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Chang Tai passed away, and Grandma drowned.
On the surface, it seems she accidentally drowned while washing her face, but anyone hearing such a cause of death would find it laughable.
Common people would never drown while washing their faces unless an accident occurred. For example, a person suffering from a sudden illness might faint while washing their face, causing them to submerge their face in water and eventually drown due to prolonged suffocation. However, such a peculiar manner of death might not even occur once in a hundred years.
Luo Butler appeared to be just an ordinary person; he had no exceptional martial skills and had not practiced any spells. Xing Ruyi couldn't understand how he managed to drown Grandma without anyone noticing. If Grandma had struggled even a little, there should have been signs of her struggle on her body. Oh, wait, Grandma did struggle. According to her adopted son, on the night of the incident, he saw through the window as Luo Butler dragged Grandma away from the front of the door. Since it was dragging, there should have been marks left on Grandma's body. When the officials at Yamen examined her, they surely would have noticed. Unless that Coroner was negligent and didn't take the matter seriously at all.
Thinking of this, Xing Ruyi couldn't help but glance at Chang Tai.
Their eyes met, and Chang Tai could probably guess what Xing Ruyi was thinking at that moment.
"The incident happened suddenly, and I'm not the one in charge of this case, so I'm not very clear about some details. I only know that when I arrived, Lord Luo and County Magistrate had already arranged for someone to transport Grandma's body to the Mortuary at Yamen. Based on the situation at that time, it's likely that the Coroner hadn't examined the deceased's body."
"That's correct, my lord; the Coroner indeed did not examine it," Luo Butler spoke up. "Perhaps Ruyi doesn't know that Lady Luo is related to the county magistrate here. With Lady Luo having hanged herself and the scene being somewhat suspicious, at that time, everyone involved from within the Ruo Mansion, as well as those from Yamen, including the Coroner, focused all their attention on Matriarch. As for this sudden drowning of Grandma, no one cared about her cause of death; even if they knew it was suspicious, they didn't want to think too deeply about it. If it weren't for this, how could I have had the opportunity to switch things around?"
"If I heard correctly just now, you were helping Lord Luo handle the scene of Lady Luo. Since you knew there were some oddities at that scene, why didn't you find a way to make it look more orderly so that it appeared more like a suicide rather than a murder?"
"Why should I do that?" Luo Butler countered and then explained: "Since I entered the manor, I've been under the care of Lady Luo. If it weren't for my gratitude towards her, I wouldn't have agreed to seek revenge on this Poisonous Woman only after her passing. That night I didn't intervene to save her; one reason was that it happened suddenly, another was due to my improper identity. As for the third reason, of course, it was because of my own selfish motives. However, on another level, I also hoped others would notice the oddities in this case and bring the real murderer to justice for Matriarch. The net may be wide but does not let anything slip through; debts must eventually be repaid—be it for Lady Luo, for the Poisonous Woman, for Lord Luo, or even for myself."
"So you're saying those oddities at the scene were intentionally left by you?"
"Sort of!"
Luo Butler did not deny it.
"Then can you tell Fox Demon about your earlier question?"
"Actually, it's nothing much." Luo Butler let out a sigh from his chest. "This Poisonous Woman has a habit of using incense, so I just tampered with her incense in advance, replacing it with a drugged one. I originally planned to wait until she fell asleep, then dampen some paper and layer it over her mouth and nose to create the illusion of drowning.
Who would have thought that during this New Year Festival, the incense vendor outside was unscrupulous and sold me some fake incense? This Poisonous Woman only fainted for a moment before she Awakened. When she opened her eyes and saw me, she stumbled and tried to escape. I panicked and couldn't keep up with her in time, allowing her to escape to the door guard's area. Fortunately, this Poisonous Woman had never been kind-hearted; she didn't care much for that child either. She shouted desperately outside, but the door never opened, and the child didn't come out to take a look.
I brought her back into the courtyard, disregarding my previous plan. I pressed her head down directly into the basin of water. This Poisonous Woman surprisingly didn’t struggle anymore and just went under.
Initially, when the Officials arrived, I was still a bit nervous, fearing that someone might notice something. It wasn't that I was afraid of dying; it was just that there were still some things I hadn't finished. Thankfully, the Officials' attention was completely off this Poisonous Woman, allowing me to narrowly escape disaster. Afterward, according to my prior arrangements, while the Officials were transporting this Poisonous Woman's corpse to the Mortuary, I secretly swapped it out and carried it back to this courtyard."
