"It is so late, Mother is probably asleep. Let Wutong go and ask."
A warmth settled over Xie Mingyue's shoulders, the intense emotion in his eyes making her heart skip a beat. She averted her gaze and told Wutong to go summon her.
Qi Jinshan continued, "Those two audacious wretches, search the place."
At his command, the manservants and maids brought by Jinhe briskly entered the two nannies' quarters, turning the rooms inside out from top to bottom.
The search not only yielded gambling dice, tally slips, and similar items, but also various ornaments and trinkets that obviously did not belong to servants. Upon closer inspection, Qi Jinshan recognized many of the items he had previously sent to Qionghua Courtyard.
"None of these were bestowed by me. How came they to be in your rooms?"
Xie Mingyue looked at them coldly.
"To think you have spent all these years in my courtyard, only to spend your days committing acts of betrayal against your master."
The two nannies had never imagined that late at night Xie Mingyue would bring Qi Jinshan back to the courtyard. With ironclad proof before them, sophistry was impossible, and they could only throw themselves onto the ground and wail.
"Have mercy, Eldest Young Master! These old slaves were temporarily blinded by greed. We beg Madam to spare a thought for Grand Madam and give us old slaves one last chance."
Xie Mingyue remained unmoving, simply waiting for Madam Yun to arrive. Annoyed by the noise, Qi Jinshan furrowed his brow slightly, and Yujiang stepped forward to deliver two fierce kicks.
"Knock it off and kneel in silence. Stop polluting the ears of the Eldest Young Master and Madam."
With Yujiang's considerable strength, the two nannies were sent sprawling across the floor, unable to climb back up for a long time.
At that moment, Madam Yun's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.
"Mingyue, Nanny Huang and Nanny Li were both assigned to you from my own side. As for any theft, it is likely just a momentary oversight by the servants who forgot to tidy up. Why make such a mountain out of a molehill?"
Madam Yun had already been asleep when she was woken by Wutong and forced to get up.
This daughter-in-law of hers had always been as quiet as a quail. She had no idea what had gotten into her today to suddenly behave so out of character and start calling her people to account. Naturally, she harbored a bellyful of resentment toward Xie Mingyue.
"Mother, it was I who asked for you."
Qi Jinshan spoke coolly.
Madam Yun had not expected Qi Jinshan to be here as well, and the remaining reprimands that had been circling in her mouth were ultimately swallowed back down.
Seeing Madam Yun's expression shift in an instant, Qi Jinshan's face grew three parts colder as well.
It now appeared that many people had merely put on an act in front of him. Today's sudden incident had finally stripped away their disguises and revealed their true forms.
"Why are you here at this hour?"
Facing her own son, Madam Yun softened her expression.
"Mother, Chuanwei and I are husband and wife. Is it not the most natural thing in the world for him to be in my courtyard?"
Having waited for her opponent, Xie Mingyue finally broke her silence.
"If he had not come, I would never have known how loyal the people Mother picked for me truly are in their daily duties."
She walked over to the pile of items on the ground and took the jade bracelet from Wutong's hands.
"Ever since my illness, I have lacked the strength to manage many affairs. Much of this has been sent by Chuanshan, and even today's bracelet from Mother has ended up in their hands. This is my dereliction of duty as a wife..."
"Why take the blame upon yourself? Wicked servants who betray their masters should be punished, and that is the end of it."
Deep anger burning in his eyes, Qi Jinshan grabbed Xie Mingyue's hand.
Seeing the bracelet suddenly brought out, Madam Yun's eyelids twitched.
The next instant, Xie Mingyue's hand slipped, and the bracelet dropped straight to the ground.
"Ah!"
Wutong let out a startled cry and hurried forward to pick up the bracelet, only to recoil in horror with a gasp.
"Blood!"
Everyone lowered their eyes to look at the bracelet. The hidden compartment had broken open, and the powdery substance inside spilled all over the ground, startlingly and vividly red.
"What is this?"
Xie Mingyue took a puzzled step back and looked at Madam Yun.
"Mother, this was the bracelet you had someone send to your daughter-in-law today. To think there was something hidden inside it?"
Madam Yun panicked for a fraction of a second before immediately putting on a smile.
