Chapter 499 : Purging (1)

Seeing that Zijin looked as if she had countless questions to ask, Yuxi said, “I’ll tell you about these things later. Let’s take care of the affairs of the residence first.”

Seeing Mama Xi kneeling on the ground, Zijin froze. After half a second, she looked at Yuxi and asked, “Madam, are you mistaken? How could Mama Xi be a spy?”

Yuxi looked at Mama Xi, who was trembling on her knees. In truth, she also hoped that she had made a mistake. “Tell me, why did you do this?” If the evidence hadn’t been so conclusive, Yuxi wouldn’t have believed that Mama Xi had leaked the information.

Mama Xi knelt on the ground, her head bowed, not uttering a word. After serving at Yuxi’s side for so long, she knew exactly what kind of person Yuxi was. Despite all of Yuxi’s good deeds, her heart was more ruthless than anyone else’s. It would be useless to beg for mercy.

Yuxi remained calm and said, ”Don’t forget, you’re not alone. Aren’t your son and grandchildren with the Han family? If you don’t want them to die, tell me everything, and then I might even leave one side of the net open1 by pardoning them. If not, I will let them die without even a grave2.” A lackey who rebelled against his master would definitely end up worse than death.

Mama Xi still kept her head bowed, not uttering a single word.

Yuxi sat on the stool and spoke softly, “If you confess everything clearly, I will leave your corpse intact.” Betraying one’s master was something that could not be tolerated; otherwise, everyone would follow suit, and the residence would descend into chaos.

Despite numerous questions, Mama Xi remained tight-lipped, refusing to say a single word.

Yuxi didn’t want to waste any more of her breath, and Mama Xi was no fool. At this point, her silence could only mean one thing—she had carefully considered all the consequences. Yuxi turned to Yu Zhi beside her and instructed, “Hand her over to Xu Wu.” Handing her over to Xu Wu meant subjecting her to torture. If even that failed to extract a confession, then there was nothing else that could be done.

Zijin said, “Luckily, she didn’t lay a hand on you or Zaozao; otherwise, it would have been dangerous.” Having someone like her around was truly dangerous.

Yuxi replied, “That’s why it’s best to rely on people you’ve trained yourself. Those who have been bought from outside or who are already inside the manor can’t be trusted completely.”

Zijin nodded in agreement, but she still couldn’t understand. “Madam, Mama Xi has children and grandchildren. Why would she betray us? Even for their sake, she shouldn’t have done such a thing! Besides, she often went to the Charity Home to look after the children.” This showed that Mama Xi was a kind-hearted person.

Yuxi sighed and replied, “Who knows? Go and clear out the things in her room.”

The main courtyard remained relatively undisturbed, thanks to Zijin’s presence. However, the two front courtyards were in complete disarray, with many items damaged.

One shichen3 later, Xu Wu approached Yuxi and reported: “Madam, Mama Xi has confessed.” Few people could withstand such intense torture.

Yuxi froze for a moment when she heard Xu Wu say that Mama Xi’s son wasn’t her own. “What did you say? Mama Xi’s son isn’t hers? How can that be? My Mother said she gave birth to a son and a daughter!” If the son was adopted, her mother would have definitely told her.

The process was actually not complicated. When Mama Xi was pregnant with her second child, she had an accident, and the baby was stillborn. Furthermore, complications during the birth left Mama Xi with injuries that left her unable to conceive again. Fearing that her husband would resent her inability to bear children and that she would lose her place in the family, Mama Xi took the opportunity while her husband was away on a business trip at that time to pay her mother to buy a baby boy and pass him off as her own son.

Xu Wu said, “Mama Xi claimed that these people had captured her daughter, son-in-law, and their entire family, forcing her to reveal the situation inside the residence. Otherwise, her daughter’s family would not be spared.”

Hearing this, Yuxi shook her head and said, “Even if her son was bought and not her biological child, she has raised him for so many years and should have some affection for him. It’s ruthless of her to disregard her son’s family for the sake of her daughter’s family.” She sighed and added, “Forget it. Let’s leave her corpse intact, then!”

Xu Wu reported, “Madam, Mr Xia has also betrayed us. He has leaked the secret passages in the military headquarters.” Fortunately, the items were moved; otherwise, the General would have been in grave danger.

Yuxi asked, “What was his reason?” Mr Xia’s loyalty to Yun Qing wasn’t particularly strong, so it wasn’t surprising that he betrayed him as soon as Cao De discovered his weakness.

Xu Wu shook his head. “We don’t know yet. But the General has already arrested Geng Jichen and Kang Donglin.” By getting rid of these two individuals, they also eliminated two significant threats.

Yuxi revealed a smile and said, “We will no longer have to suffer like this.” With Geng Jichen and Kang Donglin gone, only General Zhao remained. However, General Zhao was a reasonable man. From now on, Yu City would be under Yun Qing’s authority, and they wouldn’t have to worry about their actions anymore.

Xu Wu also felt relieved, knowing that the General would no longer be restrained and their actions would be much easier. “Madam, we have identified three suspects. How should we deal with them?” These three individuals were also moles planted by others within the residence.

“They will all be dealt with! Xu Wu, you are indispensable to the Yun Residence. You won’t be able to return to the military camp.” Zijin could assist to some extent, but she could not handle everything on her own. Therefore, Xu Wu could not be let go.

After working with Zijin for some time, Xu Wu knew full well that she wasn’t capable of taking on such a heavy responsibility. So, he had already given up on returning to the military camp.

Cao De returned to the inn with his subordinates, looking disheartened. As soon as he entered the room, his expression changed as he confronted Du Wenshu, “Didn’t you say the information was absolutely reliable? What’s going on?”

