Chapter 35: 35 Subduing

Since the matter involved the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce, and it was a renowned Guard Captain like Shi Yi who had died, the Shanghe County Government naturally did not show the slightest negligence.

Everyone knew that Shi Yi was at the Jin Realm Completion, and could be called a strong man.

What a great danger and hidden threat must the fierce person who could kill Shi Yi be?

Added to the fact that a disaster of village-wide annihilation had occurred in the surrounding villages, the County Magistrate, the County Lieutenant, and the Secretary—the officials from top to bottom—felt even more like they had cold blades pressed against their backs.

With everyone united in purpose, the efficiency was naturally extremely high.

They discovered the death in Zaozi Lane in the morning, and then the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce identified the body. By the afternoon, every single person in Zaozi Lane had been questioned, and everything regarding the property owners, rental documents, and whether any middleman brokers existed had been thoroughly dug up.

At the Shen hour, the County Lieutenant personally led the yamen runners and arrived directly at the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce.

The Steward came out to greet them cautiously and asked respectfully, "My Lord, has the whereabouts of that fierce person been found?"

The County Lieutenant said, "I have come precisely to investigate."

The Steward was stunned for a moment.

The County Lieutenant said coldly, "The final lessee of that murder house in Zaozi Lane is none other than your chamber's maid, Ling'er. She had only rented that property for two days when this murder case occurred; I have come specifically to ask her a few things."

"Ling'er?" The Steward was dumbfounded, then said, "Please."

Ling'er was lying on the couch, her whole body feeling both cold and hot, her heart in a state of chaos and fear.

She was terrified that this case would be traced back to her.

She was well aware of the investigative standards of those officials.

It was just muddled officials judging muddled cases.

There was no linguistic skill in their interrogations; their favorite tactics were intimidation and coercion to force a confession.

As a maid, even a maid by the Young Miss's side, she could never extricate herself from a homicide case of this level.

Even if she luckily escaped the government's side, she would not be able to escape within the chamber of commerce.

Countless people would inevitably ask her, "As a little maid, why did you secretly rent a house for Shi Yi?" And with the Young Miss's intelligence, she would certainly see through her intentions at a glance... The Young Miss would kill her!

She... was finished.

She began to worry again about whether anyone had seen her last night.

She began to worry again whether that terrifying fierce person who killed Shi Yi would also kill her along with him.

The more she thought, the more terrified she became; her face turned pale, and even breathing became difficult.

And just at this moment, the soft voice of Song Cheng's woman reached her ears.

"Are you alright, Miss Ling'er?"

She was filled with suspicion and panic, and was unable to even answer.

And just at this moment, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, followed immediately by the door being pushed open with a clatter.

Ling'er was so frightened that she dove directly into the quilt, her eyes tightly shut.

She heard Song Cheng's woman get up to greet them.

"Miss Ling'er needs rest."

"The government is investigating a case!"

As these four words fell, inside the quilt... Ling'er felt as if her heart were about to jump out of her fragile chest.

A moment later.

In the courtyard.

Miss Ling'er stood there weakly, wrapped in a thick coat.

The County Lieutenant sat on a stone stool, drinking the fragrant tea offered by the Steward, waiting silently.

Once all the maids, servants, and guards of the residence, and even the few households in the same tithing as the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce had arrived, surrounding them three layers deep, the County Lieutenant said faintly, "I need not speak of the crime of collective punishment; if there is any shielding, you will be treated as accomplices to the murderer."

The crowd was terrified and hurriedly said they would not dare, they would not dare.

The County Lieutenant sneered, fixed his gaze on Ling'er, and shouted, "Audacious maid!"

Ling'er was so frightened that her legs went soft, and she knelt down directly.

The County Lieutenant looked down at her and said coldly, "Where were you last night?"

Ling'er said, "I was in my room, I was in my room the whole time, I... I don't know, I don't know anything. It was Guard Captain Shi who wanted me to rent the house for him. He was the Guard Captain, I am just a maid, I could not refuse him..."

On the other side, the Steward also saw the rental document and said at this time, "When you rented the house, the Young Miss had not yet left, right? Why did you not inform the Young Miss?"

Ling'er cried and said, "Guard Captain Shi told me to keep it a secret. He was the Guard Captain, I am just a maid, how could I dare to refuse him?"

The Steward said, "So you deceived the Young Miss?"

Ling'er knelt on the ground, wailing loudly.

The County Lieutenant listened with narrowed eyes and suddenly said, "Were you really in your room last night?"

After speaking, he looked around at those nearby and said, "Was she really in her room last night?"

Collective responsibility and punishment was a very harsh penalty.

How could the crowd dare to hide anything? One by one, they asked each other and began to recall.

