Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Identifying the Murderer

Hearing this, Lady Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

The tension in Zhi Wan’s heart also eased.

"No, Your Excellency! Don’t be fooled by Zhi Wan! She did it on purpose! She deliberately created an alibi so she could clear her name. She could have easily ordered her subordinates to murder my mother.

You’ve all been deceived by her!" Lu Lan cried out in anguish.

"You claim she ordered her subordinates to murder your mother. What evidence do you have? Furthermore, according to my investigation, Zhi Wan had no contact with your mother, nor did they have any grudges. She had no reason to kill her!" Ouyang Lei slammed his gavel down and said grimly, "On the contrary, you are the most likely person to have murdered Xu Yumei. There were no signs of a struggle or a fight at the crime scene. Only with a close relative would the deceased let her guard down completely, or not resist at all!"

"I’ve been wrongly accused, Your Excellency! How could I do something so monstrous?" Lu Lan shook her head frantically, looking as though she had suffered a great injustice.

"Then let me ask you: where were you at a quarter past the Hour of the Snake, and who were you with?" Ouyang Lei asked sharply. "Also, why has your personal maid, Huan’er, disappeared?"

Lu Lan dug her nails into her palms. "During the Hour of the Snake, I was in my room. As for Huan’er, I don’t know where she is. My mother was murdered yesterday. How could I have the mind to care about a maid’s whereabouts?" With that, she collapsed to the floor, sobbing bitterly.

"Yesterday, during the Hour of the Snake, Miss Lu was at the back gate of the Duke Dingguo Mansion, speaking... with this old man." Just then, an old man’s voice rang out from outside the courtroom.

Ouyang Lei looked outside and saw Li Qianshi from the Inspectorate. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Who speaks from outside the court?"

"This subordinate official, Li Bingcai." The old man walked in.

Lu Lan’s body stiffened, but a glimmer of light quickly flashed in her eyes.

"Mr. Li, are you saying that yesterday, during the Hour of the Snake, you and Lu Lan were having a secret meeting at the back gate of the Duke Dingguo Mansion?" Ouyang Lei’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The term "secret meeting" made Li Bingcai’s old face flush. He was slightly annoyed, but he still nodded. "If Junior Minister Ouyang considers our proper meeting to be a secret one, then a secret meeting it was."

"A proper meeting would take place at the back gate? Or is this something you’ve fabricated to exonerate Lu Lan?" Ouyang Lei stared at him with sharp eyes.

Li Bingcai said with a helpless look, "If Junior Minister Ouyang doesn’t believe me, you can ask the old nanny who was guarding the gate at the Duke Dingguo Mansion yesterday. My personal servant can also testify for me."

Ouyang Lei knew he had come prepared. He asked in a low voice, "Then how long was your little rendezvous at the back gate, and when did you part ways?"

"Although this old man is fond of Miss Lu Lan, we are not yet married, after all. It wouldn’t be appropriate to linger. We were only there for about a quarter of an hour," Li Bingcai replied.

"Then why has Mr. Li waited until now to testify for Lu Lan?" Ouyang Lei asked.

"I’m an old man. Meeting a young lady at the back gate... it doesn’t sound good. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, I would not have wanted to bring this up," Li Bingcai said with a sigh.

A flash of mockery crossed Ouyang Lei’s eyes. ’So he’s aware of his own age, is he?’

"Guards, bring in the witness!" Ouyang Lei raised his voice.

Li Bingcai’s appearance was an unexpected turn in the case. Since it would take time to summon the witness on short notice, Ouyang Lei announced a temporary recess.

Seeing this, Lady Wei quickly sent for a physician to treat Shuang’er’s injuries.

Just as the injuries were bandaged and treated, Ouyang Lei announced that the court would resume session.

It turned out the witness had already been brought in.

The nanny who guarded the back gate of the Duke Dingguo Mansion yesterday had the surname Lin.

When she saw Lady Wei, her gaze flickered.

"Yesterday, during the Hour of the Snake, were you the one guarding the back gate of the Duke Dingguo Mansion?" Ouyang Lei asked grimly.

