A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 242 Headless Female Corpse (30)

"Where is the letter of annulment?" Mu Qingcheng's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Butler Liao added, "They said that two copies of the letter of annulment were written; the Earl's family took one, and the other is in Ruyi's hands."

Mu Qingcheng said, "So, you don't have a letter of annulment in your possession right now?"

“No.” Master Chen shook his head. “After Steward An showed it to me, he took it away.”

Mu Qingcheng's expression grew increasingly grim. "Have you met the Madam? Or rather, have you met any of the masters of the Earl's mansion?"

“Never seen him.” Master Chen lowered his head, his tone somewhat self-deprecating. “How could a commoner like me, a mere merchant, be qualified to meet the masters of noble families? Being able to get on the good side of Steward An is already quite an achievement.”

Mu Qingcheng couldn't help but sigh, "Do you have the engagement document?"

"Yes, there are documents!"

"Go get it!"

"Please wait a moment, sir!"

Butler Liao got up from the ground and was about to leave when Mu Qingcheng added, "Bring over everything that the Earl's mansion gave us."

"it is good."

Butler Liao took off running out.

Mu Qingcheng then asked, "Master Chen, who is that matchmaker? What is her name, where does she live, how old is she, and what does she look like?"

"The matchmaker was from Xiahegou, named Wang Ruhua. She was about forty years old, not very tall, with a plump and round face. She had a small black mole on the left side of her eyebrow, and she walked with a swaying gait, quite charming," Master Chen said as he recalled.

"What about Butler An?"

"Butler An is over fifty years old, with a plump build, a mustache, and a little taller than Xiaomin. He has a kind face."

Can you paint?

"know a little."

"I need portraits of the matchmaker and the housekeeper."

"Alright, I'll try to draw it!"

Master Chen hurriedly left the house and headed to his study.

The remaining Mu Qingcheng and the others couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Bai Zhizhi was incredulous. "Such a flawed marriage is clearly a scam, how could they not notice?"

"Oh? Tell me more." Mu Qingcheng raised an eyebrow, showing interest.

Bai Zhizhi said, "The most obvious thing is, which family would kick the matchmaker away on the way to the wedding? Which family would carry paper and pen with them when they go to fetch a bride?"

"Isn't that right? Did the Earl's family calculate that Liao Ruyi would break off the engagement, so they brought paper and pen so that Liao Ruyi could write a letter of annulment?" Zhang, the registrar, also sighed.

Lin Shuban put down his pen and continued, "Since Liao Ruyi has already agreed to the marriage, what reason does she have to back out? To become someone else's wife? Did she have an affair with someone else before the marriage? If that's the case, why did she even get on the wedding carriage? It doesn't make sense logically."

"No, Ruyi has no personal feelings!"

Just then, Steward Liao came in carrying a wooden box. He must have heard what Clerk Lin said, because he hurriedly explained, his face turning red: "Sir, Ruyi stays in this house with her mother every day, working. How could she have any private matters with others? Besides, my Ruyi is sensible, filial, and knows proper etiquette. She would never do anything that violates the virtues of a woman!"

Mu Qingcheng nodded and said, "So, you believe that Ruyi did not break off the engagement and remarry?"

"Yes!" Butler Liao raised his voice, his cloudy eyes revealing stubbornness and unwavering conviction. Mu Qingcheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered someone, "Where is Ruyi's brother?"

"Ever since Ruyi was confirmed missing, her brother has also disappeared. He must be searching for her everywhere," Butler Liao replied.

Mu Qingcheng paused, then asked, "What is Brother Ruyi's name? How old is he? Does he... know martial arts?"

"His name is Lin Jiao. He's in his early thirties and works as a blacksmith. He's quite strong. As for martial arts... I don't think Lin Jiao knows any martial arts. I've never seen him use them."

"Has Master Chen met Lin Jiao?"

"I've seen it."

Mu Qingcheng turned to look at Zhang, the registrar, and instructed him, "Go and keep an eye on Master Chen, and have him draw Lin Jiao's appearance as well."

"it is good."

Registrar Zhang responded and got up to leave.

Mu Qingcheng's gaze fell on the wooden box in Butler Liao's hand. "Is everything inside?"

"Yes, they're all here." Butler Liao quickly opened the box and presented it to Mu Qingcheng with both hands. "At that time, the Earl's Mansion gave us an engagement certificate and fifty taels of silver, as well as two sets of jewelry, five boxes of medicinal herbs, and fabrics. After discussing with Ruyi's mother, we only kept a few medicinal herbs and gave the rest to Ruyi as part of her dowry."

Bai Zhizhi leaned closer and saw that the box contained only documents and a few bottles of medicine. She couldn't help but laugh inexplicably, "So, along with Liao Ruyi, there was also a considerable dowry that disappeared?"

"The Earl's Mansion says that Ruyi has broken off the engagement and returned the betrothal gifts, meaning that she has returned the dowry to the Earl's Mansion as betrothal gifts." Steward Liao hurriedly explained, fearing that the authorities would think that his daughter had run away with the Earl's Mansion's betrothal gifts for money.

Bai Zhizhi understood the implication in Butler Liao's words and immediately felt both amused and exasperated. "Butler Liao, you are such an honest man! Those dowries were either taken by the Earl's Mansion or by someone else. It's impossible that Liao Ruyi swallowed them up. If she were truly greedy, she should have married into the Earl's Mansion and gone there to embezzle!"

Butler Liao stared blankly, unable to understand Bai Zhizhi's words for a moment.

Mu Qingcheng picked up the document and glanced through it, then turned and handed it to Lin, the clerk, saying, "Take a look and see if there's anything unusual, including that seal."

Lin, the clerk, said with a smile, "Master Mu, it's actually very simple to verify whether this marriage is real or not. The procedures for the Earl's family to take a concubine are to be registered with our Jingzhao Prefecture. We can take this engagement document back and check it to find out."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you to do."

"Yes."

Lin, the clerk, looked down at the document. After a moment, he said, "Master Mu, it should be genuine. The writing is correct, and the seal is also genuine."

Bai Zhizhi was taken aback. "Are you sure?"

"During my years in the Jingzhao Prefecture, I've handled countless documents from various prominent families in the capital. I remember every family's seal; there's no mistake," Lin, the clerk, said confidently.

Mu Qingcheng said, "To ensure that nothing goes wrong, we will check it again after we return to the yamen."

“Okay, no problem.” Lin, the clerk, agreed and put away the documents, saying, “Steward Liao, we need to take these things away for a thorough investigation.”

Mu Qingcheng continued, "Also, Steward Liao, you and your wife need to come with us to the Jingzhao Prefecture."

"Go to the government office?" Butler Liao exclaimed in surprise. "Are they going to lock us up?"

"No, that's not it." Mu Qingcheng found it difficult to say, but she had to make it clear. "Some time ago, a headless female corpse was found in Suhe, and her identity has been unconfirmed. So I thought I'd ask you and your husband to identify the body and see if it's Liao Ruyi."

Although there is an age gap, the 18 to 20 years old figure is only an inference based on the condition of the corpse and may not be entirely accurate.

Therefore, identifying the body is also necessary for exclusion.

(End of this chapter)