The main hall of the別院, where guests were received, had maids serving the finest tea as instructed. They then respectfully withdrew to wait outside.
Since the person to be questioned was Zhou Shuyao, Zhang Minhua disregarded rules and etiquette, sitting in the main seat on the right. Maids and elderly women stood quietly behind her.
Zhou Shuyao, meanwhile, sat in the first chair on the lower right. Despite holding a hand warmer and being wrapped in fox fur, her face remained pale and devoid of any blood. In less than half a day and a night, the once vibrant and proud eldest daughter of the Zhou family now appeared sickly and weak.
"Lord Zhu, forgive my lack of welcome." Before arriving, polite greetings could be heard from outside the door.
Magistrate Zhu, seated in the first chair on the left, stood up. His plump body, clad in official robes, hurried towards the entrance. "This subordinate is humbled to disturb Lord Zhang. It is solely my duty, and I beg for your understanding."
Zhan Feiyu and Yang Xu also stood. In terms of status, Zhang Minxian was an official of the fifth rank. In terms of seniority and age, he was Yang Xu's maternal uncle, and Zhan Feiyu also had to address him as Uncle.
After a round of pleasantries, everyone was reseated.
Zhang Minxian, seated in the main seat, subtly glanced at Zhan Feiyu and Yang Xu below. If the Yang family were willing to support the Zhang family, so many troubles would not have arisen.
Magistrate Zhu secretly glanced at Zhan Feiyu. Seeing her holding the hand warmer, he perceived her as merely an observer. Magistrate Zhu could only brace himself, as he was the parent official of Xiangwu County. "Miss Zhou, I am here to inquire about the murder that occurred last night in the Fu family's backyard..."
He Nuan made a gesture to Zhan Feiyu while pouring water.
Was someone eavesdropping behind the main hall? Zhan Feiyu followed the direction of He Nuan's gesture. The person had arrived at almost the same time as Grand Secretary Zhang. It was likely Feng Pingqing, mentioned in Ah Sheng's previous investigation, Grand Secretary Zhang's classmate and advisor, who had offered many suggestions to Grand Secretary Zhang over the years.
"I don't remember. I only remember that after the maids helped us wash up, my sister Fu and I sat and talked. Then I felt a headache, my consciousness became unclear, and people appeared as blurry shadows. I thought I had caught a cold from going to Plum Valley during the day, and after that, I knew nothing else."
Having repeated it several times with Zhang Minhua, Zhou Shuyao, despite her pale complexion, recounted the events at the Fu family's house in detail.
"After dawn the next morning, I was woken by the screams of the servants. I was lying on the ground, frozen all over. Two maids helped me up. My head was splitting with pain. Hearing the maids' words, I learned that my sister Fu had an accident..."
At this point, Zhou Shuyao's emotions broke down completely. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she cried out in shock and fear.
"My poor daughter." Zhang Minhua's eyes also turned red. She quickly walked over and hugged the trembling Zhou Shuyao.
Zhang Minhua apologized to Magistrate Zhu. "Magistrate Zhu, please forgive us. Shuyao was drugged. After she returned home, Doctor Qian came to treat her. Unfortunately, the drug is likely a rare secret medicine, and Doctor Qian could not identify it."
With one hand on Zhou Shuyao's back and the other gently stroking her head, Zhang Minhua's worry and heartache turned into anger. "I implore Magistrate Zhu to investigate thoroughly and find the culprit who drugged Shuyao. This person not only harmed Miss Fu but also framed Shuyao. Such a malicious and insidious person deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces!"
Madam Zhou had said all that needed to be said, and Magistrate Zhu didn't know what else to ask.
As for Doctor Qian, he was brought from Linzhou Prefecture by the Zhou family and was their physician. Whatever Madam Zhou said, the doctor would follow.
Zhang Minxian put down his teacup and sighed. "Magistrate Zhu, you must find my niece amusing. She has always been pampered in the inner quarters and has no experience. This time, she was involved in a murder case and was frightened. She was also drugged and caught a cold, so she is unlikely to provide any clues for your investigation."
Magistrate Zhu, with his face full of fat, smiled obsequiously and could only look to Zhan Feiyu for help.
Lord Zhang clearly intended to protect his niece, and Zhou Shuyao remembered nothing. If asked further, she would only cry. If she were an ordinary prisoner, Magistrate Zhu would have thrown down his red seal and given her twenty lashes; he wouldn't have feared her refusal to confess.
But the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, the niece of Grand Secretary Zhang, Magistrate Zhu would not dare to lay a hand on her even if he had the courage of a leopard.
"Alright, stop crying. Magistrate Zhu is here, and your uncle is here. No one can wrong you." Zhang Minhua patted Zhou Shuyao's back to comfort her. Seeing that she had finally stopped crying, she turned to Magistrate Zhu.
