24: I don't keep useless people under my command.

Xie Weilou looked at Lin Qinghuang speechlessly and said, “Qinghuang, I’m just here to go through the motions, is there really a need to put in so much effort?”

Lin Qinghuang said indifferently, “I don’t keep useless people under my command!”

Xie Weilou sighed, “You want a horse to run, but you don’t give it grass. If you give me grass, I’ll put in the effort. I’ll let you know I’m not useless!”

Lin Qinghuang frowned, vaguely feeling that Xie Weilou’s words were a bit off, but she had no proof.

Xie Weilou bent down and examined Xu Pan’s body, gently pressing on his chest.

Xu Pan’s situation was somewhat different from Zhang Zai’s; there was no obvious drowning fluid or debris in his mouth and nose, and his chest showed no obvious signs of expansion.

He looked at Steward Ma and asked, “When Xu Pan was dragged into the pond by the water ghost last night, did he struggle?”

“Yes!”

Steward Ma answered subconsciously.

Xie Weilou and Lin Qinghuang immediately looked at Steward Ma upon hearing this. They then exchanged glances, a meaningful smile appearing on their faces.

Xie Weilou examined Xu Pan’s mouth and nose, shaking his head and saying, “There’s no drowning fluid in his mouth or nose, which indicates that he had already lost consciousness when he fell into the pond.”

He stared at Steward Ma, “Since he had already lost consciousness, where did the struggle come from?”

Steward Ma’s expression froze, and he immediately said, “Perhaps it was the heavy snow and dark sky last night, I must have seen it wrong.”

“Oh! That’s possible.”

Xie Weilou nodded, then looked at Zhang Yun and asked, “I’m very curious, when your husband died last night, you were at the scene, so why didn’t you report it last night?”

“I…”

Zhang Yun was immediately stumped by the question.

Everyone from the Tianquan Division also stared at Zhang Yun.

Zhang Zai’s death was not discovered by outsiders, so it was normal to report it today. But Xu Pan’s death was witnessed by everyone, so why wasn’t it reported last night?

It was understandable that others didn’t report it, but for Zhang Yun, as Xu Pan’s wife, not to report it promptly, that was suspicious.

Steward Ma quickly said, “Last night, the water ghost was committing murder, and everyone was in a state of panic and fear. Also, it was very late, so we assumed there was no one in the various government offices. We only reacted and rushed to report it today.”

“Is that so!”

Xie Weilou reached out and gently touched the back of Xu Pan’s head. The wound was smooth. He asked, “Steward Ma, how do you think this wound on the back of your master’s head came about?”

Steward Ma pondered, “He must have hit a stone. Last night, when the water ghost dragged the master down from the pavilion and encountered resistance from the guards, it threw the master by the pond. There happened to be a stone by the pond, and the master’s head hit it.”

The guards said, “When that water ghost was fighting with us, it indeed threw the master next to the pond.”

Xie Weilou said with a playful expression, “You just said that last night the wind and snow were heavy and the sky was dark. So how could you clearly see Xu Pan’s head hit the stone? Your eyesight, it’s good one moment and not good the next?”

“I…”

Steward Ma’s body trembled. He knew Xie Weilou had dug a pit for him, and he had unknowingly jumped into it.

Everyone stared at Steward Ma meaningfully; this person had a big problem!

Xie Weilou asked, “From which room was Xu Pan dragged out by the water ghost?”

“It was Steward Ma’s room.”

A guard immediately replied.

Xie Weilou looked at Steward Ma and asked, surprised, “What was Xu Pan doing in your room?”

Steward Ma quickly explained, “The master went to ask me about some accounting matters.”

Xie Weilou said, “Let’s go see that pond.”

Not long after.

Everyone arrived at a pond in the courtyard. The pond wasn’t large, but the water was quite deep, deep enough to drown a person without issue.

Xie Weilou bent down and looked at a sharp stone by the pond, which had frozen bloodstains on it.

Steward Ma pointed to the stone and said, “Last night, the master hit this stone.”

Xie Weilou glanced around and said with a faint smile, “Last night, it was covered in ice and snow, yet this stone wasn’t covered by heavy snow. That’s interesting. How come I feel that the snow around this stone has been dug up, noticeably shallower than the surrounding snow…”

“It really seems to be.”

The people from the Tianquan Division nodded slightly. There were other stones around, all covered in ice and snow, but this particular stone was not covered.

Moreover, the snow around this stone was noticeably shallower compared to other places, suggesting someone had deliberately dug away the snow to expose it.

There were quite a few footprints around the pond, but simply looking at them didn’t reveal anything conclusive.

“…”

A cold sweat appeared on Steward Ma’s forehead.

Xie Weilou stared at Steward Ma’s face and said with a smile, “Steward Ma, it’s so cold, yet you’re sweating.”

Everyone also stared at Steward Ma with cold smiles. With the investigation reaching this point, they already had some suspicions.

Steward Ma wiped away some sweat, shaking his head and saying, “It’s just some snow that got on my hair, now it’s melted into water droplets, it’s not sweat.”

Xie Weilou looked at the surrounding pavilions, his gaze falling on one of them, where a window on the second floor was broken: “Is this Steward Ma’s room?”

“That’s right.”

Steward Ma nodded.

Xie Weilou asked, “Where is Xu Pan’s room?”

“There!”

Steward Ma pointed to another pavilion.

Xie Weilou looked at Zhang Yun: “May I ask Madam Xu, is your room here?”

Zhang Yun subconsciously pointed to another pavilion.

Xie Weilou asked with a smile, “Madam Xu and Xu Pan don’t live in the same house, that surprises me.”

Zhang Yun’s body trembled, and she whispered, “I haven’t been well, so I haven’t been living with my husband for half a month.”

“Madam Xu isn’t well? I just examined your husband, and it seems he’s the one who isn’t well.”

Xie Weilou gave Zhang Yun a meaningful glance.

Zhang Yun’s eyes darted away, not daring to meet Xie Weilou’s gaze.

Xie Weilou then said, “Madam Xu, has anyone told you that the gray scarf around your neck doesn’t match your pink cotton dress, but it does somewhat match Steward Ma’s black robe!”

Everyone immediately looked at the scarf around Zhang Yun’s neck.

Earlier, when they saw Zhang Yun’s attire, they felt some inexplicable contradiction, but they couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

Now that Xie Weilou pointed it out, they finally realized.

The scarf around Zhang Yun’s neck was indeed out of place.

Not only did the color not match her clothes, but the material of this scarf was not silk; it was a coarse cloth, without any patterns or decorations, and its color was rather dull.

Generally speaking, women’s scarves are brighter in color and have exquisite decorations, patterns, etc., but Zhang Yun’s scarf had none of these; it looked more like a man’s scarf.

“…”

Zhang Yun’s expression became chaotic, and she completely panicked.

Xie Weilou said to Lin Qinghuang, “Lin Qinghuang, please take a look at Madam Xu’s scarf. I suspect there’s a ligature mark on her neck.”

Lin Qinghuang said to Zhang Yun, “Madam Xu, please let me see your scarf.”

Steward Ma quickly said, “This… this is the madam’s personal item.”

“Let me see it.”

Lin Qinghuang ignored Steward Ma and extended her hand to Zhang Yun with a poker face.