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The fox remained silent, a slight furrow forming between her brows as she looked at the large pit newly dug in the courtyard. After a long while, she asked Jade Pearl, "What is this pit for?"
"It's for planting flowers. My master heard somewhere that planting a lotus pond in the middle of the yard, along with a few red fish, would help ensure descendants. A few days ago, when the weather warmed up a bit, my master eagerly hired workers to dig it. They dug half of it, but for some reason, it was left unfinished. Perhaps it's because my health has been unstable that my master lost his enthusiasm," Jade Pearl said, secretly wiping away two lines of tears.
"What's wrong with this pit?" Xing Ruyi asked, feeling confused as she noticed the fox's serious expression.
"A deep pit in the courtyard will surely harm the children."
"Is it that serious?" Xing Ruyi exclaimed in surprise, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Jade Pearl's abdomen.
"That's not all. According to feng shui principles, a residence cannot have missing corners. The southwest corner represents the mother, the northwest represents the father, and the northeast represents the children. Look at that northeast corner; isn't it missing a piece?"
Following her words, Xing Ruyi looked over and saw that indeed, the northeast direction was missing a corner.
"With such bad feng shui, it would be strange for the Ma family to have descendants," the fox remarked, glancing at Jade Pearl's abdomen. "If I'm not mistaken, this child in Madam Yu's womb surely did not come from the Ma family."
Jade Pearl's pretty face flushed slightly as she wiped away her tears and gently nodded. "I have spent many years accompanying my master in business outside, so I haven't been home much. If it weren't for my current condition, my master and I would have already left Luoyang City to sell cloth elsewhere."
The fox nodded and led Fox Demon toward the inner courtyard. Since there was only an elderly servant in the Ma family and most of the time it was just Ma Guangmo's wife taking care of things at home, they often lived in this inner courtyard. As they stepped inside, they felt their vision open up significantly; aside from two osmanthus trees, there were no other plants in the yard. Ma Guangmo and his wife's bedroom was on the right side, while concubine Jade Pearl lived opposite them. At this moment, a few yard officers were standing at the entrance of the right-side room; they were familiar with Xing Ruyi and nodded at her as she entered.
"Is Brother Chang still inside?" Xing Ruyi asked as she pulled the fox into the house. Just as she stepped through the door, she ran into Chang Tai.
"Brother Chang, have you discovered anything?" Xing Ruyi asked with a giggle, still tightly holding onto the fox's hand.
"There are no visible injuries, and I have asked Ma Guangmo's wife and concubine. He is usually in good health and has no chronic or hidden illnesses. It seems he truly died from drunkenness."
Chang Tai's gaze shifted from the hands tightly held by the Fox Demon and Xing Ruyi to another place.
"The Peach Blossom Wine from Sister Si's Family is indeed sweet and rich; if he died from drunkenness, it wouldn't be unjust," Xing Ruyi joked, but a plain-looking woman shot her a fierce glare.
"This is Madam Ma Guangmo, of the Qin Family," Chang Tai lightly coughed as he approached the Fox Demon.
The Fox Demon showed displeasure but remained silent.
"Madam Ma, would you mind if I take a look at your husband?" Xing Ruyi slightly bowed, not waiting for Madam Ma's consent before walking over to Ma Guangmo's side. As she got closer, she could faintly smell a mixture of Peach Blossom Wine and decay.
Ma Guangmo was only wearing an undershirt, lying sideways on the table with his eyes slightly closed. His face was flushed with an odd shade of blue. His hands showed dark skin on the back but pale palms; his fingertips were thick with calluses, likely from years of calculating accounts. The inner side of his right middle finger was even whiter than his palm, a mark left by years of holding a pen. Upon closer inspection, faint signs of livor mortis were already visible on his skin, and his body had long since grown cold and stiff. Examining his eyes carefully, just like Chang Tai had done, it appeared that Ma Guangmo was a robust individual without any obvious internal ailments. His forehead was smooth, surrounded by a murky white light, and there were no Evil Spirits at play; it seemed he had died naturally.
Upon reaching this conclusion, Xing Ruyi couldn't help but bite her lower lip and looked at the Fox Demon, asking telepathically, "Is there anything unusual about someone who has been killed by feng shui?"
The Fox Demon shook her head, a hint of affectionate amusement appearing at the corner of her mouth as she replied telepathically, "Feng shui is not like Evil Spirits; it cannot leave any traces. However, it also wouldn't take a life without reason. For example, if someone with poor health moves into a house with good feng shui, their health will gradually improve due to the feng shui. If they also receive medicinal support, they will recover even faster. Conversely, if they move into a place with bad feng shui, their condition may worsen or even lead to death."
"So you're saying that Ma Guangmo was subtly killed by feng shui?"
"Every occurrence has its cause; you should investigate further. Even if it's due to feng shui, there must be some trigger for someone's death," the Fox Demon said while subtly pointing towards the door.
"Is there something strange about this door?" Xing Ruyi raised an eyebrow and continued to ask telepathically.
"If it were just this door, there would be nothing wrong, but the issue lies in the fact that there is an additional door in this bedroom."
"An additional door?" Xing Ruyi looked around and finally found the door that the fox mentioned on the screen. Unlike ordinary screens adorned with flowers, birds, insects, or fish, the Ma family's screen was unusually distinctive, depicting what seemed to be a city gate.
"The bedroom door facing the main gate—this saying implies that when building a house, one must never align the bedroom door with the main gate; otherwise, it will lead to the inhabitants inside becoming obsessed with lust. The Ma family originally had a three-courtyard layout, with bedrooms and side rooms placed on either side. From a structural perspective, there was nothing wrong, but he placed this screen in the bedroom, and the city gate in the center of the screen directly faced the bedroom door. The city gate, in a certain sense, is also the main entrance of a city. Moreover, the doors of these two side rooms are also directly opposite each other. It seems that Ma Guangmo's life with his wife and concubine is quite harmonious."
Although the fox's words were subtle, everyone present had different thoughts yet all blushed.
Madam Ma and Jade Pearl blushed because they understood that "harmonious" referred to themselves. The Fox Demon blushed because she had already grasped the underlying meaning of that statement. As for Chang Tai, it was naturally awkward for him since there were women present.
"I have a question that perhaps I shouldn't ask: Did either of you have any intimate relations with the deceased before or after he drank?"
Jade Pearl bit her lip and gently nodded. Madam Ma hesitated for a moment before asking, "What does this have to do with my husband's death?"
"Alcohol can cloud judgment; I believe both of you are aware of this. However, what you may not know is that if intimate relations occur after or during drinking, it can cause strain on the deceased's heart and circulatory system, potentially leading to sudden death. As for this truth, it can easily be verified by Manager Liu from Jishengtang or by the Coroner in the government office."
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