Nanny Lin nodded. Just as she was about to speak, Ouyang Lei suddenly issued a stern warning: "According to the laws of our Great Chen dynasty, any witness who dares to utter a single word of falsehood shall receive thirty strokes of the cane and be exiled for two years! Nanny Lin, you had better think clearly before you answer."

Nanny Lin’s eyelids twitched, but after a glance at Li Bingcai, she steeled herself and nodded. "Every word this old woman says is true. I wouldn’t dare deceive you, Your Excellency. Yesterday, during the Hour of the Snake, it was indeed this old woman on duty at the back gate. There are records in the mansion. If Your Excellency doesn’t believe me, you can ask the madam to check."

Ouyang Lei nodded. "Since you confirm you were on duty, tell me, who did you see at the back gate yesterday during the Hour of the Snake? Confess everything, and conceal nothing."

Nanny Lin said, "The servants who go out for daily provisions all use the back gate. This old woman saw many people yesterday. I wonder who Your Excellency is asking about?"

"Yesterday, during the Hour of the Snake, did you see Miss Lu Lan and this... Mr. Li at the back gate?" Ouyang Lei pointed at Li Bingcai.

"I did." Nanny Lin nodded immediately. "The two of them seemed to have... a private relationship. This old woman saw that Miss Lu was meeting an old man and was curious, so I hid to the side and peeked. I saw the old man pulling and tugging at her.

They were there for about a quarter of an hour before they parted."

SLAM! Ouyang Lei picked up his gavel and slammed it down forcefully.

The force of it made Nanny Lin flinch. She stammered, "E-Every word this o-old woman said is t-true, not a single lie..."

"Then let me ask you: what color clothes were Miss Lu and Mr. Li wearing yesterday? Since you were hiding and peeking, you should know. Also, how many servants did you see with Mr. Li? Did he arrive in a carriage or on foot?

And what did Mr. Li and Lu Lan say to each other?"

The barrage of questions stunned Nanny Lin.

She subconsciously looked at Li Bingcai, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

Li Bingcai turned his head away, his expression turning a little ugly.

"Nanny Lin, why are you looking at Mr. Li? Or are you expecting him to give you the answers?" Ouyang Lei said unhurriedly.

Nanny Lin trembled with fear. "Th-This old woman’s eyesight is poor, and my memory is bad... I-I don’t remember what color clothes they were wearing..."

"Your eyesight is poor and your memory is bad, yet you can so clearly remember seeing them yesterday during the Hour of the Snake? You remember they were only there for about a quarter of an hour, and you can even remember what Mr. Li looks like, but you can’t remember the color of their clothes?" Ouyang Lei sneered.

Nanny Lin was drenched in sweat. "This old woman sees so many people every day, I really don’t remember the color of their clothes. But I swear to the heavens, I did see them at the back gate yesterday during the Hour of the Snake."

"It seems you won’t tell the truth without a little persuasion! Guards, bring out the finger press!" Ouyang Lei ordered coldly.

Immediately, government officials brought out the finger press rods.

Nanny Lin’s face paled. She began to wail, "Your Excellency, I am innocent! Every word I said is true, there are no lies!"

The government officials paid her no heed. They held her down and forcefully placed the finger press rods on her hands.

"AHH—"

As the officials tightened the ropes on both sides, Nanny Lin let out a blood-curdling scream. "My hand..."

But even as her face twisted in agony, Nanny Lin remained stubborn. "This old woman... did not give false testimony. Yesterday, during the Hour of the Snake, I really did see Miss Lu at the back gate..."

Before she could finish, a man, his face beaten and bloody, was suddenly thrown down in front of her.

"Nanny Lin, to pay off your son’s gambling debts, you went against your conscience and gave false testimony! All for naught the Duke Dingguo Mansion took you and your son in for so many years!"

As this voice faded, a disheveled-looking girl dropped to the ground with a THUD and shouted, "Your Excellency, this servant is Huan’er! I accuse Miss Lu Lan of personally murdering Aunt Xu and trying to frame Miss Zhi Wan!"