"If I remember correctly, from last month to this month, it only rained once in the afternoon." Xu Chunjun said.
"What day was that?" Jiang Nuan couldn't remember.
"The day Xu Chunsu tricked the two of us into boarding the boat was also the day she committed suicide." Cen Yunchu fell in love with Jing'er as soon as he recalled it.
"Yes, it was that day." Xu Chunjun nodded, "The rain started in the afternoon, then stopped for more than an hour, and then started raining again after it got dark."
"So what? This Meng Qiao often goes out, so it's not surprising that he comes back late." Jiang Nuan still couldn't figure out what was suspicious.
"Yes, it's not strange to go out, and it's not strange to come back late, but why did she get caught in the rain?" Xu Chunjun asked with a smile, "At this time of year, no matter who of us goes out, the carriage will be equipped with rain gear, and there will be servants following.
How is it possible for the young lady to get caught in the rain? Even if she does not take her own car, but comes back in someone else's car or a hired carriage, she can still go to the door and send her servants with rain gear to pick her up."
"Oh, I understand a little bit. You are saying that there must have been a period of time when Meng Qiao had no one to protect her from the rain and no rain gear." Jiang Nuan said while thinking, "And it was probably not when she entered the house.
But outside."
"So Meng Qiao must have been alone outside that day, otherwise there were servants following her. Even if she didn't bring rain gear, she would have been asked to stay in a sheltered place from the rain. The servants would have found rain gear or carriages and horses.
It's reasonable." Xu Chunjun said, "And when his mother-in-law said those words, Meng Qiao quickly interrupted her and deliberately pushed the mother-in-law out to prevent her from continuing to speak."
"But even so, it only means that she went out alone that day and came back after dark. What does it have to do with Xu Chunsu's death?" Jiang Nuan asked.
"Based on the above situation, we can only infer this." Xu Chunjun said, "That's why I tested it further."
"How did you test her?" Cen Yunchu asked.
"I deliberately took off the comb on my head to get the fourth sister to talk and see how Meng Qiao would react when she heard her name. Unexpectedly, I had an unexpected surprise." Xu Chunjun laughed,
She originally just went to visit Meng Qiao, but she didn't expect to find such a shocking thing.
"The tortoiseshell comb was broken, so Meng Qiao asked the maid to take out her jewelry box and let me choose one to wear temporarily. There were no valuable jewelry in her jewelry box, except for a white jade hairpin.
At first glance, there is nothing unusual about this hairpin, but it was made by a person from Fengming Mountain and is worth at least one or two thousand silver.
I looked carefully and found that the thing was definitely not a fake. With the Meng family's family background and Meng Qiao's status in the family, there is no way it could be like this."
If it were Cen Yunchu, it wouldn't be surprising that she had ten hairpins like this. But given Meng Qiao's family background, it was like an ordinary farmer's family suddenly having abalone added to the dining table. It was nondescript and very eye-catching.
"What's even more coincidental is that when we were sorting out the belongings of our fourth sister, we saw a pair of white jade earrings in her makeup box, which happened to be the same set as this jade hairpin. With the current situation of our family, naturally we can't afford to wear them.
"Xu Chunjun said.
"It's really interesting to say that. Meng Qiao and Xu Chunsu originally seemed to be completely unrelated, so how could they own a set of valuable jewelry together?" Cen Yunchu couldn't help laughing, "It can be seen that the two people have a close relationship.
Qian!"
"Although the Cui family doesn't admit it, we all know in our hearts that what happened on the boat that day was the Cui family's instigation.
My fourth sister first pretended that she and Cui Mingzhu were at odds with each other, but that was actually their deception. At that time, Cui Mingzhu must have taken the initiative to hook up with her, and the methods used to win over people were nothing more than heart-to-heart talk and inducements.
I guess Cui Mingzhu used both methods, because the fourth sister originally hated me, so if she could get rid of me and gain benefits, why didn't she do it?"
"The two of them hit it off right away, so that's what happened next." Cen Yunchu sneered.
"But what did Meng Qiao do here? I still can't figure it out." Jiang Nuan was a little anxious. She couldn't wait for Xu Chunjun to explain this matter thoroughly.
"I turned around and told Meng Qiao that the fourth sister mentioned her before, and Meng Qiao's reaction was even more interesting." Xu Chunjun took a sip of tea and said.
"I was also present at the time, and her reaction was very calm. There was nothing wrong with her." Jiang Nuan recalled carefully, because the time interval was short, the situation at that time was still vivid in his mind.
She can still recall the scene when Meng Qiao was holding the medicine bowl without even shaking his hand.
"It's because she is so calm that she is abnormal." Xu Chunjun smiled, "For example, if it were you and I said those words to you, how would you react?"
"Me?" Jiang Nuan pointed to her nose and said, "I feel strange. You don't interact with me much on weekdays. Why are you mentioning me?"
"Yes, this is a normal reaction." Cen Yunchu said, "A person who died inexplicably mentioned you, whom he was not very familiar with before his death, would be a bit confusing to anyone else, right? Even if he didn't ask why, he would be a little confused.
There will definitely be some discomfort.”
"But Meng Qiao didn't. She didn't ask my fourth sister why she mentioned it, nor was she at all surprised or repulsed." Xu Chunjun said, "She just said she was sorry, and then stopped talking."
"Sister Xu, do you mean that Meng Qiao was also involved in this matter? She and the fourth girl in your family are not strangers as shown on the surface, but partners who conspired together?" Jiang Nuan suddenly realized.
"You're not that stupid yet." Cen Yunchu couldn't help teasing her.
"Actually, I have long noticed that something is wrong with my fourth sister, because she is so abnormal. But I grew up with her, and I know her personality and temperament best.
Although I could tell that she was acting, her acting this time was different from the past, and she was obviously much smarter. Especially the words she said were definitely not something she could pretend to do. Someone must be teaching her step by step behind her back.
"
"Although Cui Mingzhu is hateful, she is not good at conspiracy." Cen Yunchu has been at odds with Cui Mingzhu for a long time, and he also knows her personality and temperament.
"Yes, so I guess Meng Qiao must be her military advisor." Xu Chunjun said, "She gave Cui Mingzhu advice, and Cui Mingzhu naturally benefited her. He probably opened the makeup box and asked her to choose a piece of jewelry she liked.
Meng Qiao must have chosen this unobtrusive but extremely valuable jade hairpin. If it is the kind of jewelry that looks particularly attractive at first glance, I'm afraid she won't be able to keep it."
Xu Chunjun saw the situation in the Meng family. Meng Qiao's bedroom was simply shabby.
It can be seen that the person in charge of her family must be very tight-lipped, so Meng Qiao did the opposite, picked an inconspicuous piece of jewelry, and put it openly in his jewelry box, so as not to arouse suspicion.
After all, not everyone is as discerning as Xu Chunjun.
