Chapter 324 Interrogation, Granny Fang Arrives

As the silver needles were inserted, Zheng Xin'er's breathing gradually calmed down.

But the voice was still trembling, trembling violently.

"Then... I saw Steward Zhao strangle Lianhua and Yuxiang to death with his belt."

Lotus and Yuxiang were unconscious when the belt tightened around their waists, waking them up. They tried with all their might to pull the belt apart, but they couldn't budge it at all.

They were strangled to death like that, and Manager Zhao coldly ordered his men to bury them under the crabapple tree.

When I saw this, I was so frightened that I lost my composure and ran away in a panic.

Perhaps having heard the commotion of my escape, Manager Zhao has been searching the building for the people who appeared in the garden that day.

I was terrified. I was afraid they would find out it was me and kill me too. But Tianxiang Tower was heavily guarded, and I couldn't escape. I could only desperately try to find a way to get someone to buy me.

So that's why Zheng Xin'er volunteered herself.

Shen Chu understood.

Zheng Xin'er prayed that she could be bought before Manager Zhao found out, but her unusual self-recommendation aroused Manager Zhao's suspicion.

Manager Zhao found out about Zheng Xin'er and learned that she had come to Yangzhou.

That's why he poisoned Zheng Xin'er yesterday to frame her, a scheme that killed two birds with one stone.

Shen Chu patted Zheng Xin'er's hand, "Go down and recover first. If you think of anything to add, you can have someone come to me anytime."

Zheng Xin'er nodded and weakly closed her eyes.

After all, she is a girl. To have survived these days of fear and the beating she received from Steward Zhao last night and to have persevered until now, her mental fortitude is beyond that of ordinary people.

Shen Chu looked at Li Anning and said, "Please trouble Miss Li to stay with her and take good care of her."

Li Anning patted his chest and assured her, "Don't worry, I joined the Mingde Class to help Sister Wei find her."

Now that she's been found, it's my duty to take care of her.

After Li Anning finished speaking, she waved to Ling Ce and greeted him warmly.

"Sister Lingling, let's go together."

Ling Ce curled his lip. Ha, now that he needs to take care of someone, all he can see is him?

He puffed out his chest with a rather arrogant air, "No, I have other things to do."

Ling Ce thought that if Li Anning called again, he might be able to go with her.

To everyone's surprise, Li Anning simply said "oh," then beckoned to Han Feng and left with Zheng Xin'er.

He wasn't even given a second glance.

Ling Ce...

I'm so angry!

He said to Shen Chu in a muffled voice, "Ling Ling has completed her mission. I'm going back to change my clothes; I feel terrible."

Having said that, before Shen Chu could speak, he lightly touched the ground with his toes and disappeared.

Shen Chu chuckled and shook her head.

At this moment, the coroner came to report, "Reporting to Lord Shen, both bodies have been examined and it is confirmed that they died from strangulation."

Shen Chu's face darkened, and he ordered the Imperial Guards, "Take Steward Zhao away immediately. I want to interrogate him right away."

With Zheng Xin'er's testimony, Manager Zhao did not put up much resistance and quickly confessed to his crime of murder.

"That day, Bai Lianhua came to find her younger sister, Bai Hehua. Bai Hehua had studied in the Mingde Class two months ago, but then suddenly disappeared."

Shen Chu had already read the case file and remembered that there was indeed a missing girl named Bai Hehua.

"They don't know where they got the news from, but they insist that Bai Hehua came to my Tianxiang Tower before she disappeared."

I swear to God, I really have never seen a white lotus flower, but Bai Lianhua and Sun Yuxiang wouldn't let it go.

He kept shouting that he was going to report it to the authorities, saying that he was responsible for all the missing girls.

I was furious at the time. As adults know, the thing we fear most in our line of work is imprisonment.

In a fit of rage, I got into an argument with them. I had been drinking that day and was somewhat out of my mind.

Seeing that they kept shouting that they would report me to the authorities, I became determined to kill them and strangled them to death in a fit of rage.

