Filial piety, benevolence and righteousness were the main criteria for choosing officials in this era. Elder Zhao must have hopes that his son would become an official in the future.
From the maids' words and the way they sincerely praised and worshiped Young Master Zhao, Chu Nanzhi could imagine that the boy was indeed well-respected in the residence.
He was not a target of envy. He was dignified and probably had a good relationship with his cousin and stepmother.
At the very least, he would not be actively trying to make enemies.
After checking the house, she found that it was clean and tidy. There were no suspicious traces left behind.
She might not be able to obtain any useful clues.
As Chu Nanzhi was thinking, she snapped out of her reverie and realized that Little Ruijia was no longer by her side. She instantly panicked.
She had just had a frank chat with Lin Jinxiao last night. If she lost Lin Ruijia, that fellow would kill her when she got home.
She immediately walked out of the room and rushed to the courtyard to take a closer look, but there was no sign of her.
She walked out of the courtyard and looked around. She saw Lin Ruijia crouching in the western part of the courtyard, looking inside attentively.
From afar, her petite figure was really pitiful.
Chu Nanzhi hurried over. When Lin Ruijia heard the noise, she turned around. Seeing that it was a bad woman, she was so frightened that she immediately thumped to the ground, looking terrified.
Chu Nanzhi helped her up gently and comforted her kindly, "Ruijia, what are you doing here?"
Little Ruijia pointed at the courtyard pitifully. "This house is so big. It seems like no one lives here. What a pity."
Chu Nanzhi remembered that the maids had said that this was where Old Madam Zhao used to stay, so she explained to little Ruijia,
"Rich people have many rooms, they can't fill them all. But you must not run around. Look at how big this place is. If you get lost, I won't be able to find you."
After some thought, she deliberately frightened the girl.
"Didn't you say that someone was watching you just now? The little boy from the Zhao family was kidnapped and hasn't been found. Don't tell me you also want to be captured by bad people?"
Lin Ruijia shook her head in fear.
At this moment, the maids and County Deputy Sun caught up with them.
When the maids saw the two of them loitering there, their expressions turned ugly.
The older maid said, "This is where Old Madam Zhao lived. Few people come here regularly. The mistress will occasionally send someone to clean it. Madam Chu, don't go in. If you damage the furnishings inside, I'm afraid the master will punish you."
When she heard the maid say that, Chu Nanzhi could not help but look inside curiously.
Although it was locked, one could roughly see the inside through a crack in the door.
Although this was not part of the main courtyard, it looked much larger than the Young Master's side courtyard.
It must be because these were the Old Madam's rooms.
Deputy Sun was afraid that Elder Zhao would admonish him, so he quickly reminded Chu Nanzhi,
"It's the former residence of someone who has passed away. I've heard that the Elder was very close to the Old Madam when she was alive. He's famous for being a filial son. It's better if we don't disturb this place. Let's leave now."
Chu Nanzhi froze on the spot and suddenly fell into deep thought.
The case had been reported soon after the incident had occurred. If it was a murder, there would have been no time to move Young Master Zhao's body out of the mansion. It must be hidden here. The best place to bury the corpse was a deserted spot like this one.
So she boldly suspected that the murderer might have hidden the Young Master's corpse in this courtyard.
However, this courtyard was really too big. Even if the body was really hidden here, it would be difficult to find it quickly.
She faced the maid and calmly asked,
"Are there any other abandoned courtyards?"
"No."
The older maid answered, "Other than the main courtyard in the east and the side courtyard of my Young Master and Second Master, the other two places are often used when female relatives visit."
Chu Nanzhi nodded and pleaded with the maid, "I want to take a look at Old Madam's courtyard. I promise I won't touch or damage anything inside."
The two maids looked at each other. They were in a difficult position. Deputy Sun did not know what she wanted and asked curiously,
"Did you discover any clues?"
Chu Nanzhi gazed at the maid thoughtfully and pulled Deputy Sun to the side, saying softly,
"Lord Deputy, what do you think about how the case has developed?"
