The maid who spoke was Xia Yu, one of the four senior maids. Zhen Shicheng's attitude gave her the courage to say, "The day before yesterday at noon, I went into the room to serve Madam, and unexpectedly found Qiulu's eyes were red, as if she had been crying..."

"So, maybe Madam Bo has scolded Qiulu?" Zhen Shicheng guessed.

"Impossible!" Xie Qingyao was quite excited, "My mother has always been kind to them. I have never seen her get angry with them!"

After hearing what Xie Qingyao said, Xia Yu lowered his head and dared not say another word.

Zhen Shicheng was quite helpless: "Miss Xie, you'd better not interrupt me when I'm asking questions. Your emotions will affect them. Right now, nothing is more important than finding out the truth, don't you think?"

Xie Qingyao bit her lip and her eyes gradually turned red.

Her mother died in such a tragic way, and she might also be accused of mistreating servants. How could she not be upset? But Lord Zhen was right. The truth was the most important thing. Only the truth would put an end to outsiders' wild speculations about her mother.

"Xia Yu, do you think Mrs. Bo will scold Qiu Lu?" Zhen Shicheng asked again.

Xia Yu hesitated.

Zhen Shicheng glanced at Xie Qingyao.

Xie Qingyao understood and said gently, "Xia Yu, as long as what you say is true, no one will blame you."

Xia Yu raised his head, looking somewhat bewildered: "Just as the eldest girl said, the Madam has always been kind to us and has hardly ever spoken loudly to us. But the day before yesterday——"

Xia Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Looking at Qiulu's appearance the other day, it seemed like she really had been scolded—"

"After you went in, did Madam Bo say anything to Qiu Lu?"

"Madam, please let Qiulu go down."

“How is the tone different from before?”

"The lady was a little cold at the time. Qiulu lowered her head and hurried out."

Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard.

Would the maidservant who was reprimanded hold a grudge against the mistress and kill her? Would she commit suicide by jumping into the lotus pond after knowing that she could not escape the death penalty?

The female coroner came forward to report: "Sir, there is mud and sand in the mouth and nose of the deceased. The preliminary diagnosis is that he drowned, not fell into the water after death..."

Zhen Shicheng nodded and said to Earl Yongchang, "There are two possibilities. Qiulu committed suicide by drowning, or someone pushed her into the water. I noticed that the lotus pond is not far from where people live. If Qiulu was pushed into the water, someone should have heard her screaming for help."

"Did anyone of you hear anything in the garden last night?" Earl Yongchang asked the servants in the backyard.

At night, the door leading from the front yard to the back yard would be locked, and the only people who could hear the noise were those in the back yard.

No one answered Earl Yongchang's words.

These people may not have heard what was happening, or they may have heard it but did not want to cause trouble. Even the head of the family could not pry open everyone's mouth.

"Lord Zhen, if Qiulu was already unconscious when she fell into the water, she would not have been able to cry for help, right?" Jiang Si said.

Zhen Shicheng glanced at the female coroner.

The female coroner said: "There is also mud and seaweed in the cracks between the victim's fingernails. This shows that the victim struggled after falling into the water. She should have been conscious at the time."

Jiang Si looked at the female coroner seriously.

The female coroner was about the same age as her, with black hair wrapped in a plain cloth. She was a pretty and neat girl.

Seeing Jiang Si looking over, the female coroner smiled at her.

Jiang Si immediately took a liking to him.

She admired all women who made a living by their own abilities. Although being a coroner was a menial job in the eyes of the world, it was admirable for a girl to be able to do it so well.

Jiang Sihui smiled.

The female coroner seemed to have not expected that the girl from Xungui's family did not show any strange look towards her. She was slightly stunned and then lowered her eyes embarrassedly.

"Who else is in Qiulu's family?"

"There are my mother, my brother and his wife, and a younger sister," said the steward.

The doorman suddenly said, "Qiu Lu's sister came to see Qiu Lu yesterday, and then Qiu Lu hurriedly left with her sister."

"Uh, how long will you be out for?"

The servant thought for a moment and said, "It will probably take about half an hour. Qiulu is a family child, and her family lives in the alley to the north of the Bo's Mansion."

"Will anything be different when Qiulu comes back?"

"He has a sullen face and seems to be in a bad mood." said the disciple.

"Since Qiulu is a family-born child, her brother, sister-in-law and younger sister are all working in the mansion, right?" Zhen Shicheng asked again.

The steward said hurriedly, "Qiulu's brother is a lazy guy. He quit working in the mansion because he was tired of the hard work. Her sister-in-law gave birth to three children in a row and couldn't go out to work. Her sister is a second-class maid in the mansion. Because my mother was sick, she took leave and went back to serve her. Alas, Qiulu is the most promising one in this family..."

Zhen Shicheng then understood that Qiulu's entire family depended on Qiulu for support.

"Master, please send someone to notify Qiulu and her family to come over."

Before Earl Yongchang could send anyone to call out, loud cries could be heard from far away.

"Qiu Lu, how could you be so cruel and leave--" Several people quickly came over, and the one crying the loudest was a woman in her thirties.

The steward whispered to Zhen Shicheng: "That's Qiu Lu's sister-in-law."

"Uncle, Qiulu has served the madam for a long time, she can't leave in such a miserable way." The woman cried to Earl Yongchang.

Yongchang Bo was furious when he heard this and shouted, "Shut up!"

The servants shook their heads secretly, and the one closest to the woman whispered, "The lady has passed away."

The woman shuddered and looked at Earl Yongchang with a frightened face.

The bastard had gone out to gamble with the money early in the morning. She was so busy taking care of her three children that she didn't even have time to go out for a breath of fresh air. If someone hadn't come and told her that her sister-in-law was gone, she would have known nothing.

How could the madam suddenly pass away?

What a bad luck! I thought I could get some money from Madam after Qiulu died, but now I have nothing...

"Sister Qiulu, what did you do when you returned home yesterday?" Zhen Shicheng asked.

The woman looked at Zhen Shicheng.

"This is Lord Zhen, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. Just answer whatever he asks you!" said Earl Yongchang.

"Oh, why do you ask that, sir? Hasn't our Qiulu already--"

Zhen Shicheng was very experienced and knew that he couldn't be polite to such a woman. He said with a straight face, "Mrs. Bo was murdered, and Qiulu was supposed to be on duty last night, but was found dead in the lotus pond. If you don't explain it in detail, then Qiulu is likely to be the murderer who killed Mrs. Bo and committed suicide out of fear of punishment. By then-"

The woman was so frightened that her legs went limp. "Sir, Qiulu couldn't possibly have killed Madam. Yesterday...yesterday when Mother-in-law was dying, I asked Caizhu to come and get Qiulu back."

The woman said as she pulled the girl standing nearby and pushed her in front of Zhen Shicheng: "Caizhu, please tell this old man if this is the case."

The girl named Caizhu looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. Her eyes were red and tears were in the corners of her eyes. She fell to the ground after being pushed by the woman.

The girl didn't cry out in pain, nor did she rush to get up. Instead, she slightly raised her head and looked at Zhen Shicheng, biting her lip and saying, "My sister wouldn't kill anyone. She, she was forced to death by my brother and sister-in-law!"