Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 9 Lingnan Rhinoceros Skin Lacquer
Although it is a question, it uses a declarative tone.

Under Lu Huai's inquiring gaze, Lin Zhiqing shook his head: "I don't know."

She was telling the truth.

After a while, there was a commotion outside the yard.

"Why did you call us here for no reason? Who will make soup and medicine for the young lady?"

"This is clearly our yard. The young lady has fallen, and the others have come here to show off their power."

"I haven't finished what I'm doing yet. How long should I stay here?"

……

Just as everyone was talking, Aunt Mu stood behind Lin Zhiqing and quietly introduced the identities of these people.

However, Aunt Mu was talking when she noticed Lu Huai's face: "Mr. Lu, why are your face, ears, and cheeks so red? Could it be that just now..."

Lu Huai's body froze for a moment, and that soft feeling appeared in his mind again.

"Did you catch a cold when you opened the window just now?" Aunt Mu's face looked a little worried.

Lu Huai breathed a sigh of relief, made a few casual prevarications, and then sat down by himself, tapping the table lightly with his fingers.

Lin Zhiqing glanced at him, but his gaze immediately shifted to the people who were making the most trouble.

She observed the expressions on their faces calmly and did not say anything to stop them.

It was not until Xiao Cui acted like a maid that the group gradually quieted down.

Seeing this, Lin Zhiqing quickly called out the names of several people.

Those who were called came out very reluctantly.

The person in charge of looking after the utensils was a very smart-looking servant, the person in charge of cleaning the room was an old nanny, and a group of little maids also came out with them.

Lin Zhiqing recalled and when he saw that everyone was present, he waved his hand and asked the others to leave.

These people were the ones who came into contact with the room the fastest when the incident happened or after it happened, and they are also the most suspicious.

Lin Zhiqing's gaze swirled around several people, first landing on the old woman. "Let me ask you, after my cousin fell into a coma, were you the one who cleaned the room?"

The old nanny stepped forward, a look of panic on her face: "Miss Zhiqing, it's me."

"But at that time, Miss Xiao Cui only instructed me to clean up simply and not to erase any traces, in order to prevent the murderer from losing any clues."

Xiao Cui nodded, indicating that it was true.

Lin Zhiqing gestured for everyone to walk into the room, walked around the table, and walked around the room.

It was just as the old lady said, she just gave it a rough clean and there was some obvious dust in many places.

Seeing that no one noticed anything wrong, the old nanny pursed her lips and took a step back, showing no dissatisfaction at being questioned.

Lin Zhiqing turned his gaze to the other maids: "Why were you flying kites in the garden yesterday?"

Several maids looked at each other, seeming to be hesitant.

Lin Zhiqing and Lu Huai looked at each other, and both knew that there must be something wrong.

Lin Zhiqing deliberately frowned: "What can't you say? Could it be that my cousin's poisoning has something to do with you?"

After hearing this, several maids waved their hands: "No, no, no, Miss Zhiqing, this is none of our business."

But after saying this, several people didn't dare to speak again.

Xiao Cui frowned and said, "Why can't you say anything? The young lady is usually kind and generous. She just flew a kite and she won't blame you." After hearing this, several people pushed and shoved for a while, and finally a short maid stood up and said, "Sister Xiao Cui, please don't blame us if we tell you."

"Actually, the young lady wanted to fly a kite, so she asked us to make one. After we made it, we took it out and tried to see if it could fly."

After saying this, the short maid looked at Xiao Cui timidly.

Xiao Cui's face really showed some anger when she heard this: "During this period, the master has been teaching the young lady some lessons and has forbidden her from playing around. Why are you still leading her to play around?"

The short maid took two steps back, with a look of grievance in her eyes: "Sister Xiao Cui, the young lady insisted that we make a kite, and we dare not disobey her order."

Having said that, and knowing her young lady's playful nature, Xiao Cui stopped talking.

Lin Zhiqing nodded, indicating that he already knew.

Compared with the cooperative attitude of the maid and the old nanny, the servant who managed the dishes looked a little impatient.

Before Lin Zhiqing could ask him, he frowned and said, "Miss Zhiqing, I have always been responsible for the utensils. Is there any problem?"

Lin Zhiqing stared at his face for a while, but did not blame him. Instead, he followed up on his question and asked:
"You said you were in charge of the utensils, so please describe the utensils used before, during, and after the incident."

The servant was slightly stunned, then spoke clearly, "For breakfast, the young lady used a set of colored glass cups, for lunch, she used a colorful square cup with a pattern of children playing, and when you and Miss Zhiqing were drinking tea, you used a Lingnan rhinoceros skin lacquer tea set."

Hearing this, Lu Huai glanced at the tea set on the table and thought of the rhinoceros-skin lacquer antique display stand, but he did not interrupt.

Lin Zhiqing had some guesses in her mind, so she continued, "After using these tea sets, did you count them and put them into storage?"

The servant nodded: "Of course, I have carefully counted each set of tea sets and have put them into storage."

His eyebrows were raised and his eyes were narrowed, and he was obviously very confident.

Lin Zhiqing nodded: "Is this the Lingnan rhinoceros hide lacquer tea set on the table?"

Just as the old lady said, in order to protect the scene, the things on the table were hardly moved.

Including food boxes and tea sets.

The servant stepped forward and carefully identified it, then quickly nodded: "Yes, this is the rhinoceros-skin lacquer tea set."

"I just took inventory that day, and the young lady said she wanted to invite Miss Zhiqing to taste the tea, so she asked Sister Xiao Cui to take it out and use it."

The servant was so confident that he even raised his voice.

However, Lin Zhiqing keenly noticed that when he said these words, his nasal cavity contracted and he held his breath and kept quiet, which meant that he was very nervous and had completely lost his calmness and confidence.

"How many teacups are there in this rhinoceros-skin lacquer tea set?" Lin Zhiqing tapped the table lightly.

The servant touched his nose subconsciously: "Five items, a pot, two cups, two saucers, two teacups in total."

As he spoke, everyone looked at the table and saw that there was indeed a pot, two cups and two plates on the table. It seemed that there was nothing wrong.

But Lin Zhiqing keenly noticed the guilty expression on the servant's face. Just as she was about to ask in detail, the short maid's face changed and she started whispering something to the person next to her.

Lin Zhiqing turned around and looked at the short maid.

Xiao Cui noticed Lin Zhiqing's gaze and quickly called the maid out.

"What were you talking about just now?" Lin Zhiqing's eyes were very sharp.

The short maid glanced at the boy, pursed her lips and thought for a moment before speaking, "Miss Zhiqing, I took a look at that rhinoceros-skin lacquer tea set when it arrived at the warehouse. It wasn't a set of five."

"You're lying!" As soon as the short maid finished speaking, the boy's eyes and ears turned red, and his voice instantly became higher.

The short maidservant was anxious: "I didn't lie, I saw it with my own eyes, that tea set clearly had seven pieces!"

(End of this chapter)