“I… I was at the bottom of the tower at the time.”

“Why were you at the bottom of the tower?”

“That morning, I wasn’t feeling well. After taking medicine, I went to Miss’s room, but didn’t see her there. So I went to the rear courtyard. From a distance, I saw Miss sitting on the tower. I remember there was no one else on the tower at the time. I had just reached the bottom when I saw Miss fall down and crash onto the decorative rocks.”

Her speech was fluent, not like she was lying.

Ji Yunshu continued asking, “Then the evening two nights ago, when was the last time you saw your young miss?”

Qiao Xin thought for a moment. “Probably around the hour of hai. I saw that the lamp in Miss’s room had gone out, so I went in to light it. At that time, Miss was sleeping in bed with nothing unusual.” She even emphasized her words to show she wasn’t lying.

All suspicious points. Ji Yunshu weighed things in her mind – this case was truly somewhat thorny.

Qiao Xin asked again, “Master, you said my miss died the evening two nights ago, but why did I see my miss sitting on the tower yesterday morning?”

“You only saw from a distance, so naturally you couldn’t tell that your miss was already dead at that time. If someone deliberately murdered her and created the illusion of your miss falling from the tower, would they let a little maid like you see through it?”

With this explanation, Qiao Xin immediately understood.

Taking a breath, Ji Yunshu turned to Master Zhou and said, “Now we know both the cause of Miss Zhou’s death and the time of death. Next, we need to find the reason why Miss Zhou was killed, and based on the motive, track down the murderer. Therefore, I need to go see Miss Zhou’s room.”

Master Zhou agreed immediately. “Very well, I’ll have someone take you there.” After speaking, he called in the Zhou mansion’s steward and instructed, “A’Jing, take Master Ji to see Miss’s room.”

The old steward bowed. “Yes.” He looked toward Ji Yunshu. “Master Ji, this way please.”

The old steward led several maids toward Miss Zhou’s courtyard. Ji Yunshu was about to follow when, passing in front of Jingrong, she was stopped by him.

“I didn’t expect Master to enjoy viewing young ladies’ chambers.”

If Jingrong hadn’t spoken, she would have truly forgotten about this important personage. Who would have thought he could indeed keep such a low profile, blending into the crowd, practically invisible!

“Not everyone is a lecher. This humble one is compelled by the case. If Prince Rong doesn’t mind, you’re welcome to come along as well.”

“This prince naturally must go – I want to see just how many unknown secrets are stored in Master’s mind.”

Why did those words sound so much like the opening lines of a documentary channel host!

Ji Yunshu’s lips twitched. She gave him a polite smile and followed the old steward.

Jingrong was now extremely curious about Ji Yunshu. That scholar was far more interesting than the scheming and plotting in the capital.

Lang Bo, at his side, leaned in and said, “Your Highness, it seems we didn’t find the wrong person. This Master Ji is quite talented.”

“Talented indeed, just a bit stubborn in temperament.”

“That’s true.”

“Alright, let’s go have a look.” With that, Jingrong brought Lang Bo along as well.

The county magistrate only dared move after Jingrong had left first.

After Master Zhou had servants help the nearly exhausted Madam Zhou back to her room, he also went over.

Miss Zhou’s chamber was extremely clean – to be precise, not just clean, but obsessively so.

In the room, all items were organized by color. In the inner chamber, from the bed to the curtains, everything was red. The outer room was blue and yellow, everything categorized and arranged together.

Clearly a modern case of obsessive-compulsive disorder!

Ji Yunshu entered the inner chamber and looked around. She saw the rouge and powder on the dressing table – those boxes were almost identical in color, and both the boxes and table surface were spotlessly clean.

Qiao Xin, quite perceptive, quickly explained from the side, “My miss particularly loved cleanliness. Whether bedding or this rouge and powder, once used even once, she would absolutely never use it a second time. So every morning we had to replace everything with new items.”

Ji Yunshu said nothing and walked out of the inner chamber. She happened to notice a particularly exquisite candlestick beside the curtain. Ordinary wealthy families’ candlesticks only had carved flowers, but this candlestick was inlaid with crystals, each one stacked together forming a spiral pattern – it was extremely beautiful.

“This candlestick is truly lovely. Your miss must have liked it very much.” Ji Yunshu said.

“Yes, Miss especially loved it.” Qiao Xin nodded. “And every night when Miss went to sleep, she had to light this candlestick. Miss said only the scented oil from this candlestick allowed her to sleep.”

“Quite particular.”

The hobbies of wealthy families were truly different!

She continued looking around the room and happened to see a red whip hanging on the wall by the entrance.

Was Miss Zhou also a martial arts practitioner?

With doubt in her heart, she reached out and took down the whip, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of panic suddenly flashing in Qiao Xin’s eyes. The maid instinctively grabbed her own wrist and took a step back.

Ji Yunshu seemed to understand something and hung the whip back up.