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

Commander Ma sent someone to fetch Old Madam Lu, and fate seemed to bring her together with Lu Huai and Lu Jinyao outside Fangfei Courtyard. Old Madam Lu, having regained some of her senses from her previous treatment, cried out for help upon seeing Lu Huai. Lu Huai frowned and stepped forward, looking at the two men escorting Old Madam Lu, asking, "Are you from the Commander's mansion? What has my mother done?"

"Madam Lu is suspected of murder, and we are acting under orders." After saying this, they escorted Madam Lu into Fangfei Courtyard.

Lu Huai followed closely behind, but Lu Jinyao stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding with anxiety.

Suspected of murder? Who did Madam Lu kill?

Could it be that they blamed Old Madam Lu for the deaths of Wei Linglan and Ji Wanwan?

If it really was Wei Linglan and Ji Wanwan, why didn't the people from the Commandant's Mansion go to Xihua Courtyard, where the dungeon was located, but instead went to Fangfei Courtyard, where Lu Zhiyuan was located?

Before Lu Jinyao could sort things out, the noise from the courtyard seeped through the courtyard wall into her ears.

As soon as Madam Lu appeared, Li Shen rushed over despite all attempts to stop him, shouting, "You old fool, give me back my sister's life!"

Startled, Old Madam Lu took several steps back, but was protected by Lu Huai.

Lu Huai recognized Li Shen and angrily rebuked him, "Who gave you the audacity to be rude to the old lady! Where is the steward? Get him out of here right now!"

Li Shen's eyes were bloodshot: "Please look carefully, Lord Lu. My contract with the Marquis's mansion has expired. I am no longer a servant of the Marquis's mansion, and the steward has no right to drive me away. I, Li Shen, am the plaintiff. I am suing Old Madam Lu for murdering my younger sister, Li Yingtao, and for burying her remains in Miss Fangfei Courtyard. Please open your eyes and look carefully, Lord Lu, that... is my sister."

Lu Huai then noticed several corpses lying on the ground in Fangfei Courtyard.

No, it wasn't just a few corpses; they were rotting corpses, the kind that would frighten anyone who looked at them.

Catching sight of Lu Zhiyuan out of the corner of his eye, Lu Huai shouted, "Lu Zhiyuan, what's going on?!"

Lu Zhiyuan looked at Lu Huai with an innocent expression.

Commander Ma moved swiftly, blocking Lu Zhiyuan's path, and looked at Lu Huai, saying, "There are seven corpses on the ground. The one who died the shortest time is Li Yingtao, the plaintiff Li Shen's sister, who died a year ago. The one who died the longest time is about ten years ago, the one closest to the Marquis, which is already a skeleton that has decomposed beyond recognition. Instead of asking Miss Lu, the Marquis should ask Old Madam Lu what happened."

"This is Lu Zhiyuan's courtyard!"

Commandant Ma scratched his head, thinking that this Lord Lu was not very smart.

“Lord Lu, how can you be so confused? This courtyard does belong to Miss Lu, but she has only been living here for a little over a month. What does the corpse buried underground have to do with her? Even if you want to find someone to take the blame, you should find someone who is more or less suitable. Miss Lu is only eight years old; she can’t take the blame.”

Lu Huai looked embarrassed and explained, "Captain, you misunderstand. That's not what I meant. I just want to know why these corpses are here."

Captain Ma smirked: "Lord Lu, you should ask the murderer this question. Miss Lu can't answer it. She accidentally touched the exposed rotten bone while picking osmanthus flowers. Luckily, Miss Lu is brave. If it were someone else, they would have been scared sick."

In one sentence, he told Lu Huai everything he wanted to know.

“Your name is Li Shen, and you are a servant in the Marquis's mansion. That is your sister.” Lu Huai pointed to the skeleton: “What evidence do you have to prove that she is your sister?”

