In the furthest corner of the cell.
Jiang Zhao huddled in a pile of dry grass.
She was still wearing that gray-white long gown embroidered with green bamboo, but she had lost her usual gentle and scholarly air, and her whole body exuded frustration and helplessness.
He kept muttering to himself, like a madman.
"Why can't I remember? What happened? Why did he die? Did I really kill someone? Am I... a murderer?"
"Jiang Zhao".
Mo Qingrui stepped forward with heartache, leaning against the iron railing and calling out urgently in a low voice.
Jiang Zhao took a moment to turn his head.
His face still had dried bloodstains.
The smile on his handsome face was forced.
"Qingrui, why are you here again? This place is dirty. Go back, be good."
That's how things are now.
All the evidence points to him, but he has lost that part of his memory and is powerless to defend himself.
Mo Qingrui looked around to make sure no one was there, then took out a talisman from her bosom and carefully lit it with a tinderbox.
As a wisp of smoke rose, Jiang Qingwan's illusory figure stood in the prison.
Jiang Zhao was startled and quickly took two steps back.
"You...you..."
Mo Qingrui quickly made a shushing gesture, indicating that he shouldn't make a fuss.
Jiang Qingwan stared at Jiang Zhao for a moment.
He was not tainted by karma or resentment.
If Chief Physician Wang was indeed killed by him, the resentment would surely linger and persist in such a short time.
It seems that Jiang Zhao really didn't kill anyone.
"I don't have much time. Tell me in detail what happened at the Wang family's house. Don't miss any details. If you can't remember something, don't force yourself to remember it. Just skip it."
I don't know why.
Looking at Jiang Qingwan's calm face, Jiang Zhao's restless heart quickly calmed down.
After a brief recollection, I slowly began to recount the story.
He was a scholar by nature, and he valued logical structure and organization most in his writing.
When recounting events, there was no sense of confusion whatsoever.
"stop!"
Jiang Qingwan raised her hand. "You mean, when you were arguing with Chief Principal Wang about the future development of the Imperial Academy and wanted to merge with Yulin Academy, a black cat wandered into the tea room?"
Jiang Zhao didn't understand why Jiang Qingwan cared about this, but he still nodded truthfully.
"Yes, it must be a cat kept by the Wang family, otherwise it wouldn't dare to jump into the tea room of the Wang family's residence and knock over a very expensive white jade tea set."
"The tea set had fallen right next to the brazier. I stepped on the hem of my clothes to avoid the overturned brazier and fell hard. I have no memory of what happened after that. I'm sure I didn't faint at the time. But when I regained my memory, I was kneeling in front of Chief Physician Wang, covered in blood. He had been pierced through the chest, his heart was gone, and he was completely dead."
He slowly raised his hand.
Although it had been wiped clean, there was still brown blood residue under the fingernails.
"The coroner examined the wound marks, and they matched my five fingers. This is the irrefutable evidence that I committed murder."
His voice trembled as he spoke.
Perhaps they would rather believe they killed someone than accept the way they killed them.
Mo Qingrui said anxiously, "Aunt Jiu, Jiang Zhao doesn't know martial arts, he's weak and can't even kill a chicken, and he's only ever known how to hold a pen. How could he possibly dig out a living person's heart?"
Indeed, to extract a living person's heart, putting aside the skill involved, requires at least immense power.
Clearly, Jiang Zhao does not meet the requirements.
The traces match, yet there's no way to explain it.
Jiang Qingwan asked, "Besides the wound on your chest, are there any other injuries? Are there any bite marks on your neck?"
Jiang Zhao thought for a moment and then shook his head.
"No! When Chief Physician Wang died, his head was tilted back, and there was nothing on his neck. I saw it very clearly."
Jiang Qingwan asked again, "That heart, is it in your hands?"
Jiang Zhao shook his head again.
“I only have blood on my hands, not a heart. Moreover, Lord Liu examined the scene and searched inside and outside the Wang family home, but he couldn’t find Chief Physician Wang’s heart.”
Mo Qingrui echoed the explanation.
“Yes, Liu Ruzhi said that this is the only point of contention in the case that can be defended. The heart was lost and not found, so the case cannot be closed. According to the Wang family, only Jiang Zhao and Chief Physician Wang were in the tea room, so it doesn’t make sense that the heart disappeared.”
Jiang Zhao couldn't help but give a self-deprecating, bitter smile.
“The Wang family said that I am a murderous demon, a butcher, and that I swallowed that heart whole.”
He looked up at Jiang Qingwan.
“Even if I were truly possessed and killed someone, I would still be able to tell once I regain my senses that I did not swallow a human heart. There is no blood in my mouth. I even want Lord Liu to cut open my stomach to see if I have that heart.”
He has dedicated his life to teaching and nurturing students; he simply cannot bear such a accusation.
Even if one dies a false accusation, one should not die like this.
Mo Qingrui burst into tears.
Jiang Qingwan looked at his tragic eyes and nodded slightly.
I believe it.
Jiang Zhao was stunned.
"Do you believe me?"
Mo Qingrui was overjoyed.
"Aunt Jiu, so you have a solution?"
Jiang Qingwan did not offer any reassurance.
“I believe you, but that’s useless. I said you have no karmic retribution or resentment, which means you’re not guilty of murder. That can’t be used as evidence in court. The only way now is to find that heart to break the deadlock and prove that there’s another possibility besides Jiang Zhao committing the murder.”
Jiang Zhao slumped and gave up.
"If the black cat took the heart, ate it, or buried it somewhere, how can we find it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Qingrui exclaimed in surprise.
"Aunt Jiu, your shadow..."
The Shadowsplitter is about to expire.
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