Chapter 116 I Can't Remember What It Looked Like
The little palace maid's eyes flickered for a moment, and she lowered her head and said, "I felt unwell this morning, so I asked for leave."
Wen Ling asked again: "Who was the person who replaced you to deliver hot water this morning?"
The little maid hung her head to the ground without raising it: "I don't know. I didn't come this morning. It should be someone arranged by the higher-ups. The princess will know once she asks the steward about this. I will be exposed soon if I lie. There is no need for me to tell such a lie."
The little palace maid looked obviously frightened, but still did not dare to give in and confess. She looked very scared, but she spoke with confidence.
She only felt that Wen Ling was staring at her. That gaze seemed to be real and like a thorn in her back, but she didn't dare to look up.
Just look at it. Even if she doesn't say anything, can you really tell something by looking at it?
The Dali Temple Minister also felt that the maid would not dare to lie. He was about to send someone to call the steward over when he heard Wen Ling suddenly ask, "The reason you got sick this morning is because of the fifty taels of silver you received last night?"
The little maid was stunned, and then cried out in injustice: "What fifty taels of silver? I know nothing, nothing! Princess, even if I am worthless, you can't slander me like this!"
Wen Ling sneered: "Why are you still pretending to be with me? Since I asked you this, it is because I have solid evidence.
Now there are two options for you to choose. One is to tell me everything you know, and I can save your life.
The other is that you keep your mouth shut and become a scapegoat for the fifty taels of silver. You will not know how you died until you die.
What the final result is and what your ending is are all in your own hands. ”
The little palace maid then looked up at Wen Ling. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Wen Ling's eyes that seemed to see through everything.
For a moment, she really wanted to confess everything, but then she changed her mind and thought like most people: how could someone figure out everything just by looking at one person?
So she knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy: "I really don't understand what the princess is saying. I don't know what happened. Please spare my life and don't embarrass me!"
Wen Ling nodded in understanding: "I see, you chose the latter path."
Without waiting for the little palace maid to say anything, Wen Ling decided not to drag things out any further and to cut the Gordian knot.
She has already given these people a chance, but it turns out that not everyone deserves a chance, and the majority of people in this world are still stubborn and refuse to change.
Wen Ling straightened up and said directly: "Was the person who came to you yesterday short, wearing a black cloak, with a black hat brim covering most of his face, and a light blue flower embroidered on the black cloak?
She told you that if you ask for leave tomorrow morning, she would give you fifty taels of silver. She gave you twenty-five taels as a deposit yesterday, and this morning she gave you the remaining twenty-five taels.
You put the two sums of silver separately. The twenty-five taels from last night were placed under the big rock behind the toilet next to your tent, and the remaining twenty-five taels were placed under the only big camphor tree behind the woods.
You said, I said, right? Do you have any details to add? ”
The little palace maid's eyes widened wider as Wen Ling spoke, and finally looking at Wen Ling's expression, it was almost as if she was looking at a monster.
Her lips trembled and she wanted to ask Wen Ling how she knew about it. There were obviously only two of them at that time, and there was definitely no third person who saw it!
But she didn't dare to ask, because she knew that once she asked, she would be incriminating and everything would be over.
In fact, it didn't matter whether she said it or not.
The Dali Temple Chief Justice interrogated criminals all year round, and he could see these micro-expressions clearly and already had an idea of what was going on.
Although he knew the number, he was also very shocked and didn't know how Wen Ling knew it.
Wen Ling said directly: "Master Dali Temple Minister, you only need to send someone to find the location of the silver and you will know whether what I said is true or false."
The Dali Temple Minister nodded and sent someone over without saying a word.
At this time, the housekeeper above the little palace maid was also brought over.
The housekeeper was smarter and had been in the palace longer. She had already found out what had happened by asking around on her way here.
After coming over, without Wen Ling giving her a chance, she knelt down and confessed her guilt. She tremblingly took out the silver note of 100 taels in her hand, raised it above her head and shouted: "I know I was wrong. This is the silver note of 100 taels that a woman in a black cloak gave me yesterday, asking me to arrange for her to deliver water to the tent of the King of Chen this morning.
The servant was bewildered and thought that it was nothing serious as it was just delivering hot water, so she agreed.
But I really didn’t know that this was related to the murder case and the Princess of Chen. If I had known in advance, even if I had a hundred courages, I would not dare to do this! ”
The little palace maid behind her opened her eyes wide and fell to the ground exhausted. She never expected that the housekeeper would admit her mistake directly.
It's over, everything is over. If she had known earlier, she should have just admitted her mistake...
At this moment, she recalled Wen Ling's words and looked up, but Wen Ling didn't even give her a second glance.
You only have one chance to survive, if you miss it you will never get it again.
The Dali Temple Minister asked the housekeeper: "What does the woman who gave you the banknote look like? Tell me quickly. If you confess, you will be treated leniently. If you resist, you will be treated severely!"
The housekeeper opened her mouth to describe the woman's appearance, but only then did she realize that she seemed to have difficulty remembering what the woman looked like.
The face seemed to be covered with a layer of mist. It couldn't be seen clearly and I couldn't remember it.
The housekeeper kowtowed: "I...I can't remember what that woman looks like..."
The Dali Temple official frowned, "Can't remember? It hasn't even been two days since what happened last night, how can you not remember it? Don't you want to confess?!"
The housekeeper was so anxious that her forehead was covered with sweat: "How dare this slave not confess? This slave really can't remember it! Strange, why can't I remember it?!"
She was so anxious that she slapped her head hard with her hands. She looked like she was trying to figure it out, and it didn't seem like she was faking it.
The Dali Temple Minister turned around and asked the little palace maid: "I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Describe the appearance of the woman who gave you the silver yesterday and have the painter draw her. When we find the real murderer, you can be spared from death."
When the little palace maid heard this, she was overjoyed and said immediately, "I will tell you, I will tell you right away!"
But just as she was about to finish her description, she realized that she didn't seem to remember what the woman looked like...
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