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Lu Huai naturally saw it too. He beckoned towards the door, and a person dressed as a guard immediately walked in.
He was holding a teacup, not a rhinoceros-skin lacquer tea set, just an ordinary kind.
Underneath the teacup was a matching saucer. However, everyone else's attention was on the teacup; only Lin Zhiqing's gaze lingered on the saucer for a moment.
Upon seeing these two items, the short maidservant's pupils constricted, and she bit her lip tightly.
Lu Huai took the cup, poured some water into it, and then, from who knows where, produced a silver needle and dipped it into the cup.
In just a few seconds, the silver needle turned black.
Lu Huai waved the silver needle in front of Lin Zhiqing, his chin slightly raised, as if to say: See, I found the evidence.
Lin Zhiqing was amused by him, while the others gasped in unison.
The short maidservant's body went limp, and she collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Seeing this, Xiao Cui almost ground her molars to bits. The finger she pointed at the maidservant trembled slightly: "It was actually you! Our Young Miss has always been kind to her servants and never mistreated them. Why would you harm her like this?"
"Xiao Cui, you're just one of Lin Yangyang's dogs. What right do you have to accuse me?" The short maidservant, with strength from who knows where, suddenly flung Xiao Cui's finger away.
Her eyes were filled with utter resentment:
"I merely touched the red jade gemstone on her dagger, and she forbade me from serving in the inner courtyard anymore! I was demoted from a first-rank maidservant to a third-rank maidservant, and my monthly allowance was reduced by a whole tael of silver!"
"You all think I don't know? The reason Lin Yangyang found an excuse to keep me out of the inner courtyard was because Lin Zhiqing whispered in her ear, saying I was devastatingly beautiful and she was afraid Young Master Shi'an, Young Master Lu, Young Noble Jiang, and the others would notice me!"
Her hands flailed in the air, and a torrent of curses poured from her mouth.
"You..." Xiao Cui's eyes widened. She first looked at Lu Huai, then at Lin Zhiqing.
The maidservant's words just now had involved her own Young Miss's privacy. If a reputation for jealousy spread, it would ultimately damage her maidenly reputation.
However, Xiao Cui was young and thin-skinned after all. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
"You little shrew." Aunt Mu rolled up her sleeves, stepped forward, and pointed at the maidservant's head, cursing: "Don't you look at what kind of trash you are, daring to slander the Young Miss of the Lin family!"
After speaking, she turned to Lu Huai: "Young Master Lu, you know what kind of person my Young Miss is. This is pure slander!"
Lu Huai's expression showed no change. He merely nodded lightly and then asked an unexpected question: "Red jade gemstones are exceptionally precious. The Lin family actually possesses such a treasure?"
Xiao Cui pursed her lips: "Young Master Lu, that dagger was left to our Young Miss by her deceased mother. She never allows anyone to touch it. It was bad enough that this maidservant secretly took it out a month ago, but she even tried to steal the red jade gemstone on it."
"Only after a detailed investigation was it discovered that she had stolen many pieces of jewelry from the rooms. Our Young Miss has a kind heart and only demoted her to a third-rank maidservant, without publicly announcing the theft. This was already an extraordinary act of mercy. Miss Zhiqing was also present that day."
Lu Huai didn't hear what he wanted to hear and lost interest, merely nodding nonchalantly.
Seeing his unchanged expression, Xiao Cui then wiped her tears: "Which family's servant who commits theft isn't sold to a brothel? I never expected her to have no remorse and dare to do such a vicious thing!"
The short maidservant sneered, the hatred in her eyes not diminishing in the slightest: "You're full of righteousness and morality. Why is it that Lin Zhiqing and the others have so many people surrounding them? If I dress up a little, my looks are not inferior to theirs!"
"Just a little bit more, and I could have met Young Master Shi'an." A hint of longing appeared in her eyes, then quickly turned into hatred: "Lin Zhiqing and Lin Yangyang, these two bitches, ruined everything! If I die, I die. Having Lin Yangyang, this hypocritical bitch, accompany me in death, my life wouldn't have been lived in vain, hahaha..."
Her laughter carried a hint of madness, causing people to inexplicably break out in goosebumps.
Lin Zhiqing, who had been silent all along, couldn't help but frown upon hearing these words: "You are mistaken. If you and any one of them were mutually in love, I wouldn't say half a word."
"But based solely on your theft, my cousins and the others wouldn't spare you another glance. This has nothing to do with appearance; it's a matter of character."
She couldn't stand this maidservant's attitude of blaming others and changing the subject when she had done wrong, nor did she like her practice of engaging in female rivalry with other women.
Lu Huai, who was at the side, heard this and looked at Lin Zhiqing with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
The short maidservant was stunned and, in the end, couldn't utter words like "bitch" anymore.
Lin Zhiqing's expression was serious. Seeing the maidservant silent, she only asked one question: "When did you administer the poison, and how did you switch the teacups?"
The maidservant sniffled. Thinking of Lin Zhiqing's words, she couldn't help but cry out:
"Before flying the kite, while the matron who came to clean wasn't paying attention, I found the old tea set she had packed away. I specially ordered a cup of tea and left it aside to cool before you all arrived."
