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Although it was a question, it was spoken in a declarative tone.
Under Lu Huai's inquisitive gaze, Lin Zhiqing shook her head: "I don't know."
She was telling the truth.
Lu Huai didn't ask any more questions, sat down on his own, and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
After a while, a commotion appeared outside the courtyard.
"Why did you call us here for no reason? Who will make the soup and medicine for the young miss?"
"This is obviously our courtyard. The young miss has fallen ill, but others have come to show off."
"I haven't finished the work at hand yet, how much longer will I be delayed here?"
...
Just as everyone was discussing, Aunt Mu stood behind Lin Zhiqing and softly introduced the identities of these people.
Lin Zhiqing paid attention to the few people who were making the most noise, observing the expressions on their faces without moving, and did not speak to stop them.
It wasn't until Xiaocui put on the airs of a dayahuan that the group gradually quieted down.
Seeing this, Lin Zhiqing quickly called out the names of a few people.
The people who were called out reluctantly walked out.
The person in charge of looking after the utensils was a young xiaosi who looked very clever. The person in charge of cleaning the room was an old momo. A group of young yatou also came out together.
Lin Zhiqing recalled for a moment, saw that everyone was there, and then waved her hand to let the others leave.
These people were the ones who had the fastest access to this room when or after the incident happened, and they were also the most suspicious.
Lin Zhiqing's gaze swept over the several people and first fell on the old momo: "I'll ask you, after my elder cousin fell unconscious, was it you who cleaned the room?"
The old momo stepped forward and showed a look of panic on her face: "Replying to Miss Zhiqing, it was me."
"But at that time, Miss Xiaocui only instructed me to do a simple cleaning, not to erase some traces, in case the clues of the murderer's harm were lost."
Xiaocui nodded, indicating that it was true.
Lin Zhiqing signaled everyone to enter the room, walked around the table, and walked around the room.
It was indeed as the old momo said. She had only roughly cleaned up. There was some obvious dust in many places.
Seeing that everyone didn't see anything wrong, the old momo pursed her lips and took half a step back, not showing any dissatisfaction at being questioned.
Lin Zhiqing's gaze turned to the other young yatou: "Why were you flying kites in the garden yesterday?"
The several young yatou looked at each other, seeming a little hesitant.
Lin Zhiqing and Lu Huai exchanged a glance. Both of them understood that there must be something wrong.
Lin Zhiqing deliberately put on a stern face: "What can't you say? Could it be that my elder cousin's poisoning is related to you?"
Hearing this, the several young yatou shook their hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, Miss Zhiqing, this has nothing to do with us."
But after saying this, the several people dared not speak again.
Xiaocui frowned: "What can't you say? The young miss is usually kind to others. She won't blame you for flying kites."
Hearing this, the several people pushed and shoved each other, and finally a short yatou stood up: "Sister Xiaocui, if we tell you, don't blame us."
"Actually, it was the young miss who wanted to fly a kite, so she ordered us to make kites. After we made them, we took them out to see if they could fly."
After finishing speaking, the short yatou looked at Xiaocui timidly.
When Xiaocui heard this, there was indeed some anger on her face: "During this time, the master asked the young miss to learn etiquette, and she was not allowed to play around. Why did you still take her to fool around?"
The short yatou took two steps back, her eyes filled with grievance: "Sister Xiaocui, the young miss insisted that we make kites. We didn't dare to disobey her orders."
The words had come to this point, and Xiaocui also knew the playful character of her own young miss, so she stopped speaking.
Lin Zhiqing nodded, indicating that she already knew.
Compared with the cooperative attitude of the yatou and the old momo, the xiaosi in charge of the utensils looked a little impatient.
Before Lin Zhiqing could ask him, he frowned and said, "Miss Zhiqing, I have always been in charge of the utensils. Is there any problem?"
Lin Zhiqing stared at his face for a while, did not blame him, but followed his words and asked: "You said you are in charge of the utensils, then please tell me about all the utensils used before, during, and after the incident."
The xiaosi was slightly stunned, but he spoke clearly: "The young miss used a set of glass cups for breakfast, a fangdou cup [9] with a multicolored baby play design for lunch, and a Lingnan rhinoceros hide lacquer tea set when drinking tea with you, Miss Zhiqing."
Hearing this, Lu Huai glanced at the tea set on the table, thinking of the bogujia [10] with rhinoceros hide lacquer, but he didn't interrupt.
Lin Zhiqing had a certain guess in her heart, and she continued to ask, "After these tea sets were used, did you count them carefully and put them away?"
The xiaosi nodded: "Of course, I have carefully counted each set of tea sets and put them away."
His eyebrows were raised, and the distance between his eyes narrowed, obviously very confident.
Lin Zhiqing nodded: "Is the tea set on the table the Lingnan rhinoceros hide lacquer tea set?"
Just as the old momo said, in order to protect the scene, almost nothing on the table had been moved.
Including the food box and tea set.
The xiaosi stepped forward and carefully identified it, and soon nodded: "Yes, this is that set of rhinoceros hide lacquer tea set."
"I just counted it that day, and the young miss said she wanted to invite Miss Zhiqing to drink tea, so she asked Sister Xiaocui to take it out and use it."
The xiaosi was very sure, and even raised his voice.
However, Lin Zhiqing keenly noticed that when he said these words, his nasal cavity contracted, and he held his breath. This meant that he was very nervous now, completely without the composure and confidence he had just had.
"How many teacups are there in this set of rhinoceros hide lacquer tea sets?" Lin Zhiqing tapped the table lightly.
The xiaosi subconsciously touched his nose: "Five pieces, one pot, two cups, and two saucers. There are two teacups in total."
As he spoke, everyone looked at the tabletop. There was indeed one pot, two cups, and two saucers on the table, which seemed to have no problems.
But Lin Zhiqing keenly noticed the look of apprehension on the xiaosi's face. She was about to ask in detail when the short yatou from before changed color, and whispered something with her companion.
Lin Zhiqing turned her direction and looked at the short yatou.
Xiaocui noticed Lin Zhiqing's gaze and quickly called the yatou over.
"What were you talking about just now?" Lin Zhiqing's eyes were very sharp.
The short yatou glanced at the xiaosi, pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then said, "Miss Zhiqing, I saw that set of rhinoceros hide lacquer tea sets when they entered the storeroom. It's not five pieces."
"You're lying!" As soon as the short yatou finished speaking, the xiaosi turned red in the face, and his voice instantly rose.
The short yatou was anxious: "I'm not lying. I saw it with my own eyes at the time. That set of tea sets clearly has seven pieces!"