A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 241 Headless Female Corpse (29)

"Sir, this marriage was not arranged by me. I never intended to curry favor with anyone. My daughter Ruyi is not a materialistic girl. It's just that..." Butler Liao seemed hesitant, trying his best to explain, but he stammered and couldn't get to the point.

Mu Qingcheng, with her limited patience, directly demanded, "What is it? How exactly did your two families arrange this marriage? Who acted as matchmaker? Was it a matchmaker?"

"It's not a matchmaker. A matchmaker is someone who comes to follow the marriage rules after the matter is settled. Besides, it was a matchmaker hired by the Marquis of Pingnan's mansion. We don't know her." Steward Liao hurriedly waved his hand, his expression clearly abnormal, but he avoided answering the key question.

Mu Qingcheng slowly rose from her chair, calmly lifting her eyelids. "Since Steward Liao doesn't want to find his daughter, our government won't force him."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Butler Liao panicked and lunged forward, grabbing Mu Qingcheng's hem!
"presumptuous!"

Officer Luo, quick-witted and agile, kicked Steward Liao's arm away and scolded, "Master Mu is a woman, how dare you offend her! Do you want to go to jail?"

"Sir, please calm your anger. I would never dare to offend you. I only wish to find my daughter, I wish..."

"Then explain it clearly!"

Mu Qingcheng raised her chin, her expression stern. "You must tell me everything you know, without hiding a single detail!"

Butler Liao nodded resignedly, "Yes, to be honest, it was my master, Master Chen, who made the connection. I didn't want to mention it because I was afraid of implicating Master Chen. Master Chen was originally kind to me, but he never expected such an accident to happen!"

Mu Qingcheng glanced at Constable Luo and said, "Invite him in."

"Yes!"

Constable Luo strode out of the hall and summoned Master Chen, who was waiting outside, inside.

When he reappeared before Mu Qingcheng, he was no longer as composed as before. Chen Yuanwai's forehead was covered in sweat, his hands and feet were trembling, and his body was even a little hunched over!
Mu Qingcheng's lips curled slightly, revealing a smile that was hard to decipher. "What's wrong, Master Chen? You seem a little nervous!"

"Master Mu, what do you wish to ask? I will do my utmost to cooperate." Master Chen bowed respectfully, his fear growing.

Mu Qingcheng sat back in his chair and said calmly, "I've come here for Liao Ruyi. Does Master Chen have anything to say?"

Master Chen immediately knelt down, his tone somewhat urgent, "Replying to Master Mu, because of the marriage of Old Liao's daughter, I meant well but ended up doing something wrong. I feel guilty and fear being punished by the authorities. I am willing to take responsibility for my mistake, but I have elderly parents and young children to support, and hundreds of people, including my tenants, depend on me for their livelihood. I really don't know what to do." Mu Qingcheng was always very perceptive, and although Master Chen's sincerity caught her eye, it wasn't enough to convince her completely.

She calmly countered, "Why does Master Chen believe the authorities will definitely punish you? Have you done anything illegal?"

"This humble one..." Master Chen was choked back, and after a moment of stunned silence, he sorted out his thoughts and replied, "This humble one doesn't know if the government will punish me, but I'm a little worried. After all, it was I who introduced Ruyi to Lao Liao for her marriage. Now that Ruyi has been missing for many days, what if she has met with something... I would be indirectly harming Ruyi!"

"It's none of your business, sir. You meant well, and I won't hold it against you," Butler Liao quickly reassured him.

Seeing this, Mu Qingcheng smiled slightly, "It seems that you and your servant have a good relationship."

"Reporting to Master Mu, Old Liao has been by my side since he was a child, serving as my page. After the old master passed away, I took over the household and made Old Liao the steward. We have been together for decades, and our bond is deep, even stronger than family. Old Liao's adopted daughter, Ruyi, is someone I watched grow up. Although I dare not call myself a great philanthropist, I treat Ruyi like my own daughter and have absolutely no ill intentions towards her!"

Master Chen's words were echoed by Steward Liao, who nodded repeatedly. Master Chen glanced at Steward Liao, his eyes reddening, and choked out, "It's a pity I trusted people so easily, thinking I had secured a bright future for Ruyi and could ensure her a lifetime of wealth and honor. Who knew I would push Ruyi into a pit of fire!"

"Get to the point!" Clerk Zhang patted the armrest of his chair. "Explain the whole story clearly!"

Master Chen hurriedly said, “The Chen family has some business dealings with the Pingnan Marquis’s mansion, so I know Steward An of the Pingnan Marquis’s mansion. Once, Steward An said at the dinner table that the Marquis’s wife was planning to take a concubine for the young master, regardless of social status, as long as the person was of good character and could bear children. I found this strange. The young master had been married for less than two years, and his eldest son had not yet been born. Why would he take a concubine to continue the family line? But Steward An revealed a secret after getting drunk: the young master and his wife had a bad relationship, and he could only visit his wife’s room a few times a year. The Marquis’s wife was thinking of taking a concubine for the sake of the Marquis’s succession.”

"After Xiaomin returned, he told Lao Liao about this matter. We both felt that this was a good opportunity. Although it was to become someone's concubine, the other party was the heir of the Earl's Mansion. After inheriting the title, he would become the Earl. It was better than marrying a peasant and suffering for generations to come just to make ends meet. So, after obtaining Ruyi's consent, Xiaomin went to Steward An and made some arrangements, thus obtaining the opportunity to send Ruyi's portrait and birthday card to the Earl's wife as a candidate."

"Not long after, Steward An brought good news, saying that the Countess had chosen Ruyi, found a matchmaker, and set a date to bring Ruyi to the Countess's mansion. We were all very happy. With Ruyi's background, to be able to marry into such a good family was truly a stroke of good luck. On the day of the wedding, Old Liao and his wife saw Ruyi off at the village entrance and watched her get into the matchmaker's carriage and leave. What happened after that was what Old Liao told us."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingcheng had many questions in her mind. "Master Chen, didn't you ask Steward An about the situation?"

Master Chen said, "I did look for her. As soon as I found out that Ruyi hadn't entered the Earl's mansion, I immediately went to Steward An. But Steward An turned around and scolded me, saying that it was because of Ruyi's broken engagement that he was blamed by the Earl's wife and had fallen out of favor in the Earl's mansion. The key thing is that Steward An produced a letter of broken engagement with Ruyi's signature on it! Later, we tried every means to find the matchmaker. The matchmaker said that she was sure that Ruyi had been handed over to the people of the Earl's mansion, and she didn't know what happened after that."

"Shouldn't the matchmaker escort the bride all the way to the Earl's mansion?" Mu Qingcheng felt something was amiss. "Why did she only escort her halfway? Where did she take her?"

As Master Chen spoke, he became increasingly dejected. “The matchmaker escorted Ruyi to the Ten-Mile Pavilion. The Earl’s Mansion sent a wedding carriage to pick her up, gave the matchmaker a reward, and then sent her back. The Earl’s Mansion said that after the matchmaker left, Ruyi broke off the engagement. She wrote a letter of rescission on the spot and then left, and her whereabouts are unknown.”

(End of this chapter)