The next morning, after breakfast, Li Man'er had Wu Momo brought in.
After not seeing her for several days, Wu Momo appeared listless and had lost a lot of weight, looking a decade older. Upon seeing Li Man'er, her eyes flickered with a strange light, and she immediately knelt down with a thud.
"This old servant is guilty, this old servant is guilty."
Li Man'er remained still, holding her teacup and quietly watching Wu Momo's act.
Undoubtedly, this woman possessed some loyalty, but not much. A loyal servant would not have known the abnormal circumstances of their master's death and kept silent for over a decade. If the original owner had remained as muddled as before, it would have been one thing, but since her arrival, everything had changed, yet Wu Momo continued to betray her conscience by refusing to reveal the truth. This, then, was her problem.
Furthermore, she had returned to the Ning family and said nothing about them, a move of self-preservation that made it difficult for Li Man'er not to harbor murderous intent.
Wu Momo wailed a few times, and seeing Li Man'er unmoved, not even lifting an eyelid, she began to panic.
"County Princess..." Wu Momo licked her lips, finally realizing fear. She had always believed that even if she made mistakes, Li Man'er would show her some leniency out of respect for the deceased Madam Ning. Now, it seemed, Li Man'er's stern attitude meant she would not spare her.
Wu Momo sobbed uncontrollably, her snot and tears flowing, pleading, "County Princess, this old servant knows she was wrong. It's not that this old servant didn't want to speak, it's just that I feared if I spoke, both our master and servant would lose our lives! The Old Madam's methods were truly formidable, and you were so young then. This servant dared not return to Jiangnan for help. If anything had gone wrong, the Madam's only bloodline in this world would have been lost. This old servant dared not!"
"To have your cowardice spun so eloquently, you are indeed talented. Even if I were young, why didn't you speak when I asked your Ning family to handle matters before? Hmm?"
Wu Momo was drenched in cold sweat, "County Princess, this old servant, this old servant..."
"Cowardice and betrayal for personal gain, I could flay you alive and no one would say a word."
Wu Momo prostrated herself on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing, "County Princess, spare my life, County Princess, spare my life. This old servant knows her mistakes, knows her mistakes."
She didn't want to die. She wanted to live comfortably with the County Princess, and she wanted to watch her grandson grow up. After serving as a servant for so many years, attending to the young lady for so long, and on the verge of becoming the County Princess's wet nurse, to lose her life over an incident from over ten years ago was simply not worth it.
"You know your mistakes? I think you won't shed tears until you see the coffin, trying to fool ghosts here, are you?" Terrified by her words, Wu Momo immediately collapsed onto the floor, trembling all over. "I dare not, this old servant dares not."
She was utterly terrified.
At this moment, Li Man'er held a sharp dagger. The blade glinted with a cold light, as if it were about to plunge into Wu Momo's neck at any moment.
"You've reached your age, only to meet such a tragic end. It is truly pitiable."
To Wu Momo, these words were undoubtedly a death knell. "Young lady, spare my life, spare my life."
A hint of impatience flashed in Li Man'er's eyes. With a flick of her wrist, the dagger flew out as if it had eyes, soaring towards Wu Momo.
Wu Momo cried out and slumped motionlessly to the ground. The dagger landed beside her leg; another inch further and it would have pierced her limb.
Wu Momo immediately fell silent, swallowing the rest of her words.
"Considering you served me for a while, I will give you another chance to live. If you don't want to die, then tell me everything you know."
Upon hearing this, Wu Momo's head shot up, her eyes shining with hope. "Young lady, young lady." She crawled to Li Man'er's feet and clasped her ankles, saying, "County Princess, this old servant will certainly atone for her sins and tell you everything she knows."
"Did my mother have any enemies?" Li Man'er asked, "The kind with life-and-death grudges?"
Wu Momo instinctively felt something was amiss. Li Man'er already knew that Cui Shi had killed Madam, so why was she asking about Madam's enemies?
However, times were different now. She dared not think too much and could only furrow her brow, racking her brain for memories of Madam Ning's life.
The Ning family was the foremost merchant house in the realm, and they certainly had their share of enemies. However, Madam Ning herself, a woman of strict discipline and good temperament from childhood, had no enemies.
Madam Ning had an elder brother and a younger brother, so she never had to worry about family matters. Even if the Ning family had enemies, it was unlikely to have led to her personal demise in such a short time. To put it plainly, minor matters would not involve Madam Ning, and major crises would certainly affect more than just her.
Wu Momo tremblingly recounted these words to Li Man'er, fearing that she would be displeased and her head would be forfeit.
But Li Man'er made no move. She merely glanced at Wu Momo thoughtfully. She actually found Wu Momo's words to be quite accurate.
The Ning family had been conducting their business with great caution over the years, fearing that excessive prominence would draw jealousy. As merchants, it was inevitable that they would offend people. Fortunately, the Ning family had the Empress Dowager as a powerful backer and the merit of saving the nation in the past, which allowed them to maintain their wealth without major incident.
If there had been a catastrophe that threatened to destroy the entire family, not a single soul would have been spared.
Why was it only Madam Ning who died? Who was Cui Shi a pawn for?
The Guo family?
Clearly not.
"Then, who were my mother's close friends when she was alive?"
Sometimes, your supposed best friend can be the one stabbing you in the back. Since Madam Ning had no obvious enemies, it was time to investigate her friends.
"Madam had only a few confidantes. Her closest friend was our Second Madam, He Shi."
Ah, right.
Li Man'er remembered that Madam Ning's best friend, He Yuniang, had married her second brother, Ning Qianzhao, becoming her second sister-in-law.
Ning Qianjing, Ning Qianzhao, and their youngest brother was named Ning Daocheng!
It was indeed so.
Li Man'er continued, "Besides Second Aunt, did Mother have any other friends?"
"Miss Xu, the third daughter of the Xu family from Cangzhou, was also a friend of Madam's. However, after she married into Taizhou, they had little contact, only exchanging letters. When Madam passed away, Miss Xu was pregnant, and her family didn't inform her, so contact was lost. Then there was the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, who married earliest and moved to Liangzhou, always following her husband on his postings."
"That's all?"
Wu Momo quickly replied, "These were the three closest friends! Madam's character was such that she couldn't tolerate imperfection. She never formed friendships with those who had impure motives."
Li Man'er nodded. "And after she married into the capital? Did she make any friends?"
Wu Momo was sweating profusely. She wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve and said, "When Madam first arrived, the manor was in such disarray that she couldn't manage anything else. Later, she was pregnant and her condition was serious. Although people visited wanting to foster good relations, it was all general social pleasantries, nothing special."
Li Man'er sighed.