Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Zhi Wan Fingered as the Murderer

Coming to her senses, Zhi Wan threw her arms around the man’s narrow waist, sobbing softly, "Cousin..."

She had been truly terrified.

The servants of Yaoguang Pavilion were all supposed to move to the Zhi Mansion with her. While she and her aunt were at Fushou Hall, the servants had followed Jiang Shi to move her belongings out and were waiting at the main gate. That was why when the incident occurred, there wasn’t a single servant in the courtyard.

She thought she was going to die at Lu Lan’s hands. She never expected her cousin to return.

"It’s okay now." There was a tremor in Lu Zhan’s voice as he reached up to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, pulling her tightly into his embrace.

Lu Lan scrambled up from the floor. Seeing the two of them embracing as if no one else existed, hatred flashed in her eyes.

’That bitch Zhi Wan, what gives her the right to have Brother’s protection?’

Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she screamed hysterically, "Brother, Zhi Wan killed my mother! She killed my mother! Why are you still protecting her? I’m going to report her to the authorities and have her arrested!"

Hearing this, Lu Zhan’s gaze turned ice-cold as he looked at her. "Zhi Wan did not kill your mother. What I saw was you trying to kill Zhi Wan!"

"She killed my mother, so of course I have to kill her to get revenge!" Lu Lan clenched her fists, shouting with grief and fury. "Brother, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Justice! Don’t you always pride yourself on being just and impartial? What, just because the murderer is your fiancée, you’re going to disregard the law and protect her?"

"Shut up!" Lu Zhan helped Zhi Wan to her feet and snapped, "You’re in such a hurry to pin the crime on Zhi Wan, I’d say you’re the real thief crying ’stop thief’!"

Lu Lan pointed at Aunt Xu on the bed and shrieked, "Did you see, Brother? My mother died a horrible death in Zhi Wan’s bed! When it happened, only she and her maid were here! If I hadn’t arrived in time, the two of them might have already destroyed the body and evidence! The proof is irrefutable, and you still want to make excuses for her?"

"I will get to the bottom of what happened!" Lu Zhan said, then helped Zhi Wan into a chair before walking toward Aunt Xu’s body.

"What are you doing?" Lu Lan blocked his path, her face full of suspicion.

"Examining the body, of course," Lu Zhan said grimly. "Move!"

Lu Lan shook her head, saying resentfully, "I don’t trust you. You’re engaged to the murderer. Shouldn’t you recuse yourself to avoid suspicion?"

Lu Zhan’s brow was frosted with cold fury. "You’re obstructing me like this... I’m starting to think you’re the murderer!"

"That’s absurd! To absolve the murderer of her crime, you’d actually say something like that." Lu Lan stared at him in disbelief. "The person who died on that bed was my own mother! How could I be so depraved as to murder the woman who gave birth to me?"

"What’s going on?" Just then, Lady Wei, Jiang Shi, and the others hurried over.

They were all shocked when they saw the tragic scene in the room.

"Aunt, Zhi Wan killed my mother! Please, you must get justice for my mother!" Lu Lan fell to her knees with a THUD.

Hearing this, Lady Wei frowned. "Don’t you go slinging mud at Wan’er. How could she possibly kill your mother?"

Lu Lan let out a grief-stricken laugh. "HAHAHA... I knew it. All of you are biased toward Zhi Wan! Even if she killed my mother, you’d still protect her! Is there any justice in this world?"

Zhi Wan, who had calmed down a little, felt a chill run down her spine seeing how determined Lu Lan was to brand her a murderer.

’Everything that happened today must have something to do with Lu Lan.’

’Just as Cousin said, maybe the murderer really is Lu Lan!’

At this thought, she said coldly, "You say I killed Aunt Xu. What proof do you have? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"I may not have seen you kill my mother with my own eyes, but my mother died in your room! And at the time of the incident, only you and your maid were here. You must have killed her together!" Lu Lan’s eyes were filled with hatred. "You killed my mother, so you should pay with your life!"

"You’re lying!" Shuang’er retorted loudly. "When my lady and I returned to the room, we saw Aunt Xu collapsed on the bed. You arrived just a moment later. Aunt Xu’s death has nothing to do with us!"

"If you didn’t kill her, how did my mother die? Why would she die in this room? Just you wait, I’ll definitely report you to the authorities and have you arrested!" Lu Lan glared at her viciously.

"Lu Lan, I know you’re heartbroken over Aunt Xu’s sudden death, but you can’t just carelessly frame Wan’er for it," Lady Wei said, clearly displeased.

"My Lady, the government officials are here." At that moment, a servant’s voice called from outside the door.

A moment later, an official walked in, leading a group of government officers and a Forensic Doctor.

Seeing Lu Zhan, the official bowed. "Mr. Lu, your humble subordinate received a report from a servant of your esteemed residence that a death has occurred. We have come to investigate."

Lu Zhan gave a faint nod. "Thank you for your trouble."

"It is our duty." The official clasped his hands in a salute, then led the Forensic Doctor forward to examine Aunt Xu.

"The deceased has multiple stab wounds on her back. One of them, located over the heart, is extremely deep and pierced the organ itself. This was the fatal wound. It indicates the deceased was first attacked from behind, before the assailant killed her with a final stab through the back and into the heart.

And the sharp weapon that caused her violent death is this very dagger."

After speaking, the Forensic Doctor pulled the dagger from Aunt Xu’s body, showed it to everyone, then set it aside and began to write up the autopsy report.

"What was the time of death?" Lu Zhan asked.

"When this humble one examined the body just now, it was still warm. Based on the examination, the death should have occurred three quarters of an hour ago, around the first quarter of the *si* hour." After speaking, the Forensic Doctor handed him the autopsy report.

After reading it, Lu Zhan understood. "I see. Thank you for your hard work."

"Sir, she is the murderer! She’s the one who killed my mother!" At that moment, Lu Lan suddenly pointed at Zhi Wan and accused her.

The group of government officers looked at Zhi Wan.

They were all taken aback by her stunning beauty and hesitated for a moment.

’This young lady doesn’t look like a murderer at all.’

Lu Zhan stepped in front of Zhi Wan and said in a low voice, "She did not kill her. She has no reason to kill the deceased, and they barely interacted on a daily basis. In fact, when I arrived, I saw Lu Lan on the verge of killing her."

Hearing this, Lady Wei finally noticed the finger marks on Zhi Wan’s neck. She gasped and stepped forward to support her, asking with concern, "Wan’er, are you alright?"

Zhi Wan leaned into her embrace. "I’m fine now. Thankfully, Cousin arrived just in time to save me, otherwise I..." She trailed off.

Lady Wei was furious. "Lu Lan, your mother’s sudden death in this room is already suspicious. You can’t just pin the blame on Wan’er simply because this used to be her room."

"Every single one of you is protecting her! Then tell me, who killed my mother?" Lu Lan wept, pounding the floor. "Who will get justice for my mother?"

"I will get to the bottom of this. I won’t wrongly accuse anyone, but I will not let the true killer go free!" Lu Zhan said coldly.

"Hah. You’re Zhi Wan’s fiancé. You’ll definitely be biased and clear her name. I don’t trust you." Lu Lan then turned to the other official. "I implore you, sir, to seek justice for my mother! Otherwise, I will have no choice but to go to the Inspectorate and file a complaint against you all for harboring a murderer!"

The official frowned. "Miss Lu, we understand your grief, but please give us time to investigate thoroughly." After saying this, he ignored her and turned to Zhi Wan. "Miss, is this room your private chamber?"

Zhi Wan nodded. "Yes."

"Were you the first to discover the deceased in this room?" the official continued to ask.