After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"Oh? Is that so?" Rong Yingluo frowned.

The master and servants hurriedly returned to the Silver Willow Courtyard.

A young maid, about thirteen or fourteen years old, was being held down on the ground by two cleaning maids.

In the past few days, Granny Zhu used money to pave the way, won over several maids, and gained help in capturing people.

"My lady, I didn't steal anything. I just saw a mouse enter the room and wanted to chase it out," the maid struggled to explain.

"Hmph, don't pretend with me. I saw you searching around in the inner room with my own eyes." Granny Zhu herself was a witness, so she wouldn't allow her to argue.

"Granny Zhu, you must be seeing things. I didn't. I really went to chase away mice." The little maid started to cry, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Xiao Cui, how come we didn't see it?" A sturdy maid who was holding Xiao Cui down also testified.

"Yes, you're the only one who saw it. We were all cleaning in the yard and didn't see it."

"I've been cleaning the main hall these past few days, and I haven't seen a single mouse."

Several maids chattered amongst themselves, effectively silencing Xiao Cui.

"I didn't steal anything, you're talking nonsense!" Xiao Cui exclaimed in panic.

"Yinghong, Mother is not feeling well, so let's not disturb her. Go and invite Butler Lu over," Rong Yingluo instructed.

She has just married into the family; it is not appropriate to use torture to extract a confession.

Yinghong responded and left, quickly bringing over Butler Lu.

Lu Ming has the kind of face that always wears a smile, and he is very shrewd.

Rong Yingluo could tell at a glance that he was a shrewd person, otherwise Su would not have promoted him to be the housekeeper.

He will surely be the Su family's greatest helper.

"Greetings, Madam." Lu Ming bowed respectfully.

"Steward Lu, no need for formalities. My maid, Granny Zhu, discovered that this maid had entered my room and committed theft, so I have asked Steward Lu to come and handle this matter impartially."

"I am, after all, a new bride, and I don't know much about the servants of the Duke's mansion, nor have I thoroughly studied the Duke's family rules." Rong Yingluo handed over the authority to him.

"You're too kind, Madam. This is my duty, and I will make sure you are satisfied," Lu Ming assured him.

"Men, beat him!" Lu Ming ordered without a word, ready to begin the torture.

Rong Yingluo watched coldly, wanting to see how Butler Lu would handle the matter fairly.

Two old women stepped forward and grabbed Xiao Cui, while a servant brought over a torture bench.

"No, no, I didn't steal it. I'm innocent!" Xiao Cui struggled desperately, but she was small and weak, no match for the two burly old women.

He was quickly pinned to the torture bench, and the boards slammed down on him.

The screams quickly echoed throughout the courtyard and carried far away.

Normally, when someone is beaten with a board, their mouth is gagged, but Butler Lu had no such intention.

Rong Yingluo sneered inwardly. Was this an attempt to push her towards the villainous master?

She had just married into the family when a maid was beaten to death in the courtyard, which ruined her reputation in the household.

It will be even more difficult for her to win people's hearts.

This is because they don't want her to have a good life in the Duke's mansion.

The Gu family doesn't allow her to bring more people from her maiden home into the mansion, so if she wants manpower, she can only win over the servants of the Gu family, which is cutting off her path.

With no one at her disposal, she can't cause any trouble in the mansion; she's really playing her cards right.

"Tell me honestly, what were you doing in the eldest young mistress's bedroom?" Lu Ming waved his hand, stopping the old woman who was beating him, and asked in a cold voice.

"Butler Lu, I really didn't steal anything, I'm innocent." Xiao Cui still refused to admit it.

"Keep fighting," Lu Ming ordered again.

The clapperboard continued to beat.

"Xiao Cui, let me remind you, think about your parents. If you tell the truth, you'll suffer less," Lu Ming advised.

However, Rong Yingluo understood a different meaning.

Is this meant to force her to confess? It's like they're using her parents to threaten her.

If she really admits to stealing, she definitely won't survive, and her parents will be implicated as well. The whole family will suffer a terrible fate.

If she doesn't confess, she'll be beaten to death. Only she will die, and her family will be spared.

