Li Qingyi already knew what was going on and said, "You were frightened by the sound, screamed in fear, and then attracted others."
Linglong nodded and fell silent, as if she knew that what she said could not prove her innocence at all. Her whole body was like a withered and decaying leaf. Even if it fell lightly to the ground, she could not escape the fate of being shattered into pieces.
Qin Zeng was expressionless and said from the side: "You said you were frightened by the tabby cat, but no one can prove it. Because when the palace guards searched, they found nothing. Maybe the tabby cat ran away with the dead cub in its mouth. If it's gone, maybe... it's a lie you made up to get away with it."
"I didn't... I really didn't. Please believe me, sir. Why did I kill my master..."
Linglong shook her head desperately, bursting into tears, turned to Li Qingyi and cried and begged: "Miss Li, please... After I accompanied the master into the palace, I was trembling and fearful every day, just hoping that I could ask the master for permission to leave. It’s just a palace... anything else... I really don’t dare to think or do anything..."
"Of course I will try my best to help you, so you must think carefully about the questions I ask you and then tell me."
Li Qingyi patted her arm gently, waited for the other party to calm down for a while, and then asked again: "I have been to Pan's house and learned some things about the Yu family. Here, there are still some things to detail. Ask you."
Linglong didn't react too much when she heard Mr. Yu's words. Her face remained wan and she nodded silently.
Li Qingyi and Qin Zeng looked at each other and asked, "It is said that Mr. Liang paid a visit to Mr. Yu before entering the palace, and even personally prepared the medicine for him?"
"Yes, who would have thought that after that day, Young Master Yu would no longer have a high fever, and he would be so feverish that he would go crazy."
"You and Yushu are always by Lianggui's side. Why did the person who went to Pan Mansion with her that day suddenly changed to Hongdou?"
Linglong looked at her strangely. She didn't know why. It seemed that her memory had been blurred. After thinking for a moment, she said: "Originally, the jade comb was to be followed that day, but the master suddenly remembered that he had promised to give the jade comb to his cousin. Draw some flower patterns. So I asked the jade comb to stay in the house and pointed Hongdou to follow."
"So, you and Yushu have been with Mr. Liang since childhood, and you know that you will be her dowry in the future and marry into the Yu family together, right?"
Linglong pursed her lips and said, "Yes."
"It looks like you don't like this arrangement?"
"how do you know?"
Linglong looked embarrassed, but she still said: "Our master looks gentle and kind, but in fact he is not very talkative. Fortunately, I don't ask for anything. I will do whatever the master says, and I will be fine if I don't offend her eyes." But in the future, the master will marry into the Yu family. The two of us as dowries are just for the master’s favor when it is inconvenient to serve him. If Master Yu takes over the house, given his temperament, we will inevitably suffer. Some work... The jade comb is okay, but I don't want to be in the eyes of the master... I would rather marry an honest man and live a down-to-earth life."
Linglong has a lot of worries. She is indeed what others say is timid and afraid of getting into trouble.
But it's not because she has no ideas, on the contrary, she is a first-class understanding person.
Moreover, the words "The jade comb is okay" in her mouth made Li Qingyi's expression move slightly.
She thought thoughtfully and asked, "From what you say, Yushu is not opposed to this arrangement and accepts it readily?"
The sadness on Linglong's face has gradually calmed down. She lowered her eyebrows and said, "Yu Shu has always been of the same mind as his master. No matter how big or small, he always wants to be ahead of others."
Li Qingyi couldn't help but frown after hearing this: "In that case, why did she leave the palace? Why didn't she stay with the good nobleman and be her right-hand man?"
Linglong shook her head and said, "I don't know about that. Originally, I thought that the jade comb would stay with the master in the future. When I left the palace, the master would not stop me. Who knows, the jade comb suddenly asked the master to leave the palace? ..."
Li Qingyi thought for a moment and said, "Did Yushu do any abnormal behavior before and after the good nobleman entered the palace? So that she broke up with the good nobleman, or something else?"
"There was one time... that was unusual." Linglong was stunned for a moment and said, "After Mr. Yu became seriously ill, the master and his wife discussed canceling the marriage, and the Yu family reluctantly agreed. That night. , Yushu talked for a long time alone in front of his master. But afterwards, he still did what he should do. Nothing special happened..."
There was silence in the quiet room for a while, and Qin Zeng asked solemnly: "Then after that, the Pan family and the Yu family will stop contacting each other?"
Linglong was very afraid of Qin Zeng and shrank involuntarily, "Later, people from the Yu family came to visit... because they heard the news that the master was going to enter the palace. For some reason, they only said that the master wanted glory and wealth. I poisoned Mr. Yu... I want an explanation."...
Linglong kept frowning, as if she was really unhappy because of this dispute.
"Because Hongdou and I were waiting for the master that day, giving Mr. Yu the medicine, and no one else was there. So they became suspicious and came to ask. I even received two slaps from Mrs. Yu for this."
"Anko was already dead by then?"
"Well, yes, so Mrs. Yu tried to attack me. But later on, because there was no evidence, she had no choice but to let it go."
