Restore innocence
The night was like an overturned cauldron, the moonlight obscured by thick clouds, with only a few dim rays of light showing through.
Pei Qingwu was shoved through the dust and musty smell of the long, gloomy corridor. The heavy prison door slammed shut behind him with a clang, and the chains rattled.
The cell was narrow and dark, with only a small vent at the top letting in a little air, which was extremely murky. The walls were cold and damp, and the floor was covered with a thin layer of moldy straw. Pei Qingwu slid down against the cold stone wall, hugged his knees, and buried his face in his arms.
The noise from the outside world was shut out, leaving only a deathly silence.
"The Cui family... the military governor..."
She silently chewed over the two names, a bitter smile curving her lips.
The other party's methods were far more ruthless than she had anticipated. Not only did they use human lives, but they also made an innocent stray dog a victim, completely confirming her guilt of "intending to destroy evidence" and silencing her defense.
What a flawless frame-up!
She forced herself to calm down and recall every detail.
Yin Lan was right. The woman's grief and indignation seemed genuine. As for the pastries, the gold-leaf-wrapped pastries, the poison was in the filling, not on the surface. It could only be possible if it had been mixed in beforehand.
In the kitchen, only Qian Tao and Yin Lan are trustworthy; as for Gu Heng, there's no need to even mention him.
So, who was it? Or how did someone take advantage of this loophole?
And the dog in the backyard...
Clues, though initially a jumbled mess, gradually began to take shape in her mind, and she seemed to gradually find the key to understanding them.
Like a skillful embroiderer, she deftly sews and stitches, and floral patterns begin to appear on the fabric.
There's one more key point!
Pei Qingwu looked up abruptly and saw the gold leaf on the half-eaten pastry!
When she made the "Golden Match" ornament, she would use extremely fine honey water to glue the edges of the gold leaf together for aesthetic purposes and to ensure its durability. If she hurriedly picked up a discarded snack to feed the dog, the edges of the gold leaf would inevitably become loose or even fall off.
But what I just saw in the hall, the half-pastry in the dog's mouth, the gold leaf seemed to be exceptionally intact?
Thinking of this, she clenched her fist, her nails digging deep into her palm.
This minor anomaly seems so insignificant in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Zhao Jue's decision to imprison her was both a procedural necessity and likely a way to temporarily protect her from the angry family members of the deceased and the storm from the outside world, giving him time to operate covertly.
However, it was ultimately a prison sentence. If this stain wasn't cleared, Pei Qingwu's reputation and her hard-earned shop would be ruined.
“Master…” A low, soft voice called from outside the prison gate. It was Gu Heng’s voice. He had somehow managed to get the jailer to let him in for a visit.
Pei Qingwu immediately got up and rushed to the prison gate bars.
"Master has suffered..." Gu Heng's voice was urgent and worried. He almost threw himself onto the fence. He glanced at Pei Qingwu and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she looked alright.
"Sister Yinlan and Sister Qiantao are both giving their statements and are fine. Lord Zhao has sealed off the shop, but all of our statements insist that there is absolutely no possibility of poisoning. We also said that the dead dog pastry could not have been thrown away by us. It seems that Lord Zhao secretly instructed them to investigate carefully."
Upon hearing this, Pei Qingwu nodded, then lowered his voice and spoke quickly: "Aheng, listen to me, there's a crucial detail—the edges of the gold leaf on our 'Golden Marriage' are gently glued together with honey water for a secure and aesthetically pleasing finish. If a pastry is discarded and accidentally eaten by a dog, the gold leaf will inevitably become loose or curled after being dropped and bumped. But the half-pastry in the dog's mouth in the hall, I glimpsed the remaining gold leaf pieces on it, and the edges seemed to be neat and intact."
Gu Heng gasped: "What does the boss mean..."
“This could not possibly be a chance occurrence!” Pei Qingwu said. “It can only mean that the snack was carefully prepared, or even deliberately fed to the dog intact! It was all to solidify the false impression that the dog accidentally ate the discarded poison evidence. You should try to inform Magistrate Zhao, or someone he trusts, about this!”
"Yes, I've got it! I'll figure something out right away!" Gu Heng's voice was full of excitement: "Please take care, Master. Sister Yinlan has already prepared pomelo leaves for you to use to ward off bad luck after you come out."
After saying that, he took out a lacquered wooden food box from under his cloak, which he had obviously been carrying in his bosom: "Sister Yinlan said that she was afraid the food in the prison would not be good, so she made fish porridge and buckwheat pancakes for you. Please make do with these for now, and I will find a way to send some more to you tomorrow."
When I took it, the food box was still warm to the touch.
Just as Pei Qingwu was about to ask if he had been burned, a jailer's gruff voice called out, "It's been long enough, time to go back!"
Gu Heng only had time to say, "Take care of yourself, Master," before leaving with a lingering look back every few steps.
As the footsteps faded away, Pei Qingwu slid back to the wall and sat down on the floor. The moonlight struggled to penetrate the clouds and the high window, casting faint spots of light on her pale face.
The road ahead is difficult, and I am trapped in a predicament, but I have already seized the key weakness.
