Ma femme escalade le mur

Chapitre 17

Tao Hanzhi glanced sideways at the constable, signaling him not to speak casually in court. The constable pursed his lips, his eyes lowered reluctantly.

Wang Sulei kept rambling on and on, her expression growing increasingly agitated. Lan Lan, meanwhile, silently wiped away her tears, her face lowered, her half-disheveled hair obscuring half her features, making it impossible to discern her expression. When Wang Sulei finished her narration, Xiao Duan stared at Lan Lan and said coldly, "So, Miss Lan Lan knew absolutely nothing about it?"

Lanlan's shoulders trembled, and she slowly raised her head. Her large, doe-like eyes were filled with confusion and panic. Her tender red lips trembled slightly, and she opened her mouth several times, but no word came out. Wang Sulei quickly answered for her, "Yes. Lanlan doesn't know anything. I told you before, Lanlan is very timid; she would never kill anyone!"

Xiao Duan's lips curled slightly as he gazed at Lan Lan's trembling hands, half-hidden in her sleeves, and said softly, "Is that so? Miss Lan, how did it feel to scratch someone's face with the silver hairpin? It slid across her face so hard that bright red blood flowed out. The second scratch was much easier. How did it feel to have your hands covered in blood? Warm and sticky, quite stimulating, wasn't it? So stimulating that you panicked and accidentally threw the hairpin into the lake. That night was the first time. You must have left very late and searched for a long time, but you couldn't find the hairpin..."

As Xiao Duan spoke, he strode over to the two of them. His phoenix eyes remained cold and aloof, but the curve of his slightly pursed pink lips was somewhat eerie. Lan Lan stared blankly at Xiao Duan, her frail body trembling uncontrollably. She shook her head repeatedly, her voice trembling and incoherent as she stammered, "You, you..."

Wang Sulei stepped forward to block him, saying, "What right do you have to slander Lanlan? Do you have any evidence? Don't you dare spout nonsense! Lanlan is so..."

“Lanlan is so timid, she wouldn’t kill anyone.” Xiao Duan finished her sentence for her, and then added, “She didn’t kill anyone, but she participated in the whole process of your killing. You originally only wanted to drown people, but she was the one who did the slashing of their faces. That’s why you took all the jewelry off those women and took their personal clothing, trying to make it look like they were violated and robbed by men.”

Wang Sulei's eyelids twitched, and the veins on her forehead throbbed faintly: "You!"

“I have evidence.” Xiao Duan took out a half-embroidered handkerchief from his sleeve, unfolded it in front of the two men, and then turned around so that Tao Zhubu and Li, who had already returned to their seats, could see it clearly. “This handkerchief was embroidered on the morning of the day Miss Qian had her accident three days ago. According to her personal maid, Miss Qian spent the entire morning embroidering this ‘Green Willows and Lotus Pond’, but she only completed a small part of it.”

Xiao Duan turned to look at Lan Lan again, only saying half of his sentence, but the girl's face had already turned pale, her big eyes staring at Xiao Duan in fear, as if she had suddenly remembered something. Xiao Duan smiled and continued, "I remember the first time I saw Miss Lan was two days ago, after noon. At that time, Miss Lan was also embroidering a handkerchief, also with this double-sided 'Green Willow and Lotus Pond' design, but I remember that Miss Lan was almost finished embroidering, just needing to finish the stitches and edging."

Xiao Duan paused slightly, then turned to look at the people in the hall. "Two days ago, the first to arrive at the Broken Bridge were the officials from the government office. Although they had found the body, they still couldn't identify the deceased. We only learned it was Miss Qian around noon. How could Miss Lan have foreseen this, getting up early that morning to embroider a handkerchief for her deceased friend?"

Lanlan bit her lower lip tightly, her large eyes filled with unspoken words and tears welling up. Wang Sulei sneered, her tense body relaxing slightly: "That handkerchief was burned long ago. You're just making things up without any evidence."

"Yes, what a pity. The handkerchief was burned, and the couplet that Miss Lan composed was also burned the night after Miss Zhou's death, when you went to the lakeside to pay your respects, wasn't it?" Xiao Duan frowned slightly, looking at Lan Lan: "Miss Lan, once a person is dead, they know nothing. Would you rather hold a grudge against the dead than let everyone present know your talent? You can embroider double-sided brocade, and your embroidery is no less than Qian Dieyou's. You also composed a perfect couplet for the so-called 'eternal perfect couplet.' It seems that Miss Lan is no less talented than Zhou Wanxiao, the renowned talent of Hangzhou, in all aspects of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose! But the people of Hangzhou only know Zhou Wanxiao, not you, Lan Lan. Even though she is dead, when people mention her, the title of 'talented woman' still rests on her head..."

