Chapter 131 - 102: Case Closed at Light Speed

Chapter 131: Chapter 102: Case Closed at Light Speed

"According to human nature, when Madam Lou was awakened and heard the servants say her only son had been poisoned, her first reaction would be to shoot out of bed and rush to Lou Tong’s room. Is that right?"

Bai Ziqing’s face showed some confusion. He frowned and nodded. "Yes."

"So, blankets instinctively thrown off by someone would either be flipped from the outside in, or from top to bottom.

"But look at this quilt—why is it flipped from back to front? Could it be that Madam Lou is used to sleeping at the foot of the bed instead of the head?"

After Zeng Anmin finished speaking, he quietly waited for Bai Ziqing’s reaction.

"This..." Bai Ziqing’s expression shifted slightly. He looked earnestly at the bedding on the bed. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of searching this room for evidence. It was just that this room, from top to bottom, was incredibly clean and tidy. It didn’t look like anyone had been here at all. He voiced the doubts in his heart, "You mean..."

"The culprit came to this room after the crime was committed." Zeng Anmin’s gaze slowly shifted toward the open window. "It’s March now. Although the weather is warming up, would you leave a window open while sleeping?"

Bai Ziqing’s pupils contracted sharply. He looked at the half-open window, his gaze freezing slightly. "But this room... it’s clean and tidy. It doesn’t look like it was burglarized..."

As a Director of the Imperial City Department, Bai Ziqing had participated in many cases. He naturally knew that if there had been a burglary, the room would definitely have been tossed into a chaotic mess.

Zeng Anmin took a deep breath. Without saying a word, he headed straight outside.

"Where are you going?" Bai Ziqing’s heart was still unsettled. Seeing Zeng Anmin leave, he grew anxious and followed him.

CREAK.

Zeng Anmin arrived at the study on the side of the courtyard. This was the study of Lou Yingqi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. The entire room was extremely orderly. Clearly, from the day of the crime until now, it hadn’t suffered a single trace of damage.

After looking around, the entire sequence of the culprit’s crime surfaced in his mind.

"They poisoned the Lou family’s eldest son, drawing everyone’s attention and making them rush to his room.

"The culprit then searched the study but didn’t find what they were looking for.

"So they snuck into Assistant Minister Lou and Madam Lou’s room to continue searching. But right then, people from the Imperial City Department arrived after hearing the news. The culprit... had to flip out the window and escape."

Zeng Anmin’s voice was very soft, but very steady. He recalled the letters he had found in Prince Qi’s Mansion yesterday. A thought surfaced in his mind—and this thought was precisely the true motive of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Lou Yingqi definitely held evidence that the mastermind feared.

An incredibly intimidating light flickered in Zeng Anmin’s eyes. However, the more he spoke, the tighter Bai Ziqing’s brows furrowed.

He looked at Zeng Anmin with a deep frown. "If the culprit’s goal was to search for something... aside from the bedding and the window being suspicious, the rest of these two rooms is just too orderly..."

Zeng Anmin took a deep breath. With a calm gaze, he asked, "What if the intruder was extremely familiar with the environment here?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ziqing’s expression froze. But immediately after, he shook his head. "All the maids and servants have been interrogated..."

Zeng Anmin didn’t answer directly this time. He slowly walked out of the study and looked outside the courtyard. With his back to Bai Ziqing, his faint voice drifted into the other man’s ears.

"So, have you asked them all?

"Every single servant in the Assistant Minister’s Mansion.

"The servants who have already tendered their resignations and left the Assistant Minister’s Mansion.

"Well... even the servants who have ’died’ for various reasons..."

With every possibility Zeng Anmin listed, Bai Ziqing pressed his lips a fraction tighter. Aside from the gentle brush of the spring breeze, the entire courtyard fell dead silent.

Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head, looking straight at Bai Ziqing, a hint of disappointment seeping into his voice. "If you want to solve a case, the very first thing you must pay attention to is rigor. Ziqing, let me ask you: have you ruled out all these possibilities?"

A fine layer of sweat had already formed on Bai Ziqing’s back.

"Only after eliminating all possibilities can you say a case is hard to solve," Zeng Anmin sighed. "But there are clearly so many possibilities still out there... Go on. Go find the estate’s steward and ask if any servants have left the mansion in the past two years."

"Right." Without any hesitation, Bai Ziqing headed straight out of the courtyard. In no time, his figure had vanished from sight.

Zeng Anmin was left all alone in the courtyard. He sat on a stone stool beneath a peach tree, a touch of leisure in his gaze.

This case wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined. After all, he had already obtained some clues yesterday at Prince Qi’s Mansion. With preconceived insights, cracking the case was indeed much easier. On top of that, Bai Ziqing’s efforts over the past few days hadn’t been in vain; he had already ruled out a number of suspicious points. That was precisely what allowed Zeng Anmin to so keenly pinpoint the direction closest to the truth.

Fortunately, Bai Ziqing worked with great efficiency. In just half an hour, he had already gone through the steward and asked about everything there was to ask.

With his arms crossed, Zeng Anmin watched as Bai Ziqing hurriedly returned. By now, a hint of joy had emerged on Bai Ziqing’s face.

"Quan Fu, I found out! There was a maid named Xiang Chun who served Madam Lou right here in this courtyard.

"She arrived at the mansion seven years ago, but half a year ago, she submitted her resignation and redeemed her indentured contract.

"Other than her, the next one was eight years ago... but that doesn’t match the time of the crime, nor the time when the Green-bellied Snakes were wiped out."

The moment Bai Ziqing reached Zeng Anmin’s side, he spilled everything he had learned without holding anything back, like beans pouring from rolled Bamboo Slips.