Chapter 147 - 146: Smiling Killer

Chapter 147: Chapter 146: Smiling Killer

Zhao Shaohua obviously recognized Wu Youbing too. With a slight frown, he looked at him with extreme disgust and said, "Wu Sanlang is here? I’m not surprised at all. Back then, you unceremoniously annulled your marriage to Zhen. On the day Zhen disappeared, you also went to our snow-viewing spot.

Heh, if it weren’t for the officials saying that Zhen was killed by that Smiling Killer, I might even suspect Wu Sanlang."

Smiling Killer?

Xu Jing heard an unfamiliar term again and silently noted it in her mind.

However, was this Wu Sanlang once engaged to the deceased Wang Wuniang?

What bad luck he has with spouses. He is already a notorious playboy in the Capital City, and if he were not the direct heir of the Marquis Wushun’s family name, no woman would probably even want to glance at him.

More than four years ago, when her original father wanted to marry her off to him, he was quite pleased — after all, she was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Xu Family, and most importantly, no matter her temperament, her face was still quite captivating.

Just when he was happily waiting to marry her, she used some despicable means to marry into the Xiao Family. This infuriated Wu Sanlang, who had never suffered such grievances since childhood. But he dared not offend Xiao Yi, so he could only keep it to himself.

Perhaps this incident dealt him too heavy a blow, and since then, he refused to propose marriage again. Later, she did not pay attention to his affairs, which is why it was only now that Xu Jing learned about his engagement with Wang Wuniang.

Wu Youbing was obviously still angry, his face looking as dark as a burnt pot bottom. "I’ll say it again— that woman’s death has nothing to do with me! Was that spot Zhao Young Madam’s exclusive? Can’t I, bringing a beauty along, have gone there to enjoy the snow, knowing I’d run into the likes of you? Rather than suspecting me, you might as well blame yourself for dragging everyone all the way to such a remote place!"

His words hit Zhao Shaohua’s sore point; Zhao Shaohua couldn’t help but bite his lower lip until it turned white, and didn’t speak again.

Liu Fuyue and Guo Liuyun, due to their connection with Zhao Shaohua, always treated Xu Jing kindly. Seeing Xu Jing looking puzzled, Liu Fuyue, standing beside her, whispered, "That day, Shaohua took us to a snow-viewing spot in a small grove on the outskirts of the Western Capital.

There is a small stream and an ancient pavilion over a thousand years old. When the Grand Ancestor Emperor fought battles reaching the Western Capital, he once strolled around the pavilion and composed a poem there, so it has been popular with literati and poets.

But it is not an easy place to visit, the terrain is rugged, and carriages cannot reach it, requiring about a quarter-hour’s walk to reach it. Therefore, not many people specifically go there.

Xu Jing slightly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did Young Madam Zhao go to such a remote place that day? To enjoy snow, one can do that anywhere, right?"

Liu Fuyue sighed softly and said, "Shaohua just wanted to make Zhen a little happier. During that period, Zhen was in poor spirits due to her marriage.

Because of Zhen’s background, her marriage was quite awkward. If someone proposed too high, they were put off that she wasn’t really a Wang Family daughter; if too low, it wouldn’t match the Wang Family’s status. In the end, somehow, she ended up engaged to Wu Sanlang.

But we only found out later that the engagement was arranged arbitrarily by Wu Sanlang’s parents while he was traveling with a gang of friends in Jiangnan, totally unaware. Upon his return, learning Zhen was his fiancée infuriated him, leading him to cause a huge commotion, declaring... such low-born women pretending nobility weren’t fit to enter his family. He’d rather marry a dog than Zhen.

Mrs. Yu always loved Zhen, and she hadn’t expected Wu Sanlang would be so shameless. When proposing the marriage back then, Wu Sanlang’s parents had sweet-talked and cozened Mrs. Yu into thinking Wu Sanlang had become more restrained in recent years, and even persuaded Zhen to agree. Upon hearing Wu Sanlang’s vile words, Mrs. Yu wanted anything but to send Zhen over, so fearing they would retreat first, the Marquis Wushun’s family annulled the marriage first to protect their reputation.

Afterward, Zhen was downcast for a long time, wherever she went, people gossiping about her being jilted. Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi would even laugh at her face often.

Shaohua did not want to enjoy some good snow views only to run into those people, so he chose that place, but who knew..."

