Published at 30th of November 2023 2:56 pm

Chapter 350: Chill in his Heart

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Xiao Hong, in a dazed state, spoke up, “Master, Lady, I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you everything. Concubine Shen has always harbored resentment towards the wife of Scholar Xie. That’s why she instigated Ms. Xu to snatch Scholar Xie away. Later, when Concubine Zhang had a quarrel with her father and stayed at our residence, Concubine Shen secretly drugged Concubine Zhang. The reason why Master and Concubine Zhang were together that night was because of the drugs Concubine Shen had given to you both.

Concubine Shen did all this because Concubine Zhang had previously mocked her for being a concubine, so she wanted Concubine Zhang to experience being a concubine herself.’

Xiao Hong spoke intermittently, revealing the whole story. Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang wore extremely grim expressions.

The concubines in their household were beyond belief. First, there was a concubine who implicated him, and now there was a cunning and malicious concubine. Moreover, this person had a grudge against the wife of Scholar Xie, Lu Jiao.

Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang turned to Lu Jiao and asked, “Lu Jiao, is this Shen person your enemy?”

Lu Jiao nodded and replied, “This person is undoubtedly Shen Xiu, the widow from our Xie family’s village.”

As soon as Lu Jiao spoke, Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang’s faces turned pale. The concubine they had taken in turned out to be a widow.

Grand Commander Xu shook his head in disbelief. “That’s impossible. When I was with her, I saw blood on her body. She was still a virgin.”

Lu Jiao glared at Grand Commander Xu with displeasure and said, “You were probably drunk at the time. Didn’t she have enough time to fake it? Besides, whether or not you touched her that night, I doubt you even remember.” If he was truly drunk, he wouldn’t have been able to perform.

Grand Commander Xu’s face turned pale and then flushed. Angered, he turned to Xiao Hong and demanded, “Did she instruct you to deliver any messages?”

Xiao Hong nodded quickly and cried, “She asked me to deliver a message to her brother, requesting him to meet her. As for anything else, I don’t know.”

Without a doubt, Shen Xiu had instructed that scar-faced man to deliver messages to Yang and Peng, informing them about Xie Yunjin’s role as advisor to Magistrate Hu and revealing that Xie Yunjin had intentions of confronting them.

Once Yang and Peng knew about this, they would surely inform the members of the four influential families to take action against Xie Yunjin, which is why he was injured.

Lu Jiao thought about it, and naturally, Xie Yunjin thought about it too. His expression turned cold, his gaze icy as he looked at Grand Commander Xu and said in a deep voice, “Report this to the authorities immediately and have them arrest this woman.”

After he finished his words, Xie Yunjin added, “Her name is Shen Xiu, and she is not only a widow from the Xie village but is also married to someone else.

She has a husband.”

Grand Commander Xu’s face couldn’t get any darker. After a long time, he finally spoke, “Isn’t it better not to report this to the authorities?”

He didn’t want to expose such a disgraceful matter.

Xie Yunjin didn’t mince his words and said directly, “Is Grand Commander Xu trying to protect the criminal? Don’t forget, the one who died is the daughter of Officer Zhao. Although he doesn’t acknowledge her as his daughter, he raised her. Now that she has been beaten to death, if Officer Zhao finds out and learns that Grand Commander Xu didn’t want to report this, he won’t let it go easily.”

After Xie Yunjin finished speaking, Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang glanced at Concubine Zhang behind them with a headache. At this moment, they couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for this woman who had fallen victim to Shen Xiu’s malicious scheme. It was truly unfortunate.

Grand Commander Xu thought for a moment and finally agreed to report the case to the authorities. He immediately instructed someone to make the report.

Officer Zhao quickly arrived with his subordinates. Later, Lady Lu arrived as well.

When the husband and wife and their young daughter saw the lifeless body of Concubine Zhang, or Zhao Hehua, their eyes turned red with tears.

Lady Lu sorrowfully said, “Why did she have to suffer like this? Why did she lose her life for no reason?”

Officer Zhao angrily retorted, “She brought this upon herself. She was just an ordinary person, yet her ambitions soared. If it weren’t for her lofty ambitions, she would still be living happily.”

Officer Zhao’s younger daughter choked on her words and said, “Father, don’t talk about sister anymore. Catch the culprit for sister’s sake. That would be avenging her.”

Officer Zhao nodded and turned to Grand Commander Xu, inquiring about the details.

Finally, Xie Yunjin informed Officer Zhao about how their concubine from the Xu family, Shen Xiu, had killed Zhao Hehua.

“You must apprehend this woman. She is ruthless and cunning. If she isn’t caught, there will likely be more trouble in the future.”

After Xie Yunjin finished speaking, Officer Zhao looked at him and said, “Since you know this woman, could you please draw a portrait of her for me?”

Xie Yunjin despised Shen Xiu at this point and didn’t want to draw her portrait.

Lu Jiao, who stood to the side, immediately spoke up, “Let me draw her portrait.”

As a military doctor, Lu Jiao had learned to sketch human portraits, and the resemblance of her sketches was extremely accurate.

Xie Yunjin glanced at Lu Jiao, knowing that she spoke up because she could sense his reluctance to draw the woman’s portrait.

Lu Jiao paid no attention to Xie Yunjin’s expression and didn’t ask for the materials that Grand Commander Xu had arranged. She found a slender charcoal stick in the kitchen and began to sketch Shen Xiu’s portrait.

Since it was only a facial sketch, she quickly completed it.

Those in the room who knew Shen Xiu nodded in agreement, “Yes, this is how she looks. It’s very similar.”

Officer Zhao reached out and took the portrait. With a dark expression, he said,

“I will find a way to capture her as soon as possible.”

Xie Yunjin pulled Officer Zhao to the side and lowered his voice, hinting,

“There’s a man with a scar on his face who is often with her. That’s a clue.

Additionally, she previously instructed this scar-faced man to deliver messages to Yang and Peng. If she has run away this time, she might go to find these two individuals. Keep a close eye on them secretly.”

After Xie Yunjin finished speaking, he advised Officer Zhao, “Don’t trust the constables around you. Investigate these matters discreetly on your own.” Officer Zhao nodded heavily in a somber mood, agreeing to the suggestion.

“Alright, I understand,” he said.

After speaking, he turned around and ordered his subordinates to take his foster daughter to the Yi Village. One of the subordinates behind him spoke up, “Officer Zhao, the maids of Concubine Shen and Zhang should be brought to jail. They are witnesses to the murder case.”

Officer Zhao immediately turned around, wearing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and looked at the constable beside him. “Zhu Er, I still need your guidance in my work.”

Zhu Er was someone he referred and got him the job at the district jail as a constable, but he and the others had been bribed. Officer Zhao felt a chill in his heart.

After speaking, Officer Zhao didn’t pay any attention to Zhu Er. He coldly looked at the other constables behind him and said, “The person we brought back earlier was killed like this. For now, we won’t bring these two individuals back. Leave them under the supervision of the Xu family.”

Grand Commander Xu immediately spoke up, “We will take good care of the witnesses. Officer Zhao, rest assured.

Officer Zhao gave a faint response, then turned around and led his men to take away the corpse. The other constables hesitated to leave, but seeing their leader walk away, they had no choice but to follow..

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