The woman was stunned at first, seemingly unable to believe what Caizhu would say. Then she reacted, raising her hand to strike at Caizhu: “What nonsense are you speaking, you ungrateful wretch!”

“Stop!” Zhen Shicheng frowned and shouted. The yamen runners immediately restrained the woman.

The woman continued to gesture wildly: “We fed and clothed you, yet you dare speak such words? Have you no conscience?”

Caizhu sat on the ground crying: “It was Sister who fed and clothed me, not you!”

“How dare you! You heartless little wretch, have you forgotten your mother?”

Caizhu faltered, covering her face as she wept: “Mother is dying anyway, I… I have nothing left to fear—”

She kowtowed to Zhen Shicheng between sobs: “Your Honor, I’ve heard of you. You brought justice by prosecuting the Marquis Changxing’s heir. You are a righteous official. Please help my sister—won’t let her reputation be sullied even in death—”

The woman grew more furious: “You little wretch, just wait until we get home. I’ll deal with you then!”

“Gag her,” Zhen Shicheng commanded coolly.

With a handkerchief stuffed in the woman’s mouth, the scene quieted down except for the young girl’s soft crying.

Zhen Shicheng sighed and personally helped Caizhu up: “This official neither lets the wicked go free nor wrongly accuses the innocent. Young lady, dry your tears and tell me about your sister.”

“Yes.” Caizhu wiped her tears and cast a resolute glance at the woman.

The woman could not speak but glared with threatening eyes.

Caizhu simply avoided looking at her and sniffled: “Actually, everyone in the household knows that only my sister worked. All our food, daily necessities, and even Mother’s medical expenses came from her. I had planned to return to work at the manor once Mother’s health improved, but she only got worse. Five days ago, she fell unconscious. The physician said it would take a considerable sum for treatment. When Sister learned of this, she soon brought the money—”

“How much was it?” Zhen Shicheng asked.

Generally speaking, murder cases had three main motives: revenge, money, or love. Random killings were rare and unusual.

“Fifty taels of silver.”

“What was Qiulu’s monthly wage?”

The steward immediately replied: “Qiulu was Madam’s maid, ranked second among the servants, earning two and a half taels per month.”

“Two and a half taels is not a small sum,” Zhen Shicheng remarked quietly.

For ordinary families, a few taels could cover half a year’s expenses.

“However, since Qiulu had to support a family, she likely had few savings. Where did the fifty taels come from?”

Caizhu’s face flushed red as she trembled: “Sister didn’t say at the time, just told us to use it for Mother’s treatment, but—”

She cast a hateful glance at the woman and continued tearfully: “But yesterday when Mother suddenly coughed up blood, I rushed to find Sister. Under her questioning, we learned that my brother and sister-in-law never used the money for Mother’s medicine. The medicine I had been giving Mother was just a substitute they provided.”

“Mmph! Mmph!” The woman struggled violently upon hearing this.

“Remove her gag,” Zhen Shicheng ordered.

As soon as she could speak, the woman wailed: “It’s not true, Your Honor! I never saw a single coin of that money—that worthless man took it all to pay his gambling debts—”

Zhen Shicheng patiently listened to the woman curses her husband for a full quarter hour, gaining a clear picture of Qiulu’s brother’s character.

A hopeless gambling addict.

“How did your sister react when she learned of this?”

“Sister held Mother and wept bitterly, but then… then Mother said she knew about it and had agreed to let brother take the money. When Sister heard this, she became even more heartbroken and ran out crying—” At this point, Caizhu became too choked up to continue.

“You didn’t see your sister after that?”

Caizhu suddenly looked up directly at Zhen Shicheng: “No, I followed her.”

Zhen Shicheng’s interest was piqued.

From experience, this young girl likely knew something important.

He didn’t press her, just gazed at her kindly.

Caizhu bit her lip: “I had never seen Sister so heartbroken. She had always been the family’s pillar of support. She decided to have me take leave to care for Mother. I remember Sister telling me that as long as she was around, we would overcome any family difficulties. But yesterday she cried in despair. Perhaps because she was so devastated, she finally told me why when I pressed her.”

As she spoke, she glanced toward Marquis Yongchang.

The Marquis sighed: “Speak freely. My wife and I have always been fair-minded people.”

“Sister said she had secretly taken those fifty taels from Madam’s dowry, hoping to repay it gradually after getting through our urgent need. But then Madam suddenly wanted to find a jade and kingfisher feather hairpin she had worn years ago and discovered the missing money. When Madam learned why Sister had taken the money, she didn’t pursue the matter but told Sister she couldn’t keep her in service anymore. Madam was kind and said since Sister had served her for many years, she wouldn’t dismiss her immediately but would keep her on while arranging a suitable marriage for her.”

“If that’s the case, why do you say your brother and sister-in-law drove your sister to death?”

Caizhu laughed bitterly: “Sister took great pride in serving Madam, yet she stole money for Mother’s sake. If Mother had used the money for treatment, that would have been one thing, but Brother took it to pay gambling debts while keeping Sister and me in the dark. Mother even said she had approved of giving it to Brother… Sister said then that if she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have done such a heartless thing. She lost her position, couldn’t save Mother, and most importantly, betrayed Madam’s deep trust. She said she might as well die… I thought she was just speaking in anger, who knew she would do something so foolish…”

Zhen Shicheng looked at Marquis Yongchang: “Does Madam usually keep maids overnight?”

The Marquis nodded.

“So only last night did Madam send Qiulu away.” Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard and sighed, “Qiulu’s stolen money was squandered by her brother, her gravely ill mother sided completely with her son, and then Madam distanced herself from her. In this light, her suicide in a moment of despair makes sense.”

Everyone fell silent, thinking the same thing: Caizhu was right—Qiulu had been driven to death by her brother and sister-in-law, and more precisely, by her mother as well—

“If Qiulu died from shame, then who killed my mother?” Xie Qing’ao murmured.

Zhen Shicheng wasn’t discouraged.

Many cases were like this—leads that seemed promising turned out to be irrelevant, but that didn’t mean the investigation was wasted. By carefully unraveling each thread, the truth would eventually surface.

“Magistrate Zhen, since there was no one in the wardrobe at sunset yesterday, doesn’t that mean the killer must be among those within the Earl’s inner courtyard?” Jiang Si suddenly asked.