🔍 Hand of Guilt

Squire Dai, suffering from a prolonged illness, plans to take a concubine to bring good fortune and set his sights on Ah-Tao, the daughter of his steward, Li Ci.

Li Ci refused to let her sixteen-year-old daughter become a concubine to the over-fifty Squire Dai. After her plea was rejected, she struck him dead with a vase in a fit of rage.

Squire Dai is gentle by nature, never arguing with others, and has no enemies.

Just after 21:00, Meng Tie happened to pass by Squire Dai's room. Upon hearing the sound of a vase shattering, he immediately entered to investigate and caught the culprit.

Meng Tie is trained in martial arts and brutally beat Qu Cheng in a ruthless manner. He is violent and completely devoid of humanity.

Last night, Qu Cheng sneaked into Squire Dai's room to steal property, only to find Squire Dai inside. In a panic, he struck Squire Dai on the head with a vase, causing his death.

Last year, Qu Cheng also sneaked into the Dai Estate to steal, was caught red-handed, and suffered a lot of torment.

Yesterday, many people in the Dai Estate experienced gastrointestinal discomfort, likely due to improperly handled kitchen ingredients.

Uncle Jiang, who has been managing the kitchen for five years without issue, happened to take leave yesterday right when things went wrong.

Uncle Jiang visits his sick son once or twice a month, taking leave for one or two days each time.

Jiang Chen forgot to discard spoiled ingredients yesterday, which might have been mistakenly used by the kitchen helpers. Jiang Chen blamed himself deeply, believing he caused Squire Dai's death.

Ah-Tao strongly resists Squire Dai, and upon learning she was chosen as his new concubine, she grew absent-minded and filled with sorrow.

Last night at 21:00, Squire Dai met with Ah-Tao in the room. Today, Ah-Tao claimed illness and took leave to rest in bed.

Squire Dai was originally in good health, but his condition has deteriorated over the past five months. A few days ago, he even felt dizzy and fell, unable to get up on his own.

Ah-Tao is filled with beautiful dreams about the world and is unwilling to spend her life as a maid.

Over the past six months, Ah-Tao's actions have seemed a bit odd, suggesting she might have fallen for someone.

Last night, Squire Dai attempted to assault Ah-Tao, and in her panic, she hit him with a vase to protect herself.

After the incident, Ah-Tao told her father, Li Ci, about what happened. Li Ci instructed Ah-Tao to pretend to be uninvolved while he took the blame for the murder.

The time of death was between 21:00 and 01:00.

The deceased had a bruise on the left temple, with no bleeding. This was not a fatal injury.

The deceased's clothing had signs of being pulled, suggesting a struggle before death.

Before death, the deceased experienced vomiting and incontinence, with the mouth and nose blocked by expelled filth, leading to asphyxiation as the true cause of death.

The deceased's blood contained a large amount of toxin, suggesting a high likelihood of chronic poison ingestion during life.

Five days ago, Qu Cheng once again sneaked into the Dai Estate to steal, only to fall into Meng Tie's clutches.

To ensure the survival of his youngest son, Qu Cheng agreed to the conditions set by Meng Tie and took the crime of murdering Squire Dai.

Half a year ago, under Dai Xiao's orders, Jiang Chen began adding slow-acting poison to Squire Dai's meals. Yesterday's mass poisoning incident was also a deliberately orchestrated "accident."

Squire Dai upholds family values with an iron hand, refusing to condone anything deemed improper. His eldest daughter and second son both rebelled and left due to forbidden romances.

There seems to be an unspoken connection between Ah-Tao and Dai Xiao.