Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 352 Late Night (The Next Day)

Dinner was lavish again, but almost no one had an appetite. After all, most people had seen the body that had fallen from above, its head smashed and bleeding profusely; in that state, eating was no easy task.

Since that's the case, then Li Wei will naturally... not stand on ceremony.

As usual, he enjoyed the appetizers, main course, dessert, and then had a cup of tea, savoring the delicious dinner with satisfaction.

As for the others... they basically only ate a few bites, and even Madam Ava had a much better appetite than them.

"Wow, Lord Li Wei, you really have an appetite."

Watching Levi wipe his mouth with a napkin, and then look at the almost untouched food on his plate, Bianca immediately started complaining. She wanted to act like nothing had happened, just like Levi, but when Bianca cut into the steak in front of her and saw the bright red, tender meat inside, she instinctively remembered that head that looked like it had been cracked open, and suddenly she lost all appetite.

Surprisingly, Li Wei was still able to eat so comfortably?
“After all, this is what I do, Miss Bianca.”

Li Wei picked up the teacup again and took a sip of tea.

"If I were like you, I would probably have starved to death long ago."

"Uh... is it that serious?"

"Believe me, real crime scenes are much uglier than this."

Considering that most of the victims were ordinary people, Li Wei simply glossed over the topic. In fact, most of the crime scenes he was at would have driven even soldiers to a mental breakdown, not to mention that.

Because of the death, dinner ended hastily, and everyone seemed to lack the mood for conversation, quickly returning to their rooms to rest. Li Wei, however, sought out the old butler, wanting to ask him a few questions.

"Do you have a question?"

"Yes, I have a few questions that you should know about."

"Okay, what's the question? Please ask whatever you want. As long as it's something I know, I'll answer it to the best of my ability."

"Okay, first of all, is the postman here at a fixed time, or can he come any day?"

“He comes once a week, but not always on which day. After all, we are too far from the town. Unless he receives an urgent letter, he won’t come twice a week. Most of the time he comes on Fridays because we give him a little extra money every time we receive a letter to express our gratitude. He can use the money to eat something nice on his day off or buy something for his family.”

"Also, I'd like to ask about the garden."

"garden?"

"Yes, as you know, it was raining when I arrived, and it's been raining ever since, so unfortunately I haven't been able to go for a walk in the garden. Uh... could you tell me about the garden?"

"Oh, to be honest, even if the rain stops, you can't go for a walk in the garden right now."

"Oh why?"

"Because we are renovating the garden."

The old butler explained to Li Wei.

"The master originally planned to take advantage of this season to transform the garden into a fenced maze to accommodate guests attending banquets. If the weather were good, this work should have been completed before the guests arrived, but unfortunately, due to the torrential rain, the garden renovation work had to be stopped. Moreover, with such heavy rain, even if the guests come, they probably won't be in the mood to visit the garden."

That's unless some lunatic wants to be soaked in water.

"So do you know about the renovations to the gardens during the two days when the goods were delivered to the castle? How did the renovations go at that time?"

“Let me think… Oh, I remember now, we were renovating the shrubs on the northeast side of the garden, moving them to a suitable location.”

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, because that passage was a dead end. I remember very clearly that many people complained that the maze was too complicated and they couldn't get out once they went in. At the time, I also thought about whether to make the maze simpler, since many guests obviously wouldn't like to be mocked for their stupidity."

"But some customers also want to be undisturbed during their dates, right?"

"That's true, Lord Li Wei."

The old butler and Li Wei exchanged a smile. The reason why these maze-like shrub gardens were so popular in aristocratic gardens wasn't because they challenged intelligence or involved solving puzzles, but rather to facilitate private rendezvous for their noble guests. After all, whatever the couple wanted to do, a complex shrub maze was the safest and least likely place to be discovered.

And if anyone gets close, they will be noticed very quickly.

Therefore, from a certain perspective, this maze garden can be considered a "social tool" rather than a "puzzle game".

"Thank you for your cooperation. I'll take my leave now."

"Yes, Lord Li Wei, I must say, we really owe you a great debt."

"Oh?"

"I never imagined that the Cromwell family would have so many problems."

The old butler's expression turned somewhat gloomy as he spoke.

"The master is in trouble, the banquet is canceled, the roads are blocked, and now someone has died... Lord Li Wei, I find it hard to say whether this is some kind of ominous sign. After all, I have never seen anything like this before, not even with young master Andrei."

"Speaking of Andrei... I remember he's the count's son?"

"Yes."

Do you remember what happened back then?

"Of course I remember, Lord Li Wei. At that time, the master entrusted almost all of the family's affairs to young master Andrei, and the young master managed them very well, everything was very proper. The master was also very satisfied with the young master, after all, the decision was..."

At this point, the old butler suddenly stopped, looking at him with a strange expression.

"What's wrong??"

Seeing the old butler's appearance, Li Wei asked curiously, and the old butler shuddered before looking at Li Wei.