"It's neither bandits nor enemies. The Young Master vanished from the mansion…"
The two of them looked at each other. County Deputy Sun suddenly understood and almost shouted.
Looking around, he quickly lowered his voice. "Madam Chu, do you suspect that he was killed?"
Chu Nanzhi smiled calmly. "Why else would he disappear into thin air?"
"But if it's a murder, then we must find the body. But until now, I haven't seen the Young Master's corpse."
Deputy Sun pursed his lips in confusion.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said to Chu Nanzhi, "Perhaps they moved the corpse out of the mansion and secretly buried it somewhere?"
"There are too many people in the mansion. How can the murderer move a corpse out from under their noses?"
Chu Nanzhi was also puzzled by the deputy's line of thought and said patiently,
"Moreover, soon after the incident occurred, the people in the mansion immediately went to the county office to report the case. After that, the county office intervened and created a huge uproar. The murderer would not dare to move the corpse openly."
County Deputy Sun suddenly nodded. That made sense.
Just as he was thinking hard about where the body might be hidden, he inadvertently noticed that Chu Nanzhi was still looking around the courtyard.
Deputy Sun seemed to receive an epiphany. He raised his thick brows and questioned excitedly,
"Madam Chu, do you think that the Young Master's corpse is hidden in this courtyard?"
"Very likely."
Chu Nanzhi naturally could not be sure.
However, based on her many years of experience in solving crimes, this was the best place to hide a corpse.
"If the corpse was really hidden inside, it can't be kept for long as it's summer now. It would begin to smell."
Deputy Sun sniffed the air carefully and suddenly yawned.
"What a strong sour smell."
With that, he walked towards the smell. It was coming from this courtyard.
He could not help but look at the two stunned maids.
"There's someone cooking in this courtyard. Why is there such a strong smell of vinegar?"
The maids looked at each other and shook their heads.
Chu Nanzhi could not help but start to doubt Deputy Sun's intelligence again.
Everyone said that this was the former residence of the late Madam Zhao. No one was allowed to enter casually. Why would anyone dare to cook inside?
"Sigh."
Chu Nanzhi also sighed and shook her head.
The maid hurriedly explained, "The weather has been hot recently. A few days ago, it rained heavily. This courtyard has been uninhabited for a long time and is in need of repair. A few days ago, the mistress ordered the servants to buy a lot of bamboo vinegar and sprinkle it in every corner of the courtyard to prevent mosquitoes and other insects from spoiling the structure of the house."
The younger maid also said, "Our mistress understands the master the best. She knows that he misses his late mother. This time, she specially came over to take care of it personally. She was afraid that we would damage Old Madam's belongings. She's very meticulous."
After hearing what the maids said, County Deputy Sun lost all his suspicions.
But Chu Nanzhi grew even more certain of hers.
Moreover, she began to vaguely sense that the Master's young wife was definitely involved.
For her to be so attentive showed that she must be trying to cover up something.
If that was the case, it would be difficult to enter the courtyard.
That woman could easily get Elder Zhao to chase them out of the mansion.
Once the murderer was alerted and had a chance to move the corpse, this case would never be solved.
After thinking hard for a while, Chu Nanzhi suddenly had an idea. She looked at Deputy Sun and whispered to him,
"Look Deputy, I want to go in and take a look. Can you think of a way?"
"Does Madam Chu still think that the corpse is inside?"
"I'm not sure."
???
The two of them started whispering to each other.
"If we can't find the corpse here, I have no choice but to go back and watch the two of you continue fighting with Elder Zhao."
Deputy Sun pursed his lips.
He did not want to be bullied anymore.
"Don't you want to use this opportunity to get promoted? If you can find the corpse, it will be to your credit. I won't fight for it."
Deputy Sun's eyes widened as he prepared his plan of attack.
He vaguely felt that this woman was his savior.
Suddenly, he roared.
"Get out of the way. I'm under orders to investigate this case. No one is allowed to stop me."