Chapter 150 - 149: To Punish Her Heart (First Update)

Chapter 150: Chapter 149: To Punish Her Heart (First Update)

Zhao Shaohua pursed her lips, her face ashen. "It’s because of Old Mrs. Wang, isn’t it?"

The Old Mrs. Wang she referred to was the current elderly matriarch of the Wang Family, also the biological mother of Mrs. Yu’s current husband.

Some matters are like unraveling thread; once you pull out the key strand, other things become much easier to understand.

Jiang Erlang nodded and said, "My third uncle has hinted to me that Duke Qiao once intervened to stop the Ministry of Justice and the Western Capital’s authorities from investigating the case. Duke Qiao said that upon hearing about it, the family’s old lady became severely ill from grief, and he hoped that no more news of the case would come out to affect her health."

Duke Qiao is a hereditary title in the Wang Family. The current Duke Qiao is the biological elder brother of Mrs. Yu’s husband and is now the one in charge of the Wang Family.

He personally requested that the Ministry of Justice and the Western Capital’s authorities not continue the investigation. Given who he was, they had to show him some respect, and besides, it meant less work for them, so they were more than willing to comply.

Guo Liuyun looked at Zhao Shaohua in shock and murmured, "Can’t be, right?"

"Why not? Zhen was never a legitimate daughter of the Wang Family! Besides, Zhen’s death was disgraceful. During that time, the Wang Family was pushed into the eye of the storm, it’s good enough that Old Mrs. Wang wasn’t resentful of Zhen!"

Zhao Shaohua said in a deep voice, suddenly understanding the desperate response of Mrs. Yu.

Mrs. Yu had no voice in the Wang Family, and with the old lady and Duke Qiao suppressing her, even if she knew there was something suspicious about her daughter’s death, she didn’t have the capability to convince the Ministry of Justice and the Western Capital to reopen the case.

In desperation, she had to resort to this desperate measure.

Chen Xi said with a pale face, "Even so, how does she know that the murderer is among us? Even if it wasn’t the Smiling Killer, it could have been anyone in the Western Capital!"

Yet Zhao Shaohua suddenly turned to look at Xu Jing, "Doctor Xu, what do you think?"

She had wanted to discuss these issues with Xu Jing but was interrupted by Mrs. Yu who had suddenly appeared.

Everyone’s gaze immediately focused on Xu Jing.

Those who had seen Xu Jing’s reasoning ability before were unsurprised that Zhao Shaohua would ask Xu Jing, while the others were curious and skeptical.

Truth be told, Xu Jing seemed quite out of place among this group.

Initially, Xu Jing wanted to keep a low profile with Xu Ya and Wu Youbing present, but now she couldn’t keep low. She sighed and said, "It only shows that Mrs. Yu has evidence linking the people here to Wang Wuniang’s death, most likely the diary she just mentioned..."

Before she finished speaking, Nanny Zhou slowly walked over, holding a notebook with a pale yellow cover in both hands, and said, "This is our Fifth Lady’s diary. Of course, this isn’t the original; our madam had someone transcribe it. The madam only has this one copy, so please cherish it."

"Madam asked this old servant to deliver it to Young Madam Zhao."

Zhao Shaohua was taken aback, then stepped forward and gingerly took the notebook.

Nanny Zhou nodded at Zhao Shaohua and turned to walk back.

Everyone immediately gathered around Zhao Shaohua, but Zhao Shaohua directly looked at Xu Jing and said, "Doctor Xu, you come and take a look as well."

It was clear Zhao Suhua wanted Xu Jing to look at the diary from the closest spot near her!

Although Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi were dissatisfied, they refrained from speaking due to their instinctive fear of Zhao Shaohua.

Wu Youbing couldn’t help but become agitated again, "What is this! We don’t even know who this woman is, why should she have control over our fate!"

But Zhao Shaohua seemed to know what he wanted to say and gave him a cold glance, "If you want to live, shut up and listen to me!"

