Ink Burns

Chapter 211 You disturbed our rest

Madam Zhou was filled with doubt and uncertainty. Her gaze lingered on Shan Yue's face for a long time before she finally nodded, sobbing.

The most unpleasant feeling is waiting.

Madam Zhou was settled in the Flowing Water Flower Hall by Shan Yue, tears streaming down her face, pacing back and forth.

Mirror Lake, connecting Xue Nanfu and Beifu, flows past her feet. The trickling water flows through the waist-high reeds on the shore, and the low dikes built by the difference in elevation filter out the impurities and bad luck of Beifu and keep them outside of Nanfu.

The sound of water couldn't drown out the screams coming from the stables on the east side.

With Zhou's consent, Dou's mother was put on trial here.

Several broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted young men in black went in and out. When the door opened a crack, Dou's mother's cursing voice suddenly grew louder: "Call Zhou Fang over here! Call that actress over here!"

"That actress is a damn idiot! If I hadn't given her pointers, she'd still be swaying her hips and dancing like that on stage!"

"She and her brother are probably still moaning and groaning under someone's body for money!"

Zhou Fangjie was also known as Xiao Zhoushi. She was the elder brother of the imperial son-in-law, and his name was Zhou Fangguan.

Xiao Zhou's face turned ashen, and Shan Yue, who was accompanying her, quickly got up to close the window.

Little Zhou grabbed Shan Yue's wrist, tears welling in her eyes, and gritted her teeth: "Keep it on! Keep it on! Let me hear what this old bastard has that deep-seated grudge against us, mother and son!"

Shan Yue paused, then pushed the window open even wider with the back of her hand.

The Censorate's methods were few but effective. Soon after, a shrill scream was heard from Madam Dou, and then Xue Xiao, dressed in a sky-blue robe, holding a scroll, stood tall and graceful in the side stable of the thatched hut, slowly approaching.

Xue Xiao pushed open the door and entered, raising his chin to reveal his sharp and piercing eyes: "There was a piece of impure silver ingot on Dou's person, and more than twenty ingots were also unearthed at the base of the outer wall of her house in Jixiang Hutong. Impure silver is always of dubious origin, and the mother and son cannot explain it. The Censorate only found that Dou's eldest son lost nearly five hundred taels of silver at the casino a few days ago, and the house and land were used as collateral."

Xue Xiao concluded: "It is not difficult to deduce that the Dou mother and son, due to their debts, resorted to colluding with outsiders."

Madam Zhou stood there, stunned: she had always been half-believing and half-doubting that Dou had betrayed her!

Upon examination, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning!

"How dare she!" Zhou grabbed Shan Yue's hand. "I want to see her! I want to ask her!"

Shan Yue looked up at Xue Xiao.

Xue Xiao turned the booklet to a page, where several lines of writing were densely packed, and at the end was Dou's mother's red handprint!
"Aside from the unclear origins of this silver, Madam Dou made everything else very clear—for example, that the lady hired someone to massacre the Yue family, tofu vendors in the west of the city; and that the lady openly and secretly took paintings, money, and other items from the study."

"For example, the three-story-tall red coral in the villa of Marquis Chang Lin of Guanbei came from the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, while the string of pearls and fox fur that you, Madam, have privately kept actually came from the Tatars in the northern frontier."

Xue Xiao's voice was always low and deep, as deep as a funeral drum echoing from the netherworld.

Xue Xiao held up the thin roll of paper, flicked it lightly, and the edge of the paper made a crisp sound: "If you investigate further, every single case will be a major case."

Zhou's face turned from blue to purple, then from purple to white, until it was deathly pale: "How can Dou's one-sided statement be believed?!"

Xue Xiao chuckled softly, his tone authoritative: "The Ministry of Justice requires evidence to arrest people, while the Censorate only looks at clues when handling cases."

Zhou's whole body trembled like a leaf.

Shan Yue spoke up at the opportune moment: "Would you like me to accompany you to see Mother Dou?"

See? My ass!
Zhou stared in horror at the page in Xue Xiao's hand, feeling as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, as if she had fallen into a huge, meticulously planned, and well-prepared trap.

Zhou gripped the chair handle tightly in a panic, her eyes darting back and forth between Xue Xiao and Shan Yue. Her worries for her son, her anger at Dou Mama's betrayal, her fear of Xue Xiao's clues, and her bewilderment at the unknown situation were all intertwined, like a heavy iron disc pressing on her most vulnerable chest, dragging her down to the bottom of the water!

If Chang Lin knew that she had caused such a terrible disaster, that her son couldn't be saved, and that this mad dog had learned everything about the Chang family...

Thoroughly—she's definitely going to die! Chang Lin will definitely beat her to death!
She was surrounded by wind and light, yet she was drowning!
Zhou murmured, like a small fish just pulled ashore, swallowing hard as she awaited the butcher's slaughter.

