Die Faust zerschmettert alle Himmel und unzählige Welten

Kapitel 16

11. The Third Madam Long's tantrum was cathartic...

The thickness and color of the thread were exactly the same as the thread used for knots she had seen in Long San's house that day. Feng Ning stared at the thread as if she had seen a ghost, her heart pounding wildly.

She wouldn't do that, how could she possibly do such a thing? But the silk ropes were real, truly right in front of her, and several of them were even braided into knotted patterns, as if they had practiced beforehand.

Feng Ning's legs went weak, and she slumped into a chair with a thud. How could this be? How could she have been having an affair? How could she have murdered her husband? How could she be such a vicious and ruthless woman?

Feng Ning felt a cold sweat break out, and a chill ran down her spine. Granny Yu was right; she possessed a woman's intuition and an old person's keen insight, so her dislike and coldness towards her were all for a reason.

Feng Ning tried hard to recall. Long San said she liked to take her dowry maid out for trips, and Xiao Qing said her dowry maid had died of illness recently, just before her accident. In other words, if her trips were for having an affair, then her maid must have known about it. But just so happened that the only person in the mansion who knew about it died before she was about to steal the treasure and escape.

What a coincidence! It's a coincidence that's almost unbelievable.

Feng Ning couldn't believe it. Could the maid's death be related to her? Xiao Qing clearly said that the maid had indeed died of illness, and Doctor Chen had examined her. That must be the truth, right? Could it be related to her?

Feng Ning covered her face, feeling as if this was a bolt from the blue, even more shocking than when she discovered she had lost her memory. She stared at the silk ropes until the sky began to lighten.

This was the first time Long San had seen Feng Ning eat listlessly. He looked at the dishes, which were all her favorites. A few days ago, she had been beaming with joy when she ate them, but today she seemed to have forgotten how to taste them and just kept stuffing them into her mouth.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?" She occasionally had nightmares and would complain to him, but that never affected her appetite. He wondered if something was wrong today, but he remained expressionless.

Feng Ning put down her chopsticks and suddenly had a thought: "Long San, you said that you hit your head and were unconscious last time, and you hit it again and it got better. So, can I hit it again and it will get better too?" She really wanted to know what she had done in the past, and she really wanted to know that she wasn't such a bad woman.

Long San put down his chopsticks and said, "I don't mind if you try, but please write a will before you go, explaining that you went to crash into it yourself. That way, if you don't come back, I can explain it to your family."

Feng Ning pouted and stood up abruptly: "How can you be like this? You should at least try to persuade me and show me some concern."

"Then don't go. If you get hurt, you'll be even more stupid, and I'll have to tell you the story all over again, which is quite tiring."

Feng Ning didn't speak, but glared at him intently.

Long San sighed and shrugged: "Then tell me, what exactly do you want?"

Feng Ning, of course, couldn't say anything. After a long while, she could only glare at him and say, "I'll tell you when I think of something." Then she turned around and left.

Looking at the leftovers in front of him, Long San realized that he was actually wondering if this crazy woman had eaten enough.

Feng Ning's mind was filled with the silk ropes, and she didn't notice that she hadn't eaten enough. She felt ashamed and flustered; so this was what it felt like to have done something wrong. She didn't dare tell Long San about the discovery of the silk ropes. It was rare for someone to be kind to her; if she told him, wouldn't she just make him hate her?

The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. She still couldn't believe she could be such a bad person. But the method of bumping into someone was too dangerous and wouldn't work, and the so-called "expert" magic of Granny Yu was unreliable. She had taken the medicine and gone to the old place, but there was still no progress.

Feng Ning was filled with gloom. She paced around the mansion, suspicious of everything. Could the servants who avoided her gaze know something? Could the maid who turned and ran away when she saw her know some secret?

Feng Ning suddenly narrowed her eyes. That maid really did run away as soon as she saw her. She had never seen this person before.

"Stop right there!" Feng Ning shouted, startling the flustered maid. Feng Ning strode over: "Which courtyard are you from?"

"This servant is a maid in the dressing room."

"The wardrobe?" The wardrobe was in charge of cutting, mending, and washing clothes in the mansion. Feng Ning's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she asked sharply, "Why are you panicking when you see me?"

