Lin Qingge narrowed her eyes slightly and patiently repeated the previous question:
"Xing Wanli, you said Steward Li asked to meet you earlier. What was it about?"
"It was... for..."
After much hesitation, Xing Wanli still couldn't utter a key word.
Sweat trickled down his temples and dripped onto the ground. His body trembled uncontrollably from excessive tension.
"Tch, I see you'd rather refuse a toast and be forced to drink!"
As soon as Lin Qingge finished speaking, Leng Ningyue's dagger was already at Xing Wanli's throat.
The sharp blade immediately drew a red bloodstain.
Finding his wife's demeanor increasingly peculiar and unrestrained, Lin Qingge casually grabbed a book from the bookshelf and lightly patted Xing Wanli's terrified cheek.
"Xing Wanli, is it?
You might not know me well since this is our first meeting.
It's not that I'm boasting about myself.
From the exalted imperial relatives to the wicked fugitives, no one who falls into our hands has ever walked out in one piece!
So, for a small fry like you who can't even get on the stage, even if I were to kill you and drain your blood today, no one would dare to say a single word!"
Neither Lin Qingge's impromptu threat nor Leng Ningyue's dagger could be borne by an ordinary citizen like Xing Wanli.
As if seeing his deceased grandmother beckoning him, Xing Wanli's legs went weak. However, with the dagger at his throat, he dared not move and could only repeatedly beg for mercy:
"Your excellency, please calm your anger, please calm your anger!
This student will speak, this student will say everything!"
Hearing this, Leng Ningyue withdrew her dagger.
Xing Wanli, while covering his bleeding neck, carefully chose his words as he spoke:
"Reporting to Your Excellency, as this student has achieved academic merit, I implored my uncle-in-law to fund me fifty thousand taels of silver to secure an official post, so that I may serve the court and benefit the common people."
Lin Qingge, hearing someone describe the buying of an official post so refreshingly novel for the first time, was amused to the point of anger. But then, thinking of something, she frowned and asked,
"Xing Wanli, could it be that your qualification as a Juren was also bought with money?"
"...Sort of, I guess."
"Yes is yes, no is no. What do you mean by 'sort of'?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, although the examination questions were not answered by this student, the content was written by this student, stroke by stroke."
Lin Qingge, who understood now, asked in disbelief,
"Were the exam questions leaked to you in advance?"
Although Juren was only a provincial examination, its severity was no less than a leaked college entrance exam.
After all, the hardships of ten years of study for ancient scholars were truly bitter.
With this thought, Lin Qingge's voice turned a few degrees colder:
"You are only the nephew of Madam Li, not her biological son. Even if Steward Li had no heirs, he wouldn't go to such lengths to support you, would he?"
"Uncle-in-law initially disagreed, but later he was moved by my sincerity and invited me to come here today."
Lin Qingge, not believing this nonsense, hooked the corner of her lips and said with a forced smile,
"But upon arriving here, you were informed that Steward Li didn't want to be the fool who paid this sum of money for you, and even criticized you as a pig's nose stuffed with scallions, all pretense.
Upon hearing this, you were enraged and argued with Steward Li, and then you angered him to death?"
"How is that possible?!
Your Excellency, every word this student speaks is the truth, with not a shred of falsehood. I implore Your Excellency to investigate thoroughly!"
After speaking, Xing Wanli banged his head on the ground repeatedly.
The force was so great, as if his head was not his own.
"Hmph, now that Steward Li is dead, and your words are unsubstantiated, how can this official verify them?"
Upon hearing this, Xing Wanli hurriedly defended himself:
"Reporting to Your Excellency, my aunt, Madam Wang Xing, can testify! It was she who pleaded with my uncle-in-law on my behalf!"
"Oh, really?"
Lin Qingge gave Leng Ningyue a look, and the latter directly kicked the cowardly fellow out.
Meanwhile, Lin Qingge walked to the desk and stood there, dipping her brush into the inkstone.
"The ink in the inkstone has not yet dried. It seems Steward Li was writing here not long ago..."
"This is rather strange."
Leng Ningyue, who had just kicked the trash unconscious in the courtyard, chimed in, continuing her analysis,
"Since Steward Li was using his brush before his death, why would he suddenly want to lie down on the bed?
If Steward Li wanted to rest due to discomfort, why would he meticulously clean the tabletop, disregarding his fatigue and pain?
Furthermore, why didn't he call for servants or seek medical attention?"
"Moreover, according to Xing Wanli's account, Steward Li invited him to meet today, so there's no reason for him to commit suicide."
Lin Qingge rubbed her chin back and forth, speaking to herself,
"If Steward Li truly died suddenly at his desk, who moved him to the bed, and for what purpose?
Could it be... that someone first murdered Steward Li and then fabricated a false impression of death from illness?
But in that case, how would Steward Li's cause of death be explained?"
"After hearing Your Excellency's words, I feel that my previous statement was somewhat hasty.
As far as I know, there are indeed methods that can cause a deceased person to exhibit symptoms of sudden death.
However, my abilities are limited, and it may take some time."
Qin Han, who had been acting as a backdrop, suddenly spoke. After finishing, he squatted back down in front of Steward Li's corpse and began to examine it carefully.
With nothing else to do, Lin Qingge decided to check the front courtyard to see how Hua Jinrong's interrogation was going.
As she stepped out of the study, a gentle breeze brushed past her, dispelling the heat and faint scent that lingered around her, invigorating her spirits.
A faint scent?
She hadn't noticed it earlier because she was in its midst and solely focused on the investigation.
The aroma was different from the usual perfumed scents of young ladies; it was more like the sweet, cloying aroma produced during pastry making, but much fainter.
If one didn't pay close attention, it was almost impossible to detect.
As Lin Qingge stopped, Leng Ningyue also halted, her brow furrowed in thought.
Clearly, she seemed to have noticed it as well.
Before Lin Qingge and the two could reach the front hall, they heard increasingly loud wailing.
"My lord, how could you bear to leave us, the widowed and orphaned, to journey to the underworld alone?"
"Father, you promised you would see your daughter marry gloriously. How can you break your word now?"
"Madam, young lady, you must take care of yourselves!"
At this moment, the manor was already filled with cries of grief due to Steward Li's death.
"Madam Li, Xing Shi, is it?
I ask you, did Steward Li have any heart conditions in the past?"
Although Madam Xing did not recognize the young gentleman before her, she still gently wiped away the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief and said mournfully,
"Reporting to Your Excellency, my lord's chest was once wounded by a sword, which injured his heart脉. For years, he often suffered from agonizing chest pain."
"When did this happen?"
"About twenty years ago."
"What was the cause?"
"This...
Your servant had not yet married into the Li family at the time, and my lord never mentioned it, so your servant truly does not know."
Madam Xing answered with utmost fear and trepidation, but Lin Qingge felt that she was not telling the truth.
However, she did not press further. Instead, she took out the handkerchief wrapped with pink pearls from her懷 and handed it over:
"I just found this pink pearl in the garden. Seeing its value, I picked it up. Is it perhaps something belonging to Madam?"