In just half a cup of tea, Steward Liu took the deed of sale for the maid who accompanied Liu Zhen that day, and at the same time called the maid who served in Liu Zhen's yard to his mother-in-law.

In the courtyard of the ladies of ordinary houses, there are mostly maids and mothers-in-law to serve, and if there is heavy work, they will send people to the front or back kitchen to find a small house. First, it is to avoid suspicion, and secondly, the male owner is often not at home, if there is often a small servant in the lady's yard, I am afraid that it will affect the trust of the husband and wife.

Now, Xiao Qinglang and Xu Chuqi are sitting on the left side of the hall, and the two are sitting side by side across a coffee table, carefully looking at several maids with different looks in the lobby.

The Liu family's life is not easy these days, the old man's temper is uncertain, and the housekeeper often reprimands them. In addition, Mrs. was completely dead, and was pulled back by the bloody forest, and Sister Zhu'er's whereabouts are unknown, so everyone in the house is panicked.

They have heard that those bandits kill people without blinking, Ru Mao drinks blood, and Sister Zhu'er has been captured, how can there be a way to live? Thinking like this, several people were even more angry and didn't dare to take a breath.

Or glad that he was not picked up by his wife to serve that day, or he was glad that he was not chosen by his wife to serve closely. Although they were also jealous of Zhu'er at the beginning, they thought that she was just a blind cat and met a dead mouse, and after Mrs. was betrayed by Peach's girl, she suddenly appeared to let Mrs. appreciate. There were also people who instigated in front of Mrs., but they failed to get what they wanted, and they were even reprimanded by Mrs. But it was for nothing that the rough and embarrassed bead with vulgar manners was cheapened, not only did she eat and live with her wife, but she was also looked down upon by her wife, and she would often buy some expensive things for her.

But now that I look at it, it's really a blessing and a curse, who can think that the pearl is not blessed. If she hadn't been valued by her wife and made an exception to be transferred to serve by her side, I'm afraid she would have to live a good life now.

Of course, these things and ideas are all thought up by them in private, and no one dares to get anyone to discuss them. So no matter how embarrassed they are now, they are just thinking about it.

Xiao Qinglang and Xu Chu flipped through the list of people handed over by Steward Liu, and said that the Liu family even brought a little maid and a rough mother-in-law, and there were more than 30 people at a rough look. If you ask them one by one, it's really a bit cumbersome. Fortunately, Zhang Youwei brought a few officials to come, which could make the two of them breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the subordinates in Liu Zhen's courtyard, as well as the carriage driver and others, still need Xiao Qinglang and Xu Chu to personally interrogate.

Before questioning, Xiao Qinglang and Xu Chu exchanged views of Zhu'er's deed of sale. Whether it is the big red seal of the government, or the history and road introduction, it is clearly recorded in the register, and there is nothing suspicious about the deed of sale.

"This pearl is an official slave who was sold?" Xiao Qinglang asked.

When Steward Liu saw him asking, he hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "Indeed, she was serving in the former county Cheng family before. It was only later that the former county lord was imprisoned for his crimes, and his wife and daughter were exiled to Lingnan, and several maids in the family were sold as official slaves. ”

"Because I am an official slave, the price is cheap and the way is right, so the master ordered me to buy two maids. One is Pink who has become a fugitive slave, and the other is Zhu'er, who is now serving in front of Madame. Seeing that this son raised his eyebrows, Steward Liu quickly wiped his cold sweat and replenished it.

Xiao Qinglang nodded, noncommittal, and continued to look at the booklet and the deed of sale in his hand. After a long time, he placed something on the coffee table and tapped it with his fingers.

The knobly jointed fingers tapped a few times, coldly with a slight scrutiny, as if knocking on the hearts of a dry person. Especially those subordinates who have their own thoughts, they don't dare to move at this time, for fear of causing trouble for themselves and letting the nobles target them.

"When you were serving your wife, did you notice anything unusual?"

Several people shook their heads in unison, and the eldest mother-in-law spoke: "Madame is kind and has always been sympathetic to people, and Madame is no different from usual before the accident." ”

"If I insist on saying that it is abnormal, it is that Madame will go to the pond to feed the fish for several days in a row. One day, when the lady was feeding the fish, she accidentally dropped the hairpin on her head into the pond, and the slave said that she should ask the housekeeper to find a small servant to go into the water and catch it. The lady said that there was a lot of silt in the left and right pools, and the water was a little muddy, so she simply asked the slave maid to find two people who were familiar with the nature of water, and then went into the water to catch the hairpins, and then cleaned up the pond. ”

Xu Chu raised his eyebrows and continued to ask, "What happened later?" ”

"Later, the slave maid was on the Zhuangzi outside the house, and found two strong young men to work as helpers." The woman was obviously a housekeeper, and compared to the other three maids, she looked much calmer. The words are also methodical, and they are obviously often playing outfield in the house.

