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

Xiao Liu's real name was Liu Lü. Like Li Shen and his sister, she was voluntarily sold into the mansion as a servant. Unlike Li Shen and his sister, she was very young when she entered the mansion, only seven or eight years old, and was considered to have grown up in the mansion.

At first, she worked as a kitchen helper. At the age of thirteen, she was assigned to the Grand Madam's courtyard. The Grand Madam was the Marquis's sister-in-law who had been kind to her. When she was brought to the capital, she was already old and later became bedridden, requiring someone to take care of her every need. The other maids complained that it was too tiring and dirty, and none of them wanted to go. Only Liu Lü volunteered to take care of the Grand Madam because of the extra ten coins she would receive each month.

After the passing of the Dowager Madam, the Old Madam fell ill and needed a meticulous maidservant by her side. Liu Lü naturally ended up working for the Old Madam. Although she wasn't a close maidservant, she was aware of everything the Old Madam did.

“When I entered the manor, I was less than eight years old. Now I am twenty-eight, and I have been involved with the Pingnan Marquis’s manor for nearly twenty years.” Liu Lü first glanced at Old Madam Lu, and then pointed to the seventh corpse on the far right.

"Her name is Peony, and she is a girl from the Qunfang Pavilion. Fifteen years ago, the year the old Marquis brought the Dowager Madam here, he invited girls from the Qunfang Pavilion to sing songs to cheer her up. The one leading the singing was this Peony."

Peony wasn't particularly beautiful; she even had a dark red birthmark on her cheek, which resembled a peony, hence her name. Peony's fame didn't come from her looks, but from her abilities. She could play many musical instruments, dance gracefully, and sing folk songs.

During that time, the old Marquis often visited the Dowager Lady's courtyard, and over time he became acquainted with Miss Peony. Gradually, various rumors began to circulate in the Marquis's mansion, saying that the old Marquis had fallen in love with Miss Peony at first sight and wanted to take her as a concubine.

In fact, neither Lord Lu nor Miss Peony had ever had such thoughts.

Lord Lu merely enjoyed the songs sung by Miss Peony, especially those from his hometown. Miss Peony also had someone she loved, and she would redeem herself and marry her beloved once the affairs of the Marquis's mansion were settled. However, Madam Lu wouldn't listen to these explanations, stubbornly believing that Miss Peony was using a feigned retreat to advance, vying with her for the position of the Marquis's mistress.

Liu Lü looked at Old Madam Lu: "That was the last day that Miss Peony came to the Marquis's mansion to perform her songs. As usual, she left at 3:45 PM. I followed the Grand Madam's instructions and escorted Miss Peony to the gate of the Marquis's mansion. When I returned, I found that the reward the Grand Madam had given Miss Peony was still in my hand. I hurriedly chased after her and saw Miss Peony being led in through the side gate by the old lady's maid. I was curious, and since the reward the Grand Madam had given Miss Peony was still in my hand, I boldly followed her. I never imagined that they were going to kill Miss Peony."

Madam Lu shivered and looked at Liu Lü with a venomous gaze.

Liu Lü ignored her and continued, "The old lady had her maid hold down Miss Peony and hit her head with a lake stone. After she stopped breathing, she put her in a sack. I was terrified and hid behind the rockery."

Liu Lü took out two things from her bosom: one was a peony made of velvet flowers, and the other was a silver pouch.

“I hid for a long time, only daring to go out when there was no sound outside. The sack containing Miss Peony was gone, and the bloodstains on the ground had been cleared. Just as I was about to leave, I saw this velvet flower. It was being held down by a stone, and there was blood on both the stone and the flower. I thought it might have been left by Miss Peony.”

Lu Zhiyuan examined the skeleton and found a clear fracture in its skull, clearly caused by repeated blows from a heavy object like a stone. The body was in an eerie, curled-up position, consistent with Liu Lü's description of being stuffed into a sack after death. Small amounts of hemp-like fibers, similar to those found on the sack, clung to the decaying bones.

Liu Lü handed the two items to Captain Ma, saying, "Please give these two items to Mr. Wen, the one who writes letters for people near the Marquis's residence. He is the love of Miss Peony. If it weren't for the old lady, he should be living a happy life with Miss Peony, instead of waiting in front of the Marquis's residence for Miss Peony, who can never return."

Lieutenant Ma's nose tingled with emotion as he held the two items and said, "Since you know about the relationship between Mr. Wen and Miss Peony, why don't you personally deliver these two items to him?"

Liu Lü raised her eyes: "At first I didn't know, and I didn't dare. Later I felt ashamed and couldn't face such a devoted Mr. Wen. Have you seen his stall, sir? There is a portrait hanging on his stall, and the woman in the portrait is Miss Peony."

Liu Lü shed tears: "He came to the Marquis's mansion and even asked me about the whereabouts of Miss Peony. But I could only tell him that Miss Peony had left the mansion. All the servants in the mansion can testify to this. As for where she went, it has nothing to do with the Marquis's mansion. I felt terrible when I saw him turn away in dejection. But I am just a servant. My mother still needs the monthly allowance from the Marquis's mansion to treat her illness, and my younger brother also needs my monthly allowance to study. I cannot tell the truth."

Lu Zhiyuan turned to look at her and asked, "You've fallen for that Mr. Wen?"

Liu Lu was taken aback, then gently shook her head. She did not deny her affection for Mr. Wen, but only said that she was not worthy of him.

She then spoke of the other five bodies.

The sixth corpse from the right is a maid who served the old Marquis. She accidentally lay on the old Marquis's bed while making it, and the old lady assumed that she was trying to seduce him. She ordered her to be dragged out and beaten to death.

She was the youngest of the seven, just two months shy of turning fifteen.

The fifth body was the maid of the concubine that Lord Lu had taken in. She disappeared along with the concubine, but in reality, she was murdered by Madam Lu.

The fourth body was a man, a servant that Old Madam Lu had bought from the slave market. He bore a resemblance to the old Marquis Lu in his youth. The old lady had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with him, and the man, attempting to abuse this relationship to bully others in the Marquis's mansion, was eliminated by the old lady.

Madam Lu would not allow her life to be tainted, much less this servant. She poisoned the man's ginseng tea, and after his death, she cut up his private parts with scissors and threw them into the backyard to feed the dogs.

Commander Ma scratched his head and looked at Lu Zhiyuan, who nodded. She had noticed it during the autopsy, but hadn't thought about it this deeply.

Lu Huai was filled with shame and indignation. He stared directly at his mother and questioned her, "Do you really have that kind of ambiguous relationship with him?"

Madam Lu looked at her son, her eyes suddenly widening before slowly returning to normal.

Lu Huai understood and said angrily, "How can you face your father and your status as the mistress of the Marquis's mansion?"

Madam Lu looked at him and smiled, pointing to the corpses on the ground, saying, "I've wronged him, but has he done right by me? Outsiders say I'm jealous, that I don't allow him to take a concubine, but they don't know that it's because the Marquis's mansion has fallen on hard times that he can't openly take a concubine! He wanted a noble lady of the Marquis's mansion, but he could only marry me, a concubine's daughter from the countryside. He wanted a noble concubine, but which respectable family in the capital would be willing to marry their daughter to him? He looked down on families without respectability, afraid of being laughed at if he married one."

"Is a noble family mansion so shameful?" Lu Huai didn't believe Old Madam Lu's words.