Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

As he spoke, Jia Can hurriedly turned around, took a white porcelain bowl from the cabinet, and presented it to Madam You. His hands trembled slightly as he said urgently:

"Sister-in-law, look, this is the bowl. I bought it for over twenty taels of silver. I intended to give it to Brother Zhen, but who knew... who knew..."

This was the very bowl that Jia Can had asked about the price of when he tested the manager of Baoguzhai. It was quite reasonable for him to use it as evidence now.

Madam You took the white porcelain bowl, looked at it, nodded slightly, and placed it on the table.

She had been carefully observing Jia Can's expression, not missing any subtle changes.

Seeing Jia Can's pale face, frightened eyes, trembling voice, and slightly shaking hands, he looked like he was in a state of extreme shock.

After a careful examination, nothing unusual was found. At the same time, Jia Can's account was smooth and reasonable, from buying the antique to presenting the treasure, and then to Jiao Da's sudden intrusion and murder, each link was connected and there were no mistakes.

He believed it to some extent and immediately waved his hand:

"Alright, put it away. You were frightened too. Go and rest somewhere else for a while."

As she spoke, she prepared to call a maid to take Jia Can to rest elsewhere.

This was, after all, the scene of Jia Zhen's death, and the stench of blood had not yet dissipated. As a young man, Jia Can should not stay here any longer, lest he be overwhelmed by the memory and suffer excessive fright. Moreover, the crime scene should not be disturbed.

Qin Keqing then spoke up:

"Madam, let me take Uncle Can there."

Upon hearing this, Madam You glanced at Qin Keqing. This daughter-in-law was usually very polite and well-behaved, and rarely spoke much. However, she had volunteered for the task, which was rather unusual.

But with so many things to deal with right now—Jia Zhen's sudden death and the entire household in chaos—she had to arrange for the announcement of the death, organize the search and arrest, and deal with visitors from all sides. She simply didn't have time to think much.

He could only glance at Qin Keqing deeply and nod gently:

"Go."

Qin Keqing bowed slightly and turned to Jia Can, saying:

"Second Uncle Can, please come with me."

Knowing that Madam You and Jia Rong were watching, Jia Can dared not overstep his bounds. He only glanced at Qin Keqing briefly before quickly lowering his head, responding, and following her out of the courtyard.

After Jia Can and Qin Keqing left, Madam You composed herself, regaining the composure of a mistress of the house. She looked at Jia Rong and gave him a stern instruction:

"Rong'er, immediately send people to the West Mansion, the Xuanzhen Temple outside the city, and all the families with whom we have a long-standing friendship to inform them of the death. Report to the imperial court first thing tomorrow morning."

"Also, send a team to hunt down the murderer, Jiao Da. He's just an injured old servant; he can't have gone far. We must capture him as soon as possible, alive or dead!"

Just as Jia Rong watched Qin Keqing's retreating figure, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes, and it was unclear what he was thinking. Upon hearing You Shi's instructions, he immediately composed himself and respectfully responded:

"Yes, madam, I'll take care of it right away."

After saying that, he turned around and strode away, quickly disappearing from the courtyard gate.

After Jia Rong left, Madam You issued a series of instructions. First, she ordered people to place Jia Zhen's body in the main hall, set up a memorial tablet, light an ever-burning lamp, and arrange for maids and servants to take turns keeping vigil.

They also sent people to the storeroom to fetch white cloth, candles, paper money, and other items needed for the funeral, in preparation for the opening of the mourning ceremony the next day.

Next, someone was sent to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to select an auspicious time for the encoffining, and monks and Taoist priests were invited to perform rituals.

Everything was arranged perfectly, demonstrating her competence as a manager for many years.

At the same time, Madam You was also cautious. She secretly summoned the old woman she trusted most and whispered a few instructions to her. The old woman nodded repeatedly and left to carry out her orders.

Madam You arranged for this old woman to check whether Jia Can had really gone to Baoguzhai today, and to ask the manager and waiter of Baoguzhai if he had really spent twenty taels of silver to buy an antique bowl.

After all, it concerns the death of Jia Zhen, and the truth must be thoroughly investigated so as to give the court, relatives and friends a reasonable explanation. He cannot just die in such an unclear way.

After giving these instructions, Madam You summoned the servants who had just punished Jiao Da and questioned them personally to find out how Jiao Da had escaped from the ancestral hall.

The servants were brought before Madam You, and they knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, not daring to raise their heads.

Madam You sat upright in her chair, staring at them, and asked in a deep voice:

"After you took Jiao Da to the ancestral hall, how exactly did you guard him? How could an old servant who had been tortured escape so easily?"

The head servant kowtowed and stammered in reply:

"Reporting to... Madam, we followed Master's orders, tied up Jiao Da, gave him a good beating, then pushed him into the ancestral hall, closed the door from the outside, and added a bolt."

"We thought that since his hands and feet were tied and the door was closed, he would have no choice but to stay inside and reflect on his mistakes. So... we didn't send anyone to guard inside, but only took turns watching him from outside."

"Who knew...who knew he actually escaped? We really don't know how he managed to escape."

"However, I heard that he had a knife. Perhaps he somehow pulled out the knife, cut the rope, and escaped. We were negligent in our guard, please punish us, Madam."

Upon hearing this, Madam You frowned and immediately sent someone to check the ancestral hall.

Before long, the person who went to check returned and reported that there were indeed some ropes in the ancestral hall that had been cut by a sharp blade, with clean cuts, clearly cut with a sharp blade.

Considering that Jiao Da had previously pulled out a gleaming short knife from his waist while drunkenly cursing, it is indeed possible that Jiao Da himself cut the ropes and secretly slipped out of the ancestral hall.

How he found out that Jia Zhen was with Jia Can remains unknown.

The whole situation is now quite clear.

Jiao Da, drunk and rambling incoherently, enraged Jia Zhen, who severely punished him.

Jiao Da prided himself on being a loyal servant, having risked his life alongside the patriarch of the Ningguo Mansion and rendered great service. It was one thing for Jia Zhen not to respect him, but to dare to humiliate him like this, beating him and forcing him to kneel. It is quite possible that he was so ashamed and angry that he decided to kill him.

However, Ms. You keenly sensed that there seemed to be many suspicious points involved.

For example, Jiao Da was beaten with a cane, his skin was torn and bleeding, where did he get the strength to run so far?

The knife in his hand had clearly been taken away when he was taken to the ancestral hall, so where did he get it from?

How could it be such a coincidence that they knew Jia Zhen had come to Jia Can's place?

However, Yu couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with these doubts; she felt as if there was a fog in front of her that she couldn't clear.

Just then, a maid rushed in, panting, and announced:

"Madam, the old lady, master, and ladies of the West Mansion have all arrived."

Upon hearing this, Madam You felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly composed herself, straightened her clothes, took a deep breath, and stepped outside to greet them. Her face had changed to one of sorrow, and her steps were quite heavy.

The arrival of Grandmother Jia and the others was as quick as she had expected. With such a big incident at Ningguo Mansion, the West Mansion must have heard about it too. She had to deal with Grandmother Jia and Jia She's inquiries.