She fed soup, and Qi Xuan was not idle either.
"Your Highness, please rest assured. After dawn, I will take the old madam outside to sun herself. A wooden house has also been built outside, with a fire pit and heated walls inside. If there is nothing else, the old madam will live outside."
Zhao Jiaqi nodded, wiped the soup overflowing from the old madam's mouth, and said, "My mother's feigned death, no one knows about it, right?"
Qi Xuan knew the seriousness of the matter and kept his mouth shut. He hadn't revealed even half a word to his beloved disciple, only telling him that she had died.
"Only you and I know about this, along with the guards outside. The rest is known only to heaven."
That's good, she thought silently in her heart.
Counting on her fingers, she had been out for nearly two hours. She wondered if the spy at the prince's manor had managed to get in.
Sigh...
She tidied up the food box and returned to the prince's manor.
On the way, the cold wind blew through the carriage window, chilling the air. However, it couldn't match the coldness in her heart.
She remembered last year, when she saw Yama squatting down to wash his face, he had lifted the brocade robe behind him and tucked it into his waist. She had even asked him about it then, and his answer was that he was afraid of getting his clothes wet.
The clothes he usually wore were mostly crescent white, with a small portion of off-white. She thought Yama was a clean person, and most doctors had germophobia, so she didn't think much of it.
However, after the assassin mentioned those characteristics, the image of Yama flashed in her mind: ordinary looking, a little over six feet tall, with eyes as deep as a bottomless pit, usually not talkative. Every time she saw him, he was either reading medical books or tinkering with medicinal ingredients, with an extremely low sense of presence.
As for the stuttering the assassin mentioned, she hadn't noticed it in Yama.
Perhaps... the person was faking his stutter to conceal his identity?
Lost in thought, they arrived at the prince's manor.
As soon as she alighted from the carriage, Su Ya was waiting at the side entrance. Seeing the princess disembark, she quickly draped a fox fur cloak over her and whispered, "The county princess has caught the spy in the manor. Guess who it is, Madam?"
Zhao Jiaqi saw the sparkle in her eyes. Her gaze flickered, "It's Cai Lian, who serves the old madam!"
It was not a question, but a certainty.
Upon hearing this, Su Ya was very surprised. "Madam, how did you guess? I only found out it was Cai Lian after the county princess caught the spy."
As for how she guessed, it was entirely because her mother-in-law trusted Cai Lian implicitly. Moreover, Cai Lian usually kept her mouth shut and was meticulous in her work, which was the kind of person who would be appreciated by those in power.
It would be easier for Cai Lian to poison someone, so it wasn't difficult to guess it was her.
The difficult part was, who had given Cai Lian the poison?
If she had known that she would have to solve cases after transmigrating, she would have watched Detective Conan and The Great Song Judge dozens or even hundreds of times.
Thinking about having to outwit Cai Lian later, her head felt like it was about to explode.
As soon as she stepped into the front courtyard, she heard that Cai Lian had bitten her tongue and committed suicide.
Yu Meng looked at the dead body on the ground, her mouth full of fresh blood, her face filled with unspeakable grievances and regret.
Seeing her mother arrive, she pitifully stepped forward and said guiltily, "Mother, the person was caught, but I couldn't keep her contained, and she died. Daughter is useless." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Zhao Jiaqi patted the small hand resting on her arm and comforted her, "If she wanted to die, even the god of death couldn't stop her, let alone an ordinary you."
She sighed inwardly, but put on a nonchalant expression, "It's alright. We'll follow the vine to find the melon. Arrest anyone connected to her or close to her, and investigate thoroughly. There will be clues."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Meng, holding her sword, frantically beckoned people and began searching for clues.
Someone had died in the prince's manor, and it was a spy. The young servants and maids in the manor all came to see who the traitor was. Among the crowd, a short, inconspicuous person stood out, but it was the tall Yama who was exceptionally noticeable.
Of course, the guards were also around six feet tall, comparable to Yama's height. However, the guards were stationed around the deceased, forming a cordon. Yama, observing from the periphery, seemed out of place, as no young servant was taller than him.
Or perhaps, Zhao Jiaqi already considered him a suspect in her heart, which was why she paid such close attention to Yama.
Their gazes met in mid-air. He quickly averted his eyes, a slight frown creasing his brow, and silently left. Following closely behind, Xue Yao also left, chasing after him.
Everything seemed natural, yet there was something unexplainable.
Cai Lian's body was quickly cleared by the steward. In less than fifteen minutes, the entire prince's manor returned to its former tranquility.
Upon returning to her own residence, she suddenly turned and instructed the guard, "Shi He, send people to investigate Yama's background. I want everything about him from childhood to adulthood, including all people and things connected to him."
Shi He was a little confused. "Your Highness means everything related to Yama, including people or matters?"
So, did that mean she also had to investigate Yama's parents, siblings, and their affairs?
That would be a very difficult task. Thirty years of events, and the people who knew about him were likely so old that the grass on their graves would be a meter high.
"Yes, including Uncle Qi." After speaking, she thought for a moment and said, "Remember, the investigation must be done carefully. Not a single clue should be exposed, and be sure of your own safety."
If this person turned out to be a vicious individual, he would certainly show no mercy to those investigating him.
It's better to be safe than sorry. Caution was always best.
She spent a sleepless night. The next day, she woke up with a severe headache. After drinking some calming medicine, she lay down on the chaise lounge for a short rest, which helped alleviate her headache.
Outside the room, Su Ya's voice announced, "Greetings, Madam. The Madam has been waiting for a while. Please follow me."
Wang Zhaodi was a little confused as to why her sister-in-law was so anxious to invite her over. As they walked inside, she asked, "What is it that you need me for, Sister-in-law?"
She even told her not to tell anyone, acting as stealthily as a thief.
She was also wondering if it was about Cai Lian, the close maid of her mother.
Su Ya shook her head; she was also unsure why the princess had invited the eldest madam. "Madam's complexion is not good, and her mood is also not cheerful."
As soon as she spoke, the two entered the room.
Zhao Jiaqi gave the servants a look, signaling them to leave. She wanted to have a private conversation with her sister-in-law.
Su Ya, understanding the hint, led the maids serving the Madam out of the bedroom. After exiting the outer room, she stood guard outside the door.
Inside the room.
Zhao Jiaqi did not beat around the bush or ask indirectly. Instead, she asked Wang Zhaodi directly, "Sister-in-law, Xue Yao has someone she likes. Do you know about it?"
This explosive news made Wang Zhaodi unable to cope, her heart pounding wildly, her face flushing and paling.
She instinctively thought that Fan Xueyao wouldn't dare to act recklessly at home.