Jiang Si carefully sorted through the key points.
The tragic death of Marquis Yongchang’s wife, her husband sleeping beside her, the strange scent in the wardrobe, the senior maid who drowned herself, the concubine burning paper money…
It all seemed like a tangled mess. When the assumed path led to no target, one could easily become confused.
But Jiang Si quickly firmed up her thoughts.
No matter how well the murderer had hidden, the peculiar scent in their hair couldn’t be removed. Since she hadn’t found anyone with that scent among these people, it could only mean that person wasn’t among them.
Zhen Shicheng had reached the same conclusion.
In his view, anyone who had been at the scene would have left traces. There was no such thing as a perfect murder.
Could it be that person wasn’t among this group?
Zhen Shicheng pulled out the registry from his sleeve and looked it over again. The registry clearly stated that there were 72 people in the inner quarters.
The Marquis’s household only had four masters, but the number of people maintaining the inner quarters was dozens of times that. This number was quite ordinary for a noble family.
Zhen Shicheng called over one of his subordinates and whispered a few words.
This subordinate was skilled at counting. After hearing Zhen Shicheng’s instructions, his gaze quickly swept over the crowd in the courtyard. About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, he whispered in Zhen Shicheng’s ear, “Sir, excluding Marquis Yongchang and the others, there are 70 people present.”
Zhen Shicheng’s eyes tightened.
Two people were missing!
Jiang Si noticed the change in Zhen Shicheng’s expression. Although she didn’t know what had happened, she understood that he must have made a discovery. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hear, so she could only wait for Lord Zhen to reveal the answer.
“Steward, let me ask you again, is everyone from the inner quarters here?” Zhen Shicheng asked.
The steward, nervous from Zhen Shicheng’s seriousness, replied anxiously, “They’re all here.”
They had counted these people several times, even calling back those who were on leave. Could there be a problem?
Zhen Shicheng tapped the cover of the registry and sneered, “The registry lists 72 people, but only 70 are here. Where are the other two?”
The steward was stunned by the question.
Zhen Shicheng didn’t give the steward time to think, shouting, “Two people are missing and you didn’t report it. Are you perhaps shielding the murderer?”
The steward’s face turned pale with fright. He hurriedly bowed and said, “My lord, you wrong me! I wouldn’t dare shield the murderer even if I had a hundred lives!”
“Then tell me, who are these two missing people?”
The steward couldn’t help but look toward an old woman.
That old woman was in charge of the inner quarters, essentially an internal steward. Seeing the steward’s look, she broke out in a sweat and hastily said, “My lord, all the servants from each courtyard and area of the inner quarters are here. It’s just that two were left in the inner kitchen—”
“Two were left in the inner kitchen?” Zhen Shicheng’s heart stirred at this, but his face remained extremely serious. “I repeatedly emphasized that everyone should gather here. Why did you leave two people behind without saying anything?”
The old woman steward turned pale with fright. “My lord, this old servant didn’t intentionally conceal anything. How could the inner kitchen be left unattended? We need to prepare food and drink for the masters, and also prepare things needed for the madam’s memorial… There were originally six people in the inner kitchen, leaving only two is already the minimum.”
“Foolish!” Marquis Yongchang flew into a rage upon hearing the old woman steward mention his wife. “Bring those two people here immediately!”
At a time like this, these wretches were still thinking about food and drink.
However, Marquis Yongchang had forgotten that for these servants, serving the masters’ food and drink properly was of utmost importance.
If the floor was dirty and not swept for a while, it wasn’t a big deal. But if the masters were hungry or thirsty and meals couldn’t be served promptly, they might lose their jobs, especially when the masters were in a bad mood.
The stewards were also shrewd. To avoid such situations, they had left two honest and diligent workers in the kitchen, not thinking it would affect the investigation.
Soon, two women were brought over.
One was a middle-aged woman wearing plain blue cloth clothes. Her hair was neatly combed and covered with a cloth of the same color, giving her a clean and tidy appearance. The other was a young maid, covered in dust, likely the one who tended the fire.
When they were brought before Zhen Shicheng, the middle-aged woman stood quietly with her hands at her sides, while the young maid was visibly nervous, wringing her hands and looking as if she might cry at any moment.
Zhen Shicheng only glanced at the young maid before focusing his attention on the middle-aged woman.
The woman’s age matched that of the discarded bloody clothes.
Although the murderer could have deliberately worn clothes that didn’t match their identity, this seemingly cautious act was unwise.
For instance, if a middle-aged woman wore the clothes of a teenage girl while walking in the courtyard and was seen, it would be like announcing to others that something was amiss.
The best disguise was to be oneself.
Zhen Shicheng silently observed the woman.
In this tense silence, Jiang Si discreetly moved behind the woman, getting closer.
Although the woman wore a headscarf, Jiang Si not only had an innately keen sense of smell but had also learned special techniques from Elder Wu Miao, further enhancing this ability. As she focused and held her breath, she quickly detected that faint, elusive scent.
Jiang Si’s eyes lit up, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod to Zhen Shicheng.
Zhen Shicheng’s heart immediately settled.
Having confirmed the murderer, it wouldn’t be difficult to make her talk.
Zhen Shicheng gave a signal to one of his subordinates, who immediately approached.
“Quietly have someone lead you to search this woman’s quarters. Look for anything unusual, especially things that emit a fragrance and any shoes that have been changed.”
“Yes, sir.” The subordinate responded softly and quietly withdrew.
With so many people in the courtyard, the officer’s departure was quickly obscured, and no one paid attention to where he went.
“What are your duties in the inner kitchen?” Zhen Shicheng asked.
“This humble woman specializes in making desserts,” the woman replied.
“I-I’m the fire-tending maid,” the young maid stuttered.
Zhen Shicheng took a sip of water from a flask handed to him by an officer to moisten his throat, then asked, “Why were you two left behind?”
This time, the young maid answered first: “They needed me to tend the fire.”
In the young maid’s view, leaving someone to tend the fire in the kitchen was only natural.
Zhen Shicheng’s gaze lingered on the woman’s face. “And you? There are six people in the inner kitchen. Why leave behind the cook who makes desserts?”
Desserts were only after-meal treats. Leaving behind the dessert cook seemed somewhat unreasonable.
The woman replied, “The masters enjoy the desserts this humble woman makes. The young miss often sends someone to fetch snow-flower cakes.”
Upon hearing the words “snow-flower cake,” Jiang Si’s expression immediately changed.
Just yesterday, when she visited the Marquis Yongchang’s mansion, Xie Qingyao had specially invited her to eat snow-flower cakes and had praised the cook effusively.
Thinking of this, Jiang Si had a sudden realization and thought of another question: “You’re new here, aren’t you?”
During the spring, Marquis Yongchang’s mansion held a flower-viewing banquet. At that time, she hadn’t yet been reborn, and when she attended the banquet, she hadn’t tasted those soft and sweet snowflower cakes.
She knew her friend well. Xie Qingyao was the type to share good things with others. If this cook had been here at that time, there was no reason not to serve snow-flower cakes to the guests.
The steward looked at Jiang Si with undisguised surprise: “Madam Dou entered the household three months ago.”