The maid who spoke up was Xiayu, one of the four head maids. Encouraged by Zhen Shicheng’s attitude, she mustered her courage and said, “The day before yesterday at noon, when this servant entered to attend to the marchioness, I accidentally noticed Qiulu’s eyes were red as if she had been crying…”

“So perhaps the marchioness had scolded Qiulu?” Zhen Shicheng speculated.

“Impossible!” Xie Qingao exclaimed emotionally. “My mother was always kind to them. I’ve never seen her lose her temper with them!”

Hearing Xie Qingao’s words, Xiayu quickly lowered her head and dared not speak further.

Zhen Shicheng was somewhat exasperated. “Miss Xie, it’s best if you don’t interrupt when this official is questioning. Your emotions might influence them. Right now, nothing is more important than uncovering the truth. Don’t you agree?”

Xie Qingao bit her lip, her eyes gradually reddening.

Her mother had died so tragically, and now might be saddled with a reputation for mistreating servants. How could she not be upset? But Magistrate Zhen was right; the truth was most important. Only the truth would put an end to outsiders’ wild speculations about her mother.

“Xiayu, do you think the marchioness would have scolded Qiulu?” Zhen Shicheng asked again.

Xiayu hesitated.

Zhen Shicheng glanced at Xie Qingao.

Understanding his intent, Xie Qingao spoke gently, “Xiayu, as long as what you say is true, no one will blame you.”

Xiayu raised her head, looking somewhat bewildered. “As the young miss said, the marchioness was always kind to us and hardly ever raised her voice. But the day before yesterday—”

Xiayu paused, then continued, “Judging by Qiulu’s appearance that day, it seemed she had indeed been scolded—”

“After you entered, did the marchioness say anything to Qiulu?”

“The marchioness told Qiulu to leave.”

“Was her tone different from usual?”

“The marchioness sounded a bit cold then. Qiulu left hurriedly with her head down after hearing it.”

Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard.

Would a scolded headmaid harbor resentment and brutally murder her mistress? Then, knowing she couldn’t escape punishment, drowned herself in the lotus pond.

The female coroner came to report: “Sir, there’s sand and mud in the deceased’s nose and mouth. Initial judgment is that she drowned, rather than falling into the water after death…”

Zhen Shicheng nodded and said to Marquis Yongchang, “There are currently two possibilities: Qiulu committed suicide by drowning, or someone pushed her into the water. I observe that the lotus pond isn’t far from the inhabited areas. If Qiulu had been pushed in, her cries for help should have been heard.”

“Did any of you hear any commotion from the garden last night?” Marquis Yongchang asked the servants of the back courtyard.

At night, the doors connecting the front and back courtyards would be locked. Only those in the back courtyard could have heard anything.

No one answered the Marquis’s question.

These people might not have heard anything, or they might have heard but were unwilling to invite trouble. Even the head of the household couldn’t pry open everyone’s mouth.

“Magistrate Zhen, if Qiulu was unconscious when she fell into the water, she wouldn’t have been able to cry for help, right?” Jiang Si spoke up.

Zhen Shicheng glanced at the female coroner.

The coroner said, “There are sand and water plants under the deceased’s fingernails, indicating she struggled after falling into the water. She must have been conscious at the time.”

Jiang Si looked closely at the female coroner.

The coroner was about her age, her black hair wrapped in a plain cloth, a neat and pretty young woman.

Seeing Jiang Si looking at her, the female coroner gave a slight smile.

Jiang Si immediately felt a great sense of goodwill.

She admired all women who made a living by their abilities. Although coroners were considered lowly by society, for a girl to do so well in this job was admirable.

Jiang Si smiled back.

The female coroner seemed surprised that a young lady from a noble family didn’t show the usual strange look towards her. After a slight pause, she shyly lowered her gaze.

“Who does Qiulu have in her family?” Zhen Shicheng asked.

“She has her mother, an elder brother, and sister-in-law, and a younger sister,” the steward replied.

The gatekeeper suddenly said, “Yesterday during the day, Qiulu’s younger sister came looking for her. After that, Qiulu hurriedly left with her sister.”

“Uh, how long were they gone?”

The gatekeeper thought for a moment. “About half an hour. Qiulu was born into service here, and her whole family lives in the alley just north of the marquis’s manor.”

“Was there anything different about Qiulu when she returned?”

“She had a gloomy face, looking quite upset,” the gatekeeper said.

“Since Qiulu was born into service, are her brother, sister-in-law, and younger sister also working in the manor?” Zhen Shicheng asked further.

The steward hurriedly replied, “Qiulu’s brother is an idle fellow. He used to work in the manor but quit, complaining it was too hard. Her sister-in-law has given birth to three children in quick succession and can’t come out to work. Her younger sister was a second-class maid in the manor but took leave to care for their sick mother. Alas, Qiulu was the most capable in that family…”

Zhen Shicheng understood then that Qiulu had been supporting her entire family.

“Marquis, please have someone notify Qiulu’s family to come here.”

Before Marquis Yongchang could send someone, loud wailing could be heard approaching from afar.

“Qiulu, how could you be so heartless as to leave us—” Several people soon arrived, with the loudest cries coming from a woman in her thirties.

The steward quietly informed Zhen Shicheng, “That’s Qiulu’s sister-in-law.”

“Marquis, Qiulu served the marchioness for so long, she can’t just leave so miserably,” the woman wailed to Marquis Yongchang.

Hearing this, Marquis Yongchang felt irritated and shouted, “Shut up!”

The servants shook their heads secretly, and the one closest to the woman whispered, “The marchioness has passed away.”

The woman shuddered, looking at Marquis Yongchang with a shocked expression.

That good-for-nothing husband of hers had taken money and gone gambling early in the morning. She had been busy looking after three children and hadn’t even had time to step outside. If someone hadn’t come to tell her that her sister-in-law was gone, she wouldn’t have known anything.

How could the marchioness have died so suddenly?

It was truly unfortunate. She had hoped to get some money from the marchioness since Qiulu was gone, but now everything was lost…

“Sister-in-law of Qiulu, what did Qiulu do when she went home yesterday?” Zhen Shicheng asked.

The woman looked at Zhen Shicheng.

“This is Magistrate Zhen of the Shuntian Prefecture. Answer whatever the magistrate asks!” Marquis Yongchang said.

“Oh my, why is the magistrate asking this? Isn’t our Qiulu already—”

Zhen Shicheng, experienced in dealing with such women, knew not to be polite. He put on a stern face and said, “The marchioness was murdered, and Qiulu, who was supposed to be on night duty, was found dead in the lotus pond. If you don’t explain clearly, Qiulu might be considered the murderer who killed the marchioness and then committed suicide out of guilt. In that case—”

The woman’s legs went weak with fear. “M-Magistrate, Qiulu couldn’t possibly have killed the marchioness. Yesterday… yesterday our mother-in-law was on her deathbed, so I sent Caizhu to fetch Qiulu home.”

As she spoke, she grabbed a young girl standing nearby and pushed her in front of Zhen Shicheng. “Caizhu, quick, tell this official if that’s what happened.”

The girl called Caizhu looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. Her eyes were red and tearful. Pushed by the woman, she fell to the ground.

The young girl didn’t cry out in pain, nor did she hurry to get up. Instead, she slightly raised her head to look at Zhen Shicheng, biting her lip as she said, “My sister would never kill anyone. She… she was driven to her death by my brother and sister-in-law!”