Chapter 347: Chapter 347: Your Crime
Zhang Qian’s question was a truly subtle one, as Ye Shixian had never, from start to finish, explicitly said that Ye Chutang had killed Mrs. Gao.
After all, Mrs. Gao had hanged herself.
But at this moment, she couldn’t be bothered with such details. She choked out, "My lord, I beg you to seek justice for my mother and me! Unable to bear the humiliation, my mother hanged herself last night! After she was discovered this morning, I had her body taken down. It’s now... now in her room."
She shot a hateful glare at Ye Chutang and abruptly raised the blood letter in her hand. "It was all her fault! If she hadn’t forced her, how could my mother have been driven to such a desperate, foolish act? She left me with nothing but this blood letter and departed this world!"
Zhang Qian frowned. "First, we’ll examine the scene. We can discuss the rest later."
As he spoke, he gave a pointed look to the constable beside him. "That blood letter is a crucial piece of evidence. Make sure it’s properly secured."
"Yes, sir!"
The constable stepped forward to take the blood letter.
Ye Shixian instinctively clutched it tighter.
The constable reminded her, "Miss Ye, we must take this item into our possession."
Only then did Ye Shixian reluctantly release her grip.
’She truly hadn’t intended to involve the government, but now the matter was out of her hands.’
The constable presented the blood letter to Zhang Qian, who frowned after a brief glance.
"The bloodstains appear to have dried recently, so it was likely written last night. However, the writing on this..."
He put away the blood letter. "Let’s go inside and have a look."
Shaoyao hurried forward to help Ye Shixian up, then shouted at the two servants standing by the gate, "What are you standing there for? Hurry and open the gate for Lord Zhang!"
The two finally snapped to their senses and rushed to open the gate.
CREAK—
Instantly, many in the crowd craned their necks, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening inside.
Ye Jingyan thought for a moment before covering Xiao Wu’s eyes.
Xiao Wu, however, couldn’t be bothered to look. With a small twist of his body, he rested his head on Ye Jingyan’s shoulder.
Ye Chutang also stepped forward to follow them.
Ye Shixian reflexively moved to block her. "You’re not allowed inside!"
Ye Chutang looked at her. "If this truly has something to do with me, then I should at least be allowed to die with a clear understanding of why, don’t you think?"
Ye Shixian was about to say more, but Zhang Qian glanced back and frowned. "Aside from these few, no unauthorized persons are allowed inside!"
Since Ye Chutang was connected to the case, she was obviously not an unauthorized person.
Ye Shixian couldn’t block her any longer. She resentfully lowered her hand, staring venomously at Ye Chutang as she whispered:
"Go ahead and look, if you’re not afraid of having nightmares!"
Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. "Why would I have nightmares? I don’t have a guilty conscience."
She lifted her gaze and saw that Zhang Qian was already standing before a room, directing his men to open the door.
’That must be the room where Mrs. Gao hanged herself.’
Ye Chutang walked over. Ye Shixian had no choice but to follow, her posture full of defensiveness and vigilance.
The courtyard gate was closed, shutting out the prying eyes of the crowd. Only these few people remained inside.
As Ye Chutang reached the doorway, she heard a maid inside timidly answering questions.
"...The mistress has been in poor health recently, so I was the one looking after her. She’s usually up by now, but there was no sound from her room this morning. I thought it was strange, so I pushed the door open, and who would have thought I’d see—"
She seemed to recall the horrifying scene and couldn’t help but sob. "I saw the mistress... she had used a round stool and a bolt of white silk to hang herself from the beam!"
A middle-aged man walked out of the inner room and said respectfully, "My lord, Mrs. Gao has likely been dead for eight or nine hours. By my calculations, it happened around midnight last night."
Zhang Qian nodded. "There are no signs of a struggle in the room, and the doors and windows are intact. It doesn’t look like there was an intruder."
Ye Shixian gave a bitter laugh. "Ever since the trouble with our family, we’ve moved here and been completely ostracized. People can’t wait to stay far away from us. Who would possibly come to visit?"
Zhang Qian asked again, "What about the injuries on Mrs. Gao’s body?"
"I have already examined her. The ligature marks on her neck, as well as other physical signs, are indeed consistent with death by hanging."
This ruled out the possibility that Mrs. Gao had been strangled from behind—she had truly died by hanging.
He paused, then added, "Additionally, there is indeed a cut on her left index finger, which was likely used to write the blood letter."
Zhang Qian grew worried.
’He’d seen many cases like this, so it didn’t take much effort after arriving to figure out the gist of the situation.’
’But that was precisely the problem!’
’Mrs. Gao had indeed committed suicide, and there was no way to prove the blood letter was written by someone else. In that case, the matter was basically clear, and Ye Shixian’s accusations against Ye Chutang were all true.’
’So... what was to be done with Ye Chutang?’
’If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t be in such a difficult position. But it just had to be Ye Chutang!’
After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Qian looked at Ye Chutang. "This... do you have anything to say?"
Ye Shixian sneered. "The evidence is irrefutable. There’s nothing left to argue. Of course she has nothing to say!"
Ye Chutang acted as if she hadn’t heard her, turning instead to the maid. "You said you’ve been the one taking care of Mrs. Gao’s daily needs recently?"
The young maid, not expecting the sudden question, instinctively looked up before hastily lowering her gaze again. "Y-yes... Many people from the estate have left. I... I had nowhere else to go, so I stayed..."
Ye Chutang asked again, "True loyalty is especially precious in times of crisis. For Shixian to entrust Second Aunt’s care to you, she must have valued your thorough and patient work."
The maid didn’t know why Ye Chutang was suddenly praising her, but with so many people watching, she didn’t dare leave the question unanswered.
"Y-yes, the young miss trusts me. I wouldn’t dare be negligent."
Ye Chutang stared at her, her tone suddenly turning cold as she demanded:
"If you wouldn’t dare be negligent, then how is it that while Second Aunt was taking her own life in her room last night, you were standing guard outside and heard nothing at all!?"
Her final words were chilling, making one’s heart clench!
How could the maid withstand such an imposing aura from Ye Chutang? Her legs instantly went weak, and her face turned pale.
"I... I didn’t—"
"When that solid wood stool was kicked to the floor, it must have made a sound! You claim to be diligent and to have been watching over Mrs. Gao, so why was there such a major oversight!?"
Ye Chutang’s tone slowed, her eyes narrowing. "Was it your carelessness that prevented Mrs. Gao from being saved in time, or... did you hear something, see something, and deliberately pretend you didn’t!?"
The maid collapsed to the floor in an instant, panicked and helpless. "I didn’t! I really didn’t! I don’t know anything!"
Ye Shixian also panicked and immediately shrieked in rebuttal, "Ye Chutang! What nonsense are you spouting?! This has nothing to do with anyone else! Don’t you dare try to drag others into this—"
"I am merely conducting a routine inquiry," Ye Chutang said calmly, turning her head to meet Ye Shixian’s gaze. "A death is involved—Second Aunt’s death. Naturally, we must be cautious and not hastily rule anyone out. She is just a maid; it’s perfectly reasonable to question her a little. Why are you so nervous?"
"I—"
Ye Shixian was furious but couldn’t lash out, so she had no choice but to swallow her indignation.
"The cause and effect of this matter are perfectly clear, and there’s iron-clad evidence as solid as a mountain! What else is there to question? Delaying like this is pointless!"
"You must admit to the crimes that are yours to bear!"
