Chapter 1526 Mutual Identification
Shu Yu smiled and shook her head. After exchanging greetings, she stepped aside and stood next to Meng Yunzheng.
She was a local noblewoman, and Meng Yunzheng was a scholar with official rank, so neither of them needed to kneel.
Oh, and there's another person standing to the side, Kong Zhiyou's husband, the scholar Chen who also holds an academic degree.
At this moment, Chen Xiucai was in a daze, probably because he could not accept his father's death. He stood there motionless with a dejected look on his face.
His eyes were bloodshot and he stared intently at Kong Zhiyou.
Clearly, he was convinced that she was the one who killed Chen Ji.
Kong Zhiyou didn't look at him, but glanced at Shu Yu twice, her eyes revealing a hint of despondency.
Shu Yu raised her eyebrows. "Hey, hey, hey, what kind of expression is that? It's like she'll be targeted with malice just because I'm here."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and looked at Lord Xie sitting behind the desk.
With a slam of the gavel, Lord Xie straightened his back and said loudly, "Alright, now that Lord Lu Xiangjun has arrived, let's continue."
Perhaps fearing that Shu Yu might not understand the cause and effect, Lord Xie gave a brief explanation.
"Last night, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Ji died at home. The coroner's examination revealed that Chen Ji died from arsenic poisoning, which was found in noodles. The time of death was around 1:45 PM last night. Chen's wife, Kong, accused his concubine, Qiu Ju, of being the murderer, but Qiu Ju counter-accused Kong of murdering her father-in-law. According to Qiu Ju, she met Lu Xiangjun by the Nanjiang River at 1:45 PM last night. The Nanjiang River is quite a distance from the Chen family home; it's impossible to cross it in a quarter of an hour. Lu Xiangjun, is what Qiu Ju said true?"
Shu Yu nodded. "I did see Qiu Ju around 7:45 PM."
She remembered the time so clearly because after Qiuju left, she heard two girls releasing lanterns by the river discussing that it was getting late and they were planning to go back.
Upon hearing Shu Yu's answer, Lord Xie looked at Meng Yunzheng again.
The latter nodded. "Indeed."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Ju smiled, but Kong Zhiyou swayed slightly.
Lord Xie slammed his gavel again and looked at Kong Zhiyou, "Mrs. Kong, Qiuju was not at home when Scholar Chen was murdered. What else do you have to say?"
Kong Zhiyou gritted her teeth, raised her head and said, "My lord, just because she's not here doesn't mean she didn't do it. She could have put the arsenic in the noodles beforehand, and my father-in-law would have died from poisoning if he had eaten them when he was hungry."
Qiuju immediately said, "Sir, that's impossible. Noodles soaked in soup will clump together if left out for too long. The master of the house is very particular about food and would never eat noodles that have already clumped together."
She kowtowed and said quickly and urgently, "It's highly likely that the young mistress prepared the noodles and served them to the master. Last night, only the young mistress and the master were at home, so she was the one with the best opportunity to strike. My lord, I dare not lie. The young mistress miscarried earlier, and out of resentment towards me, she falsely accused me of it. But both the master and the young master think the young mistress is being unreasonable and side with me. Therefore, the young mistress harbors resentment towards both the master and the young master, and it is highly possible that she poisoned the master to avenge herself while no one was at home."
Kong Zhiyou suddenly looked up and glared at her fiercely, "You're talking nonsense."
"Then how does the young mistress explain sending Dongmei home last night? Wasn't she sent away by you?"
(End of this chapter)
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