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After confirming that Su Jingliang and Su Di had left, Chang Tai approached Xing Ruyi a bit closer. He first observed her in silence for a while before asking, "Are you getting used to the journey?"
Xing Ruyi nodded, "It's fine. With Si Niang and the bell accompanying me for conversation, and the fox watching over us, the trip has been quite pleasant. But as for you, having Yin Yuan as a burden must have made your journey quite difficult."
"Not at all! Although Yin Yuan is young, he is much more sensible than most children." Chang Tai lightly coughed. "By the way, I received news from the Divine Capital halfway through the journey. Consort Sheng is unwell, and there are still some official matters to attend to in the yamen, so Shengzi cannot go to Qingqiu. He asked me to let you know that your wedding gift has already been prepared. He originally intended to give it to you personally during the Qingqiu trip, but now it can only wait until you return to the Divine Capital."
"Alright! Is Consort Sheng's health alright?"
"It's an old ailment; she tends to suffer when the weather gets cold, but it's nothing serious." Chang Tai glanced at the wall that had already been broken through. "Regarding this murder case, do you have any new discoveries?"
"There are two suspects. One is Su's Fourth Sister, Su Qianqian, who is currently still unconscious. The other is Su's Third Young Master, Su Jingrui; Su Jingliang just mentioned him, and he is currently outside. As for the motive for the crime, it seems that the Nursemaid discovered some secret of theirs, which led to her being silenced." Xing Ruyi thought for a moment. "Initially, I only suspected that one of these two was the murderer or that they conspired together. But now it seems there might be another person who knows something."
"Another person who knows?"
"Yes! It's the former steward of the Su residence. He was originally a boy servant beside the master but was promoted to steward after marrying a maid who was also a relative of his—specifically, the deceased. This relative is the concubine that Su Di just mentioned; she was originally the legitimate wife of the Su family but lost her position because she couldn't bear children and had a temper, allowing the current lady of the Su family to take her place. However, that's another unsolved case—the center of which is indeed this relative's death, which is quite suspicious."
"It seems there are indeed many issues within the Su family," Chang Tai said with a helpless smile, somewhat puzzled about how Xing Ruyi got involved in these matters.
"Although I am curious about my relative's death, it has been so many years since then. Unless the current Lady Su speaks up, it will likely be very difficult to uncover the truth from back then. Let's set that aside for now and return to discussing the Nursemaid.
I wonder if Brother Chang noticed what Su Di described earlier; he mentioned that when his father, Steward Su, bought a silver hairpin for his mother—the deceased—he appeared extremely anxious. I suspect he might have known all along that his wife would be murdered."
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Of course not! If I did, why would I be standing here chatting with you? I would have already had someone capture them. While it's just speculation, there are some supporting details. After the Nursemaid died, this Steward Su didn't seem very concerned about finding her.
If his wife went missing without reason, as her husband he should be most anxious. If he isn't worried at all, it can only mean two things: either he knows she can't be found and feels that worrying is pointless or he knows where she went and thus isn't worried at all. Based on what we know now, it seems to lean towards the first option—he knows his wife won't be coming back.
Additionally, shortly after the Nursemaid went missing, this Steward Su claimed to be heartbroken and unable to handle matters within the Su household and then followed one of the suspects—the Third Young Master—on business trips. There are two possibilities for why he chose to follow him: either he knows that Third Young Master is his wife's murderer and wants to share in his guilt or he suspects Third Young Master is guilty and intends to investigate further by staying close to him. It's only been a little over a year since these events occurred; what do you think is more likely?"
Chang Tai shook his head and laughed: "Fox Demon, you really do have some talent for being a female Constable; if it weren't for your running a rouge shop, I would recommend you to Lord Xie."
"Brother Chang, you're mistaken; I'm not suited for being a female Constable—I’m clearly meant for being a female detective in Tang Dynasty."
"Such confidence!" Chang Tai chuckled. "But what you just said makes sense; we definitely need to investigate those young masters of the Su family as well as people around the Nursemaid."
"When did Lord Chang arrive?"
Xing Ruyi was talking with Chang Tai when the fox, holding Yin Yuan's hand, walked in. Upon seeing Chang Tai, the fox smiled slightly, showing no particular signs of discomfort, but deliberately pulled Xing Ruyi closer to itself as it approached her.
Xing Ruyi was taken aback, realizing that the fox was likely feeling jealous. Fortunately, Brother Chang was rather oblivious to this and did not notice anything unusual; he greeted the fox and then left.
"I've long since moved on. There's nothing between Brother Chang and me. Are you still jealous?"
"Where does this come from, Wife? I was just worried you were standing in the shadows and might catch a chill, so I pulled you out a bit. It was out of concern; how could I be jealous? Besides, there’s no vinegar in what the Su family prepared for us, right?"
