manynovel Chapter 389 The murderer
Chapter 389 The murderer
"Ah... Qing... Mother..." Tears flowed from the corners of Qian Chongen's eyes. The feeling of powerlessness at this moment made him feel very confused.
Jiang Youzhen took a deep breath, walked out of the house, and called the manager who had just come.
"Have you done everything I just told you to do?"
"According to your instructions, someone has been assigned to guard the swill bucket, and the servants who ate the leftover food have been put under collective supervision."
Jiang Youzhen nodded and said, "Take me over there to have a look!"
The manager led the way and took Jiang Youzhen all the way to the big kitchen.
"Young Master Jiang, the泔水桶 is right here." The manager pointed at the泔水桶 on the ground and said to Jiang Youzhen.
Jiang Youzhen went forward to take a look and found that there was only half an empty bucket. The food on the surface was just some soup, as well as half-eaten buns, cakes and food residues.
"Why is there only this much? Has the previous one been poured out?" Jiang Youzhen frowned. The half bucket in the泔水桶 was full of soup and the like.
"Yes! The master has a farm where he raises pigs. Any food that is not eaten in the mansion will be poured into the swill bucket, and when it is cold, it will be sent to the farm every other day.
If the weather is hot, we can deliver it every day. The manor is not far from here anyway. These are all the leftovers from breakfast. Yesterday's leftovers have already been delivered."
The manager was very worried. Although he thought it was impossible for someone to poison Jiang Youzhen, Jiang Youzhen almost became his master's apprentice, so he had to obey his orders!
"Where are the dishes from this morning? Have they been washed?" Jiang Youzhen continued to ask.
"It's all here. They've finished washing! The two maids who were washing were also here." The manager pointed at the two maids who were trembling with fear on the side.
Jiang Youzhen glanced at the two old women and thought it was useless to ask them now.
Jiang Youzhen picked up a spatula from the pot and scratched it twice in the泔水桶.
They were all leftover cakes, steamed buns, porridge, slop from washing pots, and some breakfast side dishes, mixed together.
Everyone looked at Jiang Youzhen's actions in confusion. Even though the swill bucket was so dirty, Young Master Jiang didn't mind it.
Jiang Youzhen used a shovel to poke at it several times, but he didn't see anything unusual. When he was about to put it down, he suddenly saw a small piece of yellow paper rolling inside.
Jiang Youzhen immediately brought up the yellow paper, and the manager stretched his neck and came up to take a look.
"What is this?" the steward was very confused.
"Is it a yellow paper package?" The manager saw that the yellow paper was only the size of a palm and more like a small medicine bag.
"It can't be used to wrap food, with such a small yellow paper package." The shopkeeper also thought of something and his expression became particularly ugly.
"Call everyone who was in the kitchen this morning. Anyone who came near the dishes or food must come here. I want to question them one by one."
The yellow paper had been soaked and became soft when picked up, so Jiang Youzhen could only wrap it up with a handkerchief.
"Young Master Jiang, everyone is here." The steward called all the servants who appeared in the kitchen this morning to Jiang Youzhen.
"Who made breakfast today?" There were five people in total, and Jiang Youzhen looked at them.
A cook stepped forward and said, "Master, I did it. Liuzi helped me."
As he spoke, he pointed to a servant nearby. This man was called Liuzi and he was the one who helped in the kitchen.
Jiang Youzhen nodded and motioned for them to continue.
"I am a maid in the kitchen, specializing in washing dishes. I am on duty this morning."
"I am a maidservant in the master and mistress' room. I brought the breakfast this morning."
After the five people introduced themselves one by one, Jiang Youzhen asked them to explain how many years they had worked in the mansion and who were in their family.
The cook and two maids were bought, but they have been working for the master for more than ten years. They have no relatives and are all alone.
The little girl was a family-born girl, only thirteen years old. Her father was the manager of the outer courtyard of the mansion, and her mother was the maid who came with the lady as a dowry.
The other six sons were bought in to do odd jobs since they were young. They are eighteen years old this year and have been working in the big kitchen for more than a year.
The Qian family doesn’t have many servants, after all, there are only three masters.
In addition, there are six servants left, who usually perform their duties and do not come to the kitchen.
"Where are their houses? Take me to see." Jiang Youzhen suddenly said.
The manager was very puzzled, but he knew something was definitely fishy, so he did not dare to delay. He called the doorman and a strong servant to look after the few people, and then took Jiang Youzhen to see their bedroom.
The two old women lived together. Jiang Youzhen had their house searched but found nothing unusual.
Then he went to the kitchen's room. Apart from the bed and cabinet, there was only a round table and two stools. The room was very shabby.
The manager led his men to search, but found nothing unusual except more than two taels of silver.
Finally, only the little girl and Liuzi were left. Jiang Youzhen went to the girl's room first. She lived in the same room with her parents, with the inner and outer rooms separated.
The house was very clean and tidy. Apart from my daughter's things and two packets of snacks, there was nothing else.
Until the last six sons, he lived alone in a small room at the back of the building. The room next to it was the gatehouse.
The furnishings in the room were clearly visible: there were only tables, chairs, a kang, and a half-person-high box.
However, Jiang Youzhen's first glance fell on the oil paper bag on the kang, which was already soaked with oil stains.
He motioned to the shopkeeper to open it and found that it was a roast chicken. It was already cold and half-eaten. It should have been from yesterday.
He asked the shopkeeper to search again and found a small purse in the box.
It looked like an ordinary piece of cotton cloth, but when Jiang Youzhen opened it, he found a fifty-liang silver note and a few liang of silver coins, as well as some scattered copper coins, which added up to about two or three hundred coins.
"How much is the monthly salary for a servant in the mansion? Didn't they say that Liuzi was bought when he was young? He has no family, right? How could he save so much money?"
Jiang Youzhen raised the money bag in his hand to the steward, who immediately shook his head and said, "Liu Zi's monthly salary is 100 coins. He is just a kitchen helper. When he was young, he did some chores in the front yard. He only came to the big kitchen last year. It's impossible for him to save so much money per month!"
Jiang Youzhen took the money bag, and then asked the manager to take Liuzi to the house for questioning alone.
Jiang Youzhen's gaze fell on Liuzi. Liuzi was very nervous and couldn't help shivering.
"Don't be nervous. I just brought you here to ask some questions. I'll ask others later."
Liuzi looked up at Jiang Youzhen cautiously, and when he saw that Jiang Youzhen's face was gentle, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Where did you go yesterday?" Jiang Youzhen asked softly.
Liu Zi's heart tightened, "No, I didn't leave the house. I was working in the house."
"Oh? But I see you have a roast chicken in your room, and it's Yu Hexiang's roast chicken. Where did you get the roast chicken if you didn't leave the house?"
Liuzi's heart was beating fast, "I asked the coachman Wang Da to buy it for me."
"You said you didn't buy the roast chicken? Is there any witness?" Jiang Youzhen knocked lightly on the table, as if knocking heavily on Liuzi's heart.