There was no sign of intrusion at the scene. Madam Jin even fed the two babies last night, otherwise, the children would have woken up crying from hunger in the middle of the night instead of waiting until dawn to cry.

The quilt was neatly folded on the bed, with no signs of sleeping. All of this seemed to indicate one thing.

“Madam Jin did not fall asleep last night. Perhaps she had already thought of committing suicide last night.” Wei Fu said.

It was almost noon when Lin Fei and others came over. After the messenger came, the house had not been moved again. The maids, old women, and servants who broke in early in the morning were being questioned.

The two maids had red eyes from crying. They all said that Madam Jin was a very kind master and rarely tortured the servants. The servants also liked this Madam Jin very much.

“Last night, the Madam seemed in a good mood and was chatting and laughing with us. In the evening, the Madam even said that she wanted to eat fish,” a maidservant sobbed. “Our Madam loved eating fish the most. Yesterday, she specifically told the kitchen, and the kitchen staff went to the night market and finally bought a big sea bass to steam and eat with the Madam.”

“The Madam made the clothes for the two young masters herself. She also changed the clothes for the two young masters. How could she commit suicide?”

The maidservant was crying, and the old woman beside her sighed and said, “It’s our fault! Now that I think about it, the Madam’s behavior clearly showed that she had made up her mind to die, but we thought she had come to her senses and went back to rest. If we hadn’t noticed… it’s our fault!”

As the old woman spoke, tears fell again.

Looking at the servants wiping their tears in sorrow, Wei Fu turned around, walked to Lin Fei, pointed at the two maids and the old woman who spoke, and said, “Lin Shaoqing, I think what they said makes sense. Madam Jin’s action can be considered as a result of her thinking it through; if she was determined to die and had done everything she could before she died, it can also be explained.”

The same action could be explained in different ways, and they all made sense.

After hearing this, Lin Fei pondered for a moment and said, “Bring the clothes she made yesterday.”

The servants around him responded and left and soon came back with two small clothes.

The two children’s clothes were very simple, but the stitches were fine and dense, and it was obvious that they were made with great care. After looking at the two children’s clothes for a while, Lin Fei stretched out his hand and pointed to the maid who “thought that Madam had thought it through” and said, “Come here!”

The maid who was pointed was stunned for a moment, and although she didn’t understand why, she still came over.

When the maid walked in front of everyone, Lin Fei held up the clothes and asked the maid: “Are these two clothes made by Madam Jin?”

The maid nodded. To avoid making a mistake, she took the two clothes and looked at them carefully. After confirming that they were correct, she affirmed: “These are Madam’s stitches, I won’t make a mistake.”

Lin Fei said “Hmm”, held up the two clothes, and asked the maid: “How long did it take Madam Jin to make these two clothes? From what you said, Madam Jin was crying, laughing, thinking, and wanting to eat fish all day yesterday. There were a lot of things to do! So… when you left yesterday, were the clothes finished?”

As soon as these words came out, Wei Fu and others on the side were stunned. Although what Lin Fei said sounded a bit unkind, when you think about it carefully, Madam Jin was indeed a bit too “busy” yesterday. These clothes should not be finished by the time the maid and the old woman had left.

Sure enough, the maid shook her head immediately after hearing this, and said frankly: “Madam had not finished it when we left, but the stitches and knotting methods are Madam’s, there is no mistake! I think Madam continued to stay up all night to finish the clothes after we left.”

When the clothes were finished, she specially changed the two children into the two new clothes. Did Madam Jin commit suicide? It seemed not impossible.

Was it important whether the clothes were finished or not? Of course, it was important! If someone intervened in Madam Jin’s suicide, that person also asked Madam Jin to finish the clothes, which shows that he was good to the two children.

After the maid left, Lin Fei asked Wei Fu: “Who is the old woman in the Jin family who changed her mind and felt that everything Madam Jin did seemed to be preparing for suicide?”

Wei Fu glanced at the woman with a sad face and said, “That’s the old matron of the Jin family. I heard that she was the wet nurse of Lord Jin when he was young. She has been working in the Jin family. She is not only good to Lord Jin but also to Madam Jin. She is especially fond of the two children who are still in their cradles!”

Lin Fei said “Hmm”, his eyes fell on the woman, and paused.

Paying so much attention to a woman… Wei Fu’s heart skipped a beat and he couldn’t help asking Lin Fei, “Lin Shaoqing, is there something wrong with that woman? Madam Jin didn’t commit suicide?”

“If she committed suicide, there is no sign of being forced to hang on her body.” Lin Fei paused and said, “But she may not want to commit suicide. It is also possible that she had to commit suicide.”

Had to commit suicide? Forced by others? Were you talking about that woman?

Liu Yuantong and Bai Zhu glanced at the woman. The woman with a sad face seemed to have noticed the gazes of everyone. She glanced over here with a sad and desperate look.

“It’s really sad to see it,” Liu Yuan said, retracting his gaze, “but if Madam Jin’s suicide was really forced by someone, why would she, a wet nurse, force Madam Jin?”

Lin Fei said, “Master Jin will return to Beijing tonight.” After a pause, without waiting for everyone to speak, Lin Fei said, “I think this old woman changed her words too quickly!”

Among the maids, servants, and old women, only that old woman changed her words, as if she was eager to prove that Madam Jin committed suicide.

Madam Jin had suffered so many rumors for so many days before, and she chose to commit suicide before Master Jin returned to Beijing. The timing was really too coincidental.

Of course, he would say more than that.

“There is a lotus painting hanging in the room of Master Jin and Madam Jin,” Lin Fei said, “Looking at the two styles of painting, it must not be painted by one person. The signature also wrote two names. The two people used the painting to describe people, praising it for ‘coming out of the mud without being stained’.”

Liu Yuan and others, who didn’t feel anything at first, immediately became subtle.

Lin Fei paused, and then said, “Lord Jin doesn’t have concubines or maids around him.”

Combining the two, it could be inferred that Lord Jin would be considerate of others when it came to the relationship between husband and wife. What happened to Madam Jin now was probably more than just embarrassing for Lord Jin.

“Lord Jin’s parents’ background can be checked. They were students from a scholarly family, but this Madam Jin, we can’t find her parents…” Lin Fei paused here, stretched out his hand, pointed at the old woman, and said, “Send someone over and ask them.”

The old woman who was called came over. When Lin Fei asked about Madam Jin’s background, she looked embarrassed. After a long pause, she said, “Our wife’s background is not good…”

As soon as these words came out, they almost confirmed Lin Fei’s words.

The woman paused for a moment and continued, “When the lady was young, she was kidnapped by a kidnapper and taken to a brothel. When she met our master, she was beaten half to death because she refused to surrender! Our master felt sorry for the lady’s experience and was moved by her purity, so he redeemed her. After that, she…” At this point, the woman could not help but wipe her tears again, “The lady has a miserable life. Our master saved her back then, but now even the gods can’t save her!”

(End of this chapter)

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