Chapter 33

Magistrate Ding was thoroughly bewildered by the current situation. Wait a minute, so who exactly was the killer?

Yun Shuang glanced at Chen Hao and said gently, “Mr. Chen, I don’t doubt your intentions—but facts are facts. And doing this won’t bring Lady Luo any peace. When you went upstairs, you must have seen Lady Luo hastily fleeing the scene. At that moment, you likely sensed that she was somehow involved.”

Chen Hao’s body trembled slightly, but his voice remained hoarse: “You weren’t even there when that woman was killed! How can you be so sure you’re right…”

“Because my conclusions are based on evidence.” Yun Shuang’s voice was calm. “There were ten claw marks on Miss He’s neck from her own struggle. Some of them were so deep they broke the skin. That tells us the killer didn’t strangle her quickly—it took a significant amount of time.
And Mr. Chen…”

She pressed her lips together briefly. “You’re strong and trained in martial arts. If you had done it, Miss He wouldn’t have had time to struggle so long.”

Upon hearing this, forensic expert Sun stepped forward. “This lady speaks the truth. The wounds on the victim’s neck clearly indicate a period of struggle before death. That suggests the killer didn’t have much strength and needed time to complete the act.”

Chen Hao stood frozen, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

Suddenly, a soft chuckle rang out behind him. Luo Xueqing slowly walked forward, lifting her head ever so slightly. Her clear, unwavering eyes locked onto Yun Shuang’s. Then, she raised her hand and said, “Thank you, Miss Yun, for finding my peace lock. When you suddenly left earlier, I suspected you had gone to retrieve it.”

Her words left no doubt: she was confessing.

Chen Hao cried out in anguish, “Xueqing!”

Yun Shuang held her gaze quietly for a moment before sighing. “I’m sorry, Lady Luo. This peace lock is a key piece of evidence in the case—I can’t return it to you.”

Luo Xueqing’s expression flickered with something distant, but she withdrew her hand and smiled faintly. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want it to follow me wherever I go next. I trust the officials will keep it safe for me…”

“My lady! Don’t be like this!” Finally snapping out of her daze, Lianxin threw herself at Luo Xueqing, sobbing, “There must be some misunderstanding. Just days ago, you said once we drove out that scoundrel Fan Youliang, we’d go to the beautiful spring-like land of Yunzhou for ten or fifteen days—maybe even find a new suitor. How could you have killed someone?”

Luo Xueqing didn’t know how to answer her—she merely lowered her gaze.

Just then, Yang Yuanyi suddenly burst into view, his face brimming with joy, as if he lived in a world entirely separate from the heavy atmosphere around him. In his hand was a finely carved lacquered shell inlaid case. “Miss Yun, I found it! I found it!” he shouted.

Nearby, Xiao Die’s face changed as soon as she saw what Yang Yuanyi was holding. “Where… where did you find that box? And how did you know where the key was?!”

All eyes turned to the box in Yang Yuanyi’s hand, which bore a small, delicately made lock—already opened.

After handing the box to Yun Shuang, Yang Yuanyi turned with great pride and declared, “What’s so difficult about that? Finding evidence is basic protocol for a constable. If it’s in the room, it won’t escape my eyes. But I’ll admit, your mistress hid it really well. She wrapped it tightly within her clothes—it took me a good while to dig it out. And as for unlocking it…”

He chuckled mischievously and raised a silver needle. “I, Yang Yuanyi, have roamed the jianghu for years. Of course, I have a few special tricks up my sleeve!”

Showboating a lockpicking trick—really?

Everyone looked speechless, though curiosity about what the box contained was now palpable.

Miss He had gone to such lengths to hide and lock this box—there was no doubt a major secret lay within.

As they spoke, Yun Shuang had already opened it and carefully inspected the contents. She then casually passed the box to Magistrate Ding, who had wandered over in curiosity. Turning to Luo Xueqing, she said, “Lady Luo, as I mentioned earlier, this killing was done impulsively. The reason you suddenly had murderous thoughts was because you heard something that completely shattered your state of mind, didn’t you?”

“Yesterday, while at the Luo residence, I overheard Steward Li say that in the last two years of his life, Master Luo seemed to grow more spirited, and his health improved. Then, out of nowhere, his body suddenly deteriorated and became incurable. That’s when I grew suspicious—Master Luo’s death may not have been due to illness alone; it may have involved human interference.”

Everyone was shocked. Even Chen Hao and Lianxin, who had been glaring at Yun Shuang moments ago, showed expressions of disbelief. Only Fan Youliang suddenly turned pale. His lips trembled as he tried to speak. “You… you’re spouting nonsense! My foster father worked himself to the bone doing business when he was young—that’s how he ended up with all those health problems. He passed away because of them! Everyone who knew him knows this…”

“Yes…” Luo Xueqing suddenly let out a low laugh. But it was a hollow, chilling sound, like something summoned from the underworld itself—it sent a shiver of cold down everyone’s spine. “Everyone said my father died of long-standing illness. So I never had any doubt. Never imagined his death was orchestrated by the very man I once chose to share my bed with, until last night, when I was strolling in the back courtyard of the inn and happened to cross paths with He Zhenzhen and her servant, out for a breath of air too. As I’ve done these past few days, I instinctively hid. Perhaps thinking the courtyard was empty, the two began speaking about my father’s death. He Zhenzhen kept complaining about Fan Youliang’s cowardice and lack of conscience. She said that just because his ‘wife’ had gone missing, he didn’t dare meet her. She even said… wasn’t my disappearance a good thing? It saved them the trouble of acting themselves. Too bad she went to such lengths to have that medicine brought over from Yongzhou. She said, although the medicine wasn’t the same as the one that killed my father, it was also from Yongzhou. Our family’s hometown. My father and I—both killed by drugs originating from that place. In a twisted way, she said it was fate.”

The crowd had already suspected, thanks to Yun Shuang’s deductions, that Master Luo’s death was connected to that deceitful couple. But no one had imagined the full extent of their cruelty.

Their stares—piercing and sharp—fell on Fan Youliang like blades.

“L-lies! Complete lies!” Fan Youliang’s face was ashen, his voice trembling with fury. “That’s just your word against mine! Who knows if you’re not just angry about being punished and trying to drag me down with you! Luo Xueqing, we were married once. I never imagined your heart could be this cruel!”