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Su Qianqian harbored feelings for her elder brother. Deep down, she could not tolerate any woman sharing her brother's affection, even if that person was her legitimate Sister-in-law.
She often cried to the Nursemaid, hoping that the Nursemaid would help her regain her brother's love. The Nursemaid was not a fool and naturally refused to assist her, instead advising her against it privately. Su Qianqian probably knew that the Nursemaid would not help her, so she turned her attention to her third brother, Su Jingrui.
In the Su family, Su Qianqian was a special existence because she was not the biological child of Master Su and Madam Su. Similarly, Su Jingrui was also a special case as his birth mother was merely a concubine. As a child born out of wedlock in the Su family, Su Jingrui's status was even lower than that of the mysterious Su Qianqian.
What kind of collaboration took place between Su Qianqian and Su Jingrui remains unknown. What is known from the Nursemaid is that Su Jingrui ultimately agreed to help Su Qianqian.
The ghost of her cousin was actually impersonated by Su Qianqian. Her intention was to use this so-called ghost to provoke Madam Su's nerves and attribute the unrest in the household to the arrival of the new Madam. Once this goal was achieved, Madam Su would surely harbor prejudice against this newly married daughter-in-law. As long as there was discord between Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law, Su Qianqian could secure more opportunities for herself.
"Isn't Su Qianqian foolish? Even if Madam Su falls for her trick and dislikes the new Madam, does that mean she will like her instead? Let's not forget, her face resembles that of Master Su's cousin, who is also the first lady of the Su family."
Xing Ruyi shook her head lightly, expressing concern over Su Qianqian's self-righteous intelligence. Even more frightening was that the Third Young Master of the Su family had chosen to conspire with her.
"The girl is indeed naive. But what Qianqian doesn't understand is that she always thinks that as long as she drives away Madam, she can return to how things were with the eldest young master. In reality, even before Madam arrived, their relationship wasn't particularly close; it was just that since childhood, the eldest young master had always been the most accommodating towards her. Especially during family banquets, he would always look after her so she wouldn't have to worry too much about Madam's expressions. However, ever since Madam entered the household, the eldest young master has no longer been able to care for Qianqian. She feels lost inside, and Old Servant understands this."
"Nursemaid, are you being harmed by Su Qianqian or by the Third Young Master?"
"Actually, Old Servant doesn't know either. All I know is that when Qianqian pretended to be haunted by her cousin's ghost, it didn't scare anyone in the household; instead, it piqued Madam's curiosity. That Madam has quite a lively personality; not only is she lively but also very bold. Upon hearing about ghosts in Qianqian's courtyard, she dragged Qianqian along to catch ghosts.
The ghost was originally played by Qianqian herself; how could she possibly catch herself? So Old Servant cooperated in putting on a show. Later on, when others asked about it, only Old Servant claimed to have seen her cousin's ghost.
After that night, Qianqian quieted down for a few days and did not scare anyone again. Just when Old Servant thought she had come to terms with things, I inadvertently overheard a conversation between her and the Third Young Master and realized that after one plan failed, she had devised another scheme and secretly poisoned the snacks sent to Madam."
"What poison did Su Qianqian put in Madam's snacks?"
"Old Servant only knows that Qianqian mixed a small amount of Yellow Bellflower into Madam's Chrysanthemum pastries because she feared being discovered; each time she added only a little. At that time, Madam had been hoping for Qianqian to bear children for the Su family and had sent many nourishing medicines. From what I heard in Qianqian’s conversation with the Third Young Master that day, it seems something else was also added to those nourishing medicines besides Yellow Bellflower; however, Old Servant cannot say what it was."
"So this is the truth behind Madam's illness, blindness, and ultimately her unjust death. That Yellow Bellflower is known as a highly toxic substance; many medical texts categorize it as poisonous herbs. If ingested accidentally, it can cause diarrhea, vomiting or spasms; once toxins accumulate to a certain level, it can lead to death. However, if used properly, this poisonous herb can also be medicinal—for example, it's commonly used for treating rheumatic arthritis and chronic bronchitis in elderly patients."
"Old Servant doesn't understand all these details; I just know that Madam indeed fell ill and grew increasingly worse. Several times when I encountered the eldest young master, I couldn't help but want to remind him. Perhaps that's why it led to such dire consequences." The Nursemaid clearly knew who had caused her demise but was unwilling to speak up. This reluctance might stem from wanting to protect the culprit or not wanting to implicate her own family.
If there is truth behind this matter, there will be White Fox involved as well. Therefore, regarding the identity of that hidden murderer, Xing Ruyi did not press the Nursemaid further but instead asked her: "Do you know where your body is hidden? Come out; I will help you find peace!"
