Xie Suisui said with a grin, "Grand Chancellor, please accept my condolences. You may not become relatives of the imperial family, but at least the Chancellor's residence has become famous throughout the world, hasn't it!"
"You, you rebellious daughter…"
"Don't get angry—anger is bad for the baby! Isn't there still Young Master Yu? Perhaps the Chancellor's residence has already gained a new member. You can just wait to become a maternal grandfather!"
"Shut up! You wretch…"
Qi Hui flew into a rage and raised his palm, but Luo Sheng stepped forward.
No matter how eloquently or dramatically you speak, a single slap can bring you back to reality. The General's residence's advantage lies in their fists—there's no need to match wits with your own weakness. Just go for it!
Among the officials' wives present, some gloated, some feigned grief, and most sent people to quickly summon official matchmakers so their daughters could seize this marriage alliance with the Marquess Xuanping's residence.
Qi Yurou had offended the Marquess Xuanping's residence, which meant offending the Empress, which meant offending all the powerful families in the capital. Her reputation was ruined—aside from Yu Tang, no prestigious family would seek her hand…
Qi Yurou wept, "Xie Suisui, what exactly have I done to offend you? You must produce evidence, or else you will certainly be charged with false accusation."
Qi Ziyu also shouted, "Inspector Jiang, that silver—she extorted it from me. If I hadn't given it to her, she would have killed Yurou."
Qi Zirui and Qi Ziheng both testified that Xie Suisui was lying.
"This official handles cases based solely on evidence." Jiang Wuyang's sharp gaze fell on the three, and he asked, "The four of you—three men plus the eldest Miss Qi—were threatened by Xie Suisui?"
Qi Ziheng clasped his hands and said, "Though it sounds preposterous, that is exactly what happened."
"Inspector Jiang, Young Master Gu, don't listen to this lowly wench's nonsense!" Xiao Shanshan wailed and made a scene. "Grand Chancellor, she wants to destroy the Qi family's Lucky Star! In this household, it's either her or me—either me or her!"
"Noisy." Jiang Wuyang's eyelids lifted slightly, and with a flick of his fingers, something unknown struck Xiao Shanshan. She opened her mouth but could no longer utter a word.
"Xie Suisui, Qi Yurou says you filed a false accusation. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"Inspector Jiang, go to Zhuying Pavilion right now! The shards of the porcelain basin she smashed over my head should still be there!"
Jiang Wuyang said to his assistant, "Ning Qi, go collect the evidence."
Ning Qi: "Yes, sir."
Xie Suisui immediately said, "I'll go identify them!"
Xiao Shanshan, her acupoint sealed, frantically waved her hands in objection—how could an outsider man enter a young lady's private chambers?
"Inspector Jiang, the eldest Miss is as precious as gold and jade. If an outsider man enters her boudoir, how can she ever hold her head up in society?" Qi Hui said with a dark face. "This is a family matter and should be handled by family rules."
Luo Sheng stood like a fierce shrew, cleaver in hand, glaring at Qi Hui. "You trying to weasel out?"
"I will accompany them to collect the evidence." The Marquess Xuanping's Mother rose to her feet. As the mother of the Empress, no woman here outranked her.
She wanted to determine for herself what kind of person her prospective daughter-in-law truly was.
"Thank you, Marquess's Mother." Jiang Wuyang clasped his hands.
Qi Yurou fell to her knees and wailed, "Father, if an outsider man freely enters your daughter's chambers and word of today spreads, your and my brothers' official reputations will surely suffer. Your daughter can only atone with death…"
In truth, she was not afraid. Before dragging Xie Suisui to throw her into the well, she had already stored every trace in her Spatial Dimension.
Her crying now was merely for show!
The Marquess Xuanping's Mother said coolly, "Eldest Miss Qi, if you do not fear death, why do you fear an investigation?"
Jiang Wuyang also said, "Lord Qi, since this official has accepted this case, I must get to the bottom of it. As long as the complainant does not withdraw, I will investigate to the very end."
Qi Hui looked at Xie Suisui as if she were already dead, and threatened, "If you still consider yourself a member of the Qi family, then think of the greater good. Withdraw the case immediately and stop making trouble!"
