When the Jingzhao Yin received another report from the Xiao family, he felt that the Xiao family probably wanted to monopolize all the hot news in the capital this year.
"My lord, our old lady died unjustly!"
Granny Rong knelt in the courtroom, wailing loudly.
"The old lady said this afternoon that she was going to see the eldest young lady to talk to her about the dowry left by the late madam, but she hasn't returned yet."
The old servant went to the Yun residence to look for them, but found nothing.
Terrified, he rushed to the yamen to report the case and, along with the old lady's dog, went to Tianbei Temple.
Unexpectedly…
At this point, she burst into tears.
"I never imagined that the old lady would be pushed off a cliff by the young lady and die from the fall."
She looked up, her eyes filled with hatred.
"My lord, the young lady is so utterly depraved and inhumane! You must seek justice for our old lady!"
The Prefect of the Capital was so hurt by her high-pitched and sharp voice that his eardrums ached.
He glanced at Miss Xiao, whose face remained perfectly calm, not even a furrow of her brow since entering the yamen, and felt somewhat puzzled.
He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would kill his own grandmother.
However, the two herb gatherers who testified in this murder case insisted that they clearly saw Xiao Qingyin push someone at the time of the incident.
"It was her. We were picking selaginella on the mountainside when we suddenly heard someone shouting for help. When we looked up, we saw the old woman being pushed off the cliff by a girl in a red dress."
The monks of Tianbei Temple also testified that at that time, there were only the two of them as worshippers in the temple, and no other women.
"Miss Xiao, is there anything else you would like to say?"
The Prefect of Jingzhao asked Xiao Qingyin.
Xiao Qingyin looked at the two herb gatherers, one old and one young, and asked, "There are more than two hundred meters between the mountainside and the summit. Are you sure you can see my face?"
The young herb gatherer replied without hesitation, "Of course, my eyesight is excellent. I can see not only your face, but also how many crabapple blossoms are on your skirt."
The elderly herb gatherer hesitated for a moment.
"I can't see her face very clearly, but her clothes are the same as yours."
Xiao Qingyin smiled.
"Please conduct an experiment first, sir, to see if they could clearly see the face of the person on the cliff top from their current position, and whether there is a path leading down the cliff on this side."
I suspect someone disguised themselves as me, lay in wait there, pushed Old Madam Xiao down the mountain, and then left.
There's some truth to what she said.
The Prefect of the Capital immediately made the arrangements.
Granny Rong continued her accusation: "Sir, don't listen to her excuses, she's the one who killed the old lady!"
"Everyone in the capital knows that the eldest young lady holds a grudge against our old lady because of the theft of the Yun family's remains."
She must have tricked our old lady into going to Tianbei Temple so she could get revenge.
If we hadn't been seen by someone, our old lady would have died without ever knowing why!
Xiao Shengyuan and Yao arrived just in time after receiving the notice from the government office.
Upon seeing Lou's corpse displayed in the center of the courtroom, Xiao Shengyuan knelt down, tears streaming down his face.
"Mother, Mother, why are you lying on the ground? Wake up!"
Apart from a few scratches on her clothes, there were no obvious injuries on Lou's body. Her expression was very peaceful, as if she were asleep.
When the Prefect of the Capital saw her, he was somewhat surprised, but the coroner confirmed that she was already dead.
The cause of death was likely a ruptured heart meridian.
The reason I say "probably" is because no autopsy was performed.
After all, the details of the case are very clear, and this step is unnecessary; the Xiao family would not accept an autopsy.
Yao also knelt on the ground, her cries even more sorrowful than Xiao Shengyuan's.
It is deeply moving.
Please accept our condolences, both of you.
The Prefect of the Capital comforted him.
Xiao Shengyuan called out for a while, his face filled with dejection, as if he had finally accepted the fact that Lady Lou was dead.
He stood up, walked towards Xiao Qingyin, and slapped her across the face.
"You beast! You even dared to harm your grandmother!"
Before the slap could even land on his face, Xiao Qingyin grabbed his hand.
"Minister Xiao," Xiao Qingyin chuckled, "the murderer hasn't been found yet, so it's best not to do anything that will hurt your loved ones and please your enemies."
"You dare say you didn't do this!"
Xiao Shengyuan roared.
"What is there to be afraid to say about things I haven't done?"
Xiao Qingyin remained calm.
"I would appreciate it if Minister Xiao could use his brain and think about what benefit I would gain from killing her."
Even if I really wanted to kill her, I wouldn't use such a clumsy method.
I'm not that stupid.
"dowry!"
Yao suddenly spoke.
"You killed her to vent your anger because you resented the old lady for spending your mother's dowry."
Xiao Shengyuan's face darkened.
He didn't want the matter of the Xiao family misappropriating the Yun family's dowry to become a big deal.
Yao seemed not to notice his expression and continued, "Sir, the eldest daughter asked me for her dowry before, but I didn't return it to her because almost all of the dowry was in the hands of the old lady."
The eldest daughter probably knew about this, which is why she was picking a fight with the old lady.
Oh, and there's also the matter of Sister Yun's remains.
Yao completed the motive for Xiao Qingyin's murder.
With the motive and witnesses in place, all that's left is to wait for the test results, and Xiao Qingyin's murder charge will be pretty much settled.
The Prefect of the Capital couldn't help but wonder if he had misjudged the situation.
Xiao Qingyin did not argue, but said to the Prefect of the Capital, "Sir, before the case is closed, please keep the remains of Old Madam Xiao in the yamen."
"evil creature!"
Xiao Shengyuan was furious.
"Your grandmother has already passed away, yet you still want to keep her at the yamen. Don't you have any humanity?!"
"Isn't this a reasonable request?"
Xiao Qingyin replied.
"What if there are still unclear points and an autopsy is needed?"
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