Chapter 91: The Brother and Sister's Plan

  Bi Lian opened the small paper package, Zhao Xuan leaned in to take a look, and saw that it was a light brown powder emitting a faint fishy smell, but she didn't know what it was.

  However, Lu Dasou hid this thing close to his body and brought it back from the capital all the way, avoiding his family members quietly and hiding it on the beam of the house. It is absolutely impossible that it was something unimportant. He also colluded with Xiaochangfang, could it be that Xiaochangfang handed it over to him?

  As soon as she thought of this, Zhao Xuan immediately became vigilant: "Quickly wrap it up, use another paper to wrap it more tightly, you go wash your hands again, don't touch this thing, and then go get some food and tea."

  Bilian was stunned, her face suddenly turned pale: "Miss?" She seemed to have thought of what it might be too.

  Zhao Xuan shook her head: "I don't recognize this, but since your big brother is being so secretive, it's probably not a good thing. We should ask someone else about it."

  Bi Lian stood there motionless, but her eyes had turned red. Stealing the master's property was one thing, but hiding poison was another matter altogether! Big brother, what are you trying to do? Is he really so blinded by greed that he wants to sacrifice the lives of everyone in the family?!

  Zhao Xun saw her like this, and could only urge her again: "Don't think too much about it, we can't be sure what this thing is yet, maybe I misunderstood? You quickly pack up the things and go wash your hands."

  Bilian's hands trembled slightly as she wrapped the package. Zhao Xuan took two sheets of white paper from the desk and gave them to her, letting her add another two layers outside the package before putting it down and going to wash her hands. Bilian carefully washed her hands in the basin three times, each time using a generous amount of fragrant soap, as if she had touched something dirty and disgusting.

  Zhao Xun turned over an unassuming old wooden box, put the package inside and closed the lid. After some thought, she said to Bi Lian who had just returned after washing her hands: "We need to figure out what this thing is and what it's used for, but before we do, it's best not to alarm others, otherwise your brother will be dead, and you, your mother, and your younger brother won't end up well either. Even if Grandmother values your mother highly, she won't be able to keep her by her side as an attendant anymore. Your parents' stewardship will also come to an end."

  Bilian's eyes reddened again, she knew that such important news had arrived. In fact, it should have been reported to the old lady immediately, but Zhao Xuan chose to verify it herself, completely for her sake: "Good girl, you're thinking carefully. What to do next, I'll listen to you!"

  Zhao Xuan thought for a moment: "If only we could get a live chicken from the kitchen. We can let the chicken eat some of this stuff and see how it reacts."

  Bi Lian bit her lip: "It's not hard to get a live chicken, but if we bring it back, the old lady will definitely know."

  This is also a good idea. Zhao Xuan thought for a moment: "Or... we can move the chicken to brother's yard? There are fewer servants in his yard, as long as brother gives the order, others will not dare to speak out." She glanced at Bi Lian: "But this way, brother will know about this matter."

  Bilian took a deep breath: "You know what you know. Xiaoman is my younger brother, he should also know what his elder brother has done!"

  Zhaoyao was very satisfied with Bilian's reaction. Seeing that it had already darkened outside, she feared that the gate would be locked soon, but if they waited until tomorrow, there would be many people coming and going in broad daylight, so she decided to take a shortcut, tidied up her clothes, simply tied up her hair, and was about to bring Bilian, holding the box, and took a small scroll from the bookshelf, heading towards the neighboring courtyard.

  When they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, the night watch saw that the mistress and servant seemed to be going out and hurriedly said: "Miss, where are you going? It's already dark."

  Zhao Xuan smiled and said, "I'll go talk to my brother for a bit, I'll be right back, it won't take too long. Mom, don't disturb Grandma, she's tired from traveling, probably resting now."

  The old woman then advised her: "Madam, you've had a hard day, and so has your son. Miss, if you have something to say, it won't be too late to talk about it tomorrow. It's already very late, and although Miss is young and doesn't matter, the maid going in and out of Young Master's room isn't quite proper."

  This old woman has always been very responsible, Zhao Xuan knew that a few words would not be able to bring her down, but she was afraid that if it dragged on for too long, it would alarm her grandmother. She had no choice but to say to Bi Lian: "Then you'd better stay here, go take a bath, and smoke out the mosquitoes. I'll be back later and we can sleep."

  Bilian nodded with a worried expression, paused for a moment, and couldn't help but say: "Please, miss."

  Zhao Xuan smiled and nodded, then walked out the door. The old woman on guard duty saw this and didn't dare to stop her again, so she personally carried a lantern to escort her to the neighboring courtyard.