Xing Ruyi suddenly recalled the three rows of unusual footprints she had seen earlier and asked sharply, "Luo Butler, do you have another accomplice? And is that accomplice currently lying in the Yamen's Mortuary?"
"Fox Demon, what are you talking about?" Chang Tai suddenly froze. "Are you saying that there is another Corpse in the Yamen's Mortuary that helped Luo Butler transport Grandma's Corpse? How is that possible?"
"Of course it's possible!" Xing Ruyi pointed at the three rows of footprints on the ground. To ensure Chang Tai understood clearly, she even found a branch to circle them: "Brother Chang, do you see anything different about these three rows of footprints?"
Chang Tai, being an official, carefully examined them before answering, "These footprints are walking side by side. The foot size suggests one man and two women. The woman in the middle has a lighter step; the man on the left has a heavier step and seems slightly tilted, which makes the footprints on both sides uneven. As for the woman on the right, she appears to be limping; if you look at where her foot lands, it's quite strange."
"Excuse me, Young Lady, is there a limping Woman in your household who is around 0-40 years old, has an ordinary appearance, speaks little, and belongs to that type of person who can easily be overlooked in Ruo Mansion?"
Yunxi was taken aback; clearly she wasn't sure if such a person existed in her household. Fortunately, the maid beside Yunxi was clever; after sending someone to inquire, they found out.
Indeed, there was such a person in Ruo Mansion—a helper in the Kitchen. Because she spoke little and did unnoticeable rough work daily, the masters of the house hardly paid attention to her. The maid next to Yunxi often went to the Kitchen to help Yunxi with some medicinal preparations; being lively by nature allowed her to chat with anyone easily, which is how she remembered her.
"Then please have Young Lady send someone again to ask if this Foot of the Slope Cook is still in the household. If not, when did she disappear? Others may not know, but the steward responsible for Kitchen matters should be clear about it."
As soon as Xing Ruyi finished speaking, Yunxi immediately sent someone to ask again. The news returned was similar to what Xing Ruyi had guessed: that Foot of the Slope Cook was indeed no longer in Ruo Mansion. As for when she disappeared, the steward hadn’t paid much attention; they only noted that since something happened in the mansion, they hadn’t seen that person again.
Due to the incident at the residence, the masters lost their appetite, and the kitchen became quiet. Even the ordinary Chef, who usually went unnoticed, as well as the Head Chef, had vanished.
After hearing the visitor's reply, Xing Ruyi turned to Chang Tai and said, "Brother Chang?"
"I understand. I will go to the Yamen's Mortuary to take a closer look right now."
"No need!" Luo Butler interjected. "Ruyi is correct; Lord Chang does not need to make this trip personally because the Foot of the Slope Cook is already in the Yamen's Mortuary. Since I took the initiative to meet Lord Chang, I never intended to conceal these matters. Indeed, the one who has been helping me in the residence has always been that Lame Cook. I have not seen this Poisonous Woman for many years, relying entirely on this Lame Cook to gather information for me. If it weren't for her, how could I have kept track of every move made by this Poisonous Woman?
This Chef originally fled to Yun Family Gathering. When I first met her, she had already planned for today. Over the years, I kept her in Ruo Mansion, providing her with food and clothing; that was my way of repaying her.
On that day, when someone from the Yamen arrived, Lord Luo was preoccupied with Lady Luo's case and naturally had no mind for this suddenly deceased Grandma. In fact, most people probably thought that this Grandma died out of loyalty after hearing the bad news and followed Matriarch into death. Seizing the opportunity, I suggested to Master that we first transport Grandma's body to the Yamen's Mortuary and wait until the Coroner was free before investigating her cause of death. Lord Luo naturally agreed, and as the steward of Ruo Mansion, it was my responsibility to arrange for personnel to escort her.
In truth, even before leaving the residence, the person lying on the stretcher had already been replaced by Lame Cook. The escorts were all my own people whom I had arranged beforehand. Once we arrived at the Yamen, Lame Cook quietly got up and walked out alongside those attendants without drawing attention. The Yun Family Gathering's Mortuary is different from others; it is not located within the Yamen but next door, where only corpses are stored. There are no dedicated guards there since it is considered bad luck for passersby; they usually take a detour. Therefore, Chef's actions went unnoticed. Moreover, even if someone saw her, they would likely assume she was visiting a deceased relative and think nothing more of it.