"I won't!"
Xie Suisui said resolutely, "The moment Inspector Jiang leaves, you'll surely beat me to death. Qi Yurou's reputation is a reputation, but isn't mine? I demand a full investigation."
When Six Doors handles a case, who dares to obstruct?
Ning Qi had already gone with the Marquess Xuanping's Mother and Xie Suisui to collect the evidence, and Qi Yurou had also sent her personal maid Chunhua along.
Xie Suisui rushed ahead, hurrying into Qi Yurou's courtyard, and muttered to herself, "Out!"
The porcelain shards stained with Xie Suisui's blood fell back beneath the corridor of Zhuying Pavilion.
The moment Ning Qi entered the courtyard, he spotted the evidence. He dismissed Chunhua and the others, documented the condition of the evidence, and strictly forbade anyone from approaching.
The Marquess Xuanping's Mother, her face dark, pinched her nose and brought out the rumpled bedsheets and traces of intimacy, tossing them before Xiao Shanshan.
Qi Hui's aged face flushed crimson.
Xiao Shanshan wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground—how could Rou'er be so… careless?
The three elder brothers' faces were all black as coal. This was all that troublemaker Xie Suisui's fault!
Their gazes at Xie Suisui were nearly flaying her alive.
Qi Yurou suddenly stood up and shrieked, "Impossible, I clearly…"
"You clearly what?" Jiang Wuyang said.
"N-nothing!" Qi Yurou immediately sat back down to cover it up, her mind in utter chaos.
Seeing her panic and confusion, Xie Suisui felt immense satisfaction.
The first time she looked down at the spatial dimension from the well's edge, she immediately saw the shattered flowerpot shards on the ground that had split her head open, along with a layer of blood-stained soil. Beside them were piled the crumpled bedsheets from Qi Yurou and Yu Tang's tryst.
Had she not obtained the spatial dimension today, she would have been unable to defend herself just like in her previous life. No matter how skilled Jiang Wuyang was, he would never have found the evidence.
Just now, when Jiang Wuyang sent Ning Qi to retrieve the evidence, she volunteered to identify it—that was precisely to return the vanished evidence to its original place without anyone knowing, and honestly hand it over to Jiang Wuyang.
Jiang Wuyang said, "Miss Qi, with both witnesses and physical evidence present, do you confess to your crimes?"
Qi Yurou argued sophistically, "Finding broken porcelain shards in my courtyard doesn't prove I was the one who hit her. And marks on the bed don't prove I had an affair—what if it was some maidservant?"
Jiang Wuyang said to Ning Qi, "Go, bring Yu Tang here to confront her."
Qi Hui was cunning and shrewd—how could he not see what was going on!
Yu Tang had clearly set his sights on Yurou.
If he was brought in to confront her, and he admitted everything without regard for consequences, wouldn't Qi Hui be forced to agree to marry Rou'er to him?
How could Yu Tang be worthy of Rou'er!
He immediately said, "Wait! Xie Suisui, you claim that both the injury to your head and your hands were inflicted by Yurou?"
"Yes."
"But she's taller than you and stronger than you. How could you have fought her off? It seems you're habitually deceitful—you must have taken advantage of Yurou's moment of unpreparedness and harmed her instead, isn't that so?"
If Xie Suisui was lying, then Qi Yurou's adultery wouldn't hold either, since the words of someone habitually deceitful couldn't be used as evidence.
Xie Suisui made a shushing gesture and said, "Prime Minister, please stop your verbal manipulation! While you're free to spout nonsense, framing others must follow the law. Listen carefully: Qi Yurou tried to kill me, and I fought her off in self-defense. Understood?"
Qi Hui gritted his teeth.
Jiang Wuyang said, "Are you both willing to recreate the scene?"
Despite the pain in her hands, Xie Suisui expressed her willingness.
Qi Hui and Xiao Shanshan sternly refused—if it turned out to be true, Qi Yurou would never be able to recover.
Jiang Wuyang would not yield an inch: "Prime Minister Qi, this is a murder case—you don't get a say in this!"
