The room was eerily quiet.
Soft Concubine and Sheng Mingshu could hear their own heartbeats, their scalps tingling and their throats tightening.
They never expected to stumble upon such a earth-shattering secret.
Back when the Huang family tragedy occurred, Soft Concubine had only known the general outline.
Many of the details were unclear to her, and Sheng Mingshu had only heard about it from Soft Concubine, so he was equally in the dark.
Now, after listening to Sheng Minmin’s account, it was indeed full of suspicious points.
Who had the resources to carry out such a deed?
And after it was done, who had the ability to frame someone else and pressure the authorities into hastily closing the case?
After the Huang family members died, who stood to gain the most?
Only one person came to mind—Sheng Yong.
Seeing the look on their faces, Sheng Minmin knew they were thinking of Sheng Yong.
She continued, “I’ve been investigating the truth behind what happened all these years, but it’s been so long that I haven’t been able to find any useful evidence. For now, I can only say I’ve sensed a faint lead…
“I’ve held a grudge against him, and those brothers of his all side with him too, spending the Huang family’s money behind the scenes…
“That’s why I can no longer feel close to any of them…”
Soft Concubine and Sheng Mingshu finally understood—the Huang family massacre had made it impossible for Sheng Minmin to trust her “husband” and “biological sons,” leaving her isolated and unsupported in the household.
That also meant Sheng Minmin would have no reason to target the two of them.
Realizing that Sheng Minmin had been trying to explain herself to them, Soft Concubine grew anxious.
“Madam, I have never once suspected you in the poisoning!
“All these years, we’ve known exactly how you’ve treated us, mother and son. Both Shuer and I are filled with gratitude and appreciation toward you…”
Sheng Mingshu chimed in as well, “Mother, I’ve never doubted you either!
“If I may be so bold—if you truly wanted my concubine mother dead—
“you could have simply reduced her charcoal ration in winter, had her attend to you morning and evening, and given her frail health, she would have been bedridden and wouldn’t have lasted long… Why go through such a complicated scheme?
“You’ve always been upright and honest in your dealings, and you’ve treated us sincerely. That’s why that vile person came up with such a poisonous plot to harm us—”
Sheng Minmin felt a weight lift off her heart.
She had indeed been a little worried that Soft Concubine and her son might suspect her. Once a seed of doubt is planted, future interactions would inevitably be fraught with hesitation, turning simple matters complicated.
To her surprise, Soft Concubine and her son trusted her even more than she’d imagined. It warmed Sheng Minmin’s heart and made her feel that her kindness toward them over the years hadn’t been wasted.
She smiled and nodded. “I see. I was overthinking it.
“Qingxiang was secretly involved with Gaoshan, Sheng Mingjian’s attendant, so I sent her to the manor.
“I had hoped she’d find a good man and live a stable, peaceful life. Who knew…
“I’ll have Qingying and Qingzhu go to the manor in person. Qingying is meticulous, and Qingzhu knows the people there well—they should be able to uncover some clues…”
Soft Concubine and Sheng Mingshu both nodded in agreement, and the tension in the room eased.
Sheng Mingshu spoke again, his gaze sincere.
“Mother, is there anything I can do to help with the Huang family matter?”
“Madam, I’m willing to help too…”
“Thank you both for your kind intentions. For now, the Huang family matter doesn’t need assistance, but there is one thing I’d like you to cooperate with me on.”
The poisoning of Soft Concubine and Qingxiang’s drowning death made Sheng Minmin realize that from now on, she and Soft Concubine’s family couldn’t continue to appear “harmonious and friendly.”
The person behind all this had gone to such lengths—wasn’t it precisely because they didn’t want her and Soft Concubine’s family to have a good relationship?
So she might as well put on a grand show with Soft Concubine and her son to put the mastermind at ease.
And so, that very day, every servant in the Peony Courtyard heard the sound of shattered porcelain coming from the madam’s room.
