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"Elder Brother," Fourth Master called out, as if reminding him to think thrice before acting.
"First Uncle," Lin Zhiqing also called out.
Lin Congli's gaze was profound. "Someone, bring up that nanny's suicide note."
Soon, under Fourth Master's complicated gaze, a thin piece of paper was placed in Lin Zhiqing's hand.
She casually touched it. The paper was smooth, its texture very good, not like something a nanny could afford to use.
This was clearly prepared in advance.
She glanced at Fourth Master without a change in expression, then began to read the contents of the paper.
Every word on it was an accusation of Lin Zhiqing and Lin Yangyang's "evil deeds." The handwriting was messy and looked disorganized.
It looked... like there was nothing wrong.
Seeing that Lin Zhiqing had almost finished reading, Lin Congli dismissed all the servants, his chest heaving slightly:
"Since that nanny was detained, we have not interfered with this suicide note."
The meaning behind these words was already very clear: there was indeed something wrong with Nanny Zhao's matter!
Lin Zhiqing didn't quite believe Lin Congli's words. Seeing that the suicide note seemed fine, she asked about another important matter:
"First Uncle, where is Nanny Zhao's body?"
At the mention of this, Lin Congli's throat moved, but he ultimately said nothing.
Instead, Fourth Master let out a cold laugh and sat down. "Having committed such a grave error, and then taking her own life before Elder Brother could pass judgment, what's the point of keeping such a person's body?"
A single night was enough time to do many things.
Lin Zhiqing ignored Fourth Master, her eyes fixed tightly on Lin Congli.
In this situation, Lin Congli paced back and forth a couple of steps.
Fourth Master, at this moment, seemed to have lost his earlier nervousness and even straightened his robes.
Seeing his unhurried appearance, Lin Zhiqing felt a little worried, fearing she had made a trip in vain.
The body might have already been disposed of; Lin Congli might just be taking her through the motions.
However, a moment later, Lin Zhiqing realized she had overthought things.
Nanny Zhao's body was right before her eyes, extremely horrifying.
Even though it had been carefully cleaned, she could still see traces of soil on the body.
Could it be that this body was just dug up?
Lin Zhiqing silently moved a little further away.
In contrast, Fourth Master's complexion was rather poor.
He looked at Lin Congli with a questioning gaze. "Elder Brother, how could you..."
"Small acts of faith establish great credibility," Lin Congli said slowly. "You are a scholar; you should understand this principle."
His words seemed harmless, but Fourth Master's face immediately flushed red, and he spoke no more.
Suffering for the sake of saving face.
Lin Zhiqing silently criticized him in her heart before carefully observing the body on the ground.
With just one glance, she noticed something was wrong.
Nanny Zhao's face was ashen, and there were still some residual bloodstains around her mouth and nose.
These symptoms... were clearly caused by poisoning!
But how could someone be poisoned for no reason?
Because of the precedent set by Biluo, Lin Zhiqing and Lin Shian had carefully checked the previous day; Nanny Zhao had not ingested any poison beforehand.
And when she was detained, there was nothing suspicious on her person.
In other words, Nanny Zhao had been poisoned by someone.
Judging from the current situation, it was very likely that someone wanted to silence her completely.
Alarm bells rang loudly in Lin Zhiqing's mind. Her footsteps immediately retreated several paces, and she stared at Lin Congli and Fourth Master with a wary expression.
Seeing this, Lin Congli sighed softly. "We didn't kill her."
After he finished speaking, the word "disbelief" was clearly written all over Lin Zhiqing's face.
Fourth Master turned his head away, seemingly unwilling to express his opinion.
But Lin Zhiqing didn't want to let him off the hook either.
"Fourth Uncle, did you kill her?" Her tone carried a hint of nonchalance.
Seeing Fourth Master frown, she continued, "Or was she killed by Younger Sister Jingya?"
The moment he heard this, Fourth Master's expression changed, and his eyes instantly became serious.
Even Lin Congli was somewhat surprised.
Lin Zhiqing looked at their reactions and was now completely certain.
Lin Jingya was Fourth Master's biological daughter, fourteen years of age.
Lin Zhiqing had not yet met her since she transmigrated.
"You wicked creature, do you know what you're saying?" Fourth Master's usually beautiful peach-blossom eyes revealed a hint of exhaustion and unconcealable anger.
"Such an obvious method of murder; First Uncle and Fourth Uncle are not that foolish." Lin Zhiqing tightened her grip on the dagger hidden in her sleeve, but her face showed no fear as she continued to analyze:
"Why are you so anxious to end this matter, not allowing me to investigate thoroughly? Could it be that you are trying to cover something up?"
"Fourth Aunt usually never steps out of the house. Why did she suddenly leave the residence with Younger Sister Jingya yesterday and still hasn't returned?"
A series of questions left Fourth Master choking on his words.
After a long while, he finally managed to force out a sentence: "How do you know the whereabouts of people in the Lin residence?"
"Fourth Uncle, there are no walls that don't have cracks. If you can't pry someone's mouth open, it only means you haven't offered enough benefits." A trace of coldness was on Lin Zhiqing's beautiful face.
The money she had borrowed from Lu Huai was certainly not borrowed for nothing.
These words somewhat surprised Lin Congli.
Lin Zhiqing didn't notice Lin Congli's gaze, keeping her eyes fixed on Fourth Master:
"Fourth Uncle, I am doing all this merely for self-preservation."
"Hah, ridiculous!" Fourth Master flicked his sleeve. "You're standing here perfectly fine now. What need do you have for self-preservation?"
That contemptuous tone made Lin Zhiqing very uncomfortable:
"I'm afraid Fourth Uncle has forgotten that on that day, Older Female Cousin and I were tasting tea together."
"Whether it was the lacquer or the rhododendron tea, the culprit was after both our lives."
"I was lucky to escape, but that doesn't mean that person has no intention of killing me. I just want to live."
Her every word was resolute, especially the phrase "I just want to live."
Lin Congli and Fourth Master exchanged a glance. Even if they were reluctant to admit it, Lin Zhiqing had Lin family blood flowing in her veins.
She was their biological niece!
Seeing the expressions on their faces soften, Lin Zhiqing knew her appropriately timed show of weakness had worked.
When she spoke again, her voice carried a hint of a sob:
"Younger Sister Jingya is my relative. I don't blame her. I just want to ask her in person, why exactly did she do this?"
"Why was she so cruel to me and Older Female Cousin, wishing she could get rid of us?"
At this point, the lies would shatter with a touch.
Lin Congli pressed Fourth Master's arm, his tone softening somewhat. "Zhiqing, Jingya is young. Your Fourth Uncle was unaware when she did these things."
He had relented.
The grievance on Lin Zhiqing's face didn't reach her eyes. Unaware?
Fourth Master's expression at this moment was also quite telling.
His eyes darted to the left, the corners of his mouth turned down, and his chest heaved slightly, as if he didn't want to face the fact that his daughter had harmed someone.
Indeed, unaware.
Lin Zhiqing understood in her heart, a trace of coldness hidden in her eyes:
"First Uncle, I want to see Younger Sister Jingya."