Chapter Seventy-One
She instructed Wu Guan to find a witch doctor to treat Zhao Wan, and ordered Du Ruoshan to send someone to settle Zhao Wan in a side room of the yamen. She then strode into the main hall of the yamen.
The main hall of the Imperial Academy was renovated by the King of Qin a hundred years ago. Now, it is not exactly dilapidated, but it is certainly old.
If it weren't for Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing's suggestion to give Si Yuan a second chance a few days ago, and Du Ruoshan having people clean up the place, the sign that reads "Speaking for the Gods" would probably be illegible now.
When Wei Jingzhong saw Si Yanmo, he remained calm and simply nodded slightly from his seat as a gesture of respect, his expression full of pride.
"Wei Lishi is truly arrogant." Si Yanmo's eyes sharpened, and she beckoned to the Si family's steward to arrest him.
These managers had just received a raise because of Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing's reforms, so they naturally understood who their masters were.
When Si Yanmo wasn't there, things were fine, but now that she was, they had long disliked the arrogant Wei Lishi, and they rushed forward faster than anyone else, dragging Wei Jingzhong off the chair.
Dragged down by a group of people, Wei Jingzhong's clothes became wrinkled and disheveled, and he lost face.
He had never suffered such humiliation before, and immediately shouted, "I am a rite official personally appointed by the King of Qin! I am your elder! Mo Li, how can you be so disrespectful to your elders!"
Si Yanmo scoffed, leaning down to look at the disheveled man. "Don't you want to see who's sitting on the throne of the King of Qin now? Besides, compared to Wei Lishi, I think Wu Bu is more powerful."
After she finished speaking, she felt that her way of speaking was somewhat familiar. She couldn't immediately recall who had said such a thing.
Upon hearing this, Wei Jingzhong became even more furious. He shook off the person pressing down on him and stood up, trying to save face. "Even so, I am still an official. Lord Wubu abused his power to protect his maid. I can still appeal to Your Highness."
"Then go ahead and sue me," Si Yanmo laughed.
Throughout the Qin region, who doesn't know that Lady Wubu is the Queen Consort of the current King of Qin?
He meant to tell a husband that his wife, relying on his power, bullied a man who had injured her guard.
Then go ahead and sue.
Wei Jingzhong then realized what was happening and became even more furious, "You, as a shaman, cannot protect someone who has committed a heinous crime of murder! Nor can the King of Qin!"
It would have been better if we hadn't mentioned this. But once Si Yanmo heard about it, she knew that this person must have come up with another way because he couldn't kill Zhao Wan at the divination ceremony before.
Since he's brought it up, Si Yanmo wants to see how he's going to orchestrate this situation.
"Okay, then tell me. Who did she kill, and how?"
Wei Jingzhong thought he had succeeded and clapped his hands triumphantly, "Someone, bring the aggrieved party up here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a man helping Wang Tianchuan, who was crying miserably, into the hall.
The man held a handkerchief in his hand, his face was deathly pale, and a few tears clung to his lips. He wiped them away every now and then, and even his lips were bloodless. He didn't look like someone who was overwhelmed with grief; rather, he looked like he could faint at any moment.
"Wow, he acted really well!" Si Yanmo couldn't help but sigh. It's a shame that this scumbag isn't a professional opera singer.
She should really introduce him to Zhong Zihe. Isn't He Chunlou always crying? Wang Tianchuan would definitely be a good fit.
Seeing how enthusiastically he was acting, Si Yanmo couldn't let him perform a solo act, so she exaggerated as well, "Oh dear, isn't this Wang Lishi? What's wrong? Your face is so pale, could it be that you have a deficiency of Yang? You'd better take some tonics."
As she spoke, she leaned over as if to help him up, but Wang Tianchuan nimbly dodged her.
He actually has quite a bit of strength right now!
Si Yanmo rolled her eyes.
Wang Tianchuan was quite angry at her words, but remembering that he had to act, he could only pretend to be innocent and wipe away his tears.
"Mo Wubu, you may not know this, but my wife and I were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love. We had only been married for a few days when...she was murdered, her body lying in the street! I...I..."
As he spoke, he cried even more bitterly, until he seemed about to faint.
Childhood sweethearts?
Si Yanmo cursed him inwardly. He had clearly been involved with Zhao Wan before, and now he was only hooking up with that merchant's daughter because of her family background. Now he was speaking so affectionately, as if he couldn't live without his wife.
What a piece of trash!
However, Si Yanmo also knew that Zhao Wan's murder was a lie, but the death of this "Madam Wang" was real.
Her only worry now is not Zhao Wan's matter, but who killed this "Madam Wang".
If Wei Jingzhong and Wang Tianchuan were using this to slander Zhao Wan and try to kill her, then so be it.
But if these two are willing to kill innocent people in order to get rid of Zhao Wan, that would be the most terrifying thing.
Si Yanmo summoned Du Ruoshan and asked in a low voice, "Have you examined Madam Wang's body?"
Du Ruoshan nodded, but his expression became even more serious. "I've checked. It was murder."
Although Du Ruoshan's voice was not loud, and only the two of them could hear it, Wei Jingzhong could still see his advantage from their expressions, which showed a look of certainty.