"Magistrate Zhu, according to reason, as a woman, I cannot interfere with the yamen's cases. However, as a mother, I must say that Shuyao and Miss Fu hit it off immediately, and they were about to become sworn sisters. Yesterday, worried that Miss Fu would be afraid after falling into the water, she stayed at the Fu family's house to keep her company. Magistrate Zhu, every murder has a reason. My Shuyao has no motive to kill."
Zhang Minhua spoke with conviction, "Furthermore, although the maids and elderly women withdrew from the inner room, they were all living in the side rooms in the backyard. Shuyao is also a young girl. If she were to kill someone, Miss Fu would surely have cried out, and the maids and elderly women could not have failed to hear. But no one came out, which means that not only was Shuyao drugged, but those maids and elderly women were also drugged, which is why they didn't hear anything."
"Madam Zhou speaks with reason." Magistrate Zhu nodded in agreement. Although he was a bit incompetent, he still possessed basic judgment skills. Even if Zhou Shuyao wanted to kill someone, she wouldn't have done it herself.
However, the troublesome aspect of this murder was that at the time, only Zhou Shuyao and Fu Langhuan were in the inner room. Except for a one-inch gap in the ventilation window, the doors and windows were tightly shut.
This was like a locked room. Fu Langhuan was murdered, and Zhou Shuyao, the only other person in the same room, was the most suspected of murder.
Secondly, the coroner had also examined the body. Both Zhou Shuyao and Fu Langhuan had some scratches, and Fu Langhuan was strangled to death, with clear finger marks on her neck.
Coroner Tao measured the distance and size of the finger marks and determined that a woman had strangled Fu Langhuan. If it were a man's hand, it would be significantly larger.
The most crucial point was that Fu Langhuan was holding a pearl earring in her right hand. Magistrate Zhu secretly glanced at the sobbing Zhou Shuyao. She had a clear wound on her left ear. This must have been when Fu Langhuan's earring was pulled off as she strangled Fu Langhuan. Furthermore, she had scratches on her face and neck, and there was residual skin and blood under Fu Langhuan's fingernails.
With all this evidence, Magistrate Zhu could tell with his toes that Zhou Shuyao was the one who strangled Fu Langhuan. As for why she killed her, and why the Fu family's maids and elderly women were all asleep at the time of the incident, Magistrate Zhu felt his brain was not enough. He couldn't figure out the mystery.
"Lord Zhang, Miss Zhou was frightened and her memory is unclear. Why not let Miss Zhan and Young Master Yang talk to her privately? Perhaps she can recall some important clues." Magistrate Zhu, pushed into a corner, licked his fat face and smiled, begging Zhan Feiyu to take over this troublesome matter. He would definitely treat Miss Zhan like an ancestor and offer incense to her three times a day!
Zhang Minxian naturally would not refuse, as, according to common sense, Zhou Shuyao was indeed the most suspected. "Very well, I will trouble Miss Zhan to guide Shuyao. If the murderer can be found, the young lady of the Fu family can rest in peace."
A moment later, a maid lit a charcoal basin in the side hall, and the three of them sat around a round table.
Perhaps it was because Zhan Feiyu's gaze was too clear and pure, making it impossible to hide anything, that Zhou Shuyao's hands under the table clenched tightly. She repeated in a hoarse voice, "I didn't kill anyone. I really don't remember anything."
After speaking, Zhou Shuyao lowered her head. Although she was tall, she was hunched over at this moment, looking thin and pitiful.
Zhan Feiyu asked a few unrelated questions. If asked about Plum Valley, Zhou Shuyao would answer.
However, as soon as she was asked what she said and did with Fu Langhuan at the Fu family's house last night, Zhou Shuyao used the excuse of not remembering to evade the questions.
"You look down on Fu Langhuan, who comes from a merchant family. Why did you stay at the Fu family's?" Yang Xu suddenly questioned. Although he was only an eight-year-old child, his eyes were unusually sharp, staring at the stiffened Zhou Shuyao like knives. "Don't talk about sisterly affection. Even Magistrate Zhu wouldn't believe such nonsense!"
Her previous invitation to Fu Langhuan to Plum Valley was merely out of politeness. The highest-ranking official in Xiangwu County was Magistrate Zhu, who was only a seventh-grade official. Whether it was the daughter of the Feng family, the county lieutenant, or the daughter of a scholar, Zhou Shuyao, who came from an official family, disdained them.
Moreover, Yang Xu remembered that when they were in Plum Valley, Fu Langhuan spoke several times, but Zhou Shuyao either ignored her with disdain or responded with arrogant mockery. Therefore, her staying at the Fu family's house had a hidden purpose.
After a long silence, Zhou Shuyao, who had been lowering her head, suddenly sneered, "What reason could there be? Once Fu Langhuan is engaged to you, her status will rise. Naturally, I have to curry favor with her. It's not just me; when we returned yesterday, weren't others doing the same?"
