The woman was stunned at first, as if she didn't expect Caizhu to say such a thing, but then she reacted and hit Caizhu: "What are you talking about, you ungrateful bastard!"

"Stop!" Zhen Shicheng frowned and shouted, and immediately the bailiffs stopped the woman.

The woman was still threatening: "I've provided you with food and drink, and you still say this? Do you still have a conscience?"

Caizhu sat on the ground and cried, "It was my sister who provided me with food and drink, not you!"

"You're still talking! You heartless little bitch, have you forgotten your mother?"

Caizhu paused, covered her face and cried, "Anyway, my mother will die soon, I, I have nothing to be afraid of——"

She kowtowed to Zhen Shicheng while crying: "Sir, I have heard about you. You brought the son of Marquis Changxing to justice. You are a great and just official. Please help my sister. Don't let my sister die and suffer an unjust crime—"

The woman became more and more angry: "Little hoof, just wait for me, I will punish you when I get back!"

"Shut her mouth." Zhen Shicheng ordered calmly.

As the towel was stuffed into the woman's mouth, the scene suddenly became quiet, and only the girl's soft crying could be heard.

Zhen Shicheng sighed and helped Caizhu up himself: "I will not let a bad person go, and I will not wrongly accuse a good person. Little girl, don't cry, tell me about your sister."

"Yes." Caizhu wiped her tears and looked at the woman resolutely.

The woman was speechless, her eyes were wide open, full of threat.

Caizhu simply stopped looking at her and sniffed, "In fact, everyone in the mansion knows that my sister is the only one working in our family. All the food, drink, and expenses, including the money for mother's medical treatment, are given by my sister. I originally thought that I would return to the mansion to work when mother's health got better, but who would have thought that mother's health was getting worse day by day. She even fell into a coma five days ago. We asked a doctor to see her and said that a large sum of money would be needed for her recuperation. After my sister found out, she brought the money not long after—"

"How much is the money?" Zhen Shicheng asked.

Generally speaking, there are only three reasons for murder: revenge, money or love. Killing someone randomly is extremely rare and is not common sense.

"There are fifty taels of silver."

"How much moon silver does Qiulu have?"

The steward immediately said, "Qiu Lu is the head maid who serves the Madam. She is the second-best servant among the servants, with a monthly salary of two and a half taels."

"Two and a half taels, not less." Zhen Shicheng said lightly.

For an ordinary family, a few taels of silver are enough to cover expenses for most of half a year.

"But since Qiulu has to support a family, she probably doesn't have much savings. Where did the fifty taels come from?"

Caizhu's face flushed red, and she trembled as she said, "My sister didn't tell us at the time. She just asked us to take it to help mother recover, but——"

At this point, Caizhu looked at the woman with hatred and cried, "But yesterday, my mother suddenly vomited blood. I hurried to find my sister and went back. Under her questioning, I found out that my brother and sister-in-law didn't use the money to buy medicine for my mother. The medicine I fed my mother was just something they used to make up for it."

“Wuwuwu—” Upon hearing this, the woman struggled desperately.

"Take the cloth out of her mouth." Zhen Shicheng ordered.

As soon as the woman's mouth was freed, she immediately cried and said, "It's unfair, sir, not a penny of that money was spent on me. That bastard took it all to pay off his gambling debts—"

Zhen Shicheng patiently listened to the woman scolding the man for a whole cup of tea, and he had an idea of ​​what kind of person Qiulu's brother was.

A pile of gambling scum.

"How did your sister react when she found out about this?"

"My sister hugged mother and cried bitterly, but... mother said that she knew about this and it was she who agreed to let my brother take the money. My sister became even more sad when she heard it, and she ran out crying--" At this point, Caizhu choked up and couldn't speak.

"You haven't seen your sister since then?"

Caizhu suddenly raised her head and looked straight at Zhen Shicheng: "No, I chased him out."

Zhen Shicheng's heart moved.

Based on experience, the little girl in front of me probably knows something.

He did not urge her, but looked at Caizhu with gentle eyes.

Caizhu bit her lip and said, "I've never seen my sister so sad. She has always been the pillar of the family. It was her decision that I took a long vacation to go back and take care of my mother. I always remember that my sister told me that as long as she was there, the difficulties at home would definitely pass. But yesterday my sister cried so desperately. Maybe she was too sad at the time. After I asked her, she finally told me the reason."

Caizhu couldn't help but look at Earl Yongchang as she spoke.

Yongchang Bo sighed and said, "You tell me, my wife and I have always been clear about right and wrong."

"My elder sister said that she secretly took the fifty taels of silver from the lady's dressing box. She had intended to use it to solve the immediate problem first and then slowly make up for it. However, the lady suddenly wanted to find a jade-inlaid jade swing that she had worn many years ago, and she found out that she had stolen the silver. The lady asked why my elder sister stole the silver and did not pursue the money, but told my elder sister that she could no longer stay with her. The lady was kind and said that my elder sister had been with her for many years, and it would be difficult to send her away suddenly, so she kept my elder sister for a few more days and found a suitable person for her to marry off."

"If that's the case, why do you say your brother and sister-in-law forced your sister to death?"

Caizhu laughed miserably: "My sister has always been proud of serving the Madam, but she secretly took the Madam's money for my mother. It would have been fine if my mother had used the money to recover, but in the end, the money was used by my brother to pay off his gambling debts, and my sister and I were kept in the dark. My mother even said that it was she who decided to give it to my brother... At that time, my sister said that if she had known this would happen, why would she do such a heartless thing? Not only did she lose her job, but my mother couldn't save her, and most importantly, she let down the Madam's kindness, so she might as well die. I thought my sister was just saying it out of anger, but who would have thought that my sister really did something stupid..."

Zhen Shicheng looked at the Earl of Yongchang and asked, "Does the Earl's wife usually leave a maid to watch the night?"

Earl Yongchang nodded.

"So, it was only last night that Madam Bo sent Qiulu away." Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard and sighed, "The money Qiulu stole was squandered by her brother, and her mother was seriously ill and vomiting blood but she was devoted to her son. After that, Madam Bo obviously didn't want to get close to her anymore. So it makes sense that she committed suicide out of frustration."

Everyone was silent, with only one thought in their mind: Caizhu was right, Qiulu was indeed forced to death by her brother and sister-in-law. To be more precise, it was also her mother who forced Qiulu to death.

"Since Qiulu committed suicide out of shame, who was the one who killed my mother?" Xie Qingyao murmured.

Zhen Shicheng was not discouraged.

This is the case with many cases. The clues that emerge turn out to be unrelated in the end. But this does not mean that the work is in vain. If you peel off the clues, the truth will always come to light.

"Lord Zhen, since there was no one in the closet at sunset yesterday, does that mean the murderer is among those people in the inner courtyard of the Bo Mansion?" Jiang Si suddenly asked.