It's just a pity about those shoes. Song Yi said that Ye Cuiru's shoes, which were covered in mud and fallen flowers, have been washed clean by her after so long.
Ye Cuiru insisted that Song Yi had made a mistake, but Song Yi insisted that what he saw was that kind of flower.
So many days have passed, and it's impossible to verify now.
“Although Ye Cuiru’s route is correct, it’s possible she went to the area outside the city where those wildflowers grow along the official road. She just needs to be fast,” Gu Xin said, pursing her lips.
"Third Miss, Xie Jun requests an audience!" At this moment, a yamen runner came in to announce.
"Let him in!" Gu Xin nodded.
A short while later, Xie Jun came in, bringing with him another person, Manzhu.
Manzhu's hands were tied behind her back, her hair was a little messy, and her mouth was gagged. When she saw Gu Xin, it was as if she had seen a savior. Her beautiful eyes were full of pleading, making people want to save her.
"This student greets the princess." Xie Jun stepped forward and bowed.
"Why did you tie her up here?" Gu Xin asked, frowning.
"Your Highness, I found this in Manzhu's room." Xie Jun took out an earring, which was clearly a pair with the pearl earring that Gu Xin had found, and it had something engraved on it.
These earrings were a birthday gift from Xie Jun to the deceased. They weren't bought ready-made; they were custom-made. Therefore, apart from the craftsman who made them, no one knew these earrings better than Xie Jun.
Gu Xin took it and saw that it really was.
"Princess, I questioned Manzhu and discovered a few suspicious points," Xie Jun said, seeing that Gu Xin recognized him.
"Go ahead," Gu Xin nodded.
“Manzhu said she had an upset stomach that day and couldn’t find her student’s younger sister after going out. She searched outside for a while and then went home to wait. However, no one could prove she was home that day. She said she was afraid of being scolded by her student’s parents, so she stayed alone. But Xueyun, another maid in the student’s younger sister’s courtyard, was doing needlework in her room that day. During that time, a cleaning maid was scolded by Xueyun and cleaned the courtyard. No one saw Manzhu. So, Manzhu lied.” Xie Jun said, turning his head to glare at Manzhu, and continued, “Manzhu was seen by someone close to 9 PM. That is to say, from the time she went out with her student’s younger sister until 9 PM, she was not there. There were many things she could have done. The student suspects that she is related to her student’s younger sister’s death.”
Manzhu shook her head, crying and making sobbing sounds; she looked extremely pitiful.
Gu Xin instructed the bailiffs beside her to remove the gag from Manzhu's mouth and asked in a deep voice, "Manzhu, do you have anything to say?"
Manzhu knelt down, nearly falling because her hands were bound behind her back. She steadied herself and said aggrievedly, "Your Highness, everything I said before was true; I did not lie. I did not know why your earrings were in my room. I returned to the manor that day, and no one saw me because I was worried they would question you, so I deliberately avoided them. I truly did not lie. Please, Your Highness, investigate!"
Gu Xin felt that the ball of yarn in her head was even more tangled and impossible to untangle.
"Then why did you appear again at 9 PM?" Gu Xin asked.
"Because at that time, Madam and Master were looking for Miss, and I was also panicking. If I didn't show up, what if something happened to Miss..." Manzhu's tears were streaming down her face, and she couldn't continue.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com