"Hey, wake up. You're frail, don't try to lean on me, understand?"
Before Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie could enter Madam Liang's room, Zhen Shi's voice was heard from inside.
Lu Wuxie gave a look to Lin Jin, who was following behind him.
Lin Jin understood and kicked Madam Liang's door.
Madam Liang was lying on the bed, with Zhen Shi standing beside her, pointing a finger at Madam Liang with a haughty air.
"Grandmother, what do you mean by this?" Lu Wuxie's expression was grave.
Zhen Shi was startled. She slowly turned her head, and in a flash, her demeanor changed. She smiled at Lu Wuxie and said, "Is... is the Heir here? This... the First Madam fainted, but it's not my fault. She fainted right after reading the account books."
Lu Wuxie remained silent, merely glancing at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li took the medicine chest he handed over and walked to Madam Liang's side. After checking her pulse, she took out the gold needles from the chest and began to acupuncture.
"Your Highness, please be assured, the First Madam is fine. Perhaps she was in the ancestral hall earlier, and the ancestral hall is naturally cold and damp. Her health has not been as robust as others for many years. Coupled with the recent shock, it caused a sudden rush of blood to her heart, leading to her fainting. I will administer a few needles, and she will wake up within fifteen minutes."
Lu Wuxie's suspended heart finally relaxed upon hearing that Madam Liang was fine.
He lifted the hem of his robe and sat by the round table in the room, looking at the account books scattered on the table. He said, "Grandmother, are you referring to these account books?"
Zhen Shi nodded.
Lu Wuxie frowned, finding it strange that his grandmother would suddenly look at these things.
Steward Zhang, seeing this, quickly recounted the incident of Qi Shuishui causing trouble at the manor earlier that day.
After listening, Lu Wuxie understood. He casually picked up an account book and began to examine it.
Seeing Lu Wuxie's actions, Zhen Shi's eyes darted. She leaned forward and said, "Your Highness, there are no problems with these accounts. You say the First Madam fainted, and it truly has nothing to do with me."
"Slap!"
Lu Wuxie coldly threw the account book onto the table.
In the entire room, apart from Zhong Li, who was administering acupuncture to Madam Liang, all the servants were terrified and immediately knelt on the ground.
Lu Wuxie, as the grandson, technically had little to do with the Xie family's affairs. However, at this critical juncture, the Xie family had lost its backbone, and Madam Liang, the only one who could hold the entire family together, had fainted. Everyone's hope could only be placed on him. Furthermore, he was from the Judicial Inspection Office, and Xie Xu's case was still under thorough investigation, giving him jurisdiction both internally and externally.
"Steward Zhang," Lu Wuxie said.
Steward Zhang quickly knelt.
"Who was in charge of these account books, and were you involved?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Steward Zhang glanced at Zhen Shi and shook his head. "Replying to Your Highness, although I am the steward of the manor, ever since the manor's affairs were handed over to the Second Madam's management, I have only been responsible for collecting rent from the estates. As for how the money is distributed, I have no right to inquire."
"Zhen Shi," Lu Wuxie looked up at Zhen Shi, his tone carrying an unprecedented seriousness. "You just said there were no problems with the accounts?"
Hearing Lu Wuxie change his address, Zhen Shi's heart sank. Disregarding her current status, she quickly knelt on the ground and said submissively, "Yes... yes, there were no problems."
Lu Wuxie let out a cold laugh and said, "Does Zhen Shi truly think this official is so dissolute and extravagant that I wouldn't even know the market prices of most goods in the Southern Yue Kingdom?"
As he spoke, he casually flipped open a page and said, "Brocade fabric thirty taels, tailoring five taels, embroidered silk ten taels. Do you see any problems?"
Zhen Shi's lips trembled. Just as she was about to say something, Lu Wuxie coldly interrupted, "A bolt of cloth, including tailoring and embroidery, would cost at most thirty taels. Yet you recorded these items separately. Do you truly think others wouldn't notice?"
Zhen Shi bit her lip, wanting to explain. But she knew that no matter how unruly Lu Wuxie appeared, he was of royal blood and had received proper instruction in such matters. A glance at an account book would surely make everything clear.
"I... I..."
"This is originally a Xie family matter, but I am from the Judicial Inspection Office, and Xie Xu's death is suspicious. I have reason to suspect that Xie Xu might have discovered your fraudulent accounting and embezzlement of the manor's funds. You acted decisively and killed him, so... Guards!" Lu Wuxie commanded.
Lin Jin led several constables guarding the ruins and ran over. "Sir!"
"Zhen Shi is a suspect in this case. Detain her at the yamen first and await thorough investigation of the case!"
"Yes!" Lin Jin glanced at the two constables behind him. The two constables acknowledged the order and dragged Zhen Shi out, one on each side.
Zhen Shi had already made a fool of herself in front of everyone during the day, and now she was to be dragged into prison. Naturally, she was not convinced.
She looked at Lu Wuxie and said, "Heir, Heir, although I was greedy for the Xie family's money, I did not kill anyone, I did not, I..."
"Heir!"
Just as Zhen Shi was speaking halfway, her maid Sisi suddenly stepped forward and knelt on the ground with a thud.
Lu Wuxie's gaze fell on Sisi, waiting for her to speak further.
"This servant has followed her mistress for many years. This servant can prove that her mistress... killed... the... master."
"What did you say, Sisi, what did you say?" Zhen Shi thought Sisi was begging for her, but she never expected her to say this. She glared at the maid kneeling before Lu Wuxie in agitation and shouted, "When did I kill the master, when? Tell me!"
Sisi stood up and walked in front of Zhen Shi, her eyes brimming with tears. "Second Madam, since things have come to this, why don't you admit it? The poison of the blister beetle was clearly in your room."
"I... what, what are you talking about?" Zhen Shi stared with disbelief.
Lu Wuxie watched the mistress and servant exchange words and glanced at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin, receiving the order, hurried towards Zhen Shi's room.
A moment later, he returned with a small bottle in his hand.
Coincidentally, Zhong Li had finished acupuncture on Madam Liang. She took the bottle from Lin Jin, opened it, and after smelling it, said, "Indeed, it is blister beetle poison."
Zhen Shi, who had some hope, collapsed onto the ground like a frost-battered eggplant upon hearing Zhong Li's words.
"Drag Zhen Shi to the death prison!" Lu Wuxie said.
As the two constables began to drag Zhen Shi's body again, Zhen Shi reacted and frantically shook her head, saying, "That blister beetle poison is not mine, it's not mine."
But now, caught red-handed, who would believe Zhen Shi's words?
Zhen Shi desperately clung to the doorframe, unwilling to leave. How could her strength match that of men? With a crisp crack, she felt a piercing pain in her fingertips, and she was dragged into the courtyard.
"It's you! It's you! So it was you!" Zhen Shi suddenly realized, glaring at everyone in the room, her hysterical voice fading away.
Silence fell upon the room once more.
Everyone tacitly refrained from speaking.
Until a cough came from the bedside, Lu Wuxie reacted and went to Madam Liang's side, saying, "Grandmother, you're awake?"
Madam Liang looked around and asked blankly, "Cang'er, what happened?"
Lu Wuxie and Zhong Li exchanged a glance. Their gazes slightly narrowed as they returned to Madam Liang's face. "Grandfather's case is solved. The killer is Zhen Shi."