“Oh, Lord Levi, please forgive my rudeness, but I just remembered that when the young master had his accident, the master was planning to hold a banquet to formally announce that the young master would succeed as the head of the Cromwell family… and then the young master…”

"You mean, the same as now?"

"Yes, yes..."

The old butler was deathly pale, his hunched back trembling slightly. "It's the same now. Could it really be some kind of curse?"

Did anyone know about this at the time?

“Let me think… Young Master Richard and Young Master Gladys knew, and Ms. Ava knew too, because at the time, Young Master Richard and Young Master Gladys were helping to prepare for the banquet, and Ms. Ava was also invited to attend by the master…”

"Oh...I see..."

Li Wei nodded, then looked at the old butler and offered him a few words of comfort. The old butler, seemingly still haunted by the terrifying coincidence, left hastily without saying anything more.

Li Wei walked out of the restaurant and began to think carefully.

Finding the culprit wasn't difficult for Li Wei, but the problem now lay in the motive and the evidence. Even if Li Wei could talk to the corpse, it wouldn't matter; even if he could communicate with the dead and find out who killed him, he would still need evidence and motive to convince the others.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether his story can convince others to agree with his argument.

In this respect, physical evidence is very important.

Li Wei already had some guesses about how the crime was committed, and the next step was to prove those guesses.

However, the motivation remains a question.

Li Wei returned to his room with questions in mind. Just as he lay on the bed, intending to think things over, there was a knock on the door.

"Boom boom boom..."

Li Wei had to leave his comfortable bed, go to the door, and open it. There he saw a melancholy-looking woman standing there, watching him.

That was none other than the Earl's daughter—Lady Marilyn.

"Hello, Mrs. Marilyn, what can I do for you?"

Levi looked at Marilyn and asked her a question. Marilyn hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward, closing the distance between them.

"Hello, Lord Li Wei, may I speak with you privately?"

"I don't think this is very convenient?"

Li Wei glanced around. Although his Soul Vision ensured that no one was watching, the fact that a married woman had come to his room at night spoke volumes.

"Please, Lord Li Wei..."

As Marilyn spoke, she took another step forward, her body now close to Levi's.

"I'd like to talk to you about my husband..."

"Okay, please come in."

Levi stepped back, creating some distance between himself and Marilyn, then invited her to sit down in the room and poured her a cup of tea.

The latter took the teacup, thanked him absentmindedly, and then looked at Li Wei.

"So, what do you want to say to me, Mrs. Marilyn?"

"Yes, that's right, Lord Li Wei..."

Marilyn hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I want to tell you, Herman isn’t a bad person… He is rich, but he earned it all through hard work…”

Then, Marilyn told Levi a heart-wrenching story: a young man who worked hard to earn money and did a lot of charity work to give back to society. But all his efforts were unable to break through that invisible glass ceiling; no matter how much money he had, he had to grovel before power.

"This is truly unfair, Sir Levy. He worked so tirelessly, day and night, and his wealth is proof of his hard work. But all his efforts mean nothing to those in power! They don't have his money or his good reputation, but they have power! They abuse their power to do whatever they want! They wantonly oppress and abuse the powerless and weak..."

Li Wei listened silently to Mrs. Marilyn's accusations, but his mind was already far away. What Marilyn was saying was nothing more than an old story that Li Wei had heard countless times. Since the time of Qin Shi Huang, merchants have tried every means to infiltrate and even control power.

They always complain about the same things: they have money, land, fertile fields, and servants, but all of that is no match for power.

They always tell ordinary people that they are facing the same predicament, that they are all oppressed, and that they should find ways to stop the oppression.

But are they really the same?

Most ordinary people don't own big houses, let alone thousands of acres of fertile land, beautiful wives, or huge amounts of gold.

And all of these merchants have them.

Now, they actually want power?
Are you kidding me? If they have everything, then everyone else has nothing.
There's a saying that goes, "There may be good landlords, but there is absolutely no good landlord class."

The same applies to the capitalist class.

Of course, Li Wei knew that it would be pointless to give Mrs. Marilyn, who was obsessed with love, a political lesson. Deep down, she believed that all her husband’s suffering was the fault of power, and that it was only natural for him to be angry with her because she was an aristocrat, a power holder who was born to oppress merchants.

But she was willing to change for him, wanting him to know that she was different from other nobles!
She loves him!
"But this has nothing to do with me."

After listening to Mrs. Marilyn's tearful account of Herman's misfortune, Levy said that it had nothing to do with him.

“I have no right to influence the selection of the Cromwell family patriarch.”

“However, you have reputation and prestige. I assure you that once Herman becomes the head of the Cromwell family, he will lead the Cromwell family to even greater heights!”

"………………………"

Li Wei looked at Marilyn without saying a word.

Go a step further?
The Earl of Cromwell knew that because of the Cromwell family's influence and connections in the army, he had to be careful with his words and actions, and yet you still want to go further?
What position do you want to advance to?

“I will consider it, Ms. Marilyn.”

Ultimately, this was the only answer Li Wei could give.

(End of this chapter)