Capítulo 35: The Murderer of the Massacre Case!
Editor: Atlas Studios
When they returned, the two people who stayed opposite them finally stopped.
Shen Mingjiao yawned and fell onto the bed. Then, she closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.
Feng Lisheng tucked her in and glanced at the narrow bed before he looked away reluctantly.
He sat cross-legged on the ground and meditated.
The next morning, Shen Mingjiao opened her eyes and moved her aching limbs uncomfortably.
When she pushed the door open, she saw Feng Lisheng talking to Tie Zhu.
Tie Zhu quickly winked at her when he saw her coming out.
Shen Mingjiao understood. It seemed that he had done what she instructed him to do yesterday.
However, it was not convenient to talk here. Shen Mingjiao washed up briefly and the three of them walked out of the courtyard. Tie Zhu led them to a remote woodshed.
"I followed the maidservant according to the Princess Consort's instructions. When Madam Lian returned, she threw a huge tantrum and threw the maidservant out of the courtyard, so I brought her here."
Shen Mingjiao asked, "How is she now? Is she conscious?"
"When I went over, she was already sober. She just couldn't accept the fact that her face had been scratched. She rushed forward like a lunatic to hit Madam Lian, but she was kicked away by the servant beside Madam Lian."
Shen Mingjiao lowered her eyes and fell into deep thought. It had only been about ten minutes between the time when the maidservant was controlled and when she asked Tie Zhu to follow her.
In other words, Madam Lian used a spell to control people—let's call it a spell for the time being, and it could only last for about ten minutes.
Tie Zhu pushed the woodshed door open. A woman in a sorry state was huddled in the corner with her head lowered. Dry blood was stuck to her face with the scars. When she heard the sound of movement, the woman looked up blankly, and her eyes were empty.
Shen Mingjiao went forward and told her, "I have medicine that can remove the scars on your face."
The woman suddenly looked up and stared straight at her. Her originally desperate eyes lit up with hope. "Really?"
"I'll do anything if you can cure my face, ."
Shen Mingjiao waved her hand. "It's no big deal. I just want to know some things about Madam Lian."
At the mention of Madam Lian, the woman's eyes were filled with hatred. She seemed to have guessed what Shen Mingjiao and the others wanted to know. So, she explained in a low voice.
"My name is Xiao Rui. I am a cleaning maid in the courtyard of Miss… who is now known as Mrs. Zhao."
"Cai Lian is an orphan whom I once saved on my way to a temple fair. I brought her back to the residence. Initially, she was the same as me. She was just a maidservant in the courtyard and she was rather boring and timid.
Later on, after Miss and Young Master Zhao got engaged, Cai Lian suddenly became really likable among the people for some reason. Not long after, she became the most prestigious maidservant by Miss's side."
"After that, the Zhao family was suddenly imprisoned. Old Master and Madam were afraid of being implicated, so they broke off the engagement with the Zhao Family despite objection from Miss. Miss was also grounded."
"I personally heard that Miss had taken out all of her silver and she told Cai Lian to secretly send them to Young Master Zhao's jailers so that Young Master Zhao would suffer less in prison."
"Not long after, the Zhao family's injustice was cleared. Young Master Zhao took the initiative to come and remarry Miss…"
Shen Mingjiao interrupted her and asked in confusion, "Didn't the public say that Official Zhao was forced to marry Mrs. Zhao?"
Xiao Rui shook her head and said hatefully, "It's all because of that b*tch Cai Lian. At that time, Miss was too ashamed to marry Official Zhao again. It was only when Official Zhao came to visit her repeatedly that Miss was moved. However, Official Zhao suggested that he was indebted to Cai Lian. He wanted to have Cai Lian as his concubine. Miss thought that he was really just returning a favor, so she agreed."
"But when Miss married into his family, Official Zhao often humiliated her and made things difficult for her."
"All of this happened because of that b*tch Cai Lian. She tried her best to sow discord in front of him and made him hate Miss."
Shen Mingjiao frowned. "Didn't Mrs. Zhao explain anything?"
It was such an obvious matter. As an official, how could Zhao Ke not see it, unless he was really blind?
"She did, but he didn't believe her. He only believed that Miss had betrayed him."
Shen Mingjiao did not continue asking. Instead, she said, "Tell me what's unusual about Madam Lian."
Xiao Rui instantly understood what she meant. She shuddered at the thought of what happened the day before.
"I was transferred to be by her side a few months ago, but the people around her were very loyal to her. They were so loyal that they didn't have any resentment even if they were beaten to death by her."
Feng Lisheng suddenly asked her, "When did Madam Lian start raising pet dogs?"
Xiao Rui was stunned for a moment. She thought and said, "About 6 months ago! For some reason, Madam Lian suddenly became obsessed with rearing thin dogs. She suddenly brought dozens of thin dogs back at once, causing the residence to be filled with the dogs' barkings."
"But it's strange. While those thin dogs are very fierce, they're very docile around her."
"But… a while later, she got tired of raising them. At one banquet, she gave all those thin dogs to the madams of the various prefectures who came to attend it. As she was the concubine that was most doted on by the Luo Capital's governor, many people tend to curry favor with her. During that period of time, it was very popular to raise thin dogs among the upper echelons of Luo Capital."
Since Shen Mingjiao had asked all the questions she needed to ask, she was about to leave first.
Xiao Rui looked at Shen Mingjiao eagerly. "…My face."
Shen Mingjiao gave her an address and pulled a pouch from her waist. "Take this to my maid and ask her to give you a bottle of Muscle Regeneration and Skin Repair Ointment."
Muscle Regeneration and Skin Repair Ointment was a secret medicine in the palace. As long as the injury was not too serious, it could remove any scar.
Before coming, Eunuch Hua had prepared all kinds of medicine for her and Feng Lisheng just in case. Among them was this Muscle Regeneration and Skin Repair Ointment.
Anyway, she did not need it now, so she might as well give it to someone who needed it. After all, the world is harsh on women. If a lady's appearance is ruined, the rest of her life would be over.
Xiao Rui looked at her gratefully and knelt down to kowtow to her.
…
After leaving the woodshed, they arrived at a secluded place. Shen Mingjiao couldn't help but say, "Why do I feel that Madam Lian really fits the characteristics of the murderer behind the family massacre case?"
Feng Lisheng said slowly, "That's possible, but we need evidence for everything."
Shen Mingjiao stroked her chin and pondered. "From what Xiao Rui said, Madam Lian was just an ordinary person at the beginning. She must have encountered some kind of opportunity later."
"And Official Zhao. If he's not blind, Madam Lian must have done something to him, such as the witchcraft in the Northern Border which can tamper with people's memories as you mentioned previously."
Feng Lisheng pondered. "That's possible."
"However, since there's a breakthrough in the case now, we'll know if the murderer is Madam Lian by just testing it out."
-- Presente
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