Sheng Lengshuang ordered the old woman to drag out the flustered maid and looked at her coldly, "Is what they said true?"
The maid kneeling on the ground shook her head vigorously, "Please, Young Miss, enlighten me. They are jealous of me and want to harm me, which is why they are saying these things."
Sheng Lengshuang's gaze fell on the jade bracelet on her wrist, "This jade bracelet you're wearing, you couldn't buy it for less than twenty taels. You, a servant girl with less than one tael of silver a month, where did you get such a large sum of money to buy a jade bracelet?"
The maid instinctively covered her jade bracelet, her face turning ashen, "Young Miss has mistaken, this is a fake jade bracelet, it's not worth much."
Seeing that she refused to tell the truth, Sheng Lengshuang glanced at the steward.
The steward bowed and ordered two old women to drag the maid out, "Beat her well until she tells the truth! How dare you lie in front of the Young Miss, I think you're tired of living."
One old woman forcefully grabbed the struggling maid, while the other slapped her face repeatedly, swelling it up in just a few blows.
The maid insisted it was a fake jade bracelet, knowing the consequences of telling the truth.
Sheng Lengshuang ordered people to search the maid's room, "Don't miss any corner, search it thoroughly!"
Several old women took their orders and went to the maid's room to search.
The maid wanted to stop them but couldn't, only watching helplessly as the old women left, becoming more flustered and uneasy. What to do, what to do?
Sheng Lengshuang wasn't in a hurry and continued to interrogate the other servants.
After a period of interrogation and torture, several disloyal individuals and some petty thieves were identified and dealt with by Sheng Lengshuang.
"I don't want to see this happen again," she said, her face stern as she scanned them. "Furthermore, if you do your jobs well, you will be rewarded. If you betray your master, I have plenty of ways to deal with you."
She ordered the steward to sell those servants to a human trafficker, "Tell the human trafficker to sell them to the harshest places."
The servants shivered. Witnessing the crying and begging servants being dragged away, they dared not harbor any improper thoughts or intentions.
"Young Miss, that wretched girl is willing to confess," at this moment, an old woman walked in and bowed.
Sheng Lengshuang had the old woman drag the maid in. She looked down at her from above, "Tell me, who bribed you."
The injured maid dared not harbor any illusions and dared not lie, "It was a middle-aged man with an ordinary face..."
An ordinary-looking middle-aged man?
Sheng Lengshuang's eyes darkened slightly, "Wasn't it Zhou Wenxing who found you?"
"This servant does not know Zhou Wenxing, the person who found this servant should not be Zhou Wenxing," the maid said with a trembling voice.
Sheng Lengshuang told the maid to continue.
As the maid confessed, she gasped in pain. The middle-aged man who found her was very generous, and he promised to make her a concubine of General Sheng after the task was completed.
This maid was ambitious and unwilling to remain a servant forever, fantasizing about becoming General Sheng's favored concubine and living a life envied by all. Therefore, she agreed to the man without much thought.
After agreeing, the man gave the maid two taels of silver, telling her to spend it freely, and that there would be countless more silver and good things later.
Then, the man took the maid to the secluded courtyard and asked her to take care of the man hidden there.
She knew what she should and shouldn't ask, and with so many benefits, she took good care of the man in the courtyard and helped him hide. She never asked anything else, but she received a lot of money and good things from that ordinary-looking man, even this jade bracelet was a gift from him.
"Is the man you were taking care of like this?" Sheng Lengshuang showed the maid Zhou Wenxing's portrait.
The maid confirmed it was him, "He basically stayed in the room and rarely went to the courtyard. Sometimes he would ask about Madam, and after asking, he would become erratic. I was a little afraid of him."
Sheng Lengshuang placed the portrait on the small table, her eyes like ice blades, "You are indeed a 'good' maid, disregarding your master and only caring about yourself."
The maid flinched and suddenly kowtowed, "Please, Young Miss, spare my life, please, Young Miss, spare my life, this servant will never dare again!"
She had not yet become the master's concubine, nor had she enjoyed a truly good life, she could not die.
Sheng Lengshuang saw through the maid's thoughts at a glance and chuckled twice, "Steward, drag her away and deal with her."
The steward called two servants, had them gag the maid, and drag her away. Such an ignorant thing, daring to scheme against her master, was truly nonsensical.
Sheng Lengshuang then interrogated the remaining servants.
After some rectification, she let the servants go about their business.
"Prevention is not foolproof," Sheng Lengshuang frowned. "As long as enough benefits are offered, servants will betray their masters. We need to find a way to solve this matter."
Madam Sheng also understood this, "I will pay more attention in the future and will often have people check the mansion."
Sheng Lengshuang knew that for now, this was all they could do.
"I have already ordered people to investigate Zhou Wenxing's concubines and illegitimate children. I expect good news," Mo Lingxi said. "I will also keep a close eye on the Sheng family."
Sheng Lengshuang thought of something, "We didn't catch Zhou Wenxing, which means he got the news in advance and escaped. So how did he get the news in advance?"
Mo Lingxi tapped the armrest of the chair a few times, "This means there is still a mole in the mansion, and we failed to find them this time."
Sheng Lengshuang's eyes showed a sharp glint, "This is also our opportunity."
Mo Lingxi, "Indeed, with Zhou Wenxing's cunning, he will definitely return to the Sheng family to find an opportunity to abduct his mother-in-law."
Sheng Lengshuang, "So we will allow the mole to remain and see when Zhou Wenxing will resurface."
Mo Lingxi gave a thumbs up and praised, "My wife is truly amazing."
Sheng Lengshuang ignored him and turned to caution Madam Sheng, "Mother, even within the mansion, don't be alone. Try to bring more people with you. It will be fine once this matter is resolved."
Madam Sheng reassured Sheng Lengshuang, "I will bring more people with me and won't wander around the house. You also need to be careful, Zhou Wenxing has always wanted to get rid of you."
Sheng Lengshuang wished Zhou Wenxing would appear before her, but she couldn't say that.
"We can spread some rumors," Mo Lingxi suggested. "For example, that mother-in-law is unwell, or that something is about to happen. I think Zhou Wenxing will take the bait."
Sheng Lengshuang and Madam Sheng exchanged a glance, thinking this idea might be worth trying.
"How about saying I'm going to the manor to recuperate for a few days," Madam Sheng said.
The three of them discussed it.
After they had finished discussing, Mo Lingxi brought up the matter of the late emperor's remains, "Just take this opportunity to publicly announce Zhou Wenxing's theft of the late emperor's remains. Perhaps there will be unexpected gains."