Chapter 91: How to Conduct Oneself

Chapter 91: How to Conduct Oneself

Shi Ruixing hesitated for a moment, her mind in turmoil. One moment she thought of the lantern festival, when the girl had told her to go home early. The next moment she thought of the despairing and disgusting scene in her dream.

He closed his eyes briefly, took her hand, and whispered, "Nothing's wrong. Let her investigate."

Qiao Ya opened her mouth, the words in her heart about to spill out, but reason stopped her.

By the way, Uncle Shi knows about the Flower Garden incident, but he definitely won't come, so this matter will definitely not be exposed.

Thinking this made her feel much more at ease.

Jingwu looked at her gradually improving complexion, lowered his eyes and chuckled softly.

She turned and sat down in the chair, calmly waiting for what would happen next.

Before the prefect arrived was Qiao Ya's mother, the eldest wife of the Qiao family.

Upon hearing that someone had mentioned the Flower Garden, she immediately rushed over.

Upon seeing that they were two little girls, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Mrs. Qiao's gaze swept over the girl, then lingered on Shi Ruixing, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Ruixing, why would you want to go see that Youhua Courtyard? No one has lived there for a long time, and the courtyard has been locked up for ages."

Upon hearing this, Shi Ruixing stammered and couldn't explain why, so he decided to tell the truth.

She took the Qiyun hairpin and looked at the person in front of her.

“Auntie, we’ve come to find the owner of this hairpin. The master predicted that she died a tragic death, her eyes wide open in disbelief. We need to find her body.”

When Madam Qiao saw the Qiyun hairpin, she frowned. The next second, she realized something and turned around to glare fiercely at her daughter.

After composing herself, she smiled and spoke.

"Wasn't this hairpin a birthday gift from Ya'er? Aren't you the master of it? How could you curse yourself like that, child?"

"But……"

"All those so-called 'masters' on the market are frauds. Don't let Rising Antivirus fool you!"

Shi Ruixing was stumped by these words and immediately tried to defend himself.

Just then, the gatekeeper came to report that Prefect Shi had arrived.

Madam Qiao's expression changed, and she felt a little flustered. She immediately sent a maid to invite her husband back to the mansion.

Prefect Shi entered, led by his steward, and dared not look directly at Madam Qiao.

Walking in front of him was a girl in fine clothes with an extraordinary air about her.

His respectful demeanor made Madam Qiao suspicious of the girl's identity. There were very few people of noble status in Pingjiang Prefecture, and she had met them all before, but the person in front of her did not match.

So what exactly is this girl's identity that makes the prefect so respectful?

"Young lady, this is Madam Qiao," Prefect Shi introduced respectfully, then added to the woman, "This is Miss Han from the capital."

Upon hearing this, Madam Qiao frowned slightly.

She remembered that the Han family, which was prominent today, was the Han family that started as imperial merchants, but that Han family was in Muyun Prefecture, not in the capital.

Moreover, there are no girls of such a young age in the direct line of the Han family. Could it be a member of a collateral branch?

wrong!

Madam Qiao suddenly realized that the Empress was from the Han family, and her daughter, the princess, was currently fifteen or sixteen years old. It wouldn't be wrong for her to travel here privately and identify herself as a girl from the Han family.

Could it be...?

Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked at the prefect in disbelief to confirm. After he nodded, her heart sank to the bottom.

It's over, it's completely over now.

Jingwu found it amusing to watch her expression change.

“Awu, I went to the inn to find you. Madam Shao said you went out with a girl. I asked around and found out that you came to the Qiao family, but I didn’t know where the Qiao family was, so I went to the government office to ask the prefect to take me there.”

Yun Fanjing sat down beside her with a smile and began to chatter, "It just so happens that I ran into this little maid who asked the prefect to come to the Qiao family, so I came along. I heard that there is a corpse in the Qiao family. Where is it?"

Jingwu glanced at the Qiao mother and daughter with a half-smile, and seeing their pale faces, he said, "They're still in the backyard."

"Prefect Shi, take men to investigate immediately," Yun Fanjing said, turning her head instantly.

Prefect Shi used all his cunning, but remained calm as he spoke: "Miss, without evidence, one cannot arbitrarily search a private residence."

Yun Fanjing frowned, about to speak, when she heard the girl beside her speak.

"The evidence is right here." Jing Wu pointed to the Qiyun hairpin in Shi Ruixing's hand and said with a smile, "Since Miss Qiao insists that this hairpin was made by that craftsman, then the Prefect should go to the craftsman's house to check how many were made that day. And whether the two characters 'Wantang' engraved on the back of this hairpin were engraved by that craftsman."

These words shocked everyone. Shi Ruixing quickly looked down at the hairpin in his hand, examining it carefully three times before finally finding two tiny characters engraved on the handle.

She immediately took it to her father and showed it to him.

Qiao Ya's face turned pale. She had never imagined that there were words engraved on the hairpin.

"Oh, right." Jingwu's smiling voice rang out again: "The craftsman is at Li Carpenter's Shop on Yun Street. You can order someone to investigate now, sir."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that she had asked for the address not to have the hairpin made, but to extract information from him.

Qiao Ya wished she could slap herself hard for talking so much.

Prefect Shi couldn't help but curse his daughter inwardly for being so tactless and siding with outsiders.

Her brother was still hoping to marry the daughter of Vice Minister Qiao. If they offended the Qiao family now, wouldn't the marriage be ruined?

Seeing his hesitant look, Yun Fanjing's face turned cold: "Aren't you going?"

Upon hearing this, Prefect Shi was still trying to come up with an excuse to exonerate himself.

At this moment, Jingwu seemed to sense his thoughts and said, "There is one more thing. If your daughter wears this hairpin for a few more days, she will be affected by the resentment, become extremely sad, and hang herself."

The Shi father and daughter turned around abruptly to look at her, their eyes wide, as if trying to discern whether her words were true or false.

Jingwu turned to Qiao Ya, his eyes cold: "The master you found should have told you about this, but you insisted on giving this hairpin to Ruixing. What is your intention?"

Having spent so many years in officialdom, Prefect Shi immediately understood the meaning of those words.

Qiao Ya dared to do this, so she must have been instructed by the Qiao family. Since the Qiao family doesn't respect us at all, then we might as well end this in-law relationship.

He immediately stood up straight and said to the constables behind him, "You two go to Yun Street to investigate the craftsmen. The rest of you, come with me to search."

Madam Qiao knew things were going badly the moment Jingwu uttered those words.

She was in a panic, trying to figure out how to stop everyone from going to the flower garden, while also wondering why her husband hadn't returned yet.

Without further hesitation, Prefect Shi immediately led his men into Youhua Courtyard.

He knew perfectly well whether there were any corpses inside.

The group quickly entered the Youhua Courtyard, giving the Qiao mother and daughter no chance to react.

The exterior of Youhua Courtyard was dilapidated, but inside it was filled with flowers and plants, spotless and clearly well-maintained.

Just as he was about to push the door open, Madam Qiao immediately ran over and threw herself in front of him, disregarding her image.

"My lord, this is where the women of the inner quarters live. How are they supposed to behave if you barge in like this?"