Chapter 187

Chapter 187: The Coroner A dead person? Mama Xu cautiously approached the edge of the well, and indeed saw a mass of disheveled hair spread out, along with skin that had been bleached white by the water. She was so frightened that she collapsed onto the ground. When Old Madame Song arrived, Mama Xu quickly waved her hands, preventing Old Madame Song from getting close. "Old Madame, there's... there's a dead person in the well!" As soon as Mama Xu finished speaking, all the maids and servants instinctively stepped back. The Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion hadn't had such an incident in many years, and the younger ones had never even heard of such a thing. Now that they learned there was a corpse in the well, the timid ones had already fainted. "Quick... quick, have Cui Lingrong come!" Old Madame Song didn't dare to look either, and could only send someone to fetch Cui Lingrong. When Cui Lingrong arrived and learned there was a corpse in the well, she was equally shocked. She had the body retrieved, and it turned out to be Zheng Side, the one who managed the estates for County Princess Rongjia. "How could such a thing happen?" Old Madame Song stood far away, not daring to look. Even so, she felt an indescribable stench wafting over. "Go summon the County Princess and ask what's going on?" Just as she finished speaking, she learned that Cui Lingrong had sent someone to summon a coroner. Old Madame Song hastily stopped her. "Why summon a coroner? Are you trying to make a big scene out of this?" "Old Madame, this is a matter of life and death. If there's a villain in our marquis mansion, are we to simply keep them around? Would you feel at ease?" Cui Lingrong actually had a guess as to who had done it. "The mansion is under your management. If a villain truly got in, you should be the one held accountable!" Old Madame Song glared at Cui Lingrong. "You insisted on taking over household management back then, and now look—you've managed to produce a death. Tell me, can't you just let me have some peace of mind?" At that moment, County Princess Rongjia arrived. Upon learning that the dead person was Zheng Side, one of her own people, she also agreed to summon a coroner to examine the body. Old Madame Song still refused to agree. A death in the marquis mansion, and by drowning in a well at that—regardless of the reason behind it, she didn't want it known to others. But since this wasn't done by County Princess Rongjia, and the deceased was one of her people, she wanted to make a big deal out of it. Whoever did it, it would still be Cui Lingrong's failure in household management. "Old Madame, Sister Cui is right. If this matter isn't investigated thoroughly, it will only cause widespread unease." With that, she looked at Cui Lingrong. "Isn't that so, Sister Cui? You also want to know whether this was an accident or something done deliberately by someone?" Cui Lingrong, however, said, "I... I'll follow Old Madame's wishes. Old Madame is also thinking of the mansion's reputation. It truly isn't appropriate to make this public. Perhaps it was just an accident." Hearing Cui Lingrong suddenly change her tune and no longer want to investigate, County Princess Rongjia immediately sensed something suspicious. If the matter were dropped, everyone would say Cui Lingrong's mismanagement had led to this accident. Moreover, without a thorough investigation, the household servants would never feel at ease, which would also be detrimental to Cui Lingrong's future management. Could it be that this matter was connected to Cui Lingrong? Once County Princess Rongjia realized this, she refused to let it go. "The deceased is my estate manager, and he died in the marquis mansion. Without a proper explanation, how can we convince anyone? I know Old Madame is concerned about the mansion's reputation. Why don't I go to the Rong Prince Mansion to request someone to examine the body? We can still determine the cause of death." "That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Cui Lingrong said with a troubled expression. "Old Madame doesn't want to summon a coroner precisely to avoid unnecessary complications. If the County Princess goes to the Rong Prince Mansion to request someone, wouldn't that..." "Why does Sister Cui keep obstructing this?" County Princess Rongjia countered. "Do you not trust me, or do you not trust the Rong Prince Mansion?" She gave her assurance. "Please rest assured, Old Madame. The Rong Prince Mansion is my maternal family—they will absolutely not let a word of this leak out! You wouldn't want to live in fear and anxiety every day, would you?" Old Madame Song hesitated. She did want to get to the bottom of it, but she was also afraid of the what-ifs. Moreover, the deceased was one of County Princess Rongjia's people, so it was reasonable for the County Princess to want a thorough investigation. But for such a major matter, Old Madame Song thought it over and said, "Let's wait until the Marquis returns. It won't make a difference to wait another hour." Lately, she felt she was getting old, no longer as sharp-minded, and feared making the wrong decision. With Old Madame Song's words, County Princess Rongjia sent someone to wait at the gate for Song Shulan, only to discover that Cui Lingrong had also quietly sent Caiyue to keep watch. Back in Wutong Courtyard, County Princess Rongjia became even more certain. "Cui Lingrong is not clean in this matter—definitely!" Chen De's Wife also found it strange. "If this had nothing to do with that person in Qiushuang Zhai, she would have agreed. But at first, she wanted to summon a coroner herself. County Princess, could there be some trick here?" "What trick could there be? Did you kill him, or did I?" County Princess Rongjia had only met Zheng Side a handful of times. Seeing Chen De's Wife shake her head, she continued, "There you have it. Since it has nothing to do with us, let's investigate it thoroughly. After all, he was someone managing affairs on my behalf. If I don't give a proper account, who will be willing to work for me in the future?" That reasoning made sense. The deceased was County Princess Rongjia's person. If she didn't insist on investigating, the people in Wutong Courtyard would surely lose their loyalty. Chen De's Wife found the reasoning sound as well. "But we still need to be careful. The eldest young mistress's scheming isn't just a little—it's a great deal." "Don't worry, we've invited people from the Rong Prince Mansion—can't you trust them?" As County Princess Rongjia spoke, she heard that Song Shulan had returned and hurriedly led her people to the front courtyard. When she arrived, she happened to catch a glimpse of Caiyue's retreating figure. Upon entering the room and inquiring, she confirmed that Caiyue had just been there, which made her all the more insistent on having someone investigate the cause of Zheng Side's death. "Master Song, Zheng Side was my dowry estate steward, and he also handled part of the fruit and vegetable duties on a regular basis. He held some standing in the Marquis's household. If a man like this dies without explanation and we don't provide an answer, it will chill the hearts of the servants." County Princess Rongjia personally poured tea for Song Shulan. "The Old Madame's concerns are reasonable, so let's just have the Rong Prince Mansion's people conduct the autopsy. Rest assured, not a word will leak out." Song Shulan had just returned and heard that someone had died in the household—his head was spinning. "How on earth did something like this happen out of nowhere?" "Ah, who knows? And Sister Cui agreed as well. Consider it for my sake—shall I send someone to the Rong Prince Mansion?" County Princess Rongjia said this deliberately, since Cui Lingrong had initially wanted to summon a coroner too. Hearing this, Song Shulan had no better option and could only agree, saying, "Fine, we'll do as you say."