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墨書 Inktalez
Su Jingliang awkwardly cleared his throat and said, "Su Di is here!"
Su Di is the son of the Nursemaid. From this name, it is clear that it is not a formal name, but rather a nickname commonly used by the Su Family.
Xing Ruyi looked up and indeed saw another person in the courtyard. The child, around thirteen or fourteen years old, would have been just a middle school student in her time, but in the Golden Tang Dynasty, children from poor families often became independent at an early age. Su Di was relatively fortunate to be born into the Su Family; although his father was merely a steward of the family, his living conditions were not much worse than those of the young masters and ladies.
However, this child seemed to be taciturn, with cold eyes that appeared devoid of emotion. It wasn't until he heard Su Jingliang explain the situation that a flicker of change appeared in his gaze. He glanced at the ground and said to Su Jingliang, "She is not my mother!"
"You didn't even look; how do you know that the person lying on the ground isn't your mother?" Xing Ruyi asked, curious about Su Di's certainty.
"My mother is not dead; she is just missing. She was taken away by the spirit of my cousin's concubine," Su Di said, biting his lip and trying hard to keep his gaze from drifting downwards.
"Who told you this?" Xing Ruyi asked again.
"No one told me; I overheard my father talking to Third Young Master. He said my mother couldn't possibly be missing; she was just called away by my cousin's concubine and would naturally return after some time," Su Di insisted stubbornly, though his voice sounded uncertain. Xing Ruyi understood well what children of this age might think; she had lost her parents at a young age too and had been reluctant for a long time to let others mention them, especially the word "dead."
"I know what you're thinking. No child wishes for their mother to suffer misfortune. But Su Di, have you considered that if the person lying there truly is your mother, and if she was indeed murdered by a bad person and sealed within this wall, unable to rest even after death—wouldn't you feel heartbroken as her son?"
Su Di bit his lip tightly and remained silent for a while.
Xing Ruyi softened her tone: "Go on, take a look. If she isn't your mother, it will help the Government Office uncover the truth sooner so she can be laid to rest peacefully. If she is your mother, then it's even more important to find out the truth so she can leave in peace."
Su Di looked up at Xing Ruyi and asked her, "Are you also from the Yamen?"
"I'm not; I can barely be considered a guest of the Su Family. I just happened to encounter this incident," Xing Ruyi pointed to the guest room where the corpse was discovered. "Two family members traveling with me are staying in that room. One of them is a girl named Bell, who is about your age. You can imagine how panicked she must have been when faced with such an event. But instead of being afraid, she chose to seek my help and inform Second Young Master. You're a boy; you should be much stronger than my Bell, right?"
Su Di nodded, "Okay, I'll go take a look!"
"Just a friendly warning: her face has already decayed. You should only look at her body—check her clothing and accessories to see if they belong to your mother. You can also tell the Coroner if your mother had any distinct features that could help with further verification."
Su Di only took a glance before responding.
"The clothes belonged to my mother. I still remember that before she went missing, she wore the same outfit. This dress was made for her by my sister, and my mother loved it so much that she never changed it. And this Silver Hairpin on her head, although somewhat deformed, is very similar to the one my mother used to wear." Su Di struggled to hold back tears, but they gradually spilled over: "This Silver Hairpin was a gift from my father to my mother. When my father married my mother, he was just a servant in the Su Family with nothing to his name. So when my mother married him, aside from a red veil that the Concubine used when she got married, she had nothing else. Later on, my father mentioned giving my mother some compensation, but she always said she had two children to raise and needed to prepare a dowry for my sister and a betrothal gift for me, so she asked my father not to spend too much. This Silver Hairpin was something my father secretly took me to buy; I remember he was very nervous that whole time and seemed distracted while choosing the design, so I ended up picking it out."
Unintentionally listening closely, Xing Ruyi quickly realized she had grasped another key issue. She looked into Su Di's eyes and asked, "Since this Silver Hairpin was a gift from your father to your mother, why was he distracted while selecting it?"
"Perhaps it was because of all the happenings in the household?" Su Di sighed: "I remember clearly that just a few days before my father bought this Silver Hairpin for my mother, there were reports of ghosts haunting the house, and the one who saw the ghost was my mother. Following Madam to catch the ghost resulted in her falling ill instead. The Eldest Young Master became very irritable because of Madam's illness, and since my father was the steward at that time, he inevitably faced reprimands."
