Mama Yu knelt down with a thud.
"Young lady, I don't know what you're talking about. I truly know nothing!"
Even now, Mama Yu tried to turn the tables and deceive Li Man'er.
"Know nothing? Then what were you doing at the Guo family's residence?"
Hearing this, Mama Yu stammered, "I... I visit the Old Madam at the Guo family's residence for Madam every so often. She is her legitimate mother, and the sister of our Old Madam. It is only natural and proper out of filial piety."
Li Man'er took out the confession from her embrace. "Mama Yu is literate. This confession bears the signatures of Madam Qin and Madam Qian. Take a good look."
Mama Yu broke out in a cold sweat. "This old servant, this old servant..."
"Let's just say you knew nothing! But as the person Madam trusted the most, do you think you can remain untainted? When mud falls into your trousers, even if it isn't feces, it will be taken for feces."
Mama Yu banged her head on the ground. "Young lady, this old servant admits it, I admit everything. I only beg you to show mercy and spare my family! It doesn't matter if I die alone, but my family is innocent! My grandson is only a year old. I beg the young lady to be compassionate." wΑp.kanshu伍.net
"For so many years, you have followed Madam in doing evil, harming countless innocent lives and committing many wicked deeds. How can your single death appease my hatred?"
Upon hearing this, Mama Yu suddenly understood.
It was false that Li Man'er wanted her entire family to die with her; the truth was she wanted to extract more information from her.
Whether it was to convict Madam Guo or for some other purpose, she had no choice but to agree. Her own death didn't matter, but she could not let her entire family perish because of her.
Mama Yu closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face.
"Madam, I have failed you. This debt, I can only repay in the next life as a cow or a horse."
"Young lady, this old servant understands." Mama Yu wiped her tears with her sleeve and actually stood up. "Ask whatever you wish to ask, young lady."
"Mama Yu is indeed a clever person," Li Man'er said. "Was Madam involved in my mother's death?"
Mama Yu's heart jolted, her pupils involuntarily constricting. She had expected Li Man'er to try and dig up dirt on Madam Guo, but she hadn't anticipated such a fierce question right from the start.
Mama Yu maintained a calm expression. "Young lady, you are wronging Madam. When the late Madam passed away, Madam had not yet entered the household. How could she have harmed the late Madam?"
"That doesn't sound right?" Li Man'er smiled. "My second sister is only a year younger than me. A husband mourns for a year after his wife's death. If Madam hadn't married into the household, how could she have given birth to second sister a year later?"
"The young lady's birthday is on the first day of the first lunar month, and the second young lady's is on the twenty-sixth day of the third lunar month, a difference of one year, two months, and over twenty days," Mama Yu continued. "A wife's death requires a husband to mourn for a year, which is the norm. But young lady, do not forget that Marquis held a high position in the imperial court, and could remarry after only three months of mourning."
What the hell, there's such a thing?
Just because Li Shu was a close confidant of the Emperor, and because he held a high and powerful position, he could remarry after only three months? Did the Zun Kingdom actually have such a rule?
Mama Yu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that this explanation was perfect.
Ning Shi had died in the third lunar month, and Madam Guo had entered the household in the sixth. Over nine months later, the second young lady was born. All the timings matched perfectly.
"Was this marriage arranged by the Old Madam?"
Mama Yu nodded. "When the Marquis had just lost his wife, remarriage should not have been so rushed. However, the late Madam's passing was at a particularly sensitive time, causing the Old Madam to have poor appetite, sleep, and health. Thus, she made the decision to have Madam marry as a second wife, to bring good fortune. Madam was of concubine birth and raised by the Old Madam's concubine sister. Having such a connection was beneficial to both families."
Li Man'er suddenly remembered that Ning Shi had passed away on the eighth day of the third lunar month. Coincidentally, the day she breathed her last was Cui Shi's birthday. The anniversary of a daughter-in-law's death coinciding with a mother-in-law's birthday. Ancients abhorred such things. Cui Shi, if not already angered to death, would surely have been scared to death.
If that were the case, it would be understandable to marry a second wife within three months.
Of course, this was only understandable to ancient people. To Li Man'er, a modern person, Li Shu was scum. Ning Shi's body was barely cold, and he was already marrying again. What was the difference between him and those old men who immediately started looking for new partners after losing their wives?
Heartless and shameless.
"What you've said does sound quite plausible."
Mama Yu quickly said, "Young lady, this old servant dares not utter a single false word. The lives of my entire family, old and young, are in your hands. This old servant dares not deceive you."
"Guess if I believe you?" If it were anyone else, they might have been fooled by her. But Li Man'er was no ordinary person.
Mama Yu looked innocent. "You must believe this old servant! At this stage, how could this old servant dare to lie to you?"
"Isn't Mama Yu curious why I know medicine, why I know martial arts, and why I've suddenly changed as if I were a different person, with a disposition vastly different from before?"
Mama Yu's heart raced. She knew Li Man'er had secrets, but anyone who knew these secrets would surely not see the next morning. However, at this moment, she had no other choice. Death was inevitable either way, and she preferred to die with understanding.
"This old servant... does not know."
Li Man'er slowly walked over and placed her hand on Mama Yu's shoulder. "You old wretch, you are very cunning. It's no wonder Madam trusted you so much, even surpassing her own accompanying Mama."
Mama Yu's heart pounded unusually fast, and she was extremely nervous. She was afraid Li Man'er would slap her to death, leaving her no dignified way to die.
"You probably all think I've been biding my time, enduring hardship, feigning madness for over ten years, all for this ultimate counterattack."
Li Man'er smiled. "Feigning madness and foolishness is something I cannot do."
"Young lady is joking." Mama Yu's scalp tingled. She desperately wanted to scream and run out the door, or shout for help to summon the guards in the courtyard.
But she couldn't. She saw something cold and gleaming in Li Man'er's hand, which must have been a dagger. She feared that if she cried for help and failed, Li Man'er would end her life right there with a single stab.
No one doesn't want to live. Not everyone possesses the courage to seek death wholeheartedly. Mama Yu preferred to live.
"Let me tell you, I am not human."
Mama Yu's hair stood on end, and goosebumps erupted all over her body. She looked at Li Man'er with utter terror, then at the faint shadow on the ground. She swallowed hard. "This old servant... does not believe."
"Do you still remember the time I fell from the rockery? Oh, and the time I fell into the lake?"
Mama Yu seemed to recall something, gasping in shock.
"And also, when I was three years old, I almost choked to death on cold rice pudding once?"
Mama Yu trembled like a sieve and collapsed on the ground.