C16

Wan Ju was merely a servant of the Ye Family. Although her facial features were delicate and pretty, she did not have a devastating beauty and her family wasn't doing well either. Furthermore, the servants of the house have always been kind to the servants, so every two months, they would have the chance to go home and visit their families. In all these years, Wan Ju had walked back and forth from the Ye Mansion to her home countless of times and nothing had happened.

It must be because of that!

Jin Lan's eyes darkened, and she gently lifted the cup lid, fiddling with the green tender tea leaves in the teacup.

The sound of porcelain colliding could be heard from time to time in the house. Normally, it would be pleasant to listen to, but when it entered Madame Dou's ears, it was like a thousand-pound hammer smashing into her heart. She immediately felt her heart pounding. She kept twirling the hem of her clothes as she nervously tried to figure out how to escape.

After a long while, Jin Lan opened his mouth, "Sister-in-law Dou, do you know the laws of the Zhou Dynasty? What is the crime of a servant who has signed a death contract escaping in secret?"

Madame Dou was shocked, a strong unease arose in her heart, "This servant doesn't know."

Jin Lan turned his head to look at Mama Tang, "Does Mama know?"

Although the Mama Tang did not know why Jin Lan suddenly mentioned this, he still nodded his head and replied respectfully: "According to the laws of the Great Zhou, the servants who have signed the death contract can escape at will. Those who capture them can be killed at will, and their families can be punished as well.

Although Madame Dou tried her best to suppress the fear in her heart, her body still trembled uncontrollably, "Many, many thanks Mama for telling me, but what does this have to do with me?"

The corner of Jin Lan's mouth rose in a cold smile, "If I'm not wrong, what Wan Ju signed is a death contract."

Wan Ju was not the son of Ye Family, it was said that her brother did some odd jobs outside, and could not earn much money every year. Although Madame Dou often helped people wash and sew up to earn some money, my father and mother's bodies were in a bad condition, and they had to watch the doctors eat their medicine. This was why she sold Wan Ju to the Ye Family. Firstly, because she obtained silver to live on, and secondly, to find a place for Wan Ju to eat and wear.

Thus, when Wan Ju sold herself, she signed the death contract.

Madame Dou's body continuously trembled, she forced out a smile that was uglier than a cry, "Where did this lady come from? It was just that my sister-in-law was suffering from an emergency and was afraid that if I were to return home I would cause this young lady to get sick, thus coming here to take a few days off. How did this young lady get involved in this? "

"Sister Dou, you don't need to quibble." Jin Lan let out a cold snort, her young and tender face was filled with severity. "To tell you the truth, when Wan Ju left the mansion, I didn't even ask her to bring a millet cake!"

Mama Tang and Wen Zhu were startled, their faces revealed a strange expression, then instantly understood why Madame Dou was so resistant to Jin Lan and asked for Wan Ju's doctor.

"How, how could this be …" Madame Dou's breathing suddenly stopped, the feigned calmness on her face was finally broken, revealing a bit of panic, but she still bit on her lips, "I did eat a millet cake that day, maybe, maybe, maybe little sister-in-law bought it by passing by the store."

"So you're saying I misunderstood?" "Since that's the case, Wen Zhu, come back with Sister Dou and help me visit Wan Ju. Tell her to rest in peace and come back when she is well."

Wen Zhu replied, "Yes." With that, she coldly looked at Madame Dou, "Sister Dou, please!"

Unexpectedly, Madame Dou turned a deaf ear to Wen Zhu's words, he was still standing blankly on the spot, his body shaking like a sieve, and his face turning uglier and uglier.

"What is it? "Sister Dou, it's getting late. Why don't you hurry up and go home?" The Madame Dou had lied to Jin Lan the moment they arrived. Now that they had been exposed, Wen Zhu would naturally not give her any good looks.

Madame Dou's face instantly turned pale, she could not hold on any longer, and kneeled on the ground and kowtowed to Jin Lan, "Miss, please spare me!"

Jin Lan leaned back in his chair and watched quietly. He did not answer, but Mama Tang by his side calmly asked, "What did Sister Dou say? This lady wants you to go home, not to harm you, why are you shouting for mercy? "

She raised her pale face and looked at Mama Tang with trembling eyes before turning back to Jin Lan. "Miss, Miss, could it be that after this servant said it, this servant will spare my family?"

