Gu Xin summoned the head steward of the Prince's mansion.
"Butler, do you know what kind of spices the old lady, the madam, the young mistress, and the maids use?" Gu Xin asked directly after the person arrived.
"Your Highness, all the spices in the manor are purchased from the Gu sisters' shop. We've been using their incense since the middle of last year," the steward replied, glancing cautiously at Gu Xin.
"So the people from the manor didn't bring their own incense to Hongyuan Temple this time, did they?" Gu Xin paused for a moment, then said.
Although she hadn't managed her sisters' businesses for several years, she knew about all the new products the Gu sisters had released over the years, and had even smelled them. She had a good memory; she could still recognize the products made by her own family.
After hearing her say that, the steward was no longer sure. After all, everyone who came this time had died. Although he was the steward, he couldn't possibly ask every single detail about what spices his master wanted to bring.
Since the steward was unsure, Gu Xin had no choice but to send someone to question the abbot. Soon, a young novice monk was brought over, trembling with fear.
"Little monk, what kind of incense did you give to the deceased? And to whom?" Gu Xin asked.
"Your Highness, yesterday afternoon, Ping'er, a maid from the Prince's residence, asked me for some insect-repelling incense. I gave her the incense that the temple usually uses; it's homemade and all my fellow monks use it," the young novice monk replied softly.
"Is it just the insect repellent scent?" Gu Xin asked again.
"Yes, yes, this humble monk gave Benefactor Ping'er several pills. If you use them in each room, light one in the afternoon and one before going to sleep at night. They should last until dawn today," the young novice monk replied.
"He Gang, bring over all the things for the three maids." Gu Xin asked He Gang, who was standing to the side, to fetch the things.
A short while later, He Gang brought the things over.
Gu Xin found the incense inside and asked the young novice monk to identify it. It was easy to identify; even without the young novice monk, others could recognize it.
The young novice scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"What's wrong? Is the quantity wrong?" Gu Xin asked.
“Yes, yes. Princess, this humble monk gave benefactor Ping’er ten pills in total, but, this, this is only eight. That shouldn’t be the case! If they used them in the afternoon and didn’t have time to use them in the evening, there should still be five pills left,” the young novice monk said.
"Only three rooms had incense lit. In the room where you mentioned benefactor Ping'er was staying, someone happened to want to light some, but it burned out before they could. Are you sure you only gave ten insect repellent sticks? And didn't give any other incense?" Gu Xin asked.
The young novice monk looked at Gu Xin with a blank expression, then nodded and shook his head: "This humble monk only gave me insect repellent incense. Besides insect repellent incense, the temple also has calming incense, and then there's the incense that's usually burned in the main hall. There's no other incense."
Gu Xin then asked, "Yesterday, who among you had contact with the Wang family? Regardless of what you did, as long as you spoke to them or even just bumped into them, that counts."
The young novice monk said, "I only met and spoke with Benefactor Ping'er after my midday prayers. I haven't encountered any of the Wang family's benefactors at other times. I only saw them from afar when they first arrived."
Gu Xin nodded and said, "Lord Xu, I'll have to trouble you to have the abbot pass on the message that all the monks in the temple who spoke with the Wang family yesterday should come over. I need to ask them again."
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