Du Wenshu replied, “I suspect that everything that happened today was planned by them. The huge sum of money was discovered by Mr Xia and Yun Qing, so Mr Xia wouldn’t lie. The money must have been moved before we arrived in Yu City. However, it wasn’t moved to the Yun Residence but hidden elsewhere.” Yun Qing and Han Shi used this incident to dig a pit for them, and they fell into it with their heads broken and bleeding4.

Cao De was puzzled. “How did he know that the person surnamed Xia would reveal all of this to us? Could it be that he had suspected the person surnamed Xia from the beginning?” The person surnamed Xia had even disclosed the secret passage to hide the gold and silver to Yun Qing, so there was no reason for Yun Qing to suspect him.

Du Wenshu recalled the unpleasant look on Yun Qing’s face when he said that the silver was hidden in the vegetable garden of the Yun Residence, and immediately said, “If my guess is correct, Yun Qing himself thought that the money was in the vegetable garden, or else his face wouldn’t have been so ugly at that time.”

Cao De was quick to react, asking, “Are you saying that only Han Shi knows where the real money is hidden?”

Du Wenshu nodded. “Yun Qing is not good at pretending, but Han Shi, on the other hand, is a deeply cunning woman.” No matter who had experienced a house raid, they would have been frightened out of their wits, but Han Shi seemed breezy. There was only one explanation: Han Shi was confident they wouldn’t find anything.

Cao De’s face darkened. “After all our efforts, we’ve been outsmarted by a woman.” He had heard that Han Shi was a capable woman, but he hadn’t expected Yun Qing to entrust her with such an important matter.

Du Wenshu advised, “Yun Qing is a responsible and loyal man. With him as the chief general of Yu City, the city will be safe. Buy Han Shi is a hidden threat. As long as she’s around, there will be trouble sooner or later. When you return, tell the Crown Prince that this woman must be dealt with.”

On this point, Cao De agreed with Du Wenshu. He also believed that Han Shi couldn’t be allowed to remain.

Yun Qing was busy until midnight that day before returning home. As soon as he entered the courtyard, Mama Lan urged him to bathe, saying, “General, the smell of blood on you will disturb the child.”

Yun Qing felt Mama Lan was too picky, but he still went to take a bath and put on scented clothes.

When he entered the room, Yun Qing saw Zaozao sitting on the bed with a pair of small hands, trying to grab the rattle in Yuxi’s hand. When she couldn’t, she wailed.

“A smile spread across Yun Qing’s face as he said, “Can Zaozao sit up on her own now?” He then walked over and picked Zaozao up in his arms.

Yuxi gave a hmmm and asked, “Did you find out why Mr Xia told Cao De about the secret passage?”

The smile that had just appeared on Yun Qing’s face vanished instantly. After a long pause, he responded in a subdued tone, “Mr Xia said that his wife and children were captured by Cao De, and he had no choice but to comply.” Apart from that, Mr Xia also revealed his own background to Yun Qing. He was initially planted by the royal family to be by Marshal Qin’s side. However, Yun Qing chose not to reveal this information to Yuxi, fearing it would upset her.

Mr Xia, approaching his fifties, had only two sons, and because he had married late, they were still young. His eldest son was only thirteen years old. If he lost them both, he might never have children again in his lifetime. In such a situation, it was understandable that Mr Xia would betray Yun Qing. At least Yuxi understood this, as she believed she would probably do the same if she were in his position. However, she strongly disdained Cao De, saying, “A high-ranking imperial official like him could only resort to such despicable means.” She had previously held a favourable opinion of the Crown Prince but now realised her judgement had been terribly flawed.

Yun Qing remarked, “The methods may be despicable but effective. Fortunately, you were cautious this time; otherwise, we would be in big trouble. By the way, where did you put those gold and silver items?” He genuinely believed that the valuables were hidden in their home’s cellar!

Instead of answering his question, Yuxi looked at Yun Qing and asked, “If the Imperial Envoys had actually found the gold and silver in the cellar of the vegetable garden, what would you have done?”

Yun Qing fell silent momentarily before answering, “I have 50,000 soldiers under my command. Kang Donglin and Geng Jichen are no match for me.” However, countless lives would be lost if the two sides clashed, something he did not want to see. It was with this consideration in mind that he had not resisted when Cao De and Du Wenshu searched the military headquarters and the Yun Residence. If they found nothing, he could justifiably get rid of Kang Donglin and Geng Jichen. If they found something, he would still take action, even if it meant suffering significant losses.

Yuxi was very pleased with Yun Qing’s response and smiled as she said, “I had Zijin and Xu Wu move those things to the brewery’s wine cellar.” The brewery was located on the road between the military headquarters and the Yun Residence, so Yuxi had Zijin and Xu Wu switch things around halfway.

Yun Qing asked, “You knew they would search the Yun Residence?”

Yuxi replied, “With so much commotion, it would be strange if they didn’t search the Yun Residence. However, I also wanted to use this opportunity to uncover any spies hidden within the residence.” It wasn’t difficult to guess that the items would be transported to the Yun Residence, but the tricky part was figuring out where they were hidden. The cellar in the vegetable garden had been dug by their own people, and only a few knew about it.

Fearing that Yun Qing might be upset, Yuxi explained, “I didn’t intend to keep this from you.” If these gold and silver items were kept in the residence and discovered during the search, the accusation of embezzlement would be confirmed. There was no way she would make such a mistake.

Yun Qing said, “I know you were worried that I would tell Mr Xia about this. Your hunch is right; Mr Xia is indeed unreliable.”

Yuxi remarked, “Mr Xia joined us halfway, so it’s natural to be more cautious about him. As for Xu Wu and Yu Cong, I have never doubted them.”

Yun Qing nodded, “I won’t make such a mistake in the future.” Only those who had grown up with him were trustworthy. As for the others, one must remain cautious.