Du Lingxuan opened her mouth but lacked the courage to refute. Indeed, as Pei Zhiyan had said, no matter how noble her family background was, she was at best just a concubine.
She squeezed her fingers tightly in unwillingness but was helpless.
At this moment, a maidservant rushed in panic and shouted, "It's bad, it's bad..."
Du Lingxuan frowned and looked at the maidservant. She was from Song Ruotang's courtyard. Du Lingxuan, who was just looking for someone to vent her anger on, saw the maidservant stumble in front of her. She raised her hand and slapped her, shouting, "What are you shouting about? Can't you see the master is here?"
The maidservant was knocked to the ground. She covered her red - cheeked face but didn't dare to make a sound. Seeing Pei Zhiyan standing not far away, she quickly adjusted her posture and knelt down properly.
Pei Zhiyan frowned slightly. "What's going on?"
"Master, there's a dead body in the west wing..." The maidservant stammered out the words with a trembling voice. Pei Zhiyan's eyes turned cold. He first looked at Du Lingxuan.
Du Lingxuan looked surprised, seemingly unaware of it either.
Song Ruotang's heart sank. It was Liu'er who lived in the west wing.
"Lead the way." Pei Zhiyan's voice was cold. The maidservant stood up and walked in front to lead the way for Pei Zhiyan. Pei Zhiyan turned to look at Song Ruotang. He originally wanted her to stay here, but she also walked beside him. "I'll go too."
Seeing Song Ruotang's serious expression, Pei Zhiyan didn't refuse anymore. He nodded and followed the leading maidservant towards the west wing.
A large group of servants had already gathered around the west wing. When they saw the master coming, they quickly bowed. Pei Zhiyan looked at the half - open door. His eyes turned cold. He stepped forward and pushed the door open himself.
An indescribable stench hit them. Even though Pei Zhiyan had handled many cases, he couldn't help frowning.
He took out a handkerchief from his bosom and covered his nose and mouth, then walked into the room.
The furnishings in the room were not shabby. In fact, they were quite exquisite, not at all like the room of a maidservant.
Pei Zhiyan lifted the gauze curtain in the room. A carved wooden bed came into view. Clothes were scattered messily on the bed, and there were also a few pieces on the floor.
A person was lying prone on the couch, with half of her clothes off. The light in the room was dim. The light shining through the gauze curtain fell on her. Her spine protruded on her thin back, and her skin was a mixture of blue and other colors. But upon closer inspection, there were actually dense red dots on the exposed skin, which was really scary.
Pei Zhiyan frowned tightly and turned to walk out of the room. The servants outside all frowned and waved their sleeves looking into the room.
"Master, what's going on inside?" Du Lingxuan walked up to Pei Zhiyan, grabbed his sleeve, and asked fearfully.
Pei Zhiyan put down the handkerchief and casually pulled her hand away. He calmly ordered Uncle Pei, who had just come over, "Send someone to the Supreme Court to find Mo Qing and ask him to bring people here."
Uncle Pei nodded and quickly turned around and left.
Pei Zhiyan walked to the stone bench in the courtyard and sat down. Du Lingxuan quickly ordered the maidservant beside her, "Hurry up and make a pot of tea for the master." Then she sat down in front of Pei Zhiyan with a smile.
"A Tang, come here." Pei Zhiyan ignored Du Lingxuan's flattery. He turned to wave at Song Ruotang. Du Lingxuan's smile froze on her face, but she didn't say anything in the end.
Song Ruotang sat down beside Pei Zhiyan. He then asked, "How many days has Liu'er been absent from serving you?"
"She asked for leave after the first day and hasn't come to the courtyard until today." Song Ruotang answered truthfully.
Pei Zhiyan nodded. Before he could speak, Du Lingxuan on the side took over, "Master, you've heard. Liu'er got sick just one day after going to her courtyard. It's hard not to be suspicious."
Pei Zhiyan raised his eyes slightly. A chill flashed in them. Du Lingxuan wisely shut up.
"What illness did she get?" Pei Zhiyan scanned the servants around. They looked at each other. Finally, a maidservant shrank her head and stood out. "Reporting to the master, after Liu'er came back, she kept running to the toilet. It seemed that she had a stomachache..."
Du Lingxuan snorted. "She didn't come into contact with anyone else that day. She just left Third Sister's room."
"Shut up." The chill in Pei Zhiyan's eyes grew stronger, with a strong warning in it.
Du Lingxuan paused for a moment. She bit her lips unwillingly and complained coquettishly, "Master, isn't your concubine just worried about you..."
"You're already hindering my investigation." Pei Zhiyan's voice was cold. "If you say any more irrelevant words, get out."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Du Lingxuan was shamed by Pei Zhiyan in public. Her face turned green and white. But in the end, she didn't say anything anymore, because even if she was stupid, she knew that Pei Zhiyan could really make her get out.
Without Du Lingxuan's interference, Pei Zhiyan quickly sorted out his thoughts. "Did she eat anything that night?"
"No. She kept running to the toilet after she came back." The maidservant answered quickly.
At this time, the maidservant brought the tea. Pei Zhiyan looked down at the ripples in the tea bowl and recalled the scene that night. If Liu'er hadn't eaten anything else, then it could only be that bowl of porridge...
But since the coroner hadn't come yet, he didn't dare to make a hasty conclusion. He just had a guess in his heart.
Song Ruotang also thought of that bowl of porridge. She knew that Liu'er had tampered with it. Liu'er had eaten the porridge herself and suffered from diarrhea.
She thought it was just an ordinary laxative, just a larger dose. But why did she die after just a few days? If she had really drunk it, this thought sent a chill down her spine...
At this time, a group of people in black narrow - sleeved tight clothes came in from outside the courtyard. The leader had a cold expression. He walked straight up to Pei Zhiyan and bowed. "Sir, your subordinate has brought the people here."
Pei Zhiyan looked at the people behind Mo Qing and nodded. "Take people in and carry the body out."
Mo Qing agreed and immediately led the people in to handle it.
After a while, a body covered with a white cloth was carried out and placed in the courtyard.
The servants around were ordered to cover their faces and avoid looking. Pei Zhiyan reached out and gently squeezed Song Ruotang's hand, rubbing it soothingly. Song Ruotang understood and held his hand back.
The coroner immediately stepped forward and lifted the white cloth. A face full of red bumps suddenly appeared in front of everyone. Some people were startled and screamed.
Du Lingxuan was one of them. She let out a scream, covered her face, bypassed the stone table, and threw herself at Pei Zhiyan who was sitting opposite her. She raised her hand and wanted to hug his neck, coquettishly saying, "Master..."
Pei Zhiyan was prepared. He crossed his hand and blocked in front of Du Lingxuan. Before she could get close, he had already pulled Song Ruotang into his arms. And Song Ruotang also cooperated extremely well, snuggling up to him like a little bird and saying, "Master, your concubine is scared..."
Hearing the words that were originally supposed to be said by herself being said by Song Ruotang, Du Lingxuan was so angry that her face turned green. Looking down, she happened to see Song Ruotang's innocent and charming eyes. The charming look made her jealousy swell rapidly.
Her chest heaved greatly. Finally, unable to bear it anymore, she raised her hand and was about to hit Song Ruotang. "Bitch!"