A girl suddenly spoke up, "I’ve been wanting to ask, Little Taotie, are you dressed up like Sherlock Holmes?"
Little Taotie covered her mouth with one hand and her pocket with the other.
This gesture was ridiculously futile.
The girl became interested and walked over to ask, "What’s the treasure in your pocket? Can I take a look?"
Little Taotie hid behind Ji Guang.
Ji Guang glanced at the girl, "Right now, solving the case is the most important." NovelHub
The girl shrugged, "I was just curious."
Little Taotie managed to protect her pocket and prevent others from seeing her toy pipe.
She too wanted to play the great detective Sherlock Holmes, but her timing was off due to a lost tooth.
Between showing off and losing face, she naturally chose not to lose face.
So even if she realized something was off about the Gardener, always looking toward the direction of the dog hole, she wouldn’t say.
"Murder always requires a motive. Why would the maid and Gardener want to kill the Earl? The Earl is not a bad person, and he doesn’t seem like the type to mistreat his servants," a middle-aged artist remarked.
The girl pursed her lips, "In front of us, he certainly wouldn’t show any signs of mistreating his servants, but who knows how he treats them when we’re gone?"
"Regardless of how he treats his servants, it doesn’t justify killing him, right? You know, if the master dies here, they won’t end up well either."
"What exactly is the murder motive?"
"Actually, I feel...the maid’s gaze at the Earl is a bit off."
"It has a look of admiration."
"Pfft!" The girl laughed, "You must be mistaken."
"The Gardener likes gardening," Ji Guang suddenly said.
Everyone looked at him.
"Likes gardening? That’s not surprising, after all, he is a Gardener. It’s his job to care for the plants and flowers."
"That’s right, if he didn’t know how to garden, he wouldn’t be qualified to be a Gardener, would he?"
Ji Guang shook his head, "The Earl isn’t rich, he couldn’t afford such a professional Gardener."
"He is still an Earl, after all—a camel, even when starved, is still bigger than a horse."
"Right, he should have enough money to hire a Gardener."
"Maybe the Earl also liked gardening, otherwise he wouldn’t have hired a Gardener."
At this, Ji Guang clapped his hands, "Exactly, if there’s no money, why hire a Gardener at all? A Gardener isn’t necessary! If you’re hiring two servants, you could go for a maid and a guard, or a maid and a cook, so why hire a Gardener who isn’t much use? If there’s no money, why bother with the yard?"
It seemed like a lightbulb went off for the girl, "Unless, aside from tending the garden, the Gardener has another use."
Ji Guang and she looked at each other and said in unison, "Selling flowers!"
The nobility here all liked to indulge in refined tastes, so the flowers were very expensive.
If they sold the flowers, they could indeed make a good sum of money.
"The Gardener loves to garden, but the flowers he grows end up being sold by the Earl. Feeling resentment towards the Earl, he is driven to murder?" the girl speculated.
The middle-aged man shook his head, "That’s unlikely, isn’t it? Killing over flowers? That’s just too insane. Plus, even with a different master, it would be the same fate; the servants’ belongings are all meant to be handed over to the master."
"Yeah, killing over some flowers, that’s just not reasonable."
"It’s the Earl that was killed, over flowers, of all things. How is that possible!"
"I also find it unrealistic."
"If it’s not about the flowers, then what is it for? What exactly is the Gardener’s murder motive?" NovelHub
The people exchanged glances and fell into silence once again.
Just when they thought they had a lead, everything became more confusing.
Seeing them with furrowed brows, Little Taotie also wrinkled her little brow, getting caught up in the dilemma.
She fished a face mask out of her pocket quietly and put it on.
Seeing that no one opposed her wearing it, she felt justified in keeping the mask on.
The mask-clad Little Taotie spoke up, "I saw a dog hole, a rather large one."