However, yesterday was a rainy day, the darkness made it hard to distinguish things, and with the sound of the wind, who would notice people walking outside? The Steward suddenly pointed to two people and said, "You two were on duty last night, did Ling'er ever go out?" One of the two guards said hurriedly, "No, absolutely not."

Another person added, "My brother was guarding the main gate, Ling'er definitely did not leave through the main gate."

The Steward thought for a moment and said, "My Lord, the walls of our chamber are high; Ling'er cannot climb over them. But there is a hidden dog hole in our residence, and one could go out through the dog hole. It is just a pity that the area around the dog hole is remote and uninhabited; if one went that way, no one would know."

The County Lieutenant said coldly, "Are there stone bricks laid beside the dog hole?"

The Steward shook his head and said, "There are not."

The County Lieutenant said, "It rained heavily yesterday, and the soil is muddy. If someone went through the dog hole, it would be impossible not to leave footprints, right? Steward, take two of my brothers to go look."

Having said that, he waved his hand and called two yamen runners.

The yamen runners stepped out and followed the Steward into the distance.

Where she stood, Ling'er felt her limbs go weak, her face turned ashen, and her brain buzzed, as if she were a dying traveler in the desert or a criminal in a wooden pillory at the execution grounds; her heart was filled with such terror and indescribable anxiety that she did not even know where she was.

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly, yet also as if it were flying by; in no time, the yamen runner returned and respectfully reported, "Sir, there are no footprints."

Ling'er:????????

The County Lieutenant asked, "Are there any signs of tampering?"

The yamen runner said, "There shouldn't be. The dog hole is quite deep, and trying to clean up tracks in the rain would only leave more traces."

The County Lieutenant nodded, then waved his hand to signal for Ling'er to rise, and after asking a few more questions, he hurried away.

The neighbors also left one after another.

The Steward glanced at Ling'er and sighed, "You just wait for the Young Miss to return."

Regarding the matter between Shi Yi and the Young Miss, how could an old hand like the Steward not understand it?

The Young Miss is an independent and strong-willed woman.

Yet Shi Yi insists on wanting to make her his captive.

There is a conflict between these two; although it has not yet become public, the old staff in the manor can all feel it.

As someone close to the Young Miss, Ling'er's involvement in this matter could be unpleasantly described as "colluding with the enemy."

However, the Steward cannot manage it either; after all, he is only the Steward of the Chamber of Commerce, not the Steward of the Young Miss.

But Ling'er is different.

As the people in the manor dispersed, Tong Niangzi helped the pitiful-looking Ling'er up.

Ling'er, feeling soul-lost, let herself be helped up and then got back onto the couch.

After a while, Tong Niangzi went out again to decoct medicine.

Ling'er is, after all, the Young Miss's personal maid, and she usually has a bit of "borrowing the tiger's might" authority in the manor; since the Young Miss has not returned yet, the Steward naturally sent people out one by one to purchase medicine to treat her illness.

The young lady's boudoir instantly became quiet.

Ling'er lay on the couch, fear in her heart, because everything that happened today had already exceeded her imagination.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

Someone walked in, bypassing the screen.

Ling'er assumed it was the Young Miss returning, and although she was curious why she had returned so early, she did not ask.

But as the movement continued, she suddenly sensed something was wrong and widened her beautiful eyes to look, only to see a youth holding apricot blossoms.

"Song Cheng, you... why did you come here?"

Ling'er asked.

Song Cheng inserted the apricot blossoms into a vase on the side and said, "After the spring rain yesterday, the apricot blossoms outside the dog hole began to bloom, so I picked two branches."

He finished arranging the flowers and smiled, "Freshly bloomed flowers always make one feel relaxed."

"Since the footprints are gone, the patient need not have any more mental burdens."

"The patient and the Young Miss have been sisters for many years; a good cry might just get you through this."

"With that, there should be no more obstacles; you should just focus on recovering."

These gentle, even polite and somewhat elegant words, falling into Ling'er's ears, made the latter feel like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; she was about to explode, her scalp tingling as she looked at the youth in terror.

The youth sat down before the couch, looked at Ling'er, then glanced at the apricot blossoms nearby, and said warmly, "Do you like them?"

Ling'er trembled as she opened her lips and said, "I... I like them."

After finishing, she added, "I like them very much."

Song Cheng ruffled her hair and said, "From now on, you are one of my own."

Ling'er nodded desperately.

She did not know if it was out of fear or reliance, but her hands tightly gripped the youth's sleeve, as if she were clutching a straw to save her life, or perhaps as if she were begging for mercy.

And her favorability rating began to climb tremblingly, reaching 90 in just a short while.

(End of this chapter)