The Eunuch Has A Wife - Chapter 28

Wei Ziwan reacted even faster. She swiftly sidestepped, grabbing Bai Zhi’s arm and pulling her aside. The two of them took a couple of steps back, causing Lu Qu’er to lunge at empty air.

“Stop!” Bai Li shouted.

The room fell silent. Lu Qu’er’s sobs halted, and she knelt on the ground, quietly weeping.

“Elder Brother, we…” Bai Zhi began to explain.

Bai Li glared at her: “Everyone, be quiet. You’ll have your chance to speak later.”

Bai Zhi pressed her lips together and said nothing more. Wei Ziwan took half a step closer, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

Bai Li and the coroner worked together to take Manager Lu down from the beam.

He looked at the kneeling Lu Qu’er, then at Bai Zhi and Wei Ziwan standing nearby.

“Everyone, go to the main hall and wait.”

Thus, everyone inside and outside the room hurried to the main hall, where Mr. Qiu questioned them for about half an hour. Only then did Bai Li, supporting Bai Shu, slowly arrive. Everyone realized that they had gone to fetch the old master of the estate.

Bai Shu sat down in a chair and surveyed the room, counting more than ten people present.

He furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “Who has seen Manager Lu today—alive?”

“Old Master, no one has seen him today.” Mr. Qiu replied with a bow.

Bai Shu picked up a teacup from the table and asked, “What about yesterday?”

“Manager Lu left the accounts office at noon yesterday to visit Auntie Chen.” a servant from the accounts office spoke up, his gaze falling on the woman standing nearby.

Auntie Chen took a deep breath and raised her head: “Manager Lu came by for a while and then left. He didn’t say where he was going.”

Bai Shu looked at Mr. Qiu.

Mr. Qiu said calmly, “Manager Lu had expressed interest in finding a new wife and mentioned that Auntie Chen caught his eye. He did visit her at noon yesterday, but no one knows exactly when he left, as it coincided with dinner. However, around dusk, someone saw Manager Lu returning to his courtyard…”

Bai Shu took a sip of tea and then turned to Bai Zhi and Wei Ziwan: “Did you two visit Manager Lu yesterday?”

“No.” Bai Zhi replied.

“Why did you go looking for him this morning?” Bai Shu’s voice grew stern, his tone suddenly sharp.

“To collect seeds.” Bai Zhi answered, her heart inexplicably tightening.

“Did you need to go to his quarters to collect seeds?”

“The servant from the accounts office said Manager Lu had instructed him to take us there.”

“Where is that servant now?”

“He’s missing.”

Bai Shu fired off several questions at Bai Zhi before turning to Mr. Qiu: “He’s missing?”

Mr. Qiu took over: “He was the servant who always attended to Manager Lu. He left the estate this morning, and we’ve already sent people to track him down.” He paused, then added, “There were half a pound of seeds on Manager Lu’s desk.”

Bai Shu’s gaze shifted back to Bai Zhi: “Was he already dead when you arrived?”

Bai Zhi’s heart tightened again: “Yes.”

“How can you prove it?”

Bai Zhi was stunned. Prove what? She looked at Bai Shu, who remained expressionless.

Their eyes met in midair. Of course, she needed to prove her innocence!

She thought carefully and said, “Generally, a body becomes stiff about an hour after death. When we arrived, Manager Lu’s body was already stiff.”

They had woken up early, gone to the dining hall for breakfast, and then went to look for Manager Lu. By the time they arrived, he was already dead.

“That still doesn’t prove your innocence. Who knows if you killed my father beforehand and then pretended to look for him?” Lu Qu’er glanced at Bai Shu and boldly challenged.

Bai Shu remained silent, continuing to watch Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi suddenly understood. He was signaling her to continue proving her innocence.

She steadied herself and said, “Generally, livor mortis appears several hours after death. For someone who has hanged themselves, it first appears on the feet. Manager Lu clearly didn’t show this.”

The coroner chimed in: “Manager Lu’s symptoms indicate death by asphyxiation, after which he was strung up. The time of death was at least around midnight last night.”

“That still doesn’t prove your innocence. What if you did it last night?” Lu Qu’er pressed on, using a handkerchief to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes. The once-white handkerchief was now visibly soaked.

Bai Shu glanced at her and said to Bai Li, “Report this to the authorities. Fetch the best coroner from Ninglin Prefecture. Everyone, return to your rooms. No one is to leave the estate.”

After everyone had left, Bai Li couldn’t help but ask, “Father, do you think it was Cousin Bai Zhi?”

“No, she’s been caught in someone else’s trap.” Bai Shu replied without hesitation.

He recalled the previous night when the person he had sent to watch Manager Lu suddenly returned to report that the man had been killed. It seemed someone was using this incident to frame someone else. As for who was being framed, he hadn’t known last night, but now he did.

Unexpectedly, yet predictably, it was that child. To frame Bai Zhi with a murder charge for no reason—it seemed they had learned quite a bit.

Bai Li, hearing this, pondered thoughtfully. His father answered so confidently. Did he already know who the murderer was?

Unable to resist, he asked.

