Chapter 381 Useful
The wife of the Minister of Rites had almost finished saying everything she wanted to say. She looked at Su Qingqing trembling with fear, fearing that she would be taken away or beaten to death in the next moment.
Su Qingqing held the tea, shook her head briefly, and said with a smile: "As long as you can help me get things done, I can promise you that even if the Minister of Rites can't come back, you can still live a life of luxury."
The wife of the Minister of Rites' eyes lit up.
Does she care whether the Minister of Rites can come back?
She doesn't care.
What she cares about is what she will do in the future if he doesn't come back.
Su Qingqing glanced at her and turned to look at Zhou who was kneeling beside her.
Perhaps feeling the gaze, Zhou's shoulders shook violently.
She was different from the wife of the Minister of Rites and the old lady. When she was in the mansion before, she was just a concubine. Later, when she left the mansion to survive, she became a village woman.
The environment she is in determines that her anxiety and uneasiness at this moment are stronger and more intense than others.
Su Qingqing looked at her and smiled , "Don't be afraid, the palace won't blame you no matter what you say, you were implicated in this matter in the first place."
After a pause, Su Qingqing added, "How is your son doing recently?"
Su Qingqing had previously asked Wang Yu to arrange a job for Zhou's son. It wasn't an important job, but it was much better than staying on the farm.
This person was originally a capable person, but later he was framed and involved in such a scandal, which ruined half of his life.
Su Qingqing loves talents and is willing to give him this opportunity, and is even more willing to use this opportunity to bribe Zhou.
Sure enough, after Su Qingqing finished speaking, Zhou's originally tense shoulders relaxed a little.
"Reporting to the queen, I have not been able to find anything useful. Since I received the order from the queen that day, I have no other way and have been following the steward of Duke Xue's mansion.
I am just a peasant woman, not worthy of his attention. Fortunately, this steward never looked at me and actually let me follow him for several months."
The Emperor quickly disposed of the entire Xueguo Mansion from top to bottom after Xueguo Duke was captured. Before that, the mansion was still the famous Xueguo Duke Mansion in Kyoto.
“I discovered that the steward of Duke Xue’s mansion has a private residence in the west of the city. There are two women living in that residence. The two women are about the same age and usually treat each other like sisters.
On the first and fifteenth day of every month, the steward of Duke Xue's mansion would go to that house.
I didn't stay long when I got there. I stayed in there for about half an hour and then came out.
I have inquired privately and found out that the sisters have lived here for nearly twenty years. They are said to be daughters of a wealthy family, who fled here when their family fell into poverty. The two sisters depend on each other and live on the savings left by their ancestors. They usually earn some pocket money by copying books for a bookstore.
There was almost no external communication. Apart from going to the bookstore, the two sisters basically stayed at home and rarely came out. "
Ever since he had set his sights on Duke Xue, Rong Que had also specially sent people to keep an eye on Duke Xue and the few people in front of him, but he did not find anything unusual.
The news that no one in Rongque could find out was actually discovered by a country woman?
Su Qingqing's eyes flashed with a smile, "Who are you staring at in the Xueguogong Mansion?"
When asked, Zhou immediately became nervous. "It's just that, it ...
Jixiang chuckled, "Don't be nervous, no one is accusing you of lying. There are many stewards in Duke Xue's mansion. Her Majesty wants to ask which steward you are following so that Her Majesty can make further arrangements later."
Zhou opened her mouth slightly and stared at Jixiang. After Jixiang finished speaking, she licked her dry lips and said dryly, "Is that so."
Su Qingqing smiled and said nothing, waiting for her to calm down.
After a moment of silence, Zhou adjusted herself and continued, "He is a manager in his forties. He has a black mole under his mouth. He is quite thin and dark-skinned. He likes to walk with his hands behind his back. He has a slight hunchback but it's not serious..."
Before Zhou could finish, the wife of the Minister of Rites continued, "You should be talking about the steward who manages the carriages in Duke Xue's mansion. His surname is Bai, and everyone usually calls him Bai Er.
In the past, when the women of Duke Xue's mansion went out, sometimes Bai Er would drive the carriage himself, and my family's coachman would sometimes meet him."
As soon as the wife of the Minister of Rites spoke, Zhou immediately shut up and pinched her fingers nervously.
Su Qingqing ignored her and asked the wife of the Minister of Rites, "How much do you know about this Bai Er?"
The wife of the Minister of Rites said, "I do n't know much. He is the steward who manages the carriages in the mansion. His position is not really a proper steward in the Xueguogong Mansion, but his status is higher than that of an ordinary servant.
There are not many masters in the Xue Guogong Mansion, only a few in total, and they don't come in and out very often, so there are not many carriages for him to manage.
The grooms who accompany Duke Xue out may be more respectable than him in front of the Duke."
Su Qingqing twisted her fingers.
He was not as prestigious as Duke Xue's coachman, but he was in a position that could manage coachmen.
Logically speaking, if the population of the mansion is small and there are only a few carriages, there is no need to set up a manager specifically to manage the carriages.
The driver can handle this kind of thing.
Each master has his own coachman, and each coachman only needs to manage his own carriage.
What is the meaning of setting up such an unnecessary job? Is it a loophole in the personnel arrangement of the palace? Or is it that they want to have what other palaces have, so they have to arrange it regardless of whether it is useful or not?
Su Qingqing briefly analyzed the situation and said to Zhou: "During the past few months that you have been following him, he has been there on the first and fifteenth day of every month, right?"
Zhou nodded quickly, "Yes, there was one time when it was raining really hard, and we all thought he wouldn't go, but he went anyway. After he went, he didn't stay inside for long despite the heavy rain, and he came out in about half an hour."
Su Qingqing and Jixiang looked at each other.
It depends on who the person is and what the matter is that it has to be like this.
"Anything else?" Now was not the right time to ponder these things, so Su Qingqing suppressed the doubts in her heart and asked Zhou in a gentle voice.
Zhou shook her head in shame, "This is all I found out."
Su Qingqing was afraid that her heart would be burdened again, so she smiled and said, "What you found is very useful. Really, you found something that I couldn't find. I will reward you."
Zhou looked up at Su Qingqing in surprise.
Su Qingqing glanced at her and then at the wife of the Minister of Rites. "The information from both of you is useful. From now on, you don't need to check again when you go back. I will notify you if I need you to do anything. Before I notify you, you just need to behave yourself."
After a pause, Su Qingqing emphasized, "If I have something to tell you, I must let Jixiang go in person . Anyone else who uses my name cannot be trusted."