"By the way, my father originally planned to give my mother a Hairpin and a pair of Jade Bracelets. But because of the ghost incidents, he changed the Hairpin to a Silver Hairpin for protection against evil spirits. The Jade Bracelets were later purchased as well; he even took them to the temple for the Master to bless them. Unfortunately, by then, my mother had already gone missing."
The sorrow in Su Di's voice was palpable. Su Jingliang had watched Su Di grow up and felt a pang of sympathy seeing him like this. He walked over and gently patted his shoulder.
"Ruyi, do you have any more questions? If not, I will take him home now. It's too much for a child to bear."
"Not for now! However, if the deceased is confirmed to be Nursemaid, the Yamen will likely need to ask Su Di to come in later. Also, Su Butler should be informed in advance about this."
"I understand!" Su Jingliang nodded.
Su Di took a couple of steps before turning back to Xing Ruyi: "My mother's toes are somewhat different from others', especially her little toe. My mother is from the Chang'an Hongtong Clan; due to poverty at home, she was sold as a maid and later followed her cousin Concubine to the Su Family. I've heard that only people from that place have double-layered toenails, so aside from me and my sister in this household, no one else should have them."
As soon as Su Di finished speaking, the Coroner went to check the deceased's toes. Su Di stood still, waiting for results.
"How is it? Are they double-layered?"
Seeing the Coroner stand up, Xing Ruyi hurriedly asked.
The Coroner nodded first and then replied: "Yes, they are double-layered!"
Upon hearing this from the Coroner, Su Di could no longer hold himself together. He cautiously approached the Corpse and gently pushed aside the disheveled hair covering it. When he saw that twisted and deformed face and those nails driven into the hands and feet, he felt both fear and heartache mixed with guilt; his cries were stifled deep within his chest.
"If you're scared, shout it out. If you want to cry, cry it out. That person on the ground is your mother; no one will laugh at you." Although Xing Ruyi already knew that the corpse on the ground was the Nursemaid, seeing such a scene still made her uncontrollably think of her past.
Yin Yuan quietly stood beside Xing Ruyi and reached out to tug at her hand. Seeing her looking down, his handsome face instantly broke into a charming smile. "Consort Ruyi, there's Yin Yuan, and there's Father Fox. What is there to be afraid of?"
Xing Ruyi smiled! Yin Yuan, like the fox, was not an ordinary person; the fox could see into people's hearts, and since Yin Yuan was raised by the fox, he must have mastered this ability long ago. She squatted down and pinched his chubby cheek. "That's right! I still have you, and the fox, and Si Niang and Bell, and Brother Chang and Shengzi. So what if I don't have my parents? There are still people who care for me and look after me, right? I believe that parents wouldn't want their children to be sad for them."
These words were meant for both herself and Su Di. That child was quite mature; Xing Ruyi believed he would understand.
Su Di initially suppressed his cries but then burst into loud sobs. This bout of crying did not last long before he stood up, wiped his tears vigorously, walked up to Su Jingliang, and knelt heavily. "Second Young Master, I beg you, please uncover the truth. My mother cannot just die without reason."
"Don't worry. Even if you don't ask me, I, Su Jingliang, will investigate the Nursemaid's case thoroughly. It is terrifying that a murderer is hiding in my Su Family and has concealed a corpse in our guest room." Su Jingliang helped Su Di up and brought him over to Chang Tai, bowing deeply. "Lord Chang is a Constable from the Metropolitan Government Office; you must be an expert in solving cases. I entrust this bizarre case of my Su Family to you!"
"Young Master Su is too polite. Since Chang Tai has taken on the county master's task, I will certainly handle the matters of the Su Family with utmost care." After saying this, he ordered the Yard Officer to lift the Nursemaid's corpse. "Until the case is investigated clearly, the victim's corpse will be temporarily managed by the Yamen. Additionally, we need to ask Su Di to come with us for some necessary records."
Su Jingliang looked at Su Di and hesitantly asked, "Can I accompany my brother?"
"It would be great if Young Master Su wishes to go together; after all, the victim is from the Su Family. If there isn't a representative from the Su Family present, it wouldn't do." Chang Tai said as he instructed the leading Yard Officer briefly. "Young Master Su and your brother should follow Constable He back; I still need to investigate the scene further to see if the murderer left any other evidence."
Su Jingliang had no objections; he took out the key to You Lai Courtyard and handed it to Chang Tai before leaving with his brother alongside Constable He.
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