"This servant, this servant only remembered that there was still work to do and was in a hurry to go back to the courtyard, it was not that I was flustered when I saw Madam."

"May I have your name?"

"Xia'er".

Feng Ning stared at her without speaking, and Xia'er didn't dare to raise her head. She hurriedly said, "If Madam has nothing else, this servant will go back to the courtyard to work." Feng Ning gave a deep "hmm," and Xia'er quickly bowed, turned around, and ran away.

Feng Ning returned to her room and called Xiao Qing over: "I want to have two new clothes made. Who is in charge of this?"

“In the past, Madam’s new clothes were all made by Ping’er from outside tailors. She just informed Granny Yu and got the money.”

Feng Ning had heard Xiao Qing mention before that Ping'er was her deceased dowry maid. She sighed inwardly; this family certainly hadn't skimped on her clothing and shelter. Seeing her silence, Xiao Qing asked again, "Does Madam wish to have new clothes made?"

"Hmm, I'd like to see the new styles. Do you know which shop I used to have them made?"

"I know, it's in the Biyi Pavilion in the east of the city, it's very famous."

"Oh," Feng Ning replied, "And what about your clothes?"

"The servants' clothes were all made by the mansion's clothing department."

"Including Ping'er's, right?"

Xiaoqing was puzzled as to why she was asking this, but she still answered, "Yes, all of Ping'er's clothes were made by the clothing department back then. As well as some mending, embroidery, and cleaning of clothes and bedding, all of these were done by the clothing department."

Feng Ning thought that if that were the case, the maids in the dressing room must have a good relationship with the maids in the other courtyards. Who wouldn't want to get good clothes? At the very least, they would have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other.

The next day, Feng Ning took a garment, tore off the buttons, trimmed the seams, and went to the dressing room herself. The dressing room courtyard was small, with bamboo poles hanging to dry clothes. Several maids were busy with their work in one room, and they were all surprised to see Feng Ning. Feng Ning looked closely and saw that the maid named Xia'er was also there. When she saw her, a look of panic flashed in her eyes.

Feng Ning smiled and walked straight toward her: "Your name is Xia'er, right? We met yesterday. I remembered that one of my clothes was torn, and Xiao Qing wasn't here, so I brought it over myself. Could you help me mend it?"

Xia'er composed herself, took the clothes, and agreed. Feng Ning casually touched and looked around the room, chatting with the maids. The head maid came in after hearing the commotion, and Feng Ning politely asked if she was warm and if she was tired from working. Everyone in the room responded awkwardly to her.

Xia'er quickly mended the seams and buttons of Feng Ning's clothes. Feng Ning smiled and praised her skillful hands, thanked her, and took the clothes to leave. Reaching the door, Feng Ning suddenly turned back and said, "Oh, right, Xia'er, there's something else." She clearly saw the look on Xia'er's face quickly shift from relief to wariness. She smiled gently, "I need two new outfits made. Ping'er usually picks them out for me. You know her well, so you probably know my preferences. Besides, you're skillful and can tell if the workmanship is good or not. Why don't you come with me?"

Xia'er's face turned pale. Feng Ning said, "How about tomorrow?" She looked at the stewardess, who hurriedly nodded in agreement. Feng Ning smiled with satisfaction and left.

She walked out of the dressing room, her face darkening. Very well, she said Xia'er and Ping'er were close friends, and no one seemed surprised; it seems that's true. Judging from this, we can indeed uncover some secrets about Xia'er.

The next day, Feng Ning couldn't take Xia'er out because Xia'er had fallen ill. Her illness came on suddenly; she was perfectly fine yesterday, but within half a day, she developed a high fever.

The sick servants had separate rooms to recuperate, to prevent them from infecting the others in the shared dormitory. So Xia'er was moved to the small room. Feng Ning, being of low status, couldn't go in, so she asked Xiao Qing to visit her. Xiao Qing reported back that Xia'er had a high fever, and even herbal medicine hadn't brought it down. Granny Yu had already sent Doctor Chen to examine her.

Feng Ning found this matter strange. Could it be that Xia'er deliberately made herself sick to avoid her? The implications behind this hypothesis frustrated Feng Ning. Could it be that she really did poison her?