To Hold One's Joy / Happy - Chapter 5 : Suspect

"Young Master came first and persuaded you..."

Luo Sheng raised her eyebrows slightly: "Persuade? He didn't scold me?"

Hong Dou was stagnated.

Luo Sheng said expressionlessly: "You don't have to hide anything when you talk to me in the future."

What she needed was accurate information, not misleading information embellished with words.

Hong Dou replied with a "yes" and spoke eloquently: "Young Master came, scolded you, and left, then the two cousin sisters came. The Eldest Cousin said something similar to the Young Master, and the Second Cousin tried to persuade you to calm down and stop the fight..."

Luo Sheng tapped the tabletop with her white fingertips: "So, my Second Cousin treats me well?"

"Yes, the one who is most friendly to you among your cousins is your Second Cousin Sister, unlike your Eldest Cousin Sister, who is always against you..."

Luo Sheng listened quietly and fell into deep thought.

When it came to murder, there must be a motive.

Over the past three days, the masters of the Sheng Mansion came to visit her one after another. She didn't say much but listened and observed more, and she had some impression of everyone.

Her grandmother was helplessly disappointed in her. Her Eldest and Second Aunts despised her but had to pretend to care for her. Her Eldest Uncle was a little scared because her Second Uncle was not at home.

Luo Sheng thought that the elders in the Sheng Mansion probably didn't want to see her get into trouble.

Miss Luo's father was a powerful person, so he sent his daughter, who got into trouble, to her maternal grandparents' home to hide away. If something really happened, the Sheng family would have a hard time explaining themselves.

It was also not easy for an outsider to sneak into Miss Luo's boudoir in broad daylight and take action without anyone noticing.

In this case, the peers of the Sheng Mansion would be highly suspicious.

Her younger brother, Luo Chen, who hated her but also defended her; the eldest girl, Sheng Jia Yu, who scolded her and even disdained to call her 'cousin sister'; the second girl, Sheng Jia Lan, who was friendly; and the four cousin brothers who didn't have much contact with each other...

Who wants to harm Miss Luo?

Luo Sheng looked at the white silk hanging from the beam again.

She had to say that this method of killing was a bit crude.

The motive might have existed for a long time, and the opportunity that prompted the other party to act hastily might have happened three days ago.

That day, Miss Luo expressed her feelings about the Second Young Master Su to her grandmother, and then she was killed...

There was a high probability that the two matters were related!

Luo Sheng had a vague guess about the suspect, and then she had another question: How could Miss Luo remain asleep without waking up or showing any signs of struggle while being hanged from the beam?

She slowly scanned the furnishings in the room and landed on the blue and white multicolored plum-patterned tea set that was missing a teapot.

The missing teacup had just been smashed to pieces by her, and the broken pieces on the floor had not yet been cleared away.

"Did my brother and the others have tea when they came?"

Hong Dou didn't understand why the topic jumped to this point, but she remembered Luo Sheng's instruction to speak up and recalled briefly: "Young Master ran away after scolding you, but when the Eldest Cousin quarreled with you, the Second Cousin poured you a cup of tea to calm you down."

"I drank it?"

"You drank it..." Hong Dou realized belatedly, "Miss, do you think there's something wrong with the tea?"

Luo Sheng said nothing.

Even if there was something wrong with the tea, it could not be found out now.

Hong Dou was still in shock: "If there is something wrong with the tea, doesn't that mean there is something wrong with the Second Cousin... How dare she harm Miss!"

The little maid jumped up and walked out with murderous intent: "I'll go and settle the score with her!"

"Stop."

A faint voice came from behind.

Hong Dou turned around, confused. "Miss?"

Her young lady had never been the kind of person who would swallow her anger. She would often punish anyone who made her unhappy on the spot.

"Don't alert the enemy. Besides, these are just speculations."

In her opinion, this murder plan was full of loopholes, and such speculation was enough to make her take the next step.

She couldn't be trapped in the Sheng family; she wanted to go to the Zhen Nan Palace to take a look.

She wanted to take a look at what happened to the palace that night when surrounded by the sounds of fighting.

Luo Sheng was anxious, but she knew she couldn't be impatient. The most important thing to do first was to solve the mess left by Miss Luo.

Furthermore, Luo Sheng stroked her wrist gently.