"Why so careless? Nanny Bai told me this was medicinal powder beneficial for conceiving heirs. Mother was afraid you might be displeased if you knew, so I purposely hid it inside the bracelet, hoping that you and Chuanshan would soon have good news."
Hearing this, a look of shock and despair crossed Nanny Bai's face, but she still stood firmly behind Madam Yun, keeping her head down. "It is a remedy from this old slave's maiden family. Madam, please do not blame her."
How could she fail to understand? Madam Yun was making her take the fall. Yet when she thought of her entire family tightly gripped in Madam Yun's hands, Nanny Bai had no choice but to swallow this grievance.
Yujiang, who had a good grasp of medical principles, stepped forward at a gesture from Qi Jinshan. He scraped up a pinch of the powder and sniffed it for a moment before saying steadily, "Eldest Young Master, the powder contains cooling herbs such as phellodendron bark and talc. Far from aiding in the continuation of the bloodline, these ingredients are likely to cause absolute barrenness."
Hearing this, Madam Yun was more shocked than anyone. Red-eyed, she looked at her trusted nanny. "Barrenness? Nanny Bai! You have been with me for years, yet you would harm my daughter-in-law in this manner?"
Nanny Bai immediately put on a ferocious expression. "You also know I have been with you for years, yet when I begged you to give my son a post, you refused! I wanted you to never have a grandchild, to ensure your lineage could never continue the Marquis' Estate's bloodline!"
"Impudent, vicious old wretch! How dare you use my hands to harm Mingyue!"
Caught between grief and raging fury, Madam Yun spoke before Qi Jinshan and Xie Mingyue could utter a word.
"Mingyue, Mother was wrong. I should not have listened to this old wretch's slander. Forgive Mother this once."
From everyone's perspective, this matter had been instigated by Nanny Bai. Since her mother-in-law had already stepped forward to admit her fault, any further unrelenting behavior from Xie Mingyue would seem somewhat ungrateful.
Madam Yun truly possessed formidable methods. With a single word, she had discarded her most trusted nanny.
Xie Mingyue quietly looked at her. As their gazes clashed, Qi Jinshan suddenly stepped in front of her.
"Are Nanny Bai's words true?"
He turned the thumb ring on his hand. A heavy, stifling anger condensed in the starless night, pressing down over everyone's heads.
Madam Yun frowned. "Chuanshan, this old wretch has already confessed. What more is there to ask?"
She had always been thorough in her plotting, but she had failed to anticipate one thing: Xie Mingyue would actually bring this matter directly before Qi Jinshan.
Some matters within the inner courtyards could be naturally suppressed using her status as mother-in-law. But once Qi Jinshan intervened, everything changed.
"Mother, I am asking Nanny Bai."
Qi Jinshan's expression remained unchanged, yet his tone carried an extraordinary, bone-chilling indifference.
"It was me."
Nanny Bai stiffened her neck.
Qi Jinshan nodded slightly. "Very well. Do you know that by harming an official's wife of the imperial court, not only do you bring ruin upon yourself, but your family will also be implicated? For the next three generations, none shall be permitted to enter an academy, nor shall they ever take the imperial examinations."
At these words, a trace of wavering appeared in Nanny Bai's resolute expression.
"Nanny Bai, have you thought this through? Do you truly wish to cut off all paths of study and advancement for your descendants and posterity?"
Under Qi Jinshan's cold and oppressive coercion, Nanny Bai instantly broke down.
"It was Grand Madam! Grand Madam ordered this old slave to do it! Eldest Young Master, your eyes are discerning—this old slave did not initiate this! I can take the blame, but my family is innocent!"
She frantically knocked her head against the floor toward Xie Mingyue. "Forgive me, Madam! It was Grand Madam who instructed this old slave to place the medicinal powder, and Nanny Li was the one who went to the apothecary to buy it!"
Amidst Madam Yun's expression of utter disbelief, Nanny Bai poured out the entire truth in a rush.
Xie Mingyue raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Madam Yun. "What did your daughter-in-law do wrong to merit such vicious punishment from Mother—barrenness? If Mother so dislikes this daughter-in-law, why not simply have the Eldest Young Master divorce me?"