The Nursemaid pointed to the bed where Li Siniang was sleeping: "Old Servant is hidden behind the wall at the back of this bed. When they buried me, I already knew I was dead. In fact, I have been content to live these extra years; the only thing I worry about is my pair of children. I hope to see them one last time before I leave. But instead, they nailed me to the wall and then built a stone wall in front of me, sealing me inside. My body was pinned down, and my soul could not wander far, only able to linger in this room.
I did not intend to scare this girl; I just wanted to ask for her help. I know that if I don't act now, there may be no chance to crawl out from that wall later. Please, I beg you, let me leave here. I just want to go back and take a look at my children one last time before I go to where I should be."
"Don't worry, I will let you out," Xing Ruyi promised. The Nursemaid thanked her and then disappeared.
The guiding incense had burned down to its last red ember.
"What do you plan to do?" the fox asked.
"This matter depends on Si Niang. If we show ourselves, the long-missing Nursemaid will likely be considered a murderer by the Su family."
"So you want to use Si Niang's voice to send a dream?"
"This is currently the most reasonable approach. After all, it's just a dream; others cannot verify whether Si Niang is real or not, but whether the Nursemaid is behind that wall can be confirmed."
"It would be good if Si Niang could appear, but once that wall is opened, Si Niang and the bell will surely have to endure more nightmares."
"If we don't open it, they might have nightmares every night. I can't just let Su Jingliang move them to another courtyard for no reason!"
Xing Ruyi walked over to the bell and gently patted her shoulder. The bell rubbed her eyes and got up, turning around to look at Xing Ruyi, then exclaimed in frustration.
"Look at me! I was clearly watching over Sister-in-law, yet I fell asleep in the blink of an eye. Aunt Ruyi, is Sister-in-law okay?"
"Your Sister-in-law is fine; she's still asleep. I just saw you lying here and worried you might catch a cold." Xing Ruyi signaled to the fox: "You go with my Fox Uncle to my courtyard and bring some herbs back; I need to prepare some calming soup for your Sister-in-law."
"What about my Sister-in-law?"
"Silly girl, with me here, what are you worried about? Go on, remember to wash those herbs clean; your Fox Uncle is too lazy for such tasks."
"A person like Fox Uncle shouldn't be doing such rough work anyway." The bell ran over to the fox and tugged at his sleeve: "Right, Uncle?"
The fox lightly acknowledged her with a sound, surprisingly not minding her tugging. It should be noted that during their time in Luoyang, only Yin Yuan, who was thick-skinned and unafraid of being hit, dared to provoke him; other children would shy away even if they merely brushed against his clothing.
The fox took away the bell, and Xing Ruyi then used her ghostly powers to implant the words spoken by the Nursemaid into Si Niang's mind as a dream. Si Niang let out a soft sound and woke up from her deep sleep, only to see that Xing Ruyi had not said a word and was already pointing at the wall.
"Did I just dream?"
Xing Ruyi feigned confusion and asked Si Niang.
Si Niang widened her eyes and cautiously poked the wall with her finger. "Fox Demon, I just saw that old woman in my dream again. She told me that she is the Nursemaid who went missing, sealed within this wall after being harmed by someone."
"The missing Nursemaid was sealed within this wall?" Xing Ruyi repeated, kneeling on the bed and reaching out to touch the wall. At that moment, she was using her ghostly powers and had opened her Ghost Eye, allowing her to clearly identify the location of the Nursemaid's corpse.
Li Siniang did not know the exact location of the hidden body, but she had vaguely seen a shadow on the wall last night. Now, as Xing Ruyi touched the wall, she was at the very spot where that shadow had lingered. She slightly parted her lips and tugged at Xing Ruyi's clothing, whispering, "Fox Demon, the places you just touched are where I saw that strange shadow last night. Could it be that the Nursemaid is really inside this wall?"
"You first saw a strange shadow last night, then encountered a ghost, and now today you had such a peculiar dream. I think it’s quite possible that the Nursemaid is trying to communicate with you through your dreams," Xing Ruyi said as she stepped back and got off the bed. At that moment, Li Mao had returned, holding a cloak at the door of the bedroom.
Xing Ruyi glanced at him and instructed, "Go bring me a bucket of water!"
Li Mao responded and set down his cloak before turning to fetch water. Soon, he returned with a bucket of water. Xing Ruyi pointed at the section of the wall where the Nursemaid was hidden and commanded, "Splash it!"
Cold water soaked into the wall, and as the moisture gradually seeped in, a human-shaped shadow began to emerge from the originally gray-white surface. The shadow indeed appeared to be in a very strange posture as Si Niang had described earlier.
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