Kong Xiang exclaimed in surprise, "How could Miss Hongyu be wrong after confirming it? Besides, the body has been eaten by sharks, how could he possibly tell the difference?"

“Kang’er’s thighs are longer than his calves, but this baby’s calves are longer than his thighs. Clearly, this is not my son Kang’er.”

As Yan Wang spoke, he entered the hall, stood before Prime Minister Kong, bowed his head, and pleaded, "Prime Minister, in this case, Zhang Hongyu intentionally mistook the child for someone else. She must have hidden Kang'er. I urge the Prime Minister to arrest Hongyu and interrogate her as soon as possible."

Kong Xiang ignored Yan Wang and still firmly believed in his deduction: besides Hong Yu, there were only Chen Yu and her servant by the river. How could the murderer be Hong Yu?

Furthermore, the servants he arranged in Chengyuan said that the villains were one woman and two men, and the guards at the west gate also confirmed this. How could they be wrong?

He stood up and walked up to Chen Yu, angrily demanding, "Tell me! Where did you hide Kang'er?"

Chen Yu felt flustered and didn't know how to deal with it, so she could only shake her head and deny it.

Kong Xiang walked to the door and ordered, "Search Mu Chenyu's residence, and then send out constables from the capital and various localities to track down Zhao Kang'er's whereabouts. If you find the villains who kidnapped Zhao Kang'er, execute them on the spot."

Shen Yu was shocked. Oh no! Had she made things worse? She had only intended to help Kang'er escape, but Cuiwei had become the kidnapper. Now she could only hope that Cuiwei could evade the authorities and that Hongyu could find Emerald to prove that the real culprit was someone else.

------

Noon.

Chen Yu lay in the grass nest, her eyes closed in thought. If she couldn't find the jade, wouldn't she be unable to escape punishment?

Shen Lan, in the opposite cell, was secretly angry and muttered in a low voice, "If you tell the truth, we can leave here."

Shen Yu immediately shook her head in denial. She was now in a dilemma. If she revealed Kang'er's whereabouts, Cuiwei would most likely be executed on the spot.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the cell. Chen Yu propped herself up and peeked out. Rong Momo had arrived.

Rong Momo squatted outside the cell, handed in the food, and whispered, "Miss, Emerald has been kidnapped. Miss Hongyu found her in the woods outside the east city by following the marks Emerald left behind, but unfortunately, she is already dead!"

Is Jade dead?

Shen Yu's heart skipped a beat, her arms went limp, and she collapsed onto the grass. Thinking it was a kidnapping orchestrated by Hong Yu herself, she quickly asked Rong Mama, "Hong Yu must have had other methods. Are there any other witnesses?"

Rong Momo shook her head with a stern face, then quickly comforted Chen Yu, "Miss, don't worry. Miss Hongyu said that there are many servants in Chengyuan, and there must be others who have seen the villain's appearance. She has returned to Chengyuan to find witnesses. Please wait patiently."

"Now that the food has been delivered, why don't you leave quickly?"

Rong Momo turned her head and saw Gu Erlang approaching with a group of yamen runners. She quickly picked up the food box and left. Looking back, Gu Erlang ordered the yamen runners to take Shen Lan and Chi Yan out of the cage, saying that Prime Minister Kong wanted to interrogate the two of them alone.

Everyone left, leaving only one constable standing outside Chen Yu's cell.

"elder sister."

Shen Yu looked up and saw that the yamen runners outside the cage were dressed in traditional Japanese clothing.

He Yuan's eyes were red and swollen with tears, which puzzled Chen Yu. She quickly sat up and asked, "What are you doing here?"

He Yuan looked around, squatted down, and sobbed softly, "Sister, do you know that the baby boy who drowned was He'er?"

Shen Yu was shocked. He'er was the son of He Yuan and Bai Yehua. When He Yuan eloped with Wang Baoyu, he gave birth to a child in an inn. In order to cover up the child's true parentage, He Yuan and Shen Yu decided to give He'er away.

They selected the head manager of the clinic.

The head manager's wife, who was fifty years old and had not given birth to a son or daughter, took a concubine named Haiyan.

When He'er was born, Haiyan was about to give birth, so Chenyu entrusted He'er to the head manager.

"But how could He'er, who was less than two months old, have drowned?"

He Yuan was already in tears, glancing sideways at Chen Yu, and cried out, "Last night, some villains broke into Haiyan Courtyard and kidnapped He'er."

Why didn't you report it to the authorities?

"Sister, don't you know? The head manager hasn't dared to announce Haiyan's childbirth yet. After all, He'er is a month older than Haiyan's daughter and has gained about ten pounds. The head manager is afraid of arousing suspicion, so he plans to wait until Haiyan's child is 100 days old before announcing the birth of twins."

Unexpectedly, when Haiyan took the child back to their room last night, a villain broke in and took He'er away.

When the head steward learned of this, he went to the Wang family to find me. I begged Princess Xinyue to block the city gates and send troops to search for He'er in the city.

This morning, upon hearing that an infant had been pulled from the dock in the city, the head manager rushed over to identify the body, and indeed it was He'er..." After saying this, He Yuan covered his face and wept silently.

Shen Yu was stunned. It must have been Hong Yu who ordered someone to kidnap He'er and then throw He'er into the river to die in place of Kang'er.

This is outrageous! Hongyu has indiscriminately killed innocent people and even lied, saying that the baby thrown into the river was stillborn!

Now, even if she reveals that Hongyu is the real culprit, no one will believe her, since it was Qiuxue'er who kidnapped the child, and Hongyu was just the mastermind behind it all.

She was furious. Looking up, she saw that He Yuan had already reached in and grabbed her neck with both hands, screaming hoarsely:

"He'er was less than two months old when you threw him into the river and drowned him. Was it because Bai Yehua killed your father? You wanted to take revenge on He'er? I shouldn't have trusted you back then."

Chen Yu, her buttocks bruised and battered, was too weak to struggle. She retorted in a low voice, "It wasn't me. Don't be fooled."

"Master Gu has already had an artist paint a portrait of the villain based on the descriptions given by Haiyan and her servant. Even though you're wearing a mask, your eyes and build are clearly those of you..."

With a bang! He Yuan was knocked unconscious.

Shen Yu looked up and saw that King Jing had arrived with his men.

Prince Jing ordered his men to open the prison cell door, and Rong Momo and Jiu'er helped Chen Yu leave the prison.

The group arrived at the front courtyard of the yamen, where several rows of people, numbering about fifty, stood. They were servants of Chengyuan and the head manager's family.

These people were all brought in by King Jing in order to find witnesses who could help Shen Yu.

Shen Yu grimaced and moved slowly, even lifting her foot slightly caused her buttocks to feel a tearing pain.

She followed Prince Jing to the front, where she saw Prime Minister Kong sitting upright with a long table in front of him. The historian sat to his side and behind him, while Master Bai the Second and Master Bai the Third stood on either side of Prime Minister Kong. The head steward and Haiyan knelt in front of them.

Haiyan turned to look at Chenyu, pointed at her and shouted, "It was she who led people to kidnap He'er!"

*Smack!* Prime Minister Kong slammed his gavel and asked Haiyan, "What was she dressed like last night?"

"Dressed in blue, with a white veil covering his face."

"Someone! Give Mu Chenyu a white face towel."

Shen Yu hesitated before taking the face mask, deeply worried: she and Qiu Xue'er had extremely similar features and figures, and if she covered her face, she would definitely be mistaken for a villain.

*Smack!* Kong Xiang slammed his gavel and urged, "Hurry up and put on your mask! The witnesses are waiting to identify the murderer."