She must live, she must clear her name.
Although she didn't have much of an appetite at the moment, she still opened the food box and took out fish porridge and buckwheat pancakes.
The thick, white rice porridge rippled with steam, and a few tender slices of fish floated among the grains, their edges slightly curled. The steam, carrying the aroma of rice and fish, rose gently, dispelling the unpleasant smells of the prison and causing her to unconsciously take a deep breath, her throat moving slightly.
The two buckwheat pancakes next to it were also golden brown and slightly charred, with a fragrant aroma of roasted wheat wafting from them. They were sprinkled with sesame seeds and had an enticing oily sheen. When broken open, they were fluffy and soft, clearly made from carefully fermented sourdough.
The warm aroma of the food, like a small lamp quietly lit in the darkness, stirred a soft rumble in Pei Qingwu's stomach. She picked up a sesame seed cake, took a bite, and the crispy outer layer and soft interior collided between her teeth, filling her mouth with the fragrance of wheat. She then scooped up a spoonful of fish porridge and put it in her mouth. The rice was sweet and the fish was tender and smooth. Warmth spread from her stomach, dispelling the cold.
During high school, Pei Qingwu suffered from depression due to a series of problems, including academic pressure, his father's refusal to pay child support, and trouble from his half-brother. He almost had to drop out of school and be hospitalized, but fortunately, he pulled through in the end.
I remember the last time I came out of the mental health clinic, my mother took me to eat beef noodle soup and specially added a plate of braised beef for me. The thin slices of beef were soaked in the soup and melted as soon as I put them in my mouth.
"My dear, no matter what, as long as a person can eat, everything will be alright."
Yes, every difficulty is a challenge, but she can overcome them all. She can still eat and support herself, so everything will be alright.
When Zhao Xu entered with his servants, he saw Pei Qingwu breaking open a buckwheat pancake and soaking it in fish porridge, enjoying it immensely. He chuckled and said, "I thought Master Pei was suffering here, so I rushed over. I didn't expect Master Pei to be so magnanimous."
Pei Qingwu looked up, saw it was him, and smiled nonchalantly: "What's the use of crying and wailing when things are like this? You still have to eat."
"That's right." Zhao Xu nodded and smiled, taking the food box from the servant behind him. It was much more exquisite than the one Gu Heng brought. Inside were four kinds of delicacies: cherry meat, shark fin soup, braised sea cucumber with scallions, crystal dragon and phoenix cake, and a bowl of rock sugar bird's nest soup. "I was worried that Master Pei wouldn't eat well, but I didn't expect that the little guards in the master's shop would be so clever and find a way to send him food."
Looking at the delicacies in the food box, Pei Qingwu thought dejectedly, "Why didn't I have an extra stomach?"
"Thank you, Commandant Zhao, but I really can't eat anymore..."
"Yes, what a coincidence," Zhao Xu said regretfully. "Since the food has been delivered, I'll make something else."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the servants who had come with him busied themselves. Some took out incense and lit it, and the sweet and refreshing fragrance instantly filled the nostrils. Others helped Pei Qingwu tidy up, sweeping away the straw that had provided a makeshift shelter and replacing it with a simple bed covered with a cotton quilt. Still others placed snacks on the small table, such as cherry butter, plum blossom pastry, and translucent glutinous rice cakes. They also poured a pot of perilla drink.
Pei Qingwu was dumbfounded. Unexpectedly, Zhao Xu called over a little maid: "Hongdou, you will serve the master here these days. You must be careful and attentive."
The young maidservant replied respectfully, "Yes, sir, I will obey your orders."
"Uh, no..." Pei Qingwu stammered, "Captain, this isn't in accordance with the rules..."
Who goes to jail and still has maids serving them?
"Is that so?" Zhao Xu chuckled. "It's against the rules, but coincidentally, my grandfather is the governor of Qin Prefecture."
Pei Qingwu murmured twice, then gave a weak, dry laugh.
"Master, please stay put for now. As the saying goes, the innocent will clear themselves. My grandfather will investigate everything and clear your name. I did all this to repay your life-saving grace that day. I just don't know who you have offended that would go to such lengths to set up this trap and frame you."
Upon hearing this, Pei Qingwu touched his cheek with the tip of his tongue, but ultimately said nothing: "Where there is profit, there is conflict. Just like dogs fighting over food, it's the same with people."
She had a good impression of Magistrate Zhao, thinking he was an upright and honest official who would punish Liu and her son with a cane, allow her to establish her own household, and even wrote a plaque for her. He had helped her a lot, and there were many people in Qinzhou City who respected and loved him. However, she was not sure whether Zhao Xu was trustworthy or whether he would help her.
“Master Pei, you are a smart man. I don’t want to beat around the bush with you. Rather than having your little guard find a way to pass a message to the master, why not just tell me directly? Perhaps you don’t trust me, but who else can you find besides me?”
He makes sense. Besides, the only way to deal with the military governor and that so-called "Young Master Cui" is through him. Otherwise, where would Pei Qingwu find another nobleman?
After hearing the whole story, Zhao Xu frowned: "Is that so? Don't worry, boss, I will do my best."
