
Xie Ming’an froze.
’Lord Shaoqing?’
’Did this child just hear someone else call me that and copy them?’
He composed himself and said, "The property the Ma Family took from the villagers is valued at a total of 6,800 taels."
"Excluding the firewood, rice, flour, and some of the cotton quilts they’ve already sold off, which cannot be recovered."
"The rest, such as jewelry, clothes, and fabrics, can still be retrieved."
"Once the case is closed, I will have my men return the items to Xiangyun Village."
Shen Ningning nodded. "You can decide, my lord."
With that, the little girl turned to leave.
She acted as if she couldn’t hear Lifen’s desperate pleas for mercy.
Seeing how decisive she was,
Xie Ming’an couldn’t help but ask again, "Do you have no other demands for them?"
Afraid Shen Ningning wouldn’t understand his meaning,
Xie Ming’an stood with his hands behind his back in the flickering light of the prison, like a merciless god stepping out from a tear in the darkness.
"As long as the torture is within reasonable limits, you can vent your anger as you please."
But Shen Ningning shook her head firmly.
She looked at Xie Ming’an with an unfamiliar gaze.
"That won’t be necessary. Hasn’t Lifen already pointed the finger at her own mother?"
"What punishment is crueler than a family turning on itself? Just follow the rules."
With that, the little girl turned and walked away without a second glance.
Xie Ming’an, however, fell silent and clenched his fists.
The surrounding prison guards and the Ministry of Justice guards all thought Princess Funing was truly kind.
But Xie Ming’an suddenly said, "I understand what she meant. In that case... torture this family some more."
Kneeling in her cell, Lifen’s face filled with terror when she heard this.
She watched Xie Ming’an slowly approach, as if she were watching King Yan himself coming to claim her life.
"No, no... My lord, I beg you, spare me!"
But Xie Ming’an just looked at her and ordered impassively, "I’ll give you a chance to avoid suffering."
"Your family will point fingers at each other. State clearly who led this escape with stolen goods, who came up with the idea, and who was responsible for loading everything onto the cart."
"Anyone who can give a clear account will be spared a round of beatings with the rod. Those who can’t will be whipped daily."
The moment he finished speaking,
Lifen and Aunt Ma immediately started blaming each other.
Lifen even slapped Aunt Ma in a fit of rage.
She berated her for favoring her son over her daughter and always being partial to her brother.
Ma Laoer accused Lifen and Aunt Ma of conspiring to steal the goods.
Aunt Ma, furious, bit down hard on Ma Laoer’s arm, making him howl in pain.
He, in turn, punched Aunt Ma.
The family descended into a chaotic brawl.
Xie Ming’an watched through the cell bars without a flicker of emotion.
After a moment, he turned to ask the Chief Clerk behind him,
"Would this count as what she just mentioned? A family turning on itself, tearing each other apart?"
The Chief Clerk: ...
’I don’t think that’s what Princess Funing meant.’
「That night.」
Xie Ming’an actually dreamed of his mother, Shen Siyi.
It was the first time he had dreamed of her since she passed away.
In the dream, his mother seemed angry, glaring at him without saying a word.
She was holding a child in her arms, but a halo of light obscured the child’s face, making it impossible to see.
Agitated and excited, Xie Ming’an asked, "Is that my little sister? Let me hold her."
However, just as he reached out his hands,
the little girl in his mother’s arms shouted angrily in a sweet, childish voice, "I don’t want you to hold me!"
"I hate you, Second Brother! I hate Xie Ming’an the most!"
"I hate Xie Ming’an..."
In his sleep, Xie Ming’an mumbled uneasily, "Little sister, don’t hate Second Brother..."
Suddenly,
He jolted awake. He sat up, panting for a moment before his senses returned.
’Why did my little sister’s voice in the dream sound exactly like Shen Ningning’s when she’d spoken so angrily that day?’
Shen Ningning spent the day in class at the National Academy.
For the past few days, Xu Jingxi had been recovering at home.
The little girl decided she would go visit him the day after tomorrow.
After saying goodbye to her classmates, she pulled the small wooden cart her Brother, Xie Mingxu, had made for her all the way to the gates of the National Academy.
But there, she saw a figure that displeased her.
Xie Ming’an was leaning against a carriage, dressed in a cyan cloak. His handsome face was as pale and cool as jade.
He seemed to be waiting for someone.
Shen Ningning averted her gaze and started walking in the opposite direction.
Muchun and Wanchun, following behind her, saw Xie Ming’an start to follow them and exchanged a look.
Finally, Wanchun bravely stepped forward to block Xie Ming’an’s path.
"Second Young Master, our Commandery Princess isn’t returning to the Xie Mansion just yet. We’re taking her back to Wolf Mountain, so you don’t need to follow."
Xie Ming’an frowned. "You’d stop me, too?"
Wanchun secretly pursed her lips.
’It’s because it’s you that we’re stopping you.’
Muchun, however, explained calmly, "The Commandery Princess has been in classes all day and is tired."
"Second Young Master, you should go back as well."
Xie Ming’an watched Shen Ningning’s small figure about to climb into her carriage.
He knew she was avoiding him.
A fragmented light flickered in Xie Ming’an’s sharp, cold eyes.
He raised his voice and called out to Shen Ningning’s retreating back, "Don’t you want to know why I’m so certain you aren’t my sister?"
"I investigated that maid who stole the child! There’s something wrong with the story."
Shen Ningning’s little foot, just about to enter the carriage, suddenly froze.
She stared blankly at Xie Ming’an.