Chapter 2: She is the killer!

Night had just fallen, and as the members of the He household were arriving home one after another, a cry of "The eldest young master is dead!" struck every courtyard like a thunderclap on a clear day.

Yuetang was pouring medicine under the veranda, the handle-arched pot steady in her hand.

A maid came tumbling and crawling to deliver the news to the main chamber. After a piercing shriek, Madam He collapsed to the floor, then overturned the kang table and rushed out of the main chamber without even putting on her shoes!

Yuetang steadily poured the medicine back into the pot, then tucked her hands into her sleeves and watched the crowd rushing past in panic.

Following that, she smoothed her sleeves and joined the flow of people heading toward the eldest branch’s quarters.

When Madam He saw the scene inside the room, she was already clawing at He Xu’s corpse, wailing.

The He family had only two sons; in the time it took to eat a meal, half of them were gone! How could she not weep?

Yuetang stood at the doorway. The corpse remained in the position of death: sprawled on the floor, eyes wide with rage, mouth agape, a pool of blood before him.

Because he had rolled off the kang, his arms were bent and his sleeves had slid up, revealing the hideous, purplish-red scar on his left arm—it looked exactly like a blade pointed at his heart.

The eldest master He, who only half an hour ago had boasted that he would "take" her immediately, had now gone to the underworld to drink Meng Po’s soup, like a pig with its throat slit.

Yuetang glanced at the room full of people and crouched on the other side of the corpse. She considerately consoled Madam He: "Madam, don't be in such a rush to cry. Allow me to take a look; there might still be a glimmer of life."

The hysterical Madam He immediately stopped her wailing!

Zhang-shi also held her breath and looked over.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both hung on by a thread, watching as Yuetang examined He Xu’s breath with a grave expression, lifted his eyelids, and pinched his jaw to inspect his mouth and the blood and vomit at the corners of his lips.

Finally, she sighed and looked up: "Madam, please accept my condolences."

Madam He let out a wail that shook the heavens!

Zhang-shi also began to howl.

The two hearts that had been suspended in hope finally died completely!

Yuetang wiped a finger through the blood on the floor: "This is a potent poison synthesized from several different drugs, and the dosage was extremely high, which is why it acted so rapidly. It is clear the murderer harbored deep-seated hatred for the eldest young master to resort to such a vicious hand!"

The second young master, He Hui, arrived from somewhere, rouge stains on his lips and two faint nail marks on his neck.

He stared fixedly at Yuetang: "Then, in your opinion, who would be so bold?"

"Who else could it be?!" Madam He suddenly stopped her wailing, roared, and lunged to grab Zhang-shi’s hair: "It’s you, you vicious, cheap slut! You’ve been riding on your husband’s head for years, and today, in my own courtyard, you still dare to cause a scene!

"Who doesn't know you are arrogant, domineering, and lawless?

"He ate the same meal as you and was poisoned; it was you who harbored hatred and killed my son!"

At this moment, General Wude He Jianzhong, who had just entered the manor, also strode in.

Upon seeing the corpse, his eyes turned blood-red, and he roared at those in the room: "How could a perfectly fine man end up like this!"

Zhang-shi lay disheveled on the floor, crying until she was hoarse.

"I didn't! It wasn't me! Why don't you ask the people in the kitchen? It has nothing to do with me!"

No sooner had she shouted this than everyone from the kitchen maids to the matrons and servant girls of the eldest branch knelt down with a thud: "Master, Madam, please be clear-sighted! We all tasted the food when it was transferred, and the source of all the wine and dishes is perfectly clear!

"The managing matrons saw it with their own eyes; we are truly wronged!"

The managing matrons also knelt: "It is indeed so!"

The spearhead turned back to Zhang-shi.

Zhang-shi saw Yuetang in the crowd and suddenly pointed at her, shrieking: "It’s you! It must be you! You poisoned him when you were seducing him! You cheap slave! You harmed me!"

Everyone in the room looked at Yuetang.

Zhang-shi’s maid also spoke up timidly: "Earlier, the eldest young mistress and the eldest young master did indeed argue in Madam’s courtyard. Afterward, the eldest young mistress was taken back to their room by the eldest young master, and the two argued fiercely. But from what I heard, it seemed to be because of Mistress Lin..."

Yuetang looked shocked: "Master, please investigate! When the eldest young master came to see Madam earlier, he met me on the road. He was worried that since I was new, I wouldn't serve well, so he gave me a few instructions. Madam knows of this.

"Furthermore, the eldest young master was so filial; how could he harbor improper thoughts toward the physician treating his own mother while in his parents' residence?

"I firmly believe that the eldest young master of the He household would never have such low character!"

Madam He was immersed in the pain of losing her son, and she naturally agreed with Yuetang’s words wholeheartedly!

She turned back to claw at Zhang-shi’s throat: "The facts are right before our eyes, and you poisonous woman still dare to drag others into this? You still want to smear my son’s name!"

He Jianzhong pulled her away, but she turned to pull at Zhang-shi’s hair again.

Zhang-shi was already disheveled, bruised, and swollen, yet she still hysterically cursed Yuetang as a vixen.

Yuetang sighed.

The others were speechless.

Whether this young widow was a vixen or not aside, He Xu hadn't even spoken five sentences to her when they were together; how could she have poisoned him?

Moreover, ever since she entered the manor, she had stayed in the main chamber and hadn't gone anywhere.

If she could be accused as the murderer, then surely the problem lay more with Zhang-shi?

He Jianzhong pointed angrily at Zhang-shi: "Lock her up! Someone, go to the Zhang family immediately and tell them to get over here! Make the Zhang family pay for my son’s life!"

Although the He family had once been a small household, thanks to the merit earned three years ago, He Jianzhong was now a proper fifth-rank General Wude and a trusted aide to the Marquis of Guangling, who headed the Imperial City Guard.

This debt, of course, would be settled properly with the Zhang family!

Zhang-shi was dragged back to the side room and locked up.

The servants finally recovered from their shock and, under the direction of the second young mistress, Lady Liu, busied themselves with the funeral arrangements.

Lady Liu instructed Yuetang: "Help Madam back to her room and serve her well."

Madam He was grief-stricken the whole way, and even after lying down, she continued to beat her pillow and wail.

Yuetang sat on the edge of the bed, feeding her calming soup.

Only when the maids had run out of words to comfort her did she take up the conversation: "Master and Madam sincerely wished to forge a bond with the Zhang family, but in the end, the child you raised with your own hands is gone just like that, right before the eldest young mistress's eyes.

"Whatever harsh words Madam says are justified."

Madam He was overcome with grief: "If I don't personally force that poisonous woman to her death, I am unworthy of being a mother!"

Yuetang gently blew on the soup in the bowl and unhurriedly fed a spoonful to her mouth.

"Matters of the manor are not for me to speak on, but since the second young mistress brought me in and Madam has treated me with such kindness, I cannot help but speak my mind.

"I have seen families squabble elsewhere; the side in the wrong, unable to win the argument, would take their daughter, her dowry, and all, back home, leaving not a penny for their own grandson.

"The eldest young mistress’s maiden family shouldn't be so unreasonable.

"But the eldest young master is gone, and with the eldest young mistress in this state, the little young master is truly pitiful. I believe the eldest young master in the afterlife must be hoping that Madam will cherish him all the more."

"They wouldn't dare!"

Madam He jumped up, slapping the bed frame. "If the Zhang family dares to harbor such thoughts, I will expose every last secret that poisonous woman has hidden in her dowry chests!"

Yuetang glanced at her, swirled the spoon at the bottom of the bowl, and fed another spoonful of soup to her lips.