The Heroine Made a Pact With Senior Sister (GL) Chapter 29

Madam Xu’s account mostly matched the dossier from beginning to end. Although there were a few differences, they did not truly conflict. If the two of them had not unified their story beforehand, then it could be taken as Squire Xu and Madam Xu hiding nothing.
“This also matches what the servants said.” Huixue added from the side, “There should be no problem.”
Madam Xu leaned against the soft cushion and kept wiping her red, swollen eyes with a handkerchief. After sobbing several times, she sighed. “This humble woman has already said everything I can. What else do the immortal masters wish to ask? If this humble woman can remember, I will certainly tell the immortal masters truthfully.”
As she spoke, her gaze never left Ruoying, as if she had decided Ruoying was the leader among them. Seeing this, Mu Yinfeng could not help praising inwardly. As expected of someone who had seen some of the world. She would not judge a person’s ability by appearance.
Just then, the sound of porcelain shattering suddenly came from behind the mica screen. The others looked toward the screen. A shadowy figure stood behind it.
“Who is there?” Mu Yinfeng asked warily.
At that moment, Huixue’s Tianbing had already shot over silently like a white snake. It tied up a young girl and dragged her out. The girl was pale and haggard, and the gorgeous, complicated clothes on her body only made her look thinner.
“Qin’er, why did you come here? Did I not tell you to stay properly in your room?” Madam Xu was shocked when she saw the girl.
“So it is Third Young Lady. Pardon me.” Huixue waved casually. Tianbing released Xu Qin and slid back into Huixue’s palm.
Xu Qin looked timidly at the three of them. Her pale, cracked lips moved as if she were struggling to say something. By then, Madam Xu had already hugged Xu Qin and kept soothing her. Only after a long while did Xu Qin finally calm down and sit down beside Madam Xu. She no longer looked at the three of them and instead lowered her head to play with her belt.
“This is Qin. She has not been quite right here recently.” Madam Xu pointed at her own head and sighed. Then she hugged the girl even tighter. “Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Nothing will happen. Be good…”
Mu Yinfeng bent slightly, wanting to look into Xu Qin’s eyes and read Xu Qin’s memories, turning her nighttime experiences into images. But at that moment, Madam Xu suddenly turned and blocked Xu Qin. Mu Yinfeng failed and could only straighten again, hiding her intention to read Xu Qin’s thoughts.
“How long has Third Young Lady had these symptoms?” Ruoying quietly stepped forward, caught Xu Qin’s wrist, and placed one finger on it. Her brows furrowed slightly. “I heard Squire and Madam invited doctors to treat her for quite some time. Has there been any improvement now?”
At this mention, Madam Xu could not stop herself from crying again. Sobbing, she said, “This humble woman is only… only a woman of the inner quarters. How could I understand so much? So many things have happened at home… and Qin is now like this… It truly is… truly is…”
Before her voice had fallen, the distant sound of horse hooves came over. It sounded as if someone was running quickly through the covered corridors and side rooms. Not long after, a mournful cry and the sound of a teacup shattering came from the side room.
Madam Xu trembled all over and hurriedly called again and again to the maid outside the door. “What happened? What happened on Master’s side? Hurry and go look!”
A maid answered. Before she could leave, a young servant boy tumbled and crawled his way inside. Before the older maidservants nearby could shout that the young lady was still present and he could not enter without permission, he ignored everything and knelt directly before Madam Xu, knocking his head like pounding garlic. “Madam, Madam, please restrain your grief. Something terrible has happened!”
“What happened?” Madam Xu’s fingers suddenly trembled.
“The eldest young master, he… he is gone…”
Madam Xu shot to her feet. “When did it happen?”
“Just now… someone came to report just now. When the eldest young master’s carriage crossed a bridge, the horse was startled. The carriage and everyone in it overturned into the water. Madam, please restrain your grief. This…”
“You bastard. Who allowed you to alarm Madam?” A loud shout came from outside the door.
The newcomer stood at the entrance, wearing black clothing with hidden silver-thread patterns. He walked quickly to Madam Xu, who had been worn down in body and mind by shock, and helped her sit properly on the soft couch. Then he glared at the servant boy kneeling on the ground, whose forehead had already been knocked bloody. “Bastard, hurry and get out! If anything happens to Madam, you can forget about keeping your head!”
