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"Red Willow? I haven't seen her!" The servant shook his head. "I remember clearly that the moment the door was smashed open, I specifically glanced inside and didn't see Miss Red Willow. Instead, I saw a red garment. But strangely, when I got up from the ground, that red garment was gone."
"A red garment?"
"Yes, a red garment, it suddenly floated past me. How can I describe that shade of red? It was like the color of pomegranate flowers, making one feel joyful just by looking at it. At that time, I was thinking that the lady didn't really like such bright colors; could it be that one of the maids sneaked into her room to steal something while she was away? You don't know, although the lady doesn't have much cash on hand, there are quite a few pieces of jewelry in that room. Just taking out one or two would be enough for the servants to eat for several months."
"From your tone, have you ever taken something from the lady's room?" The steward shot a glance at the servant. "Our Yun residence does not harbor those who steal from their master!"
The servant's expression changed immediately. He lowered his head and quietly walked back to the steward's side, saying, "I just spoke carelessly; you know me well enough, steward. Even if I had such a thieving heart, I wouldn't have the guts to do it. Besides, when the lady was here, she treated us well; I wouldn't touch her things."
The steward glared coldly at the servant. "Are you saying you can touch other things?"
"Of course not! As long as it's something from our Yun residence, I can't touch any of it."
Xing Ruyi looked at the servant and could only conclude that he was a strong but dim-witted person. With such an indiscreet mouth, given Red Willow's cleverness, she probably wouldn't conspire with him.
Seeing that no useful information could be gleaned from these two, Xing Ruyi could only quicken her pace with Chang Tai, hoping to return to Yun residence soon to find clues related to the recent disappearance case from the scene of the incident.
Lady Yun's bedroom seemed unchanged; that garment still hung on the screen, gently swaying with the winter wind.
"Fox Demon, look!"
Chang Tai pointed out a spot in the room to Xing Ruyi. "Doesn't that water stain look like a curled-up person?"
In the corner between the screen and the vanity table, there was a distinct wet mark. From their standing position, it indeed resembled someone lying there.
"It does resemble someone, and judging by its shape, it looks like a girl. Look, this water stain clearly has a waist."
"This couldn't be Red Willow, could it?" The servant who had crashed through the door had entered at some point and became visibly tense upon hearing Xing Ruyi's words. He stared with his small eyes around the room before finally focusing on some strands of spider silk tangled on top of the screen.
"Miss, look! So many strands of spider silk; could it be that there's really a Spider Demon hidden in the lady's room?"
Xing Ruyi remained silent, lowering her head to carefully examine the water stains on the ground. It was not entirely accurate to call it water stains, as the puddle did not appear to have been splashed directly with water. Instead, it resembled the sensation of sweat soaking through a cotton blanket or mat during the summer. Additionally, she detected a faint scent of silk.
Silk! Spider silk? Silkworm silk!
Upon thinking of those two words, Xing Ruyi suddenly stood up and walked over to the Screen Divider, taking down some spider silk that was hanging above.
"Brother Chang, we were all mistaken. This is not spider silk; it is high-quality silkworm silk, and it is freshly spun."
"Silkworm silk?" Chang Tai was taken aback, surprised by Xing Ruyi's conclusion. "If it were merely pure silkworm silk, I could understand. The Wealth and Honor family likely has some silkworm fabric garments in their wardrobe; it's normal for such clothing to get snagged on various things around the house. But freshly spun silkworm silk—could it be that Madam Yun is raising silkworms in her room?"
"Raising silkworms? That's impossible. Our lady may not be a grand lady of society, but she is still a jewel of the family, raised in seclusion. She would never engage in such rough work. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have the opportunity. Moreover, our lady is quite timid; she fears such insects. In the summer, if she happens to see a green caterpillar, she would have her maids pull out all the grass in the courtyard. How could she possibly raise silkworms in this house?"
"It is indeed rather strange." Xing Ruyi carefully collected the silkworm silk and glanced again at the garments hanging on the Screen Divider. She felt that the garment before her seemed to have changed. Not only had its size increased significantly from before, but even its color had shifted from plain white to a pinkish white.