Who knew, while avoiding those villains, they ran into Wu Youbing and his party instead.

One wonders if Heaven itself planned on breaking Zhen’s heart.

Xu Jing now understood why Young Madam Zhao had such a persistent grievance about the situation.

Disappearing in such a remote location makes seeking help or conducting a search much more difficult.

That’s why she kept saying she killed Wang Wuniang.

Xu Jing pressed her lips slightly and asked, "When you all went to view snow, had Wang Wuniang and Wu Sanlang just annulled their engagement?"

"No," Guo Liuyun, noticing their close whispers, approached just in time to hear Xu Jing’s question, shaking his head, replied, "Zhen had already been three months out of the engagement by then. After being jilted, she sequestered herself at home, and spent time in a temple praying, unwilling to see anyone.

Shaohua was worried because of this and forcibly took her out to see the snow.

Xu Jing was slightly stunned, "Wang Wuniang... really liked Wu Sanlang?"

"Pah! Who would like such a wastrel?"

Guo Liuyun glared at Wu Youbing, not far off, with disdain but knowing to keep his voice low, said, "Zhen didn’t even see Wu Sanlang a few times before. She couldn’t have been depressed over him, but when we asked why, she wouldn’t say. Therefore, we and Shaohua suspected she was hurt by those who spoke ill of her.

After Zhen reached the coming-of-age ceremony, many awaited who she would marry, with plenty vile words behind, and later, when the Wu family proposed, we advised her against Wu Sanlang as a good-for-nothing, to be thoughtful, but she said to her, Wu Sanlang was already the best option."

The more Guo spoke, the fainter his voice became, evidently saddened by his ill-fated friend.

Liu Fuyue added, "Zhen was actually a woman with a strong sense of dignity. She might not outwardly show it, yet we knew that she took what others said about her to heart. When others claimed her marriage would disgrace the Wang Family, she secretly decided not to let people speak ill of the Wang Family or her mother because of her.

Though Wu Sanlang wasn’t great, at least he was the legitimate son of one with a Marquis title. For a Wang daughter to marry into Marquis Wushun’s family could be said to be marrying down, but it wouldn’t disgrace the Wang family name."

Xu Jing couldn’t help but frown.

Wang Wuniang linked her marriage to family honor and shame, so it’s no surprise that being jilted affected her that deeply.

She pondered for a moment and asked, "Were all the people caught here present at your snow-viewing site that day?"

Guo Liuyun shook his head, "No, Zhen, Fuyue, and I went to see the snow that day, and there we only came across Wu Sanlang and his two frivolous pals, whom you see over there."

Guo Liuyun gestured with his eyes towards two young Lords standing beside Wu Youbing, one short and chubby, the other tall and thin, facially pleasant yet marred by buck teeth disturbing his facial harmony.

Like Wu Youbing, these two wore faces of indulgent pallor, making Wu Youbing comparatively dashing.

"They are Zhang Siliang from Suyi Earl’s residence and Feng Qilang from the Vice Minister of Ministry of Revenue’s house, both notorious playboys always following in Wu Sanlang’s footsteps.

Aside from them, there was Jiang Erlang who happened to pass near that location, counted loosely as present. Everyone else was absent."

Xu Jing nodded.

So today, the people Mrs. Yu gathered fall into two categories: those present at the crime scene and those generally bearing grudges against Wang Wuniang.

Yet something still feels off...

At this moment, Zhao Shaohua glanced over from a distance, "Doctor Xu, may I trouble you to come over for a moment?"

Xu Jing looked up, unexpectedly meeting Jiang Erlang’s gaze standing beside Zhao Shaohua.

He stood with arms crossed, casually relaxed there, watching her with a touch of indifference and languid ease.

His demeanor was a world apart from the other captives present there.

Xu Jing naturally glanced away, turning to Zhao Shaohua, "What can I do for you, Young Madam Zhao?"

"I was discussing Zhen’s case with Jiang Erlang. You are so perceptive, Doctor Xu, I’d like to hear your thoughts,"

Zhao Shaohua said in a low voice. "Jiang Erlang’s third uncle currently serves as Capital City Governor. Therefore, Jiang Erlang is quite familiar with the Smiling Killer’s various cases, and we discovered after talking, that Zhen’s case... might really be quite peculiar."