Ma Su finally relented after standing in the main hall for a good while. “I joined the Jia household after Wang Gui found me.”
He cast a glance at Wang Gui, a hint of contempt in his eyes, and said, “I doubt Jia Kun ever imagined that he wasn't the only one playing him for a fool. The true ambition belonged to Steward Wang, who had been by his side for nearly half his life.”
“How did you instigate Jia Kun to kill Xie Xiaoyun?” Magistrate Zhang frowned and asked.
Ma Su seemed to have a long story to tell, so he sat cross-legged on the hall floor, a sneer on his face. “Xie Xiaoyun, huh?”
“She was a slut, you know? A slut who couldn’t bear to be lonely?” His eyes darted around for a moment before he finally found the right word to describe her.
Simultaneously, a hushed murmur rippled through the crowd around him.
“Over a year ago, Steward Wang of the Jia family found me and said he had a deal for me, which was to impersonate Qiao Fu, as you now know,” Ma Su narrowed his eyes, recalling the events.
“Who doesn’t know the Jia family’s name? The wealthiest in Anding County! How much silver must they have? Besides, Jia Kun had one foot in the grave already. Wealth is something you can’t take with you when you die. So, for the sake of those poor people, I agreed.”
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li’s eyes flickered with disdain.
Even now, Ma Su was making excuses for his wrongdoings. If all heroes were like this, there would hardly be any good people in the entire Southern Yue Kingdom.
“Originally, I just wanted to use Qiao Fu’s identity to trick Jia Kun out of some money. Who would have thought… some people are never satisfied, wanting all of someone’s fortune.” Ma Su’s gaze, as he spoke, shifted subtly towards Steward Wang.
Wang Gui understood his implication. Since the façade had been torn down, whether he cowered or stood his ground, the outcome was prison. He decided to break his silence. Pointing at Ma Su, he retorted, “Well said, ‘Good Fellow Ma.’ You’re quite clever, trying to wash yourself clean. I’m telling you, that’s impossible!”
He looked up at Lu Wu Xie and said, “Young Master, this old servant was greedy. After all, I’ve served Master for so many years, and I’ve put in a lot of effort. I even thought that if Master had no heirs in his later years, perhaps the successor to the Jia family… but…”
Steward Wang then glared coldly at Ma Su. “But this old servant never thought of laying a hand on the Madam, let alone allowing Master to commit such a heinous act as killing his wife!”
“Wang Gui, stop slandering me!” Ma Su also grew agitated, flipping over and glaring at Steward Wang.
If not for the iron shackles hanging from him, Zhong Li felt that with Ma Su’s temper, he would have already gotten into a brawl with Steward Wang.
“You old man, if you wanted to get involved with Xie Xiaoyun, you’d need the ability, wouldn’t you?” Ma Su retorted at Steward Wang, his gaze lingering pointedly.
Steward Wang’s face flushed with shame, and he instinctively flinched backward.
“Hmph!” Ma Su, feeling victorious, snorted and turned to Lu Wu Xie, continuing, “After I agreed to Wang Gui’s proposition, I started planning how to trick money out of Jia Kun.
Jia Kun was, after all, a businessman. He was very wary of me at first, especially regarding matters in the shops. At most, I was allowed to do odd jobs; I couldn’t get involved in any major affairs or key aspects.”
As Ma Su spoke, his eyes were filled with resentment. “I knew this wouldn’t work, so…”
He swallowed a few times, organizing his thoughts before continuing, “So, Wang Gui and I conspired. We learned that in October of the twenty-sixth year of An He, Jia Kun was going to Jin City to negotiate a deal. That deal was very important to the Jia family. We set up an ambush on the road from Anding County to Jin City, causing his business trip to end in failure due to an accident.”
“And Jia Kun was injured in that ambush you set up?” Zhong Li, recalling the circular scars on Jia Kun’s shoulders, couldn’t help but ask.
Ma Su nodded. “Yes, Jia Kun was quite seriously injured that time, confined to bed for over a month to recover.”
“And then?” Zhong Li’s gaze deepened as she asked.
Ma Su glanced at the ledger on Magistrate Zhang’s desk. “Since the authorities have found this, everyone present should understand that since more than a year ago, these frequent ‘unlucky’ incidents happening in the Jia family were basically things Wang Gui and I colluded to do.
From minor trades to… a human life!”
Upon hearing the mention of a human life, the surrounding people instantly became tense, especially Magistrate Zhang, who looked astonished.
Zhong Li gazed calmly at Ma Su. “A human life? When you say a human life, are you referring to Old Madam Jia?”
As she spoke, everyone’s eyes shifted between Zhong Li and Ma Su with disbelief. On one hand, they wondered how Zhong Li knew; on the other, they were even more curious as to when the death of Old Madam Jia became connected to Ma Su.
Zhong Li ignored the scrutiny and asked, “I have one thing that is bothering me. I hope ‘Good Fellow Ma’ can clarify it for me.”
Hearing himself addressed that way, Ma Su felt a little pleased and nodded, signaling Zhong Li to proceed.
“Jia Kun, as the wealthiest man in Anding County, had experienced many struggles in the business world. Even with your underhanded tactics, if he had investigated thoroughly, he might have uncovered some clues. Since it led to the path of killing his wife and family, could the problem lie with Xie Xiaoyun…”
“Yes, it was Xie Xiaoyun. Otherwise, why would I call her a slut?”
Ma Su contemptuously interrupted Zhong Li halfway through her analysis.
“Do you know? Jia Kun didn’t believe in ghosts or gods,” Ma Su said. “But in his heart, Xie Xiaoyun was his god.”
Hearing this, Zhong Li remembered the courtyard where Xie Xiaoyun resided, and the gardenias blooming there. “Were the gardenias in Xie Xiaoyun’s courtyard planted by Jia Kun?”
“Yes!” Ma Su nodded. “Jia Kun spared no expense when he married Xie Xiaoyun, after all, she was a woman destined for the royal family.”
As he spoke, he looked towards Lu Wu Xie.
Lu Wu Xie, however, gave him an expression that suggested it had nothing to do with him, leaving Ma Su feeling quite awkward.
Ma Su cleared his throat and continued, “Xie Xiaoyun was indeed very beautiful. As far as I know, the first time Jia Kun saw her, he was deeply captivated. He even divorced his wife, who had endured hardship with him for nearly half his life and was pregnant, just to give Xie Xiaoyun the status of the main wife.”
“Jia Kun’s original wife was pregnant? Doesn’t the Jia family’s lineage matter?” Zhong Li was quite surprised by Ma Su’s words.
Ma Su scoffed. “The Jia family’s lineage is indeed important, but for Jia Kun, it was crucial which woman bore his children. Especially since Jia Kun’s infatuation with Xie Xiaoyun had reached a point of madness; he wouldn’t even listen to the Old Madam Jia’s objections. What could the others possibly matter?”
Zhong Li remained silent. She could imagine the plight of a woman who had spent half her life with her husband, only to be driven out of the mansion while pregnant and leave in despair. In that era, being divorced meant losing everything.
“Jia Kun was wealthy, and marrying Xie Xiaoyun was a suitable match. However, when a woman doesn’t value money, even the best man in front of her becomes empty talk,” Ma Su continued.
“What do you mean?” Zhong Li asked.
“Jia Kun had one foot in the grave, his body was certainly… not strong. Especially a woman who, on her wedding night, was deflowered but didn’t taste sweetness…”
A smile played on Ma Su’s lips as he looked back at Zhong Li with a knowing gaze.