Published at 16th of August 2023 8:36 pm

Chapter 335: A Breakthrough

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Liu Laidi was obviously in a state of extreme panic, and her words were somewhat incoherent.

Lu Jiao immediately comforted her and urged her to answer some questions otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to help Liu Laidi. The most important thing was that she wanted to clarify whether or not Liu Laidi had killed Luo Xinwu.

“Don’t be nervous. I came here to help you, so now you should listen to me and follow my instructions. Otherwise, neither of us can save you, and you may end up paying for Luo Xinwu’s life.”

After she finished speaking, Lu Jiao looked at Liu Laidi and said in a low voice,

“Relax, breathe out, and calm your emotions.”

Liu Laidi now regarded Lu Jiao as a floating log in a rushing river, and she did exactly as Lu Jiao instructed.

Soon, Liu Laidi’s emotions stabilized a bit, and Lu Jiao looked into her eyes and asked, “Liu Laidi, I’m going to ask you something and you must tell the truth. Did you really not kill Luo Xinwu?”

Liu Laidi immediately nodded, “I didn’t kill him. I admit that I had thought about killing him many times, but in the end, I was afraid and gave up. Yesterday evening, he seemed to have hit the jackpot, and he brought home food and wine. Also, he gave me two taels of silver for household expenses.

After he finished drinking, he slept happily, and I also went to sleep after having dinner. When it was close to dawn, I woke up and felt something in my hand. It was sticky, and when I opened my eyes and looked down, I found that I was holding a knife, and there was blood on the knife. I was so scared that I screamed loudly, and then someone rushed in. Finally, the official’s subordinates arrested me and brought me here.”

After she finished her story, Liu Laidi cried in fear, “Lady Lu, I really didn’t kill him. Please save me, save me.”

Lu Jiao immediately spoke to comfort her, “Shhh… shhhh… I will help you. I

came here to help you, otherwise, I wouldn’t have come.”

As soon as she spoke, Liu Laidi became much quieter.

Lu Jiao began to ask for details, “Did he exhibit any unusual behavior yesterday?”

“He has been very happy these past few days and didn’t beat me like he used to. He also told me that he had a chance to get a large sum of money and when he does, he would have money and would buy me two sets of clothes.

When he came back last night, he seemed to have gotten that money. Not only did he buy food and wine, but he also gave me two taels of silver for household expenses.”

After Liu Laidi finished speaking, she subconsciously flipped her clothes over to look for that two taels of silver. She thought that the silver might have fallen out somewhere in her house, or perhaps they were taken by those who arrested her.

After hearing Liu Laidi’s words, Lu Jiao tentatively concluded that Luo Xinwu had a big secret in his hands and had used it to demand money from someone. The person on the surface gave him the money, but secretly took action and framed Liu Laidi.

The most important thing now was to clear Liu Laidi’s suspicion. Lu Jiao thought it over and looked at Liu Laidi.

“When you slept last night, did you hear any noise at all? Why did you sleep so soundly?”

Liu Laidi shook her head and said, “I don’t know. All I know is that I slept soundly and didn’t wake up until dawn when I found that Luo Xinwu had been killed and there was a knife in my hand.”

Lu Jiao guessed that the couple may have been drugged, and then the killer snuck into the room, killed Luo Xinwu, and framed Liu Laidi.

Liu Laidi had been subjected to long-term abuse by Luo Xinwu. It was reasonable to think that she killed her own husband in a fit of anger, especially since she was holding a knife.

This was a case with both human and physical evidence.

However, it was not difficult to see that the person behind the scenes was very calculating, and the scheme was almost flawless.

Lu Jiao asked Liu Laidi a few more questions, but they were of no use. It seemed that she had to find a way to examine the corpse and see if she could find any evidence to prove that Liu Laidi did not commit the murder.

Lu Jiao got up to leave, but Liu Laidi grabbed her dress from behind, looked at her in panic and said, “Lady Lu, you have to save me. You must save me. I’m afraid, I’m really scared.”

She burst into tears again as she spoke. Lu Jiao comforted her, “Don’t worry, I’ll go out and find evidence for you. I’ll do my best to help you.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Liu Laidi let go of Lu Jiao and Lu Jiao left.

In the darkness outside the cell, Xie Yunjin suddenly asked, “Last night, did you sleep on the inside or outside of the bed?”

Liu Laidi instinctively replied, “I slept on the inside of the bed last night, and he slept on the outside.”

Usually, Liu Laidi slept on the outside for convenience as she got up in the middle of the night to pour water for Luo Xinwu.

But last night, Luo Xinwu had too much to drink, got up two or three times to urinate before bedtime, and found it annoying to get up, so he slept on the outside of the bed.

After Xie Yunjin finished asking, he looked up and asked Lu Jiao quickly, “If she was the killer and she was on the inside of the bed, the direction of the knife wound should be inward, and the force of the knife should also be slanting inward. If the killer stood by the bed, their force should be slanting outward.”

Lu Jiao’s eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded vigorously, “Yes, you’re right. ”

Due to her happiness, Lu Jiao walked out of the cell and excitedly reached out to hug Xie Yunjin.

“You truly are a talented scholar, your brain is smarter than others.”

Xie Yunjin felt happy when he heard Lu Jiao’s praise.

But Lu Jiao had already let go of him and turned to look at Liu Laidi in the cell.

“I have found a way to prove your innocence, so don’t be afraid. I will get you out of here soon.

“Okay, thank you, thank you.’

Liu Laidi’s emotions calmed down completely because she had hope and was no longer as afraid.

Lu Jiao and Xie Yunjin turned and walked out. Outside the cell, officer Zhao was waiting with the guard. Upon seeing them come out, the guard breathed a sigh of relief and urged them, “Officer Zhao, you all should leave quickly. Don’t let anyone else know, or I’ll be in trouble.”

Officer Zhao nodded and led Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao away. They didn’t dare to leave through the main entrance and instead left through a small side door.

After they left, officer Zhao finally had a chance to ask Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao,

“What’s the situation? Did that woman really kill her husband?”

Xie Yunjin immediately shook his head and said, “Unless something unexpected happened, she didn’t commit murder. The killer is likely someone else. Luo Xinwu must have known a secret about someone and took advantage of this opportunity to extort a large sum of money from them. This person then came up with this plan to frame Liu Laidi.

Logically speaking, the forensic examination should have found some details, but it’s clear that they didn’t. There are two possibilities for this: either the forensic examiner was bribed, or the examiner wasn’t skilled enough to find anything.”

Officer Zhao frowned and said heavily, “Song Wuzuo is usually very capable.” This indicated that Song Wuzuo was likely bribed.

Xie Yunjin looked up at officer Zhao and said, “This is a breakthrough. We must find out the real culprit behind the scenes. Perhaps this culprit is the person we need to deal with, and once we deal with them, we will expose the evils beneath the Qinghe District..”

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