The grand hall of the Jia residence was silent.
Only Lu Wuxie, holding his injured hand, leisurely returned to his seat, blood already staining his cuff.
“This…” Steward Wang reacted quickly, tugging at his robes and rushing out, “This old servant will fetch the young master a medicine chest… Young Master…”
“Wait.” Lu Wuxie called out to Steward Wang, turning to Zhong Li and saying, “Li’er. My carriage has hemostatic medicine brought from Jincheng. Go fetch it for me, to treat my injury. You put it there, so you should know where it is.”
Li’er?
Zhong Li was taken aback by Lu Wuxie’s sudden affectionate address, but she quickly regained her composure, understanding this was Lu Wuxie’s stratagem to deceive Steward Wang. After all, her current identity was the personal maid of the Young Master Lu.
She bowed slightly to him and hurried out of the hall.
“This young master is not accustomed to local medicinal herbs. I apologize for troubling Steward Wang.” Lu Wuxie’s voice came from behind.
“Not at all, not at all. Young Master is precious, he must use the best things.”
“But speaking of which, Brother Qiao, I struck your Great Wisdom Bodhisattva statue. You won’t be angry, will you…”
…
Zhong Li walked quickly, Lu Wuxie’s leisurely voice fading behind her. She didn’t go to any carriage to fetch hemostatic medicine, but instead headed towards the back courtyard of the Jia residence.
The back courtyard of the Jia residence was vast, but the main family’s courtyard could still be recognized at a glance. Especially after passing through the garden, the room with white silk streamers visible must be Xie Xiaoyun’s.
The courtyard was full of gardenias, pure white, which seemed to match the current atmosphere exceptionally well.
Zhong Li recalled the same floral pattern embroidered on Xie Xiaoyun’s clothes, her brow unconsciously furrowing.
“Alas, just a few days ago the Jia residence was flourishing. The master has only been gone a few days, and we are all to be dismissed.”
As Zhong Li was about to walk into the main house, two young maids carrying luggage and dressed in plain white emerged from within.
“Isn’t that right? The steward said it’s because the shops lost money, and they can’t afford us. I think this steward took advantage of the master’s death and stole who knows how much money from the manor, fearing we would be suspicious…”
“Hush… Don’t speak nonsense. Since we’ve taken our dismissal fees, let’s leave quickly. This case… isn’t that simple.”
“Alas, you speak of it. We were the last to arrive. All the good things are gone. We can only hope the dismissal fees are enough to report back home to our parents.”
As they spoke, the two young maids glanced at Zhong Li and quickly readjusted their luggage, heading out of the courtyard.
Zhong Li lowered her gaze, scanning the brocade white-soled embroidered shoes they wore on their feet, and then quickly entered the room.
Inside, a coffin made of golden nanmu wood was placed. Opposite the coffin was a brazier, with several paper money pieces not completely burned within it. She guessed that was what the two maids had just thrown in.
Zhong Li walked to the side of the coffin. The faint aroma of wood reached her nostrils. As she had expected, the coffin was empty, awaiting Xie Xiaoyun’s body to be repaired and placed inside.
Given that she had trespassed into the deceased’s former living space, she casually picked up three incense sticks from the table, lit them, and inserted them into the censer closest to the coffin.
At first, she didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until she looked up and her gaze fell upon the lacquered golden nanmu coffin opposite her that her brow couldn’t help but furrow.
Out of curiosity, Zhong Li reached out and shook the coffin. She had thought that such a large coffin would be impossible for a weak woman like herself to move. To her surprise, with only half her strength, the coffin, large enough to hold two people, swayed with her movement.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
Immediately after, Zhong Li began to tap the coffin. As a muffled echo resonated from within, her heart skipped a beat. This golden nanmu coffin was dry inside. This meant that the coffin was made from a dead tree, coated with lacquer to impersonate fine wood, a case of passing off fake as genuine.
But it shouldn’t be like this. This kind of wood was not even favored by ordinary poor households. How could it become the final resting place for Xie Xiaoyun and Jia Kun?
Just as she was racking her brain for an explanation, a clear sound suddenly echoed from within the room.
Zhong Li quickly looked towards the source of the sound. She saw a half-open door behind the coffin, and if she guessed correctly, the sound was coming from inside.
She recalled the conversation of the two maids who had left earlier. According to them, the servants in this courtyard should have all been driven out. By rights, she should be the only one here. So who was making that sound?
Zhong Li cast a cold glance at the door, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed open the half-closed wooden door behind the coffin and walked in.
She didn’t realize how messy the residence of the esteemed richest woman in An’ding County was until she stepped inside.
The room looked as if it had been ransacked. Bedding was pulled onto the floor, and the master’s personal belongings boxes piled in the corner were all opened. Almost everything valuable inside was gone.
Zhong Li finally understood what the two maids had meant earlier. It seemed they hadn’t managed to get much good stuff before leaving, right?
However, with the scattering of the flock after the rabbit’s demise, the audacity of the servants showed that the Jia residence had truly declined.
She faintly swept her gaze over a bronze mirror on a jewelry box that had been so thoroughly searched that even the box itself seemed to have been taken, and said, “Come out. I see you.”
Her answer was a prolonged silence.
With a slight curl of her lips, Zhong Li called out again from behind the bed, “What? Must I drag you out?”
As soon as her voice fell, there were crisp sounds of movement from the bed, and a young maid dressed in servant’s clothes walked out.
Upon seeing Zhong Li, her already trembling body faltered. As she stumbled, the jewelry, gold, silver, and jade ornaments she clutched in her arms scattered all over the floor.
Zhong Li glanced at the items on the ground, counting them. There were at least seven or eight, if not more than a dozen. She then looked at the other person’s attire and had some guesses about her identity.
“Having stolen so much, why don’t you hurry and leave? Why are you still lingering here?”
She looked at the disheveled young maid, who was picking herself up, and asked.
Qiuping glanced at Zhong Li, confirmed she wasn’t anyone from the manor, then quickly stuffed the items on the ground back into her arms and turned to prepare to walk out.
“Wait.” Zhong Li stepped forward a few paces, her hand grasping Qiuping’s shoulder.
Qiuping startled and turned back, saying, “How dare you! Where do you come from, a foot-washing maid? Do you know who I am?”
Foot-washing maid?
This was the first time Zhong Li had heard herself referred to in such a way. She followed Qiuping’s gaze to her own clothes and had a general idea.
She curled her lips, her eyes fixed on the gold and silver ornaments Qiuping had tucked into her sleeves, and said, “Are you sure you want to leave the Jia residence with these worthless trinkets? If you’re investigated later, not only will you gain no money, but you might end up in prison.”
“What did you say?” Hearing this, Qiuping’s resistance towards Zhong Li grew even stronger. She twisted her body, trying to break free from Zhong Li’s gentle yet firm grip on her shoulder, but…
She found that although this woman’s hands looked slender and delicate, she didn’t know she possessed such great strength. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t break free from her control.
Zhong Li was too lazy to waste words with her. Her gaze sharpened, and she said, “I am here on the orders of Young Master Lu to investigate the death of your mistress, Xie Xiaoyun. You are her head maid, aren’t you? Having stolen these worthless items, where do you intend to flee?”