Everyone attending the banquet today was excitedly rubbing their hands in secret. What a blessing today was—they'd get to witness the Prime Minister's household drama and watch Lord Jiang solve a case on the spot.
Qi Hui looked at Xie Suisui like she was already dead.
This defiant daughter of his could not be kept.
Qi Yurou patted Xiao Shanshan's hand and said softly, "Don't worry. If we recreate the scene, I'll definitely stab Xie Suisui to death."
Luo Sheng was extremely worried and said, "Suisui, your hand injury is so severe. What if you can't hold the rope and she stabs you to death with her dagger?"
"Mother, don't worry!" Xie Suisui also patted her adoptive mother's hand.
Qi Yurou still wanted to summon the dagger? The spatial dimension was right here with her!
In her previous life, Qi Yurou had used the spatial dimension to ruin her reputation. In this life, she would make Qi Yurou taste her own medicine.
Qi Yurou crouched by the well railing in her original position, but she didn't squat deeply—she assumed a posture most conducive to escape.
Xie Suisui knew Qi Yurou wouldn't give her much time, so the moment Jiang Wuyang's "Begin" fell, she sprang onto Qi Yurou's back like a leaping carp.
The rope wrapped around Qi Yurou's neck even faster than before.
But her hands hurt too much to exert any strength.
"You can't escape this time…" Xie Suisui whispered in her ear like a demon.
Qi Yurou was driven mad by the provocation and said without hesitation, "Out!"
Xie Suisui quickly cooperated with her—silently chanting "Out," and sure enough, the dagger appeared in Qi Yurou's hand according to her will.
Qi Yurou didn't think twice. She reversed the dagger, gripping its handle, and viciously stabbed toward Xie Suisui's flank.
Jiang Wuyang lightly flicked his hand, and a Funeral Nail went "ting"—knocking the dagger away.
"Both young ladies, that's enough." Jiang Wuyang gave the order.
Xie Suisui reluctantly let go.
Jiang Wuyang moved swiftly, snatching up the dagger.
The dagger was extremely sharp—so sharp it could split a hair blown against it.
Jiang Wuyang looked coldly at Qi Yurou. Just moments ago, her hands had clearly been empty, yet in an emergency, a dagger had appeared out of thin air!
Despite the crowd and the noise, he had clearly heard her shout the word "Out"!
And this dagger was none other than the world-famous Plum Edge that had been stolen from the Crown Prince's residence years ago.
Six Doors had investigated for years with no progress.
Something was amiss here!
"Prime Minister Qi, Lady Qi, the engagement between the Young Marquis and the eldest Miss Qi is hereby called off!" Marquess Xuanping's Mother had made up her mind the moment she discovered those traces of intimacy in Qi Yurou's boudoir.
Now, witnessing this scene, everything was clear to her.
She didn't want to hear the verdict. She was calling off the engagement.
Immediately. Right now!
The Marquess Xuanping's household couldn't afford the shame, and Her Majesty the Empress couldn't afford the disgrace either.
Xiao Shanshan still tried to salvage the situation, claiming it was all Xie Suisui's scheme.
Marquess Xuanping's Mother let out a cold laugh and said, "Lady Qi, some matters are best left with mutual dignity… You're not the only ones who know Master Yao the Celestial!"
Xiao Shanshan's face turned pale in an instant.
Qi Yurou said irritably, "Mother, return the token to him. Marriage is a matter of mutual consent—we won't force it."
Marquess Xuanping's Mother was taken aback, then laughed heartily. "Well said, Miss Qi. My son is unworthy of you. This engagement is hereby called off."
With the Marquess Xuanping withdrawing from the engagement, Xie Suisui's brows and eyes curved into a smile.
"Miss Qi first attempted to kill with a flowerpot, then sought to throw Miss Xie into a well. The evidence is conclusive. According to the penal code…"
Jiang Wuyang began his closing statement.
Qi Hui had served in the court for decades and had heavily revised the penal code, so he was naturally familiar with it: plotting murder with intent, where the attempt failed, carries a sentence of three years in servitude!
Xiao Shanshan collapsed to the ground.
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