Miss Truth-Chapter 489 - 322: Suspicion

"Do you know what was inside that box?" Ran Yan asked Liang’er, although she knew the likelihood was small, but Ran Yan still wouldn’t pass up any chance.

Liang’er hesitated for a moment before she said, "It’s a piece of clothing."

Ran Yan and Xiao Song were both shocked by her response. They had thought it was a secret hidden by the lady of the house, but unexpectedly, Liang’er knew. Xiao Song couldn’t help asking, "Have you seen what kind of clothing it is?"

"It’s a black robe similar to what the lady of the house wears, but it has a cloud pattern embroidered with gold thread. It looks extremely exquisite. There’s also a set of jewelry that includes twelve phoenix hairpins, but later, the lady of the house collected eight of them and gave them to Sister Ling Xiang, saying to hand them over to her when the empress passes away," Liang’er said. She knew it was a princess attire from the Liang Dynasty, but she couldn’t directly say it, after all, Xiliang was no more, and the clothing could only be considered ordinary attire now.

The lady of the house must have been worried about others bringing it up, which is why she removed eight of the phoenix hairpins. Princesses’ robes in Great Tang were no longer black robes, so even if Empress Xiao kept the clothing, it would simply be as a memento.

"This is the attire our grandmother kept for our aunty to be buried in after a century." Xiao Song pondered for a moment and said, "For our aunty, this carries an extraordinary significance, but to others, it’s nothing more than an old garment. Who would kill someone just to steal a piece of clothing!"

Liu Qingsong’s eyes were red as he walked out from the inner room. He was close with the lady of the house, and Ling Xiang also took good care of him. Losing two ’relatives’ in one day, and moreover, Xiao Family might not allow him to wear hemp and mourn, Liu Qingsong’s eyes were dim, showing a figure worn by grief, turning older much in such a short span.

The lady of the house had died a natural death, and even that was unbearable for Liu Qingsong, let alone that Ling Xiang had been murdered.

Liu Qingsong sat down at the mats, stayed quiet for a long time, then suddenly shouted harshly, "Investigate! Jiulang, you must find the murderer, I’ll tear him to pieces! Chop up and feed to the dogs!"

Ran Yan could understand his emotions. When Qin Linyun was lying on her autopsy table, she felt the same way; indeed, if it weren’t for the police captain stopping her, she might have actually tortured those criminals to death.

"Okay," Xiao Song agreed and then immediately got up and walked outside.

Ran Yan finally reached the doorway, watching him stride briskly to the Water Pavilion in the garden and speak to the Duke and other elders of his family. Those people hesitated for a while, discussed a few words, and then nodded.

Xiao Song left the Water Pavilion, summoned Bai Yi, and ordered the house’s guards to watch over every gate, starting a room-by-room search.

"How long has Ling Xiang been dead?" Xiao Song approached and asked Ran Yan.

Ran Yan decisively said, "Less than half an hour."

Xiao Song nodded. It wouldn’t be easy to sneak such a large golden nanmu box out in a short time. Xiao Song ordered the guards to check everyone and carriages that had left the residence within the past hour.

The Xiao Family guards were efficient, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they had compiled a list of names of those who had left the household in the past hour, their destinations, and what items they had taken out... After reviewing the list, Xiao Song excluded a few people without suspicion and ordered the rest to be searched for the remaining suspects.

There were three in total, two of whom were most suspicious as they had left in a carriage to report a death just before a quarter of an hour ago, and another was Shu Niang, whose reason for going out was unclear.

Nearing noon, no one had much appetite, only eating a little hastily. After noon, the elderly lady’s coffin arrived, a black-lacquered, red-striped golden nanmu coffin, handled by two people from the Du family along with a few female relatives of the main family to tidy the elderly lady. In reality, they were just there to oversee, preventing any mistreatment of the lady’s body, while the actual work was handled by Liang’er and two body-washing old ladies.

Being an aristocratic family, despite the murder, no one from Xiao Family was in a state of panic. The women were instructed to temporarily stay inside a small east house and not to go out; they complied, chatting where appropriate and playing chess where feasible.

As a woman of the Xiao Family, Ran Yan naturally couldn’t wander around with Xiao Song, so after lunch, she also went into the small east house. Among all the ladies, only the princesses and the county princesses were able to stay in their own courts.

"Aunt, please come over here and sit," Wan Niang called to Ran Yan upon seeing her.

Perhaps because Wan Niang’s son was too adorable, Ran Yan also showed her some respect and followed the path into the gazebo.

"Aunt, please take the seat of honor." Everyone made way for her, with Wan Niang yielding the main seat.

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