Si Yanmo's heart sank; the thing she feared had indeed come to pass.
This bunch of scoundrels, in order to frame one person, did not hesitate to kill another innocent person, even their own wife.
Even if there's no feeling left, you can't be this heartless!
That's absolutely outrageous!
"Besides homicide, is there anything else you can tell?" Si Yanmo asked again.
Du Ruoshan nodded. "The only loophole is that the murder was committed with a dagger, while Miss Zhao Wan usually carries a sword. Moreover, the wounds on the corpse are messy and varied, some deep and some shallow, which shows that the killer was not entirely confident and was not skilled in martial arts, otherwise he could have killed her with one blow."
“That doesn’t sound like Zhao Wan!” Si Yanmo looked at Wei Jingzhong, her eyes full of meaning. “After all, Wei Lishi knows best whether Wanwan knows martial arts or not!”
The woman did tell her!
Wei Jingzhong immediately realized that Si Yanmo had already given him leverage over his weaknesses.
That King of Qin...
He dared not gamble, so he could only feign composure and say, "Mo Wubu is joking. We all know that your maidservant was with you in the Ministry of Revenue when you punished Lin Shi. Not only me, but everyone knows that Miss Zhao knows martial arts, doesn't she?"
"Since you know this, you should also understand that this matter has nothing to do with Zhao Wan."
"Oh, how can you say it's unrelated? We found Miss Zhao next to Madam Wang's body, and the head of the Imperial Household Department testified to that. If it were unrelated, why was Miss Zhao there?"
As soon as he said this, the temperature around him seemed to drop a little, and a gust of wind blew by, making the wooden door creak.
Si Yanmo turned to look at Du Ruoshan, who gave her an affirmative look.
Zhao Wan was indeed with Wang Tianchuan's deceased wife at the time.
That's strange.
She had no choice but to ask Wu Guan, "Is he awake?"
Wu Guan nodded. Although Zhao Wan's injuries were severe, she was a martial artist and had intentionally avoided fatal injuries. Now she only had superficial wounds, so it was not a big deal.
He led Si Yanmo to the side room where Zhao Wan was.
Seeing Zhao Wan lying in bed, with the witch doctor bandaging her, Si Yanmo felt even worse.
The most urgent task is to clear Zhao Wan's name; otherwise, Wei Jingzhong will surely make her pay with her life today.
She walked over, took Zhao Wan's hand, and asked, "What exactly happened back then?"
Zhao Wan lowered her head, not daring to look her in the eye, "I...I..."
"Stop just saying 'I, I, I'! What happened? You have to tell me!" She was getting really anxious.
Zhao Wan still didn't dare to say it, but only said, "Mo Li, I'm sorry."
Si Yanmo's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly composed herself. "No matter what you did, you haven't wronged me. What you've wronged me the most right now is that you hurt yourself and refused to tell me the truth. As long as you tell me what happened, we can resolve it."
Hearing that she didn't blame herself at all, Zhao Wan couldn't help but shed tears and sobbed softly before she was willing to tell about what had happened in the past two days.
After Si Yanmo granted her permission to rest, Zhao Wan received a letter from Wang Tianchuan.
The letter said he regretted leaving her, and that he had only helped Wei Jingzhong capture her because of Wei Jingzhong's pressure, and it was a helpless act.
Zhao Wan didn't believe it at first, but when she was helping Wu Guan go out to buy groceries, the man blocked her way.
He cried and begged for forgiveness, saying it was all his fault and he shouldn't have done it.
"Do you know what? I was prepared to commit suicide if you left me!"
Wang Tianchuan knelt on the ground, holding her waist and not letting her leave. His pitiful appearance softened her heart.
"Then you're going to marry someone else?" she asked, voicing her biggest concern.
Wang Tianchuan explained to her that Wei Jingzhong forced him to do this for the sake of the merchant's property, and his original intention was no different from that of Zhao Wan.
Zhao Wan naturally knew that Wei Jingzhong was only interested in profit, and believed his words.
Wang Tianchuan also said that his mother was ill and his younger brother was young, so the whole family depended on him alone, which is why he initially succumbed to Wei Jingzhong's coercion and enticement.
"But now I finally understand, no matter how much money I make, I can't get you back." He hugged Zhao Wan, his eyes filled with deep affection. "Wanwan, I don't want high positions and riches anymore, I just want you! I'll take you away, just like we planned before, we'll elope, so he can't find us, okay?"
elopement.
That was Zhao Wan's wish since she got together with him.
She wanted to escape from the place where Wei Jingzhong was, she wanted to be with her lover for life, and she wanted a stable home.
She agreed, and in the following days she frequently met with Wang Tianchuan in secret, and the two planned together how to leave Qin'an City and where to go.
"I thought... I thought he was sincere." Zhao Wan held Si Yanmo's hand, her voice choked with sobs, filled with regret.
Si Yanmo sighed deeply after hearing her words. She had thought that Zhao Wan would be wary of anything that had happened once, but she hadn't expected her to be so easily fooled again.
What are we going to do with this silly girl?
However, compared to Zhao Wan, who was deceived, Wang Tianchuan, who used emotions to deceive people, is even more hateful.
"What happened next? How did you end up next to the body?"
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