Wu Youbing was taken aback, unsure of how to offend Zhao Shaohua, so he urged Jiang Erlang, the only one whose family could rival Zhao Shaohua’s, "Jiang Erlang, are you just going to let this woman mess around?!"

Jiang Erlang lazily lifted his eyelids and chuckled, "Young Madam Zhao has always known what she’s doing. Since she trusts this... Doctor Xu, I’m also curious to see what skills this Doctor Xu has."

Even when Jiang Erlang said this, Wu Youbing could only fume with no solution at hand.

In this way, Xu Jing, who originally had the least to do with the matter, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Xu Jing: "..."

Doesn’t anyone want to ask her opinion?

Looking at the bright eyes of Zhao Shaohua gazing at her, Xu Jing had no choice but to step forward.

As she passed by Jiang Erlang, her eyes lifted slightly, giving him a faint glance.

This guy was always a fan of watching the drama unfold without worrying about its consequences. Even though he naturally was bold and composed, he seemed a little too composed considering his life was supposedly under threat.

Enough, now she was already involved, and since she had shown her talent in front of Zhao Shaohua and others earlier, keeping low now would only arouse suspicion.

She could only try to handle this situation carefully.

Once she stood next to Zhao Shaohua, Zhao Shaohua carefully opened the diary.

The diary started about four months before Wang Wuniang’s death. The first few pages were merely records of her daily activities and reflections.

It wasn’t until the tenth page that a familiar name appeared—

"September 10th, the fifth year of Tianxi, Wu Sanlang returned from Jiangnan. He confronted me at the Wang Family’s gates, angry and questioning why I was clinging to the Marquis Wushun’s residence? What made me worthy of being his main wife? I was speechless."

"September 15th, the fifth year of Tianxi, after Wu Sanlang declared he’d rather marry a dog than me, the rumors in the Western Capital became increasingly fierce. Ever since Shaohua began to protect me, I felt like I hadn’t experienced such storms in years... It upsets me, but what’s more disheartening is, my mom and the Wang Family were dragged into the gossip with me. Why talk about my family when they could just talk about me? I have decided; I must talk to Wu Sanlang. As long as I muster the courage, surely Wu Sanlang will understand me."

From this, it could be seen that Wang Wuniang’s tone had become quite incensed.

Everyone couldn’t help but frown and look at Wu Youbing, who glared back, "What are you looking at me for?! Which one of my words wasn’t true?"

However, either way, now was not the time to dwell on these.

Liu Fuyue lowered her eyelids softly and murmured, "I never thought Zhen actually sought out Wu Sanlang. She never told us..."

Zhao Shaohua slowly exhaled and continued to flip the page.

But to her astonishment, the next page was blank.

She flipped another page, blank again, and after turning four or five more pages, just when everyone thought the diary might have ended, familiar handwriting reappeared.

However, the handwriting this time was much sloppier compared to before, and Wang Wuniang’s entries had also become much shorter.

More shocking was the content of what was recorded there.

At the same time, in a nearby chamber.

Nanny Zhou handed a cup of tea to Mrs. Yu, who was reclining on the couch, and sighed, "Madam, Yu Shi reported earlier that government officials have found their way here, along with members of various prominent families."

Mrs. Yu smiled faintly, took a sip of tea, and said, "Don’t mind them; they’re simply posturing."

Nanny Zhou was silent for a moment but couldn’t resist saying, "Yu Shi said the Lord has also arrived, and he brought the young lord with him. He sent someone to negotiate with Yu Shi, asking to meet with you face to face."

The Lord bringing the young lord now was clearly to target Madam’s heart!

The young lord had been staying in this estate with Madam, but for this very matter, Madam had, two days ago, sent him back to the Wang Family under the pretense of her worsening illness.

How could Nanny Zhou not recognize Madam’s gesture of saying farewell when sending the young lord away!

The Lord bringing the young lord over now was obviously to play the family card and persuade Madam to back down!