"I heard that Mr. Yu's health has suddenly improved in the past six months? Have you ever heard about it while you were in the palace with Mr. Liang?"
"One time, the lady mentioned something vaguely in the letter, and the master looked a little complicated after reading it. I thought, maybe she had a hurried marriage before, and felt guilty that she had failed the young master, right?"
Li Qingyi had doubts in her heart, but couldn't express them, so she looked at Qin Zeng.
The other party immediately understood her dilemma and asked Linglong: "So, can you confirm that Mr. Liang really didn't tamper with that bowl of medicine?"
Linglong trembled all over and looked up at him in fear: "How could..."
She hesitated for a while and then said: "The master was very worried about the young master's condition, and asked Hongdou to help him boil the medicine and hold the fire. He also fed it to the young master himself... Later, the medicine bowl was accidentally spilled, and the master returned it after returning home. She lost her temper and said that Hong Dou was not careful in serving her, and her cheeks were so red and swollen. Therefore, the government said that Hong Dou threw herself into a well at night because of unbearable grief and anger..."
"So that's the case. It sounds reasonable..."
Mother Tan and Pan Yuejiao, mother and daughter, were probably deeply impressed by the maid who accompanied Liang Guiren that day because of this incident.
Li Qingyi stood up and comforted Linglong with a few words: "Just wait patiently. Right and wrong will always be clear in the end."
Then she asked someone to take the worried Linglong down, turned to Qin Zeng and said, "What do you think, sir?"
"There are some vague guesses, but there are still a few things that are unclear."
"Well, then let's go to Fanghua Palace and take a look at Furong Palace."
Fanghua Palace was not too close, so the two of them stopped taking the carriage and rode horses instead.
Li Qingyi learned horse riding from his grandfather when he was a child, and his equestrian skills were pretty good.
When they arrived at Fanghua Palace, Qin Zengzi went to see the eldest princess of Deqing, while Li Qingyi took Changlan and followed the leading chamberlain to Furong Palace.
The body of the noble nobleman has been buried.
If she had died in the palace, she would have been parked in Yuxiang Palace, but since she died outside, there was absolutely no need to bring her back to the palace to be parked.
Until the case is clearly investigated, it can only be parked here temporarily.
The dark coffin was placed in the atrium of Furong Hall, with no one paying homage or mourning.
Li Qingyi paused for a moment before going inside.
The blood stains in the inner hall have been removed, but the smell of blood is still floating in the air.
Changlan followed Li Qingyi around the inner hall, opened each window and looked outside, "This Furong Hall is transparent from north to south, and there is a hot spring at the back of the hall."
Li Qingyi followed her gaze towards the spring at the back of the palace, then left the inner hall and walked around to the back to the spring.
On such a cold winter day, the plants beside the hot springs have not withered, and there are still a few flowers blooming here and there.
The gurgling trickle meanders around the surrounding flowers and plants, and the air is filled with mist under the steaming heat.
Li Qingyi looked along the place where the spring water flows, and suddenly saw several broken branches behind a bush: "It seems that someone has left something here."
Changlan wondered, "Did the murderer escape from the back window after the murder and hide a change of clothes here? Otherwise, there should be some blood stains on his body, right? Maybe it was the sound of the food box falling to the ground that attracted everyone, The murderer took advantage of the chaos and changed his clothes, pretending not to know anything, and escaped from Furong Hall."
Li Qingyi groped around carefully and said, "But we didn't find any blood-stained clothes. There are servants patrolling everywhere in the palace. The murderer can't carry bloody clothes with him, and there are no traces of burning."
Changlan murmured: "It's really difficult to handle. During the time when Yushu went to report at the palace banquet, the murderer already had enough opportunities to escape."
Li Qingyi stood for a moment at the broken branch and said, "Let's go to the small kitchen and have a look."
There was no one in the small kitchen of Furong Palace, and several cooks were imprisoned in Dali Temple.
Changlan rummaged around and found that there were still several portions of walnut cheese and exquisite snacks placed in the pot on the stove. They are all things that can be eaten as soon as they are warmed up. Presumably, the noble lady will feel hungry at night after she is pregnant, so she specially prepares food in the small kitchen.
"Lianggui really loves walnut cheese, so he actually prepared several portions."
The weather is cold, but the food has not gone bad even now.
Li Qingyi concentrated for a moment and said, "Maybe we thought wrong from the beginning..."
She thought for a moment and turned around and left the kitchen: "Let's go back."
It's getting dusky, and the Fanghua Palace built on the mountain looks more like a palace in the sky under the rays of glow.
Li Qingyi squinted at the distant golden color in the west, and was stunned for a moment.
"Why are you standing here in a daze?"
Qin Zeng's always low and cold voice came from behind. Li Qingyi came back to his senses and saw the other person standing in the sunset against the light. His face and expression could not be seen clearly, only his voice echoed in his ears.
Li Qingyi gently twitched the corner of his mouth, "The sunset is so bright, but not warm."
Qin Zeng was slightly surprised when he heard this, but after a moment he laughed and said: "Under the ice, there may be the fiery light you want."
Li Qingyi raised his head in surprise, and Qin Zeng also lowered his head to look at her.
