Chapter 30

In the end, it was Luo Xueqing’s soft laugh that broke the silence. She looked at Yun Shuang with deep emotion. “You truly are a brilliant woman. Lianxin’s exposure was no injustice. That’s right—my disappearance this time was a scheme Lianxin and I devised together. Even I didn’t expect…”

She gave a bitter, mocking smile, raising a hand to gently touch her chest before pausing. “The man I believed was wholly devoted to me… the husband I thought I’d grow old with… turned out to be a deceitful, repulsive creature. At first, I was only suspicious. At the end of last month, Fan Youliang claimed he’d be spending the night at the fabric shop reconciling accounts and wouldn’t be coming home. As I prepared clothes for him, I picked a blue and a green outfit and asked which he preferred. He hesitated for a moment, then feigned indifference and said, ‘The blue one is fine. It’s just accounting work—anything’ll do.’ But that brief hesitation caught my attention. In the past, when I selected his attire, he never even looked—he would smile gently and say, ‘Whatever you choose will always suit me best.’ He would never hesitate like that under normal circumstances. So I became more cautious. I had Lianxin see him off. When she returned, she told me that as he passed the courtyard pond, he leaned forward, checked his reflection, and brushed his hair aside.”

Fan Youliang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You suspected me… of having another woman because of that?! You even orchestrated this entire scheme to test me?!”

The crowd: “…”

For a moment, no one could tell who was more formidable—Lady Luo or Miss Yun.

Luo Xueqing let out a cold laugh. “Of course not only that, Fan Youliang. We’ve been husband and wife for years, living side by side. That wasn’t the only uncomfortable moment—I’ve noticed quite a few. And yes, we grew up together, and you’ve always treated me gently. So I kept convincing myself I was simply overthinking. But after my father passed away, I’ve felt increasingly anxious and unmoored. Every suspicious detail felt like a needle stabbing into me. At the end of last month, when I saw something off in your behavior, I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I realized I couldn’t continue to ignore these feelings. My father’s gone—I had to learn to protect myself. You’re extremely cautious by nature. If I stayed by your side, you’d be too guarded to let anything slip. So I disappeared. Sure enough, the yamen searched our home that same day. That young constable Yang Yuanyi asked you several pointed questions, and you panicked. That night, you secretly sent someone to Yiyuan Inn. Even in your panic, you stayed careful. You didn’t send your trusted aide Chang Ping—you randomly chose a servant and fabricated a story: that you’d arranged a meeting at a teahouse near Yiyuan Inn, but couldn’t attend due to my disappearance, and had him deliver a letter to the innkeeper for your supposed contact. Later that evening, a maid entered the teahouse, picked up the letter, and entered Yiyuan Inn. If I hadn’t secretly paid a group of beggar children in town to shadow anyone who left the Luo household after my disappearance, I’d never have discovered your little mistress!”

“Hahaha! How ironic! It was only then I realized that my dear husband—the one who stood before my father righteously declaring he’d only ever remain faithful to me, the one who gazed at me with loving eyes, saying he wished to grow old with only me—had been hiding a mistress right under our noses for a whole five years!”

“You didn’t know, did you? Since leaving the Luo family, I’ve been staying incognito at this inn. I found a chance to obtain that woman’s handkerchief—and the one in the room yesterday? I had Lianxin place it there. I wanted your true colors exposed before everyone!”

As Luo Xueqing spoke, she couldn’t help but grow emotional. Her right hand clutched at her chest, her face twisted in pain and hatred.

Lianxin rushed to support her, gently rubbing her back, tears welling in her eyes. “My lady, don’t get too upset. That treacherous scoundrel surnamed Fan is destined for hell! Just look—he’s already panicking and murdered his mistress in rage. He’s finished!”

Fan Youliang, still stunned, leapt up furiously. “Who says I killed her! Don’t you spread nonsense!”

“Who else could it be!” Lianxin glared at him with eyes like daggers and shouted, “You’re the only one who had something to hide! You were scared and guilty—so you resorted to something so vile…”

“I didn’t!” Fan Youliang was in full panic now. “Zhenniang has been with me for years! I—I would never do something so despicable! Clearly… Clearly, when she died, your lady and Chen Hao were both at the inn! Why pin the murder on me!”

Lianxin’s eyes widened as if she’d just heard something utterly absurd. “You shameless dog! Are you now accusing my lady of killing your mistress?! Why on earth would she do that? You owe your current status to our young master and madam! Now that she’s seen through you and has proof of your affair, all she needs to do is return and expose you. You’ll be kicked out of the Luo family in disgrace! Then all that wealth will go to the madam—and if she wants, she could marry ten or twenty husbands without issue! My lady must’ve been out of her mind to sacrifice herself for the likes of you!”

“You—!” Fan Youliang, snarling from Lianxin’s verbal assault, shifted the blame once more and glared hatefully at Chen Hao. “If it wasn’t your lady, then it was that Chen fellow! He’s had eyes for Xueqing since childhood! After I married her, he never saw me kindly. He must’ve found out about Zhenniang and killed her to frame me!”

“Yes! Yes! Someone must be scheming to destroy me!”

He was like a madman, suddenly pointing to Luo Xueqing. “If that’s your logic, then your lady has motive to kill, too!”

Lianxin saw that this despicable man was determined to implicate their lady and was about to angrily retort again. But Luo Xueqing gently shook her head at her, lowered the hand resting on her chest, and said with a mocking smile: “Fan Youliang, you’re truly vile now. If you had known it would come to this, why did you do it in the first place?”

“I didn’t kill anyone. I believe Chen Hao didn’t either.”

“But all of this… isn’t for us to say.”

As she spoke, she turned toward Magistrate Ding, bowed slowly, and said: “This humble woman believes in the yamen. I trust you will uncover the truth and find the real murderer.”

Magistrate Ding finally saw someone here who understood decorum—and even more importantly, someone who recognized the authority of the county office. He was deeply moved, straightened his back at once, and nodded solemnly: “Lady Luo, rest assured. We will not wrongly accuse any innocent person!”

Then he turned to the other county officers and said: “All of you, come over here. Let’s review the current status of the case.”