"She's not a talented woman at all!" Lanlan's big eyes blazed with fury as she stood up to argue with Xiao Duan. "What's so great about her couplet? It's nothing but plagiarism of a poem by a scholar from a previous dynasty! I just can't stand it! She can hit me, scold me, and berate me, but she can't use someone else's work and claim the title of a talented woman!"

"Lanlan!" Wang Sulei, who was kneeling to one side, tried to step forward to stop her, but her hands were tied behind her back. She could only move her body clumsily, using her arm to push against Lanlan's side to prevent her from getting up: "Don't talk nonsense!"

"I'm not making this up!" Lan Lan turned to look at Wang Sulei, her lips curving into a sweet smile. "Sister Leilei, let me speak! If you die, there's no point in me being left alone in this world. Let me speak my mind today, so that you'll have someone to keep you company on your journey to the underworld!"

"No! Lanlan, don't be silly. He's just trying to provoke you! He doesn't have any real evidence. Be good, don't say anything!" Wang Sulei warned softly, turning to Li Qinglan, "Lord Li, since there's no evidence, you can't just frame an innocent person. I killed this person, and I've already confessed. Just imprison me and execute me in the autumn! Why make things difficult for others!"

Li Qinglan slapped the boundary square, startling Wang Sulei. Li Qinglan stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "In this court, judgments are made only after the evidence is conclusive; I will never wrong an innocent person. Young lady, do not speak recklessly. Please let Lan..."

Chapter Thirteen: Inviting the Enemy into the Trap • Tacit Understanding...

Miss Lan, please make yourself clear.

Hearing this, Wang Sulei turned to look at Lanlan, only to see Lanlan smiling at her, her large, doe-like eyes overflowing with tenderness, gently shaking her head at her. "Lanlan, you—" Wang Sulei was startled, her face turning pale instantly, and she pleaded in Lanlan's ear in a hoarse voice, "Lanlan, don't say it!"

Xiao Duan stood very close to the two of them, and he heard Wang Sulei's words clearly from beginning to end. Seeing their expressions, Xiao Duan lowered his eyes, stepped forward, leaned close to them, bent down, and said softly, "Since Miss Lan has made up her mind, why should Miss Wang insist on stopping her? This is the best outcome for both of you."

The author has something to say: The case is not over yet. All I can say is that this is a serious story, so many people and things are not as wonderful as you might imagine.

Next chapter, end of this volume. Volume Two: Rouge Tears. Stay tuned.

19

Chapter Fourteen: The Truth Comes Out • Parting Sorrow...

Stepping into the backyard of the government office, Xiao Duan walked towards the main building. He was still wearing a light blue long robe, his black hair was tied up high, and his fair face showed a hint of fatigue, with his slightly pink lips also turning pale.

The boy, who was carrying a teapot and teacups into the house, saw the person, pouted, and his clear almond-shaped eyes showed deep disgust. He glared at Xiao Duan and called out in a crisp voice, "Sir, the person rushing to collect the silver is here!"

Xiao Duan followed the boy into the house expressionlessly. Inside, the people who were chatting all showed happy expressions upon seeing Xiao Duan. Li Qinglan exclaimed "Oh!" and stood up to greet Xiao Duan: "Xiao Duan, we really owe you a lot last night! We were just talking about you, and here you are! Please sit down, please sit down..." As she spoke, she pulled Xiao Duan towards where Registrar Tao was sitting.

Xiao Duan carefully pulled out his sleeve, bowing slightly as he said, "I wouldn't dare."

Li Qinglan was taken aback. The young boy, who was busy pouring tea for the group, snorted softly when he saw this. Just as he was about to speak, Tao Hanzhi narrowed his slender eyes and said, "Don't be rude!"

The boy, feeling a little wronged by Old Tao's scolding, pouted and glanced in Li Qinglan's direction. Li Qinglan stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "Ayan, what you said just now was indeed excessive! Quickly apologize to Young Master Duan."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tong's delicate eyebrows furrowed, and he was about to lash out when Xiao Duan spoke first: "No need for apologies." Xiao Duan's voice was calm, matching his expression, making it impossible to discern his emotions: "He's right, I'm here to collect the silver. I don't take cases without money. I solve cases not for anything else, but for the money."

