Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 337 - 17: Stirring Up Trouble (Second Update)
On the surface, three days passed quietly. On the fourth day, the kitchen housekeeper, Lin Sheng’s wife, noticed that for three consecutive meals, no one from the small courtyard came to fetch the food.
She asked the gatekeeper and learned that she had not seen Yue Baiyou and Xiang’er, the master and servant, leave, so she felt something was wrong and immediately reported to Susu.
Susu, although already aware of the situation, still feigned surprise and said, "Did you call at their door?"
Lin Sheng’s wife, returning with the news, timidly said, "I called, but there was no response. I asked the gatekeeper and knew Miss Yue had not gone out, so I felt something was amiss and hurried to report to madam."
Susu comforted her, "It’s not your fault, I had instructed the servants of the mansion not to interact with them." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Susu stood up and said to Linlang, "Quickly, have Chang Sheng and Bai Yue bring someone to break open the door. Let’s see, can someone just disappear in broad daylight?"
Although it was past dinner time by then, the sky was still bright. Chang Sheng and Bai Yue summoned a few guards.
With Susu’s instructions, the guards could act more freely.
The well-built head guard, though blind in one eye, swiftly climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard, then opened the gate.
Susu led a few maids into the house, while the guards loitered around the yard, looking for clues.
Inside the house, everything was neat, and on the table was a cup of cold tea, as if the owner had simply gone out for a stroll and could return at any moment.
But the house was eerily silent, with not a soul inside.
Susu, expressionless, said, "Check the wardrobe and the dressing table. Are the clothes and jewelry still there? Also, check the maid Xiang’er’s room, is her luggage still there?"
Fen Dai and the others hurried inside, then exclaimed, "Madam, everything is gone."
Susu entered the bedroom and saw the wide-open wardrobe was empty, even the large fur clothing at the bottom was nowhere to be seen.
The dressing table was so clean there wasn’t even a speck of dust, let alone anything else.
Linglong, detail-oriented, glanced around and frowned, "Even the fixtures are much fewer. Madam did not treat her poorly when she moved in. The gilt incense burner, the Kesi wooden screen with silk embroidery, and several pieces are missing."
At this moment, Linlang and Qi Qiao, who had gone to the side room, also returned. Qi Qiao shook her head, "Xiang’er’s luggage is gone too."
Linlang followed, "Madam, I checked the traces, they seem to have left on their own, there was no sign of coercion. After all, if threatened, they wouldn’t have taken trivial stuff like straw paper and menstrual bands."
The other four maids looked in surprise at Linlang, who usually kept to herself but always spoke pointedly when she did.
Anyone who thinks she’s naive must be truly foolish, this girl has been playing dumb all along.
At that moment, Nanny Liu came in, with a slightly unpleasant expression, "Madam, my husband found something in the courtyard."
Nanny Liu’s husband was the head of the guards, and now Nanny Liu was also a housekeeper in Susu’s courtyard, managing the wives of the retired soldiers in the mansion.
The couple had some standing in front of Susu and Hong Sheng.
Susu went out and saw Nanny Liu’s husband leading a team of guards kneeling on one knee. Seeing Susu, they quickly lowered their heads and said, "Subordinates failed in their duties, please punish us, madam."
Susu quickly stepped aside, "Uncle Liu, what are you doing? Get up and speak."
The guard, Liu, insisted, "If we were still in the army, we would have been beaten twenty times before reporting back. We can’t take advantage of madam’s kindness..."
Liu struggled to articulate, and the more anxious he got, the more he stumbled.
A young man with one arm missing nudged him with his remaining hand and whispered, "Don’t rely on favor and act arrogant!"
Liu wiped his sweat, "Yes, don’t rely on favor and act arrogant!"
Not only did the four maids, with expressions of disbelief, seem puzzled, but even Linlang, Chang Sheng, and Bai Yue, who had just been learning to read from Susu, felt something was off.
Susu looked at the group of "arrogant and pampered" guards with exasperation, especially the slightly shy but proud young man. What are you so proud of?
Come, tell me, who taught you literature, was it your PE teacher?
However, Susu felt their sincerity and simplicity from all this.
"Usually, you all work diligently and conscientiously. Any mistakes were unintentional. Even tigers nap sometimes, let alone us. Tell me what’s going on, Uncle Liu, behaving like this puts me in an awkward spot."
Hearing this, the guards were extremely touched, ready to lay down their lives for their confidant. Hearing Susu say they put her in a difficult position, they quickly stood up.
The guard, Liu, led Susu to a corner of the wall, "Madam, look!"
Susu looked over and saw some wild grass and a pile of stones, which had now been moved to reveal a dog hole big enough for an adult to crawl through.
Susu was momentarily stunned. This, "Yue Baiyou" didn’t tell her about! Then she broke into a cold sweat.
No wonder the guards called it their neglect. Clearly, this dog hole wasn’t dug in the last few days, it was likely Yue Baiyou slowly dug it after moving to this small courtyard.
Luckily, she only used it to leave discreetly. If she had brought ill-intentioned people through this hole into the Hong Mansion, there could have been countless ways to ruin Susu’s reputation.
At this point, Susu had no idea this dog hole was just completed, and Yue Baiyou was replaced. Otherwise, who knows what trouble might have ensued.
The Hidden Guard replacing Yue Baiyou didn’t tell Susu about this and instead let her discover it herself, as a subtle reminder considering Mrs. Zhao and Qin Miao—never underestimate anyone.
"Go report to the authorities. Your Mr. Hong has just set out, and Miss Yue has gone missing. If outsiders find out, I will have no way to explain it, no matter what I say.
Explain how you discovered Miss Yue was missing, the situation in the courtyard, and this dog hole, word for word to the County Magistrate.
The belongings don’t matter, we must find her whether she’s alive or dead. My husband had arranged a marriage proposal for Miss Yue with Brother Shen, who is an acquaintance of our mansion."
The guards present were startled, "Is it Brother Shen?" It seemed they all knew him.
Guard Liu, always straightforward, said, "What a pity for Brother Shen, such a fine young man."
He quickly realized the marriage proposal was arranged by Hong Sheng, glanced nervously at Susu, and only relaxed when he saw she didn’t seem to have heard him.
Then he saw his wife, who followed their master, glaring at him, so he shrank his neck and touched his head, laughing foolishly.
Nanny Liu sighed at her husband’s antics. She heard it all while standing with the madam, surely madam did too, but she was too kind-hearted to mind.
"My husband says Brother Shen’s family is well-off, with good character and looks.
We had originally arranged for the matchmaker to visit on the eighteenth of September, and I had already informed Miss Yue earlier.
Now with this incident, we’ve delayed them, Shuimo, prepare a gift. Uncle Liu, you should personally visit Brother Shen’s family and explain the situation."
