“This is the most likely scenario,” Zhen Shicheng said without drawing a definitive conclusion. The focus of the investigation was on this group of people.
In large households, there were strict rules. Servants from the front courtyard couldn’t enter the back courtyard without extremely special circumstances. As for hiding in the mistress’s courtyard after sunset, it had to be someone whose presence there wouldn’t raise suspicion.
This meant the scope could be narrowed further, with those from the main courtyard being more suspect.
“Why doesn’t Your Excellency ask the estate manager to bring out the roster of the back courtyard for verification? We can check who’s not currently in the mansion, and gather all those who remain in the courtyard for Your Excellency to question at any time,” suggested someone.
Zhen Shicheng smiled slightly. “That’s exactly what I had in mind.”
The entire back quarters of Earl Yongchang’s mansion housed quite several people. Checking and verifying would take considerable time. This task was naturally assigned to several estate managers. Zhen Shicheng took a copy of the roster and looked it over from top to bottom.
The roster listed the names of people in each courtyard of the back quarters, their duties, monthly wages, and in some cases, even their special skills. For instance, a maid named Hong Xiu was specifically noted for her skill in hairdressing.
Such a roster revealed how capable the mistress of the house was of managing the household.
Zhen Shicheng read the roster twice, his gaze falling on the two names at the very top.
Those were the names of Earl Yongchang’s two consorts.
The Earl Yongchang household was relatively simple. Apart from the Earl and his wife, their son, and daughter, the only ones who could be considered half-masters were these two consorts.
Glancing at the Xie Yinlou siblings, Zhen Shicheng pointed to the door. “My Lord, let’s go inside and have a word.”
Earl Yongchang silently followed Zhen Shicheng into the room. Looking at the familiar furnishings, he felt a heaviness in his heart and sighed, “Please ask whatever you need to, Magistrate Zhen.”
“Do Your Lordship’s two consorts have any children?” Zhen Shicheng asked. The roster hadn’t included information about the masters of the house, so he decided to inquire directly.
Earl Yongchang smiled bitterly. “They don’t.”
Zhen Shicheng continued, “Could you explain why?”
“Why?” Earl Yongchang was taken aback by the question.
“The two consorts have been with Your Lordship for many years, haven’t they? It seems a bit strange that they haven’t had any children.”
“I understand what you’re getting at, Magistrate Zhen.” Earl Yongchang frowned instinctively, with a hint of annoyance and embarrassment.
This annoyance wasn’t directed at Zhen Shicheng but rather stemmed from the anger that arose from suspecting his two consorts due to Zhen Shicheng’s questions.
“One of them became my consort when my son was born, the other when my daughter was born. I didn’t want to have illegitimate children causing chaos in the Earl’s mansion, so I’ve had them take contraceptive medicine all along.”
Zhen Shicheng thought for a moment and asked, “So neither of the consorts has ever accidentally become pregnant?”
Earl Yongchang fell silent for a moment, then said, “Chao Yun did become pregnant three years ago, but I didn’t agree to keep the child.”
At that time, he had hesitated. After all, both his legitimate children were grown, and having an additional illegitimate son or daughter wouldn’t have made much difference. However—
Zhen Shicheng, being incredibly perceptive, immediately noticed something unusual in Earl Yongchang’s expression. He probed further, “After all, it was Your Lordship’s flesh and blood. Since it happened unexpectedly, why didn’t Your Lordship keep the child?”
Earl Yongchang hesitated.
Zhen Shicheng urged, “My Lord, you must speak your mind. At this point, with the culprit still at large, any concealment on your part would inadvertently be aiding the murderer.”
“My wife was ill at the time,” Earl Yongchang finally said.
As soon as he spoke, Zhen Shicheng’s expression showed understanding.
Earl Yongchang and his wife were known to be affectionate. When the consort became pregnant, the Earl’s wife fell ill. Naturally, he wouldn’t allow the consort to keep the child.
“My wife truly was ill. It wasn’t that she was pretending because she was upset about Chao Yun’s pregnancy,” Earl Yongchang hastily explained.
He didn’t want to say more, unwilling to let people misunderstand his wife as an intolerant woman.
Zhen Shicheng looked at Earl Yongchang and sighed, “Your Lordship understands the Earl’s wife and knows she was genuinely ill at that time. But what about the consort?”
Earl Yongchang was stunned, his face darkening. “Magistrate Zhen, are you suggesting that Chao Yun might harbor resentment towards my wife, believing that she feigned illness to cause her to lose the child?”
“Your son and daughter are grown. If Your Lordship took in these two consorts around the time of their births, I presume the consorts weren’t exactly young three years ago?”
“Indeed, they were both in their early thirties at the time.”
Zhen Shicheng smiled, “Your Lordship shouldn’t underestimate the pain a woman feels when she finally becomes pregnant after years of childlessness, only to be forced to terminate the pregnancy. Such pain can breed astonishing hatred.”
“Are you saying Chao Yun harmed my wife?” Earl Yongchang’s face turned ashen.
When he had ordered Chao Yun to terminate the pregnancy, he felt somewhat guilty, but he understood clearly: how could she have become pregnant while taking contraceptive medicine? The ulterior motive was obvious.
Chao Yun had been with him for many years. Regardless of what methods she had used to become pregnant, once the child was gone, he didn’t want to pursue the matter further. Instead, out of pity, he had rewarded her with quite a few valuables.
Could it be that she believed his wife couldn’t tolerate the child and that’s why it wasn’t kept? Had she harbored hatred towards his wife since then, finally seizing an opportunity to harm her?
The more Earl Yongchang thought about it, the more his expression darkened.
“Your Lordship needn’t be too agitated. This only suggests that Chao Yun had a motive to harm the Earl’s wife, but it doesn’t prove she’s the culprit. Everything still needs evidence. My job is to identify potential suspects, then either eliminate them or find evidence of their guilt,” Zhen Shicheng said.
Earl Yongchang still couldn’t calm down and slammed his fist on the table.
“After Chao Yun lost the child, did Your Lordship notice anything unusual in your interactions with her?”
Earl Yongchang shook his head. “Destroying one’s flesh and blood is not easy on the heart. Since then, I’ve rarely set foot in either of the consorts’ courtyards, so it’s hard to say if there was anything unusual.”
Zhen Shicheng stood up. “In that case, let’s summon the two consorts and question them. Your Lordship must remain calm.”
Earl Yongchang nodded reluctantly.
The two men walked out, and Earl Yongchang immediately ordered someone to invite the two consorts.
Soon, two middle-aged women approached one after another. The woman in front had a slightly plump figure. Although her expression was nervous, the curves of her eyebrows and eyes gave her a gentle demeanor.
The woman behind was very thin, with slightly drooping eyelids and an unhealthy pale complexion. Surprisingly, her hair had some gray streaks.
Zhen Shicheng couldn’t help but think of the two strands of hair found in the wardrobe.
“The one in front is Chun Mei, and the one behind is Chao Yun,” Earl Yongchang said, trying to keep his voice calm.
As he coldly watched his two consorts approach, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Thinking carefully, it had indeed been a long time since he had visited them.
The people in the courtyard, seeing the Earl’s two old consorts being summoned, dared not speak but exchanged glances.
Heavens, could it be that the one who harmed the Earl’s wife was one of his consorts?
Jiang Si, whose attention had been on the crowd gradually gathering in the courtyard, quietly moved closer when she saw Zhen Shicheng summon the two consorts.
She had thought of a crucial point that could almost determine who the culprit was. So, let her first see if the two consorts were innocent.