  Zhaowei had not slept yet and was studying by the lamp. Although his grandmother told him to take a break at home for two days before going back to school, he had been rushing on the road for several days and hadn't properly reviewed his books in a while. His copying homework was also missing dozens of pages, fearing that his teacher would scold him, so he hurriedly copied some more to cover it up. Seeing his sister come over, he was still somewhat surprised: "Why are you coming over so late?"

  Zhao Xuan smiled and handed him that small volume: "Written in spare time, brother take a look, can you help?"

  Zhaowei took it over and opened it to take a look, but it was more than 100 sheets of white paper, with a inch-sized regular script copying the entire "Zhongyong", the handwriting was very similar to his own, and the more he wrote towards the back, the better he wrote, already practicing two points of style. He thought for a moment, and knew that this was his sister creating a fake for him, in order to get by with the school teacher's homework, and his face showed a hint of shame: "It's my fault, even if I'm away from home, I shouldn't be lazy, and still make my sister work hard..."

  "Anyway, it's just copying books. I usually practice writing a few hundred words every day, and squeezing out some time, this big volume of words came out, and I also happened to review my lessons. Brother has many things to do every day, I can help brother share his worries, and I'm very happy in my heart."

  Zhaowei listened and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. His sister's natural talent was better than his, if she weren't born as a daughter, she would have been studying hard for the imperial examination, her future achievements would definitely surpass his own. What a pity that such great talent would be buried in the boudoir, heaven is really unfair.

  After sighing, he happily put away the small volume. With these hundred or so pages, he could relax a lot, and the only thing to worry about was that he had to practice his handwriting even better. Otherwise, if Mr. saw it, he would misunderstand that his handwriting had "regressed", or that he hadn't written with care. Scolding him would be enough for him to bear.

  He smiled and asked Zhao Xuan: "Coming over so late at night, just to deliver this to me? My sister is really thoughtful."

  Zhao Xuan sat down opposite his desk: "Brother, I came over today to deliver something, but actually there's something I want to discuss with you." She told him about the paper package that Bi Lian had found at home and opened the box for him to see: "I don't know what kind of powder is inside. I'm afraid it might be something harmful, so I didn't dare to act rashly. Can brother think of a way to quietly ask someone about this? What exactly is this?"

  Zhaowei's face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "Sister has doubts, why not tell grandma? What if this package is highly toxic and sister gets infected with even a tiny bit, what then?! That Bi Lian girl is too reckless!"

  "Brother, don't worry. I saw that Lu Dazhou dared to hide this thing on his body. He probably won't make a move for the time being. I didn't dare tell Grandmother about it, first because I'm afraid the news will spread and implicate Lu Ma, Bi Lian, and Xiao Man; second, I'm afraid of startling the snake in the grass, giving that little scoundrel time to cover his tracks, and then he'll either push all the blame onto Lu Dazhou or frame our Second House. Thirdly... Grandmother has become more lenient over the years, and if she finds out about Lu Dazhou's theft and disloyalty, dismissing him from his position is a must, and afterwards, giving him a few slaps on the wrist would be well-deserved. But if Grandmother goes easy on him because of Lu Ma, then in the long run, I'm afraid the people below will become complacent, thinking that even if they do something bad, as long as they beg Grandmother for mercy, they can get away with it. Wouldn't our household be thrown into chaos?"

  Zhou Wei also sighed: "Lu Ma is indeed trustworthy, she has been serving her grandmother since childhood, and they have a decades-long master-servant relationship. For the sake of her grandmother, she can even put her husband and children second. The grandmother takes care of her in front of her son and lets him off lightly, which is also human nature. But my sister's words are also reasonable, the most important thing in managing the household is to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. If someone who has made a mistake can escape punishment just because they are Lu Ma's son, how can others trust us?"

  He glanced at the small wooden box: "No matter what is finally found in this paper package, we must give Lu Dasou a lesson. At least, he should be given forty big boards to make him know what to do and what not to do! We can't let him take us for granted just because we show compassion!"

  Zhaoyuan was very much in favor of this. Although Grandma Zhang was still the head of the household, Zhao Wei had grown up and was the only male in the family, so it was time for him to establish his own authority. Compared to his grandmother's soft-heartedness, he was more decisive in his actions. If he made up his mind, even if his grandmother didn't agree with him in her heart, she wouldn't openly oppose her grandson's opinion.

  The brother and sister agreed that the next day, Zhao Wei would go out under the pretext of visiting a friend and first find their old steward Wang Si Ping. This old man was knowledgeable and had a clear understanding of the private affairs of wealthy families, and he wouldn't say anything inappropriate. He had already left the household register and no longer had any conflicting interests with the Lu family, so they didn't worry that he would have any ulterior motives.

