Ji Yunshu calmly nodded, indicating she understood.

Madam Zhou’s body swayed weakly forward, her hands trembling as she urgently asked, “Sir, who exactly is the murderer who killed my daughter? Why would they do such a thing?”

“Madam, please remain calm. Why don’t I first tell everyone a story?”

“This?” Madam Zhou didn’t understand.

Jingrong at the side also furrowed his brows tightly. This young scholar really had leisurely interests—telling stories at a time like this, and in the mourning hall at that?

How strange, how strange!

Ji Yunshu’s expression was sharp, her bearing graceful. She swept her gaze across all the members of the Zhou household before speaking in detail.

“More than ten years ago, on a winter month day just like today, a girl around six or seven years old, due to her family’s poverty, was reluctantly sold by her relatives into a wealthy household to work as a maid, specifically to serve the young miss of the residence. She originally thought she could have three warm meals and find lodging, but she didn’t know that this young miss had been willful and unreasonable since childhood, frequently beating and scolding the servants. The girl was often beaten and scolded without reason, her entire body covered in injuries.”

“As she grew older, not only did the young miss’s bad habits not improve, they intensified. Yet the girl dared not show anger, dared not speak out. Her entire body was tortured beyond recognition. Every deep night, she could only cry alone until her heart broke, because she understood very clearly that she was just a maid, a lowly life, so she could only endure and endure…”

As she spoke, Ji Yunshu stepped out of the mourning hall, circled around the Zhou household servants standing outside, walked directly to the last row, and stopped before Suyun, who had kept her head lowered the entire time.

Just like yesterday, Suyun’s complexion was still deathly pale, with not four ounces of flesh on her face!

Clearly feeling a figure pressing toward her, Suyun’s body trembled even more violently. She buried her head even deeper, only able to see Ji Yunshu’s woven brocade shoes positioned before her.

Everyone dispersed to both sides, staring at Suyun with astonished gazes, looking at each other in confusion, not understanding the deeper meaning.

Ji Yunshu’s gaze fell upon the top of Suyun’s head as she continued speaking.

“That girl never imagined that no matter how much she endured, the young miss of the household still wouldn’t treat her as human. Even when her ankle bone was broken, she could only grit her teeth and bear it.”

Suyun unconsciously drew in her feet, her body shaking even more violently!

“Miss Suyun, I wonder if what I’ve said is correct?”

Boom—

The entire hall erupted in uproar.

Suyun’s eyes, hidden beneath her hair, were filled with panic. She bit her lips hard, not daring to make a sound!

Ji Yunshu reached out and touched her trembling arm, frowning tightly. “Miss Zhou appeared refined and cultured on the outside, gentle and lovely in front of others. Who would have known that she would treat those around her so cruelly, torturing someone to this state?”

Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief. Their own young miss would cry for three days and three nights even when she saw a dead fish in the lotus pond.

How could she have any connection whatsoever with the word “cruel”!

Madam Zhou from behind hastened forward, her face unwilling to believe as she said to Ji Yunshu, “Sir, you must be mistaken. My daughter couldn’t possibly do such things. You must be mistaken…”

Having spoken, Madam Zhou grabbed Suyun, completely disregarding that they were in front of others. She directly pulled up her sleeves to examine them, then yanked down her upper garment, exposing her shoulders and collarbones.

White as paper—where were there any scars at all!

“You say my daughter abused her? How is that possible? Look, there aren’t any scars on Suyun’s body at all.” Madam Zhou was full of conviction.

Ji Yunshu didn’t offer an explanation. Unhurriedly, she withdrew the exquisite small box from her sleeve, slowly opened it, and exposed hundreds of sharp silver needles arranged neatly inside to everyone’s view.

At that moment, Suyun clutched her pulled-down garment and retreated several steps. Even Qiao Xin, standing a meter away, was so frightened her lips turned pale as she began to tremble.

So what the maids feared were silver needles!

Ji Yunshu extended her slender fingers and picked up a silver needle.

“A clever person naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to leave scars on a maid’s body. These tiny silver needles pierced into the flesh wouldn’t leave scars or cause bleeding, but they would penetrate deep to the bone, causing excruciating pain. Such a clever person—even I dare not refuse to admire her.”

“Impossible, my daughter wouldn’t do such things.”

No matter what, Madam Zhou refused to believe it, becoming somewhat agitated.

Seeing this, Master Zhou stepped forward and embraced her, softly comforting her while continuously sighing. Then turning to Ji Yunshu, he asked, “Sir, you must investigate clearly. My daughter absolutely wouldn’t do such things. Moreover, what does everything you’ve said have to do with my daughter’s death?”

“The story isn’t finished yet.”

Ji Yunshu spoke with a tone that tugged at people’s heartstrings.

She placed the silver needle back in the box and closed it. Her gaze once again fell upon Suyun.

“The girl lived a life worse than death every day. She originally wanted to end it all by taking her own life, but unexpectedly, at that very time, she met her soulmate—a man willing to give everything for her. They secretly fell in love and pledged their lives to each other. Before long, the girl became pregnant. She was very happy and planned to raise the silver to buy her freedom. But she never imagined that this matter would be discovered by the young miss of the household. Even more unexpected was that this miss, who seemed so courteous and refined to outsiders, would once again use silver needles to pierce her body one by one, nearly taking her life. In the end, she lost her child, and she herself nearly died, barely clinging to life.”

“Finally, the girl couldn’t endure it anymore. She was determined to take revenge, to kill the young miss of the household. So she pretended to be unwell and returned home, but that very night she secretly returned to the residence. She poisoned the young miss’s medicinal soup, poisoning to death the demon who had harmed her child.”

“Afterward, seeing the young miss collapsed on the ground from the poison, she exerted all her strength to lift her onto the bed. But she was very afraid—afraid that someone would discover what happened. So she told her lover, and the next morning they carried the young miss’s body to the tower and created the illusion of a fall!”

As the last word fell, the entire hall fell silent.

“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me…” Suyun spoke out, her voice trembling as she shook her head desperately.

“You needn’t rush to deny it. Since I can tell this story, naturally I can also produce the evidence.”

Ji Yunshu gradually approached her. Her hand reached into Suyun’s sleeve with a tug, and a handkerchief was held steadily at her fingertips.

A handkerchief embroidered with two sangji flowers!

“Give it back to me.”

In the next moment, Suyun suddenly raised her head, revealing a fierce expression. She reached out to snatch back the handkerchief, but Ji Yunshu was one step faster. She turned sideways to avoid her, letting Suyun grasp at empty air.

“So women from the Western Regions all harbor fierce temperaments in their bones.”

The Western Regions?

Suyun was instantly stunned!