The Demon Concubine of God

Chapter 118 The Death of Maid Xian'er

This old lady of the Marquis was used to using those mean and cruel means to torture people, so Shen Wen had to be on guard. He thought it would be best to be prepared to attack her unexpectedly and take the initiative to catch her off guard. So he deliberately dropped a needle on the cushion to attack the servant Yin Chan.

Shen Shuchan told Shen Wen, "Seventeenth brother, you must be extra careful in the future. When you came out of the old lady's place just now, you didn't see the way the Fifth Master and the First Master looked at you. I'm afraid they won't let you off so easily. They each have their own helpers. In the past, they were two forces when they teamed up. They only fought openly and secretly, but now they have fallen on you. Just think about it! If they all unite to deal with you... then the entire Shen Mansion will have to be mobilized."

Shen Wen stopped and looked at Shen Shuchan.

She saw the expression in Shen Shuchan's eyes change from expectation to disappointment.

However, it was meaningless for Shen Wenjue to just pretend to disobey her wishes, so she was so scared that she spoke incoherently the next second: "Then...they...I have been away from grandfather for these years...and I have done something that displeased grandfather...They didn't take me seriously before, and now I will be eaten alive by them...Seventh sister...I think I'd better run away, and you have to help me this time."

Shen Shuchan gently comforted her and said, "Seventeenth brother, don't panic. Seventh sister will definitely help you. Just calm down and listen to me... Seventeenth brother, Seventh sister wants to ask you, did you hurt Shen Haofeng?"

Shen Wen looked at Shen Shuchan in confusion and stammered, "I...I..."

Shen Shuchan said, "You didn't hurt him. You didn't touch him at all. He was the one who behaved improperly and flirted with General Ji's concubine. The Ji family servants beat Shen Haofeng to protect their master. You must remember this! Shen Haofeng, the slave, knew that the Shen family couldn't afford to offend General Ji and the second son of the Ji family, that living devil, so he put the crime of slander on you. Seventeenth brother, you should cry out that you are innocent!"

When Shen Wen heard this, he immediately nodded obediently to his sister.

Shen Shuchan leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry, Shen Haofeng won't quibble. In the end, the only one who will suffer is his servant. Shen Haofeng is a lustful and brainless coward. He can't even take care of what he has done. He is also afraid that his stupid deeds will be exposed in front of others."

The two of them were talking about something important when a noise arose not far away. Several dark and strong women came over with a mat, cursing, "What bad luck! She died not sooner or later but had to wait until everyone was having lunch before she died. Now we old women have no food in our stomachs and have to serve her first. Quickly... quickly throw her out. She is a lowly thing, worse than pigs and dogs..."

They cursed all the way to Shen Wen, and when they saw Shen Wen and Shen Shuchan didn't even bow, only one old woman said, "Why don't you stay away from me? You are a noble, and if you get bumped into by such a dead person, you will be unlucky for the rest of your life. You might end up like her tomorrow..."

In the past, when Shen Shuchan heard such sarcastic remarks, her face would turn red with anger and she would argue with them for a few words. Then, she would run away in panic, feeling hurt, amid their mocking words.

After being baptized by the way of life in the palace, she more or less understood some of the advantages of being in a high position. She did not care about these slaves who were like ants being manipulated by others, so she would not do the same thing as before.

She sneered and shouted, "Stop! In broad daylight, you are carrying a dead body through the main courtyard of the mansion without any hesitation. You have no regard for the rules at all. I think you are doing this on purpose, and you want to bring misfortune to our Shen family!"

The old woman was not afraid of her and just stiffened her neck and said, "Don't talk nonsense. We passed through here under the order of our masters."

Shen Shuchan said, "Assholes! You did something wrong and you're still blaming your masters. Everyone knows that this is what you servants always do. Who was carried out today that you disliked? Could it be that this dead man was beaten to death by you? You are so bold that you dare to kill people. You simply have no respect for the law. If the government finds out, my Shen family will be destroyed by you."

The old woman was very angry, and the other old women who were carrying the body had already put the mat on the ground. The mat loosened a little, revealing half of the dead man's face.

Shen Wen narrowed his eyes and looked at her carefully. He felt that the woman looked very familiar, so he walked forward involuntarily and pulled the mat aside to take a look. Although the face was stained with dust and blood from the mouth and nose, the outline could still be seen. At this moment, the nosy nanny said with a playful smile: "Oh... Seventeenth Master is really heartless. This woman is Xian'er, your personal maid who has served you for many years since childhood! You have only been separated for a few years, and you can't remember her at all?"

Shen Wen nodded and admitted that it was indeed Xian'er, but the old woman looked at his expression and saw no sympathy or pity. There was really no tear in his eyes as she said.

Shen Wen squatted down and checked Xian'er's injuries. He initially determined that she was killed by someone hitting her head with a fist. However, there were bruises on her limbs and stomach, and they were a mixture of new and old injuries. Shen Wen looked at the woman and asked, "Why did she die? Did she do something wrong?"

