Public hearing and observation
"How did you die?" the supervisor demanded coldly.
The young maid couldn't answer and looked to Du Shaoyou for help.
Du Shaoyou replied, "Immortal, please excuse my rudeness. The maidservant at the beginning was wicked and hanged herself after I scolded her."
"Her body has been taken back by her family, and a funeral has already been held."
Since he was so wicked, why would he stay by the lady's side to serve her? Now that he's dead, there's no way to prove it. We know he was lying, but there's nothing we can do.
The supervisor immediately sent people to investigate the truth. Qi Qian'er was still fast asleep, and everyone quietly left the room.
Du Shaoyou stood upright outside the door and bowed to the crowd.
The group took their leave.
Lin Yueyao and Song Qingyun walked side by side, and there was a moment of silence between them.
“Junior sister, I know what you’re thinking,” he said calmly. “But my brother-in-law is handsome and talented, and he treats my cousin very well. I trust his character.”
“I understand.” Lin Yueyao’s gaze sharpened.
Perhaps this brother-in-law wasn't as naive as he imagined. Lin Yueyao didn't say this aloud.
Back in his room, the night passed, and he wondered how Rong Yan was doing. Standing by the window, he saw a large crowd in the courtyard.
It was a routine questioning by the Department of Ill-fated Men.
Song Qingyun was also present. Bored with the days gone by and with the fox demon nowhere to be found, he picked up the "Question of Love" and sat down in the hall.
The plump maid, with her chubby face, recounted with great enthusiasm, "Madam and young master have a very good relationship. They've been inseparable for many years, as sweet and loving as a newlywed couple."
The supervisor listened silently, drank his tea, and waved his hand in response.
The servant immediately brought out a plate of deep-fried glutinous rice cakes, coated with syrup, their golden and crispy exteriors covered with a thick layer of brown sugar syrup, and temptingly placed in front of the plump maid.
Are you telling the truth?
The plump maid nodded frantically, her eyes constantly glancing at the food on the table.
The supervisor understood and gave his subordinates a look, who immediately rewarded the plump maid with the plate of fried snacks.
The plump maidservant, beaming with joy, carried the glutinous rice cake out the door after receiving her reward.
Another maid stood respectfully, showing she knew the proper etiquette.
The supervisor asked some irrelevant questions, unrelated to Qi Qian'er and Du Shaoyou, but rather about the food in the manor.
The maid was clearly taken aback, and cautiously replied, "We have three meals a day, with vegetables, meat, and fruits to eat."
"Have you ever been beaten? What injuries have you suffered?"
After thinking carefully, the maid shook her head, "No."
"Go down." Skim off the foam from the cup; the tea is a clear, bright green.
"Yes." The maid bowed and withdrew.
Then a thin maid came in. She looked thin and had very dark skin, not from sun exposure, but as if she was born that way.
The skin is radiant, smooth and glossy, and looks as beautiful as silk, except for its blackness.
The thin maid looked around, sizing everyone up. Compared to the cautious maid in front of her, she appeared shifty-eyed and her appearance was somewhat dull.
"Come forward," said the subordinate beside the supervisor.
The thin maidservant took a step forward in a daze and knelt on the ground.
"I ask you, what is the relationship between the lady and the young master? Have they ever had any disagreements?"
The thin maid thought for a moment and almost blurted out, "No, Madam and Young Master have never quarreled."
Never?
"No, I'm the one who mediates whenever Madam gets angry," the thin maid said with a simple smile.
"Since that's the case, it's all because you served me so well." The supervisor put down his teacup, raised an eyebrow, and placed a large bowl of fatty meat on the table.
The lean meat inside the fatty meat was removed completely, and even the pig skin was taken off.
A greasy, fatty meat dish was served to the thin maid, and her subordinate immediately said, "You told the truth, and the Supervisor will reward you with meat."
The thin maid was thin not because she wasn't eating enough, but because she was a picky eater. She wouldn't eat this or that, and she became as thin as a bamboo pole.
They especially hate meat and fish; the smell of oil makes them feel nauseous.
The thin maidservant thanked him with a wry smile after receiving a bowl of half-cooked fatty meat that had only been briefly boiled in the pot.
Then, steeling himself, he scooped a piece of dripping fatty meat from the bowl, closed his eyes, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it once, and then spat it out with a "whoosh."
The subordinate frowned. "You dare not eat? Are you lying?!"
The thin maidservant kowtowed desperately, feeling nauseous. "Immortal, spare me! I'm telling the truth. Madam and young master have a harmonious relationship, but young master is keeping a concubine outside."
"What 'little girl'? Tell the truth!" the subordinate pressed.
"Yes, it's in the brothel alley. That's all I know. I don't know anything else."
Lin Yueyao watched with a cold eye, completely absorbed in the scene.
The Department of Ill-fated People is truly adept at using both kindness and severity. With just a little effort, they easily got rid of everyone under their command.
The questioning went on until dark, and all the maids, servants, and even the manor owned by Song Qingyun were thoroughly questioned.
The servants in the manor spoke highly of Du Shaoyou, and indeed, as Song Qingyun said, he was a person of excellent character.
As for the concubines he kept, the Department of Ill-fated Women went to inquire about them early on. It just so happened that they had been redeemed and registered. When they arrived, the place was already deserted.
Ultimately, Qi Qian'er's father's death was just an accident.
