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That group of maidservants never expected the spearhead to be pointed at them. They knelt on the ground in a panic: "Miss Zhiqing, this servant is innocent, this servant is innocent..."
Xiao Cui was also confused at this point. The matter, after much twists and turns, had actually returned to its starting point.
Who on earth was the culprit?
Lin Shi'an's expression was serious. He stood with his feet together, hands behind his back: "There's still time to admit who did it now. Otherwise, you all know the Old Master's methods."
Lin Zhiqing looked and looked, only feeling that he was a spitting image of Lin Congli.
"Young Master Shi'an, it has nothing to do with me, it has nothing to do with me..." That group of maidservants scrambled to wave their hands, protesting their innocence.
Lin Shi'an only felt his head ache. He took two steps back, and a voice as gentle as a spring breeze came over.
"Cousin, the culprit is not among them." Lin Zhiqing leisurely closed the window frame and turned to look at the crowd.
Lin Shi'an's brows furrowed into a river character: "Apart from these few maidservants, no one else appeared in the garden that day."
"No, there was one more person. She did appear." Lin Zhiqing lightly tapped the table, and when she turned again, her gaze shot directly towards the old matron who had been in the corner, responsible for cleaning: "Isn't that right, Matron?"
She was the first person to be interrogated earlier.
Regarding Lin Zhiqing's sudden accusation, everyone was slow to react for a moment.
She took two steps forward, squatted down, and looked directly at the group of maidservants kneeling on the ground: "When you were flying kites, did she come by midway?"
"She" referred to that old matron.
"Miss Zhiqing, I indeed passed by the garden that day, but it was merely to bring the young ladies some water to drink. I did not overstep any bounds." The old matron stood up straight, her expression very aggrieved.
Just from this one sentence, Lin Zhiqing determined that this person was a clever one.
Without anyone else speaking up, she was the first to reveal her whereabouts, thereby seizing the initiative.
Sure enough, just as her voice fell, a maidservant spoke up, following her lead.
"Now that you mention it, I do remember. The Matron did come by!"
"Yes, yes, yes, she even poured us plum water to drink."
"That did happen!"
With Lin Zhiqing's reminder, everyone present remembered. The short maidservant from earlier had also said she had encountered this matron and had even used this matron to tamper with the tea water.
Seeing everyone looking at her with suspicion, the matron calmly performed a standard bow to the crowd: "Miss Zhiqing, I happened to pass by that day and had no intention of disturbing them. It was they who were thirsty and pestered me to bring out the plum water. I couldn't refuse, so I stopped."
After she said these words, those few maidservants exchanged a look and immediately chose to form a united front: "Matron, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. It was clearly you who proactively asked us."
"That's right, when we were drinking water, she took over the kite for a while." One of the maidservants slapped her forehead, and her voice rang out.
Once she said this, the others immediately chimed in.
Everyone chattered, giving a clean account of the old matron delivering water, flying the kite, and leaving.
The old matron, however, snorted coldly, her posture still ramrod straight: "Miss Zhiqing, the reason they are colluding is simply to shift the blame onto me to absolve themselves."
The older the ginger, the spicier it is... Lin Zhiqing narrowed her eyes.
Those maidservants had whispered a lot, but it was far less powerful than the old matron's two sentences.
Seeing that the situation had reached a stalemate, a hint of anger appeared on Lin Shi'an's baby face. Just as he was about to step forward, Lin Zhiqing stopped him.
Lin Zhiqing knew that this matron had been very composed from the beginning. Unlike the previous paper tigers, she was very difficult to deal with.
If things weren't laid out clearly, with her glib tongue, she could stir up a lot of trouble.
Lin Zhiqing took a deep breath, her fair fingers brushing over the curio shelf: "Matron, no need for more words. Did you or did you not touch the kite?"
Before the old matron could answer, that group of maidservants nodded vigorously.
Lin Zhiqing didn't give the matron a chance to speak: "You are an old servant in my cousin's room. This room has always been cleaned by you, including, of course, this curio shelf."
"There has always been a decorative teacup on the curio shelf, its color very similar to the rhinoceros-skin lacquer teacups. This made everyone accustomed to it and not pay much attention to this teacup."