"How odd! Could it be that there really exists another garment made of the same fabric in this world, and Madam Yun has bought it?" Xing Ruyi muttered as she touched the garment and then realized something even stranger: this was indeed the same garment she had seen not long ago.
"Brother Chang!"
"What is it?"
"This garment is somewhat peculiar, but I can't pinpoint exactly what is strange about it at the moment. My intuition tells me that Madam Yun's and Red Willow's disappearances are likely related to this garment. I think my previous assumptions may have been wrong; their disappearances probably have no direct connection with anyone in Yun Manor."
"I understand your meaning." Chang Tai leaned closer to the steward and whispered for a while. A flicker of fear crossed the steward's eyes. Before Chang Tai could finish speaking, he hurriedly ordered someone to bring over a Brocade Box to store the garment from the Screen Divider and then handed it to Chang Tai: "I trouble you, Lord Chang. If Madam's and Red Willow's disappearances are indeed related to this garment, please handle it on behalf of us. However, whatever the final outcome may be, please inform my Master."
"Chang Tai will do so. Please also convey to Lord Yun that regardless of the investigation results, Chang Tai will promptly inform Lord Yun and return this item."
"If this item truly is as you say, then I ask you to handle it! Although Madam loves this garment dearly, my Master does not like it at all; perhaps he has already sensed something amiss by now. By the way, it's best if Ruyi does not go to that garment shop."
"The steward knows about that shop selling garments?"
"Yun Village and Yun Family Gathering are like twin brothers; everyone in Yun Family Gathering knows what happens in Yun Village. The gossip from Yun Family Gathering quickly makes its way back to Yun Village. After all, they all share the surname Yun; how could they not know each other's business? As for Yun Sheng, he is a good child. Though he often appears gloomy and doesn't talk much, overall he is a kind-hearted and honest boy; it's just that his mother has some issues with her temperament. Of course, buying and selling garments has nothing to do with his mother; I've heard that most of the clothes sold at Yun Sheng's shop come from unclear sources and many are second-hand items."
"Old items worn by others? Could it be that Yun Sheng is in the business of selling second-hand clothes? Why didn't I think of this before? When I was in Luoyang, it was nearly impossible to find clothing from the Brocade Workshop. Many wives from wealthy families were desperate to get their hands on a fitted garment, let alone those common folk's Madam Sisters. Brother Chang, if I had opened a shop selling second-hand clothes in Luoyang back then, my business would surely have been as good as selling Rouge."
Chang Tai nodded appreciatively and even gave Xing Ruyi an admiring glance.
However, Butler Yun couldn't help but feel amused and exasperated.
"Ruyi, you misunderstood. The second-hand clothes we're talking about are not the kind that young ladies wear; they are old garments worn by living people or those that are no longer liked, but rather the kind stripped off dead bodies. While it's just idle gossip among some people, there is indeed some truth to it. Do you know what Yun Sheng's family does?"
Xing Ruyi shook her head. Although she had talked quite a bit with Hui Niang that night, she had never asked about her in-laws' profession. Perhaps because Hui Niang mentioned that her family lived in the countryside, she subconsciously assumed they were simple farmers. However, from Butler Yun's words just now, it seemed that Hui Niang's in-laws were not so simple after all.
"Yun Sheng's father was originally a hunter. When he was young, he injured his leg in an accident and could only stay at home afterward. To provide for his wife and children, he repaired a few grass huts at home and turned them into a temporary inn for farmers, hunters, and porters to rest. However, because their location was relatively hidden and not easy to notice, over time, the people who actually stayed there became those of dubious character—people who couldn't be seen in public. In short, they weren't engaged in any legitimate business. Because of this, the local villagers would avoid their home, which eventually led to Yun Sheng's mother developing a shrewd and extremely peculiar personality. But that's not the most frightening part; the scariest thing is that many who stayed there have mysteriously disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"They say they went missing to outsiders, but when people discuss it privately, they believe those individuals were killed by Yun Sheng's parents in a black market scheme. Not only did they kill people and rob them, but they also stripped off their clothes and sold them at Yun Sheng's shop. Moreover, I've heard they even dug up graves to sell the burial clothes."
"Such atrocious deeds go unpunished by the Government Office?"
Xing Ruyi asked as her eyes involuntarily glanced at the wooden box containing the garments.
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