Di Daughter's Strategy - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

When the female doctor finished speaking, everyone looked again at Luo Qian. The wound on Luo Qian’s arm had just been dressed, but under everyone’s gaze, she felt the wound subtly aching again.

At this moment, De Rong came in.

He explained to Luo Yu’an that the maid had no prior acquaintance with Xiaoxi and had always been honest and well-behaved.

The implication was that the maid’s words were true. He also said that a dagger was found on Xiaoxi’s body.

Luo Yi’er composed herself. She could already guess that the injury on Luo Qian’s arm was definitely caused by Xiaoxi, and the wound on Xiaoxi’s head was also inflicted by Luo Qian.

However, whether Xiaoxi was truly killed by Luo Qian still needed further investigation.

But, probably no one would thoroughly investigate.

After all, it was just a lowly maid who died.

Here, the hierarchy was strict. Even Su Shi, as a concubine of the Marquis’s mansion, died suddenly in one night. This maid’s death, though gruesome, was not particularly surprising.

That year, when she was a palace attendant, she often heard how many people had drowned in the well in the harem.

The hairpin found on Xiaoxi’s neck had also been cleaned and presented. It was a very common silver hairpin, one that even some senior maids might not fancy.
There was nothing to investigate.

Madam Chu sat aside, unwilling to say more. Luo Yu’an took over and coldly asked, “Do you have anything else to say?”

Luo Qian gritted her teeth and knelt down, saying, “The wound on my arm was indeed not caused by a vase.”

“Why lie?”

“That maid wounded me with a dagger. If I said so, wouldn’t it arouse suspicion? But that maid really was not harmed by me! Father, please judge clearly!” Luo Qian said through clenched teeth.

Whether others believed it or not, there was no reason for a master to die for a maid. At this moment, Luo Yu’an’s heart was cold.

No matter how much he disliked Luo Qian, he would not pin the charge of murder on her.

After all, Luo Qian was a member of the Marquis’s mansion.

If her reputation was tarnished, others would inevitably suspect other young ladies of the mansion.

But since the cause of Xiaoxi’s death was unclear, to calm the servants’ fears, Luo Yu’an still entrusted De Rong to investigate. The matter was dispersed today.

The servants had their own judgments in their hearts. Everyone slowly left, with Luo Yi’er being the last to exit.

When Luo Yu passed by her, Luo Yi’er instinctively looked at Luo Yu’s hand but was blocked by the sleeve. Nothing could be seen except a bit of handkerchief.

A corner of the handkerchief was stained with a bit of red, like a bright red cold plum blossom. Luo Yi’er’s eyes paused slightly but she withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened.

After returning to Yunxia Garden, the sky was already completely dark. There was no trace of gray at the horizon, and even the moonlight was hidden.

Inside the room, a warm, dim candle was slowly lit. Linglong and others were having water boiled to let Luo Yi’er bathe again to dispel bad luck.

Luo Yi’er didn’t mind. At this moment, she was holding a bowl of ginger tea, sipping it slowly, but thinking about tonight’s events, she couldn’t help but be somewhat distracted.

Luo Qian’s words didn’t seem false, but she hadn’t finished speaking.

Many doubts remained. Why did Xiaoxi hurt her? Luo Yi’er vaguely guessed a little. After all, Luo Qian’s note had violated a taboo, so it was normal that it brought deadly trouble.

What Luo Yi’er wanted to know was, where did Xiaoxi injure Luo Qian? Since Xiaoxi had a wound on her forehead and Luo Qian mentioned a vase, it was naturally impossible that it happened inside the bamboo forest.

Then why did Xiaoxi die in the bamboo forest? There was no bloodstain elsewhere, so the bamboo forest must be the crime scene.

She thought about the timing of Luo Yu’s appearance and the red stain on her handkerchief.

She smiled faintly in her heart. Luo Yi’er’s eyes grew clearer and lighter. Perhaps that red stain was not a plum blossom but blood.

She suspected Luo Yu in her heart.

When Luo Yu bit her finger in Fangyun Hall, was she really nervous?
Her words and actions didn’t seem like those of someone easily frightened, much less to do such an indecent act.

Then why did she do that?

Luo Yi’er had a guess. Maybe it wasn’t because of fear or nervousness, but to destroy evidence.

She bit her finger only to lick the blood off it. After all, her handkerchief was stained with blood, so naturally, her hand would also have traces.

When she heard the maid’s voice, she immediately hid. When someone came, she appeared again, so she wouldn’t be so conspicuous. In this way, she naturally didn’t have time to deal with some traces on herself.

