The journey from Liaocheng to Anning County and back was no more than a two-day trip.
Zhong Li only remembered going to Nanshan with Lu Wuxie to see Ge Meng. After a nap, Magistrate Liu returned.
At that moment, in the main hall of the yamen, Zhong Li looked at the secret letter brought back by Magistrate Liu, her expression grave.
"How is Lord Zhong?" Magistrate Liu asked.
Zhong Li remained silent, but stood up and walked towards the autopsy room.
Everyone exchanged glances. Only Lu Wuxie, lifting the hem of his robe, followed her into the room.
About an hour later, when Zhong Li emerged, she said to Magistrate Liu, "Arrest them."
"Arrest who?" Magistrate Liu was taken aback.
Zhong Li replied, "Lin Xiuxiu. Before that, Magistrate Liu, you should also thoroughly search her room. You might still find crucial physical evidence."
Lin Xiuxiu stood in the courtroom. Outside, a crowd of Anning County residents had gathered, including all the suspects in the Hu family case.
Upon seeing that the murderer was a woman, before the court session even began, murmurs erupted.
Lin Xiuxiu, seeing this, took advantage of Zhong Li's absence to loudly declare, "Absurd! Everyone, judge for yourselves. The yamen has arrested me, accusing me of killing Madam Hu. Everyone knows Madam Hu died naked. What happened is clear to everyone. I don't have that ability, so how could I have killed her?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Huang San, who had been beaten by Lu Wuxie to the point of being unable to speak, seized the opportunity to fan the flames. "That's right! They say the Assistant Minister of Dali Temple is a divine being in the Southern Yue Kingdom. Now, unable to solve Madam Hu's case, she's targeting my wife. It's as if the people in the imperial court are treating us commoners like fools!"
"Exactly!"
"Indeed! Madam Hu was promiscuous in life. We all know how she died. How could it be related to the wife of the Huang family?"
"That's right!"
The murmurs of the crowd grew increasingly chaotic.
Huang San's eyes darted, and a sense of revenge coursed through his body. "Then what are you all waiting for? With such a yamen, what's wrong with rebelling against it?"
With that, Huang San, pulling a wooden stick from somewhere, raised it at the constables blocking them outside the hall.
With a resounding "clang," the previously noisy crowd fell completely silent. They instinctively looked towards the source of the sound, only to see Zhong Li sitting in the high seat, holding a gavel.
"It seems everyone is unhappy with me arresting Lin Xiuxiu," Zhong Li said, her tone serious, her expression stern. Despite being a woman, her imposing aura made even many men tremble.
Huang San blinked a few times, just about to speak, when he felt a killing intent approaching.
He froze and followed the feeling, only to see Lu Wuxie standing opposite him, a smile on his lips, but his eyes reminded Huang San of the beating he had received.
"I..."
"Hmm?" Lu Wuxie's tone rose.
Huang San shivered, averted his gaze, and mumbled, "After all, she is my wife. I always feel..."
"Huang San!" Zhong Li smiled and interrupted him, saying, "Don't forget that you are also one of the suspects. Even if it's your wife being arrested, if I haven't finished this case, you are still a suspect. Understand?"
Huang San swallowed hard.
Zhong Li continued, "Since you, and indeed everyone, believe Lin Xiuxiu could not have committed the crime, then I will give you a possibility. If I err in my judgment, I will personally resign from my post as Assistant Minister of Dali Temple upon returning to Jincheng. If I am correct, I also ask that no one make things difficult for each other."
"Agreed!"
As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, someone in the crowd responded.
The commoners looked at each other. A few bolder ones said, "Then we will listen to Lord Zhong's trial with peace of mind. We will certainly not cause trouble during this time."
Zhong Li gave the few villagers a grateful smile. After Magistrate Liu handed over all the case files and evidence to her, with a bang of the gavel, Lin Xiuxiu was forcibly pressed to the ground.
"Lin Xiuxiu, do you know... your crime?" Zhong Li looked at Lin Xiuxiu, deliberately emphasizing the last two words, her implication clear.
Lin Xiuxiu sneered, "Lord Zhong, you've only investigated for two days, and you're already so certain I'm the killer. Do you have any evidence?"
"Do you truly want it?" Zhong Li asked again.
Lin Xiuxiu puffed out her chest. She was certain Zhong Li didn't have the boldness she imagined.
Zhong Li, with a smile, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. "If that's the case, let me ask you, do you know a woman named Nie Liuniang... no, to be precise, a woman?"
Lin Xiuxiu's body visibly stiffened.
Zhong Li continued, "Nie Liuniang is from Suqing County. Twenty-one years ago, during the internal strife in the Southern Yue Kingdom, the areas north of Suqing County were ravaged by famine. Nie Liuniang was sold by her husband in the black market like livestock.
She didn't want to die. When her husband was transacting with someone, she seized the opportunity to flee towards Jincheng. During that time, to survive, she sold herself to make a living. She was close to reaching Jincheng.
However, the war had just stabilized, and Jincheng was heavily guarded. Refugees, in particular, were not allowed in. Helpless, she could only settle in the slum southwest of Jincheng. It was then that she discovered she was pregnant."
As Zhong Li spoke, Lin Xiuxiu's gaze began to drift.
"She once thought of aborting the child. After all, she was too poor to raise herself, and a child born would only become food on someone's table.
She drank soup medicine several times, but the child was resilient. She could only give birth. In the ninth year of Anhe, she had a 'daughter'!"
Zhong Li emphasized these two words. Lu Wuxie understood, but the surrounding commoners grew increasingly confused. How could this woman be related to the Hu family case?
Zhong Li's gaze swept across the crowd, she smiled and asked Lin Xiuxiu, "Do you still want me to continue?"
Lin Xiuxiu closed her eyes, seemingly still trying to hold on.
Zhong Li no longer asked and continued, "Initially, this little girl was very good, cute, and intelligent. Until one time, when she was playing with a neighbor's little girl, her pants became wet for no reason. The neighbors were puzzled.
Her mother discovered her secret. Ashamed to face others and afraid of questions, she fled to Liaocheng with her child overnight.
Liaocheng was large, but no matter how large it was, there was no place for her and her daughter to settle. To survive, Nie Liuniang went to a household to take care of a pregnant woman surnamed Hu."
As Zhong Li said this, Gu Qian reacted, staring at Lin Xiuxiu with disbelief.
Although he didn't yet know how much Lin Xiuxiu was involved in Madam Hu's death, he had a vague feeling that Lin Xiuxiu in front of him was hiding an earth-shattering secret.
"Initially, Madam Hu was fine, focusing on her pregnancy. However, after she and Nie Liuniang became familiar and started confiding in each other, things changed.
Already pregnant and alone at home, Madam Hu was prone to emotional fluctuations and overthinking. She felt bored at home and wanted to find some entertainment.
Nie Liuniang saw that the Gu family had some money and developed wicked intentions. She taught Madam Hu to gamble. During this time, she could take kickbacks. As Madam Hu became addicted, she gambled more and more recklessly, even selling her own family's school to fund it."
Upon hearing this, Gu Qian began to sway. He felt he had misjudged people, never imagining that everything behind the scenes was meticulously planned by someone.