I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 377 Does Granny Zhang have any enemies?

The steward smiled obsequiously, "Young master, I've come to report to the young mistress that Granny Zhang on the estate suddenly died last night."

At this point, the manager's voice lowered slightly as he cautiously said, "He was poisoned..."

Xie Siyuan's expression didn't change upon hearing this, and he coldly replied with an "Oh".

He glanced at the manager and asked, "So what are you planning to do?"

“Of course we will listen to the young mistress. She told us to report this directly to the authorities and let them investigate the matter.”

Report to the official?

Xie Siyuan sneered inwardly.

Hehe, the government can't find out.

After leaving the Marquis's residence, the steward immediately went to report the case.

Because it involved a murder case and was related to the Xie family, the Jingzhao Prefecture quickly sent people over.

The leader was a middle-aged official named Zhou Ningxuan, with a thin face, wearing a neat blue official robe, and his brows and eyes exuding competence.

He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the manor gate, his gaze sweeping around.

"Go and carefully examine every place, and record all the details of the scene. Do not overlook anything."

"The coroner is going to perform the autopsy now. Give me the results in fifteen minutes."

Zhou Ningxuan gave the instructions methodically.

Soon, the coroner finished examining the body and came to report.

"Your Excellency, the deceased did indeed die from poisoning. Based on the degree of rigor mortis and the external reactions after the poisoning, the time of death should be around 3 AM this morning."

"Can you determine what kind of poison it is?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, our initial assessment is that it is a potent poison, similar to the poison commonly used in villages to hunt wild boars, called Blood Stasis Powder. It is made from a mixture of various poisonous herbs and is usually used to poison wild animals. Once ingested, it can be fatal in a short time."

Zhou Ningxuan coldly surveyed the crowd, then called each person on the estate to him for questioning.

It was discovered that almost all the servants knew the location where the blood stasis powder was stored.

The steward lowered his head and whispered, "This poison is used to deal with wild boars. Although we know that, no one dares to touch it. In all these years, nothing has ever happened on the estate!"

Zhou Ningxuan frowned and continued to ask, "Does Granny Zhang have any enemies?"

The group exchanged glances and quickly shook their heads.

"Old Granny Zhang has no children and has always lived in this village. I've never heard of her having any enemies."

Zhou Ningxuan lowered his eyes, his brows furrowed, and the investigation came to a standstill.

Hou House.

Xie Siyuan strode into the main house and saw Lady Hou sitting on the couch.

He was holding a bowl of herbal medicine with his head down, and was drinking it.

Xie Siyuan stood by the door watching her movements, his eyes subtly shifting until they landed on the medicine jar and the porcelain bowl containing the medicine.

Lady Hou noticed his gaze and immediately put down the medicine bowl.

She smiled at him and said, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since this morning."

Xie Siyuan walked silently to her and bowed respectfully. "It's nothing, I was just taking a walk around."

He lowered his eyes, his expression obedient.

But I couldn't help but start thinking.

How can I poison them all to death...?

Qinglan Courtyard.

The maid lifted the curtain and whispered her report.

“Young Madam, someone from the estate just came and said that Granny Zhang was poisoned by Blood Stasis Powder, but no suspects have been identified yet.”

Qin Jiu frowned slightly, and after a moment, she said in a low voice, "Send someone to the estate to keep an eye on things. If there are any new developments, no matter how small, send someone over immediately."

The maid bowed in agreement and turned to leave.

Qin Jiuwei turned her gaze back to the window.

His expression was indifferent, yet it carried a hint of unfathomable coldness.

For some reason, she always felt that this matter was inextricably linked to Xie Siyuan.

Qin Jiuwei picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

Turning around, I realized that the small figure in the room had disappeared again.

He immediately looked at Xiao He beside him and asked, "Where is Jue-ge'er?"

The new teacher hasn't arrived yet, and Xie Jue plays in the courtyard every day. If you're not careful, he'll run off somewhere.

Xiaohe smiled and said, "Young Master Jue is practicing his boxing in the courtyard. Ever since the young master taught him two moves yesterday, he practices whenever he has free time, and he's already quite good at it."

At this moment, in the courtyard.

Xie Jingchun had just returned from the training ground when he saw Xie Jue practicing horse stance in the courtyard.

Her little face was incredibly serious.

Xie Jingchun couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He strode over and poked Xie Jue on the shoulder.

"Third brother, your fist stance is so unsteady that your hands are not even on the ground, and your footwork is as messy as a puppy digging."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jue immediately turned her head and glared at him.

"You're the one who paddles like a puppy!"

He clenched his fist, glared angrily at Xie Jingchun, and said, "You're just making fun of me. Wait until I learn how to use this fist technique, and I'll beat you until you cry!"

"Well, you've really grown bold, daring to hit me now?"

Xie Jingchun bent down, pressed one hand on Xie Jue's head and rubbed it, "Come on, let me see how powerful your fist is."

"You, let go! You're bullying a child!"

Xie Jue struggled, raising her small fist to try and hit back, but Xie Jingchun easily dodged it.

The two were playing around in the courtyard when Qin Jiuwei saw them.

He couldn't help but chuckle helplessly.

These two argue a little every day and fight every three days.

Despite such a large age gap, why are they acting like this?

Fortunately, Xie Jingchun still had some sense of propriety and did not hurt Xie Jue.

But every time she saw the two of them like this, Qin Jiuwei would still step forward to try and persuade them.

But do it again next time...

a few days later.

Xie Siyuan stood outside the main courtyard, staring at the wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys in the distance, his heart filled with irritation.

His original plan was to sneak into the kitchen and sprinkle poison into the day's meals.

They could be easily poisoned to death.

I'll vent my anger!

But he soon discovered the problem: breakfast and lunch in each courtyard of the Marquis's mansion were mostly prepared by their own small kitchens.

He had no chance to get close to these small kitchens.

Not to mention mixing poison into it.