Shadows Light

Though she was surprised, Lin Zhiqing knew the focus at this moment wasn't on the original host's father.

So she continued to ask, "What does burning spirit money for my father have to do with my cousin?"

Bihuan couldn't help but wipe her tears. "Two hours ago, the young mistress sent someone to invite you over for tea. You were furious because you were in the middle of making the golden corn cakes that your father and mother loved most."

"You took me with you, and the young mistress brought out a box of precious pastries, saying they were sent from Jiangnan by the elder master. She wanted to pair them with her newly acquired rhinoceros-hide lacquer tea set."

"You were resentful and whispered to me that the young mistress was deliberately showing off to humiliate you."

"Then you ordered me to go back and fetch the golden corn cakes you had made. You also sent the young mistress's maid to the small kitchen to prepare snacks."

"Before leaving, both I and the maid heard you arguing with the young mistress. You said the elder master had selfishly caused your father's death and was unworthy of being called a brother..."

At this point, Bihuan's voice gradually weakened.

Lin Zhiqing noticed that her tone lacked any emotional fluctuation, as if she were reciting from memory. This made Lin Zhiqing frown slightly.

Not only that, but Bihuan's shoulders twitched slightly as she spoke, and her tone was unnaturally smooth, without the usual grammatical errors or filler words.

These details suggested that Bihuan's story had likely been prepared in advance.

She was probably lying!

With this in mind, Lin Zhiqing turned her gaze to Lin Congli.

According to Bihuan, Lin Congli was the father of her cousin, making him the original host's uncle.

As the uncle, he should have referred to the original host's father as his younger brother. Why would he harm his own brother? Was it for power?

At this moment, Lin Congli's expression was extremely grim, and the people around him were silent, not daring to speak.

Lin Zhiqing understood that now was not the time to delve into her father's matter. She shifted her gaze from Lin Congli back to Bihuan. "Continue!"

When Bihuan met Lin Zhiqing's gaze, she took a step back. "I went back to the courtyard to fetch the golden corn cakes. By the time I returned, the argument between the two young mistresses had stopped."

"The young mistress's maid had just served the tea." At this point, Bihuan touched her neck. "My young mistress invited the young mistress to eat the golden corn cakes and ordered us not to stay and serve."

Wait... touching her neck...

Lin Zhiqing noticed this action, her eyes darkening.

When people lie, they often unconsciously touch their necks. This is a classic mechanical response in psychology.

Bihuan's movement was quick and subtle, almost imperceptible.

Others might not have noticed, but Lin Zhiqing had been watching her closely.

Because of this action, Lin Zhiqing focused on the sentence: "The young mistress's maid had just served the tea."

She frowned, pondering what was wrong with this statement.

Unaware of Lin Zhiqing's scrutiny, Bihuan continued, "But... after waiting for a long time without hearing anything, the maid and I opened the door to find both young mistresses lying on the floor, unconscious."

"That's the whole story." After finishing, she struggled forward, grabbing Lin Congli's sleeve. "Elder Master, please spare me! I know I was wrong!"

Lin Congli kicked Bihuan away, his chest heaving slightly. He turned to Lin Zhiqing. "Now that you've heard everything, what more do you have to say?"

Lin Zhiqing had indeed heard everything, but she noticed a fatal flaw in the story: the only witnesses to what happened were the original host and her cousin. With the cousin unconscious and Lin Zhiqing having no memories of the original host, the only way to survive was to quickly find the loopholes in Bihuan's testimony.

"The young mistress's maid had just served the tea..."

"Uncle!" Lin Zhiqing's mind raced, her eyes sparkling. "Bihuan's words can't be fully trusted. I have a few questions I'd like to ask."

Without waiting for Lin Congli's response, Lin Zhiqing directed her questions at Bihuan. "First, when you went back to my courtyard to fetch the golden corn cakes, who did you encounter along the way?"

"I... I ran into Aunt Sun from the kitchen and Guard Wang at the front gate." As Bihuan spoke, her eyes instinctively glanced to the lower left.

In microexpression psychology, when people look to the left while speaking, it indicates they are recalling memories. Looking to the right suggests they are fabricating lies.

Bihuan's glance to the left indicated she was recalling actual events. She provided these two names so clearly because she wasn't afraid of being questioned.

Sure enough, as soon as Bihuan finished speaking, two voices from the crowd chimed in.

"I was on duty for shopping today. I saw Bihuan rushing toward the young mistress's courtyard with a food box."

"I also saw Bihuan. Someone delivered an invitation for the young master, and Bihuan asked a few questions before leaving."

Their tones were firm.

A perfect alibi...