Later, a series of behaviors were flawless, extremely natural fear and nervousness, and those small actions didn’t attract attention.

Luo Yi’er sighed softly. If Luo Qian were also like this, plus she had a lot of foreknowledge, she wouldn’t be so easy to deal with.

Suddenly, Luo Yi’er thought, if what she guessed was true, when the hairpin was stabbed in, it must have sprayed blood. Luo Yu’s body was very clean, so no one suspected her at first.

…Traces?

Luo Yi’er called Pansi over, her eyes deep and calm. She whispered something in her ear. Pansi’s eyes widened, glanced at her expression, and without asking more, quietly withdrew.

When Pansi returned, Luo Yi’er had already bathed and was half-reclining on the soft couch.

Today was the New Year’s banquet, a festive day, but because of this matter, it was tinged with gloom. The mansion seemed to have fallen into a dead silence, with no sign of celebration.

Pansi’s face was solemn. She sent the others away, leaving only the two of them in the room. Luo Yi’er lazily lay on the couch, looking at Pansi’s expression, slightly curling the corners of her mouth as if a bit tired.

She raised her hand to cover her mouth and yawned, half-closing her eyes, and lazily asked her, “Did you find out?”

She saw Pansi’s expression and already knew her guess was correct. With this confirmation, she naturally lost interest, and a trace of weariness surfaced.

After all, she didn’t care about Xiaoxi’s death.

Who the murderer was, she didn’t care either.

But she would not allow anything in the mansion to escape her ears and eyes. When things are unclear, it’s easy to take the wrong path and make wrong decisions.

Pansi nodded. “I went to the bamboo forest to check. Indeed, as Miss guessed, in the bamboo forest I found a cloak with many bloodstains buried in the snow. Because of today’s chaos, no one noticed it.”

“Besides, news also came from Luoyun Pavilion that Xiaoxi injured the Eldest Miss tonight and was hit on the head by the Eldest Miss with a vase. Because the Eldest Miss had concerns, she did not make it known. But Xiaoxi’s death was not caused by the Eldest Miss.”

These two pieces of information indeed confirmed Luo Yi’er’s guess: the person who killed Xiaoxi was Luo Yu.

Actually, Luo Yi’er was mostly right. As for the remaining doubt in her heart, why Luo Yu appeared in the bamboo forest at that time?

What Luo Yu said in Fangyun Hall was not false, just that she concealed some things. She did go to look for the jade pendant. She cared deeply about her marriage and naturally valued that jade pendant very much.

Unexpectedly, before entering Luoyun Pavilion, she saw someone coming out of Luoyun Pavilion and hiding in the bamboo forest.

Under the moonlight, she saw that person’s face, it was the same maid from the lakeside that day.

The maid had a wound on her face, blood flowing down her cheek. In the night, it looked even more terrifying.

Perhaps hiding something in her heart, she hid there but did not notice Luo Yu behind her, separated by a few bamboo stalks.

If she had been a bit more attentive, she would have noticed Luo Yu’s presence.

Luo Yu became suspicious and recalled the scene by the lake that day. Her eyes flickered uncertainly. Everyone thought she accidentally fell into the water that day.

She remembered the maid’s surprised expression when looking at her, bit her lip, and with an inexplicable thought, pulled out the hairpin from her head and killed her.

When the hairpin was stabbed into the maid’s neck, Luo Yu’s hand was trembling. The maid turned around, saw her, and showed shock on her face.

Luo Yu suddenly exerted force, but the hairpin didn’t fully penetrate the neck, and the sprayed blood splattered all over her.

Nearby, Qiao’er looked pale, covered her mouth, trembling all over and dared not speak.

Luo Yu was usually low-key and naturally wouldn’t carry an eye-catching hairpin. Tonight’s sudden act, upon hearing footsteps in the bamboo forest, she hid with Qiao’er, buried the bloodstained cloak in the snow, and after the place became crowded, tidied her hair and then walked over with Qiao’er.

No matter what, she had ways to get rid of suspicion. Moreover, her current status was different from before.

Qiao’er was still trembling beside her. Seeing Luo Yi’er seemingly approaching from afar, Luo Yu grabbed Qiao’er’s hand tightly, which was the scene Luo Yi’er saw when she came over.

Naturally, someone took the blame for this matter. Luo Qian was confined again. As for whether anyone suspected Luo Yu, no one knew.

But Luo Yi’er saw Madam Chu’s expression and knew that Madam Chu must have known about her sending Pansi to the bamboo forest that night.