Shen Shuchan interrupted, "Seventeenth brother is honest. It must be because you haven't been at home for the past few years. Your personal maid was not protected by you, so she was bullied and abused to death by these old women."

The old woman quickly argued, "No... How dare we do such a heinous thing? It was Xian'er who offended Aunt Qiu in the old master's courtyard, so she was sent to the laundry room to do odd jobs. This matter is also your fault, Mr. Seventeen, for not knowing how to discipline servants. You spoiled Xian'er and made her arrogant and restless in the laundry room. She always seduced this man and that man. Don't you see how ugly she looks? She was ridiculed and teased in vain, and finally had to be punished with twenty rulers. All of us sisters present here know this clearly. Everyone, please tell Mr. Seventeen in person whether this is the truth or not?"

All the maids present nodded in agreement with that maid's words.

Shen Wen looked over one by one, and the maids lowered their heads unconsciously. He sneered and said, "If that's the case? Then she died today because she was beaten with a ruler, and that's why she died of anger?"

The woman nodded and said, "That's right! Today she tried to seduce the Fourth Master again. The Fourth Master was frightened by her ugly appearance, so he ordered people to beat her, but she couldn't bear it and passed out. But it's not the Fourth Master's fault. I think Xian'er's old injuries from being beaten before haven't healed well. She couldn't survive the new injuries on top of the old ones! Alas! The Fourth Master regretted it afterwards. For this, he even gave Xian'er, her widowed sister-in-law, twenty taels of silver. This is a very generous reward. Xian'er only sold herself for twenty taels of silver, but her sister-in-law made a lot of money."

Shen Wen nodded and said, "Indeed, you gave a lot. Since you gave so much silver, why don't you buy a coffin for Xian'er? I just heard you say that you want to wrap her in a mat and throw her away. Are you planning not to even dig a grave for her?"

The old woman said, "This matter is no longer our responsibility. We didn't say to throw her out just now. We just threw her at the door and handed her over to her sister-in-law to take care of it. But I don't think her sister-in-law will buy her a coffin or a burial plot. Seventeenth Master, you don't know that when Xian'er's brother died two years ago, he owed a lot of money. Now the interest is compounded, and the account has probably grown to thirty taels. I think her sister-in-law will use the twenty taels of silver reward to pay off the debt."

Another one echoed, "Yes, yes! Just now, Xian'er's sister-in-law sent someone to pass on a message, asking the masters to show mercy and have people carry Xian'er's body directly to the wasteland on the farm and bury it in any corner. Everyone knows that this is a disgrace to the family and an unmarried daughter who died suddenly. According to custom, this is the inevitable outcome."

Shen Wen looked at Xian'er without saying anything.

Seeing this, the old woman smiled again and said, "I know that Mr. Seventeen and Xian'er are master and servant. I really can't bear to see her lying in the dirt to be bitten by snakes, insects and rats. In my opinion, Mr. Young Master, please be generous and take out a few taels of silver to buy a coffin for Xian'er. Xian'er has been with you since she was a child."

Shen Wen nodded again and said, "That's right, but... I don't have any money."

The old woman laughed and said, "Young Master, you are joking. You are the seventeenth son of the fifth house of our Marquis' Mansion. Even if you don't have any money on you right now, the accessories and clothes you are wearing are valuable. Just take out one or two of them and we will go back to the pawnshop to pawn them. We can get a few taels of silver to buy a coffin for Xian'er."

Shen Wen then felt around her body and pulled out a purse from her waist. Before she could open the purse to show everyone what was inside, the maid suddenly snatched it away and said with a grin, "Oh! Thank you for the reward, sir. Don't worry, we maids will get the money to buy a coffin for Miss Xian'er..."

Shen Wen quickly said "slow down"

She said, "Let's bury her in a mass grave. There's no wasteland on our farm. I'm afraid that when we start reclamation next year, we'll have to dig up Xian'er's body and find another place to bury her. Wouldn't her soul be at peace?"

The old woman smiled and said, "Oh! That's right! That's right. Then let's do as you wish, bury Xian'er in the mass grave."

So the old women happily carried Xian'er's body away.

Shen Shuchan pouted and scolded Shen Wen, "Seventeenth brother is still as soft-tempered as before. You agree to whatever others ask. They are clearly trying to blackmail you for money. Just wait and see. After they get the good things in your pocket, they will forget about Xian'er's funeral and dump Xian'er's body in the wilderness as usual."

Shen Wen comforted Shen Shuchan, put his hand on her shoulder, half hugged her, and whispered in her ear: "The warrant in the purse is very valuable. If they have the ability, they can take it. If Seventh Sister finds it interesting, send someone to take a look. Isn't it possible for Seventh Sister to find out what's going on behind the scenes?"