Jiang Si carefully sorted out the key points.

The tragic death of the wife of the Earl of Yongchang, the husband sleeping beside her, the strange fragrance in the wardrobe, the maid who drowned herself, the concubine who burned paper money...

It all seems like a mess. When you don't find the goal along the path you have chosen, you suddenly become confused.

But soon Jiang Si made up his mind.

No matter how deep the murderer hides, the strange fragrance on the hair cannot be removed. Since she did not find anyone with the strange fragrance among these people, it can only mean that the person is not among these people.

Zhen Shicheng thought of the same thing.

In his opinion, as long as one has been to the scene, there will definitely be traces left, and there is no such thing as a perfect murder case.

Is that person not among these people?

Zhen Shicheng took out the list from his sleeve and looked at it again. The list clearly stated that there were seventy-two people in the rear house.

There are only four masters in the Bo Mansion, but the number of people maintaining the operation of the Bo Mansion’s backyard is dozens of times that number. This number is only normal in a noble family.

Zhen Shicheng called over a subordinate and whispered a few words to him.

This subordinate was good at counting. After hearing Zhen Shicheng's instructions, he quickly glanced at the crowd in the courtyard. After about a cup of tea, he whispered in Zhen Shicheng's ear: "Sir, not counting the Earl of Yongchang and others, there are a total of seventy people here."

Zhen Shicheng's eyes tightened.

Two people are missing!

Jiang Si saw Zhen Shicheng's expression change. Although she didn't know what had happened, she understood that he must have made a discovery. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear it, so she could only wait for Lord Zhen to reveal the answer.

"Steward, I have one more question, are all the people in the back house here?"

The steward was a little nervous because of Zhen Shicheng's seriousness, and said anxiously: "Everyone is here."

They counted these people several times and even sent people to call back those who had taken leave. Could something have gone wrong?

Zhen Shicheng slapped the cover of the directory and sneered, "There are seventy-two people listed in the directory, but only seventy showed up. Where are the other two?"

The steward was stunned by the question.

Zhen Shicheng didn't give the steward a chance to think about it, and shouted, "You didn't report that two people were missing. Are you protecting the murderer?"

The steward was so frightened that his face turned pale. He bowed and said, "Sir, it is unjust. Even if I had a hundred courages, I would not dare to protect the murderer!"

"Then tell me, who are these two missing people?"

The steward couldn't help but look at a woman.

The old woman was in charge of the backyard, and was considered the internal manager. When she was looked at like this, she broke into a sweat and said hurriedly, "Sir, the servants from all the courtyards in the backyard are here, except for two people left in the inner kitchen—"

"Two people were left in the inner kitchen?" Zhen Shicheng was moved when he heard this, and his face was extremely serious. "I have repeatedly emphasized that everyone should gather here, why didn't you tell me that two people were left?"

The housekeeper turned pale with fear: "Sir, I didn't mean to hide it. How can we leave the inner kitchen without people? We have to prepare food and drink for the masters, and also prepare things for worshiping the lady... There were originally six people in the inner kitchen, and leaving only two is the minimum."

"Stupid! Why don't you call those two people over!" Earl Yongchang flew into a rage when he heard the housekeeper mention his wife.

At this hour, these idiots are still thinking about eating and drinking.

However, Earl Yongchang forgot that for these servants, serving the master of the mansion with food and drink was the most important thing.

It doesn't matter if the floor is dirty and no one cleans it for a while, but if the master is thirsty and hungry but the food cannot be served in time, the job may be lost, especially when the masters are in a bad mood.

The stewards were smart people, and in order to avoid this kind of situation, they left two honest people to work in the kitchen, not thinking that this would have any impact on the investigation.

Not long after, two women were brought over.

One of them was a middle-aged woman, wearing a blue cloth dress, with her hair neatly combed and wrapped in a cloth of the same color, looking neat and tidy. The other was a little maid, covered in dust, most likely from burning.

The two were brought in front of Zhen Shicheng. The middle-aged woman stood quietly with her hands hanging down, while the little maid was obviously panicked, her hands clasped and moving constantly, and she looked like she was about to cry at any time.

Zhen Shicheng just glanced at the little maid and his attention fell on the middle-aged woman.

The woman's age matched the bloody clothes she had taken off.

Although the murderer could have done the opposite and deliberately worn clothes that were inappropriate for his status, this may seem prudent, but it is actually unwise.

For example, if a middle-aged woman is seen walking in the yard wearing the clothes of a teenage girl, it tells others that there is something wrong with her.

The best disguise is to be yourself.

Zhen Shicheng looked at the woman without saying a word.

In this tense silence, Jiang Si quietly went behind and approached the woman.

Although the woman was wearing a headscarf, Jiang Si not only had an outstanding natural sense of smell, but also learned special arts from Elder Wu Miao, which further enhanced her ability in this area. As she concentrated and held her breath, she soon smelled the faint fragrance.

Jiang Si's eyes lit up and he nodded imperceptibly to Zhen Shicheng.

Zhen Shicheng felt relieved immediately.

Once the murderer is identified, it won't be difficult to pry him open.

Zhen Shicheng winked at one of his subordinates, who immediately came over.

"Have someone quietly take you to this woman's residence to search for anything unusual, especially pay attention to any scented items and any shoes she has left behind."

"Yes." The subordinate responded in a low voice and retreated silently.

There were so many people gathered in the courtyard that the bailiff was quickly stopped after he retreated, and no one paid attention to where he went.

"What do you do in the kitchen?" Zhen Shicheng asked.

"I specialize in desserts," the woman said.

"Maid, I am the fire-making maid." The little maid said tremblingly.

Zhen Shicheng took the water bottle handed to him by the yamen runner and drank a mouthful of water to moisten his throat. Then he asked, "Why did you two stay here?"

This time it was the maid who answered first: "I need you to light the fire."

In the little maid's view, it was natural to leave someone in the kitchen to keep the fire burning.

Zhen Shicheng's eyes lingered on the woman's face. "What about you? There are six people in the kitchen, why did you leave behind the dessert cook?"

Desserts are just a finishing touch to a meal, so it would be a little unreasonable to keep the chef to make them.

The woman replied, "The masters like the desserts I make, and the eldest lady often orders people to bring snow cakes."

When Jiang Si heard the word "snow cake", his expression changed immediately.

Just yesterday, she came to visit the Yongchang Earl's Mansion. Xie Qingyao specially treated her to snow cake and praised the cook highly.

Thinking of this, Jiang suddenly had an idea and thought of another question: "Are you new here?"

In the spring, the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion held a flower-viewing banquet. At that time, she had not yet been reborn, and she did not get to taste the soft and sweet snow cake when she attended the banquet.

She knew her friend. Xie Qingyao was a person who was willing to share good things with others. If the cook was there at the time, there was no reason for her not to bring out snow cake to entertain the guests.

The steward looked at Jiang Si with surprise in his eyes: "Dou Niang entered the mansion three months ago."