Chapter 21 House Arrest: Do You… Have Any Regard for Ethics and Moral Order!

"You actually snooped into the private matters between me and my husband! You... do you have any sense of morality or decency at all?" Jiang Yueyi couldn't help but rebuke.

Jiang Yueyi scolded Qi Yuan, but he didn't get angry at all. Instead, his expression was indifferent, as if he were hearing something perfectly ordinary.

He said, "It's my duty. Don't be upset, sister-in-law."

Jiang Yueyi felt even more suffocated after hearing this. She bit her lower lip hard but still didn't bring up Qi Hao. She just turned her head away and stopped looking at Qi Yuan.

Zhou Congshen had just recovered from his shock. He hadn't expected Qi Yuan to dare say even these things. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Jiang Yueyi—who had turned her head to avoid Qi Yuan—shielding her behind him.

"Where is Xing An? I want to see him!" Zhou Congshen realized something was wrong, and his voice rose. "I have questions for him!"

But Qi Yuan said calmly, "I've detained Xing An and the others. I'll let them go when the time comes. For now, no."

His eyes lingered on Zhou Congshen's face for a moment, then shifted to Jiang Yueyi behind him.

The behavior of Jiang Yueyi and Zhou Congshen was indeed a bit off. He had felt something was off that day, and today that feeling was even stronger.

Although Zhou Congshen was Qi Hao's cousin, he was only close to Qi Hao and had barely any connection with Jiang Yueyi. So why, under the suspicion that Jiang Yueyi might have killed her husband, did he always defend her?

And his action of stepping in front of Jiang Yueyi immediately made Qi Yuan notice Zhou Congshen's eagerness.

Qi Yuan glanced at Jiang Yueyi, looking for any other clues in her expression. He saw her with her face averted, eyes lowered and brows furrowed, the tassels on her hairpin swaying gently, now and then brushing against her temple.

For some reason, Qi Yuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu.

It was a scene he felt he had encountered before.

Was it in a dream?

No, it wasn't the scene.

It was her... Jiang Yueyi's appearance.

For a moment, Qi Yuan seemed to have returned to that dim room, and the humid, oppressive memories came flooding back.

Like endless waves crashing onto shore, he could barely suppress the thoughts from rising.

She was his sister-in-law, and she was even suspected of murdering his elder brother. How could he even think such a thing?

He shouldn't, ever, under any circumstances.

Qi Yuan coughed softly, pulling himself together. He quickly calmed down and said, "This matter hasn't been concluded yet. I will continue to investigate. Please don't worry, Mother."

Feng Shi just frowned without a word to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan was already used to Feng Shi's coldness, so he didn't mind. He simply glanced again at Jiang Yueyi and Zhou Congshen.

Putting Zhou Congshen aside, Jiang Yueyi was truly to be pitied. As Zhou Congshen said, the arsenic found in her room didn't necessarily prove anything.

So after a moment's thought, Qi Yuan said, "Sister-in-law, please be patient. If you are innocent, you'll be exonerated. But for these few days, I must ask you not to leave the Shuyu Courtyard."

Jiang Yueyi wanted even less to see him than before. She did not respond, only tightly clutching her sleeve and giving a cold laugh.

Not letting her leave Shuyu Courtyard was essentially putting her under house arrest, wasn't it?

At this moment, Feng Shi also sighed softly, stepped forward, and took Jiang Yueyi's hand, saying, "I know you feel wronged, but for now, let's listen to him. Once it's all sorted out, everything will be fine."

So there was no further objection. After Qi Yuan left, he immediately sent two more men to guard the Shuyu Courtyard. Both were Qi Yuan's own men and carried knives.

Jiang Yueyi's eyes grew even colder. She had been standing for a long time, and her waist was beginning to ache. She slowly sat down, supporting her belly, and sneered, "So you already think I'm the murderer!"

Feng Shi was silent for a moment. After Qi Yuan's visit, she started feeling ill again. Zhou Congshen took out some pills for her to take.

After a short rest, she finally said, "Yueyi, was that arsenic really not yours?"

Jiang Yueyi pressed her lips together.

So Feng Shi was also starting to have doubts. Qi Yuan's words had indeed made an impression. And just now, Feng Shi had spoken up for her only because she had always detested Qi Yuan and was unwilling to believe him immediately.

Jiang Yueyi's fingertips were cold. She no longer had the heart to resent Qi Yuan; instead, she began to worry about herself.

What exactly was going on with that arsenic? She simply didn't have such a thing, but now no one believed her. Could it be that Qi Hao, before leaving, wanted to set her up and send her to prison? Or was it done by someone who held a grudge against her?

