Taohua chose to remain silent.
Although Duan Yunxin’s words seemed correct, with testimonial evidence now present, even if she couldn’t be convicted, she was still a suspect. As for how to investigate the case, that was the yamen’s business and not something Taohua needed to worry about.
“Lady Jiang!” Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a maid ran in from outside, panting. “People from the yamen have arrived!”
Speak of the devil! Slightly relieved, Taohua quickly had them brought in to speak.
“The Prime Minister isn’t here, and the lady of the house is also absent?” The arrival was a constable who bowed and asked. Gu Huairou glanced at him and pointed to Jiang Taohua. “Whatever you have to say, tell this lady.”
“Yes.” The constable lowered his head and said, “When the coroner re-examined the body, he found traces of blood under Liu’s fingernails. We deduce that the person who killed Liu likely has scratches on their face or hands. If the killer is someone from the household, we humbly request the lady to check for such marks.”
Face or hands? Qingtai was startled and immediately pointed outside. “When we entered just now, didn’t that servant in the courtyard have an injury on his face?”
“Which one?” Taohua turned back to look at her in surprise.
Without another word, Qingtai darted out and grabbed a servant who was still weeding by the courtyard gate. She brought him before everyone and said, “Earlier, this servant accidentally glanced at him and saw an injury on his face… Is it this kind of injury?”
Duan Yunxin was startled. She stepped forward to look at the servant and indeed saw scratch marks from fingernails on his right cheek.
“How did you get this?” she asked angrily.
The servant trembled in fear and said softly, “I got scratched in a fight…”
His eyes were panicked, clearly lying. The experienced constable immediately had him seized and examined him closely. “This person will need to be taken back to the yamen for questioning.”
Duan Yunxin’s pupils contracted as she finally sensed something was amiss. She murmured, “Who set me up?”
She hadn’t killed the person, but she knew Liu Xianjun’s death wasn’t simple. She had thought to take advantage of the situation to get rid of Qin Huaiyu, which would be beneficial without harm. Who knew the fire would spread to her?
Her gaze shifted to Jiang Taohua beside her.
If anyone in this courtyard could push her into such a trap, it could only be her, right?
“Lady Duan, I know what you’re thinking,” Taohua sighed. “But I still want to say, this has nothing to do with me. I’m just trying to find the killer.”
“Who could your words convince, my lady?” Duan Yunxin smiled faintly and pursed her lips. “Everyone knows of the lady’s keen intellect and clever mind. Those who offend you never come to a good end. I thought by keeping to myself and not provoking you, I wouldn’t be targeted. Who knew I still couldn’t escape!”
Torn between laughter and tears, Taohua shook her head helplessly. “Whether you believe it or not, I truly had no intention of harming you. The investigation is the yamen’s business. If they think you’re the killer, I can’t do anything about it. If they find out it’s not you, then I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Fine, let them investigate,” Duan Yunxin lowered her eyes. “The final decision will be made by the master. I don’t believe your tricks can fool him too!”
With that, she turned and went back to her room, having Heer close the door.
With a loud “bang,” Gu Huairou’s face was full of sighs. “It’s rare to see Lady Duan so agitated.”
“With water at her doorstep, it would be strange if she weren’t agitated.” Shaking her head, Taohua muttered, politely seeing off the yamen officials as they took the servant away.
“Ah, this matter has become complicated,” Gu Huairou lamented as she left Shouyu Pavilion with Taohua, speaking softly. “If only the evidence were more conclusive, we could pin it on her, and she wouldn’t be able to turn things around. Unfortunately, with this little evidence, she’ll surely be able to exonerate herself before the master.”
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Taohua asked her, “What makes you say that?”
Gu Huairou said, “Can’t you see? Lady Duan has always been quiet and kept a low profile in the household, quite favored by the master. He says she doesn’t fight or grab for power, and that she’s an easy person to deal with. Now that this matter has fallen on her, with the evidence not being very strong, she only needs to say she was framed. How could the master convict her of anything?”
“He will,” Taohua nodded. “He’ll convict her of a very serious crime.”
“You must be joking,” Gu Huairou shook her head. “Even I can see something fishy about this. How could the master not see it?”
Taohua smiled faintly, thinking that even if there were no evidence at all this time, Shen Zaiye would likely make Duan Yunxin take the fall in the end. It’s just that these women couldn’t see clearly, truly believing that Shen Zaiye had any feelings for them and would believe them.
Duan Yunxin indeed thought so. No matter how much she schemed, she always schemed among women, never daring to have designs on Shen Zaiye. Firstly, she didn’t dare, and secondly, she couldn’t. In her heart, Shen Zaiye was like an omnipotent and tender-hearted god of a Prime Minister. Although he had been a bit harsh to the women in the back courtyard before, that was because they deserved it.
And now she was being wronged. The Prime Minister couldn’t possibly immediately convict her of a crime no matter what. She still had a chance to clear herself of this false accusation.
Such thoughts were shattered to pieces when Shen Zaiye returned to the manor.
