Ji Yunshu declared in front of everyone that Liu Zhi was full of lies. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, but he immediately straightened his back. He raised his hand, holding up four fingers, and said to the county magistrate: “This humble person can swear to heaven that every single word I spoke is absolutely without the slightest deception. If there is, may I be struck by lightning!”

As he spoke, he also became sorrowful, then glared fiercely at Ji Yunshu. “My wife was harmed by you, yet you still say I’m lying. This is truly intolerable by heaven’s law. It’s all because of you, this vicious woman, that my wife and I are now separated by life and death!”

His words were heart-wrenching.

They also earned plenty of sympathy from everyone.

The onlooking crowd also began pointing and whispering.

“This woman looks kind-faced, but who would have thought she’s such a cruel person.”

“That’s right. As the saying goes, you can’t judge a person by their appearance! She looks pretty and clean on the outside, but her heart is so black inside.”

“Beautiful women are all vicious.”

“Exactly!”

…

They say beautiful women are calamities. Now in those people’s eyes, she was not only a calamity but also had a vicious heart!

Ji Yunshu heard quite a bit of idle gossip in her ears, but she didn’t care. Regarding Liu Zhi’s oath and accusations against her, she appeared very calm.

Because she was certain that Liu Zhi was fundamentally a cold, inhuman beast.

She said: “Young Master Liu, do you know how serious lying in court is?”

“I didn’t lie!” Liu Zhi flatly denied it and said angrily, “My wife was killed by you. Now all the evidence points to you. Even at this point, you still refuse to admit it.”

Ha!

Ji Yunshu was too lazy to beat around the bush with him. She directly said to the county magistrate: “Magistrate, the murderer is not this common woman, but someone else.”

The county magistrate’s brow furrowed deeply, his eyes narrowing to slits as he asked: “Who?”

“It’s this private school teacher Liu Zhi who keeps insisting that this common woman killed his wife!”

“Ah?” The county magistrate was astonished.

Everyone in the courtroom was also extremely shocked.

Clearly the crime was pinned on Ji Yunshu.

How had she suddenly pinned it on Liu Zhi instead?

Simply ridiculous.

The deceased was Liu Zhi’s wife—how could he have killed his own wife?

The county magistrate thought he’d misheard and glanced at the legal advisor standing beside him.

The advisor leaned close and repeated: “That young lady said the one who killed the deceased was Liu Zhi.”

“Preposterous!” Having heard clearly, the county magistrate’s expression changed drastically. He grabbed the gavel at hand and struck it down, looking at Ji Yunshu and saying, “Do you know what you just said?”

Ji Yunshu said seriously: “Of course I know.”

Liu Zhi grew anxious, pointing at her: “You’re slandering me! How could I kill my wife?”

The county magistrate also said: “Yes, the deceased is his wife. How could there be such a crime of killing one’s own kin?”

Naturally he didn’t believe it!

Facing everyone’s doubts, Ji Yunshu remained unhurried: “If I didn’t have sufficient evidence, I naturally wouldn’t say such things.”

“Then tell us, what evidence do you have to prove it?” the county magistrate said.

Everyone was also very curious.

They wanted to hear what mystery lay within.

Ji Yunshu knelt straight on the ground. Her gaze shifted sideways to look at the old coroner as she asked: “Old sir, you should be very clear that if one only eats a tiny bit of this strychnine, they won’t be poisoned, correct?”

Coroner Zhou nodded: “Yes, eating just a tiny bit cannot possibly cause death by poisoning! But if consumed accumulated over time, it will.”

“But I only met them once. If we’re talking about poisoning accumulated over time, that’s clearly impossible—unless it was a large amount consumed all at once.”

“Exactly.”

Hearing their conversation, Liu Zhi immediately pointed at Ji Yunshu and said: “Then it must be that you put a sufficient amount in the steamed buns, which caused my wife to die from poisoning!”

What a vicious woman.

“Ha ha!” Ji Yunshu gave a cold laugh, mocking his lack of common sense. She asked, “Fine, Young Master Liu, I ask you one thing—that night, did your wife eat that entire steamed bun in front of you?”

“That’s right.” Liu Zhi said emphatically, “There were two steamed buns total. She was going to give me one, but fortunately I didn’t eat it, otherwise I would have been poisoned to death by you too.”

Ji Yunshu’s lips curved up as she questioned him word by forceful word: “Then do you know or not that the poison extracted from strychnine is also called strychnine alkaloid? This poison is extremely bitter—even a tiny bit is unbearable! Let alone a sufficient amount? Tell me, if I really had put a large amount of strychnine in the steamed bun I gave your wife, how could she have eaten down such a steamed bun reeking with intense bitterness? And eaten the entire thing in front of you at that?”

Uh!

Liu Zhi was left speechless!

His body staggered!

Ji Yunshu turned to Coroner Zhou and said: “Old sir, since you know it’s strychnine, you should understand how bitter it is! Whether what I say is true or false, please clarify.”

Coroner Zhou nodded again: “Indeed, as the young lady said, to poison someone to death with strychnine, if not through long-term accumulation, then it must be a sufficient amount all at once. So that steamed bun must contain a large amount of strychnine. Since it’s a large amount, it would definitely be very bitter! An ordinary person absolutely couldn’t tolerate it, so…”

“So this woman’s death has nothing to do with the steamed buns, and nothing to do with me!”

“This…” Although that was the logic, the old coroner didn’t dare make a definitive conclusion.

He could only cast his gaze toward the county magistrate on the high bench.

Waiting for him to make the decision!

Though the county magistrate was old and inevitably confused about some matters, confused as he was, he wasn’t foolish.

He naturally understood Ji Yunshu’s words.

Pondering, he said: “What you say does have some merit. It seems unrelated to you, but… if you didn’t kill her, then why is there poison in the steamed bun? Why is there poison in the deceased’s body? How exactly did she die?”

His wrinkled face was full of confusion!

Ji Yunshu: “If the magistrate wants to know, why not ask this Young Master Liu.”

“Him?”

Liu Zhi’s face turned deathly pale, his eyes flickered, and even his originally straight spine slowly hunched down.

Clearly a frightened appearance.

Ji Yunshu looked at Liu Zhi: “How is it, Young Master Liu, don’t you want to say something?”

Liu Zhi struggled to maintain composure, trying hard to stay calm: “What… what does it have to do with me?”

“What does it have to do with you? You murdered your wife, framed and falsely accused others, and repeatedly deceived the court—these three crimes, I’m afraid your life won’t be enough to compensate.”

Uh!

The crowd erupted in clamor.

They looked at each other in shock.

Liu Zhi pointed his finger in rage: “You… you’re talking nonsense!”

It seemed like anger born of extreme guilt.

Ji Yunshu then seized the opportunity to grab his wrist, lifting it high and displaying it before everyone, saying: “If you refuse to admit it, I’ll speak for you!”

“…Huh?”

“It was you who personally ground the strychnine and dissolved it in water, then forced your wife to drink it down. After she died from poisoning, you worried people would discover it was your doing. You happened to know I had also arrived in Jiahe town, so you took advantage of the situation and added strychnine to the one remaining steamed bun your wife had left, using this to frame me! But you never imagined…”