Jin Lan suppressed the anger in his heart and looked at her coldly. "Is Sister-in-Law Dou negotiating with me?" Have you forgotten that all of this is not up to you! "

Initially, Madame Dou still had some hope. Jin Lan's words were like the last straw that broke a camel's back. Her face immediately turned deathly pale as she shakily said: "Miss, this servant will say now. This servant will say …"

"This servant was preparing to take the sewn clothes to the shop early in the morning, but I didn't expect to see a sixteen or seventeen year old lady standing outside the door with a smile on her face when I opened the door." Madame Dou knelt on the ground and said while wiping her tears, "This servant asked who she was but she did not answer. She opened her mouth and told me her sister-in-law's name."

"This servant thinks that she is probably the same as little sister-in-law, someone close to the girl, so I want to invite her into the house. But who knew that she would wave her hand and refuse? She took out two taels of silver and said that she had something to discuss with him. " When he thought about the amount of silver, Madame Dou's face flashed with shock, and his tone immediately became hesitant.

The room was completely silent. The only sound that could be heard was the intermittent sobbing of the Madame Dou. Jin Lan did not urge him, but only looked at her steadily while the Mama Tang and Wen Zhu coldly stared at him.

Seeing that, Madame Dou knew that it was too much of a coincidence, so she continued: "She said, she said that the young lady ordered her sister-in-law to go out with her for some matters, but seeing that it was about time, and the matter had not been completed, she was afraid that the young lady would blame them for doing things poorly, so she came to me to tell the young lady about it. She even said that she was afraid that the girl would be angry after knowing about it, so she might as well say that the little sister-in-law is suffering from an emergency. Once things are settled, it'll be easier to get away with it. " Saying that, she started to cry loudly, crying as she kowtowed, "Miss, this servant really didn't know that the little sister-in-law had left the mansion. If I knew, I would have definitely sent her back! "Please be merciful, and spare this humble servant's family!"

Seeing Madame Dou's red forehead, Jin Lan couldn't help but frown.

The Mama Tang was afraid that the Madame Dou would scare her, so she took a step forward and shouted: "Get up first!"

Madame Dou did not dare to continue kowtowing after being yelled at by Mama Tang. She could only kneel down for a long time with her legs numb.

Jin Lan was silent for a moment, then spat out the last question from his heart: "Has Wan Ju ever returned home?"

Madame Dou's hair was tied up and she had spent all her makeup just to enter the palace. Tears were streaming down her face, but when she heard Jin Lan's question, she carelessly wiped it with her sleeves and shook her head, saying, "No."

When Jin Lan heard this, he felt slightly relieved. Wan Ju had left her house four days ago, and logically speaking, she should have returned yesterday. However, Madame SHen's coma made her unable to investigate it, and it was only today that she remembered. Although the words of the Madame Dou made people feel suspicious, but there was still a thread of hope, and that was that Wan Ju was still alive!

At least until now, Wan Ju was still alive, and had not yet fallen into the hands of another. If something happened to Wan Ju or someone caught him, it would be easy for him to not look for Wan Ju and even bribe the Madame Dou to take a leave of absence from him. This was obviously because she was afraid that the Palace would find out that Wan Ju had gone missing, which would arouse her suspicions.

However, since Wan Ju was safe and sound, she did not return to the clan. Most likely, she was also in a very dire situation.

Jin Lan took a deep breath, and tightened his grip on the teacup. If she guessed correctly, the person who did this to Wan Ju was most likely the one who poisoned the Madame SHen!

It was precisely because Wan Ju brought the dregs of the Madame SHen's medicine out for an examination that ignited the flames of anger on her body. However, only she and Wan Ju knew about the medicine, how could the mastermind of the poison find out? Furthermore, the other party had clearly grasped the time and the path Wan Ju had taken to leave the palace …

Although it was a scorching summer day, the heart of Jin Lan felt as if it had fallen into an ice hole, and it became colder and colder.

Mama Tang carefully noticed that Jin Lan's face had alternated between green and white. He couldn't help but be worried, "Miss, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

With great difficulty, Jin Lan recovered his wits and shook his head. "I'm fine."

With so many things coinciding, the only explanation was that someone had set up a chess piece within the Lan Garden.