Everyone looked up at the ground and saw some fragments of wood scattered in the blue bundle, as well as a sickle with a cracked mouth, and a copper kettle stained with oil.
"These were all found in Ying'er's room, and I also found this." Grandma Su said, taking out a wooden box from her sleeve, opening it and presenting it to Mrs. Shen.
Shen Qiaoran looked around and saw a few pieces of silver and a few pieces of jewelry inside. Although they were not very expensive, they were not something that a second-class maid could afford with her monthly salary.
Seeing that everyone's attention was attracted by the object in front of them, Ju Bai, who had disappeared without knowing when, quietly returned to Shen Qiaochen and nodded to her.
Mrs. Shen has been in charge of the Shen Mansion for many years and has a strong aura. Just sitting there makes the two maids kneeling below tremble.
She looked down at the two of them calmly and said, "Let's talk about it."
The petite maid kneeling on the right looked erratic. She glanced around at the scene in the room and said tremblingly: "Slave... I don't know what the old lady wants to ask."
Mrs. Shen looked at Grandma Su, and Grandma Su understood. He took a step forward and asked, "Ying'er, does the fact that the fourth girl fell into the water a few days ago have something to do with you?"
Hearing the word "falling into the water", Li Xia, who was kneeling next to Ying'er, shrank slightly. Ying'er quickly glared at her. Everyone saw their little actions. Shen Qiaoran snorted coldly, and the two maids immediately said again. No movement.
"You bitch! You two are very brave. How dare you harm your master?" Aunt Su scolded.
"The slaves are wronged, Nanny Su, even if you are with the old lady, you cannot humiliate the slaves at will..." This Ying'er was a good singer and songwriter, and she immediately started howling at the top of her voice.
"Shut up!" Mrs. Shen threw the tea cup on the table, and the screams immediately stopped.
"I asked Aunt Su to search your house. Do you mean that I wronged you?" Mrs. Shen sneered.
"I don't dare." The two maids immediately said in unison. But Li Xia's face was completely frightened, while Ying'er's mouth was pleading for mercy, but her eyes were filled with unwillingness.
Seeing the guilty looks on the two men's eyes, everyone's suspicion, which was only 30% at first, has now become 70%.
"Li Xia, I remember you are a son of the Shen family." Shen Qiaochen suddenly spoke, but she looked at Aunt Su.
Li Xia instantly understood the meaning of these words and immediately raised his head to look at Shen Qiaochen as if struck by lightning.
Aunt Su was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded; "Yes, Li Xia has been a family member of the family for generations. Her father used to be with the general, and her mother was also the steward of the inner courtyard, so she was asked to serve her cousin. I also like her for being steady and diligent."
"Since her father was once his father's side, it would not be good to have her family of three separated all day long. Why not let her go out with her mother and reunite with her father." Shen Qiaochen said casually.
"No... no, Fourth Miss, I beg you, I say, I will tell you everything I know right now..." Li Xia kowtowed and kept saying.
Although Shen Qiaochen didn't take the lives of her family, he didn't sell her out either. But driving her and her mother out of the inner courtyard meant that their errands were terminated. The family could only live on her father's monthly income, and the poor and humble couple suffered from everything. This was no different from killing them.
The fourth girl of the Shen family has always been a delicate and sickly beauty. She usually speaks softly and refuses to trample an ant to death. Who knew that such a glass-like person would be so cold today.
Hearing Li Xia's words, Ying'er immediately tugged on her sleeves, but Li Xia didn't even look at her and said: "The day the fourth girl fell into the water, it was... Ying'er spread oil on the road where the fourth girl often went in advance. , it was she who cut off the fence of Qionghua Pavilion..." At the end of the sentence, her voice dropped.
But everyone heard it clearly. Mrs. Shen looked at Ying'er with sharp eyes.
"It's you?"
"No... Old madam, this servant was wronged. Li Xia lied!" Ying'er insisted.
Unlike Li Xia, who was born at home, Ying'er was bought from outside and was alone, so she had nothing to worry about.
"How outrageous! The things were found from your house. Li Xia can't even enter your yard. How can she hide these things in your house?" Mrs. Shen asked.
"Slave... I saw that the grass in front of the window was growing. I was afraid of attracting flies and ants, so I borrowed a sickle from the boy who was tending the flowers and plants. The oil pot..." Ying'er was in a panic at the moment, and her back was wet. It's all wet, and I'm racking my brains and trying to figure it out.
At this time, Liusu on the side seemed to have thought of something, and said in a low voice: "I remember that the Zhao family's wife in the kitchen reported that an oil pot was lost a few days ago, and she came here to report it because it had just been filled with oil. Be prepared."
The Zhao family's daughter-in-law Liusu mentioned was the newly promoted kitchen manager. The new official took office three times a day and paid close attention to the affairs in the kitchen for fear of making mistakes.
"Could it be that you want to say that you walked to the kitchen in the middle of the night, suddenly felt thirsty, and were dazzled for a moment, so you took the wrong oil pot?" Shen Qiaoran on the side was already impatient. He was still quibbling over the food he was eating, and was extremely angry. He smiled back.
Then, as expected, I received a blow from my grandmother.
Shen Qiaochen had finished watching the show, put down the glass bowl in his hand, stood up and walked slowly to Ying'er, looked at her condescendingly for a long time, then leaned down and used a handkerchief to separate her, and raised Ying'er's chin.
"Ying'er, I still remember that among those maids, I only picked you. You are smart and smart, and I am very satisfied."
The sun shines on Shen Qiao's glazed face, forming a half-light and half-dark shadow, like a fairy or a demon.
Ying'er still thought that she was seeing the ignorant and soft-hearted Shen Qiaochen in front of her, so she grabbed her hand and begged: "Girl, please say something for me, you know me best, and I am loyal to you. How could I harm you?" In one sentence, he made a strong vow and burst into tears.
Then Shen Qiaochen's calm voice came to his ears: "Yes, I trust you so much, but Ying'er, why did you betray me?"
Ying'er's sobs stopped in her mouth and she looked at Shen Qiaochen blankly.
Shen Qiaochen casually shook off Ying'er's face and returned to her seat. Jubai immediately stepped forward to take the handkerchief that had rubbed Ying'er's face in her hand, and stuffed a brand new white magnolia brocade handkerchief into Shen Qiaochen's hand. inside.
Wiping his hands slowly, Shen Qiao said calmly: "The paint surface of Qionghua Pavilion was repainted last month. There has been a lot of rain recently, and the paint surface dries very slowly. And your knife happens to be stained with stains." Pick up the wet paint.”
Ying'er opened her mouth to say something, but Shen Qiaochen didn't give her the chance.
"You want to say that the paint on the knife was stained elsewhere?"
"This is absolutely impossible. Every paint in Yilan Courtyard is made by me personally mixing color blocks and letting Jubai customize it. It is unique in this world."
"So, it can only be you."
With the final word made, Ying'er was stunned for a moment, her shoulders slumped in vain, and she sat slumped on the ground.
