Chapter 98 Doing a Good Deed Every Day
Pei Lin saw the same shock on his face as Wang Fuxing's and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"You and your brother are really being sold out and you're still helping them count the money."
Wang Fulong suddenly looked up and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Impossible! He couldn't have lied to my brother! Impossible!"
Pei Lin snorted coldly, "Why is it impossible?"
He rested his left forearm on the table and leaned forward.
"Did that person tell you that as long as you two brothers testify to each other and insist that you stayed in the house all night, the authorities wouldn't suspect you?"
Wang Fulong opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but he swallowed the words back. He just stared at Pei Lin with bloodshot eyes.
Pei Lin didn't expect him to agree immediately, but slowly continued, "I won't play those riddles with you."
I'm telling you this outright now: you and your brother are nothing but pawns discarded by that person.
It's just something to throw out for me to close the case.
"Impossible! This is impossible!" Wang Fulong suddenly shouted, glaring fiercely at Pei Lin.
"She wouldn't hurt us! You're bluffing me! You must be!"
He kept repeating these words to himself, as if if he said them a few more times, things would really turn out as he said.
Pei Lin's mockery grew more and more obvious; he looked at him as if he were a fool.
"Alright, I'll do you a good deed this day and teach you a lesson."
He slowly said, "The laws of all dynasties have clearly stipulated that in any murder case, even the closest relatives, such as brothers, parents, children, and spouses, cannot testify for each other."
He paused, then continued, "The reason you believe the man who told you that as long as you two brothers testify to each other, you will be safe is because you know he understands the law."
And they are very close to you two, or to your brother—like husband and wife.
He deliberately emphasized the two characters for "husband and wife".
Upon hearing those two words, Wang Fulong felt as if his last line of defense had been breached, and his pupils constricted sharply.
He instinctively raised one leg, trying to stand up, but the constable pressed him down sharply and warned him sternly, "Don't move, behave yourself."
Seeing his expression, Pei Lin understood what was going on and continued, "She must have known all along that once this was exposed, the authorities would be eager to catch the murderer."
If you can't find it, you have to dig deeper.
But how could the Wang family of Hedong let the loss of a direct descendant go unpunished?
They'll definitely investigate secretly, and once they find out the truth, retaliation is inevitable.
He put on an innocent smile, but the chill in his tone was even more pronounced.
"It would be better to throw out two scapegoats, which would not only shut the authorities up and prevent them from investigating further, but also appease the Wang family's anger."
You two just happened to be right in front of her, and you both listened to her every word. Plus, you're about the same size as Wang Jingzong.
Isn't this just a ready-made scapegoat?
Wang Fulong's face gradually turned ashen, his breathing became more and more rapid, his chest heaved violently, and he braced his hands on the ground, his knuckles turning pale from the force.
Pei Lin didn't give him a chance to catch his breath, and added fuel to the fire: "Guess how the government will write the case file when the time comes?"
He paused deliberately, looking at Wang Fulong's increasingly pale face, "It will say on the document that the brothers Wang Fuxing and Wang Fulong conspired to murder Wang Jingzong, the military advisor of Xuzhou, and hid the body in the inner layer of Xu Fengyan's coffin."
Wang Fulong changed into Wang Jingzong's clothes, left the mourning hall, and returned to his guest room to create a false impression.
Wang Fuxing stayed in the mourning hall, wiped away the bloodstains, and burned all the blood-stained evidence.
If the authorities questioned her again, she could simply make up a story that "Wang Jingzong was dissatisfied with the tasks you performed and repeatedly criticized you, which caused your discontent."
That way, you all have a motive for killing.
How perfect.
Upon hearing this, Wang Fulong suddenly tried to stand up as if he had gone mad, glaring at Pei Lin with bloodshot eyes, waving his hands wildly and shouting.
"No! It wasn't ours! We didn't kill Wang Jingzong!"
The constables nearby were prepared, one on each side, twisting his hands behind his back and pressing him firmly to the ground.
Pei Lin casually picked up the inkstone on the table and used it as a gavel, slamming it down on the table with a loud "bang," leaving a deep mark on the table.
"If you didn't kill him, then who did?" His voice suddenly rose, carrying the authority honed from years of handling criminal cases.
Wang Fulong was held down by the yamen runners, and could only raise his head and shout, "It's Madam!"
It was Lady Xu who did it! Not us!
Pei Lin, his face contorted with rage, slammed the inkstone onto the table again and shouted sternly, "Insolence!"
How dare you make baseless accusations in front of me!
Xu Wangshi was Wang Jingzong's own sister; how could she kill her own brother with her own hands?
"I didn't bite! I'm telling the truth!"
Wang Fulong's voice became hoarse from shouting.
It's unclear whether it was because the constables on both sides twisted her arms too hard, or because she finally believed Pei Lin's words and was filled with remorse.
His eyes were red and he was crying uncontrollably.
“My brother and I saw it with our own eyes! It was her! It was Xu Wangshi!”
