Yu Wei did not speak.

He waited for Ji Yunshu to ask something.

And Vice Minister Jiang also sat quietly to the side, holding a notebook and a pen, dutifully recording everything.

Ji Yunshu had roughly reached a conclusion.

Mumu and Hualing shared the same room!

Nanni and Hualing worked together in the back courtyard!

They were the people Hualing had the best relationship with before her death.

Ji Yunshu’s gaze moved from Nanni to Mumu again. Although the girl kept her head lowered, her entire body was tensed, she didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, her ten fingers intertwined together, her pink nails occasionally scratching at her snow-white hands, as if she wouldn’t stop until she gouged out a piece of flesh.

What exactly made her so nervous?

So nervous she was even somewhat afraid.

Suddenly—

Ji Yunshu grasped her hand: “Miss Mumu?”

Eh!

Mumu’s entire body froze!

She buried her head even lower: “This servant… this servant is here.”

Ji Yunshu gently patted the back of her hand and said, “Don’t be nervous. I’ve come today only to ask you about some matters concerning Hualing.”

“Yes!” Mumu bowed slightly, “Whatever this servant knows, she absolutely wouldn’t dare conceal.”

Ji Yunshu took two steps back, her gaze sweeping over Mumu and Nanni.

She asked sternly: “The night before Hualing disappeared, which of you saw her?”

The two maids looked at each other.

“Me.” Mumu responded softly.

“What time?”

“The hour of You, which was… before Hualing went to see the master.”

“Did she say anything to you then? Or do anything?”

Mumu tried hard to recall: “That day this servant wasn’t feeling well, so I rested in the room all day. In the evening… around the hour of You, Hualing came into the room to bring me food. After I finished eating, I continued resting, but Hualing still had work to finish, so she went out to continue working.”

Ji Yunshu: “What about after that? She didn’t come back?” Mumu shook her head: “This servant doesn’t know. This servant was ill that day, feeling dizzy and confused the whole time. After eating, I slept straight through until dawn. When I woke up, I found that Hualing’s bed hadn’t been touched at all. Soon after, someone said that Hualing had obtained the master’s permission to leave the manor. This servant… this servant only knows this much.”

Her answer was quite smooth!

Ji Yunshu looked suspicious, then pondered and asked: “Before Hualing disappeared, did she have any unusual behavior?”

“Unusual behavior?”

Mumu didn’t understand what she meant by unusual behavior.

Ji Yunshu clarified: “Did Hualing frequently contact anyone before she disappeared? Or did she have any strange behaviors?”

“There probably… wasn’t any!” Mumu shook her head, but with an uncertain tone, “Apart from me and Nanni, Hualing barely talked to anyone, and since we two lived together, I didn’t notice anything unusual about her either!”

Just as she finished saying this—

Nanni on the side spoke up: “That’s not right! I feel like Hualing changed a lot.”

Hm?

Ji Yunshu turned to look at her: “What do you know?” Nanni said confidently: “Although I didn’t share a room with Hualing, I worked with her in the back courtyard. We spent our days together and had a very good relationship. Hualing truly didn’t like to talk much when she was alive, and everyone in the manor knew she disliked contact with men, so she usually only did cleaning and organizing work. However, in the month or so before she disappeared, she seemed like a different person—much more cheerful. When she had nothing to do, she would pull me aside to chat, and occasionally I could see her secretly smiling! I thought she had received a reward from one of the masters! But after a few days, she changed again, depressed all day long. Sometimes when I called her, she couldn’t hear me. Several times I saw her secretly wiping away tears. But after a few more days, she became very happy again and told me she would soon be able to enjoy good fortune. How could we servants have any good fortune? So at the time I just took it as drunken ramblings.”

Emotional changes?

Ji Yunshu pressed on: “Did she have any unusual behavior the day before she disappeared?”

“Very strange!”

Just these two words immediately made the atmosphere heavy.

Even Vice Minister Jiang, who had been recording with his head down the whole time, paused his hand, his pen tip stopping on the paper and splattering ink.

Ji Yunshu walked up to Nanni and asked: “Strange in what way?” Nanni swallowed before saying: “That day her mood was very bad, her eyes were red. She had no energy while working. Usually she and I stayed together, so there was no reason I wouldn’t know if something happened to her, but no matter how I asked, she just wouldn’t say.” After speaking, she asked cautiously, “Does… does this count as very unusual?”

It does!

With such dramatic emotional changes back and forth, could it be… related to her pregnancy?

Ji Yunshu seemed to think of something and asked: “Do you know who else she had contact with besides you two?”

Nanni replied: “She was usually very timid, and with that strange illness of hers, she basically only talked to me and Mumu.”

“Did she have contact with anyone outside the manor?”

“Outside the manor?” Nanni thought about it but really couldn’t think of anyone. “Hualing rarely left the manor. Even when she went out, it was only to the embroidery shop to pick up fabrics the manor needed.”

“Which embroidery shop?”

“Linglong Embroidery Shop. The manor goes there every few days to pick up fabrics. Before, others would go, but later it was changed to Hualing.”

Linglong Embroidery Shop!

Ji Yunshu pondered this.

At this moment, Yu Wei stepped forward and asked: “Lord Ji, have you found something? Shouldn’t this case be approached from the murderer’s angle?”

Although he trusted Ji Yunshu, he felt she might be getting off track.

Ji Yunshu glanced at him and had the two maids leave first.

As soon as the maids left.

Nanni grabbed Mumu’s sleeve and asked: “What do you think that Lord Ji was asking all that for?”

Mumu’s expression was serious: “How… how would I know? Perhaps she’s just trying to understand the case.”

Thinking about it, that made sense!

But after walking a few steps, Nanni leaned toward her and asked softly: “By the way, didn’t you share a room with Hualing? Even I could see she was somewhat unusual during that time—wouldn’t you have noticed?”

“Uh…”

Mumu’s eyes flickered, but she covered it up very well.

She said: “I work in the front courtyard. Every time I finish, it’s already very late. We each sleep separately—how could I manage that much?”

“True.” Nanni sighed deeply. Seeing no one around, she suddenly grew gossipy, tugging at Mumu’s clothes and pulling her aside, asking in a low voice: “Tell me, could Hualing really have been… by the master…”

Before she could finish speaking, she was immediately cut off.

“Don’t talk nonsense. If someone hears you, you’ll be in big trouble.” Mumu’s tone carried a stern warning.

And she glared at her fiercely.

Her expression was serious, completely unlike her earlier timid appearance.

And Nanni quickly covered her mouth, looking frightened.

She didn’t dare say more. The two of them also quickly left the area.