Chapter 20 "The Truth"
Zhao Li got up and walked out.
After some time, her stomach started growling.
Seeing the jailer standing at the door, she went over and asked, "Brother, do you provide meals here? It's almost noon, so could I get something to eat?"
The jailer remained expressionless, ignoring her completely.
She circled the end of her hair with her finger, tilted her head to think for a moment, and then said, "Big brother, when can I go out? Logically speaking, once the interrogation is over, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"
"Can I go out later?"
She was met only with silent desolation and the occasional painful groans of the prisoners.
This made me feel inexplicably uneasy. Even though it was summer, the longer I stayed, the colder I felt.
Meanwhile, in the interrogation room on the other side, Qiu Zhaolan resolutely refused to sit on the dirty wooden stool, looking around with disgust and furrowing her brows.
The personal maid wiped her face with her sleeve again and again, but she still refused to sit down. With a cold and arrogant expression, she said, "I have already said everything. Our master has contracted an incurable disease."
"I have no idea what kind of poisoning you're talking about."
Zhao Li suddenly slammed his hand on the table, making a loud bang that startled her and made her tremble involuntarily.
"Qiu Chenshi! I advise you to tell the truth! The coroner's examination revealed that Lord Chen was poisoned before his death, which led to his demise. As his bedmate, you say you know nothing?"
"Are you trying to make a fool of me?!"
"If you won't talk, I have a million ways to make you open your mouth!"
As he spoke, he turned to look at the dirty, bloodstained instruments of torture. Qiu Zhaolan and Granny Wang looked in the direction of his voice and couldn't help but huddle together for support.
But then Qiu Zhaolan thought of the Qiu family, and with the Empress and the Crown Prince above them, what did she have to fear?
"Director Zhao, it is I who should be advising you that forcing a confession is against the law, and I have already told you the truth."
“Since you know that I am the master’s bedmate, you should understand that I want him to live more than anyone else! He is not only my husband, but also the master of the Chen family, who holds the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.”
"What reason would I have to poison someone?!"
"You've asked the wrong person."
His words were sincere and well-reasoned, and for a moment it was hard to find any flaws.
She is absolutely right. In this era, women rely on their husbands for support. The husband is the pillar of the family, and the rise and fall of a family depends on the support of the man.
Without a husband, it is quite difficult for a woman to support a family on her own.
Qiu Zhaolan straightened her back, looking fearless, but her hand under her sleeve tightly gripped Wang Mama's hand.
After listening to her long speech, Zhao Li remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Qiu Zhaolan and Granny Wang were both very confused and looked at him with suspicion.
He took out a letter from his sleeve. “Mrs. Qiu, this clearly states when you poisoned Lord Chen, and how you bribed the doctor to conceal the truth.”
A year ago, Chen Youhui met He Wan, the most beautiful courtesan at Chunyan Pavilion. He was captivated by her beauty, redeemed her from her servitude, and then took her as his concubine. From then on, he doted on He Wan exclusively, which aroused much criticism in the inner quarters.
Not only did they feel jealous and resentful that she enjoyed the master's exclusive favor, but they also despised and loathed her background.
Although they came from humble backgrounds, they were at least from respectable families, unlike her, a mere prostitute.
Unfortunately, the master was captivated by her beauty and bewitched by this vixen, which is why he brought such a filthy person into his harem. Despite their best efforts, they could only manage to get the master to stay in their room for one night.
After that, he stayed in Aunt He's courtyard every night. The concubines were alright, but the one who harbored the most resentment was Qiu Zhaolan, a woman from a respectable aristocratic family.
Although she was considered a collateral branch of the Qiu family, she still made contributions to the Chen family and to Chen Youhui.
If it weren't for her, Chen Youhui would still be a low-ranking official of the sixth rank, and there would be no way he would be able to sit in the position of Vice Minister of Works.
She never imagined that after so many years of marriage, she would suffer such humiliation, having to share a husband with a prostitute.
It was because Chen Youhui took He Wan as a concubine that he contracted a sexually transmitted disease. However, since He Wan had left the brothel, she dared not mention this matter to anyone except her personal maid, keeping it a complete secret.
Furthermore, after entering the Chen residence, he secretly sought medical treatment from a doctor under the pretext of recuperating.
If Chen Youhui hadn't contracted genital disease, Qiu Zhaolan wouldn't have known that He Wan had it. For the sake of the Chen family's reputation, she chose not to reveal it.
But she harbored resentment in her heart from beginning to end, hating He Wan and Chen Youhui, for these two people stained her pure life.
If others knew that she had married a woman from a brothel who had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, how could she maintain her standing in the capital and among the wives of officials?
He will be ridiculed for the rest of his life and will never be able to hold his head up high.
Zhao Li stared at them. "So you hate them, and you don't want anyone to know about this scandal. You'd rather the main characters disappear as well."
"So you poisoned the medicine that was being used to treat Lord Chen's genital disease, little by little each day, until in the end people mistakenly believed that he died from the genital disease."
After hearing everything he said, Qiu Zhaolan's face grew increasingly pale, turning ashen with a hint of white.
She swayed precariously, and if it weren't for Granny Wang grabbing her wrist, she would have fallen to the ground in the next second.
"These are all just your side of the story; you have no witnesses or physical evidence."
“Who says I didn’t? He Wan saw your personal maid administer the poison with her own eyes. Surely you haven’t had time to deal with the poison in your room yet.”
Now it was Granny Wang's turn to panic. She knelt down on both knees and kowtowed.
"My lord, this old servant did nothing!"
"This old servant is innocent. It is that vile person who is talking nonsense. Please, Your Excellency, see the truth."
He looked down at her, unmoved: "Whether she is innocent or not, the Dali Temple will find out once they search her."
Just then, someone came in and whispered in Zhao Li's ear.
Qiu Zhaolan is not panicking. She believes that the Qiu family will definitely step in to protect her. After all, she is still a member of the Qiu family, and they will not abandon her.
Zhao Li turned to him in surprise and asked, "You're saying she took that jade pendant just to get a meal??"
His eyes clearly showed speechlessness and shock.
The jailer scratched his head and nodded in his direction.
"And judging from the girl's expression, something really seems wrong."
He just couldn't believe it. Could he really starve to death just by missing one meal?
He wanted to see what tricks she was up to. Anyway, the interrogation here was over, and all he had to do was wait for the people who went to the Chen residence to return with the items.
Zhao Li turned and left the interrogation room, heading towards Tao Tao's interrogation room.
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