After Liang Zhen stated that Lu Ye and the other two had only taken ten minutes to travel from Songtao Residence to the main gate, many people noticed the inconsistency in claiming Lu Ye’s group were the murderers—ten minutes from Songtao Residence to the main gate was barely enough time for walking, let alone having time to harm Zao’er.

The earl’s mansion was extremely large, and Songtao Residence was tucked away in the interior. For ordinary people, just walking from Songtao Residence to the main gate would take ten minutes, and that was at a fast pace. At a slower speed, it would take even longer.

Luo Meixiang and Liang Qiong naturally understood this as well. Liang Qiong said: “Elder Sister, I understand your method, but whether Lu Ye and the other two actually left Songtao Residence at 8:10—isn’t that determined by what the people from Songtao Residence say? After all, it would be simple enough for the people of Songtao Residence to alter the time Lu Ye left.”

Luo Meixiang quickly agreed: “Yes, exactly.”

Liang Zhen only glanced at Liang Qiong once but didn’t respond, instead silently looking at a clock that someone had just presented.

Anger immediately flared in Liang Qiong’s heart—this was already the second time Liang Zhen had completely ignored her questions! They were both legitimate daughters—what gave her the right to be so arrogant?

Such behavior in front of everyone would surely create a different impression—the eldest miss was the legitimate daughter of the original wife, while the second miss was born to the stepmother, making her status far inferior to the eldest miss!

Liang Qiong swept her gaze around the crowd and indeed saw surprise and confusion in the servants’ eyes.

Liang Qiong angrily stood up, but asked with an aggrieved tone: “Elder Sister, I don’t know how I’ve offended you that you would humiliate me this way? You won’t even acknowledge my questions.”

Luo Meixiang also noticed this problem—Liang Zhen had already ignored Liang Qiong’s words twice, yet when Liang Zhen spoke, her words were so novel that they drew Liang Yunshan’s frequent attention.

This wouldn’t do!

Luo Meixiang quickly said: “Qiong’er, don’t be upset. Your elder sister spent seven years in a small place like Xianren County—she’s probably forgotten all the rules of the capital. And she is your elder sister after all, so it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t respond to you. Once she learns the capital’s rules, she’ll naturally understand her impropriety. She’s a generous person and will surely apologize to you.”

Only then did Liang Zhen glance lightly at Luo Meixiang, incidentally looking at Liang Qiong as well. She sighed and said: “Second Sister, I didn’t answer you because I truly don’t know how to respond to your question.”

Liang Qiong looked at Qin Shuying, then said with a suddenly enlightened expression: “Elder Sister, now that you put it that way, I understand your difficulty. After all, Songtao Residence is managed by Sister-in-law, and since Sister-in-law allows the people of Songtao Residence to falsify records so freely, you being Elder Brother’s biological sister naturally don’t want to offend Sister-in-law. Don’t worry—since I understand your difficulty, I’ll leave it at that. We’re biological sisters—I’ll be understanding about anything.”

Qin Shuying remained silent, saying nothing.

She used to think Liang Qiong was cunning and clever, but now she saw how truly stupid she was.

Such clumsy attempts at sowing discord would only fool ghosts.

Liang Zhen sighed before saying: “Second Sister, the logbook I just referenced doesn’t record times kept by Songtao Residence itself, but rather the times recorded when Lu Ye and the other two visited the Returns Office. After the three left Songtao Residence, they first went to the Returns Office and returned several items. The Returns Office recorded that at 8:05, Lu Ye and the other two came to return items. For the sake of convenience in explaining things just now, I skipped over this detail and estimated they should have left Songtao Residence around 8:10.”

Liang Qiong’s face immediately turned alternately red and white.

The Returns Office was located in a remote area behind Songtao Residence, even farther from the main gate. Someone walking quickly would need fifteen minutes to reach the main gate. Liang Zhen’s explanation was flawless, making Liang Qiong appear overly suspicious instead.

Indeed, Liang Qiong saw that Liang Yunshan’s expression had become more grave, and his gaze toward her carried a hint of warning. Liang Qiong quickly lowered her head and dared not speak again.

Luo Meixiang hadn’t expected that Liang Zhen still retained her cunning nature from years past, deliberately digging a trap for Liang Qiong to fall into. Unable to restrain herself, she said mockingly: “Elder Daughter, you should really change this habit of deep scheming. It doesn’t matter in a small place like Xianren County, but the capital has many nobles—your petty cleverness will easily be seen through, and in the end, just like before, you’ll ruin your own reputation.”

Liang Zhen didn’t even spare her a glance.

Qin Shuying looked around with apparent boredom, as if she hadn’t heard Luo Meixiang’s words at all.

Liang Yunshan’s expression changed—bad reputation, bad reputation… Luo Meixiang and Qiong’er kept bringing this up repeatedly. What exactly did they mean? Didn’t they see how many servants were present?

“Master.” Mingcha had returned, still somewhat out of breath. The two maids following behind him were panting even more heavily.

Liang Yunshan said in a stern voice: “Speak. What was your situation?”

Mingcha swallowed and said: “Master, it took me five minutes to get from Songtao Residence to Half Moon Bay. At Half Moon Bay, it took me five minutes to throw her into the water. Then, rushing to the second gate and then to the main gate took a total of five minutes. The entire journey took fifteen minutes.”

Liang Zhen asked: “Did you deliberately slow down?”

Mingcha answered: “My speed was relatively fast—ordinary women couldn’t keep up.”

Liang Zhen then asked Lu Ye and the other two: “How was your speed at the time?”

Lu Ye answered: “The three of us were quite fast, faster than ordinary women.”

Finally, Liang Zhen looked toward Liang Yunshan: “Father, now we can prove that Lu Ye and the other two were not the murderers.”

The scene fell completely silent, as if everyone understood the situation.

That is, Lu Ye and the other two had only taken ten minutes to travel from Songtao Residence to the main gate. Mingcha, because he had to “harm someone,” had taken fifteen minutes to travel from Songtao Residence to the main gate.

Could Lu Ye and the other two have killed Zao’er within ten minutes?

They could not.

Granny Peng and Qiao’er were also stunned by this turn of events. Granny Peng muttered to herself: “If it wasn’t Lu Ye and the other two who did it, then who exactly did we see? In broad daylight, it couldn’t have been ghosts, could it?”

Of course it couldn’t have been ghosts, so no one paid attention to her latter comment, but her earlier words aroused everyone’s suspicion.

Yes, if it wasn’t Lu Ye and the other two who did it, then who exactly was it?

Liang Zhen asked again: “Since you saw those people and thought they were Lu Ye and the other two, were those three people’s clothes the same as Lu Ye and the others?”

Both Granny Peng and Qiao’er nodded. Qiao’er said: “One person wore a first-class maid’s water-red vest, one wore a second-class maid’s green vest, and another wore the scattered-gold jacket that the matrons wear.”

Liang Zhen said: “This is easy to handle. All the clothes in the mansion are made to specification. Have everyone bring out their clothes for inspection and it will be clear.”

Luo Meixiang’s expression immediately changed.