"Someone's drowned!"
"Help!"
"Where? Hurry!"
"Save the person quickly!"
The sudden hubbub made Bai Haoyu and Liu Rumei's faces change instantly. They quickened their steps involuntarily.
"Ah, it's a dead body!"
"She's dead!"
"Isn't this Qingzhu from Qinglan Courtyard? How could she drown in this pond?"
"Goodness!"
"Go and inform the mistress quickly!"
"Sister Qingzhu!"
"The young master is coming! Make way quickly!"
"Young master, Qingzhu is dead!"
Hearing the chattering voices, a look of impatience flashed across Bai Haoyu's eyes. He said unhappily, "Get out of the way for this young master!"
Liu Rumei, however, rushed forward quickly. When she came to the corpse and saw the body that had turned pale and swollen after being soaked in water, she frowned slightly. "The time of death was probably more than twelve hours ago!"
Hearing this, everyone's hearts skipped a beat. More than twelve hours ago?
"Young master, who is this young lady?"
Bai Haoyu said calmly, "This is Miss Liu. Why was Qingzhu's body only discovered today?"
The maid beside him nodded respectfully. "Reporting to the young master, after Concubine Lian passed away, there was no one else in Qinglan Courtyard except Qingzhu. The mistress had assigned all the people from Qinglan Courtyard to other yards, leaving only Qingzhu. Today, this maid came to deliver something to Qingzhu, but couldn't find her after searching around. Finally, I found her in this pond."
Liu Rumei pursed her lips, and a hint of frost appeared in her eyes. It was obvious that Qingzhu's body had been soaked in the pond for a long time. There were already some bluish - purple marks on her body when she was pulled out.
"She drowned!"
Looking at the pale - soaked body, Bai Haoyu felt nauseous and a bit scared. Watching Liu Rumei examining the body, he couldn't help swallowing. All the women he had met before were delicate. This was the first time he had seen someone like this!
After examining for a while, Liu Rumei only came to the same conclusion as before. She said to Bai Haoyu, "Could I trouble Young Master Bai to send this body to the coroner's office? I need to conduct a further examination."
She had thought that nothing would happen today, but unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped into the Bai Mansion, the Bai family had given her such a "surprise"! The Bai family was really interesting!
Bai Haoyu nodded repeatedly and said to the servant beside him, "Did you all hear that?"
"This servant will send it there right away!"
Liu Rumei nodded indifferently. Looking at the courtyard in front of her, she said calmly, "Is this the courtyard where Concubine Lian used to live?"
Bai Haoyu nodded. He shifted his gaze away from the body and said to Liu Rumei, "Miss Liu, please follow me!"
Liu Rumei nodded and followed Bai Haoyu away.
The others were left looking puzzled. "Who is this Miss Liu?"
How could she make their usually arrogant young master so obedient?
"This Miss Liu has an extraordinary background. I heard that she works for the Prince of Guoan and has solved several major cases!"
"I've also heard that she was the one who solved the case in the palace before!"
"No wonder. But what is someone from the Prince of Guoan's mansion doing in our Bai family?"
"Exactly! I also heard a rumor that Miss Pingting was scared crazy by her pretending to be a ghost!"
"How dare she come to the Bai Mansion? Isn't she afraid that the master will settle the score with her?"
"She has the backing of the Prince of Guoan's mansion. Maybe even the master has to be a bit afraid of her!"
"..."
Liu Rumei followed Bai Haoyu into a room. When they pushed the door open, everything in the room was in sight.
"This was the room where Concubine Lian used to live. When she was found, she was lying on the bed, as if she was asleep!"
Thinking of that beautiful woman, Bai Haoyu felt quite sorry.
Liu Rumei frowned tightly. "As if she was asleep?"
Bai Haoyu nodded. "Yes. That day, Father stayed in Mother's courtyard. The maid found her the next morning. Yes, it was the Qingzhu who just died! No matter how they called her, she wouldn't wake up. Only after checking her breath did they find that she was dead."
Liu Rumei's eyes were full of contemplation. As if she was asleep? Could it be some kind of poison? Now that the body was nowhere to be found, there was no way for her to investigate.
She looked around the room and shook her head helplessly. "Has this room been cleaned by someone?"
Bai Haoyu nodded while fanning himself with the folding fan in his hand. "Naturally. After Concubine Lian died, this room had to be cleaned up!"
Since Liu Rumei didn't find any clues, she turned around and came to the door. As she turned her head, she saw a pot of azaleas placed in front of the window. They were blooming very well. She couldn't help sighing dejectedly. Her eyes were full of helplessness. If she couldn't find any clues from Qingzhu's body, this case would really be difficult. Ning Yan'er had really given her a difficult problem!
Qingzhu was the first person to find Lian Rui's death. Maybe she could still know something from her. But now that this person was also dead, it was too much of a coincidence!
Who on earth had Lian Rui offended?
Just as she was thinking, a person came in from outside the door. Who else could it be but Bai Hanfei, the master of the Bai family?
Bai Hanfei saw Liu Rumei standing leisurely in front of the window. A hint of coldness flashed across his eyes.
Bai Haoyu rushed forward quickly and bowed respectfully. "Father."
Bai Hanfei nodded indifferently. His cold eyes were fixed directly on Liu Rumei. His tone was also full of dislike. "What brings Miss Liu to the Bai Mansion?"
Liu Rumei naturally knew that Bai Hanfei didn't like her. She didn't try to please him. She said calmly, "I'm here to investigate a case!"
Hearing this, Bai Hanfei gave Bai Haoyu a cold look. His eyes were full of frost. "There's no case to investigate in the Bai family. Miss Liu, please leave!"
Seeing Bai Hanfei being so impolite, Bai Haoyu couldn't help frowning. Didn't Father want to know why Concubine Lian had died?
Looking at the gloomy Bai Hanfei, Bai Haoyu could only grit his teeth and say, "Father, Miss Liu was invited by Princess Anning and Jin Mian!"
He clearly knew Miss Liu's abilities! She could even find out who the real culprit was!
Bai Hanfei snorted. "Meddling!"
He hadn't even gone to the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion to cause trouble, but now the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion was interfering in the affairs of the Bai family. It was really ridiculous!
Seeing this, Bai Haoyu didn't know what to say for a moment. He could only give Liu Rumei an apologetic smile. "Miss Liu, there are many inconveniences in the mansion today. How about you come another day?"
Judging from Father's attitude, he wasn't going to change his mind!
Liu Rumei naturally understood what Bai Hanfei meant and didn't care. She said calmly, "In that case, I'll take my leave."
Bai Haoyu instantly felt relieved. He bowed to Bai Hanfei and said, "Father, I'll see Miss Liu off!"
Bai Hanfei nodded with a cold face.