"A violent death."
Sun Yingying's face turned pale in an instant, a chill washing over her entire body.
I knew it... I knew it!
She had always harbored this suspicion, and now, Lu Zhaoling had confirmed it.
Seeing her hands trembling, Lin Yiru grabbed them and whispered, "Yingying, it might not be true. We don't even know how she calculated that..."
Sun Yingying looked at Lu Zhaoling's calm expression and felt an instinctive urge to believe her.
"What benefit would Second Miss Lu get from lying to me about this?" Sun Yingying took a deep breath. "She has already been betrothed to Prince Jin. Would she really be so bored as to use something like this just to toy with me?"
It didn't make sense. Lu Zhaoling had no motive.
Lin Yiru was momentarily speechless, unsure how to rebut. "But even if she figured it out, there's no evidence. Mo Qingqing was buried years ago; her body must have long since rotted. What could anyone possibly find? Besides, are you really going to dig up a grave just because of a single sentence from Second Miss Lu?"
Mo Qingqing was buried in the Liu Family cemetery. Not only would the Liu Family refuse, but even Sun Yingying's own parents wouldn't necessarily go through the trouble of opening a grave based on a whim.
Sun Yingying's eyes grew red. She looked at Lu Zhaoling. "Second Miss Lu, can you calculate it in more detail? For instance... how exactly did my cousin die? Who was the killer?"
Without waiting for an answer, she blurted out the dreams she had been having. "For the past few days, I've kept dreaming of my cousin crying tears of blood. Is she visiting me in my dreams to ask me to seek justice for her?"
The young girl looked sorrowful and somewhat tragic, as if she were carrying a heavy burden.
Lu Zhaoling looked at her and shook her head.
"No. It's likely because your luck is low, you're wearing an item related to your cousin, and you've been obsessing over this matter. That is why you are dreaming of her."
Her words shocked Sun Yingying. "How did you know I was wearing something of my cousin's? Can you tell what it is?"
Sun Yingying thought to herself: If Lu Zhaoling gets this right, I will believe her completely!
Lu Zhaoling's gaze fell upon her wrist for a moment before shifting to her ears. "It's that pair of jade bead earrings, isn't it?"
Although Sun Yingying was also wearing a pair of green jade bracelets, those were likely just carved from the same stone as the ones Lu Zhaoling had received earlier. However, the pair of red gold ruyi jade-inlaid earrings Sun Yingying was wearing were tangled with resentful energy and death energy.
Sun Yingying was stunned. She almost forgot to blink as she stared stiffly at Lu Zhaoling.
How could Second Miss Lu be so incredible? She really saw it!
Lin Yiru and Gu Qing were also wide-eyed with shock. As Sun Yingying's close friends, they knew about the earrings, but even the elders of the Sun family were unaware. After her cousin died, Sun Yingying had gone to help pack her things and found one earring by the bed. She had kept them as a memento.
Third Master Liu hadn't allowed the Sun family to take anything of Mo Qingqing's, so Sun Yingying had hidden them away in secret.
"Did you tell Second Miss Lu?" Lin Yiru asked, her voice slightly strained as she looked at Gu Qing. Since Gu Qing had met Second Miss Lu once before, they were technically acquaintances.
But the moment the question left her mouth, she regretted it. Wasn't she doubting Gu Qing? Gu Qing wasn't that kind of person. She wouldn't just mention the Sun family's business to others.
"I'm sorry, Qingqing. I was just..." Lin Yiru immediately apologized. She was simply in a state of disbelief and had jumped to the only possibility she could think of.
Gu Qing shook her head mechanically. "I never said a word. I didn't mention my cousin at all."
"Those earrings were likely worn by Mo Qingqing frequently," Lu Zhaoling added. "In fact, she was still wearing them on the day she was murdered even at the very moment of her death."
Sun Yingying felt as if her mind had exploded. She immediately snatched the earrings off and placed them on the table, tears streaming down her face. "I found one earring by my cousin's bed. I thought the other might be there too, so I searched carefully and found the second one wedged in a crack in the bed frame."
She broke into a loud sob. "Second Miss Lu, if you say she was still wearing these when she died... does that mean she died in her own bed?"
Lu Zhaoling picked up the earrings and held them in her palm. Injecting a sliver of spiritual energy, she seemed to hear a miserable, muffled groan echoing in her ears.
Her heart felt heavy, but she nodded and spoke the truth. "Yes. These earrings are attached to Mo Qingqing's resentful energy and death energy. Because you've been wearing them, your health has suffered and your luck has plummeted lately."
Sun Yingying was now fully convinced.
"But back then," she cried, "the Liu family claimed she was terribly ill and moved her to a country estate for fear of affecting the rest of the household. Within a few days, they said she had passed away at the manor!"
"They were lying, weren't they? My cousin clearly died in her bed at the Liu Manor!"
Now that she had found such major evidence, it proved the Liu family were liars!
Lu Zhaoling's expression changed slightly. "Mo Qingqing was married to Third Master Liu?"
"Yes," Gu Qing whispered. "She was Third Master Liu's primary wife. The current Third Madam Liu was promoted from the position of a concubine."
"Miss?" Qingyin and Qingbao were also surprised.
Wasn't this a huge coincidence? Their mistress had already intended to investigate Third Master Liu.
"Second Miss Lu, I beg you to help me!" Sun Yingying suddenly grabbed Lu Zhaoling's hand tightly. She sniffled and said with determination, "I want to find out the truth behind my cousin's death. If the Liu family killed her, I will definitely sue them!"
She couldn't let her cousin die a tragic, unsettled death. She felt that Lu Zhaoling definitely had the ability to help her.
"Miss Sun, please let go of my hand first."
Fearing she had made her angry, Sun Yingying quickly let go and looked at Lu Zhaoling expectantly. She was smeared with tears, and her eyes and nose were red. She looked pitiful, making even Qingyin and Qingbao feel a bit of sympathy.
Lu Zhaoling, however, simply tapped the table. "I charge for my services. That calculation just now costs five hundred taels."
Hiss.
Five hundred taels, just like that?
Lin Yiru and Gu Qing both looked at Sun Yingying.
Without any hesitation, Sun Yingying pulled out all the money she had on her two one-hundred-tael banknotes and several dozen taels in loose silver. She put them on the table and looked at Lin Yiru and Gu Qing with some embarrassment. "Yiru, Qingqing, could you lend me some first? I'll definitely pay you back later."
Lin Yiru and Gu Qing exchanged a glance and also produced all the money they had.
They were still fifty taels short.
Among them, only Sun Yingying came from a wealthy background; Lin Yiru and Gu Qing were from average families. Carrying a few dozen taels was already quite a lot for them.
"Second Miss Lu..."
The three girls looked at Lu Zhaoling with pleading eyes.
Lu Zhaoling pressed a hand to her forehead. Was she really the type of person to have a soft heart?
"Fine, I'll give you a discount." It was only because Sun Yingying's cousin might be related to the investigation into the lanterns.
She accepted four hundred taels.
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