Li Qinglan shook his head, forgetting to stroke his beard, and raised his hand to pat Xiao Duan's left shoulder, but was stopped halfway. Zhao Ting's face was gloomy, his expression even darker than his clothes, his thick black eyebrows furrowed, and he explained in a low voice, "He has an injury on his shoulder."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Li became somewhat anxious and quickly looked Xiao Duan up and down: "How did you get injured? When did this happen?"

"It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about." Xiao Duan smiled, indicating to Li Qinglan that she didn't need to worry.

Just now, when Li Qinglan slapped him, Zhao Ting rushed over and stopped his hand in time. Zhan Yun, who was sitting some distance away on the other side, was also startled and stood up. Duan's shoulder injury wouldn't heal for at least ten days to half a month, and it couldn't withstand such a slap!

Seeing this, Tao Hanzhi, who was quietly sipping tea, frowned slightly, his expression rather strange. Li Qinglan looked at Xiao Duan for a while, nodded, turned and walked to the high table, picked up an apricot-yellow square cloth bag, walked back to Xiao Duan, took out two silver notes from it, and handed them to him: "This time, the three families raised a total of six hundred taels of silver, and here is two hundred taels."

Xiao Duan folded the silver note and put it in his pocket. He nodded slightly to Tao Hanzhi and Zhan Yun, glanced at Zhao Ting, said "Thank you," and bowed to them, saying, "Farewell." Then he turned and walked out.

"Hey, Xiao Duan!" Xiao Duan paused, tilting his head slightly, waiting for Zhan Yun's next words. Zhan Yun called out to him, not wanting him to leave so quickly. He felt a little flustered and didn't know what to say.

As the saying goes, experience counts. Old Tao stroked his mustache and slowly said, "Little Duan, don't rush off. There are still some things we don't understand and would like to hear from you."

"Exactly! All these years, Xiao Tao has been so proud of his intelligence, but when faced with this case, he was ashamed of himself and kept praising you! Xiao Duan, you left without even taking a sip of this freshly brewed 'Xianglin,' what a pity! Come, come..." Li Qinglan's address of "Xiao Tao" almost made Tao, the registrar, choke on his tea. He swallowed the tea with a "gulp," and while angrily pounding his chest, Tao glared fiercely at Old Master Li, who was smiling and pulling Xiao Duan along.

Li Qinglan turned around and saw Lao Tao's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Hey Tao, what's wrong with you? You look terrible this early in the morning! The case was closed last night, you should have slept well, why aren't you getting any rest?"

Another "Little Tao" was heard, and seeing the suppressed laughter of the people beside him, Clerk Tao felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. That forgetful old man! How many times have I told you, it's not Little Tao, it's Old Tao!

Zhao Ting had already sat back down, his dark eyes fixed on Xiao Duan, his brows furrowed, his thin lips pressed together, and his expression displeased. Xiao Duan didn't let Li Qinglan pull him to Tao Zhubu's side, thanked Li Qinglan softly, and sat down next to Zhan Yun. Li Qinglan didn't insist, sat back down in the wooden chair, and slowly sipped his tea.

Zhao Ting had been slightly displeased ever since the boy's words. Hearing Xiao Duan's disparaging remarks, his cold expression and flat tone, he thought this guy was incredibly stubborn! Anyone would feel uncomfortable after hearing that; would it kill him to vent? Lord Li had already sent someone to apologize; if he didn't accept it, so be it. Why say such things and humiliate himself like that? Everyone present had dealt with him before. He and Zhan Yun had been working with him on cases these past few days, spending all their time together. Didn't they know what kind of person he was? Why did he have to portray himself as a greedy, opportunistic villain?

Zhan Yun glanced sideways at Xiao Duan's expression, feeling a little cautious. She thought to herself, "This person must be angry, right? Even when he's usually indifferent, he always shows some emotion. But since entering the room, it's like he's wearing a mask; he's cold and indifferent, even his voice has changed, making it impossible to discern any emotion."

Xiao Duan picked up his teacup and took a sip, his phoenix eyes half-closed, making it even more difficult to guess his mood. Tao, the registrar, swallowed a mouthful of tea, his slender eyes narrowing slightly, and asked with a grin, "Xiao Duan, everyone's very curious. What exactly did you say to those two last night that made them both obediently confess? Wang Sulei was very stubborn, but in the end, no one stopped her. The two of them gave a clear account, adding explanations for any inconsistencies."