"Alright, alright, you’re worried about me catching a chill, not because you saw me talking to Brother Chang and felt uncomfortable, right?" Xing Ruyi linked her arm with the fox's and looked at the soul of the Nursemaid still standing in the room. Although her body had been taken away, her soul remained in the guest room, staring blankly as her body was carried out through the wall and watching her child recount past events before her. Surprisingly, she did not appear overly emotional but rather unusually calm.
Xing Ruyi sighed as she looked at the Nursemaid. "Now that your body has been found and the case has been submitted to the Government Office, regardless of who ultimately killed you, I believe Brother Chang will work with the Constables to find them. You can rest assured now.
Moreover, Su Di is a good child and will surely have a good future. Your daughter is already married; I can't bring her to you right now, but you should still be able to see her at Wangxiang Terrace."
As Xing Ruyi spoke, she waved her hand and infused a stream of ghostly energy into the Nursemaid. The black energy entered her body, slowly restoring the Nursemaid's twisted face back to its original form.
"Now, do you have anything else to say? Or any unfinished wishes? Anything I can do for you, I will help fulfill."
"Thank you, Miss! Old Servant has no more wishes here!" The Nursemaid said as she knelt on the ground and bowed her head to Xing Ruyi. "During this year in the wall, to be honest, I have felt resentment and hatred at times. I even thought that if I left this world, it would surely make that person who harmed me pay a price. But gradually, I stopped resenting and hating because I thought of my sister. She went through such great misfortune back then and never returned to find Madam or Master; what does my little issue count for? Besides, everyone eventually dies, right? The way one leaves this world isn't important; what matters is that those I care about are still living well."
"It’s rare for you to think so thoroughly, Nursemaid!" Xing Ruyi had seen many innocent souls who died unjustly; they all carried some resentment to varying degrees. There were very few like the Nursemaid who could let go so easily.
Taking a deep breath, she looked toward a shadowy corner of the room and took out a ghost talisman she carried with her. "Which ghost is on duty here?"
"In response to Miss's question, it is a ghost!"
As the echo faded away, the shadow grew deeper and gradually solidified into a figure. It was a Ghost Messenger from the underworld, speaking in a refined manner.
"You may take the Nursemaid down now; remember to look after her on the way and don’t make things difficult for her."
"You need not worry about that; we will take care of it. We are all pitiful beings; who would make things difficult for anyone else? Rest assured!" The Ghost Messenger said as he placed a soul-binding chain around the Nursemaid's hand.
The Nursemaid nodded gratefully at Xing Ruyi. Just before her soul began to fade away completely, she added, "You can take a look at Qianqian's pillow!"
"Qianqian's pillow?"
"This is exactly what I wanted to discuss with you!" The fox interjected: "Just now, you deliberately arranged for me to take the bell away from this place; naturally, I will follow your instructions as Wife. Upon returning to Su Qianqian's courtyard, I found some herbs for her."
At first, Bell was very serious about brewing the medicine, but it wasn't long before Yin Yuan left. After that, I don't know what they were thinking, but they entered Su Qianqian's Bedroom and, in front of Liu Er, took out the pillow made from Wild Chrysanthemum.
"Was there something wrong with that pillow?" Xing Ruyi asked, furrowing her brows.
"No!" The fox shook its head. "When I went in, I happened to hear Liu Er mumbling that this pillow smelled a bit different from the one Madam gave to Su Qianqian."
"What do you mean?"
"According to Liu Er, after Madam entered the room, she once made a Wild Chrysanthemum pillow for Eldest Young Master Su Jingbo to help him improve his sleep. When Su Qianqian saw it, she wanted to have one too. Eldest Young Master had no choice but to give his own pillow to Shallow. After Madam found out, although she didn't say much, I imagine she felt a bit unhappy."
"Of course! If it were me, I would rather give a newly made one than pass on a used pillow. You have to understand, this is a pillow, not just anything else."
"I'm curious to hear why this pillow can't be casually given away," the fox said while looking at Xing Ruyi and showing some interest in the pillow.
"You Qingqiu may not have such customs, but in our mortal world, there's a saying: 'Those who share a boat for a hundred years share a bed for a thousand.' If I were to give away your used pillow to another woman, wouldn't that mean she's sharing your bed?"
"That makes sense; no wonder that Madam would be angry. At first, when I heard Liu Er mention it, I was puzzled because that Madam doesn't seem like someone who gets upset easily. But hearing you explain it like this, I understand now." The fox then glared at Yin Yuan and said, "You brat, remember to return Consort Ruyi's pillow after you get back to Rouge Shop!"
Yin Yuan wrinkled his nose and pretended he didn't hear!
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