After I regained consciousness, I was terrified, but I swear, the girl's disappearance has absolutely nothing to do with me.

Shen Chu narrowed his eyes and looked at her coldly.

"You were out of your mind after drinking? If you were out of your mind, how could you have thought of drugging someone?"

When someone kills in a fit of rage, they'll resort to any form of violence. But Manager Zhao's method of drugging someone before killing them doesn't seem like something someone would do in a fit of rage.

He seems like a seasoned criminal.

Manager Zhao repeatedly protested his innocence, insisting that he killed the person because he was drunk and not in his right mind, no matter how Shen Chu questioned him.

Even after being tortured, he still refused to change his story.

Shen Chu found it somewhat tricky.

After leaving Tianxiang Tower yesterday, she inquired about the background of this Manager Zhao.

This woman was originally a "thin horse" (a term for a woman who is considered attractive but unattractive), and a few years after she was bought, her master suddenly suffered a disaster, leaving her homeless and forced to return to Yangzhou.

Six months later, she opened Tianxiang Tower in Yangzhou and personally trained the girls there, but she did not allow them to call her "mother" but only "manager".

He was able to keep Tianxianglou afloat and also knew about her arrival in Yangzhou in advance, so he could promptly plot against her.

There's definitely someone behind Manager Zhao.

But Manager Zhao refused to admit it, either crying foul or remaining silent.

Just then, someone outside announced, "Young Master Shen, Prefect Jiang has sent someone over, saying he has some matters concerning Tianxiang Tower to report."

Shen Chu instructed his men to keep an eye on Steward Zhao before going out to meet the people sent by Prefect Jiang.

The official sent by Prefect Jiang was a yamen runner, and...

"Granny Fang, what brings you here?"

Behind the yamen runner, a woman dressed in plain clothes with a calm demeanor was none other than Granny Fang from the Mingde Class next door.

The constable said, "Now the news has spread throughout the streets that two corpses were unearthed at Tianxiang Tower. After hearing this, Granny Fang rushed to the yamen to see the prefect, saying she had clues to provide."

The prefect instructed me to bring Granny Fang to see Lord Shen.

Shen Chu looked at Granny Fang.

Granny Fang curtsied and said, "My lord, there is something I dare not hide: there is a secret door between Mingde Opera Troupe and Tianxiang Tower."

This hidden door was opened when Tianxiang Tower was built. When Manager Zhao built Tianxiang Tower, he said that he wanted to provide a chance for women who had no other way to survive to live.

But Tianxiang Tower was, after all, a place for training young prostitutes, and to avoid damaging the reputation of the Mingde Troupe if word got out, they built a hidden secret door.

A slight stirring appeared in Chen Chu's heart.

"Does Granny Fang remember Bai Hehua? She might have been seen at Tianxiang Tower last month?"

Granny Fang sighed, her expression grave.

"Bai Hehua studied with me for half a year. She was skillful, intelligent and a rare student."

She left the Mingde Class in June, but returned to the Mingde Class in early August.

They said that the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion, was approaching, and they came to visit me at Mingde Class.

Unfortunately, a lot of new students arrived at the college at that time, and I was busy welcoming them, so I left Hehua to play in the garden by herself.

When I returned after finishing my work, Lotus was gone. The servants who were serving her said that Lotus had gone back, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

A few days later, Lianhua found Mingde Class and said that Hehua hadn't gone back since coming to Mingde Class, and asked if I had let her stay for a few days.

That's when I realized Lotus was missing. I asked everyone in the garden, and someone said they saw Lotus go through a secret door to the Tianxiang Pavilion next door.

I went to ask Manager Zhao, who said he had never seen lotus flowers before.

We've known each other for a long time. She's usually cheerful and easygoing, so I trust her and told Lianhua and Yuxiang about it.

Unexpectedly, Lianhua and Yuxiang went to Manager Zhao to inquire again, and even more unexpectedly, they were unable to leave Tianxiang Tower.