Chapter 329: Chapter 329: Hinting
Su Jin rushed over, and Princess Nanzhang also came. Seeing her daughter being bullied by a maid like this, she was furious.
"Drag her up here and beat her to death with sticks!" Princess Nanzhang pointed at Xingxing and said.
"Miss, save me!" Xingxing cried out.
"Come up first," said Su Jin.
Xingxing walked towards the shore and carefully climbed up.
Covered in mud, with quite a bit on her face as well, Su Jin felt overwhelmed.
When Princess Nanzhang’s people moved to catch Xingxing, Su Jin stopped them with a look.
Princess Nanzhang said coldly, "Do you still intend to shield your maid?!"
"They were the ones who pushed me into the Lotus Pond first!" Xingxing said.
"You fell in yourself!" Xie Jinyu’s maid denied vehemently.
Xingxing was so angry that her cheeks puffed up roundly.
"How can you lie like that!" Xingxing said angrily.
Xingxing was known for her honesty, daring to admit her actions.
"Drag her away!" Princess Nanzhang’s gaze was icy.
Su Jin looked at Princess Nanzhang and said, "The maids each claim different things. The matter is not yet clear, and executing my maid so hastily, Mother, don’t you think that’s too rash?"
"No matter how she fell into the water, she dared throw mud at Yuyu. She’s already forfeited her life!" Princess Nanzhang said.
Such affronts from a servant would not be tolerated in Duke Zhen’s Mansion.
Su Jin knew solving this matter easily was impossible, but she wouldn’t let them bully Xingxing.
Besides, if she lost her only maid like this, how could she hold her head up with pride?
Su Jin looked at Princess Nanzhang and said, "If someone pushed Xingxing into the Lotus Pond, intending to harm her first, and Mother, as the Commandery Princess, here in Duke Zhen’s Mansion, you wouldn’t only permit the officials to commit arson while forbidding the commoners from lighting lamps, would you?"
"My father is now serving in the Ministry of Justice, and if Xingxing is executed without a clear explanation, I will certainly take Xingxing to the Ministry of Justice to make a complaint. Then, the affair of the eldest girl being pelted with mud by a maid will surely become a big uproar," Su Jin said.
"Without Xingxing, I have no one to serve me, I will choose a dozen more maids and servants from Dongxiang Marquis Mansion."
Princess Nanzhang looked at Su Jin, "Are you threatening me?"
Su Jin looked at her and said, "I dare not. Xingxing threw mud at the maid, accidentally injuring the eldest girl."
"This fault, we admit."
"Soiling the eldest girl’s dress, I will compensate with a thousand taels to get her a new set," Su Jin said.
"A thousand taels?" Xie Jinyu gritted her teeth.
"Are you treating me like a beggar?!"
Su Jin looked at Xie Jinyu, "Then what does the eldest girl want to do to resolve this matter?"
Xie Jinyu pointed at Xingxing, "I want her life!"
Xie Jingchen walked over, the Hidden Guard following closely behind, accompanied by two maids with their heads lowered.
As Xie Jingchen approached, he happened to hear the two maids whispering behind.
They had witnessed the whole process of Xie Jinyu instructing the maid to push Xingxing into the Lotus Pond and had hid in the shadows to watch as Xingxing fought one against three and gained the advantage.
Originally thinking it wasn’t their business, they just watched for the fun of it, but then they were discovered by Xie Jingchen.
Xie Jingchen glanced at them, "Repeat what you just said."
"We, we don’t know anything," the two maids said, trembling.
The Hidden Guard said coldly, "Such poor memory, do you need a board to help you remember?"
The two maids were so scared they knelt on the ground.
Faces ashen.
If they didn’t speak, the Eldest Young Master wouldn’t forgive them.
If they spoke, Princess Nanzhang wouldn’t spare them.
This was watching for fun at the risk of losing their lives indeed.
Su Jin looked at the maids and said, "Speak truthfully about what you saw. If saying the truth leads to losing your life, then it means encouraging others to speak nothing but lies."
"Mother, don’t you think that’s correct?" Su Jin looked at Princess Nanzhang and said.
Princess Nanzhang stared at the maids and said, "Speak, what did you see?"
The two maids lowered their heads, not seeing the coldness in Princess Nanzhang’s eyes.
They said, "The Eldest Young Madam’s maid was by the lake plucking lotus leaves when the eldest girl and the maid passed by."
"The maid walked over and pushed the Eldest Young Madam’s maid, and the Eldest Young Madam’s maid fell into the Lotus Pond, and they laughed at the Eldest Young Madam’s maid from the shore."
