“This…” Zhaixing said with difficulty, “I’m afraid this servant cannot explain to Madam. Please don’t make things difficult for this servant, Second Young Master.”

“Just relay my words to Second Mother exactly as I said them. If Second Mother blames anyone, I will take full responsibility and won’t implicate Miss Zhaixing.” Without waiting for Zhaixing to agree, he had already left with Jiang Caiping. Zhaixing ultimately didn’t dare to obstruct him and could only stamp her foot in frustration before returning to Yuxiu Pavilion with her people.

After ordering a carriage to be prepared, Li Shimin took Jiang Caiping toward the county yamen. Along the way, he had Jiang Caiping recount the entire incident in detail. After organizing his thoughts slightly, he asked about the most suspicious point in the whole affair: “Since Meixue didn’t leave the mansion, where did she go?”

“If I knew, I would have said so long ago. Why would I wait until now?” She said with some incomprehension, “I don’t know what’s wrong with Sister. Clearly, speaking out would prove her innocence, but she just refuses to say. However, I can guarantee that Sister Wu would never kill anyone. Second Young Master, you must believe Sister Wu!” This was Sister Wu’s only lifeline—it must be grasped tightly.

“Naturally, I believe her.” As these words were spoken, the carriage wheels stopped, and Duan Zhihong lifted the curtain, saying, “Second Young Master, we’ve arrived at the county yamen.”

Li Shimin nodded and got off the carriage with Jiang Caiping, heading toward the county yamen. The county magistrate here was surnamed Qin, whom Li Shimin had met once when accompanying Li Yuan. Duan Zhihong stepped forward to the gate guards and said, “My young master wishes to see County Magistrate Qin. Please announce us.”

The guard didn’t recognize Li Shimin and said sternly, “The magistrate is currently holding court to try a case and has no time to see you. Come back later.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Caiping said urgently, “Oh no, he must be trying Sister’s case. We’re one step too late. Second Young Master, what should we do? What if the county magistrate judges Sister guilty of murder?”

“Don’t worry, he won’t pass judgment so quickly. Let’s go listen first.” When court was in session, commoners were allowed to observe.

Upon reaching the courthouse, it was indeed the trial of Feng Chunxiu’s murder case. Feng Cheng and others were emotionally demanding that County Magistrate Qin execute Yunyi, the “murderer,” while Wu Laosan kept crying out for justice on the side. However, his lone voice seemed extremely pale and weak against the Feng family’s accusations.

“Silence!” County Magistrate Qin struck his gavel, and after the courthouse quieted down, he stared at Yunyi kneeling below and said, “Wu Meixue, this magistrate asks you: did you or did you not kill Feng Chunxiu?”

Yunyi raised her head and said calmly, “Reporting to Your Honor, this commoner woman has never killed anyone.”

Feng Li pointed her sharp finger at Yunyi and shouted fiercely, “You killed Chunxiu, you murderer!”

“Do not interrupt when this magistrate is questioning.” After scolding Feng Li, County Magistrate Qin said again, “If that’s the case, then on the night of the ninth day of the first month, between the first and fourth watch, where were you? Who can testify for you?”

“This commoner woman returned to the Governor’s mansion on the eighth day of the first month and remained in the mansion the entire time afterward, never leaving for even a moment. Your Honor can ask the steward and gatekeeper of the Governor’s mansion about this—they all have records. Chunxiu was killed outside the mansion, which has absolutely nothing to do with this commoner woman.”

County Magistrate Qin frowned slightly and said, “This magistrate will naturally investigate these matters. Now I only ask you: between the first and fourth watch that night, where were you? Does anyone testify for you?”

Yunyi bit her lip. “This commoner woman felt somewhat stifled and went to walk in the back garden. At that time, only this commoner woman was there, and since it was already dark, no one can testify for this commoner woman.”

“You have no one to testify for you, but I do!” Feng Cheng roared angrily and bowed to County Magistrate Qin, saying, “Your Honor, the night watchman saw with his own eyes that on the night of the ninth, Wu Meixue and Chunxiu were arguing in the street. Right after that, Chunxiu died—the murderer must undoubtedly be her!” He then glared at the watchman and said, “Hurry up and tell Your Honor what you saw.”

The night watchman hastily nodded and said tremblingly, “Reporting to Your Honor, this commoner did indeed see Chunxiu together with… with Wu Meixue!”

“She’s lying!” Jiang Caiping shouted angrily, “Sister never left the mansion at all. How could he possibly have seen Sister?”

Li Shimin soothed her, “Don’t be anxious. Let’s continue watching.”

Over there, Feng Cheng said again, “Your Honor, you heard it all. Chunxiu was definitely killed by Wu Meixue. Moreover, if she truly has nothing to hide, why would she conspire with her roommate to lie and say she never left her room!”

Wu Laosan waved his hands urgently, “No, Your Honor, Meixue usually can’t bear to step on even an ant. How could she be a murderer? She’s innocent—she didn’t kill anyone!”

County Magistrate Qin pondered for a moment, stroking the few whiskers under his chin, and said, “Night watchman, did you truly see with your own eyes that Chunxiu and Wu Meixue were arguing in the street? Are you certain you didn’t see wrong?”

The night watchman glanced at Feng Cheng and said with lowered head, “Yes, this commoner saw it clearly. It was definitely Wu Meixue.”

While the night watchman was speaking, Feng Cheng quietly signaled to the guard standing at the front, who nodded slightly and spoke up, “Your Honor, this subordinate remembers that among the evidence retrieved from the crime scene a few days ago, there was a pearl. Could it be related to the case?”

County Magistrate Qin said puzzledly, “A pearl? How is it that this magistrate doesn’t see this mentioned in the case files?”

The guard bowed and said, “Reporting to Your Honor, the pearl was found in a handkerchief. Because the handkerchief was covered with mud and grass when it was first brought in, no one discovered it. It was only today when this subordinate was checking the items again that it was found.”

County Magistrate Qin realized this was a clue and immediately ordered the guard to retrieve the pearl. After a while, the guard brought back a pearl the size of a little finger, which glowed with a warm luster in the daylight.

Li Shimin frowned slightly and said in a low voice, “I remember you mentioned that Feng Chunxiu’s uncle is a guard at the county yamen, right?”

Jiang Caiping nodded, “Yes, the Feng family relies on this backing to run rampant in Shuangqiao Village and often bullies Sister and her family.”

Meanwhile, in the courthouse, upon seeing that pearl, Feng Chunming immediately said, “Your Honor, this commoner has seen that pearl before!”

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Qin quickly asked, “Where did you see it?”

Feng Chunming pointed at Wu Meixue and said, “In her house! This commoner learned that Chunxiu had seen Wu Meixue before her death, so I went to her house to search. While searching, I inadvertently found a box of pearls that looked exactly like the one Your Honor is holding!”

Wu Laosan also saw the pearl and said with disbelief, “This is impossible. The pearl couldn’t have been with Chunxiu—it’s impossible.”

“Is this true?” Faced with County Magistrate Qin’s inquiry, Yunyi said, “This commoner woman did indeed receive a box of pearls as a reward from the eldest and second young masters of the mansion, and I took them home for my father to keep. However, there are countless pearls identical to this one, so it cannot be definitively determined that this pearl belonged to this commoner woman, let alone that this commoner woman was carrying this pearl with her.”