“My sister and I have feet that are different from others.” Li Shen took off his shoes in front of everyone. “It’s a family condition. There’s a bone protruding next to our big toe, and our little toe is much shorter than the others. Also, my sister was injured when she was young, and her left middle toe is arched and can’t grow like a normal toe. It’s impossible for two feet to be exactly the same.”

"Please examine it, Miss. I can't tell anything about the bones." Commander Ma stepped aside, letting Lu Zhiyuan examine the skeleton.

Lu Zhiyuan lifted the deceased's two feet for everyone to see. Her foot bones were indeed somewhat different, and as Li Shen had said, the middle toe of her left foot was slightly deformed.

Li Shen said to Lu Huai with a mocking tone, "Lord Lu, I have proven that she is my sister Li Yingtao. Shouldn't you hand over your mother, the murderer who killed my sister?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Lu Huai said angrily, "What does your sister's death have to do with my mother? Does it mean my mother beat her to death?"

"Your Excellency is right, it was Old Madam Lu who beat my sister to death!" Li Shen's eyes were bloodshot. "I want her to pay for my sister's life!"

Madam Lu roared, "How dare you! How dare you!"

Looking at her, Li Shen recalled the details of his sister's death, and seeing the shameless look on Old Madam Lu's face, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in hatred: "The witnesses, the deceased, and the plaintiff are all here. Does Old Madam Lu still want to deny it? Oh, and there's also physical evidence. Those sticks stained with the blood of these innocent people are hidden in your Buddhist shrine, Old Madam Lu."

How did he know that?

Madam Lu avoided eye contact, then her gaze fell on Xiao Liu kneeling on the ground.

"It's you! Why are you back?"

"Yes, we're back!" Xiao Liu glared at her fiercely. "The old lady wanted to kill us, but we were lucky enough to survive and didn't get what you wanted."

Madam Lu panicked and grabbed Lu Huai's hand: "Huai'er, quick, quick, tell someone to drive them away... no, not drive them away, arrest them! Beat them to death, beat them all to death!"

"Is Madam Lu going to beat the plaintiff and witnesses to death in front of me, Captain Ma?" Captain Ma waved his hand; the men who had gone to find physical evidence had returned. Four sticks, two covered with iron plates, two embedded with iron spikes. The wooden sticks were much darker than usual and emitted a foul odor.

Captain Ma gave his subordinate a wink, and the subordinate asked a servant in the courtyard for a bowl of water. He then scraped some grime off a wooden stick and threw it into the water. The grime dissolved; it was blood.

The four sticks, except for the part held in the hand, were all covered in thick blood. How many people would it take to get them like this? Lu Huai's expression changed, and he looked directly at his mother and said, "These sticks were hidden in Mother's Buddhist shrine?"

Madam Lu said in a panic, "I don't know! I don't know anything! Huai'er, your mother has a headache, quickly take your mother back to rest."

“Grandmother, I can help you take a look,” Lu Zhiyuan said, walking up to the old lady.

Old Madam Lu tried to dodge, but Lu Huai grabbed her wrist. Although Lu Huai wanted to protect his mother, he couldn't make things clear in front of the Commandant's Mansion, and he also wanted to find out what the relationship was between his mother and the seven corpses.

He was the Marquis of Pingnan, but he knew nothing of what had happened in the Marquis's mansion. It seemed that the first half of his life was just spent in Weinan, taking care of Ji Wanwan and her son.

An unprecedented sense of frustration swept over me.

He gently pushed his mother's hand away and walked to sit down on the stone bench.

Lu Jinyao stood outside the courtyard, watching everything that was happening inside without moving.

After taking the pulse of the old lady Lu and confirming that she was alright, Lu Zhiyuan said, "Grandmother is fine; she is just avoiding the issue."

"In that case, please tell me, Madam, what's the story behind this blood?" Commander Ma pointed at the stick, and before the old lady could speak, he changed the subject and looked at Xiao Liu, who was kneeling down: "Madam has a headache and doesn't want to talk, so let Miss Liu tell you."