Chapter 34

Luo Xueqing let out a cold laugh. Though she had long given up on the man before her, she still couldn’t help but find the situation absurd. How blind must she have been back then to choose someone like him?

At that moment, Magistrate Ding stepped forward holding a small booklet, his tone icy: “Fan Youliang, this booklet was found inside Miss He’s lacquered case. It’s Master Luo’s medical record from the last two years of his life. I skimmed a few pages and saw notes written in red ink—comments like ‘Medication too potent, reduce by thirty percent,’ or ‘Dosage reduced too much, Master Luo’s condition too erratic, might arouse suspicion from the physician, increase dosage slightly.’ Why was Master Luo’s medical record in Miss He’s possession? And what are these annotated notes?”

Already on the edge of collapse, Fan Youliang stared at the booklet in Magistrate Ding’s hands, eyes bulging as though ready to burst. He blurted out, “How did that book show up? Didn’t I already tell Zhenniang to—”

Realizing what he’d said, he abruptly shut his mouth.

Yun Shuang didn’t even glance at him. Instead, she turned toward Xiao Die, who had collapsed to the ground with legs trembling. Her voice calm, she asked, “Xiao Die, you served Miss He directly. You must know about this booklet, don’t you?”

Xiao Die shuddered and immediately dropped to her knees, bowing her head frantically. “Please have mercy, my lord! I wasn’t involved, I swear! I tried to stop her. I had no choice…”

Yun Shuang cut her off, voice steady: “Answer my question first. If you cooperate with the authorities in solving this case, it will benefit you in the future.”

Startled, Xiao Die stopped bowing and began to speak, choking on her words: “I’ve been serving Miss since the days of the Baihua Pavilion. After Mr. Fan paid to redeem her, she was never content being a mere hidden concubine. One day after we arrived in Xiazhou, she secretly contacted someone from her old days at the Pavilion. She had them bring over some medicine. She never explained it to me directly, but I could tell—it was the kind of potent tonic that Pavilion patrons used for male virility. It only took a small amount to give a frail man boundless energy for a whole night. But it was incredibly damaging to the body. Even patrons at the Pavilion rarely dared use it.”

Potency medicine—for male virility.

To secretly feed a chronically ill man potent, body-damaging tonics without his knowledge—what a cruel and vicious scheme!

Fan Youliang looked as though he wanted to protest again, but Yang Yuanyi, thoroughly impatient, shot him a glare that silenced him on the spot.

“After that,” Xiao Die continued, voice trembling, “every time Mr. Fan visited, he brought along a booklet—yes, the very one Magistrate Ding is holding now. It was a copy he transcribed of Master Luo’s medical records. Every time, he and Miss would lock themselves away in their room to pore over it for hours. I didn’t know what they were discussing, but I could sense that it wasn’t anything good. I was terrified. I tried to privately warn Miss against doing something dangerous, but she only scolded and punished me. After that, I didn’t dare speak again…”

Her voice grew weaker as she pressed on. “Then, after more than a year, news came that Master Luo had passed away. Miss was thrilled. She said, ‘We’ve taken care of the old one—now just the young one remains. Soon, we’ll be free of this hidden, shameful life.”

“A few days later, Mr. Fan instructed Miss to travel to Shanyang County and burn that booklet in front of him. But she had prepared in advance. She secretly had someone make a second handwritten copy and burned the fake version in front of Mr. Fan’s eyes. She told me, ‘That’s called planning ahead. A man’s mouth is full of lies—I must hold something over Fan Youliang if I want to ensure he never betrays me.”

Fan Youliang’s eyes widened in disbelief, veins bulging with rage. But before he could speak, Xiao Die slammed her forehead to the ground and sobbed, “Everything I’ve said is true! Not a word of it is false! The handwriting in that booklet is Mr. Fan’s. You can compare it to his past writing!”

There was no need for comparison now. The truth stood exposed—undeniable, and complete.