Not long after, Soft Concubine emerged pale-faced, while Sheng Mingshu stormed out with an angry expression.
The servants were terrified. Someone went into the madam’s room to clean up and saw that her face was as dark as soot…
Now everyone knew—Soft Concubine and her son had been audacious enough to infuriate the madam…
Some worried for Soft Concubine and her son.
Others felt indignant on the madam’s behalf—after all, she’d looked after them so well all these years…
But of course, most were simply curious about what had happened and began poking around for answers…
——-
Meanwhile, Huang Yaning had arrived at the Lotus Courtyard with her “gift.”
She’d already received word that Taoniang had become a mute invalid.
She hadn’t expected Xia Zhi to be so ruthless!
Naturally, she wanted to share this wonderful news with Sheng Mingzhu as soon as possible.
And Sheng Mingzhu had long been terrified of Huang Yaning. The moment Huang Yaning walked in with her entourage, Sheng Mingzhu’s body trembled, and she instinctively wanted to hide.
Only when she caught Yuluo’s warning glare did she force herself to stay seated.
“Sixth sister, I’ve come to see you…”
Huang Yaning said with a beaming smile.
That smile was so bright, just like that day—and it stung Sheng Mingzhu deeply.
She wanted nothing more than to rip that face apart, but she didn’t have the nerve.
“What do you want?”
Sheng Mingzhu asked, her eyes brimming with venom.
“I heard some good news, so I came to share it with you, Sixth Sister!”
“I don’t want to hear it. Please leave—”
Huang Yaning blinked. “Sixth sister, my news is about your birth mother, Taoniang. Are you sure you don’t want to hear it?”
Even though Taoniang was Sheng Mingzhu’s biological mother, Sheng Mingzhu hated it when anyone brought that up.
In previous years at White Horse Temple, she’d always referred to Taoniang as “nanny” and never called her “mother” in private.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
Sheng Mingzhu’s voice was practically gnashing her teeth.
“No need to rush, Sixth Sister. Let me tell you slowly—”
Huang Yaning chose a seat, sat down gracefully, and then began speaking in a leisurely tone.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, Sixth Sister, but not long ago, your biological grandparents and your biological father became paralyzed—
“Shortly after, your biological aunt and two biological cousins also ended up paralyzed—”
Sheng Mingzhu had thought she was about to hear something new, but it turned out to be this.
She already knew about it. Years ago, she’d wanted her shixiong to take care of the Feng family, but her master hadn’t agreed at the time.
Last time, when the Feng family came to the capital and made a scene at the Sheng residence gate, her shixiong saw her crying in anger and pleaded with their master on her behalf.
Eventually, her master relented and told them not to kill anyone.
That was why her shixiong had dared to give the medicine to her nanny.
Sheng Mingzhu felt that if her master had agreed sooner, none of this would have been an issue!
And on top of that, the two eyesores—Old Man Feng and Feng Laoda—were still around! The thought made her furious.
Huang Yaning had been watching Sheng Mingzhu’s expression closely. Seeing that she wasn’t surprised, she continued.
“Maybe your Feng family has done too many bad things, and now karma’s caught up. Yesterday, your biological grandfather and biological uncle also became paralyzed…”
As the words landed, she saw Sheng Mingzhu’s eyes go blank for a moment, then flicker with delight—the corners of her mouth even twitched upward.
She probably wished those two old bastards had met their end sooner!
Even though Huang Yaning loathed Old Man Feng and Feng Laoda just as much, she still didn’t like seeing Sheng Mingzhu happy.
“You don’t seem sad at all—in fact, you look pretty pleased?”
Sheng Mingzhu’s smile froze. “You’re overthinking it…”
Huang Yaning shrugged indifferently. “Is that so… Let’s just say I’m overthinking it, then.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I forgot to tell you…”
She fixed her gaze on Sheng Mingzhu’s face and enunciated each word slowly.
“Taoniang is paralyzed too—”
