In the hall, Yu Pin Yan opened his mouth and spoke in a cold voice after putting the teacup down, “Have you finished? This Marquis will say a few words once you’re done.”
Sitting back in her seat, Lin Shi braced herself and admonished, “The evidence is irrefutable, what else do you have to say? Do you want to oppress others based on your status? You even used ‘this Marquis’ when you spoke to me, have you forgotten who carried you in the womb for ten months and gave birth to you? You unfilial son!”
“Indeed have forgotten. Who could remember such a remote matter? This Marquis only remembers being personally brought up by Grandmother while this life was saved time and again by Xiang’er. This Marquis will not be here today without the both of them. Don’t you use the order of seniority to suppress this Marquis. Didn’t you know that all the Yu family’s Shu[1] branches were personally destroyed by this Marquis while there was no shortage of Yu family’s blood staining this Marquis’ hands.” He curled his knuckles up and tapped the table top where the dull sound seemingly pounced onto the chest and directly bore into the heart, creeping the people out.
Lin Shi was rendered speechless by his words while Yu Miao Qi’s expression turned even more ghastly and the hands hidden within her sleeves trembled slightly. There was even bloodshed among the clansmen, Yu Pin Yan’s brutality is far beyond her expectations. What’s to be done if he found out that she was the instigator of all these? !
Yu Miao Qi once again fell into deep remorse, amongst was splashing dirty water on Yu Xiang, otherwise this would not have led to such a great deal of turmoil.
Yu Pin Yan did not even look at the expressions of both mother and daughter as he opened his mouth slowly, “A month ago, two people from the manor took leave. One was Jin Shi’s second son-in-law and the other was a page boy, Zhou Tong who went back to his hometown to visit his seriously ill mother. As Xiang’er took pity on Zhou Tong and his widowed mother who had no one to rely on, she gave him twenty taels before he left. The remains of Zhou Tong had been found by this Marquis a few days ago, only to have his neck skillfully broken by someone and abandoned in the mountain stream. Coincidentally, the subordinates sent by this Marquis to investigate in Yangzhou also found a corpse with a broken neck who also died the same way as Zhou Tong at the downstream of Yangtze River. The method is so efficient which proves the perpetrator had received special military training. If this Marquis remembers correctly, Jin Shi, your second son-in-law used to serve under this Marquis’ troops but was driven out of the barracks after sentenced to eighty strokes of wooden staves for murder under the influence of alcohol. His usual killing technique was chokehold. That Zhou Tong presumably must be the third pot of dirty water that you guys wished to splash on Xiang’er’s head and merely waited to send someone looking for his corpse in a few days time before framing Xiang’er for silencing a witness by murdering him.”
Sweating profusely, Jin Momo’s limbs weakened as she stammered, “Wh- what Marquis said, Nubi completely do not know.”
Yu Pin Yan paid no attention to her and continued, “Merely returned home for a month or so, Yu Miao Qi is not yet capable to make a maidservant faithful to her unto death. This Jiang Xue was truly a victim of unjust death. A month ago, she went out shopping and was coaxed into the wilderness by the daughter of Jin Shi who was also out with her where she was raped by the eldest son-in-law of Jin Shi. Her dudou[2] was ripped off in exchanged for something, otherwise her disgraced affair would be publicized. Having no choice, Jiang Xue could only leapt in even knowing it was a dead end. Yu Miao Qi, this Marquis has always prided myself on my ingenuity ruthlessness yet did not expect a weak woman like you to actually be able to scheme others into such a desperate situation. You are really good.”
He turned to face the stiffly seated Yu Miao Qi by the side. Although he spat out praises, his expression was extremely menacing.
With her eyes shut, Old Madam was stroking the prayer rosary and kept chanting the mantra of afterlife.
Outside the door, Yu Si Yu only felt a gush of cold air making its way from the soles of her feet to her scalp. She was so horrified that her liver and galls were about to split open. Three human lives were so easily schemed away and merely at the age of fourteen. Pondering about the things she had done at the age of fourteen, which at most were just harassing and making some troubles for Yu Xiang. Not to mention doing things that would harm others’ lives, even thinking about it, she wouldn’t even dare!
Compared to Yu Miao Qi, Yu Xiang is simply too kind! Her previous own various actions of blackmailing Yu Miao Qi was tantamount to walking on the edge of a cliff where she would be condemned to a horrible death under mere carelessness! Kneading her chest vigorously, Yu Si Yu just managed to quell the panicky in her heart yet her forehead unknowingly exuded a great deal of fine sweat.
In the hall, Yu Miao Qi forcibly pretended to be calm and said, “Everyone has already died, hence aren’t these words still at Elder Brother’s disposal? I know that Elder Brother is partial to Yu Xiang yet you can’t play favoritism to this extent. Distorting the truth deliberately to exonerate her even when the evidence is conclusive and falsely incriminated me. I have always been on friendly terms with the Eldest Sister, so what reason would I have to harm her? On the contrary, Yu Xiang …” She paused here then raised a hand to pledge solemnly, “I have never done those things that Elder Brother said and dare to swear towards the Buddha; if I did it, I will be struck by thunder and plunged into purgatory, never to be human ever again and reduced to be animal forever!”
Old Madam’s eyes snapped open abruptly and her gaze was blazing like torches as she looked at her.
Yu Pin Yan responded indifferently, “It might be more appropriate to change ‘I did it’ to ‘I incited it’.”
Pursing her lips, Yu Miao Qi swore another poisonous oath. She does not believe in supernatural beings, merely believes that her fate is up to herself and not the Heavens. Not only could she swear twice, she was not afraid to even vow a hundred or a thousand times.
Looking at her, Old Madam’s gaze turned all the more colder while blue veins unexpectedly appeared on the back of her hand that was pinching the rosary, evident that her patience had reached its limit.
Contrarily, Jin Momo was obtuse as she immediately refuted, “Marquis is somewhat unaware that my son-in-law asked for leave because he broke his leg by falling. How could he travel all the way to Yangzhou to kill? These things are truly related to Second Young Miss and have nothing to do with Nubi’s family. Requesting the Marquis for clear judgement.”
“Unlike Lin Shi who never leaves the house, shouldn’t you know what this Marquis does for a living.” With narrowed eyes, Yu Pin Yan sneered, “This Marquis adjudicates countless cases, so how could this Marquis not be able to distinguish between a new injury and the old ones. Oh, by the way, this Marquis forgot to tell you that your sons, daughters and grandchildren along with all your clan relatives are now locked in the Marquis manor’s dungeon. As they were unable to stand the tortures, the confessions that ought or should not, have all already been owned up while the warrant had been signed and drawn up. The reason why this is broached now is merely to reckon more clearly the kind of person Yu Miao Qi is. As expected of my Yu Pin Yan’s younger sister, she is indeed cruel and ruthless!”
Once these words were out, the whole room was silent except for the sound of teeth chattering from the master and servants of Lin Shi. A short while later, another muffled sound of silk snapping reverberated while the rosary in Old Madam’s hand unexpectedly severed into two parts as the sandalwood beads tumbled pitter-patter to the ground and rolled away in every direction.