At that time, since there were many people in the residence, although I switched out Grandma's body, I did not move her far but temporarily hid her in another location. It wasn't until late at night that I worked with Lame Cook to transport her back and place her in a room. Then I made an excuse to find something and tricked Lame Cook back to the Mortuary; after knocking her out and covering her mouth and nose until she suffocated, we placed her back on the stretcher.
This Chef is lame and usually keeps her head down while working; even if someone sees her, they would first notice her limp and never pay attention to her appearance. In fact, she bears a striking resemblance to that Poisonous Woman. Additionally, after death, a person's features change somewhat; thus deceiving others about this matter was indeed possible.
"One drowned and one suffocated; their causes of death are different—how could you deceive them?"
"If it were someone like Ruyi here, then certainly not; however, this Yun Family Gathering's Coroner may not be as meticulous as you are. Furthermore, once Lady Luo's case falls under White Fox’s jurisdiction, who else would have time or inclination to investigate a servant's cause of death? They would merely give a hasty conclusion and bury it."
Luo Butler's words seemed speculative, but Xing Ruyi had lived in Luoyang City long enough to know that some officials indeed handle cases very carelessly. At that time, if Luo Butler used some tricks behind the scenes—covering up evidence—it could certainly work.
"One last question." Xing Ruyi looked into Luo Butler's eyes: "Grandma is dead; revenge has been taken. With Lame Cook diverting attention from Yamen, you could have escaped safely. Why take the risk of leaving Grandma’s body here and even use ice cubes to delay and cover up the time of death? Isn't that unnecessary trouble for yourself?"
"Can I enter that room?"
Luo Butler asked, not waiting for Chang Tai's reply before walking in. Afterward, disregarding the foul-smelling corpse water dripping from Grandma, he crawled under the bed and dragged out a wooden box still covered in dirt. Upon opening it, a skeleton curled up inside was revealed; judging by the frame and size, it appeared to be that of a girl.
"This is—"
"My daughter! On that day, Ruo Mansion sent someone to bury her in a mass grave. I secretly brought her back and, under the pretense of renovating the house, buried her in this yard. I want my daughter to see with her own eyes how I avenge her."
"I brought back the corpse of the Poisonous Woman and froze it with ice. Originally, I planned to wait until the commotion in the manor died down before taking both her and my daughter's remains out of the estate. First, I would bury my daughter's bones so she could truly rest in peace, and then at her grave, I would mutilate this Poisonous Woman a thousand times to soothe my years of torment and suffering."
"But just last night, I dreamed of my daughter. I saw her kneeling at my bedside, tears in her eyes as she looked at me without saying a word. Suddenly, I felt that perhaps she didn't want me to take revenge in this way; perhaps she didn't want me to become a bad person with blood on my hands!"
"The human heart is easily blinded by hatred," Xing Ruyi said with a long sigh. "But once all that hatred is resolved, one finds that they are not as happy as they imagined; instead, they feel pain."
Chang Tai patted Xing Ruyi on the shoulder and said, "I will take Luo Butler back to the Yamen and then report to the County Magistrate so he can send someone to bring Lord Luo. The Luo Family truly needs to start over."
Xing Ruyi had no words; she suddenly felt very tired. She walked over to Deer Lady and gently leaned her head against her shoulder, saying, "Aunt Sheng, Fox Demon is tired; let's go home!"
"Ruyi!" Yunxi suddenly called out to Xing Ruyi. After hesitating for a moment, she pulled out a roll of silk from her sleeve and handed it to her. "This was found in the secret chamber, hidden closely by Xi Er. I thought it was something valuable, but upon opening it, it turned out to be a portrait. This portrait must have been painted many years ago by someone, but the person depicted looks exactly like you. I know this person in the portrait is definitely not you, but such a coincidence is truly puzzling. After thinking it over, I decided to give it to you."
Xing Ruyi looked at Yunxi with some confusion. Seeing her nodding insistently for her to accept the silk, she took it. Upon opening it up, she found that the woman in the painting did indeed resemble her very much, though there was a slight difference in the expression around the eyes and brows.
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