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Madam Xie watched her show such motherly affection, her feelings too tangled for words.

As soon as they got home, Madam Xie went straight to Xie Heng. "How is the investigation going?"

Xie Heng put down his book. "My people haven't returned yet. Why? Did something else happen at the Zheng Residence?"

Madam Xie sighed. "Madam Zheng said she wants to find a husband for Zheng Wanru. The way she looked... I truly can't bear to watch her be deceived any longer. Whether our suspicions are true or not, we need an answer soon. Otherwise, I won't have a moment's peace."

"I know, I know." Xie Heng quietly took her hand.

Once Madam Xie had calmed down, she spoke again. "We learned something else, too. One of Madam Zheng's personal maids married and left after Madam Zheng gave birth. Lan Tang and I both suspect there's something wrong with that maid."

Xie Heng's eyes lit up. "That's a promising lead. Someone with a clear identity will be much easier to find. I'll have my people look into her at once!"

In a town a few miles from Zhaojing, close enough to the capital to be far more prosperous than an ordinary town, a middle-aged woman carried a wooden basin into a courtyard. An older woman sitting there chatting called out to her:

"Ermei, some people from your family came looking for you. Your husband has already taken them inside."

My family? Who could it be?

The woman set down the basin and pushed open the door. Two grown men sat at the table, plainly dressed and clean-cut. Apart from the occasional sharp gleam in their eyes, they looked no different from anyone she might pass on the street.

"Zhu Erxiu. Former servant in the household of Liu, the Left