When one person achieves success, their relatives and friends also benefit!
The Fu family was a merchant family, but as long as Fu Langhuan married Yang Xu, the entire Fu family could walk sideways in Longyou Prefecture. Unfortunately, her fate was not good, as she died that very night.
Hearing this blunt and direct answer, Yang Xu's expression stiffened. He felt a great sense of mockery.
Fu Langhuan had not hesitated to fall into the water to scheme for him. The proud daughter of an official family before him, for the sake of fame and fortune, was willing to fawn over a merchant's daughter. Were glory and wealth truly that important?
At this moment, Yang Xu suddenly remembered Zhang Yiyi, who was still in the county jail. She was his biological mother. She had used despicable means to scheme for his father to marry into the General's mansion. Later, when the Yang family fell into trouble, she had prostituted herself to the Marquis of Zhenbian for wealth and status.
Zhou Shuyao was determined not to say anything, and Zhan Feiyu could not get any information. Magistrate Zhu's trip was naturally fruitless.
However, even though Zhou Shuyao insisted she had been drugged, she was still the most suspected. The county yamen's constables remained outside the別院 to guard her.
...
The news of Fu Langhuan's murder spread throughout Xiangwu County in just three days. Zhou Shuyao was also pushed to the forefront. After all, according to the news leaked by the Fu family's servants, even illiterate commoners were convinced that Zhou Shuyao was the murderer.
As for the news released by Zhang Minxian, no one believed it. The excuse of being drugged did not hold water. Everyone who heard this explanation believed it was Zhou Shuyao's excuse to escape suspicion of murder.
"Big Brother, I'll go with you!" Zhan Feiyu's voice was clear. After three days of medicine, her cold had finally healed, her headache was gone, and her throat was no longer hoarse.
If it weren't for the fact that it was still cold and freezing outside, Zhan Feiyu might have shown her lively side. Unfortunately, it was too cold, and she was still wrapped up like a bear, clumsy.
"Aren't you scared?" Yin Wuyan held the little girl's hand. It was warm, but thinking of the autopsy, he said, "You stay at the Qiu residence. I'll tell you when I get the results."
Zhan Feiyu shamelessly hugged Yin Wuyan's arm, shaking her head like a rattle drum. Her pigtails, hanging on both sides, also swayed. "I'm not scared. At worst, I won't look at the body. I'll just listen outside the door."
A moment later, watching Zhan Feiyu skip out with Seventh Master, He Nuan smiled knowingly from behind.
Outsiders said that the commander of the Forbidden Dragon Guard was cold-blooded and ruthless, killing without mercy. But who would have thought that when the young lady acted spoiled, Seventh Master would yield without principle?
Less than two quarters of an hour after Zhan Feiyu left, Yang Xu, after hearing the report from a servant, hesitated for a moment and then also went out.
The Fu family refused to allow the coffin to be opened for examination, and they did not even intend to investigate the murderer of Fu Langhuan. It was likely that they were so terrified by Fu Langhuan's death that the Fu family only wanted to bury the body as soon as possible and then close their doors to visitors.
As for climbing the social ladder? After the lesson of a living life, the Fu family dared not even think about it. They only wished for peace and to remain merchants in Xiangwu County.
"I beg you to spare my poor daughter..." White lanterns were hung at the main entrance of the Fu family. At this moment, a woman's sharp wail of grief resounded. If not for the support of maids and elderly women, she would have likely collapsed to the ground.
As Madam Fu wailed, the female relatives and children of the Fu family, including the maids and elderly women, also began to cry. Twenty to thirty people cried out at the same time, their mournful cries spreading for several streets.
"Why are the officials here? What are they doing?" onlookers nearby whispered. Thinking of their own young daughters, who were also eleven years old, they felt a sourness in their noses. Such a good young girl had died.
With her hands tucked into her sleeves for warmth, a young man looked up at the main entrance of the Fu family and sneered. "What can they do? The murderer is a young lady from an official family. The Fu family, no matter how much money they have, are only merchants. Magistrate Zhu is probably going to destroy the evidence, otherwise, why hasn't he apprehended the murderer?"
In a locked room, Fu Langhuan was dead. The murderer could only be Zhou Shuyao, who was in the same room.
"Coroner Tao is also here. Is Magistrate Zhu going to open the coffin for examination?" Someone recognized the hunched old man standing with the constables as the yamen's coroner.
As soon as this was said, the onlookers' eyes widened in shock. They also understood why Madam Fu was crying so sadly. Her daughter was dead, yet the officials would not let her rest in peace.
From ancient times, autopsies not only required undressing and examination but might also involve opening the intestines and stomach. Tsk, it was a pure young girl who died, and with this examination...