The girl's wrists were as white as snow, Miss Luo was at her prime age.

She died against her will and borrowed Miss Luo's body to be reborn. Therefore, she should repay the favor bestowed upon her by Miss Luo.

It had always been her principle to repay kindness and avenge hatred.

Seeing that Luo Sheng remained silent, Hong Dou became anxious: "Miss, are you just going to let it go?"

Luo Sheng collected her thoughts and smiled faintly. "Of course I won't let it go like this. We can't alert the snake, but we can lure it out of its hole."

"Lure the snake out of its hole?" Hong Dou blinked, her eyes bright. "How do we lure the snake out of its hole?"

At this time, a voice came from outside the door. "Miss Luo, Sister Shuang Ye, the Eldest Madam's maid, is here."

Luo Sheng nodded slightly to Hong Dou, who immediately shouted, "Ask her in."

Luo Sheng stroked her forehead.

She was signaling Hong Dou to clean up the house, such as at least taking down the white silk hanging from the beam...

A maid in a bean green vest walked in. When she saw the eerie white silk in front of her, she screamed and almost fell to the ground.

Hong Dou put her hands on her hips and cursed, "Why are you shrieking? What if you scare our Miss?"

Shuang Ye looked at Luo Sheng, who was sitting at the table, then at the hanging white silk, and her lips trembled.

Who is scaring whom?

This Miss Luo is really scary.

"What's the matter?" Luo Sheng asked.

Shuang Ye calmed down and said, "There will be a family banquet tonight. The Eldest Madam asked me to tell Miss Luo."

"Understood."

Shuang Ye knelt before Luo Sheng and after returning, she described in vivid detail the scene she saw when she entered Luo Sheng's room: "A white silk was hanging in front of my eyes, and I was so frightened that my heart almost jumped out."

The Eldest Madam's expression turned grim. "What's the fuss about?"

Fortunately, Miss Luo would not attend the family banquet tonight, sparing the other family members from any disturbance.

Every five days, all the families in the Sheng Mansion would gather together for a family dinner. Although Luo Sheng was merely a guest and had only attended once, the Eldest Madam, responsible for household affairs, would perfunctorily send a maid to invite her each time.

The Eldest Madam's heart was relieved a little, and she told Shuang Ye: "Go and tell my sons to stay away from Miss Luo from now on."

She was on guard against everything, but she didn't expect that the Old Madam was planning to marry Miss Luo to her sons. If she had known this, she would have gone to the Su family to discuss it today.

Soon the sun set, and Luo Sheng took Hong Dou to Funing Hall.

Jinsha County was located in the south. Although it was early spring now, Sheng Mansion was full of lush vegetation and blooming spring flowers.

Luo Sheng walked through the flowers and willows and met four men head-on.

She stopped and glanced at the four people.

The one with a figure as tall as a pine tree was Eldest Young Master Sheng; the one with a pair of peach blossom eyes holding a folding fan was Second Young Master Sheng; the one with thick eyebrows and big eyes was Third Young Master Sheng; and the one who still had a childish look was Fourth Young Master Sheng.

The four of them had visited her shortly after she had woken up. Although their visits were hurried, like running an errand, she remembered each of them.

When she woke up, everything was turned upside down, and she had to remember everything she heard and saw.

Luo Sheng bowed slightly and saluted the four people as a peer.

Upon seeing Luo Sheng, the four young men froze in place and only came to their senses when she greeted them.

The three older ones quickly regained their composure, hastily returning the greeting and speaking in unison, "I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I won't be able to accompany you, cousin."

As soon as they finished speaking, the three of them ran away, and Third Young Master Sheng did not forget to grab his younger brother, who didn't react.

Hong Dou opened her mouth wide: "What the hell are you guys doing?"

Luo Sheng didn't care: "Don't worry about it; let's go."

Anyone who would flee upon seeing her probably didn't have the courage to kill anyone. Besides, Miss Luo showed no interest in getting involved with her cousins, so they lacked the motive to harm her.

The four people who ran to the gate in one breath were panting and still in shock.

"Third Brother, there's no need to be so scared, right?" Fourth Young Master Sheng looked puzzled.

The peach-eyed Second Young Master Sheng knocked Fourth Young Master Sheng on the head with his gold-painted folding fan: "What do you know, you silly boy? If you get entangled with that girl, that will be the end of you!"