Qi Yuan had sealed off Xingyun Courtyard early on, so the arsenic must have been placed there before that. Who could have such intentions?

In any case, now she could only wait for Qi Yuan to investigate.

In the current situation, if she directly revealed what she knew, people would only think she was trying to clear herself of suspicion. Apart from the fact that Su Hengniang had also disappeared, she had no evidence that Qi Hao was still alive. Zhou Congshen, who knew the truth, would never expose Qi Hao to help her.

Thus, who would believe that Qi Hao was still alive?

Even she herself could not be sure.

Jiang Yueyi rested her forehead on her hand, pressing her temple again and again. She said to Feng Shi, "Whether Mother believes it or not, that arsenic is not mine, and I would not harm my husband."

Feng Shi fell silent.

Zhou Congshen paced back and forth in front of them a few times, and finally couldn't help saying, "That Xing An... how could he... No, I must see him..."

Jiang Yueyi couldn't be bothered to understand the intricacies between them. After all, they were keeping things from her, and she couldn't get anything out of asking. Anyway, no matter how this turned out, she was the one who lost the most.

She stood up and returned to her room, not forgetting to say to Zhou Congshen, "It's not easy to see Xing An. Lord Qi won't release him at this critical moment."

It was both a reminder and a taunt. Zhou Congshen felt like a cat was clawing at his heart, very uncomfortable, but in the end, he could only watch helplessly as Jiang Yueyi left.

After leaving Shuyu Courtyard, Qi Yuan returned to the mourning hall. Since Qi Hao's funeral had been postponed and the relatives and friends who should have come had already visited in the past few days, the mourning hall was now desolate with few people. The distant branches of the family had also been sent away by Feng Shi on various pretexts, to prevent them from prying into the affairs of the earl's residence.

***

The incense sticks on the altar were only a short stub left. Qi Yuan went over and added more incense, then knelt again before Qi Hao's spirit tablet, casually throwing paper money into the brazier.

The winter day was cold. A gust of wind with rain and snow blew in, lifting the nearly burned paper money high into the air, where it finally shattered and turned to dust.

Qi Yuan let out a soft sigh, and his eyes darkened.

The reason he had come back this time was simply that he could not forget the brotherly bond he once had with Qi Hao. Qi Hao was the only one in this household who had ever treated him sincerely. By any moral or logical consideration, he could not just ignore it. His reason for staying here was to find out the real cause of Qi Hao's death, and even in the face of many people's cold stares and incomprehension, he would still persist.

The funeral banners fluttered. Only two or three servants were still working in the mourning hall. The sky was gradually darkening, but there was no fear in Qi Yuan's heart.

Soon it was time to light the lamps. Watching the servants light the white lanterns and hang them up, Qi Yuan was suddenly dazzled by the candlelight, and thus thought of someone.

There had also been such dim, yellow candlelight, and she had spoken softly to him under the lamp—but how could intimate whispers in a boudoir compare to a mourning hall? Yet she was also dead.

Earlier when he returned, he had wanted to go to her grave himself, but after Xing De inquired, he learned that Yaoyao's family had been sent elsewhere. Unable to find them, he could not locate her grave either, so Qi Yuan had to give up and wait for another opportunity.

Qi Yuan subconsciously picked up another handful of paper money, but did not throw it into the fire. He just held it tightly, his nails neatly trimmed and smooth, but his fingertips turned white.

He tried hard to recall something. She always shyly lowered her head, very obedient and docile, usually not talkative, squeezing out a few short words from between her neat, white teeth, as if cautiously.

Now the only thing he remembered most clearly was her soft, gentle call of "Second Master."

Qi Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

In his mind, her voice calling "Second Master" still resounded, soft and faint like a gentle stream.

However, as this stream flowed on, at a point Qi Yuan had not foreseen, another voice suddenly burst forth like a thunderclap.

—Second Master suspects that I poisoned the First Master?

Qi Yuan's breath caught, and he immediately furrowed his brow. When he opened his eyes again, there was a trace of bewilderment in his gaze.

He should not be thinking of Jiang Yueyi at this moment—his sister-in-law.

To him, she was not only his brother's wife but also someone who might have killed his brother.

Apart from that, he should have no other thoughts about her.

Qi Yuan rubbed his temples. Probably because he had been overthinking Qi Hao's case these past few days, Jiang Yueyi's voice had surfaced at this moment.

This matter was indeed very tricky. The first priority was to ferret out the murderer, and then, if the murderer really was Jiang Yueyi or someone important in the household, how should he deal with them?

Qi Hao placed the funeral money he had been holding for a long time into the fire, and called Xing De over, saying, "Summon all the household servants. I will question them one by one."