Everyone was summoned to Linwu Court. Shen Zaiye had returned from the palace, his expression looking very unpleasant. Even those standing farthest away could feel the anger emanating from the Prime Minister, let alone Jiang Taohua at his side.
Taohua wasn’t scared at all. She was quite brave. But for some reason, every time she felt Shen Zaiye’s murderous aura, her legs couldn’t help but tremble.
“Master?” After explaining the situation and seeing him not respond, Taohua steeled herself and asked, “What do you think should be done?”
Shen Zaiye looked up, his eyes cold and dark. He said indifferently, “The yamen has already sent someone to tell me. The servant they took away has confessed, saying he was following his master’s orders to hang Liu, attempting to create the illusion of suicide and frame Qin, to drive her out of the manor.”
His gaze fell on Duan Yunxin, and he chuckled lightly. “This is indeed something Yunxin would do.”
Driving away Qin and severing his connection with Magistrate Qin, isn’t that exactly what Prince Yu would want to do?
Duan Yunxin frowned. Even though she was kneeling, her body was ramrod straight. “It wasn’t me. I had no intention of killing anyone.”
“If I remember correctly, Liu was closest to you in this courtyard,” Shen Zaiye said. “She used to be close to Huairou, but later, for some unknown reason, she left Huairou and followed you.”
Few people in the courtyard knew about this, not even Taohua had noticed. Hearing Shen Zaiye say this, she instinctively glanced at Gu Huairou.
Gu Huairou was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, “I knew she had climbed to a higher branch, but I didn’t know whose it was. There are many people in this manor that Liu likes to curry favor with, but she rarely interacts with Lady Duan. I thought it was because Lady Duan was too low-key, so she couldn’t curry favor. But it turns out…”
Duan Yunxin frowned, her hands clenched tightly. After a long while, she said, “She had many troubles in her heart that she couldn’t tell others. She liked to come to me to talk. That doesn’t count as being close.”
“Didn’t she go to talk to you the day before the incident?” Shen Zaiye rubbed his brow. “Perhaps she truly wanted to be on good terms with you, but your heart is truly cruel. To eliminate a potential threat, you chose to kill her.”
“I didn’t!” Duan Yunxin gritted her teeth. “I’ve always been a vegetarian and recited Buddhist scriptures. How could I harbor thoughts of murder?”
“Even the executioners in the yamen keep Buddha statues at home,” Qin Huaiyu sneered. “It’s precisely because they’ve killed too many people that they ask Buddha for protection to avoid being haunted by wronged souls.”
“You…” Duan Yunxin opened and closed her mouth, suddenly feeling at a loss for words. She was innocent, and the other evidence wasn’t enough to convict her. But how come the Prime Minister seemed not to believe her either?
Could it be that her previous actions had been discovered? Impossible. She could be certain that no one knew, and no one would be able to find out. Even if the Prime Minister suspected, he had no evidence. How could he blame it all on her?
Unless… Jiang Taohua had said something to him!
Thinking of this, Duan Yunxin looked up at Taohua, her eyes full of resentment. “I have no grudge against Lady Jiang. Even if you don’t remember the favor of helping at the previous tea party, you should still be reasonable. How can you forcefully pin something I didn’t do on me?”
Taohua looked utterly bewildered. “What does this have to do with me again?”
Standing aside without saying anything and still getting dragged into it? From beginning to end, apart from using a Taoist priest to try to scare her, she hadn’t done anything else! Now Shen Zaiye was questioning her guilt. What did it have to do with Taohua?
“If it weren’t for you, how would the master think I killed her?” Duan Yunxin frowned. “The master isn’t someone who would wrongly accuse people.”
Indeed, he’s not someone who would wrongly accuse people, just a beast who would wrongly accuse people. Taohua pursed her lips, glancing at Shen Zaiye, meaning for him to handle it himself as she was done.
Shen Zaiye’s face darkened, and he impatiently said, “The results from the yamen’s investigation have nothing to do with anyone else. If you’re not convinced, go speak at the yamen. The constables are already waiting outside. The Liu family also wants an explanation. You can let Lord Duan and Lord Liu confront each other at the capital’s yamen. This matter is out of our hands now.”
Gasping, Duan Yunxin couldn’t understand at all. “Master, how can you be like this? It’s clear that I’m being wrongly accused…”
“Do you have evidence to prove your innocence?” Shen Zaiye pursed his lips. “Now two eyewitnesses are saying you’re the killer.”
“I…” Thinking of something, Duan Yunxin’s eyes lit up. “The night Liu died, I was in my courtyard the whole time. Except for sending incense to Linghan Court, no one else went out. Doesn’t this count as evidence?”
“Whether you and the people in your courtyard went out or not, only you know,” Shen Zaiye said. “It doesn’t count.”
“Then the madam can testify for me,” Duan Yunxin pursed her lips. “I’m not lying. I did go to deliver incense that night. After that, it was curfew. The manor’s guards surely didn’t see anyone from my courtyard again!”
(End of Chapter)