"From Zhuangzi?"

"Yes, the girl doesn't know, my lord has a Zhuangzi on the outskirts of the county, and the living water in our house is brought from there. Because it is not far away, sometimes if there is a hard work in the house, they will not hire another person, but go directly to the Zhuangzi to find someone to do. ”

Xu Chu nodded, expressing his approval of her words.

"Besides, before the accident, who ever came to look for your wife? Or, has anyone ever come to Zhu'er, and has Zhu'er seen any living people? ”

"In our house, there is really no one else in the back house except for those two helpers. It's just that the two of them haven't seen Mrs. and Zhu'er. The woman thought carefully for a while, shook her head and said with great certainty, "There is no one else." Because at the beginning of the month, my wife went out without drying her head after bathing one day, and she contracted the wind cold, so she never saw outsiders. ”

In this way, about seven or eight questions were asked, except for the accident of the housekeeper's mother-in-law, and the remaining three maids, Xu Chu also asked carefully. Nothing was found, and to put it bluntly, Mrs. had a good temper, but she usually didn't want them to serve her, only Peach and Pearl were quite close to her liking.

If you follow a few maids, it is not difficult to see that Liu Zhen is a person who values affection. It's just because of the deep relationship with Pink, so after the Peach traitor fled, the love house and Wu also transferred Zhu'er to the side.

But having said that, it can be thought that Liu Zhen himself has children and daughters, but he is very good to a maid, not only taking special care of food and housing, but also giving special rewards for clothes and jewelry. These, except for Zhu'er, others have never had.

After the four people in Liu Zhen's courtyard finished questioning, they replied with an official messenger that there was nothing suspicious about the people in the house. Before and after the accident, there were no strange behaviors, let alone any strangers, and most of their respective homes were very peaceful, and there was no windfall or generosity.

After leaving the hall, Xiao Qinglang and Xu Chujing went to the backyard stable under the guidance of their subordinates. The Liu family originally had two coachmen, but the horseman who drove for Liu Zhen's that day was too frightened and is now bedridden, so when the two arrived, they only saw a coachman listlessly feeding the horses some forage.

"Liu Er, these are the two nobles who came with the county magistrate, and they are here to ask about the situation on the day of the accident." Seeing that the coachman was only focused on feeding the horses, the little guy who led the way ignored them, and couldn't help but raise his voice and said unhappily, "What do you say, don't offend these two." ”

That Liu Er looked a little old, his hair was gray, and his back was a little rickety. But the person was still in good spirits, and when he heard this, he hurriedly put down the guy in his hand and walked over.

"Hey, hey, in fact, the people from the government have come several times, and the little old man who should say it has also said. If you want to be more detailed, you have to ask Shengzi, who is the day he picks up his wife. Liu Er's shriveled hand touched the cigarette bag and pot pinned to his waist, and saw that the cigarette bag and pot were empty, so he knocked on the wooden pillar of the stable tastelessly.

"You mean pick up?" Xu Chu's expression tightened slightly.

"No, this month, the old man is busy checking the accounts in various shops, and sometimes he comes back late from the outside to check the accounts, and he will rest on the Zhuangzi for a night. One night before the accident, the old man had just checked the accounts on the outskirts of the city, and there happened to be a Zhuangzi there, so he simply stayed for a night. Early the next morning, he remembered that his wife was going to pay off his vows during the day, so he asked Shengzi to come back and send his wife to the temple. He also heard Shengzi talk about this later, but even if he didn't say it, the big guys would know about it. After all, for so many years, every year in the lunar month is the busiest time for the master.

Xu Chu nodded thoughtfully. Before she could think of anything, she saw that Xiao Qinglang had already taken a few steps to the front of the stable, and reached out to stroke the fur of the two horses.

"On that day, which horse pulled the carriage in which your wife was riding?" The movement of his hands did not stop, and the two horses only raised their heads and snorted, and then meekly lowered their heads to eat the forage, and did not seem to be dissatisfied with his stranger actions.

However, just when Xu Chu came to him and wanted to stretch out his hand, one of the horses was a little angry, and his hind hooves slammed directly, and he didn't seem to be happy with Xu Chu's approach. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, "This horse is quite temperamental." ”

"No, it has been in the Liu family for many years, and it is a veritable old horse. Maybe it's because I've been raising it for a long time, and I'm always used to it, but I've developed a temperament. However, thanks to its steady pulling, it has hardly been frightened, and it has never made a mistake, so the lord and his wife like to use it when they go out. Speaking of horses, Liu Er's words obviously increased. When he saw that the horse he raised was so well-behaved and docile under Xiao Qinglang, he couldn't help but look at Xiao Qinglang twice, and then he was much more comfortable in his words. On the day of Madame's accident, Shengzi was knocked unconscious, but he still pulled the carriage back steadily. Anyway, this horse is spiritual. ”