Lin Shu’s eyes widened, full of terror and panic.

The more he tried to hide it, the more obvious it became.

At this moment, quite a few students gathered outside to watch, all hearing the words Ji Yunshu had just spoken.

Lin Shu killed Guo He?

Like a plague, the news spread instantly, and those students outside began chattering and discussing among themselves.

They said all sorts of things!

The piercing sounds of discussion reached Lin Shu’s ears in waves, causing cold sweat to break out on his palms, forehead, and back.

Then—

After his heart thundered and pounded like drums for a long while, he pointed at Ji Yunshu. “This is just your baseless speculation.”

“Speculation?”

That word was quite novel.

She wasn’t in a hurry to pick apart the flaws in his words. Instead, she said calmly, “Fine, then you tell me—why would the wine bottle have both your blood and Guo He’s blood on it? And why would your eastern chestnut bead end up in the wine bottle?”

“I…”

He was at a loss for words!

Seeing that he couldn’t produce an explanation, Master Yu’s heart began to believe he was indeed the killer.

“You killed someone? You killed him?”

His voice trembled with pain.

Lin Shu seemed to suddenly find his voice, shaking his head in denial. “No, Teacher, I didn’t kill Guo He. They’re framing me.”

“What Miss Ji has stated is supported by solid evidence. She questioned you, yet you can’t explain the truth. How can you convince me?”

He grabbed at Master Yu’s robe. “Teacher, you must believe me. Guo He and I had no grievances or enmity. Why would I kill him? Ordinarily, my relationship with him was quite good. When he died, I was very sad too.”

“Then you should explain the matter clearly, make it crystal clear. How did that eastern chestnut bead end up in the wine bottle? Why would the bottle have both of your blood on it?”

Master Yu was somewhat out of breath. Pressing his heaving chest, he had spoken with too much force, causing him to stumble back a small step, fortunately being supported by Muruo behind him.

“Master, be careful.”

He steadied his footing.

Lin Shu’s words caught in his throat for a long while, until finally he slapped his thigh.

“Yes, that eastern chestnut bead is indeed the student’s. I admit it, and the blood on the wine bottle is also mine. But the killer is absolutely not me. That’s because one day I went to the back mountain, my hand was scratched by tree branches, and blood dripped onto an abandoned wine bottle on the ground. That string of eastern chestnut beads also had its thread broken because of this. The eastern chestnut beads were left to me by my father before he died. With the thread broken, I was angry in my heart. I vented on that wine bottle, and thus casually threw it into the well. It’s really like this, Teacher. You must believe your student.”

For Lin Shu, at this moment, Master Yu was his lifeline.

Only by grasping it could he ensure he wouldn’t fall.

His entire body trembled. What had been cold sweat became profuse hot sweat covering his head.

And Master Yu knew his character.

Because Lin Shu and Guo He were rather similar people. Their natures were actually pure and upright. Unruly they might be, but deeds like murder and arson—they truly couldn’t commit such things.

Master Yu sighed and said, “I know what kind of person you are. And although what you say is so, but…”

“Student is truly wronged.”

“…”

“Teacher…”

Master Yu shook his head. For a moment, he couldn’t find words.

Meanwhile, Jingrong’s eyes were coldly stern as he spoke out. “Lin Shu, the evidence is conclusive. Even if you stubbornly deny it, it’s nothing more than ice hanging from eaves.”

Lin Shu’s eyes reddened as he shouted in rebuttal, “I just explained everything clearly. I didn’t kill him. With those useless pieces of evidence, you want to pin the crime of murder on me? I’ve stated the facts, they’re absolutely not false. You didn’t witness it with your own eyes. You’re just holding an eastern chestnut bead and that broken wine bottle, proclaiming and asserting that I killed Guo He. This is simply the greatest joke. I didn’t kill anyone, and even if you beat me to death, I won’t admit it.”

Very agitated!

In any case, he wouldn’t take the blame.

But within his agitation, there was also some nervousness.

Just from how agitated he was, he didn’t seem like the killer. But why was he nervous? He seemed somewhat guilty?

These two emotions mixed together made him truly hard to read.

Jingrong and Ji Yunshu exchanged glances, understanding without words.

Ji Yunshu said, “Lin Shu, this is an ironclad matter. You’re distorting the facts and making forced arguments. Must we summon Guo He’s ghost before you’ll confess?”

“I’ll say it one more time—I didn’t kill anyone.” He gritted his teeth. “Don’t repay kindness with enmity. Just because of what happened in the study hall last night, you’re settling private scores under the guise of public duty, insisting that I killed him.”

At that moment, Ji Yunshu’s expression darkened, her voice heavy. “This is a matter of life and death. How can it be what you call settling private scores? If you didn’t kill him, I would never wrongly accuse you. But if you did kill him, even if you flee far away, you’ll still be brought to justice. Now the evidence is here. Though you have excuses to deny it, this also cannot fully prove that what you say is true.”

“Then is everything you say true? Did you witness it with your own eyes? In any case, I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill anyone.”

Fu Yuan Sheng, who had been standing nearby, also spoke up for him. “That’s right. It couldn’t be Lin Shu. Although his temper is a bit big, he absolutely wouldn’t kill anyone.”

Suddenly, Lin Shu seemed to think of something. A flash of light burst from his eyes as he quickly said, “Didn’t you say that Guo He died on June 13th of last year? But on that day, I wasn’t at the academy at all.”

What?

“That day my mother was gravely ill. I went home and stayed by my mother’s side the whole time. The neighbors around can testify for me. The people at the academy can also testify for me.” He finally straightened his back, righteously arguing his case.

Master Yu also remembered and said, “Yes, he did indeed go home on the 13th and only returned three days later.”

It wasn’t him?

Could it really be as he said—simply because his hand was scratched by branches and blood dripped on the wine bottle?

If it truly was like this, then why was he nervous and guilty?

But on the 13th, he wasn’t at the academy!

This…

A fog of confusion descended once more in Ji Yunshu’s heart!

Jingrong asked Master Yu, “Master, are you certain you haven’t misremembered?”

“There should be no mistake. Moreover, when students leave the academy, it’s all recorded. Just look through the records and you’ll know.”

Thus, Master Yu had the young attendant bring out the entire year’s record of departures from last year and found the time when Lin Shu went home to visit his mother.

It was clearly recorded—

Precisely June 13th, morning!

Return date: June 16th, morning!

Lin Shu held the ledger up before his chest and began demanding an explanation from Ji Yunshu. “Do you all see? Now it can be proven that I didn’t kill him, right? You’re settling private scores under public duty. Relying on the teacher’s trust in you, you wrongly accuse me like this. If you were an official, wouldn’t I have died from injustice?”

He was so angry!

Something’s wrong!

Ji Yunshu just felt that something wasn’t right!