“Judicial Affairs Minister, this servant has already found the people you were looking for and brought them here.”
“Then quickly invite them in.”
Mu Xueshi was perched on the high chair in the main hall of the Grand Tutor Manor. The veil of his hat covered his face, so his expression could not be seen. Originally, he was a clever and mischievous person, but now he had gained a few degrees of cool aloofness for no reason.
The two people who entered wore coarse hemp clothes, their hair simply tied in knots. They were sturdy in build and had honest, simple-looking faces.
Mu Xueshi had just been about to ask whether they were the guards by Grand Tutor Mu’s side, but on second thought, that was not right. He was Mu Xueshi. If he did not even recognize the guards of the Grand Tutor Manor, that would be far too pathetic.
“State your names.”
When the two heard this, they immediately stepped forward and said respectfully,
“This commoner is Zhang Houde.”
“This commoner is Li Zhongzhi.”
Mu Xueshi cleared his throat and asked Zhang Houde on the left, “Zhang Houde, on the day my father met with trouble, were you guarding by his side the entire time and never left?”
Zhang Houde hurriedly shook his head. “No, Judicial Affairs Minister. When Master met with trouble, I was not by his side. If you do not believe me, you may ask Li Zhongzhi.”
Mu Xueshi knew he had misunderstood and quickly softened his voice as he said, “I know you were not by my father’s side at the time. What I am asking is, during the few hours before the incident, were you constantly by my father’s side?”
Zhang Houde nodded with lingering fear and answered in a low voice, “That is true. This commoner followed Master the whole time, and Li Zhongzhi was also by Master’s side the whole time. But when Master was drinking with those lords, we stood outside on guard.”
Mu Xueshi lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised it again toward the two of them.
“Why did the two of you stop serving as guards in the Grand Tutor Manor? I remember that two months ago, when the Third Prince came to investigate the case, you were still serving in this manor.”
Li Zhongzhi sighed below and slowly said, “We followed Master for seven or eight years, and Master was always good to us. This time, Master met with such misfortune, and the two of us truly felt we had failed him. We had no face to remain in this manor any longer. Two months ago, it was because the case still needed to be investigated, and His Highness did not allow anyone to leave, so we thickened our skins and stayed.”
“So that’s how it is…” Mu Xueshi paused, then asked them again, “Then how many people in this manor left altogether?”
“Not many. Probably only three or four. Besides the two of us, there was also a girl from the kitchen and an old woman from the embroidery room.”
“Why did they leave?”
“Probably because the manor had become deserted, and it could not pay them much in monthly wages anymore, so they went to serve in other households.”
“Where did they go?”
Zhang Houde and Li Zhongzhi exchanged a look, then shook their heads in unison. “Replying to the Judicial Affairs Minister, this commoner does not know. Those two left after we did. For the specific details, you would have to ask Steward Wang.”
“All right. I understand.”
Seeing that the Judicial Affairs Minister had no further questions, the two bowed and said to Mu Xueshi, “My lord, may we withdraw now? We set up a meat stall on East Street that specializes in selling pork. Noon is our busiest time, so the two of us brothers need to go tend to it.”
Hearing this, Mu Xueshi turned to look at Eunuch Shangde. Eunuch Shangde understood what Mu Xueshi meant, walked forward, and gave Zhang Houde and Li Zhongzhi two pieces of silver each.
Light immediately appeared in Zhang Houde and Li Zhongzhi’s eyes, and they quickly thanked Mu Xueshi for his grace.
Mu Xueshi only caught a glimpse of the two of them each being given two pieces of silver and immediately whispered to Eunuch Shangde, “Why are you so stingy? Only two pieces? Aren’t there more than a dozen pieces in that bundle?”
Eunuch Shangde was instantly embarrassed and said to Mu Xueshi, “Judicial Affairs Minister, two pieces is not little. Where is there an official who hands money out to commoners?”
