A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 134 The Truth Revealed to the World (20)

The constables conducted a thorough search of the courtyards of the three masters of the Liu family. However, given the Liu family's cautious nature, they would not leave any loose ends. Even if there were oversights, the next few days would be enough to clean up the mess.

Therefore, the constables only found a locked gilded box in Liu Xiao's bedroom, but they didn't have the key.

The constable asked, "Should we use force to break the lock?"

Mu Qingcheng thought for a moment and said, "This box contains Liu Xiao and Huang Yiyi's most important things. Let Liu Xiao open it himself!"

"Alright." The constable agreed and put the gilded box away.

Mu Qingcheng personally went through Liu Pei and Li Yunyao's room again. In the Liu family's understanding, Liu Pei had been dead for half a year, so everything in his room, except for the large pieces of furniture, had been cleared away.

However, Granny Chang quietly led Mu Qingcheng to her servants' quarters and told her, "I couldn't bear to throw away the things that the eldest young master liked most when he was alive, so I've put them all away."

"Aunt Chang, do you and the eldest young master have a good relationship?" Mu Qingcheng asked, seizing the opportunity.

This topic saddened Chang Mama. "This old servant is practically the eldest young master's wet nurse. I watched him grow up, so our relationship is naturally different from that of ordinary master and servant."

Mu Qingcheng asked in surprise, "Why is she only a wet nurse?"

Madam Chang took out a mahogany box from the cabinet, and while unlocking it, she explained the reason: "Before the eldest young master was three years old, he was fed by another wet nurse. This old servant was assigned to the eldest young master by the madam after the eldest young master returned to the general's mansion, and was responsible for taking care of the eldest young master's daily life. So, I can only be considered half a wet nurse."

Mu Qingcheng, who was listening attentively, immediately pressed on, "Wasn't Liu Pei raised in the General's Mansion after he was born? He is General Liu's eldest son, so why was he raised outside?"

"Ah, I don't know. There are many unsavory secrets in wealthy families that are not for outsiders to know." After saying this, Mama Chang realized that she had spoken out of turn and her expression became more uneasy. "Although I am a servant of the Liu family with a life-long contract, I worked on the estate for the first few years and never even saw my master's face."

Mu Qingcheng didn't press her advantage. She smiled and looked down at the open box, which was full of children's toys: windmills, rattles, wooden horses, kites, whistles, small wooden swords... and a copy of the Three Character Classic. She picked it up and flipped through it. From the cover to the inner pages, everything was old and yellowed, but it was well preserved. There were no torn pages or scribbles.

"It seems that Liu Pei had a happy and joyful childhood."

Unexpectedly, Mu Qingcheng's casual remark brought tears to Chang Mama's eyes, and she unconsciously spoke up to defend Liu Pei, "Where did he get happiness and joy? When the eldest young master was a child, he never played except for practicing martial arts, reading, eating, and sleeping. The master said that playing with things was a waste of time and he was not even allowed to make friends."

"And these toys..."

“Every year on the eldest son’s birthday, the madam would make a toy by hand and secretly give it to the eldest son behind the master’s back. However, the eldest son dared not take it out to play with, but could only save it as a souvenir.”

Mu Qingcheng was deeply moved. Madam Liu's love for her son reminded her of her own mother, and the thought made her heart ache. Unable to contain her turbulent emotions, Granny Chang continued, "Thanks to the eldest young master, this old servant came from the countryside to the General's Mansion. After getting to know the servants, I learned that the eldest young master wasn't born full-term. The master is a military officer, and he was afraid the eldest young master would be too weak to practice martial arts, so he raised him in a separate courtyard outside. If it weren't for the second young master needing playmates, the eldest young master wouldn't be coming back!"

"Is that the reason?" Mu Qingcheng was slightly surprised. This was Liu Changqing's version of events, but what was the truth? Could there be other reasons?
Madam Chang curled her lip, unconvinced. "Who knows? Anyway, the second young master can do anything and is not bound by the family rules, while the eldest young master can't do anything and is always subject to family discipline. The two brothers' treatment is like heaven and earth."

Mu Qingcheng was taken aback. "If that's the case, how is the relationship between the two brothers?"

"We can be considered brothers, and we've never had any conflicts."

"How could a father be so biased? And what about Madam Liu? Does she treat her two sons equally?"

"Perhaps it's not favoritism. The eldest son bears the weight of the family's rise and fall, and as the head of the family, the master must have more to consider. As for the madam, although she treats both sons equally on the surface, she secretly dotes on the eldest son."

After learning about Liu Pei's past, Mu Qingcheng felt a pang of sadness. When Liu Pei left, he was worried about Madam Liu. If he had known that Madam Liu was poisoned and did not have much time left, it would have been a huge blow to him.

Li Yunyao's room was spotless. According to the maid in her courtyard, before Li Yunyao went to Yuntai Mountain, she moved all her dowry out and burned all her personal belongings. In short, she erased all traces of herself from the Liu family!
As a woman herself, Mu Qingcheng felt a deep sorrow and pity upon hearing this. Li Yunyao not only had the will to die, but her hatred for the Liu family made her unwilling to have any further connection with them even after death.

As for Liu Changqing and his wife's room, there was nothing unusual on the surface.

Therefore, Constable Liu and Jiang Zhan led half of the men to stay and monitor the General's Mansion, while Mu Qingcheng, Constable Yang Bing, and Duan Qianzhong led the other half of the constables back to the mansion.

……

The news that the Jingzhao Prefecture's heavy troops stormed into the Ningyuan General's Mansion and arrested Liu Pei, the eldest son of General Liu, became the top topic of conversation in the streets, alleys, teahouses, and bookstores within half a day!

Since the case of the hanging corpse at the temple gate, in just five days, as many as five bodies have been carried into the Jingzhao Prefecture. The people are terrified and are discussing it endlessly, hoping that the Jingzhao Prefecture will solve the case and capture the murderer!

Therefore, when Liu Pei was arrested, righteous people flocked to the Jingzhao Prefecture, raising their arms and shouting, requesting the Jingzhao Prefect to execute Liu Pei and restore justice to the dead!
It took Mu Qingcheng and his group a great deal of effort to squeeze through the congested crowd and find a way back to the yamen.

Upon meeting Song Shuyu, Mu Qingcheng gave a detailed report on the arrest and search process. Finally, she stated her opinion: "My lord, Liu Changqing definitely knew about Liu Pei's faked death. He even used Madam Liu's life to force Liu Pei to commit suicide. Therefore, Liu Changqing not only participated in the murder of Li Mu, but Li Mu's alchemy is also definitely related to him!"

Song Shuyu nodded, agreeing with her speculation, "Unfortunately, we don't have direct evidence to accuse Liu Changqing. We can only hope that Liu Pei can get him to talk."

Mu Qingcheng had a sudden inspiration. "My lord, I have a suggestion. Could you please ask the imperial physician to detoxify Madam Liu? If Madam Liu can be saved, it might be able to persuade Liu Pei to reveal the truth."

(End of this chapter)