Lin Zhiqing decided not to focus on the people Bihuan had encountered. Instead, she asked, "How long did it take you to make the round trip?"

"About a quarter of an hour." As Bihuan spoke, her eyes glanced to the lower right.

This time, she was clearly fabricating.

A quarter of an hour—that's 15 minutes...

"Mm." Lin Zhiqing nodded, not challenging her yet. Instead, she asked another question. "Then why did you return later than the maid who went to the kitchen to prepare snacks?"

As far as Lin Zhiqing knew, preparing snacks in ancient times was a time-consuming task.

Over the same distance, fetching pastries should have been faster than preparing snacks.

Especially since the maid would have needed to gather ingredients and tools from the kitchen, which would have taken additional time.

A complete snack would take at least 20 minutes to prepare.

But according to Bihuan's account, she was the one who returned later.

This meant Bihuan's claim of 15 minutes didn't align with the maid's timeline!

With this in mind, Lin Zhiqing addressed the crowd. "May I ask, how far is it to the kitchen from here?"

"The kitchen is about two li from the young mistress's courtyard. Last time I went to deliver charcoal, it took me the time it takes to burn an incense stick to make the round trip!"

Lin Zhiqing narrowed her eyes. One li was about 500 meters, so two li would be one kilometer.

A round trip of two kilometers, delivering charcoal, would take about half an hour. For an average person, it should take about 20 minutes.

Sure enough, as soon as she thought this, someone spoke up.

"Delivering charcoal is physical labor, so of course it takes longer. Preparing snacks only takes about two cups of tea."

"Lin Zhiqing's courtyard is only one li from the young mistress's courtyard. A quarter of an hour is enough time, but it's impossible to be slower than going to the kitchen."

The crowd buzzed with discussion until everyone's suspicious gazes turned to Bihuan. Only then did she realize her mistake and raised her voice.

"No! It's not like that! I... I also ran into... ran into..."

Bihuan's words were repetitive, and her voice rose—clear signs she was still lying.

"No need to explain." Lin Zhiqing shook her head. "You already said you only encountered two people. Are you contradicting yourself now?"

"No, I just... remembered wrong, that's all!" Bihuan looked panicked but still stared directly into Lin Zhiqing's eyes.

Lin Zhiqing remained expressionless. She had dealt with countless patients, and most liars would maintain eye contact to gauge whether their lies were believed.

By now, the crowd had also noticed something was off.

"Lin Zhiqing may not have lived as well as the other young masters and mistresses, but she's still a legitimate member of the Lin family. Why would she do something so treacherous?"

"Exactly! If she wanted revenge, why wait until now?"

"Our Lin family actually has such a traitorous maid? Kill her!"

The crowd's tone shifted from hatred toward Lin Zhiqing to disgust and suspicion toward Bihuan.

At the same time, Lin Congli's brow furrowed deeply.

Seeing that most of the suspicion had been lifted from her, Lin Zhiqing pressed her advantage.

She spoke calmly, "Bihuan, you've been by my side for so long. Why would you frame me like this?"

Lin Zhiqing's question made beads of sweat appear on Bihuan's forehead. She swallowed repeatedly, her eyes darting around, unable to respond.

Seeing this, Lin Zhiqing was about to ask more questions when Bihuan suddenly raised her voice.

"Young Mistress, I really didn't do anything! The golden corn cakes were made by you, by you!"

Her voice rose, and she seemed to be clutching something in her hand. A twisted smile appeared on her lips. "My love, I'm coming..."

Hearing this, Lin Zhiqing's pupils contracted, and she shouted to the crowd, "Stop her!"

As Lin Zhiqing's voice rang out, Bihuan, holding some sharp object, slashed at her own neck.

At the critical moment, a baby-faced man in black rushed forward and kicked her wrist.

Bihuan cried out in pain, her hand loosening, and a sharp stone fell to the ground.

The baby-faced man frowned, kicked the stone away, and immediately dislocated Bihuan's jaw.

The crowd was shocked by the sudden turn of events, gasping in surprise.

But Lin Congli, sitting at the head of the hall, remained expressionless, not even blinking.

Lin Zhiqing quickly realized that even if she hadn't called out, Bihuan likely wouldn't have died today.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard Lin Congli's calm voice.

"Take Bihuan away and keep her under strict guard. No one is to approach her without my orders!"

At Lin Congli's command, the baby-faced man stepped aside, and several people dragged Bihuan away.

Lin Zhiqing watched Bihuan's retreating figure and felt a slight sense of relief.

"Uncle, now that things have come to this, do you still believe I poisoned my cousin?"

[--------------------------------------------]

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