Everyone waited quietly.

They wanted to see what kind of unknown secrets were hidden within this matter. Mumu seemed to have deliberated for a long time before finally speaking. “Hualing and I were very good sisters. I entered the residence together with her, just like real sisters. I couldn’t be without her, and she couldn’t be without me. We never kept anything from each other. Although Hualing had that strange illness, she was very beautiful and kind-hearted. Many people in the residence liked her very much, including Yu Wang. He always wanted to marry Hualing. He knew that Hualing and I had the closest relationship and that we shared a room, so he came to me many times, asking me to put in a good word for him with Hualing. He said that as long as Hualing nodded in agreement, he would buy out her contract and marry her. But Hualing had that strange illness that everyone knew about, so no matter what I said, she just wouldn’t agree.”

At this point, she sobbed a few times.

Past events appeared vividly before her eyes.

Flashing by one by one.

So beautiful.

But beautiful things ultimately have a day when they’re shattered. “About a month before Hualing disappeared, I discovered that she seemed to have become a different person. Not only had she become more cheerful, but she talked more too, and even… she wasn’t as resistant to men as before. It was as if her strange illness had been cured overnight. But during that time, her emotional changes were also very dramatic—her mood was unpredictable. Then one night, I saw her get up and try to vomit, but she couldn’t bring anything up. I asked her what was wrong, but she refused to say. It wasn’t until I pressed her for a long time that she finally told me that she… was pregnant.”

Everyone was in an uproar!

None of them could believe it.

“How is that possible?” someone in the crowd questioned.

Yes, how could it be possible? They would believe if anyone else was pregnant, but saying Hualing was pregnant—unbelievable!

Mumu paid no attention to their doubts and continued, “I asked her whose child it was, but she refused to say. She begged me pitifully to keep it secret for her. She said she would soon be able to leave the residence, that the man would come to take her away. But not long after, she told me that the man didn’t want her anymore and had even made her drink an abortifacient, but she insisted on giving birth to the child. We were both servants in the residence and weren’t allowed to have private relations with anyone. Just at that time, Yu Wang said that as long as I sent Hualing to him, he would give me a sum of money, and then I could use that money to buy out my own contract. So in a moment of confusion, I… I agreed.”

She cried harder and harder!

“That night, I clearly remember Hualing came back from outside crying. I didn’t know where she had gone or who she had gone to see. When I asked her, she wouldn’t say anything. At that time, my mind was full of thoughts about getting the silver to buy out my contract, and I also wanted to find a father for the child in Hualing’s belly. Yu Wang had said he would buy out Hualing’s contract. When the time came, as long as they got together, Yu Wang wouldn’t suspect that the child belonged to someone else, Hualing could keep her child, and I could buy out my contract—it would benefit all three of us! So I put sleeping powder that I had prepared long ago into her water and sent her to Yu Wang’s room. But after I left, she woke up. I heard her shouting loudly inside the room. I looked through the window paper and vaguely saw Yu Wang pressing Hualing down on the bed, and Hualing quickly fell silent. I thought she had accepted it, so I left with peace of mind. The next day, I heard that Hualing had left, and that she had received the master’s permission. I thought it was very strange and wanted to ask Yu Wang about it, but Yu Wang had fallen ill and was lying in bed unable to speak. Not long after, he died, and I never got that sum of silver.”

She finished speaking.

Everyone present was extremely shocked.

Mumu, who seemed so obedient on ordinary days, had become so venomous and detestable for the sake of silver!

Yu Wei finally understood and said, “No wonder you never dared tell the truth—because you were an accomplice! If it weren’t for you, Hualing wouldn’t have died.”

Mumu replied, “Yu Wang is dead, with no way to verify the truth. If I had spoken up, you all would definitely have suspected that I was the murderer, so I… I didn’t dare speak.”

Her concerns weren’t without reason.

After all, Yu Wang was already dead!

She had pinned all the blame for murder on a dead person. In the end, it was just her one-sided account.

If the Ministry of Justice believed her, that would be fine.

But if they didn’t believe her, her head would probably already be on the ground.

Yu Wei flicked his sleeves, finding the woman truly “frightening.”

In the crowd, someone said softly, “Does this mean that the murderer who killed Hualing was really Yu Wang?”

“I think so!”

But—

Ji Yunshu had heard the key point in Mumu’s words.

She asked, “You didn’t actually see with your own eyes that Yu Wang killed Hualing, did you?”

At this question, Mumu froze for a moment.

Suddenly realizing!

Then she tried hard to recall and said, “I… I indeed didn’t see it with my own eyes.”

“Then that means what you’ve said can only prove in terms of timing that the murderer wasn’t Master Yu, but it cannot prove that the murderer was Yu Wang.”

Uh!

Mumu said, “But I saw him strangling Hualing’s neck, I…”

“Did you see Hualing die?”

“This… no, but the shouting inside stopped.” Mumu herself began to doubt.

She indeed hadn’t seen it with her own eyes!

Ji Yunshu’s brow furrowed tightly, her heart harboring puzzles.

Yu Wei said, “Lord Ji, the murderer is definitely Yu Wang without a doubt. Although Mumu didn’t see it with her own eyes, she testified that Yu Wang was strangling Hualing’s neck at the time, and Hualing fell silent as well. So at that moment, it must have been that Hualing refused to the death, so Yu Wang killed her.”

Saying this wasn’t wrong either.

After all, Mumu’s testimony couldn’t prove that Yu Wang had killed someone, but it also couldn’t prove that Yu Wang hadn’t killed someone!

Both were possible.

Ji Yunshu ordered in a deep voice, “First take Mumu to the Ministry of Justice prison. After everything is verified, we’ll make a decision.”

Upon hearing this, Mumu crawled forward on her knees and grabbed Yu Wei’s thigh, begging pitifully, “Young Master, this servant knows she was wrong. Please spare this servant. This servant truly knows she was wrong.”

Yu Wei snorted.

He lifted his foot and kicked her away. “If you’ve committed a wrong, you must pay the price for your mistake. Although you didn’t kill anyone, you were an accomplice.”

“Young Master, this servant truly knows she was wrong. Please spare me.”

“You’ll be punished as you should be punished. I won’t plead for mercy on your behalf.”

Mumu cried until she was sobbing uncontrollably, nearly fainting.

Heart-wrenching.

In the end, Mumu was taken to the Ministry of Justice prison that very night.

Ji Yunshu also went to the Ministry of Justice, calling Jiang Lan to come in the middle of the night.

She had him write a new case file.

Jiang Lan had traveled all the way in a sedan chair sleeping, still looking drowsy.

Hearing about what had happened at the Yu residence, he became completely alert.

“Lord Ji, how could such a big event happen without you calling me?”

He wanted to go watch the excitement!

Ji Yunshu glanced at him. “Hurry up and write the case file. Tomorrow during morning court, have Lord Li take it into the palace.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

When he got to writing who the murderer was, Jiang Lan paused his brush and asked, “Lord Ji, should I write Yu Wang as the murderer? Or…?”

Ji Yunshu thought for a moment and said, “This case file isn’t meant to prove who the murderer is, but to prove that Master Yu is innocent.”

“Then how should I write the murderer section?”

“Write… suspect Yu Wang.”

Jiang Lan didn’t understand. The evidence was conclusive—why couldn’t he directly write that the murderer was Yu Wang? This Lord Ji… did she still have some doubts in her heart?