The county magistrate opened court, with bailiffs standing in formation on both sides.

Jingrong on the side had already taken his seat in a chair specially prepared for him, his expression grave as he observed carefully.

The county magistrate struck the gavel. “Woman kneeling below, state your name.”

Sister-in-law Yu didn’t answer, keeping her head constantly lowered.

Even…

Gently patting A’Yu’s back, she hummed a tune.

This made everyone present feel quite strange.

Could this woman be mad?

The county magistrate was unwilling to give up and was preparing to strike the gavel again when Ji Yunshu spoke to stop him. “My lord, why not have Li Zhao brought up?”

The county magistrate always listened to Ji Yunshu’s words, so he ordered bailiffs to go to the prison and bring Li Zhao.

During this short interval, Ji Yunshu walked to Sister-in-law Yu’s side and crouched down.

Her tone gentle, she said, “Sister-in-law Yu, A’Yu has fallen asleep. How about I take her to rest, is that alright?”

Sister-in-law Yu hummed her tune. Those eyes hidden beneath disheveled hair lifted, and she recognized the person standing before her.

“It’s you? You came to my house yesterday.”

Sister-in-law Yu wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, she smiled—a smile full of misery.

“Will you give A’Yu to me?”

Sister-in-law Yu didn’t make a fuss, still holding A’Yu, gently rocking her, humming a tune in her ear.

Looking at Sister-in-law Yu’s expression, something seemed off. Ji Yunshu placed her gaze on A’Yu, a bold guess forming in her heart.

“Sister-in-law Yu, let me look at A’Yu, alright? I promise I definitely won’t hurt her.”

“Don’t touch my A’Yu. My A’Yu is sleeping. She’s already asleep. Don’t disturb her, don’t disturb her.”

As she spoke, Sister-in-law Yu even smiled.

Like this, she was clearly mad!

Ji Yunshu carefully extended her hand and, without Sister-in-law Yu noticing, touched A’Yu’s bare little feet. Her heart suddenly trembled.

“A’Yu is dead?”

In that moment, Ji Yunshu nearly collapsed to the ground. Her nose stung, her eyes reddened, and tears spilled out.

Ji Yunshu’s words shocked everyone.

Especially Wei Wu and Wang San.

All the way from Zhao Family Village, they hadn’t noticed anything unusual about this little girl.

How could she be dead?

Now Ji Yunshu finally understood why Sister-in-law Yu was like this.

That somewhat dazed and confused feeling!

A’Yu was dead—probably her heart had died too.

Ji Yunshu was still in shock. She regretted it deeply, felt extremely guilty. Yesterday, she should have taken A’Yu away from that dark, damp room.

Watching Sister-in-law Yu continuously holding A’Yu’s corpse, humming her tune—

It was as if countless knives were stabbing into Ji Yunshu’s chest.

The county magistrate, amid his surprise, didn’t forget to order the bailiffs. “Go check whether that little girl is really dead.”

“Yes.”

The bailiff was preparing to step forward and pull Sister-in-law Yu away to check if the little girl was truly dead.

Ji Yunshu stood up and extended her hand to stop the bailiff. “Let her hold her. In her heart, A’Yu hasn’t died yet.”

“Master Ji?”

“A mother, for the sake of her child, can do anything—even sacrifice her own life without hesitation. This is enough to show how much she loves her child. Now that A’Yu is dead, she probably won’t survive either.”

Ji Yunshu’s words were easy to understand, yet few would truly comprehend them.

No one knew where Ji Yunshu’s sympathetic emotions came from.

But Jingrong understood.

He saw the tears in Ji Yunshu’s eyes, saw the guilt and regret on her face.

At this moment, what pained his heart wasn’t just that little girl, but also Ji Yunshu.

Ji Yunshu bit her trembling lips hard, biting them until they seemed to split and bleed. Her body shook several times, but she still suppressed those emotions threatening to burst like a broken dam.

“I didn’t kill anyone. Release me quickly.”

Li Zhao’s voice rang out from outside. He was being pushed in by bailiffs.

Upon entering, he immediately knelt down.

After being locked in prison for two days, Li Zhao’s young master appearance had been completely swept away. Straw was stuck in his hair, his face was filthy, stubble covered his chin, and his clothes were extremely disheveled.

Only two days imprisoned and already looking like this—if locked up a bit longer, wouldn’t he have to handle all bodily functions where he stood?

As soon as Li Zhao entered, he saw his older sister. After being forced to kneel down, he pleaded with his sister.

“Elder sister, you must help me! I don’t want to stay in prison anymore. It’s so dark there, the food is bad, I can’t sleep well, and I keep having nightmares. Elder sister, quickly take me out!”

“…”

However, Madam Jiang’s eyes had been fixed on Sister-in-law Yu with constant panic. Li Zhao hadn’t yet noticed his elder sister’s abnormality. His knees moved until he reached Madam Jiang’s side, looking up, still pleading bitterly.

“Elder sister, go beg Father, beg Grandfather, ask them to help. Father won’t refuse to save me. Elder sister…”

So noisy, so noisy!

Ji Yunshu pulled herself out of that guilty, sorrowful state.

She turned her head and said to Li Zhao, “The murderer isn’t you. You won’t die.”

At this conclusion, Li Zhao suddenly snapped to attention, looking at Ji Yunshu as if he still didn’t quite dare believe it.

