After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Liu Ying was completely confused.

Half an hour ago, she took the pass given to her by her mistress and found Captain Ma, who was patrolling the street. She took him to Xihua Courtyard, where the dungeon was located, under the pretext of a case of illness occurring in the manor. Before they even got there, her mistress stopped her and kept giving her meaningful glances, telling her not to mention anything related to the dungeon.

The group then went to Fangfei Courtyard and dug up seven corpses in a flowerbed near the south wall.

Of the seven bodies, six were female and one was male. The female bodies were between sixteen and thirty-six years old, while the male body was between twenty-five and thirty-five years old.

Based on the excavation order, they were named with the numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven respectively.

The first body, the one Lu Zhiyuan first discovered, was lying on its side with its right hand exposed on the soil surface, showing signs of being gnawed by cats and dogs. Judging from the degree of decomposition, the body had been dead for at least a year.

A year ago, Lu Zhiyuan was still living in Chaoyun Villa. In Fangfei Villa, where she lived, there was only one old servant who was responsible for cleaning and did not live in the villa. There were few people in the mansion. Apart from Fulin Villa, where the old lady lived, and the main villa where the madam lived, none of the villas were locked, so as to facilitate tidying and cleaning.

"Have you noticed anything unusual since you moved in, Miss?"

“The plants here are growing exceptionally well.” Lu Zhiyuan pointed to the flowerbed at her feet: “As you can see, my little courtyard is quite beautiful, with a tree every three steps and a view every five steps. In autumn, other flowers and plants wither or turn yellow, but this area is growing particularly lushly.”

"Perhaps it's because of these corpses." Captain Ma examined the bodies, which spanned at least ten years, especially the last one unearthed, which was extremely decomposed. He frowned and continued, "How did you discover this corpse, Miss?"

“Osmanthus!” Lu Zhiyuan looked at the osmanthus tree behind Captain Ma: “I like to drink tea made with osmanthus flowers, and I also like to pick the flowers to make bracelets when they are in full bloom. Seeing that this osmanthus tree was blooming well, I brought a basket to step on it. The ground was slippery, and I accidentally touched that finger. At first, I thought it was a stone, but when I got closer, I realized it was a human hand bone.”

Lu Zhiyuan pointed to the branch on the ground: "I wasn't curious when I realized it was a human hand bone. This yard has been empty for years and is close to the roadside, so stray cats and dogs often come in. I figured that maybe those stray cats and dogs brought it from somewhere else. Although I don't mind these things, I didn't want these things in the yard, so I broke off a branch and tried to dig it out. When the branch touched the wrist bone, I realized that there was more than just a finger buried underneath."

“It has to be Miss. If it were my brothers, they would definitely destroy the scene.” Captain Ma chuckled. “With us here, Miss, there’s no need to avoid suspicion. Please help me examine the body.”

Lu Zhiyuan nodded, walked up to the first corpse, and carefully examined it with a lantern.

“She was beaten to death!” Lu Zhiyuan pointed to several cracks in the bones: “Broken ribs, fractures of varying degrees in the femur and tibia. Broken arm, and comminuted fracture of the fingers on her right hand. With such severe injuries, it would probably take all night to beat her.”

"It wasn't one night, it was four hours. My sister was beaten to death by the old lady." A servant squeezed out from the crowd: "I am Li Shen. Please, Miss and Commandant, do justice for me. I want to sue the old lady of the Marquis's mansion for abusing her power and disregarding human life."

After saying that, he handed over a petition.

The petition stated that his name was Li Shen, and that he and his sister Li Yingtao had voluntarily entered the manor as slaves through a broker. They signed a three-year contract with the manor, promising to return to their hometown when the contract expired.

He and his sister had agreed that once they had saved enough money, they would return to their hometown and start up the soybean oil mill their parents had left behind. He had a fiancée with whom he loved each other deeply, and his sister had a childhood sweetheart. In just three years, they would be able to live the good life they wanted.

“A year ago, my younger sister, Li Yingtao, disappeared. I asked everyone in the manor, and they all said they didn’t know or had seen her.” Li Shen looked at the skeleton. “The Marquis is not in the manor, and the Madam is away most of the year. The only people in charge of things in the manor are the Old Madam and Steward Lu. I went to ask Steward Lu, but he hesitated and said he didn’t handle things in the backyard. I went to find the old nanny who was with the Old Madam, but she scolded me and said that my sister had probably stolen something from the manor and run away.”

Li Shen said with grief and indignation, "I know my sister well. She is definitely not the kind of person who would steal. Moreover, she is timid by nature. In the two years since she entered the manor, she has never left except for the one time she went out to a banquet with the old lady. I investigated in secret, and it wasn't until half a year ago that I learned the truth from Liu'er, who lived in the same room as my sister. My sister, Li Yingtao, was beaten to death by the old lady."

Lu Zhiyuan walked up to Li Shen and asked, "Why did your grandmother beat your sister to death? And where is that Liu'er you mentioned now?"

Li Shen wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said fiercely, "It all started with that banquet..."

Madam Lu was invited to the banquet, which included not only female guests but also male guests. The female guests were in the hall, the male guests were in the courtyard, and the maids and servants waited outside the courtyard.

It was unclear which family's young master was drunk, but he stumbled outside to relieve himself, nearly falling over. Out of kindness, Li Yingtao helped him up, only to be pestered by him.

She struggled desperately and managed to escape from the man's grasp. Instead of comforting her or standing up for her, Old Madam Lu accused her of improper behavior, claiming she was trying to use the banquet to seduce a wealthy young man.

Right and wrong, black and white, have been blatantly reversed.

Because the young master was injured, Madam Lu used the pretext of apologizing to send Li Yingtao to his residence to take care of him.

Li Shen gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly: "My sister, a living, breathing person, was given to that dissolute young master as a plaything to atone for her sins by the old lady. My sister begged and pleaded with the old lady, but the old lady ordered her to be gagged. My sister struggled, but the old lady ordered her hands and feet to be tied. Liu'er said that when she was put into that man's carriage, her eyes were full of despair."

“Three days!” Li Shen held up three fingers: “My sister was tortured by him for three whole days before she was able to return to the manor.”

Li Shen slapped himself twice: "She came to me, her eyes vacant, her expression numb. I thought she was sick. I'm not a good brother. She clearly came to me for help, but I told her to go back and stay by the old lady's side. I thought that her being able to go to the banquet with the old lady meant she was highly valued by her. I was even thinking of extending her term with the Marquis's mansion for another three years when it was up. My poor sister, how desperate she must have been when she heard me say those things."

Lu Zhiyuan squatted down to comfort him: "It's not your fault. You didn't expect your sister to go through all this."

With red eyes and full of guilt, Li Shen said, "I should have thought of that. She's my sister. She was bullied like that, and she even came to me for help... I'm such a bastard. I should have saved her."