This should be Squire Xu. Mu Yinfeng circulated her heart method and directly met Squire Xu’s eyes. Squire Xu’s memories turned over and over in her sea of consciousness. For an instant, she felt as if Squire Xu’s book of life and death lay before her, ready for her to flip through at will.
This was the Linglong Heart Method? Mu Yinfeng was secretly shocked and twisted her hands together. Although that eye contact had lasted only a short instant, that instant had already let her see many things.
With this terrible news, the entire room fell into dead silence. Madam Xu sat back on the soft couch and silently wept. Only Xu Qin did not know what had happened. She was still playing with her belt, occasionally letting out a few soft laughs, which made the scene even more chilling.
“Squire, Madam, there is something I do not know whether I should say. The dead are gone. The living are hope.” Huixue stepped forward and offered a word of comfort.
Those words were not enough to wake Madam Xu, but they did wake Squire Xu. Only then did Squire Xu remember that the three immortal masters invited from Hanyou Valley were still present. He hurriedly asked, “Now that the three immortal masters have seen this situation, do you know what to do? How can my family…”
“Please tell the truth.” Huixue had returned to her icy manner. “Does Squire Xu dare guarantee that everything he told me was true?”
“Let us first go look at Third Young Lady’s room.” Mu Yinfeng hurriedly pressed Huixue back, stopping her from continuing. “For now, curing Third Young Lady’s illness comes first.”
“Good. I will take you there.” Hearing Mu Yinfeng say this, Squire Xu immediately answered.
“No.” Mu Yinfeng slowly moved her gaze to Madam Xu beside him. “Madam Xu should take us there.”
Seeing Madam Xu like this, Squire Xu could not help worrying. “This…”
“There are some things I would like to ask Madam. They may not be convenient to say in front of Squire. Squire should…” Mu Yinfeng looked at Madam Xu.
“This humble woman will take them. Master is a man, after all. There are many inconveniences in entering the rear garden.” Madam Xu slowly stood and glanced at Xu Qin beside her. “Qin’s current state is most likely caused by yin and evil energy. With Master’s yang energy here to suppress it, that is also good.”
“There is one more thing. I boldly ask Madam to dismiss the servants. We are going to catch the evil being. If there are too many people, and the evil being blends into the crowd, it will be harder to judge.” Mu Yinfeng added. Ruoying, standing to the side, smiled faintly and winked at her. Huixue remained icy, her fingers unconsciously rubbing Liufei’s hilt.
The four left the room. A crowd of maids and older maidservants gathered around them. Madam Xu remembered Mu Yinfeng’s words and hurriedly ordered them to withdraw. Only Madam Xu led them to Xu Qin’s embroidered room. Before they reached Xu Qin’s room, the three of them looked at one another at the same time, each understanding without words. They could clearly feel a faint cold yin energy lingering above Xu Qin’s residence. But for some reason, as they drew closer, that cold yin energy gradually faded until it was almost impossible to notice.
Xu Qin’s residence was clean and tidy. There were no partitions inside the room, making every part look open and bright. Fragrant smoke curled from the burner. Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were arranged in order on the desk, without the slightest dust. The bookshelf to the side was also filled with books, and even the bed curtains carried the mood of ink-wash poetry. The whole room was full of scholarly air.
“Pardon my boldness, but may I ask when Madam married into the Xu family? Do you know anything about Squire Xu’s past? Judging from Madam and Squire’s ages, it seems the difference is not very large,” Mu Yinfeng asked softly.
They had already learned beforehand that Squire Xu was fifty years old, while the madam before them, judging by appearance, was certainly past forty. At first, Mu Yinfeng had thought Madam Xu was only in her twenties or thirties.
Huixue tugged Mu Yinfeng, seeming to feel that Mu Yinfeng’s words were not very suitable. But Ruoying suddenly turned back and glanced at Huixue. Huixue understood and could only let go of Mu Yinfeng.
“It is nothing. Immortal master need not blame this young immortal master. This humble woman will answer truthfully. I married into the Xu family fourteen years ago. Master and I have always treated each other with respect, and the young master and young ladies have all been filial. I never expected that we would now encounter such disaster.” Madam Xu wiped her eyes again. Her sleeve slipped down a little, exposing part of her arm. A red scar could clearly be seen there, as if it had been burned by something.
“Madam is injured? What happened?” Mu Yinfeng quickly stepped forward and caught Madam Xu’s wrist.
At the same time, the jeweled necklace around Mu Yinfeng’s neck fell to the ground with a click.