The moment Zhong Li spoke, Steward Liu and Qing Yuanfang both blushed red.
"Hm?" After a long time, Qing Yuanfang did not reply. Zhong Li could not help but look up at her.
Seeing Zhong Li's placid expression and cold demeanor, Qing Yuanfang knew she had been petty and quickly replied, "Yesterday, it was close to the hour of Hai. After the master finished his work in the study, he came to my chambers. The moment he entered, the master... he took out..."
"Stop!" Zhong Li frowned at Qing Yuanfang, emphasizing, "I asked how late you and Governor Guo were up to. I didn't ask for details."
Qing Yuanfang's face flushed, and she quickly changed the subject. "It was likely past the hour of Zi."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li looked at Steward Liu.
Steward Liu nodded and said, "The third madam is not lying. When the master entered the third madam's room, he had been working alone in the study."
"So, from Hai to Zi is two hours," Zhong Li murmured.
"Ah, what?" Qing Yuanfang leaned closer to Zhong Li, trying to hear what was meant by 'hours'.
Zhong Li waved her hand, not answering her, and continued, "I saw earlier that the tea leaves in the purple clay teapot on the table were all clinging to the walls of the teapot. Did you drink a lot of water last night?"
One should know that unless a person is extremely thirsty, if the clear water is below the tea leaves, most people would choose to add more water to drink the tea.
Qing Yuanfang looked at Zhong Li in surprise and nodded. "Indeed, Temple Warden Zhong is remarkable. You know even this. Yesterday, when the master came to my chambers, after everything, he said he was thirsty and uncomfortable and drank all the water in the pot himself before sleeping."
"Even so, at what time did you wake up and find Governor Guo dead?" Zhong Li continued to ask.
Qing Yuanfang thought for a moment and said, "When I got out of bed to relieve myself this morning, it was probably before the hour of Yin. I was still groggy and didn't notice anything. It wasn't until I found the master's body was cold that I ordered the servants to light the lamps and check. It was around that time that I discovered the master had passed away."
Zhong Li listened to Qing Yuanfang's words, pondered for a while, and then fixed her gaze on Steward Liu, saying, "Does the timing match?"
"The time we found the master's body is about the same as what the third madam said," Steward Liu replied.
"Even so, where is the body now?" Zhong Li asked.
"The yamen is relatively far from the Guo mansion. Governor Ren was afraid that something might go wrong during the transportation of the body, so he had the runners carry the master's body to a cool room in the backyard. It should still be there," Steward Liu finished. Zhong Li had already risen and walked out of the courtyard.
Guo Qi did not have many concubines in his backyard, only three in total. Besides the first madam, who was said to be living a vegetarian life and reciting Buddhist scriptures in the ancestral hall, the third madam had only recently arrived. Before her, his most favored was the second madam.
The second madam's courtyard was the largest and closest to the cool room where Guo Qi's body was stored.
Zhong Li walked with Steward Liu. As they passed by the second madam's courtyard, she glanced in inadvertently. Seeing that it was quiet inside, she could not help but ask curiously, "The head of the household is dead, and the first madam's vegetarian practices are understandable. But why is the second madam's place so quiet?"
Steward Liu glanced into the courtyard upon hearing this and said, "Temple Warden Zhong, you may not know, but this second madam is very particular. Although her courtyard is the largest, few people ever enter it."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Zhong Li inquired.
"The second madam was brought into the mansion from outside by the master. Since the second madam entered the Guo mansion, I have hardly seen her a few times. I heard the master say that the second madam prefers quiet and dislikes being disturbed by others. Even the servants require the second madam's permission to step into the courtyard," Steward Liu replied.
"So, does the second madam herself not come out usually?"
Steward Liu shook his head. "Very rarely."
Zhong Li listened intently and cast a deep glance into the courtyard. Just as she was about to move forward, Steward Liu added, "Speaking of which, before the third madam arrived, I really saw the second madam very little. Since the third madam came, the second madam's courtyard has rarely been this quiet."
Zhong Li frowned, listening to Steward Liu's contradictory words. Just as she was about to ask, she heard the sound of a door opening.
"Temple Warden Zhong, Master Ren said earlier that if you were to come, you could enter this place freely."
Zhong Li looked up at the person speaking to her, a young constable guarding the door of a room. She nodded and then looked inside through the doorway. As she had expected, this was where Guo Qi's body was kept.
She tightened the small box on her back and quickly entered.
According to the records, Guo Qi had not been dead for more than two days. She pulled aside the white cloth covering him and, after observing the rigor mortis and body temperature, confirmed that there was no discrepancy with the records. She then proceeded with the autopsy.
As night fell over the entire Guo mansion, faint candlelight flickered within the compound. Occasionally, the faint sound of a woman weeping could be heard from a distant courtyard. Zhong Li walked out of the room, holding an autopsy report.
"Finished?"
The moment she stepped out of the room, a familiar voice sounded beside her.
"How long have you been waiting here, Young Master?" Zhong Li looked up at the crescent moon hanging overhead, confirming that it was either the hour of Xu or Hai. She couldn't help but ask with concern, "Have you eaten?"
Lu Wuxie tilted his head and looked at her, shaking his head. He then produced a food container from somewhere and dangled it in front of her. "I have your favorite braised duck from Jinzhou Restaurant, and some Hundred Flower Brew from Yongcheng for you to try."
Saying this, he didn't give Zhong Li a chance to reply and pulled her arm towards a quiet small room around the cool room.
As dish after dish of hot food was placed on the table, Zhong Li, who had traveled a long way and worked all afternoon, finally felt hungry. She picked up her wooden chopsticks and began to eat.
Lu Wuxie carefully removed the duck skin and placed it on her small plate. He also ate, while picking up the half-dry autopsy report from the table and reading it.
"Guo Qi died of poisoning?" he asked.
Zhong Li nodded and replied, "Yes, the poison is also common, arsenic. Based on the fullness of Guo Qi's stomach, it also matches the characteristic of death occurring about five hours after consumption."
"Five hours?" Lu Wuxie asked, confused.
Zhong Li quickly realized and said, "From the hour of Hai to almost the hour of Yin."
Lu Wuxie nodded. "So, do you think Qing Yuanfang had the opportunity to kill him?"
Zhong Li first shook her head, then felt it was not quite right and added, "If we go by what the third madam said, it seems Guo Qi was poisoned before entering Qing Yuanfang's room. However, we cannot make a definitive judgment based on one person's one-sided words. What I want to eliminate now is whether Qing Yuanfang has any motive to kill Guo Qi.
There is also a question that I am very eager to know."
"What is it?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"Regarding Qing Yuanfang's origins, I always feel that Steward Liu is hiding something regarding her," Zhong Li said.
"That's not difficult at all," Lu Wuxie smiled, poured more wine into Zhong Li's cup, and said, "While you were conducting the autopsy, this Young Master was not idle. I thoroughly investigated Guo Qi's third madam. Do you know her background?"
Zhong Li remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"She was offered to Guo Qi by the Beichuan Gang. She was previously a famous geisha in Yingzhou, and for a time, she even served the emperor of Yingzhou," Lu Wuxie said.