Bai Shu’s tone was calm: “Yes.”

“Then why not help clear their names and catch the real culprit?” Bai Li was puzzled. His father clearly valued them, so why not help them?

Bai Shu smiled: “There’s too much deceit and scheming in this world. If you help one, you have to help another. So, I help no one. If they can’t handle even this little scheme, how can they shoulder greater responsibilities?”

Others’ help always depends on their willingness. That’s not true capability. Only by relying on oneself to navigate the path and solve problems does one truly possess ability.

So, he wouldn’t help. He would help no one.

People must face their own storms. Rather than waiting for someone to hold an umbrella, it’s better to hold it yourself.

The authorities wouldn’t arrive for a while. Everyone was ordered to stay in their rooms, not allowed to leave without reason, and certainly not to leave the estate.

No one knew that at this moment, everyone was being interrogated separately.

Bai Zhi and Wei Ziwan sat quietly in their room. After a long silence, they looked at each other.

“Who do you think it is?” Bai Zhi asked. “Could it be Bai Luo this time?”

But aside from Bai Luo, whom they had somehow offended, they didn’t seem to have any conflicts with anyone else.

Wei Ziwan looked up: “We’re thinking the same thing. Although she hasn’t shown up this time, Manager Lu was involved in the osmanthus incident. Maybe she’s already using this to her advantage.”

What a perfect excuse. Manager Lu had given them trouble before. If someone were to guide others to think along those lines, and now they were being troubled again over collecting seeds, then in a fit of anger, anything could happen.

She thought of Manager Lu. They had only met a handful of times, with no grudges between them. If Bai Luo had killed Manager Lu just to frame them, it seemed a bit far-fetched.

But if it wasn’t Bai Luo?

Then it was someone else, with Bai Luo either being an accomplice or taking advantage of the situation to shift blame.

“We can’t just sit and wait.” Bai Zhi said firmly. They couldn’t do nothing. They had to find a way to clear their names.

Wei Ziwan glanced at her. Of course, they couldn’t just sit and wait. The question was, how?

“How do you know Manager Lu didn’t hang himself? Is that livor mortis theory reliable?”

Bai Zhi turned to look out the window, her tone calm: “I’ve seen it too many times. Most of the concubines in the cold palace who couldn’t take it anymore hanged themselves. What I said is reliable.”

Having grown up in the cold palace, over a decade of seeing and hearing about such things—averaging about one a year—many of her words were no longer guesses but conclusions drawn from years of experience.

Wei Ziwan was momentarily stunned. Seen it too many times, huh? “Any other observations?”

Bai Zhi shook her head, then nodded: “Manager Lu’s clothes smelled of alcohol—cheap alcohol.”

Time had been too short, and she hadn’t been able to examine things closely. That was all she had noticed, unless they went back for another look…

“Let’s go find your uncle and take another look.” Wei Ziwan blinked. That uncle seemed impartial in his questioning, but every time he asked Bai Zhi a question, he was giving her a chance to explain.

If she guessed correctly, this uncle probably wasn’t on the opposing side.

If the master of the estate wasn’t an enemy, then things would be easier.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Bai Zhi said. They were on the same page again. She stood up and headed for the door, with Wei Ziwan quickly following. Together, they went to the main hall to find Bai Li.

Since they didn’t know where to find their uncle, they had to start with their elder brother.

The main hall wasn’t just occupied by Bai Li. Bai Shu, Mr. Qiu, and the newly summoned coroner were also there.

Now they didn’t need to search. Everyone was here.

Bai Zhi and Wei Ziwan explained their purpose, and the hall fell silent. No one answered them for a while.

After a long pause, Bai Shu sighed lightly and said to Mr. Qiu, “Tell them what we know so far.”

Mr. Qiu nodded: “The time of death was yesterday, at least in the evening, possibly even earlier. So the testimony about seeing Manager Lu at dusk is definitely problematic. Upon closer questioning, we learned that it was already late at night, and they hadn’t actually seen Manager Lu’s face. He was wearing a straw hat and walking quickly, so it was likely someone dressed in his clothes pretending to be him. That’s the first point.”

“Manager Lu’s clothes had a faint smell of sorghum wine, though it was weak, it was still detectable. However, he didn’t usually drink. That’s the second point.”

“Manager Lu had expressed interest in forming a relationship with Auntie Chen, and the two had been seeing each other privately for some time. Now that he’s suddenly dead, Auntie Chen has been acting very calm—too calm, in fact. It’s so normal that it seems rehearsed. That’s the third point.”

“The servant from the accounts office left the estate and hasn’t returned home. His whereabouts are still unknown. Whether he’s the murderer or how involved he is remains unclear. That’s all we know so far.”

Mr. Qiu finished speaking and stood to the side with a bow.

Bai Shu glanced at him, then turned his gaze to Bai Zhi: “What do you think, Zhi’er? Do you have any thoughts? Speak freely.”

Bai Zhi thought for a moment and replied, “Right now, that servant is the most suspicious. Auntie Chen might also be involved.”

After speaking, she glanced at Wei Ziwan. Both of them felt an inexplicable sense of relief.