"The Eldest Young Madam’s maid was furious and grabbed mud to hit them..."
The two maids Su Jin had never seen before, and besides the backyard and indoors, her every action was practically under eyes.
There was no probability these two maids were bribed by her to give false testimony.
Su Jin looked at Xie Jinyu and said, "My maid was wrong to throw mud on the eldest girl, but she and the maid stood by and watched as the maid pushed my maid into the water without stopping it."
"I think without the eldest girl’s instructions, the maid wouldn’t have the courage to do so, would she?!"
Xingxing stood behind Su Jin.
Completely covered in mud and water, she shivered as the wind blew.
She looked down at the crossbody bag on her body.
"Ah!"
"Miss, this is terrible!"
"The Jade Pendant that the Emperor rewarded you with fell into the Lotus Pond!" Xingxing shouted.
Then she looked at Xie Jinyu and said, "That Jade Pendant was personally carried by the Emperor, invaluable, and if we can’t find it, you’re doomed."
Xie Jinyu’s face turned ashen, "You!"
"If you hadn’t pushed me, the Jade Pendant wouldn’t have dropped!" Xingxing said.
Princess Nanzhang hadn’t expected Xingxing’s crossbody bag to contain any Jade Pendant.
Xingxing took off the bag, pouring out a whip and a silver ingot, along with silver notes stuck together.
Fortunately, though the silver notes were wet, they could still be used after drying.
"Why aren’t you quickly sending someone to the Lotus Pond to find the Jade Pendant?" Xie Jingchen said coldly.
Two grannies hurriedly jumped into the Lotus Pond.
The Lotus Pond was mostly filled with silt, and the water was murky, finding the Jade Pendant was not easy.
Moreover, if they accidentally stepped on it and broke it, who could bear the responsibility?
After searching for a long time without finding the Jade Pendant, they looked at Princess Nanzhang and said, "We can’t find the Jade Pendant."
Xie Jinyu angrily said, "Who knows if there really is a Jade Pendant?!"
Su Jin chuckled angrily and said, "If the eldest girl doesn’t believe it, you can go to the palace to ask the Emperor."
"Such a valuable Jade Pendant, you let a maid carry it on her?" Princess Nanzhang said coldly.
Su Jin looked at Xie Jinyu and said, "Compared to placing the Empress Dowager’s Purple Jade Bracelet on the ground, what’s wrong with having a maid carry it?"
Everyone in Duke Mansion knew the Emperor had rewarded a whip that Xingxing carried in her crossbody bag.
So what if there was an extra Jade Pendant?
"My Marquis said, with that Jade Pendant, you can enter the palace at will and can kill officials first and report later with a few grades. Keeping it on me, in case my lady needs it, I have to get it back," Xingxing said.
"If the maid hadn’t pushed me, the Jade Pendant wouldn’t have fallen into the Lotus Pond, and pushing both the whip and Jade Pendant the Emperor rewarded into the lake is gross disrespect to the Emperor, enough to warrant beheading," Xingxing said loudly.
The Empress Dowager’s Purple Jade Bracelet warranted beheading.
The Jade Pendant awarded by the Emperor demanded even more.
The Second Madam came over and said, "Losing the Jade Pendant awarded by the Emperor is no small matter, finding the Jade Pendant should be our first priority."
Xie Jinyu was fuming with anger.
A little maid actually carried two imperial gifts on her!
The eldest sister-in-law truly trusted her maid!
"A thousand taels, I’ll let this matter go," Xie Jinyu said.
Su Jin looked at her, "Does the eldest girl think she still has the right to make demands now?"
"If the Jade Pendant isn’t found, neither of us can bear the consequences."
After the two grannies searched and failed to find the Jade Pendant, Princess Nanzhang began to doubt whether the Jade Pendant truly fell into the Lotus Pond.
Xie Jingchen looked at the Hidden Guard and said, "You go and look."
The Hidden Guard jumped into the Lotus Pond.
Xingxing stood by the Lotus Pond and said, "Try looking over there and see if it’s there."
The Hidden Guard followed her instructions.
Finding nothing after a sweep.
Xingxing pointed at a yet-to-bloom lotus flower and said, "Look carefully under that lotus flower."
The Hidden Guard reached down to search.
Aha.
Very precise.
Picked up the Jade Pendant, covered in mud.
The Hidden Guard washed it briefly and then climbed ashore.
Princess Nanzhang’s face turned pale upon seeing the Jade Pendant.
That Jade Pendant...
How could the Emperor have given her this piece?!