Though Nanny Qin received a message sent by the Third Miss, she continued her investigation as before. She not only removed many of the trails of the First and Second Madams but also intimidated the guilty parties and identified a critical figure related to the rumors—a second-class maid named Xiang Lian.
This maid had appeared previously and was one of the second-class maids responsible for serving the young ladies when the Old Madam first held a banquet in the mansion.
Xiang Lian originally served by the Second Miss's side, but due to a clash with Susu because of her sister, the Second Miss grew displeased, found a reason to transfer her away.
A perfectly good second-class maid, yet because her mistress didn't like her, she was assigned to manage flowers and plants in the Second Wife's small garden, which made Xiang Lian so angry that she couldn't express her grievances directly about the Second Miss, so she vented her resentment on Susu instead.
