Chapter Ninety-Five: Those involved are often confused.
The little girl sat there blankly, seemingly lost in thought, but her emotions remained relatively stable.
Gu Jingxi asked gently, "Madam, may we speak now?"
"say what?"
Meng Jinyao looked up at him, puzzled.
Gu Jingxi replied, "Tell me where you went today and what you did?"
Meng Jinyao lowered her head and remained silent for a moment before softly replying, "I went back to my parents' home."
His tone was tinged with grievance and a barely perceptible hint of hatred.
Gu Jingxi's expression froze. The young girl seemed to have never felt wronged because of her family. Because she didn't care, she was indifferent. So he asked, "Why did you suddenly go back to your family?"
Meng Jinyao answered truthfully: "The steward said that my grandmother was ill, so I went back to see her. I didn't expect it was for something else. My second brother passed the Lingshan Academy's examination and will soon be enrolling in the academy. However, Meng Chengxing did not pass the examination. When my grandmother and the others learned that you and the headmaster of Lingshan Academy are close friends despite the age difference, they wanted me to tell you to ask the headmaster for a spot, but I refused them."
Gu Jingxi knew she was telling the truth, but what could cause such a big emotional reaction in her was definitely not this matter.
Seeing that he remained silent, Meng Jinyao asked doubtfully, "Husband, don't you believe me?"
Gu Jingxi smiled faintly, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "I believe you, but it seems that Madam does not believe me."
Meng Jinyao fell silent again.
Gu Jingxi didn't press her, saying, "It's alright, Madam, just tell me when you want to."
Meng Jinyao's lips moved, she hesitated for a moment, but ultimately remained silent. She subconsciously wanted to clench her fists again, but was quickly stopped by the man.
Gu Jingxi grasped her hands, which were trying to clench into fists, and smiled, "Madam, I've always thought you're a clear-headed and intelligent person. How can you punish yourself for someone else's mistakes?"
Meng Jinyao countered, "What if I'm also at fault?" Before Gu Jingxi could reply, she added, "What if it involves a life?"
Her voice trembled slightly, as if she realized she had said something she shouldn't have, and she pursed her lips tightly.
Gu Jingxi was slightly surprised, not expecting that such a young girl could be involved in a murder case. After a moment, he asked her, "Did you commit the crime intentionally or unintentionally?"
Meng Jinyao was about to say "passive," but what came out of her mouth was: "What if I take the initiative? Will my husband send me to jail?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi was taken aback. He looked at her as if she were a child throwing a tantrum, and said with a smile, "That depends on the situation. Madam, tell me first whether this person deserves to die or not. If he deserves to die, then Madam is doing a service to the people."
Meng Jinyao was taken aback and said in disbelief, "The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is not upholding justice? Whether a criminal deserves to die or not, there are laws to deal with them. It is not my place to resort to private punishment."
“Sometimes it’s not that you can’t choose to be blind.” Gu Jingxi chuckled. “A young lady like you, raised in the inner chambers, could you possibly kill innocent people indiscriminately? What reason could you possibly have to kill innocent people indiscriminately? Anyone who would make you kill someone must be a villain who deserves to die.”
Meng Jinyao was surprised, but she really had no reason to kill innocent people indiscriminately.
Gu Jingxi glanced at her. The girl's head was drooping, and she looked as fragile as a porcelain doll that could be crushed with a pinch. He became more patient and said gently, "If it involves a murder case, why not talk to your husband about it? I may not be able to help you with other things, but I have handled many murder cases, so perhaps I can be of some help to you, my wife."
Meng Jinyao was suddenly struck by a sudden realization, belatedly remembering that the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was in charge of investigating cases. As a young lady confined to her quarters, she didn't know where to begin, but the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who had solved countless cases, was an expert.
She answered Gu Jingxi's earlier question: "Passive."
As soon as she finished speaking, her voice choked up. She continued, "No one forced me at that time. It was only after the mistake had been made that I realized I had fallen into a trap without any warning. It was too late to make amends."
Gu Jingxi replied, "Ignorance is no excuse. It's not your fault; it's the fault of the mastermind behind it all."
"Isn't that so?"
Meng Jinyao murmured softly, her eyes vacant and her expression somewhat dazed. The thought of that cold, small body lying in the coffin made her heart ache. Chengyu didn't have to die.
"Of course not."
Gu Jingxi gave an affirmative answer. Seeing that she was completely immersed in sadness, self-blame, guilt, and resentment, he could guess that the person was very important to her. He then asked her, "Madam, why don't you tell me what happened first?"
Meng Jinyao raised her eyes to look at the man in front of her, thinking that the righteous and awe-inspiring Minister Gu should not spread this matter.
She hesitated for a moment, but still chose to believe Gu Jingxi and told the truth: "My younger brother Chengyu fell ill when he was two years old. It was not a serious illness, but Sun tampered with the medicine. The medicine I fed Chengyu turned into a deadly poison, and he eventually died."
“Grandmother said that Chengyu was cursed to death by me. If I hadn’t been close to Chengyu, he wouldn’t have died. Sometimes I think so too. If it weren’t for the fact that we siblings have a good relationship and I would personally feed Chengyu the medicine and coax him to drink it, Sun would have had to go through a lot of trouble to succeed, and might not have even succeeded.”
Gu Jingxi was stunned. He knew that his father-in-law had three sons, the eldest of whom died young, but he did not know that his death was suspicious. However, such sordid things were common in the backyard, so he was not too surprised. It was not surprising that Sun would murder her stepdaughter's son if she could seize the stepdaughter's mother's dowry.
He looked into the little girl's eyes and asked calmly, "If someone poisoned my well without my knowledge, and you passed by asking for water, and I kindly gave you a bowl of water, and you died from poisoning after drinking it, would that be my fault?"
Meng Jinyao was stunned for a moment, then pondered his words carefully, and finally shook her head: "You were just being kind. If you knew the water was poisoned, why would you give it to a passerby to drink?"
Gu Jingxi put herself in his shoes: "It would be the same if you were in his shoes. You only dote on your younger brother and think that he will get better after taking the medicine, so you coax him and feed him the medicine. If you knew that the medicine was problematic, would you still continue to feed it to him?"
Meng Jinyao shook her head frantically; even if she were crazy, she wouldn't harm Chengyu.
Gu Jingxi continued, "Madam has not done anything wrong, so why punish yourself for someone else's mistake? If you feel uncomfortable, then you should make the culprit unhappy. Seeing your enemy unhappy will make you feel better. What do you think, Madam?"
The man's words were very persuasive; his gentle tone soothed her calmly, like a spring breeze nourishing her heart.
Meng Jinyao's mood gradually calmed down. She reflected on her behavior in light of his words and suddenly realized that she had been stupid. How could the culprit be unharmed while she was torturing herself? She felt bad and should have made the culprit suffer.
Seeing the girl's eyes light up, as if she had suddenly figured it out, Gu Jingxi smiled helplessly. He never expected that such a clever girl would also have a time when she got stuck on a rut.
This is probably what people often mean when they say, "Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly."
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