Chapter 100: Who’s Telling The Truth?
Liu Sanniang agreed to Wei Shilai’s request and told Madam Wei about it at night.
Madam Wei was stunned for a moment. “That’s a good thing. However, you have to quickly settle your marriage with Chu Yan. Only then will I be at ease.”
Liu Sanniang facepalmed.
She actually wanted to say that ordinary people could not hurt her.
She could already use her power to protect herself, but Madam Wei would definitely not believe her. She only trusted Chu Yan, her prospective son-in-law.
Madam Wei found her son-in-law to be more and more compatible with her daughter. Other than Chu Yan, she was not satisfied with anyone else.
She had to settle down their marriage quickly to avoid any accidents.
Madam Wei asked Chu Yan to propose as soon as possible.
Mr. Liu agreed. “Your mother is right.”
Liu Dalang and Liu Erlang looked at Liu Sanniang and repeated. “Mother is right.”
She was speechless.
Liu Sanniang ate in silence. After eating, she returned to her room to do embroidery. When she was tired, she washed up and rested.
The next morning, someone from the government office came to invite Liu Sanniang. It was a constable called Huang Sheng. Huang Sheng said to Liu Sanniang politely, “Miss Liu, Magistrate Wei asked me to tell you about the person whom you will see later.”
Liu Sanniang nodded. “Ok.”
Huang Sheng continued. “Last night, at midnight, a servant girl came to the government office to report that her mistress had been killed. She suspected that it was done by an enemy. Magistrate Wei sent someone to investigate, but the dead person was already buried.”
Huang Sheng scratched his head. “Uh… the place where the murder happened was a brothel.”
Huang Sheng felt a little embarrassed to tell Liu Sanniang about the place as she was still a teenage girl.
Liu Sanniang said calmly, “Did they already clean up the murder scene?”
Huang Sheng nodded. “That’s right. All the women in the brothel have indentures. Unless they earn enough for the brothel, they’ll have to work for the brothel for the rest of their lives. If one of them dies, the brothel would just bury them without bothering to report to the government.”
It was just like how big families would dispose off their servant girls.
If the servant girl had a living contract with the family, she had to earn her freedom. However, if it was a death contract, it was equivalent to being a servant for her entire life for the family. Her death would mean nothing.
“The woman who died was called Yan Lan. She was one of the four top courtesans in the brothel. The bawd said that she had a death contract, but Yan Lan’s maidservant said that her lady had already earned enough to redeem herself. In other words, when Yan Lan died, she was already free.”
Huang Sheng felt that it was a pity. Now, the bawd and the servant girl were arguing. The servant girl said that her lady had been redeemed and was free. However, the bawd said that Yan Lan had a death contract, and the brothel did not want to pursue the matter.”
As the murder scene had been cleaned up, there were no clues at all. Wei Shilai wanted to ask Liu Sanniang to take a look and see if she could find anything.
Liu Sanniang already had a rough idea of who was speaking the truth.
They arrived at the government office.
Wei Shilai said to Liu Sanniang, “Miss Liu, you’re here.”
Wei Shilai set a seat for Liu Sanniang in the hall next to Assistant Zhu.
Zhu Zongyang was not very happy that Liu Sanniang had climbed to the same position as him.
In the hall, there were a few beautiful women, a servant girl, and the bawd.
When they saw Liu Sanniang enter, they became vigilant.
The bawd looked at the servant girl coldly. “You brat, how dare you stab me in the back? Your indenture is still in my hands. I’ll make you suffer.”
The bawd did not expect a servant girl to report the death to the government. It was normal for murders to happen in the brothel. Many girls had died, but because they signed a death contract, the government couldn’t do anything. As the bawd of the brothel, she normally wouldn’t pursue the matter as long as the guests compensated.
Now that this matter had been exposed, The bawd was very unhappy. However, since the government wanted to investigate the case, she had to cooperate with them.
She was frustrated. She wanted to use the money to please Wei Shilai and ask him to drop this case. However, Wei Shilai did not accept bribes at all.
The servant girl, Xiao Zhu, bent down. “My miss had already earned my freedom. I’m free now. I just want to seek justice for Miss.”
Although the servant was afraid, she insisted upon her testimony.
The bawd glared at the servant girl angrily. “Xiao Zhu, your miss was as beautiful as a flower. If someone really killed her, would I let the murderer off? She clearly committed suicide, but you keep insisting that someone else killed her. You ruined my business. If I hadn’t offered you food back then, you would have starved to death on the street.”
Xiao Zhu did not look at the bawd. “Miss did not commit suicide. She will not commit suicide. She was already a free woman. She would have lived a good life in the future. Why would she commit suicide?”
Wei Shilai smacked the table. “Stop arguing. We’ll know who’s telling the truth later.”
Wei Shilai stood up. “I invited Miss Liu to read your mind. Miss Liu is a psychic. She will tell me the truth.”
Yan Lan had been changed into a different outfit. The only wound on her neck was poked with a pair of scissors. The scissors had been washed and the room where Yan Lan lived was also cleaned.
The coroner’s autopsy revealed that Yan Lan had stabbed herself with a pair of scissors, which meant that she had committed suicide. However, the servant girl, Xiao Zhu, said that it was impossible for her to commit suicide.
A woman who had some money in her hands and earned her freedom should be very hopeful about her future. Why would she commit suicide?
In the past, such a case would have been settled as suicide based on the evidence.
But now, Wei Shilai wanted Liu Sanniang to take a look and investigate the case more clearly.
When Wei Shilai said that Liu Sanniang was a psychic, the way the bawd and the other women looked at Liu Sanniang changed. They became even more guarded.
The bawd frowned. “Sir, Yan Lan really committed suicide. You know what kind of business we do at the brothel. Is it appropriate for this young girl to read us?”
However, Liu Sanniang did not feel embarrassed at all. She looked at the bawd calmly. “I won’t see and say anything that has nothing to do with the case.”
The bawd was struck dumb, and so were the other women.
Even the servant girl had a complicated expression on her face.
Wei Shilai said, “Which one of you will go first?”
The bawd didn’t say anything, but her cold eyes were fixed at the servant girl, Xiao Zhu.
Xiao Zhu lowered her head and remained silent.
“I’ll go first.”
A woman looked at Liu Sanniang and spoke up.