Seeing that there was no longer any hope of redemption, Fan Youliang’s eyes nearly bulged with rage. In a fit of madness, he suddenly lunged toward Xiao Die. “You wretched woman—!”

But just as he took a step, Yan Fang—standing nearby—easily kicked him to the ground. His foot pressed firmly onto Fan Youliang’s back as he snarled, “The most wretched one here is clearly you. Say one more word and I swear I’ll rip your tongue out!”

Yan Fang had once commanded troops on the battlefield. His fierce gaze alone was enough to turn Fan Youliang pale with fear—he didn’t dare make another move.

Lianxin, still stunned, suddenly turned to Yun Shuang, her eyes brimming with tears. She stared at her and asked hoarsely, “Miss Yun… did you already know why my lady killed someone?”

Yun Shuang was silent for a moment before replying, “I only deduced that Lady Luo acted on impulse. And the only people capable of making her lose her reason like that would be her parents. Lady Luo is not someone who lashes out at the innocent. If she killed Miss He, it could only mean Miss He was involved in those filthy deeds.”

She glanced toward Xiao Die’s belongings. “That’s why I asked Constable Yang to search Miss He’s luggage more thoroughly—to see if anything else might surface.”

She had already guessed that someone with Miss He’s complex background might have left something behind—a safeguard, perhaps—hidden even from Fan Youliang. What she hadn’t expected was how damning that evidence would be—enough to seal Fan Youliang’s guilt beyond all doubt.

“So you knew my lady would do this…” Lianxin suddenly broke down, screaming, “She was forced! My dear master was murdered by those vile schemers, too! If my lady avenged her father, returned blow for blow—how could that be wrong? How could that be wrong?”

Her cries of “how could that be wrong” struck Yun Shuang deep in her chest.

But Yun Shuang, after a moment’s silence, replied with calm resolve, “Your lady was right to seek justice—but she chose the wrong method.”

The law does not bend for emotion. And yet the law also knows compassion.

Although Yun Shuang’s experience in crime-solving was not as extensive as that of seasoned officers, she had already come to understand this truth.

Lianxin blinked, looking as if she didn’t quite comprehend.

Luo Xueqing—the one at the center of it all—had kept a calm expression throughout. Now, she let out a low chuckle and glanced at Yun Shuang. “Miss Yun, if this had happened to you, could you truly hold back from taking vengeance with your own hands?”

Yun Shuang paused, her gaze falling thoughtfully. After a moment of solemn reflection, she answered, “If I were utterly alone, I wouldn’t hesitate—I’d strike down my enemy and turn myself in. But now, I can’t.”

Because she carried the weight of two small lives—two little ones were waiting for her back at Tongxin Hall.

Luo Xueqing’s expression froze.

Yun Shuang lifted her gaze, locking eyes with her, and spoke with quiet emphasis, word by word: “Lady Luo, you were so impulsive because you believed yourself utterly alone, with nothing left to hold you back. But you’re not alone. There are still people who care about you, who need you. You should treat yourself with more kindness.”

You should treat yourself with more kindness.

Her words struck a chord deep in Luo Xueqing’s chest. Her eyes suddenly grew hot. Who was this woman? How could she see right through her shell into the vulnerable core? Since her father’s death, the fear, the loneliness, the self-abandonment—Yun Shuang had seen them all, without a word from her.

While Yun Shuang spoke, Jiang Xiao kept his eyes fixed on her. In that moment, his dark gaze flickered. This woman—her shoulders were so slender. And yet, it was as if she alone could hold up an entire sky.

Luo Xueqing quickly shut her eyes, overwhelmed, unable to find her voice.

Even Yan Fang, despite his brash and straightforward nature, let out a sigh full of emotion. Seeing the case nearing its conclusion, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Good heavens… looks like Lady Luo and that scum Fan won’t escape prison after all. What’ll happen to the Luo family now? Who’ll inherit it?”

That question directly concerned Xiazhou’s military outpost—specifically, whether their grain stores would remain full. And the issue of staying well-fed was no small matter.