Having said that, he left with the clues and headed straight for the government office.
Thanks to Zhao Xu's instructions and with Hongdou's help, Pei Qingwu's life was much better despite being imprisoned. Only the dim sunlight streaming through the high window and the occasional footsteps of the jailers reminded her of her predicament.
Time slowly passed amidst anxiety and anticipation.
After an unknown amount of time, the clanging sound of chains and keys clashing came from afar, growing louder as it approached.
The prison door was opened, and Zhao Jue stood before her, dressed in ordinary clothes, with a solemn expression. Behind him were two bailiffs, one of whom was the one who had been on duty in the courtroom and presented the evidence.
"Master Pei, I'm sorry to have wronged you. The case has been solved."
Pei Qingwu's heart clenched, and he immediately stood up, holding his breath.
Zhao Jue didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the point: "The breakthrough is exactly what you said. After careful examination by the coroner and the evidence department, the gold leaf left in the dog's mouth was found to have an unusually intact and firm edge. It was definitely not something that was picked up or dropped casually. It was obvious that someone deliberately kept it in its original state to feed it, in order to create the illusion of 'accidentally eating something found'."
The clerk added, "When I was ordered by the magistrate to re-examine the items, I deliberately scraped off a small amount from the edge of the gold foil and indeed found honey residue in the fine details. This matches the production process described by the shop assistant at Pei Dong's shop. This completely negates the possibility that the pastry was discarded and accidentally eaten by a dog."
Zhao Jue nodded, looking at Pei Qingwu with approval: "This detail is extremely small. If it weren't for your meticulousness, it would have been overlooked. Based on this, I re-examined the case and questioned everyone in the deceased's family who had come into contact with the pastries. In the end, I found out about the groom, Master Ji Hua."
"At first he vehemently denied it, but when the evidence that the gold leaf was intact and that it must have been fed by someone else was presented to him, and when it was pointed out that no one other than someone as close as him could have gotten the snacks to feed the dogs without anyone else knowing, his defenses finally crumbled."
The air in the cell seemed to freeze. Pei Qingwu clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, awaiting the final answer.
"He confessed that three years ago, while he was traveling, he met a woman and kept her as a mistress. She bore him a son and a daughter, and his original wife and son gradually became less important to him. Just then, a man who looked like a manager came to his door, gave him twenty taels of silver, and asked him to mix a deadly poison into the filling of the pastries sold at the Sushan market when his son was getting married. He promised a great reward after the deed was done."
Pei Qingwu gasped. Although she had a suspicion after hearing that the murderer might be the groom's grandfather, the cruelty of the truth still made her feel suffocated.
"He... poisoned his own son for twenty taels of silver and a verbal promise? And framed me?"
Zhao Jue nodded, his tone heavy: "That's right. The letter stone was given by that steward. When the incident comes to light, he only needs to lead that stray dog to eat some snacks to frame you. He thought it was a perfect cover-up, but he never expected that a small piece of gold foil could expose him."
The truth was like a bucket of icy, foul water poured over my head.
Pei Qingwu was speechless for a long time, his mind a mess, filled with both relief at being exonerated and disgust and sorrow for the murderer Ji Hua.
With a new lover and an illegitimate child, plus twenty taels of silver, how could a biological father so coldly poison his own son and drag innocent people into the abyss...
“Heh…” Pei Qingwu chuckled softly, “So that’s how it is. For a new lover, for children born out of wedlock, one can discard one’s own flesh and blood like trash, even less than a stray dog…”
As she spoke, the image of her father, a modern biologist, uncontrollably flashed through her mind. Thinking about it, she could understand why he would rather raise the daughter of his second wife, with whom he had no blood relation, than give her, his own daughter, a single penny of child support.
It turns out there's nothing new under the sun; the callousness of some "fathers" in this world is remarkably similar.
Pei Qingwu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the complex emotions surging in his heart. His stomach clenched, and the food he had just eaten seemed to have turned into heavy stones.
Zhao Jue knew she was having trouble processing the information, so he softened his tone: "The evidence in this case is conclusive, and Ji Hua has already confessed. Boss Pei, you are innocent. You will be released from prison shortly after the paperwork is completed. The shop will also be unsealed and returned to you immediately."
"Thank you for your keen insight, Your Excellency, in clearing my name." Pei Qingwu forced a smile and bowed deeply to Zhao Jue.
"No need for thanks, it's simply my duty." Zhao Jue waved his hand, "However..."
He then changed the subject: "Although this case has been solved, the mastermind behind it has found another scapegoat who has not yet been brought to justice. Twenty taels of silver were used to buy a life and frame you. It is so easy to drive others to commit such evil deeds. His heart is despicable and his ambition is not small. Master Pei, you still need to be extremely careful in the future. This case is probably not the end."
Zhao Jue's words were like a huge dark cloud cast over a sky that had just cleared.
"I understand," Pei Qingwu said. "Thank you for the reminder, Your Excellency."
Zhao Jue nodded, looking at her pale and haggard figure, yet still with her back straight, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes: "Take a good rest, pack up, and get ready to go home."
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