Xue Xiao bent two fingers, pulling the testimony hidden between them inwards. He placed his hands on the table, his sharp eyes giving off a strong sense of pressure: "But I won't investigate further."

The butcher suddenly put away his knife.

The opportunity came too suddenly.

Zhou took several deep, forceful breaths.

"You only need to remember two things: first, this statement is with me; second, the ledger in my hand was delivered by you. You must remember it in your heart, in your mind, in your mouth, and in your hands and feet. Think thrice before you speak and act, and that will be enough."

Xue Xiao raised an eyebrow, and his sharply defined jawline unconsciously lifted as well, revealing a fierce and oppressive aura in his expression.

Zhou was completely bewildered and couldn't understand what Xue Xiao meant, but that didn't stop her from knowing that she was saved—the minor turmoil caused by Dou's mother had somehow been quietly resolved. However, there was still one thing that remained unclear.

“My son—” Zhou’s eyes were bloodshot, and she dared not look Xue Xiao in the eye.

"There has been no news of Young Master Chang."

Xue Xiao answered very quickly, without any hesitation: "The owner of that 'beating gang' ran away around the sea the other day. He'll find a deserted island to hide on for three or five years, and when he comes ashore again, he'll be a hero again. Your Chang family tortured and forced a confession from that nephew. That nephew is only fourteen years old. His lungs were beaten so badly that they were sticking out of his throat. He won't live for more than a few days. Chang Yusu's life is worth a life. It's fair."

"You need to understand this," Xue Xiao calmly "advised."

Zhou clutched her chest and let out a piercing scream.

The enemy's grief always brings joy.

Shan Yue stood to the side of Xue Xiao, quietly observing Zhou's loss of composure.

"If I were you, I would dig a deep pit and bury Chang Yusu's death, never mentioning it again, and never letting a fourth person know—no matter how much of a scoundrel Chang Yusu was, he was still a member of the Chang family. You were the one who tortured your nephew into confessing, you were the one who watched helplessly as Chang Yusu was kidnapped, and you were the one who, powerless to rescue him, pushed your son to his death—guess how Chang Lin would treat you if he knew everything?"

Xue Xiao's voice was calm, yet it struck like a thunderclap.

Zhou's shrill screams were swallowed back down her throat at just the right moment.

What will you do to her?

I'll beat her to death!

I'll divorce her!

It will torture her to death!
Zhou was in so much pain that her chest felt bitter, dry, and aching: "So this is what happens to my son? My son's life?"

Xue Xiao crossed his arms and said calmly, “Everything in this world has cause and effect, and everything is predestined. Nothing is up to us. The secret was revealed by the Dou family, the person was robbed by the ‘Daxing’ gang, and the sins were created by yourselves. Although I was planning to climb up by stepping on the Chang family, I at least put in real effort, thought, and genuinely found someone for you. Although it ended without a cure, it can be considered that I did my best.”

"On the other hand, what about Chang Yusu's father? What about the Grand Princess Jing'an, who has always been on good terms with you? What about Suiyuan and Cui Yulang, who have always been on good terms with Chang Yusu?"

"What have they done for you and for Chang Yusu?"

"If you want to be more open-minded, you might as well hate."

"Hate those who do nothing! Hate those who look down on you and your son! Hate those who stand by and watch!"

"If it weren't for the Grand Princess's support, why would Lady Dou dare to call you 'Sister Zhou Fang' so respectfully? Why would she dare to betray you? Why would she dare to inform on you?!"

"Because of her, because they all look down on you!"

"That's why I dare to do anything to you!"

Xue Xiao's voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered was resounding!

Zhou was immediately stunned and stood there.

Xue Xiao changed his tone, with a hint of seduction and guidance: "If hatred can make you feel better, then hate them properly! You must remember—hatred lasts longer than pointless longing."

Zhou's gaze was vacant as she slowly raised her head.

in front of the window.

The window bathed in the dim, golden light of the setting sun.

The silhouettes of Xue Xiao and Liu Shanyue were reflected on the yellowed paper used to cover the windows.

One tall and one short, standing side by side.

They were like a pair of extremely close comrades-in-arms.

Zhou was somewhat stunned.

If Chang Lin and she were to form such a close alliance, would Mother Dou still dare to look down on her? Would she still dare to betray her? Would her son, her son, still die?

Zhou's face twitched involuntarily, but she didn't shed a single tear for a long time.

Xue Xiao gestured for Madam Zhou to leave the mansion: "Please go back, Madam Zhou. Chew your grief thoroughly before swallowing it down—you have disturbed my and my wife's rest."

This chapter took two days to write, and I went through three or four versions.
At the request of readers, the discarded second version has been placed at the top of the comments. It represents a different approach to this plot point and does not affect the main text. Feel free to read it if you wish.