Chapter 29

Yun Shuang, seemingly oblivious to the gazes around her, said calmly, “Aside from the others you named, there’s one more person in this world who hates you—your wife, Luo Xueqing. Lady Luo herself.”

Everyone, except Jiang Xiao and a few others, was visibly startled.

Yang Yuanyi hurriedly said, “If Lady Luo were here and knew what Fan Langjun had done—such heartless, despicable acts—she’d surely hate him. But isn’t she still missing…”

Before he could finish, Yan Fang blurted out, “Missing? What missing! Miss Yun already found her! She’s right here in the inn—didn’t you see her when you arrived?”

The crowd was instantly shocked. They’d rushed over after receiving the report and hadn’t paid close attention to who was gathered in the lobby—they’d headed straight to the crime scene. As for who else might be in the inn, they had no idea. They’d planned to question people after inspecting the scene.

Magistrate Ding immediately barked, “Someone—bring Lady Luo here at once!”

The officer beside Yang Yuanyi quickly responded.

Magistrate Ding stroked his beard in satisfaction and shot Yun Shuang a glance.

Tsk. Seems there’s no stealing the spotlight from that woman now. Well—aside from that bootlicker Yang Yuanyi, no one else here would be taking orders from her.

Sigh~ This county magistrate still felt he was quite important. Yet, just as his smug little glance was about to sweep across Yun Shuang’s face, a certain cheeky lad bounded over, cutting her off with excitement. “Miss Yun, how did you find Lady Luo? You’re amazing!”

Magistrate Ding: “…”

Yun Shuang simply smiled faintly and replied, “Once Lady Luo arrives, you’ll understand.”

Soon enough, the constable returned with a slender woman dressed in a gardenia-colored cross-collared short jacket paired with a brocade horse-face skirt. Walking beside her was Lianxin.

The officials quickly realized why they hadn’t recognized her immediately.
She was wearing a veil hat—just like Yun Shuang.

As the woman came to a halt before them, she raised her delicate hands and gently removed the veil, handing it to Lianxin. And just like that, a fair and striking face appeared before them, graceful and fresh as a lotus emerging from water. She turned first to General Jiang, offering a measured bow. “This humble woman greets General Jiang.”

Then she turned to Magistrate Ding with the same courtesy. “Greetings, Magistrate Ding.”

Yun Shuang had suspected this woman was extraordinary, but seeing her in person still left her quietly impressed.

Luo Dafu truly had raised a remarkable daughter.

At that moment, the others began to register what was happening. Chen Hao, visibly conflicted, raised his hand slightly and stepped toward her. “Xueqing…”

But someone beat him to it.

“Xueqing! You here! Where have you been these past few days? Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

Fan Youliang rushed forward, trying to grab her shoulder. But Luo Xueqing met him with a cold stare and stepped back. “Fan Youliang, at this point, there’s no need to keep pretending in front of me. The sight of you now truly makes me sick.”

Fan Youliang stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in place.

Then Luo Xueqing calmly glanced around at those present. “May I ask you, respected officers—how did you find me?”

After the murder at the inn, Luo Xueqing knew that her exposure was only a matter of time. But what she hadn’t expected was that when the constable reached the first floor, he asked directly, “Is Lady Luo here?”

That meant they already knew she was staying at Yiyuan Inn—even before coming down. What surprised her even more was that the moment the question was asked, everyone’s eyes swept in unison toward a veiled woman standing at the center of the crowd.

Startled, she heard that woman calmly speak: “Lady Luo, wasn’t your disappearance six days ago something you staged yourself? While living closely with your husband, you stumbled across evidence—however subtle—that he had wronged you. But he was always cautious, never leaving a trace. So you simply vanished, hiding in the shadows, waiting for him to slip up.”

Luo Xueqing stared at Yun Shuang for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.
“Magistrate Ding, since when has your yamen recruited such a sharp, brilliant woman?”

Magistrate Ding: “…”

Well, technically, she was brought in by General Jiang. Were she not a woman, he might’ve suspected General Jiang had sent her specifically to replace him.

Luo Xueqing didn’t rush to explain her disappearance. Her gentle but resolute gaze flicked to Lianxin beside her. “Let me guess—how you found me? It was because of Lianxin, wasn’t it?”

Lianxin’s expression changed drastically, and she protested in alarm.
“Lady, I swear I did nothing to betray you…”

Yun Shuang replied evenly, “Yes. I asked Deputy General Yan to assign someone to follow her quietly. Early this morning, she was seen sneaking into Yiyuan Inn.”

Lianxin turned to her in shock.

Luo Xueqing chuckled, “When did you suspect?”

Yun Shuang: “The moment I first saw her, I sensed something strange about Lady Luo’s disappearance.”

Even Luo Xueqing looked surprised at that.

Yun Shuang held up two fingers. “There were two suspicious details in Lianxin’s behavior. The first—her attire.”

Lianxin blurted out, “What’s wrong with how I was dressed?!”

“Nothing,” Yun Shuang replied calmly. “That’s precisely the issue. When I saw you yesterday, your hair was neat, your outfit immaculate, and your makeup flawless—perfect for everyday wear, not a trace out of place. For someone whose close companion had vanished, you were still so put-together. That only means one thing—Lady Luo’s disappearance was somehow tied to you. Yang Yuanyi said you looked just as polished then as you do now. So even when she had just vanished, you were already dressed like that.”

Just based on that?

Not only Lianxin—all those present stared at Yun Shuang in disbelief.

Yun Shuang offered a faint smile. “The second suspicious detail was how you immediately accused Mr. Fan of having an affair. Your reasoning? Since Lady Luo’s disappearance, he has stopped letting people freely enter their shared room. But that alone doesn’t prove he was seeing someone else. Yet you were absolutely certain—which tells me, deep down, you already knew he did have another woman.”

The crowd fell silent. Not a single word was spoken.

Magistrate Ding couldn’t help but trade a long, irritable stare with Yang Yuanyi. Each eyed the other’s ears and eyes with deep suspicion—surely they were fake, probably woven from weeds. What else could explain how they’d both missed such glaring clues?