You should know, these past two days he’d been having nightmares constantly!

“I’m really not the murderer?”

Li Zhao himself couldn’t believe it.

Having such a younger brother, Madam Jiang was truly unfortunate in three lifetimes.

At this moment, Li Zhao also suddenly noticed beside him that woman holding a girl.

He tilted his head to look. Although Sister-in-law Yu’s face was obscured by disheveled hair, the next moment, Li Zhao recognized her.

“Sister-in-law… Sister-in-law Yu?”

Unable to believe it, his body collapsed to sit on the ground.

This reaction was even greater than Madam Jiang’s.

Everyone was confused about who exactly this Sister-in-law Yu was, making both Madam Jiang and Li Zhao so shocked—even panicked.

Ji Yunshu had already collected her emotions. She slowly walked toward Madam Jiang while saying, “I finally understand why Madam Jiang was unwilling to reveal the truth, and finally understand why, clearly knowing your husband had died, you didn’t report to the authorities but instead buried your husband’s corpse with your younger brother.”

Her voice seized the heart and soul, making Madam Jiang’s entire nervous system tighten, veins bulging.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Madam Jiang abruptly turned her gaze to Ji Yunshu.

Even now, she still refused to admit it.

“Madam Jiang, Sister-in-law Yu is right here. She is the murderer who killed Master Jiang, and you witnessed the entire process of her killing him.”

With one statement—

The entire hall erupted!

This made no sense either emotionally or logically—one’s own husband murdered, witnessing the entire process, yet not reporting to authorities and even helping to bury the corpse.

If this got out, no one would believe it.

The first person not to believe it was the county magistrate.

He asked, “What? Madam Jiang saw Master Jiang being killed? How does this make sense?”

Ji Yunshu wasn’t anxious. She just stared fixedly at Madam Jiang like this.

Very firmly, she said, “If I’m not mistaken, when you saw Sister-in-law Yu kill him, you actually felt quite pleased inside, because you had long hoped Master Jiang would die.”

“You… you’re talking nonsense.”

“Talking nonsense?” Ji Yunshu smiled coldly. “Fine, then I’ll tell what happened that night on your behalf.”

Madam Jiang’s eyes froze!

Ji Yunshu unhurriedly walked before Li Zhao, looked down, and said, “That night, you were completely drunk. In the courtyard, you encountered Master Jiang alone. With a hopeful attitude, you went to borrow money from Master Jiang. But you didn’t expect that Master Jiang wasn’t willing to lend you money at all. He even scolded you, and even said he would tell your sister. So in anger, you pushed him. Master Jiang was pushed to the ground by you, twisting his ankle and hitting his head on a tree. And you angrily left.”

Speaking to this point, Ji Yunshu walked to Sister-in-law Yu’s side and said, “Master Jiang twisted his ankle, so he sat on the ground for a long time unable to get up. I said before that the knife wounds on Master Jiang’s skeleton went from top to bottom and grew shallower, indicating the murderer was taller than Master Jiang. But actually there’s another situation—that is, Master Jiang was sitting on the ground while the murderer stood, stabbing him knife by knife. And that murderer was Sister-in-law Yu.”

Sister-in-law Yu showed no emotional fluctuation, still holding A’Yu, humming her tune.

Ji Yunshu then took out the small knife from her sleeve, held it up in her hand, and said, “Just after Li Zhao left, Sister-in-law Yu took this knife, came around from behind the tree to Master Jiang’s front, and when he was completely unprepared, killed him.”

The county magistrate asked, “The evidence?”

“The evidence is this small knife in my hand. I’ve already wiped it with strong vinegar. The facts prove that there are indeed bloodstains on this knife.”

“But couldn’t she have accidentally cut her wrist?”

“Impossible.” Ji Yunshu concluded, then took out that reddened white paper and said, “On this white paper is the color from the wound marks on Master Jiang’s ankle. That color is actually the color of blood coagulated on a living person’s body. Attached to bone, it can only be revealed using camphor tree sap and white vinegar. As it happens, this color is exactly the same as the bloodstains on this knife—they even merge into one.”

“Therefore, this sufficiently proves that the blood on the knife is Master Jiang’s, and the person who killed Master Jiang was Sister-in-law Yu.”

Everyone was no longer shocked, instead exclaiming in wonder several times.

Ji Yunshu continued, “Just as Sister-in-law Yu was killing Master Jiang, Madam Jiang not far away took in this entire scene. After Sister-in-law Yu left, Li Zhao returned. He was very frightened, but Madam Jiang came out at this moment. She had Li Zhao help her bury the corpse together.”

“No, no…” The county magistrate extended his hand, frowning. “Why?”

Ji Yunshu glanced at A’Yu in Sister-in-law Yu’s arms, then met Madam Jiang’s gaze.

“Because she knew that if she reported to the authorities then, her husband wouldn’t just be a hermaphrodite, but an outright beast.”

These words were like something hurled viciously at Madam Jiang. Her body became unsteady—she nearly collapsed to the ground.

Ji Yunshu pressed two steps closer to her, her tone weighted. “Madam Jiang is someone who cares deeply about face. Her family is the Li family. In her heart, face is greater than human life.”

“Stop talking.”

Madam Jiang finally spoke to stop her.