There is a god in the sky

Chapter 86 The Arson Case at the Yu Mansion (Part 7)

Unexpectedly, that very night, the constables lying in ambush at the Yu residence caught Madam Yu having a secret rendezvous with a man.

Judge Yan hurriedly put on his official robes and went over, only to find that the bound adulterer was actually the steward of the Yu family.

When the news reached Xiao Ji's ears, even he found it unbelievable.

That was fast! They caught us red-handed so easily!

Judge Yan sent someone to invite Xiao Ji, his words filled with admiration.

"Lord Xiao is truly a prophet! Your direction in investigating the case was indeed correct. It's fortunate that we listened to your guidance and sent yamen runners to ambush inside and outside the Yu residence. As a result, we have made some progress!"

Xiao Ji reminded him, "But this only proves that Madam Yu had an affair, not that they killed Lord Yu."

"Lord Xiao doesn't understand. That steward is Madam Yu's personal attendant, and he has long hated Lord Yu to the bone."

The steward of the Yu household also confessed that the household had purchased two barrels of tung oil last month, on the orders of the steward.

Judge Yan paced back and forth excitedly.

He had never felt such a strong sense of accomplishment.

In the past, it was considered fast for him to solve such cases within a month.

It's only been a few days!

And this was under the premise that someone deliberately gave false testimony. Fortunately, he did not immediately sentence Miss Shen.

He hurriedly ordered his men to arrest Madam Yu and the steward and bring them to the government office for questioning.

Xiao Ji couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Perhaps, just like the case at the Wu residence last time, it went too smoothly, making him feel like it was unreal.

But he followed the case from beginning to end and hasn't found anything unusual so far; perhaps he's just being paranoid.

He sat in the back hall listening as usual. This time, not only was Shen Lan there, but Prefect Song also came.

Prefect Song glanced at Shen Lan and said to Xiao Ji, "You are young and do not understand the dangers of officialdom. Especially after you arrive in the capital, you must keep a close eye on the servants in your household, otherwise you will easily be implicated."

Xiao Ji replied, "Uncle is right. I will be more vigilant in the future."

Judge Yan's voice drifted into the back hall, "Are those Wang Shi and Steward Zhong kneeling below?"

Madam Yu remained silent, but Steward Zhong exclaimed excitedly, "Your Excellency is wise! This old servant and Madam are absolutely innocent!"

"Oh? Then why did you two meet secretly late at night?"

Why would Mrs. Yu choose to speak with the housekeeper in the middle of the night when she has many opportunities to see him at home?

Shen Lan thought to herself: There must be some little secret between these two.

But like Xiao Ji, she thought these were insufficient evidence to prove the murder of Yu Yuanwang and the others.

Butler Zhong tried his best to explain, but in the end he couldn't come up with a coherent explanation.

Finally, he only said that he went to his wife to discuss the funeral arrangements.

A funeral is certainly a big event, but it is also a serious matter, and there is absolutely no need to hide it from others or discuss it late at night.

Moreover, Lord Yu has two sons and two daughters; such an important matter cannot be discussed without his children and a steward.

"Snapped"

Judge Yan stopped Steward Zhong's explanation and questioned, "Then how do you explain the tung oil?"

"The second young master of the family is about to get married, so this old servant bought tung oil and prepared to renovate the entire mansion."

"But the tung oil you bought became Lord Yu's death warrant. Are you going to say that the murderer stole the tung oil you bought?"

How could the housekeeper know what was going on?

"The tung oil has always been stored in the warehouse. I don't know when it was lost."

Judge Yan sneered, "I can tell you're just feeling guilty! Now confess the truth!"

The butler kowtowed until his forehead bled, crying out that he was innocent.

"Then how do you explain instigating Chun-chae to give false testimony?"

Judge Yan turned his attention to Madam Yu, asking, "Wasn't it Madam Yu who took Chun Cai's family away?"

Madam Yu nodded slightly. "It's me."

She said calmly, "That night, the gatekeeper said that a girl would come to see the master, and the master asked him to take her to Tingxiang Garden."

I thought to myself, who knows which scoundrel he came from, I can't be bothered to care.

But later, a fire broke out at Tingxiang Garden, and the master was burned to death. So I asked Chuncai to give the gatekeeper a few instructions.

"With just these few words, you almost ruined a virtuous young woman's life!"

Madam Yu said with a contemptuous look, "She's nothing but a woman who uses her looks to please men. When she dies, she'll be buried with my master."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lan gave a bitter smile.

She did have some faults; at the very least, she made Madam Yu mistakenly believe that she was a frivolous woman trying to seduce Lord Yu.

Where are Chuncai's family?

"On the estate that was part of my dowry," Madam Yu said without hiding anything.

But Judge Yan had lost trust in her because of her many misdeeds.

Judge Yan planned to use torture and sent someone to the back hall to consult Prefect Song.

Prefect Song posed the question to Xiao Ji, "What does my nephew think? Should torture be used?"

Xiao Ji disagreed, "Butler Zhong is too old and probably can't take a beating. After all, Madam Yu's status is not ordinary."

"But this case is about to be solved, and they won't confess without torture," Prefect Song said with a headache.

Under his rule, a sixth-rank official died, and he will not pass his performance evaluation at the end of this year.

However, if the case can be solved quickly, the Ministry of Personnel might be able to handle it leniently.

Xiao Ji shook his head and said, "Lord Yan has not yet found out the identity of the female corpse, and she had given birth to a child. What about that child? There are still many mysteries to be solved."

Prefect Song had no choice but to give up and ordered Magistrate Yan to detain the two men until other evidence was found before conducting a trial.

Shen Lan can leave now.

Judge Yan personally escorted them out of the yamen and expressed his apologies to Shen Lan.

“I am deeply sorry for wronging Miss Shen. This is just a small token of my apology as compensation.” Magistrate Yan handed Shen Lan a box.

Shen Lan did not answer, "You flatter me, sir. You were just following the rules. It was my inappropriate behavior that gave the other party the opportunity."

Judge Yan stuffed the things into her hands.

Xiao Ji pressed Shen Lan's hand and said, "Since it's a small token of Lord Yan's kindness, you should accept it."

Shen Lan also contributed to this case, and she deserves this small token of gratitude.

When they returned to the guest courtyard of the Song residence, Xuan'er ran out quickly and clung tightly to Shen Lan.

With a sob in her voice, she said, "My sister is finally back! Xuan'er is so useless!"

Shen Lan stroked the girl's hair and teased, "Xuan'er, have you lost weight? Did you lose weight because you missed me?"

Xuan'er nodded vigorously.

These past few days, everyone else has been helping, but she can't do anything. Lan Xuan'er has once again experienced a sense of powerlessness.

The last time was when her father sold her to Liu Zhuangtou.

Shen Lan asked her with a smile, "Did you prepare a brazier and pomelo water for me?"

"Yes, everything is ready. Sister, go and get rid of the bad luck."

Shen Lan led her by the hand across the brazier, then used pomelo leaves dipped in water to clean her entire body before entering the house.

The servants of the Song family brought food and new clothes, which were no longer the style of the maids.

It seems that Xiao Ji's actions these past few days have convinced the people in the Song household that she is no ordinary maid.

She felt somewhat guilty, as if she had tarnished Xiao Ji's reputation.

“Lord Xiao, although Jiangzhou is far from Bianjing, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. I should write a letter to Miss Zhao to explain the whole story, so as not to cause her any misunderstanding.”