Chapter 348: Chapter 348: A Pot of Flower Tea
Ye Chutang’s red lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Hanging herself in the dead of night, and not a single person noticed anything unusual. If you ask me, the first people to suspect should be those in this courtyard!"
Just as Ye Shixian was about to speak, she saw Zhang Qian nod thoughtfully. "There’s some truth to that. Although a letter was left behind in blood, it can’t be considered ’ironclad evidence.’ After all, if someone was determined, they could write not just one of those, but ten."
Ye Shixian grew frantic. "Lord Zhang! What do you mean by that? The blood letter clearly states Ye Chutang’s name! If it wasn’t her, who else could it be?!"
Zhang Qian frowned, his voice stern. "Forging suicide notes has happened in past cases. It’s not uncommon. Since you were the one who reported this to the authorities, I assume you want this matter thoroughly investigated. How can you jump to such a rash conclusion?"
Ye Shixian was struck speechless, a knot of frustration tightening in her chest.
’It’s not like *I* wanted to report this! Ye Chutang clearly forced me to!’
’I knew from the start that things would get incredibly complicated once the government got involved. And I was right!’
But it was too late to say any of that now.
Zhang Qian’s gaze swept around the room. "Was there anything unusual about Mrs. Gao’s food or drink yesterday?"
A young maid answered, trembling, "N-no... After dinner last night, Madam returned to her room to rest not long after."
Ye Chutang looked at Zhang Qian. "Lord Zhang, I would like to examine Mrs. Gao’s body."
Ye Shixian immediately shrieked in protest, "You dare!"
Zhang Qian hesitated as well. "Th-that’s not exactly appropriate, is it?"
Mrs. Gao’s death had been gruesome. An ordinary person would surely find the sight unbearable, to say nothing of Ye Chutang, who might be connected to her death.
As if sensing his thoughts, Ye Chutang said, "Rest assured, Lord Zhang, I mean no offense. I just want to take a look. I know a little about medicine, and I have performed autopsies before."
Only then did Zhang Qian recall the rumors about Ye Chutang.
This was the young woman who had returned from Jiangling, the one who had supported her younger siblings with her excellent medical skills and brought them back to the Capital City!
But Ye Shixian was completely against it. Her expression turned somewhat savage. "Who knows what you plan to do to my mother! I’ll die here today before I let you touch her!"
Zhang Qian was caught in a dilemma.
Ye Chutang took a step back. "In that case, I’d like to ask this gentleman a few questions. Surely that’s acceptable?"
As she spoke, she pointed to the forensic doctor responsible for the examination.
Zhang Qian let out a breath of relief. That would be much simpler. "You may."
Ye Chutang looked at the man and asked, "From what I can see of the ligature mark on Mrs. Gao’s neck, there seem to be signs of a struggle?"
She had only caught a hurried glimpse when she first came in and hadn’t been able to get a closer look, but she had still noticed something.
The forensic doctor was taken aback. "It seems... it seems there are some red marks... But they’re very faint. It’s possible they were caused by friction during the hanging."
Ye Chutang asked again, "Then is there any blood under her fingernails?"
The forensic doctor shook his head. "No, none. There’s only a cut on her left index finger, which is stained with a bit of blood. However..."
He frowned. "Perhaps she pressed too hard when writing the blood letter, and her fingernail split."
Ye Chutang narrowed her eyes. "Just for those few words, it would cause that?"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Zhang Qian’s expression changed. "Why didn’t you mention this just now?"
The forensic doctor also realized his dereliction of duty, sweat beading on his forehead. "My lord, forgive me! I was negligent!"
Zhang Qian didn’t speak. He walked over to Mrs. Gao’s body again and picked up the white silk cloth she had used to hang herself.
Because there was blood on Mrs. Gao’s hand, the cloth was also stained with it. This in itself didn’t prove anything.
But soon, amidst the dried, dark red bloodstains, Zhang Qian saw a snagged thread.
After comparing it, he finally confirmed that this was the mark left by Mrs. Gao!
"She must have struggled violently before her death, or this wouldn’t have happened." Zhang Qian’s face was grim as he spoke, word by word, turning his gaze back to the maid who had been questioned.
"Tell me again, are you certain you heard no commotion last night!?"
His deep shout was so forceful that the maid could barely lift her head, her face as pale as a ghost’s.
She knelt on the floor, begging desperately for mercy and crying out, "My lord! My lord! This servant truly doesn’t know! I really didn’t hear anything! Yesterday... yesterday, for some reason, this servant was exceptionally tired and just fell asleep. When I woke up, I found that something had happened to Madam! This servant is at fault! But... but this servant really has no idea what happened last night!"
The moment Zhang Qian found the snagged thread on the white cloth, Ye Shixian froze, her mind a complete blank.
The maid crawled on her knees to Ye Shixian’s side, grabbing the hem of her dress and pleading pitifully, "Miss! This servant has been wrongly accused! It was my fault for being momentarily negligent, but I absolutely did not harm Madam!"
Ye Shixian seemed to snap back to her senses. She kicked at the maid’s hand on her dress and cursed hatefully, "You worthless wench! If you had paid more attention last night, you would have noticed something was wrong with Mother! For all we know, she might have changed her mind and wanted to live, but she died because of you, you wretched thing!"
The maid was kicked to the ground, her face streaked with tears.
As if still not satisfied, Ye Shixian moved to strike her again, but Shaoyao quickly held her back. "Miss! It’s too late to say all this now. You must take care of yourself! It’s not worth harming your own health over a worthless wench like her!"
As she spoke, she stepped forward herself and slapped the maid hard across the face.
"If I’d known you were so lazy, I would have sold you off long ago!"
"Enough," Zhang Qian said coldly. "The case hasn’t been settled yet. This brawling is completely unseemly!"
Shaoyao shivered, finally restrained herself, and retreated to Ye Shixian’s side.
Ye Shixian said no more, only crying ceaselessly.
Ye Yunfeng let out a derisive snort. "Not tired before, not tired after, but suddenly so exhausted you slept like the dead right when something happened to Mrs. Gao. What a coincidence."
Zhang Qian turned to the maid and asked, "What did you eat and drink yesterday?"
The maid sobbed. "Th-this servant ate the same thing as everyone else... Oh, wait!"
As if suddenly remembering something, she looked up and said timidly, "Th-there was one other thing... Madam brewed a pot of flower tea in the afternoon, but she only drank two sips and didn’t have any more. I... this servant got thirsty while working later, and when Madam told me to clear the tea away, I... I secretly took a sip..."
She kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead hitting the floor with a THUD, THUD, THUD. "This servant wasn’t thinking much at the time. I’d only heard that the tea was extremely expensive, a rare treasure, so I gave in to a moment of greed and secretly drank some. This servant knows her mistake!"
Zhang Qian asked coldly, "What kind of flower tea?"
The maid cried, "This servant doesn’t know either. I only know that... that it was a gift from Mr. Murong. I heard that one tael costs one hundred silver taels, so it’s incredibly precious. Th-that’s why I..."
Ye Chutang’s gaze swept impassively over the maid before finally landing on Ye Shixian. Then, she asked slowly,
"That pot of flower tea—where is it now?"