Just as she finished speaking, Xiao Cui nodded in agreement.
Lin Zhiqing's hand holding the teacup tightened: "It was precisely this that you exploited. When my cousin invited me to appreciate the rhinoceros-skin lacquer tea set, you moved the teacup from the curio shelf in advance. Then, you feigned passing by the garden, and while the maidservants were drinking water, you flew the kite, simultaneously tying the rhinoceros-skin lacquer teacup, which was connected to the curio shelf, to the kite string."
"As the kite rose, the immense pulling force pulled the rhinoceros-skin lacquer teacup onto the curio shelf. The string, which had been tampered with beforehand, broke inside the curio shelf. After achieving your goal, you reeled in the kite, simultaneously retrieving the other section of the broken string on it."
"The kite was just a smokescreen. If the matter came to light, everyone would definitely suspect that group of maidservants, not you."
"You even framed them by knowing in advance that the short maidservant was going to make a move, deliberately giving her the opportunity to dispose of the evidence she herself left behind. This is clearly a scheme within a scheme."
Lin Zhiqing spoke clearly, connecting the events in just a few sentences.
The old matron's facial expression remained unchanged: "Miss Zhiqing, what you're saying is truly outlandish. How would an old woman like me know anything about teacups and kites?"
Lin Zhiqing noticed that when this matron spoke, she also lightly swallowed, her eyebrows slowly raised, and the muscles around her eyes tensed. This indicated that she was currently forcing herself to remain calm.
"This isn't outlandish at all." Lin Zhiqing smiled faintly and looked at Lin Shi'an: "Cousin, please trouble yourself to lay down this curio shelf so everyone can see if there's still a broken kite string inside the curio shelf."
Lin Shi'an had just been immersed in the scene Lin Zhiqing described. At this moment, he was indeed very curious.
After Xiao Cui and the others moved the items from the curio shelf, he stepped forward and gently supported it, and the curio shelf was laid horizontally on the ground.
Everyone gathered around.
Lin Zhiqing squatted down, fumbled around on the curio shelf for a while, then asked Xiao Cui for a dagger and stabbed it into the place where the teacup had been placed earlier.
Before she could shave off much, a piece of string end fell out.
Observing its material, it was undoubtedly kite string.
Lu Huai and the others exchanged a look, their eyes filled with surprise.
Hearing about such things was one thing, but seeing it laid out before their eyes was still very shocking.
After all, hiding a kite string inside this curio shelf was something an ordinary person really wouldn't think of.
Lin Zhiqing quickly pulled out all the kite string. She picked up the end and observed it.
As she had expected, one half of the kite string end had a very complete cross-section, clearly cut by a knife. This was to ensure the kite string would break when the kite ascended.
The other half of the string end, however, was clearly broken by brute force. Lin Zhiqing displayed the string end to everyone, then picked up the dagger again and pried directly at a corner of the curio shelf.
Seeing her act so decisively, Lu Huai's eyes darkened, a fleeting look of puzzlement within them.
After a short while, a corner of the curio shelf was pried open, revealing a rough crack on it.
Seeing this, Lin Zhiqing clapped her hands: "It's not easy to drill a small hole in such a large object. I wonder since when you started plotting this."
With that, she turned to look at the matron, a sharp glint in her eyes.
Stung by that gaze, the old matron couldn't withstand it and could only avert her eyes: "Miss Zhiqing, even if you've said so much, it doesn't prove that I was the one who poisoned the Young Miss."
"If you don't believe it, you can ask the family physician to come and check. Is there any poison in the cup taken down from the curio shelf?"
Lu Nanyue frowned. Just as she was about to step forward and check the cup, Lin Zhiqing stopped her.
She looked at Lin Zhiqing with puzzlement, only to see Lin Zhiqing pick up that cup: "She's right. This teacup is not poisoned."
"This..." Lu Huai and Jiang Liuyun exchanged a look, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.
The next moment, Lin Zhiqing gently caressed the cup in her hand, a hint of a smile in her tone:
"However, the contents of this cup are more dangerous than poison!"