She, as the mistress, would then be branded as cruel and heartless. Butler Lu was merely trying to solidify the evidence against her. Either way, it was her fault.

Rong Yingluo watched as the paddle fell again and again; there must have been thirty blows by now, yet she still hadn't fainted.

Looking at the old woman wielding the cane, she was indeed skilled; this was meant to be demonstrated to her.

Well, she's a Taoist practitioner; tormenting her would be against Taoist principles. A small punishment will suffice as a warning.

"Butler Lu, tell the old woman to stop. I have a way to prove whether she broke into the house and stole anything."

Lu Ming was taken aback. Did the Crown Prince's wife have a solution?

"Since the young mistress has evidence, why didn't she present it sooner?" Lu Ming's smile was hard to maintain.

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of this. As long as Xiao Cui admits her mistake and apologizes to me, this matter can be put aside. She's just a little maid, and I wouldn't hold a grudge against her. At worst, I'll just kick her out of Yinliu Courtyard and find her another job."

But because Butler Lu looked like he was about to kill me, I still felt sorry for him.

It's not easy to live a full life, and after death, it's uncertain whether you'll be reborn as a human in the next life.

"So I think it's better for me to accumulate some good deeds." Rong Yingluo revealed her charitable heart.

"What the young mistress says is true." Lu Ming waved his hand, signaling the old woman to stop.

"Yinghong, go fetch a basin of water," Rong Yingluo instructed.

"Miss, why are you fetching water?" Yinghong asked, puzzled.

You'll find out in a moment.

Yinghong turned around and went into the washroom to fetch a basin of water.

"Put Xiao Cui's hand in the water," Rong Yingluo instructed again.

Yinghong did as she was told, placing the basin in front of Xiaocui and letting her dip her hand into the water.

A moment later, Rong Yingluo asked her to take her hand out again.

"Yinghong, you should also put your hand in the water for the same amount of time," Rong Yingluo said again.

Yinghong obediently put her hand into the water, stayed for a moment, and then took it out.

Everyone stared at Xiao Cui and Ying Hong's hands.

Before a cup of tea could be brewed, someone noticed something amiss.

"Look, Xiao Cui's hands seem to have turned a light blue."

"I saw it too."

"That's right, and it's getting deeper and deeper."

The maids and servants started gossiping.

Lu Ming wasn't blind, so he naturally saw it too.

"Young Madam, please enlighten me." Lu Mingyi cupped his hands in greeting.

"Butler Lu, Xiao Cui touched my dressing box."

As you know, I was born into a merchant family, so my family naturally gave me some money to rely on.

To prevent thieves from targeting it, I specially coated the inside and outside of the makeup box with some scorched chalcedony, which turns blue when it comes into contact with water.

She's either trying to steal my jewelry or the silver notes I hid in my makeup box.

"Please search her body first. See if she has any jewelry. If not, then she's trying to steal silver notes," Rong Yingluo explained calmly.

Without waiting for instructions, Yinghong immediately began searching the person.

"Miss, Xiao Cui has no jewelry on her; she wants to steal silver notes."

"My goodness, Xiao Cui is not even fourteen years old yet, how dare she be so bold!" a maid exclaimed.

"The young mistress's banknotes must be worth a lot of money. How much could a piece of jewelry be worth? Jewelry is easy to trace, but banknotes are different. Whoever has them owns them, and they don't have any names on them."

Faced with the facts, Xiao Cui knew there was no way to argue, so she lowered her head.

She knew it was all over; she hadn't completed the task her master had given her, and death was the only outcome.

"Young Madam, according to the Duke's mansion's rules, such a dishonest servant should be beaten to death. What do you think we should do?" Lu Ming once again pushed the opportunity for her to be the villain.

"Steward Lu, she's just a lowly maid; she shouldn't be that bold. I suspect she must be acting under someone's orders. If she can reveal who's behind this, I can let bygones be bygones and even reward her with ten taels of silver." Rong Yingluo had already figured out what was going on.

Su took a liking to the silver notes in her hand.

How did Su know that she had a large sum of money?