"Isn't it?" Ming Lingyi muttered. "My parents were talking about buying a house in Shangjing City, and this one looks pretty good to me!"
The auntie selling steamed buns now looked at Ming Lingyi as if she were some country bumpkin. She explained in a low voice, "This is Grand Tutor Ming's estate. It's not a place common folk like us can buy!"
Ming Lingyi pretended not to know. "Grand Tutor Ming? But his estate looks like it hasn't been tended to in a long time."
"Little girl, you may not be from Shangjing, but you must have heard of Empress Hui Ming, right?"
She was the current Emperor's first wife, the late Empress. Who in the Dayan Dynasty didn't know of her?
"This Grand Tutor Ming is Empress Hui Ming's grandpa. Five years ago, after Empress Hui Ming passed away, Old Madam Ming was so overcome with grief that she fell gravely ill and couldn't recover. Grand Tutor Ming resigned from his post and went into seclusion, leaving the Capital City with his wife and eldest son." The steamed-bun auntie was a native of the Capital City and seemed to know the houses and markets at the foot of the Imperial City like the back of her hand. "This Ming Family estate was originally a gift from the Royal Family. Logically, after the head of the Ming Family and his eldest son both resigned from their posts, the Royal Family should have reclaimed this estate and granted it to someone else. But for some reason, the estate has always kept the Ming Mansion plaque. Maybe the Emperor, out of consideration for the late Empress, has kept the estate and not given it to anyone else!"
She had to admit, the information network of these street vendors was quite impressive.
As Ming Lingyi turned and left Yongxing Square, her mind was still a complete blank.
'My parents and brother are no longer in the Capital City.'
Her heart suddenly felt hollow, as if she no longer knew where her home was.
According to what the auntie had said, her mother was gravely ill. She had no idea how she was doing now.
'The world is so vast. Where should I even begin to look for them?'
When Ming Lingyi returned to the restaurant's backyard, a hint of confusion still clouded her features.
Xiao Chun had already returned. Seeing her so distraught, she couldn't help but ask with concern, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Ming Lingyi shook her head, pushing aside her bewildered feelings. 'Since I can't find my parents and brother anytime soon, I should focus on establishing my own household.'
"I'm fine. How are things with the task I gave you?"
At her words, an angry expression appeared on Xiao Chun's face.
"Miss, how did you know the Master's death wasn't an accident?" Xiao Chun gritted her teeth. "I went to find someone outside the gambling den early this morning. Just as you predicted, Miss, Yu Da—the one who first came to our restaurant to cause trouble—had indeed been at the gambling den all night. He was unwilling to tell me anything at first, but then I took out the silver note you had me prepare. The moment Yu Da saw the money, his eyes lit up and he spilled everything."
As she spoke, a pained look crossed Xiao Chun's face. Last night, her Miss had taken out one of the silver notes from her dowry and told her to use it to get Yu Da to talk.
That was a whole one hundred taels!
Her Miss only had three hundred taels in silver notes in total. To just take out one hundred taels to get information... Xiao Chun really felt it was letting Yu Da off too easily.
Ming Lingyi wasn't too surprised.
'Men die for wealth just as birds die for food.' It was perfectly normal for someone like Yu Da to be blinded by greed.
"What did he say?"
Xiao Chun said, "He said that after the first time he came to collect the debt, the Master had asked for a seven-day extension and promised to raise enough silver coins to repay it. Besides, the Master was so frightened that day that he fell and ended up in the clinic. These thugs from the gambling den are there to collect debts, not to take lives. If the person dies and they still haven't gotten the money back, it's considered a failure on their part. But on the day the Master went to the clinic, someone from the second branch approached Yu Da. They told him the Master had prepared a generous dowry for you, Miss, and that he definitely had the silver notes. That's why Yu Da took his men to the clinic to demand the silver from the Master..."
Xiao Chun's face was puffed up with anger. Although the thug who pushed her Master had already been thrown in jail, learning now that there was a mastermind behind it all—and that it was her Master's own younger brother and his family—made Xiao Chun clench her fists.
Ming Lingyi nodded. When she had first received this memory, she had found it suspicious.
The ultimate goal of these debt collectors from the gambling den was to get money, not to take a life.
Causing a murder case within Shangjing City's jurisdiction would do no one any good.
Yu Da also confessed that the one who pushed Old Master Ming that day was a new lackey at the gambling den. The second branch of the Ming Family had initially approached Yu Da, but having been in this line of work for a long time, he wasn't so easily bought by the pittance the second branch offered, which wasn't worth him spending a few years in prison. However, since the Xiao Chun sent by Ming Lingyi was so generous, he didn't mind selling some information.
Ming Lingyi lowered her head, her fingers tapping on the tabletop.
The second branch of the Ming Family had incited the gambling den's thugs to cause trouble at the clinic. In that case, the death of the original owner's father was not a case of accidental manslaughter, but a murder.
The best way for her to establish her own household was to have no relatives around. That way, the government couldn't force her so-called clansmen to take care of her and would have no choice but to register her as a female-headed household.
Ming Lingyi wasn't capable of things like murder and arson, but she could still figure out a way to use the second branch's transgressions to send the whole family to prison.
"They will pay the price," Ming Lingyi said, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.
Even if she wasn't the real Ming Yao, when faced with ungrateful, wolfish people like the second branch of the Ming Family, she would send them to prison with her own hands. She would consider it her duty for occupying this body.
Ming Lingyi had Xiao Chun lean in and whispered a few instructions in her ear.
"Will that work?" Xiao Chun asked.
Ming Lingyi replied, "Gambling dens have their own rules. Just do as I say."
After saying this, she added, "Right, let's go look at houses in the West Market now. You can run the errand after we've found a place."
Hearing this, Xiao Chun's eyes turned red. "Miss, are we really going to abandon the restaurant the Master left behind? It was originally yours!"
'If the Second Master and his family all go to prison, can't we still keep the restaurant?' she thought, recalling the tasks Ming Lingyi had given her.
Ming Lingyi knew what Xiao Chun was thinking. She reached out and patted the plump girl's round cheek. "I suspect the restaurant has already been transferred to my second uncle's name today. So, even if I wanted to save it, it would be impossible."
Calculating the time, her profligate older cousin's debt was already seven days old, which was the agreed-upon repayment date. Her second uncle had probably already made preparations at the government office to handle the transfer procedures. Today was the final deadline.
After saying this, Ming Lingyi stood up and began to pack her luggage.
When the people from the gambling den arrived, the scene was bound to be chaotic.
She didn't want to get mixed up in that sort of thing; it was better to leave early and avoid it.
Hearing this, Xiao Chun's shoulders slumped. She then followed Ming Lingyi and began packing their bags.
The two of them, mistress and maid, had very few belongings. After all, anything valuable in the house had long since been taken and sold for silver by the shameless Ming Fanjiang.
A moment later, after the mistress and maid had finished packing two bundles, they left through the small gate in the backyard.
Ming Lingyi had just led Xiao Chun out the back gate and reached Vermilion Bird Street when she heard the sound of galloping horses approaching from a distance.
Leading the group was a small child riding a pony, flanked by imposing guards.
Before Ming Lingyi could get a clear look at who it was, she overheard passersby on the street talking: "I heard the polo grounds at Jinggong Square are really lively today. Even the Crown Prince is going to be there! This is probably the last big event before the New Year. In two days, all recreational activities in the city will be banned. Why don't we go take a look?"