Yun Jinnian looked at Duozhu, the woman who claimed to be her aunt by marriage, and took a deep breath, "But you can’t keep poisoning them!"
"That depends on how they speak. If they dare to twist the truth, I’ll show no mercy!" Duozhu said emphatically.
"Fine, I’ll have Hemei go out and tell them to go home and inquire, or you can follow them to the Duan Family and ask in person!"
Old grudges and grievances always need to be resolved.
"I won’t go to the Duan Family. Let someone from the Duan Family come..." Duozhu started, then paused, "No, I won’t let the people from the Duan Family dirty my place!"
"Then we shall meet outside. How about Huiquan Tower?"
Yun Jinnian immediately gestured for Hemei to go out and speak with Duan Qimeng. Now the eldest in the Duan Family was only the old lady, and whether she knew the full story was anyone’s guess.
Not for the sake of other members of the Duan Family, but for Ruan Wanrong’s sake, she had to intervene.
Hemei left the courtyard and faced Duan Qimeng, "Young Master Duan, we have found her, but you must return home and inquire if the older generation had done anything wrong. It’s probably best to ask the old lady!"
As for the rest, Hemei did not know.
But Duan Qimeng seemed to have an epiphany, "Anything else?"
"Let’s meet on the third floor of Huiquan Tower, in the private room of my mistress!"
Whether the issue could be resolved or not, this was the only chance they had.
"Alright, I’ll go back now!"
The Duan Family also had a private room at Huiquan Tower, but since the other party had made a request, everyone from the Duan Family had no choice but to comply.
At last, there was a clue, which was better than aimlessly buzzing around like a headless fly.
Duan Qimeng quickly returned to the Duan Family with the young men and went straight to the old lady, "Grandmother, did our Duan Family ever do anything shameful in the past generation?"
"What?" the old lady inquired in surprise.
"We found her, and she wants us to ask you and to meet at Huiquan Tower. Grandmother, we owe this to Princess Yijia; otherwise, we wouldn’t have found any clues!" Duan Qimeng explained.
In any case, there was at least a lead now.
The old lady thought hard for a while before responding, "I don’t know much about the past generation’s affairs, but your great-grandfather left behind a brocade box before he passed away, which is enshrined in the ancestral hall. He mentioned that if someone ever comes to the Duan Family, we should give this brocade box to her, and made it clear that the person would be a woman!"
"It must be about this brocade box!" said Duan Qimeng, and immediately went to the ancestral hall to find the box.
The old ancestor of the Duan Family had passed away over fifty years ago.
Moreover, the Duan Family had only moved to Capital City during the time of the old ancestor, and it was he who had built the ancestral hall.
When Duan Qimeng arrived at the ancestral hall, he quickly located the brocade box.
It hadn’t been opened in many years and was covered with dust, the brocade box itself in a state of disrepair.
"Who knows what’s inside!" Duan Qimeng muttered to himself but did not open it.
Instead, he reverently held the brocade box and, together with the old lady, left his residence and headed straight for Huiquan Tower.
Yun Jinnian arrived at the third floor of Huiquan Tower first. Duozhu sat in a chair, not drinking tea or eating pastries—it was evident that she was somewhat nervous and harbored suppressed rage, despair, and ruthlessness.
No matter what the bygone days had witnessed, today would see an end to it.
"Miss, the people from the Duan Family have arrived!" Hemei called from outside the door.
Upon hearing this, Yun Jinnian turned to Duozhu, "What do you say?"
Duozhu took a deep breath, "Let them in!"
After all, she couldn’t bear to see the younger generation of Treasure Bead suffer hardships...