Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 41 Hidden Story

Once outside Lin'an City, the carriage sped along. Thinking of Ju Chang, Meng Shu sat in the carriage, staring blankly at a pile of paper money.

She will never forget the fear of being locked in the room.

Whether it was Zhao Di's numb yet resolute gaze when she slammed her head against the wall, the bright red blood splattering on her face, or the bruises on Chun Ya's body, or the subconscious action of protecting her body when applying medicine, all of these made little Meng Shu feel powerless against fate.

All of this was caused by Ju Chang. In Meng Shu's heart, Ju Chang was a thorn that could only remain in her body until she had the ability to remove it.

Meng Shu could outlast Meng Chengwen bit by bit, so she wouldn't mind lying low for a while and slowly getting her revenge.

After showing the identification card, they entered the manor smoothly. This was the first property the Tang family acquired before they rose to prominence. It is said that when the old master passed away in middle age, he left behind an orphan and a widow who could not establish themselves in the capital. After the family divided their property, the old lady took the young Tang Xian and her two daughters back to Lin'an and lived here for a long time.

Because the Tang family truly rose to prominence more than twenty years ago, neither of the Tang family's two great-aunts married into a high-ranking family. Of course, that's a story for another time.

The estate occupies a large area and has been renovated many times since then. The current head of the estate is the one who originally served the old lady.

The old lady valued this estate highly and would also take in the elderly people who had retired from the Tang family. The steward had taken into account Chun Ya's mental illness when he arranged for her to stay here. The place was quiet most of the time, making it suitable for recuperation.

After explaining the situation, the head of the estate sent his son, Xiao Yu, to lead Meng Shu and her companion into the courtyard. On the way, Meng Shu naturally wanted to investigate the situation.

"The steward had specifically instructed that Chun Ya should mainly recuperate at the manor, so my father arranged for her to stay in the back room of the third courtyard, where a maid would bring her meals and take care of her. Yesterday, when the maid went to deliver her meals, she found that Chun Ya had become lifeless, without any prior warning."

Meng Shu frowned and asked, "Ten days ago, Steward Cao sent someone to the estate to deliver the old lady's reward. The message he brought back was that Sister Chun Ya's condition had improved a lot."

Xiao Yu was only fifteen or sixteen years old. He looked embarrassed and mumbled, "The back room is usually the residence of the women, so I didn't know about it. It was Deputy Steward Jushang who made the arrangements yesterday."

"I see. I had heard that Aunt Jushang was being settled in the estate by the old lady. I had received kindness from Aunt Jushang before, so I naturally had to pay her a visit."

Xiao Yu showed a hint of disdain, and her tone became less friendly, "Aunt Jushang is now the deputy manager of the estate and lives in the second courtyard."

Meng Shu's mind stirred slightly, probably because it involved a power struggle on the estate. Before Ju Chang arrived, everything was managed by the estate head, but now there was an additional deputy manager, so Xiao Yu, the estate head's son, was naturally dissatisfied.

As for Ju Chang driving someone to suicide and still being appointed as a deputy steward, Meng Shu could only snort inwardly. She was unaware of the past favors Ju Chang's husband had shown to the Tang family, and thus felt a slight resentment.

Upon arriving at the backyard, the man was unable to enter, so Meng Shu was guided by a maid to the inner room.

With just one glance, Meng Shu noticed something was amiss.

"There are five rooms here. Is Chun Ya the only one staying here?"

Meng Shu noticed the maid's unease. "Ever since Sister Chun Ya moved in, everyone else has moved out because she often has an attack of her illness."

The maid pointed to a room near the corner and waited in the courtyard. Chun Ya's body had already been taken outside the manor, and she was only here to check on Chun Ya's belongings. Since she was the second young lady's personal attendant, the manor manager didn't mind giving her a favor.

Beside the bed was a deflated bundle containing, besides a few of Chun Ya's old clothes, mostly items that Meng Shu had previously asked someone to bring in. Perhaps worried about the smell of the corpse in the heat, several ice basins hadn't been removed from under the bed, keeping the room cool. Even with the windows open, Meng Shu could still smell a faint odor of blood.

Looking around, Meng Shu saw scratch marks all over the walls. The maid outside the door explained that Chun Ya had scratched herself when she was having an episode, but Meng Shu noticed several obvious bloodstains.

Upon further examination of her belongings, the gold ring and beaded flowers she had sent were also missing.

