Deputy Sun charged over. His impressive official air frightened the two maids so much that they hid by the door in a panic.
Chu Nanzhi was overjoyed.
However, Deputy Sun suddenly stopped when he reached the courtyard door.
After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly turned around and looked at the two maids. He asked gently and politely,
"Ladies, where's the key?"
"Of course the key is with the mistress. If you want to enter, we will have to ask the mistress."
"My ass."
Deputy Sun raised his leg. He thought of all the grievances and injustice he had suffered for more than 50 years, then kicked the door with all his might.
Boom!
The courtyard door fell with a clear crack, leaving only the door frame.
The two maids' faces were ashen, and they looked uncertain for a moment. Then they frantically ran out of the courtyard.
Deputy Sun stared at Chu Nanzhi expectantly, his heroic air fully on display.
"Madam Chu, my life is now in your hands. Just go in. If anything happens, I'll take care of it."
Chu Nanzhi was both surprised and touched. She grabbed Lin Ruijia and ran in hurriedly. Behind her, she heard Deputy Sun say,
"Madam Chu, hurry up. They will be here soon. I'm afraid I won't be able to stop them by myself."
Chu Nanzhi also knew full well that if she did not find the body soon, she would face all kinds of obstructions and endless abuse.
If she could not find the body, she would have no proof to convince everyone.
She stopped in the courtyard and looked around. The courtyard was terrifyingly large, surrounded by lush vegetation and flowers. She had no idea where to start.
She had planned to follow the smell of decay, but the courtyard was filled with the smell of vinegar and the clear fragrance of bamboo leaves. There was no trace of decay.
She held Lin Ruijia's hand and instructed her,
Ruijia, I'll bring you around, but you have to promise me that you won't touch other people's things. If you damage something, I won't be able to pay for it."
Lin Ruijia nodded obediently.
Only then did Chu Nanzhi relax and lead Lin Ruijia into the inner room.
The dining hall of the main house, the bedroom, and the wings next door were all clean and tidy. There was no place to hide a corpse.
After that, she searched every corner and wall, but she did not find any secret places like a hidden pavilion.
Little Ruijia saw the bad woman looking around. She did not know what the bad woman was looking for, but she cocked head and remarked,
"This place too clean to hide anything."
Chu Nanzhi had the same thought.
After some careful thought, she realized that even if the rotten smell of the corpse could be disguised, the oil that seeped from it could not be hidden.
It probably was not in the house.
She pulled Lin Ruijia and ran out of the house only to see Second Master Zhao rushing, glaring at them hostilely.
Deputy Sun followed, earnestly trying to dissuade him,
"Second Master Zhao, I have orders to investigate this case. Don't cause trouble."
"Orders. Who issued these orders? Even if there's an order, you can't just wreck our door."
Second Master Zhao was furious. He pointed at Chu Nanzhi and scolded, "Get lost. This is my grandmother's courtyard. How dare you barge in recklessly."
Chu Nanzhi saw that this person had been acting furtively and she grew suspicious.
She did not know if it was a coincidence.
When she went to the Young Master's courtyard, this person had blocked the entrance of the side courtyard.
Now when she came to this courtyard, he followed her.
She said decisively, "The county deputy and I suspect that your brother was murdered, so we are here to investigate. It's true that it was inappropriate to damage a door. However, your uncle cares about his son. We also hope to solve the case as soon as possible and give everyone an explanation."
"Murder?"
Second Master Zhao was furious. "Don't spout nonsense, woman. Who has the guts to murder my Brother Yan?"
After some thought, he added, "Moreover, Brother Yan is smart and kind. Who would be so ruthless?"
His expression was very calm, not giving away anything.
Chu Nanzhi pursed her lips and laughed softly. "There were no bandits to cause trouble and no enemies who mean harm. Yet a person disappeared vanished into thin air while in the mansion."
When he heard that, Second Master Zhao suddenly looked blank and he was speechless.
Chu Nanzhi ignored him and continued to look around the courtyard.
She searched every corner. Weeds grew everywhere, and the whole area was bursting with greenery and vitality. There were no traces of the ground having been disturbed, which so no one had dug or buried anything here.
She looked around and saw that there was a patch of grass at the corner of the house. There were also some withered leaves scattered on the grass.
But that did not seem to be the end of the courtyard. Beyond it was a wide open space.
Just as she was about to turn the corner, Second Master Zhao suddenly shouted from behind,
"There's nothing but a dry well over there. It hasn't been used for years, since Grandmother passed away. It's overgrown with weeds."
When she heard that there was a dry well, Chu Nanzhi ran over with even greater determination.
But she was disappointed when she got there.
She looked around and saw that there was a raised spot in the grass a few meters away and it did look like an ancient well.
However, when she looked closely, she saw that the well was surrounded by weeds and there was a well cover. The vegetation was dense and the moss grew everywhere. It did not look like it had been touched.
Not a single suspicious trace was left behind.
After carefully examining her surroundings, she had no choice but to give up on the idea that the body was hidden in the well.
Grass grew everywhere, from where she stood to the edge of the well. There were no signs of damage at all.
If someone wanted to throw the corpse into the well, the weight of two people would leave some footprints.
Moreover, the footprints would be very deep.
Even if someone had concealed them carefully, they could not have done so flawlessly.
She turned around reluctantly to see Elder Zhao striding over, leading his wife and County Magistrate Hu.
Little Ruijia was calm, as if nothing had happened. She was about to step on the grass to pick a yellow flower from a nearby tree.
Chu Nanzhi grabbed little Ruijia and scolded her softly, "Ruijia, don't touch other people's things."
Little Ruijia looked at the beautiful flower and pouted resentfully.
Seeing that they had almost reached her, Chu Nanzhi inadvertently looked down and saw that the grass that the Lin Ruijia had just stepped on was gradually springing back.
Chu Nanzhi's heart skipped a beat. She looked at all the spots where the grass was growing and realized that something was wrong.
Before she could think carefully, she heard a woman crying and cursing.
"Look my Lord, these officials don't act like officials at all. I can forgive them for wantonly barging into the backyard, but now they've even kicked down Mother's courtyard door. What are they up to? We don't know whether Yan'er is dead or alive, yet they're deliberately stirring up trouble here."
Elder Zhao was also extremely agitated at this point. The woman's cries made him even angrier. He pointed at Chu Nanzhi. He could no longer tolerate her and he scolded,
"You evil woman, you're not here to investigate the case. Clearly you've brought a child to fool me and avenge Hu Maoxi by embarrassing me."
Hu Maoxi was so frightened that his expression stiffened. He hurriedly cupped his hands and apologized.
"Elder, please don't be angry. There must be a reason for this. When I've gotten to the bottom of this, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation."
Then he glared at Chu Nanzhi darkly, but he first poured out his anger on County Deputy Sun.
This old man had actually dared to kick down someone's door behind his back.