Looking at Xia Hongying's hideous and terrifying face, Su Yan felt a pang of pity. After learning about her experiences, she felt even more sympathetic towards her plight.
Xia Hongying, a woman, was born into a family that favored sons over daughters. As the fifth child in the family, she was sold by her parents to Wu Yaozu as a wife, like a commodity.
After marriage, Wu Yaozu would beat and scold her at the drop of a hat, and at the very least, he would go on a hunger strike. For ten whole years, from the age of ten to twenty, Xia Hongying was once in despair and numbness, but the pain that was being squeezed out inside her would one day burst forth.
Later, Xia Hongying conceived a plan: to get rid of Wu Yaozu completely, she seduced Dong Dayong.
This man was lecherous and had no moral bottom line, just like Wu Yaozu. Xia Hongying took advantage of this and successfully made Dong Dayong disregard everything for her.
Su Yan sighed deeply, thinking that if Xia Hongying had met a good man and fallen in love with him, her life would have been a beautiful one.
But life doesn't offer "what ifs"...
Under Shen Yao's repeated interrogation, Xia Hongying also confessed to the location where she disposed of the body's head.
No one expected that Xia Hongying would bury Wu Yaozu's head in her home.
But at the same time, bad news also came.
On the day the head was found, Wu Tiezhu was overcome with grief and learned of his son's death. He could not bear it and, under the guidance of the villagers of Wujia Village, he held a hasty funeral, ending his life of suffering.
…………
This case should have ended with Xia Hongying's confession.
But Su Yan noticed something unusual.
Su Yan noticed that Xia Hongying and Dong Dayong's meeting seemed to be deliberately arranged.
Dong Dayong's ancestors lived in Guozi Lane in Chang'an, while Xia Hongying was a country woman. One lived in the city and the other outside the city, so the possibility of the two having any interaction was extremely small.
If Xia Hongying really wanted to get rid of Wu Yaozu, there were actually better options. For example, there were quite a few men in Wujia Village who harbored resentment towards Wu Yaozu, so there was no shortage of candidates. However, Xia Hongying chose to go to the far end instead of the near one.
This is illogical; if I were Xia Hongying, I wouldn't choose such a time-wasting approach.
Moreover, Su Yan couldn't understand why Xia Hongying would choose to force Dong Dayong to have relations with a man before he died. If she really hated him for his infidelity, there were plenty of ways to torture him, but she chose to humiliate him instead.
Su Yan also told Shen Yao about this question.
After listening, Shen Yao stroked his chin and pondered, "You mean to say that there is another murderer involved?"
"I'm not entirely sure either. I really think Xia Hongying alone could have had many ways to get rid of Wu Yaozu, but she chose the riskiest one. And even if things were exposed, she could have easily pinned all the blame on Dong Dayong, but she chose to kill him to silence him."
Furthermore, she claimed that Dong Dayong was having an affair with another woman behind her back, but we have never been able to find any trace of the woman she mentioned.
"You mean Xia Hongying lied?"
Su Yan nodded, "Very likely... I think she's protecting someone who's hiding even more deeply."
Who do you think it could be?
Su Yan thought for a moment, and suddenly a person's image appeared in her mind. If we're talking about someone other than Xia Hongying, there was another woman who also hated Dong Dayong.
"Sir, you actually know that woman too..."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yao raised an eyebrow and said without surprise, "You mean—Xu Jingniang?"
Su Yan nodded in agreement, "My lord, you also think it was her, right? I had just woken up when she came to the deserted temple with her people to capture me..."
Shen Yao recalled that Xu Jingniang once said that she didn't care what the name of the woman Dong Dayong kept outside was, but she still led people to a deserted temple to catch them in the act.
In Shen Yao's view, this was no coincidence.
"But what is the relationship between Xia Hongying and Xu Jingniang?" Shen Yao asked Su Yan curiously.
Su Yan smiled and said, "My lord, please don't look at me like that. I'm not a fortune teller, how would I know what their relationship is..."
Shen Yao gave a forced smile, snatched the brush from Su Yan's hand, and urged her to leave the study immediately. "Since you don't know, then hurry up and find out for me. I'll write the case file myself; I don't need you here..."
As soon as Su Yan stepped out of the door, Shen Yao slammed the door shut with a bang, making Su Yan grit her teeth in anger.
In order to find out the relationship between Xia Hongying and Xu Jingniang, Su Yan went to their respective families' homes.
Su Yan then learned that Xia Hongying and Xu Jingniang had been childhood friends, and that Xia Hongying had been sold to Wu Yaozu by her parents.
Five years later, Xu Jingniang was raped by Dong Dayong, who was lustful, while visiting the city.
For the sake of their reputation, Xu Jingniang's parents had no choice but to marry their daughter to Dong Dayong.
Until six months ago, the two met by chance and learned that each other was living a miserable life, so they began their revenge plan.
The two used Dong Dayong to kill Wu Yaozu, and then planned to kill Dong Dayong, but Su Yan was unlucky enough to follow them that day.
Xia Hongying and Xu Jingniang naturally turned the tables and framed Su Yan for the murder.
When Su Yan returned to the yamen with these clues, she saw Xu Jingniang standing at the yamen gate with a food box, seemingly waiting for someone.
Su Yan was indeed taken aback when she saw Xu Jingniang, but Xu Jingniang knew about Xia Hongying's confession, so she wasn't too surprised to see Su Yan released from prison.
As soon as Xu Jingniang saw Su Yan, she immediately went to greet her warmly, "Officer Su, it's been a long time..."
At this moment, Su Yan was filled with mixed emotions and didn't know how to respond to Xu Jingniang's enthusiasm.
He said with a hint of anger, "Madam Xu, I am not a constable, but just a junior coroner in the county office. I have no intention of becoming a constable. May I ask what brings you here, Madam Xu?"
Xu Jingniang didn't care whether Su Yan was angry or not, and told her the purpose of her trip: "I want to visit the murderer who killed my husband."
Su Yan was incredulous after hearing this. If she hadn't known about the relationship between Xu Jingniang and Xia Hongying...
At this moment, Su Yan still thought that Xu Jingniang had lost her mind from anger.
Su Yan hesitated for a moment, then directly stated, "You and Xia Hongying are childhood friends, right?"
Xu Jingniang was taken aback at first, then smiled calmly, "It seems you know everything!"
Su Yan nodded, agreeing with Xu Jingniang's words.
Seeing this, Xu Jingniang looked up at the sky and said with great emotion, "What bright sunshine! It's a pity I won't be able to see it again."
After saying that, he lowered his head and looked at Su Yan with pleading eyes, "I will confess my crime myself. Can you let me see Hongying one more time?"
Su Yan was initially hesitant, but when she thought of how both of them were unfortunate women, she agreed to Xu Jingniang's request and secretly took her into the prison behind Shen Yao's back.
In the dark and gloomy prison cell, Xu Jingniang and Xia Hongying chatted and laughed, sharing food with each other, sharing joy and happiness as if they had never grown up.
Su Yan leaned against the cell door, quietly watching the two people who were both crying and laughing, and a pang of sadness rose in her heart.
What to do! My tears are about to start flowing again...
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