"Lin Yangyang is impatient. If there's ready-made tea to drink, she won't bother making it herself."
"After the incident, the courtyard was in chaos. No one paid any attention to my ordinary tea set. Everyone's attention was on the rhinoceros-skin lacquer tea set."
"I was originally responsible for assisting the matron with cleaning the rooms, so naturally, I could deceive you fools and easily bring the items out."
"Miss Zhiqing, I know I was wrong. Can you spare me? I will repay you by being your loyal servant."
She scrambled to her knees on the ground and grabbed Lin Zhiqing's skirt.
Lin Zhiqing shook her head: "You don't know you were wrong; you know you're going to die."
After speaking, she turned away, unwilling to look anymore.
Lu Huai withdrew his probing gaze, glanced towards the door, and immediately guards walked in and escorted the maidservant away.
He took a step forward and looked at the crowd: "Everyone has witnessed today's events with their own eyes. The culprit has been brought to justice. This matter has nothing to do with Lin Zhiqing."
These words were spoken with firm conviction, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Xiao Cui pursed her lips, wiped her tears, and looked at Lin Zhiqing with a very complicated expression.
Lin Zhiqing, however, didn't speak. There was no excitement on her face from having her name cleared. Instead, she pinched her chin, as if deep in thought.
Lu Huai frowned slightly, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he asked Lin Zhiqing how she planned to deal with the thieving servant boy and the short maidservant.
Lin Zhiqing shook her head slightly: "No rush."
Those who had been implicated in the first place had already suffered an undeserved calamity. Now, seeing the matter drag on without a resolution, they couldn't help but become a bit agitated.
Lu Huai also didn't know what Lin Zhiqing meant by this and stared at her with furrowed brows.
Under the various gazes of the crowd, Lin Zhiqing shook her head: "Lu Huai, the culprit is someone else."
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap on a clear day, immediately causing a huge uproar in the crowd.
The first to react was Lu Huai: "What did you say?"
His expression was filled with suspicion, but there wasn't a trace of dissatisfaction.
Lin Zhiqing walked around the table: "I said, the culprit is still among the people present."
Her tone was light. Except for Lu Huai, everyone else started to clamor.
"A wet-behind-the-ears girl actually thinks she's all that?"
"Young Master Lu is exceptionally intelligent. Not only did he find material evidence, but even that maidservant has already admitted her mistake. How could there be another culprit?"
"Lin Zhiqing must be trying to use this opportunity to eliminate dissidents!"
Everyone discussed animatedly, completely disbelieving Lin Zhiqing's statement.
Lu Huai narrowed his eyes, and a single glance silenced them. Then he looked at Lin Zhiqing, his face full of disapproval: "Do you know we only have three days? The faster you find the culprit, the faster you'll be out of danger. Why not close the case first, and other matters can be investigated later..."
His tone was serious and carried a hint of warning. He clearly knew there was something fishy, but wanted to cut the Gordian knot quickly.
Lin Zhiqing understood his meaning. The sky was getting dark, and they only had two days left.
Aunt Mu also anxiously tugged at her sleeve: "Young Miss, don't be stubborn at a time like this. Save your life first!"
How could Lin Zhiqing not know that time was urgent? But she didn't want to end this matter hastily because she was already confident she could find the culprit.
Lu Huai was a smart person. Seeing Lin Zhiqing so insistent, he immediately reacted: "You found other clues?"
Lin Zhiqing nodded: "In fact, the ordinary teacup just confiscated from that maidservant was not the culprit that caused my cousin to fall unconscious from poisoning."
Lu Huai hadn't expected such solid evidence to be directly refuted by Lin Zhiqing: "What do you mean by that?"
Lin Zhiqing's gaze was profound as she looked at the several tea sets on the table: "There are a total of four rhinoceros-skin lacquer teacups. Two are on the table, one was stolen by the servant boy, and the last one is still in this room!"
"How is that possible!" Xiao Cui pursed her lips: "Miss Zhiqing, after my Young Miss's incident, the Old Master ordered people to search the entire room. There were no other extra items in the room."
The other servants also chimed in their agreement. Each of them was a part of this courtyard and was more or less familiar with it.
Lin Zhiqing ignored the crowd, squatted down, and gestured for everyone to look at the tea stain on the floor.
Lu Huai had mentioned that tea stain just now, but he hadn't looked at it closely.
Lin Zhiqing reached out and touched it: "The color of this floor covering is brownish, consistent with the color of the tea stain. It's easy for people to overlook the scattered, tiny marks next to it."
Saying this, she picked up a cup of water and poured it onto the floor covering.
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, several uniform dark marks soon appeared on the floor covering.
Lin Zhiqing pointed forward: "Look, here, and here, the color of the gold thread in these few places is a bit dark."
Lu Huai's gaze followed the path of Lin Zhiqing's finger and soon discovered something amiss.
The tea stain was evenly distributed, clearly moving in one direction.
That direction was—the curio shelf!