Suddenly, Meng Shu noticed a small piece of silk fabric that had been scraped off in the crevice of the bed board. It was about the length of a finger. She carefully removed it and, upon examining its material and color, realized that it was probably the fabric used for men's clothing.

Light footsteps came from outside the door, and Meng Shu quickly tucked them into her sleeve.

"I didn't expect you to care about her so much, and even came to see her off."

The one who came in was Ju Chang. She was only in her thirties, but today she looked more than ten years older.

Meng Shu's gaze froze, and she said to Ju Chang indifferently, "I never thought I would see Aunt Ju Chang again."

Perhaps it was the coldness of the room, but Ju Chang shivered uncomfortably. "Alright, there's nothing much to tidy up here. I've already sent people to prepare Chun Ya's body for burial outside the manor."

Seemingly sensing Meng Shu's hostility, Ju Chang said calmly, "I know you hate me, but you are now the Second Miss's personal maid, with a bright future ahead of you. Now I have been exiled to the estate and have also been punished."

Meng Shu turned her head and stared at Ju Chang, who was dressed in silk, and said coldly, "Punishment? If coming to the manor to be a deputy steward is a punishment, then probably many people in the manor would want to be punished."

A hint of guilt flashed across Ju Chang's face. "I have been trying my best to make amends since Chun Ya came to the manor, and I have also done my best for her funeral arrangements."

If Meng Shu were a simple and naive person, she would have believed it. But ever since Ju Chang stepped into the room, Meng Shu had seen a deep fear in the depths of her eyes. What she feared was probably not this room where someone had died.

There was indeed a hidden story behind Chun Ya's death.

Several miles away from the village, there is a cemetery where servants of the Tang family are buried.

Led by Xiao Yu, Meng Shu entered the cemetery. Usually, servants, especially those like Chun Ya who had no relatives, would simply dig a hole and bury them whole with a rolled-up straw mat. When Meng Shu arrived, she saw Chun Ya for the last time.

At this moment, Chun Ya was wrapped in a straw mat and lay silently in the grave pit, her ankles already covered with mud. When she saw someone coming, the servants put down their hoes and picks.

Meng Shu had personally prepared her mother's body for burial, and she wasn't afraid of seeing a dead person. She stepped forward and placed Chun Ya's belongings and the handkerchief she had brought with her next to her.

After staring at Chun Ya's purplish-blue face for a moment, Meng Shu jumped down into the grave pit and untied the gray clothes that were covering her body. There were two dark blue finger marks on her neck.

Unable to suppress the sharp pain in her heart, Meng Shu's body trembled uncontrollably. She didn't actually have any deeper feelings for Chun Ya. The reason she sent things to Chun Ya was simply because Ying Chun had mentioned how much Chun Ya had taken care of her when she was sick at Chunfeng Tower. After Chun Ya was taken away by the people of Chunfeng Tower, she assigned Ying Chun to look after her. Perhaps it was also just a case of feeling a sense of shared vulnerability.

Mu Feng stood at a distance and was startled by Meng Shu's actions. Was this girl really that bold?

"Is there a problem?"

Meng Shu didn't know how to answer. Chun Ya had obviously been murdered, and how could she possibly seek justice for her?

After she climbed out of the grave, she took out a piece of cloth from her sleeve and handed it to Mu Feng. "This piece of cloth was found on Chun Ya's bed in her room. It should be a man's clothing."

Mu Feng took the fabric and examined it for a long time, only to find that it was indeed made from a man's outer garment.

Meng Shu was only away for one day. At this moment, she said to Mu Feng, "Brother Mu Feng, could you help me investigate something?"

After Mu Feng left, Meng Shu squatted down and looked at Chun Ya. After some careful analysis, she called Xiao Yu over and said, "Perhaps there is an opportunity to bring down Ju Chang. Go and ask the head of the estate if we should seize it."

Half an hour later, the village head, Lao Yu, rushed to the cemetery.

Lao Yu is a rough and clumsy man, but he is meticulous despite his roughness.

Meng Shu pointed out the wound on Chun Ya's neck for the village head and his son to witness, only mentioning a few of her own speculations. Afterwards, she buried Chun Ya without erecting a tombstone, only offering snacks, tea, and fruit, and burning paper money.

After asking Old Yu, the head of the village, about the situation in detail, he then instructed Xiao Yu to secretly detain the maid who was delivering food to Chun Ya.

After Mu Feng returned, both sides confirmed that Chun Ya's death was indeed related to Ju Chang.