The household's business had always been managed by Du Shaoyou, with clear accounts, and even the land and property had been allocated to him and Qi Qian'er.
There was absolutely no evidence to be found, except for that fox demon.
The fox demon's sudden appearance must have a reason; there must be something it's for, otherwise it wouldn't risk its life.
"Then why are you here?" Rong Yan hadn't slept all night, and his spirit sword was full of energy. Since he couldn't fly, he chatted with the spirit sword, from the sky to the ground, from the Hundred Herbs Garden to the Three Flavors Study.
We talked for ages, until our voices were hoarse.
Having talked until they were completely exhausted, Rong Yan had no choice but to turn to the fox demon sister who was recuperating nearby.
"Naturally, it's for a traitor." She sat cross-legged, slowly opening her eyes.
"Traitor? What did she do?" Rong Yan's droopy eyelids snapped open, his eyes brimming with gossip.
"She is actually my fellow disciple, and also my junior sister," the fox demon said casually, stretching, rubbing her numb legs, twisting her stiff neck, and revealing her fair neck.
"Junior Sister was picked up by the Sect Master by chance. The day the Sect Master saw her, it was snowing heavily. She was lying in the snow, and she was frozen stiff." The fox demon spoke slowly, with a look of heartache on her face. "Her hands were frozen blue and purple, her hair was frozen into icicles, and her face was scratched. Blood froze into icicles on her face. She was only half alive."
"The sect leader took pity on her and brought her back to the sect."
At this point, Rong Yan suddenly felt thirsty and offered him a berry.
The juice was sweet, and it made a crisp sound in the fox demon's mouth.
"She is the youngest junior sister in the sect. She is sensible, obedient, and self-reliant. She said she lost her parents and only knows her own name."
Just like him, Rong Yan pursed his lips slightly.
"Everyone feels sorry for her. Junior Sister is well-behaved, and the Sect Master likes her very much."
The fox demon's tone slowly changed, tinged with anger, "Once when she went down the mountain, my junior sister met a man, and after a while, the two of them fell for each other."
“We knew about the secret correspondence and warned her not to associate with this person.” She sneered, somewhat disappointed. “Not only did our junior sister not listen, she also scolded us all.”
A dog bites Lü Dongbin, failing to recognize a kind heart.
Rong Yan listened silently throughout, and occasionally, when he got excited, he would hand the fox demon a clean handkerchief so she could wipe away the sweat that was beading on her skin.
"When the sect leader learned of this, he forcibly severed the connection between the two."
"Junior Sister has locked herself in her room, neither eating nor drinking, torturing herself." The fox demon chuckled in exasperation, her handkerchief crumpling in her handkerchief.
"To be so desperate for a man, how foolish."
"What if it's true love?" Rong Yan couldn't help but ask.
"You don't know anything." The fox demon rolled her eyes at her. "A man, penniless and unremarkable, is called true love just because of a few words?"
Saying things like "one love for life, one partner forever," "the world changes, the sea dries up and the rocks crumble," is just empty talk. As long as it's detached from reality, anything can be said.
Rong Yan choked. These things were too far removed from him, still in their infancy. He only knew that having his senior sister by his side was enough.
"And then what happened?"
"Later, when no one was looking, the junior sister slipped down the mountain and eloped with a man."
"And then what?" Rong Yan couldn't help but ask.
The fox demon sneered, "At first, everyone pretended not to know when Junior Sister ran away. Later, we heard that the man married a beautiful wife, possessed a vast fortune, and his wife was young, beautiful, and pregnant. As for Junior Sister, she was treated like a slave by the man's side, and even though she was pregnant, she could only live like a rat."
"That man is a complete scoundrel," Rong Yan said, clenching his fists in indignation.
The fox spirit cast an approving glance at him and gently stroked his head.
Finally, I don't have to get beaten up anymore.
The sect leader was furious upon learning this. The fox demon slowly raised her head. "The sect leader's meaning is that we can refrain from interfering in the disciples' private affairs, but we absolutely will not allow women to throw themselves at others."
We must bring this person back to the sect and deal with them accordingly.
As darkness fell, our conversation ended, and we grew hungry.
Set up a pot and boil water. Scale the fish, cut open the belly, and squeeze out the intestines, heart, and lungs. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Pour water into the pot, add shiitake mushrooms, tofu, goji berries, and red dates. A pot of nourishing fish soup is ready to be served.
The aroma filled the air as the human and the demon happily drank the fish soup. The spirit sword above them curiously observed them, staring at the boiling white soup in the pot, wanting to drink it but unable to taste it.
He fell to the ground with a thud and rolled around in pain.
Rong Yan deliberately left it to its own devices, slowly sipping his fish soup.
As the fox demon drank, her expression changed, the soup bowl fell off, and the fish soup spilled all over the floor.
She clutched her stomach, her face contorted in pain, which startled Rong Yan, who quickly stood up. "What's wrong?"
Did he put something in the wrong place?
"My tail...it hurts so much..."
"Your tail?" Rong Yan stepped forward to support her. "What happened to your tail?"
"My tail is looking for me..." The fox demon's face turned deathly pale with pain.
The severed tail was her favorite part, the one she dressed up the best, and it possessed profound power, capable of delivering a fatal blow in a critical moment.
When her identity was exposed in the villa, the young man drew his bow and arrow and shot off her tail.
She was determined to avenge this!
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