Chapter 302 Feeling sorry for my stepson
Just now, the sound of a flute came from outside the government office. It was a message from his subordinates that Xiao Qi had learned who the murderer was.
He wasn't in a hurry to clear his name; he wanted to see how his younger sister would defend him, an opportunity that didn't come often.
"Brother, don't be afraid, Lord Bai is a wise man."
Lin Yuesha leaned closer to her stepbrother and whispered.
The scholar was oblivious to the world around him and not good at dealing with people, so Lin Yuesha was worried that her stepbrother wouldn't be able to handle him.
She had a good relationship with Bai Youran, and since her adoptive father was a high-ranking official in the capital, Prefect Bai wouldn't make things difficult for them.
I've heard that Prefect Bai has a particular fondness for beating people during trials; if they can't withstand the beating, they'll be forced to confess under torture.
Fortunately, Young Master Bai was also there, so the case was handled relatively peacefully.
"Little sister, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie."
Xiao Qi wanted to say that he wasn't that fragile, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he unconsciously pretended to be pitiful and changed his approach.
He won the younger sister's sympathy, so he could continue to take advantage of her in the future.
Fortunately, his alias got to eat something delicious. It was a pity about the cold-cooked rabbit, but it was a good thing for the green bean eyes. However, he got to eat the food made by his little sister before he died, so he died a worthy death.
"Brother, you don't need to say all that, I understand."
Lin Yuesha felt a pang of sadness. Her stepbrother had lied because he wanted to go to the book fair to buy books in order to save money.
After all, if I told the truth to my teacher, I would definitely be looked down upon by my classmates, simply because my family was poor.
Now that my family has some business and has built up a foundation, good books are hard to find. The books in bookstores are all worn out from being read so many times, without any annotations or insights from scholars.
Good books are hard to come by, and money is limited, so my stepbrother had no choice but to try his luck at the book fair.
"I will definitely earn a lot of money in the future to buy books for my elder brother, including many rare and unique copies."
Lin Yuesha choked up, feeling sad. She now realized how expensive good books are, especially those with annotations by famous people, which are priceless.
It is difficult for children from poor families to achieve great things. They are inferior to others in every aspect. Unless they are exceptionally talented or encounter a benefactor, they can only struggle slowly in a small quagmire.
Xiao Qi: ...
This time he went a bit too far. He just wanted to eat something delicious, but it seems his younger sister had different ideas.
Outside the government office, a clap of thunder suddenly rang out, followed by a downpour of large raindrops.
The atmosphere in the courtroom grew increasingly oppressive, and everyone's face was grave.
"Scholar Xiao, do you have any witnesses?"
Prefect Bai had a headache. After drinking a cup of strong tea, he decided to exclude honest people from the list first.
It's raining heavily now, the book fair has long since ended, and finding witnesses won't be easy; Prefect Bai was just asking casually.
"some."
Xiao Qi nodded and said, "I bought books at the book fair and had a very pleasant conversation with a coachman. The coachman's family had been scholars for generations, but he himself had stopped studying."
Xiao Qi spoke these words without changing his expression. The coachman's family also had many books passed down from their ancestors, some of which were already tattered and he couldn't understand them. Unable to sell them, he planned to use them as paper for firewood.
“I felt sorry for those books and thought it would be better if they could be repaired. So I made an agreement with the coachman to leave the books for a while and come to pick them up when the academy is closed for the holidays.”
Finding reasons, excuses, and witnesses was something Xiao Qi could do effortlessly; it was no problem for him.
"Thank God."
Lin Yuesha clasped her hands together and said softly. As for her, she had no objection to being a suspect, after all, she had some grudge against Doctor Qin, but she absolutely could not involve her stepbrother in this matter.
Standing to the side, Xiao Qi saw his little sister's relieved expression, and for some reason, his heart began to warm up again.
For a fleeting moment, he even began to doubt whether his deception was right. To point it out? That was impossible.
Xiao Qi truthfully told the driver where he lived, and after about half an hour, the driver who was supposed to be the witness arrived.
"Your Excellency, Scholar Xiao was reading at my stall early this morning, and there are other people nearby who can testify to that."
Facing Prefect Bai, Bai Ying pretended to be somewhat afraid, speaking haltingly, perfectly portraying the role of a coachman.
Witnesses are plentiful; they're all the Lord's men.
Prefect Bai nodded, which at least proved that what Xiao Qi said was true.
Lin Yuesha touched her chin, looking puzzled.
"Little sister, what's wrong?"
Xiao Qi noticed that his younger sister's expression was a little off, so he quickly asked her what was wrong.
"It's nothing, I probably just misread it."
Lin Yuesha muttered to herself, and seeing that her stepson was not an outsider, she said, "Brother, I don't know why, but this coachman looks familiar to me. He does look a little different, but I just feel like I've seen him before."
"They're all in the prefectural city, so it's not surprising that we've seen them before."
Xiao Qi casually replied.
"No, I mean, I know him. He's kind of like Brother Yun's friend."
I met the pockmarked friend at the temporary residence of the Prince of Zhenbei. He was Hongtao's sweetheart. Later, he disappeared, and I don't know where he went.
Lin Yuesha doesn't judge people by their faces; she's a bit face-blind. But by their figures and demeanor, they seem familiar.
Xiao Qi: ...
The white figure twitched its ears, staggered, and sat down in the courtroom. But everyone thought the young coachman was naive and frightened.
Bai Ying wiped his eyes, not daring to look at his master. Last time, he had successfully played the role of a fortune teller and was lucky that he hadn't been exposed.
"My lord, Scholar Xiao is innocent."
After all, no amount of scheming can be so precise. When the person is not around, the food ends up in the mouth of the mung bean-eyed child.
Classmates at Changqing Academy confirmed that Young Master Qin and Xiao Qi did not have much interaction and were not familiar with each other.
"But I have heard that Young Master Qin once publicly insulted Scholar Xiao simply because Scholar Xiao did not wear academy robes. Is that not true?"
This proves that the two still have some past grievances.
“Sir, it’s not just Scholar Xiao. Scholar Qin looks down on us because he has a father who is a doctor. He often mocks us for being poor and slovenly.”
Anyway, since the person is dead, we should respect the dead. The students of Changqing Academy didn't want to say anything bad about Green Bean Eyes, but the fact that Prefect Bai asked this question clearly meant that he was targeting Xiao Qi again.
This is truly an injustice! Xiao Qi is the most honest and kindest person in the academy; he couldn't possibly have killed someone.
"So, the deceased had grudges against many people?"
Prefect Bai gave Doctor Qin a sarcastic look, thinking, "Another one who doesn't know his own son's limitations."
"yes."
Many scholars from Changqing Academy had arrived, and others were waiting outside. One of them stepped forward and angrily said, "Sir, I didn't kill him, but I always wished for his death. No matter who the murderer is, I will kowtow and thank him. It's good that Qin Shu died!"
A short, pale-faced man stepped forward, laughing maniacally, "Good riddance! Good riddance!"
This shocked everyone.
"Sun You, what nonsense are you spouting!"
When someone made this comment, the teachers at Changqing Academy were terrified.
To be fair, it was already bad enough that a murder had occurred in the academy. They were still thinking about how to smooth things over and make Qin Shusheng's death look like an accident. Who would have thought that someone would jump out and cheer!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