  If the contents of the package are harmless, then it's as if nothing happened. But if it's confirmed that the package contains poisonous substances, the siblings will immediately inform Grandmother Zhang, notify Zhao Yun and the Eighth Elder of the inner chamber, and bring trusted servants to search Lu's small courtyard for the remaining powder. Xiao Man will be ordered by Zhao Wei to return home and keep an eye on his brother, preventing him from escaping or moving the evidence. Once the person is brought before Grandmother Zhang with all the evidence, Lu Da Shou will not be able to escape punishment. If he confesses and reveals the mastermind behind the scenes and the specific plot of the small chamber, he may receive a lighter punishment. As for the Lu family, Bi Lian and Xiao Man have made contributions, so Lu Ma and the two young children should be spared, but Lu Chang Xiu's fate depends on his intelligence and decisiveness.

  Zhao Xun thought this was a great opportunity, with the foundation she had laid down in the clan before. Taking advantage of this chance, they could thoroughly kick Xiao Changfang out of the Zhao clan. From then on, whether it was titles or property, there would be nothing to do with Xiao Changfang anymore. They could even make an agreement with the clan that if Xiao Erfang's line died out, they could directly choose a successor from within the clan, and Xiao Changfang could just wash up and sleep.

  Zhao Wei let out a long sigh: "In that case, I hope they can calm down. If they just do their job honestly and don't think about getting a noble title again, they might be able to get by." His eyes gleamed with determination: "Even if the thing in the paper package isn't poison, I'll make it into poison and turn this whole thing into reality!"

  Zhao Xuan was taken aback and didn't expect her brother to say something like that: "Brother?"

  "Little sister, don't blame big brother for being ruthless. In the past, I didn't think so much about it, but now I see things clearly. Xiaochangfang ruined our parents and has a deep-seated grudge against us. Although Zhao Jiong is dead, Jiang Shi is locked up in the Dalisi Temple prison, and Grandmother doesn't care about the rest of us anymore. She never mentioned revenge, which can be said to be extremely tolerant, also considering Grandfather's face. But Xiaochangfang won't let us off, buying our slaves, secretly plotting against us, with a heart that wants us dead. If Xiaochangfang really takes over the marquis position, we, the second house, will have no way out! This is a matter of life and death, just kicking them out of the clan is already being too soft-hearted. It seems that Lu Dasou indeed has a treacherous heart, making him suffer a loss isn't unjust to him, at most we'll spare his life. Although Lu Ma and the others are good people, they can't be used as an excuse to let this traitor off."

  Zhao Xuan fell silent for a moment, her expression also becoming resolute: "Alright, it's settled then!" In fact, she thought that the thing in the paper package was unlikely to be anything good. Otherwise, why would Lu Dashi hide it away? On this trip, he hadn't even brought all his luggage, yet he still kept this thing close at hand. He had been working for Xiaochangfang for a few years, and who knows how many of Xia'erfang's secrets he had leaked out. Even if the siblings were to frame Xiaochangfang and Lu Dashi together, it would only be using their own methods against them.

  After some thought, Zhao Xun decided to tell Zhao Wei what she had just told Bi Lian. Zhao Wei was shocked: "Why did you want to tell her that? Are you really trying to get her to leave the country?"

  Zhao Xuan smiled: "Since the matter has operability, why not do it? They want to get rid of their household registration, which has been going on for a long time. Once there is hope, they can achieve their wishes without doing bad things. Can't they listen to Xiaochangfang's words? Lu Ma and Lu Changxiu know our family too well, and Grandma can't bear to be ruthless. In that case, it's better to thoroughly win them over. There's just one thing: whether it's Bi Lian or Xiao Man, as long as there's a way, they can get rid of their household registration. Lu Ma doesn't have this idea, but Lu Changxiu... humph!"

  Zhao Xuan narrowed her eyes: "If he really has a conscience and is willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of his official slave status, then after hearing Bi Lian's words, he should know what to say. If brother wants to use Lu Da Shou's package of powder to frame Xiao Chang Fang for the crime, then their testimonies are crucial. However, Lu Da Shou can forget about becoming a good citizen from now on! Everyone else is easy to deal with, but not him! He should be made to know that what he wants is right in front of him, yet he still can't get it - what kind of feeling will that be? I wonder if for the rest of his life he'll regret the wrong things he's done?"

  Zhao Wei imagined the scene and thought it was interesting. She exchanged a glance with her sister and smiled slyly.