“But I delayed their business!” Mu Xueshi said with an expression that made it sound perfectly justified.
Eunuch Shangde quickly crouched down and leaned close to Mu Xueshi’s ear. “My little ancestor! Those two pieces of silver add up to more than ten taels. That is enough money for them to sell pork for a whole year.”
“Silver is worth that much!” Mu Xueshi could not help sighing. “Last time I went shopping, I spent several dozen taels of silver and only bought a few strings of candied hawthorn and a few dough figurines. I thought one tael of silver was only worth one dollar.”
After hearing this, Eunuch Shangde’s heart shattered…
“All right, now the two of you do not need to hurry back. I still have one more question I want to ask you.”
Zhang Houde and Li Zhongzhi immediately stood alert and waited for Mu Xueshi to ask.
“From what you know, did Ning Yue have any brothers?”
Li Zhongzhi answered very straightforwardly, “No. Ning Yue was like the two of us brothers, all alone.”
Mu Xueshi could not help sighing inwardly, Why does this Grand Tutor Manor seem like some big communal compound…?
“Are you certain he had no other brothers? For example, a twin brother who looked very much like him, so much alike that even you could not tell them apart and thought they were the same person?”
An astonished expression appeared on the two men’s faces. “Judicial Affairs Minister, when Ning Yue was in the manor before, he was closest to you. If even you do not know, then we servants would know even less.”
Mu Xueshi sighed. Thinking carefully, that was true. Ning Yue had indeed been on very good terms with the former Mu Xueshi. He should have been the one who knew the secrets behind all this most clearly. Unfortunately, there was no way to ask him. If only he could entrust Mu Xueshi with a dream…
“Then did you ever notice anything strange about Ning Yue in daily life? For example, being unable to find something in the manor, or walking into the wrong room, that sort of thing?”
“No. Ning Yue handled matters efficiently and never made mistakes.”
“Then what about the day of the incident? What was Ning Yue doing?”
“He usually protected the young master… that is, you, Judicial Affairs Minister. That day, Ning Yue was properly standing in the courtyard. When shouting came from inside the room, Ning Yue rushed in together with us.”
“He was in the Grand Tutor Manor the entire time and never left?”
“Yes.”
Mu Xueshi was puzzled. “Since he was guarding Xue… that is, me, why didn’t he follow when I went to admire the flowers?”
When the two heard the question, their eyes widened like bronze bells.
Mu Xueshi still had not understood what they were shocked about when Eunuch Shangde leaned close to his ear and quietly reminded him, “My lord, this is your own matter. If even you do not know, how would those servants know?”
Mu Xueshi suddenly understood, and his face grew a little hot. He hurriedly tried to cover for himself.
“It was me. I was confused… Anyway, there is something I need to trouble you with.”
Zhang Houde and Li Zhongzhi answered in unison, “Please give your orders, my lord.”
“I will give you two days. Whether you ask Steward Wang or make inquiries yourselves, summon back everyone who left the manor. In addition, the two of you should also temporarily return to the manor. This is a reward. Take it for now. Once the matter is done, there will be even more silver for you.”
“Thank you, Judicial Affairs Minister.”
The two men knelt together and kowtowed to Mu Xueshi, then accepted the silver Mu Xueshi rewarded them with excited expressions.
After the two left, Eunuch Shangde could not help asking, “My lord, why do you not use your own subordinates? They are idle every day. If you order them to work for you, you would not need to give them rewards either.”
“Those officers and soldiers would frighten the common people. Besides, if they appear, some people who know something might not be willing to speak.”
“But my lord, doing this is far too costly, isn’t it?”
“How is it costly? How much silver did you give out just now?”
“It was… it was your… three months’ salary, my lord!”
“Ah!! Why didn’t you say so earlier? The first salary I ever earned was given away just like that! Does our manor have no money?”
“I mentioned it to you just now, my lord! Our manor needs money everywhere. We cannot take it all out to reward those servants…”
“…”
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