Chapter 28

Xiao Die looked panicked and uneasy as she said, “This morning, Mr. Fan sent a message through someone, saying he would come by soon and had something very important to discuss with my lady. Since returning to Shanyang County, my lady hadn’t seen Mr. Fan yet, so upon receiving the message, she was delighted and immediately asked me to draw water for her bath. But before she even finished bathing, Mr. Fan arrived. She quickly told me to leave and specifically instructed me not to disturb them during his visit. I figured it was a good time to go retrieve the jewelry she had commissioned at the silver shop a few days ago, but when I returned to the inn, I heard the guests in the main hall saying something terrible had happened on the third floor…”

As she spoke, Yun Shuang glanced toward Fan Youliang, standing not far away. Seeing his darkened expression but no denial, she knew the maid’s words were true. She continued, “So your lady told you to leave… and you just left? Didn’t it occur to you she might call for you halfway through?”

Many wealthy households kept servants waiting outside the rooms when their masters were entertaining guests—ready at a moment’s notice.

“No, Mr. Fan never allows me to wait at the door,” Xiao Die quickly shook her head. “He says… says it draws too much attention. So whenever Mr. Fan visits Madam, I just find someplace else to wait and return by estimating the time.”

Hmm. So Fan Youliang was somewhat cautious.

Yun Shuang glanced at him again and asked, “From what you said earlier, your lady isn’t from Shanyang County?”

“That’s right. She’s from Huiluo County in Yongzhou. Five years ago, Mr. Fan redeemed her from Baihua Pavilion, and she’s been with him ever since. When Mr. Fan moved to Shanyang with Lord Luo’s household, she followed him to Xiazhou. However, she didn’t live in Shanyang; she stayed in neighboring Xinxing County. Mr. Fan would sometimes visit her there, but more often, he’d have her come to him.”

Before Xiao Die finished speaking, the expressions of everyone from the yamen and the Luo family changed dramatically.

Chen Hao, who had been holding back, finally couldn’t help himself and roared, “Fan Youliang! You scoundrel! You betrayed Xueqing back in Yongzhou! And even after that, you still dared to marry her!”

Fan Youliang had completely dropped the façade now. His face hardened as he sneered, “If you couldn’t win Xueqing’s heart, how is that my fault?”

“Fan Youliang!” Chen Hao looked like a wounded beast, struck where it hurt most. All he could do was let out a cry of anguish.

Even Yun Shuang’s expression turned cold. She pressed on, “So when did your lady arrive in Shanyang this time?”

“She arrived six days ago… and who would’ve thought—on that very day, Lady Luo went missing. Since then, Mr. Fan had not dared to visit her and kept urging her to return to Xinxing County. But she refused—she insisted on staying.”

The expressions around them grew subtly tense. That much of a coincidence? She arrived on the very day Lady Luo disappeared?

Yun Shuang’s face remained composed. She continued, “Your lady kept a cat, yes? Do you know where it is now?”

Xiao Die shook her head, biting her lip. “I don’t know. When I entered the room earlier, I couldn’t find Jinyin; that’s the cat’s name…”

“I saw it knocked over your lady’s powder box on the dressing table. Is it always that mischievous?”

“Jinyin is still young—right in its most playful stage. It’s toppled some of her belongings before, but it never runs off on its own. If it did this time, it must’ve been frightened.”

Yun Shuang nodded.

Yang Yuanyi couldn’t help himself. “Miss Yun, you seem awfully concerned about that cat. But what does it have to do with the case?”

“I don’t know if it does,” Yun Shuang replied calmly. “But since it showed up at the scene, it’s worth investigating.”

Magistrate Ding, who hadn’t had a chance to speak yet, grunted inwardly and was about to seize the moment to dismiss her, when Yang Yuanyi quickly nodded enthusiastically, “Miss Yun is right! Absolutely right. We have to get to the bottom of it!”

Magistrate Ding: “…” That boy’s a complete lost cause.

Yun Shuang then turned to Fan Youliang. “Mr. Fan, people at the inn said they heard you arguing with the deceased after you arrived. What were you arguing about?”

Fan Youliang’s brows furrowed. But seeing that both Magistrate Ding and General Jiang were letting the woman question freely, he could only answer in a low voice, “What else could we argue about? I’ve told her countless times—she must never reveal herself to anyone. If I could redeem her from Baihua Pavilion, I could just as easily send her back there! But that idiot not only got discovered, someone even got hold of one of her intimate handkerchiefs—just to frame me! If she’d listened to me and returned to Xinxing County early on, none of this would’ve happened! Stupid is as stupid does!”

Yun Shuang tugged at the corner of her mouth. “So you’re saying the handkerchief found yesterday in Lady Luo’s room was planted by someone to frame you?”

“What else could it be!” Fan Youliang’s neck veins bulged with anger. “I’ve always been careful—never slipped up in front of that father and daughter all these years! You think I’m that stupid?! Bringing that woman’s handkerchief home and leaving it on the bed I share with Xueqing?”

“Oh?” Yun Shuang sneered. “The ever-cautious Mr. Fan somehow ended up at a coffin shop the day before yesterday, inquiring about making a coffin?”

Fan Youliang was so stunned by her comeback that he nearly choked. Gritting his teeth, he growled, “I told you—it was a misunderstanding. Just a misunderstanding!”

Yun Shuang nodded along mildly. “You merely thought Lady Luo had been gone so long she was never coming back. And you were just overwhelmed with glee, so you asked about it without meaning anything by it, isn’t that right?”

Fan Youliang: “!!!”

Were it not for Magistrate Ding and General Jiang standing nearby, he might’ve lashed out physically.

Seeing she was about to send him into apoplexy, Yun Shuang mercifully returned to the main point. “Since you believe the handkerchief was planted to frame you, surely you already have suspects in mind?”

“Of course!” Fan Youliang clenched his fists, spitting out each name as if biting down on them. “If anyone would stoop this low to ruin me—it has to be either Chen Hao or Lianxin! No one else in this world hates me enough to want me burning in hell!”

Yun Shuang suddenly chuckled softly. “Mr. Fan… you seem to have forgotten someone.”

Fan Youliang froze.

The others looked at Yun Shuang, puzzled.

If anyone knew who Fan Youliang’s enemies were, it should be him. Did she know him better than he knew himself?