A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 261 Headless Female Corpse (49)

Along with the letter of annulment, tea and a small box were also sent.

Madam Bo personally served tea, and taking this opportunity, she turned away from everyone and whispered to Mu Qingcheng, "Master Mu, you've had a long and tiring journey. I've prepared a small token of my appreciation, and I hope you won't find it offensive..."

“I advise your wife not to have this idea.”

Unexpectedly, Mu Qingcheng interrupted her coldly before she could finish speaking, "Otherwise, you'll have to face another charge of bribery."

Mrs. Bo stood frozen in place, embarrassed. She had never seen such an unyielding person before!

Mu Qingcheng took a sip of tea, and a smile bloomed in her eyes again. "As expected of the Earl's Mansion, excellent tea!"

Having said that, she picked up the letter of annulment and began to examine it herself, ignoring Madam Bo.

Lady Bo sat back down awkwardly. She had been in charge of the household for many years and was quite shrewd and adept at manipulating people's hearts, but she was completely helpless when facing Mu Qingcheng.

Mu Qingcheng suddenly asked, "Butler An, was this letter of annulment written by Liao Ruyi herself?"

“…Yes.” Butler An hesitated for a moment before slowly uttering a single word.

Mu Qingcheng sighed softly, "Did you not hear a single word of my warning? How dare you lie! Take me back to the dungeon, and you'll experience all eighteen kinds of torture instruments one by one!"

Butler An was shocked and hurriedly explained, "No, this servant is not lying, it is, it is true..."

"This letter of annulment was written with ink, not charcoal for shorthand. Does your Earl's family carry pen, ink, paper, and inkstone with you when you go out to fetch the bride? Besides, the handwriting is bold and vigorous, clearly the work of a man, and at a level achieved through years of practice. You're telling me this was written by Liao Ruyi herself? And look at the writing style—the language is fluent and the word choice is precise. Liao Ruyi is just a country girl who hasn't attended a proper school and can't even read many characters. How could she possibly write this letter of annulment?"

At this point, Mu Qingcheng slowly stood up, walked to Butler An, looked down at him with disdain, and said, "Butler An, do you think that I am a woman with no ability and no insight, and that I am easy to fool?"

Steward An broke out in a cold sweat, "This servant wouldn't dare..."

"An Zhong!"

The aunt rushed over, exclaiming incredulously, "What on earth happened? Where did this letter of annulment come from?"

Butler An closed his eyes tightly and didn't utter a word.

Seeing this, Mu Qingcheng's mind raced, and he said, "Steward An, now that I've managed to trace it back to you, do you think the people hiding behind you can rest easy? Forging a letter of annulment and killing Liao Ruyi, what benefits do you gain? After thinking it over, I've concluded that it's simply that the young master has no concubine, and the young master's wife can continue to have the young master all to herself, right?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Bo shuddered in shock. "How dare she... dare to harm someone's life for the sake of winning favor in the inner quarters? That's a capital offense!"

Mu Qingcheng raised her eyes, a cold sneer in her heart. As expected of a lady from a noble family, she is strict with others but lenient with herself. Didn't she also force Wu Fei's birth mother to her death in order to consolidate her position in the inner quarters?

"no!"

However, the housekeeper was provoked by the aunt and forced to tell the truth: "We didn't kill Liao Ruyi, we just sold her off!"

"Sold off?" Mu Qingcheng's gaze darkened, and he said sternly, "Tell me the whole story from beginning to end!" Steward An resigned himself to his fate and told the truth: "A few months ago, the Madam wanted to arrange a concubine for the Heir Apparent in order to have children as soon as possible and ensure the continuation of the family line. The Madam was afraid that the Heir Apparent's wife would be unhappy, so she kept it a secret from her and entrusted the matter to me. I searched everywhere for a suitable woman and finally chose Liao Ruyi, the daughter of the steward of the Chen family. After the matter was settled, the Heir Apparent's wife did not say anything against it on the surface, but behind my back she came to me and asked me to find a way to cancel the marriage."

"How could I dare to agree to such a major event? But the young master's wife has caught me embezzling money from the household's purchases. I had no choice but to agree in order to keep my job and avoid punishment according to the family rules. So, on the day of the wedding, I conspired with the matchmaker Wang Ruhua to forge a letter of annulment, knocked Liao Ruyi unconscious on the way, and handed her over to Wang Ruhua to sell."

Mu Qingcheng's eyes grew increasingly cold. "Who did you sell it to? Where did you sell it to?"

"I don't know." Butler An shook his head. "Selling people is Wang Ruhua's business. I gave Wang Ruhua five taels of silver and asked her to find a good family for Liao Ruyi. As for who she found and which family, Wang Ruhua refused to tell me, saying that it was the rule of the underworld."

"brute!"

Mu Qingcheng kicked Butler An in the shoulder with such force that Butler An tumbled halfway on the spot, his head hitting the ground and letting out a painful groan!
Thinking of the sorrow of Butler Liao and his wife, their eyes swollen from crying, she felt a surge of anger. "Was kidnapping Liao Ruyi your idea alone, or was the Crown Prince's wife, Xu Yuying, also involved?"

"No, no, it was my own idea, it has nothing to do with the young master's wife." Steward An held his head, trembling like a leaf.

Mu Qingcheng paused, trying her best to calm herself down, and asked, "Besides you and Wang Ruhua, who else was involved in this?"

“There’s no one else.” Butler An lowered his head, not daring to even glance at Mu Qingcheng, for fear that she would kick him again.

Mu Qingcheng gestured, "Officer Liu, arrest him and lock him in jail!"

"Yes, Master Mu!" Liu Heng cupped his hands in greeting.

The two constables on standby immediately twisted the butler's arm and dragged him outside.

The aunt clutched her chest, her face pale, completely dazed.

Mu Qingcheng paced back and forth in the hall, her hands behind her back. After a moment, she stopped and stared sharply at the Madam, "Have any women gone missing from the manor recently? Have any female relatives or maids left the manor before the winter solstice?"

This is the question she asked the day before yesterday.

The aunt was stunned for a moment, then shook her head blankly, "Indeed, no."

“Alright.” Mu Qingcheng nodded. “Let me rephrase my question. Does Madam know the totem of the Hejia family?”

The aunt was taken aback again. "What totem?"

Mu Qingcheng coldly raised her eyes, "Madam, the case of the headless female corpse is of great importance and has already alarmed the Emperor! The Emperor has ordered the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Dali Temple to jointly investigate the case. Anyone who dares to conceal the facts of the case or protect the murderer will face dire consequences! Therefore, I will ask again, which of the women in the Bo family has the Hejia family totem tattooed on their shoulder?"

However, the aunt's pupils were unfocused, as if her soul had been ripped out, and she murmured in a trance-like state: "He Jiayin's totem, it's He Jiayin, she's back, she's actually back..."

Mu Qingcheng frowned. What did this mean? Could the headless female corpse be related to He Jiayin?

(End of this chapter)