Seeing that he was emotional but didn't seem to be lying, Pei Lin softened his tone: "Since you saw it with your own eyes, then tell me the whole story clearly."
But Wang Fulong seemed too preoccupied with regret to hear this, and kept shouting, "It's Biying!"
It was Biying who told my brother!
She said that as long as we testify for each other, nothing will happen!
That bitch! She lied to us! She lied to us!
Pei Lin patted the inkstone again, this time not as hard, but enough to silence Wang Fulong instantly.
He was panting heavily, his eyes filled with despair, as if all his strength had been drained from him.
Pei Lin sighed, his tone softening slightly: "Calm down."
Now, please explain the matter clearly and I will investigate the truth and give everyone justice.
If you keep making a scene like this, and the real culprit gets away with it, you two brothers will really become scapegoats.
The constables on both sides sensed that Wang Fulong was no longer exerting force, so they tentatively and slowly loosened their grip on him.
He swallowed hard, and after a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice terribly hoarse: "The head steward and the second steward of the manor have both run into trouble, and my brother has become the head steward..."
Last night in the mourning hall, besides Biying and her wife, there were only my brother and me.
He raised his head, and this time his eyes no longer held any fierceness, but were filled with fear: "At the beginning of Yin hour, my uncle... is Wang Jingzong."
He came to the funeral hall and asked his wife, "How have you decided?"
The lady didn't answer him; instead, she asked him, "Is it really necessary to do this?"
"What did Wang Jingzong say?" Pei Lin pressed.
He said...
He said this was the head of the family's intention, to warn his wife against her womanly sentimentality and to remind her whose blood flowed in her veins.
Wang Fulong recounted the events without any emotion.
Then the lady sighed and said, "Then let's listen to my brother."
Finally, she told Wang Jingzong to go back and rest, saying she wanted to stay with the master a little longer.
He paused, his right hand unconsciously gripping the hem of his clothes: "Wang Jingzong told her to rest early, saying that good days would come from now on and she wouldn't have to depend on others anymore."
Without the lady speaking, Wang Jingzong walked out...
Suddenly, the lady stood up, took a knife from her bosom, and stabbed Wang Jingzong in the back!
At this point, Wang Fulong's voice suddenly rose, as if he were seeing the scene again: "She stabbed him many times until Wang Jingzong fell to the ground and stopped moving, then she stopped."
At that time, she was covered in blood, and looking at Wang Jingzong's corpse was like looking at a pile of rotten flesh.
My brother and I were both terrified; we stood there, too scared to move.
"And then? What happened next?" Pei Lin continued to ask.
"Then Biying seemed to be terrified, but she reacted quickly and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the madam repeatedly."
They begged the lady, weeping, to spare us brothers in return for the years she had served us, promising that we would never say another word.
Wang Fulong's voice carried a hint of self-deprecation, "My brother and I were very grateful to her at the time, feeling that she was saving us..."
Looking back now, it was all just a performance by the two of them, mistress and servant, in front of us.
Pei Lin nodded, signaling him to continue.
"The lady said to Biying, 'Then it depends on your performance.'"
Biying then pulled us to kowtow to the madam, saying, "It's alright, no one will find out."
Wang Fulong's tears fell again. "She told us that after she and her servants left, we should move Wang Jingzong's body into the inner layer of the master's coffin and hide it."
No one knew that the old man's coffin had a hidden compartment, and no one would have thought that we hid the body there.
Once the master is buried, this matter will be completely buried as well.
She also said that she had prepared the same clothes as Wang Jingzong long ago, and that I should put them on, bow my head, leave the mourning hall, and go back to the guest room to create the illusion that Wang Jingzong was still alive.
Because lamps are not allowed in the courtyard these days, no one will be able to see who I am, and since my figure is exactly the same as Wang Jingzong's, they will only think that I am him.
No one will talk to me, so I will definitely not be exposed.
My brother stayed in the mourning hall, wiping up the bloodstains on the floor and burning the bloodstained cloths and the clothes my wife had changed out of.
"Was it Biying who ordered the search of Wang Jingzong's guest room?" Pei Lin asked.
Wang Fulong shook his head. "It wasn't Biying, it was Madam who ordered it."
She led me to Wang Jingzong's guest room and had me search through all the items he had brought with writing on them and give them to her.
"No matter what it is, even if it's just a single word, you have to find it and hand it over to her. Don't leave anything in the guest room."
"What did you find?" Pei Lin leaned forward, his eyes full of inquiry.
Wang Fulong frowned and thought carefully: "There is a seal, which should be Wang Jingzong's private seal."
There were three more letters, all sealed shut, with no writing on the envelopes.
But I've checked, and each one should contain the thickness of two to three sheets of paper.
There is also a booklet.
"Can you hand all these things over to Madam Xu?" Pei Lin's voice was as calm as ever.
But everyone present knew that these things were of utmost importance.
These are likely Wang Jingzong's true purpose in coming to Yangzhou, and also his motive for wanting to kill him.
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