Chapter 153 - 152: The Prime Suspect

Chapter 153: Chapter 152: The Prime Suspect

In other words, that day, there was a full hour or so when Wang Wuniang was alone without anyone accompanying her!

Zhao Shaohua felt like he finally grasped a clue, trying to remain calm, he asked, "Did your Fifth Lady mention where she went during that time?"

Little Tao and Peony’s faces suddenly darkened at this question, Little Tao bit her lip and shook her head, "When we saw Fifth Lady that day, she seemed very downcast, unwilling to speak no matter what, even... even unwilling to wash up. We advised her for a long time to no avail, thinking she was too devastated and would be fine after a night’s rest, so we didn’t ask further.

Who would have thought, after that day, Fifth Lady seemed to have changed completely, like a snail retreating into its shell, unwilling to leave the door, eating very little, visibly losing weight day by day.

During that time, you know it well too, Young Madam. The Lady was very worried about Fifth Lady, but Fifth Lady, who usually listened to her the most, didn’t even want to see her this time. The Lady tried everything she could, only managing to persuade Fifth Lady out once to choose some cosmetics."

Everyone immediately realized that this was the incident Wang Wuniang mentioned in her diary when she encountered Chen Xi and them.

Little Tao continued, "During that period, the Lady almost fell ill from worry, and even often mentioned wanting to cut Wu Sanlang to avenge Fifth Lady. Not long after, Fifth Lady suddenly expressed a desire to stay at Famen Temple in the suburbs for a few days to relax. Since Fifth Lady was finally willing to go to another place, how could the Lady refuse and immediately agreed.

Later, only a few days after Fifth Lady returned from Famen Temple, she... was murdered..."

Now there was nothing unclear anymore.

Wang Wuniang’s strangeness started after returning from visiting Wu Youbing that day!

During the time she was alone, she must have experienced something... extremely frightening.

Xu Jing pursed his lips and asked, "When your Fifth Lady returned home that day, was there anything unusual about her? For instance, were there any... signs of being violated on her body?"

Everyone’s expressions changed slightly.

But actually, after reading that diary, they all somewhat guessed — the event that made Wang Wuniang so despair could very likely be that she was violated by a villain.

In other words, the violation she suffered before dying wasn’t her first time.

This poor girl very likely suffered violence twice!

Little Tao’s eyes suddenly turned red, choking with sobs, "Our Fifth Lady never liked others serving her bath since childhood; she always bathed and groomed herself. But, that time when we saw Fifth Lady, we found that she wasn’t wearing the clothes she left in, but another set of clothes.

When we asked where the clothes she wore earlier went, Fifth Lady only said they were stained with the scent of rouge from Gui Xiang House, she found it dirty and burned them upon her return.

We slaves found Fifth Lady’s action odd, but during that period, after the breakup with Marquis Wushun’s family, many of Fifth Lady’s actions differed from before, so we didn’t think much..."

During that period, all Wang Wuniang’s unusual behavior seemed explainable by the broken engagement.

Who would have thought that something so terrifying also happened to this girl behind the scenes?

Zhao Shaohua’s fists were already clenched in anger, eyes filled with tears, gritting his teeth word by word, "Bastard! Truly bastard!"

Even Mrs. Yu, upon knowing these matters, would be infuriated as if she would explode.

As Zhen’s mother, Mrs. Yu must be heartbroken and filled with self-blame to an unimaginable extent.

Jiang Erlang, who had remained silent, spoke coolly at this moment, "Now, the situation is generally clear, if we say, the murderer who killed Wang Wuniang is among us, the most suspicious seems to be..."

He raised his eyelids slightly, looking fixedly at Wu Youbing, saying, "It can only be you, Wu Sanlang."

Wu Sanlang was startled, immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Why am I the most suspicious! Since the breakup, except for that woman taking the initiative to find me that time and going to admire the snow, I haven’t seen her!"

Liu Fuyue, though usually gentle, now looked at him coldly, her voice tight, "Zhen’s diary shows that the one who bullied and humiliated her must be someone who knows her, otherwise, how could they be so clear about Zhen’s identity and background. Zhen went to find you that day, and during the hour when Zhen was missing, who knows if you were with her! Or, do you have any witnesses to prove that after entering Gui Xiang House that day, you didn’t see Zhen again!"

Wu Youbing’s face flushed instantly, "How am I supposed to prove that! I was there for two or three hours, naturally had to visit the lavatory, who brings a witness for that sort of thing!"

He dared not lie, because Feng Qi, who went with him to Gui Xiang House that day, was also there.

If he lied, they could pressure Feng Qi, who could expose him on the spot.

"So, you can’t prove definitively that you didn’t see Zhen during that hour when she went missing."

Guo Liuyun also let out a cold laugh, saying, "How do you expect us to believe that you’re not the one who harmed Zhen!"

"You..."

At this moment, Chen Xi, who had been deep in thought, suddenly said, "I remember, I remember! I... I once called Wang Wuniang’s original name in front of Wu Sanlang!

I remember it was not long after Wu Sanlang returned from Jiangnan, when he was making a fuss about breaking off the engagement with Wang Wuniang, there was an autumn banquet hosted by Princess Zhenning, and both Wu Sanlang and Wang Wuniang attended.

I, I knew Wu Sanlang was making a fuss about breaking off the engagement with Wang Wuniang, so I deliberately called Wang Wuniang’s original name in front of Wu Sanlang..."

Wu Youbing almost jumped up, "Don’t talk nonsense, trying to pin the blame on me!"

"I’m not!"

Chen Xi quickly said, "That day, Zhiyi and the maid beside me were present, they can testify! I wasn’t that kind of person who bullied others for no reason, at least when I called Wang Wuniang by her original name, it was usually when she was alone. Except that time, I... I wanted to see her embarrassed, so I deliberately called her original name in front of Wu Sanlang...

I remember clearly, it was at the gate of Princess Mansion, when Zhiyi and I were a bit late, and when we went down, we happened to see Wu Sanlang and Wang Wuniang had also arrived late, Wu Sanlang had just gotten off the carriage, and I stepped forward, said a few words to Wang Wuniang...

By the way, both Wang Wuniang and Wu Sanlang’s servants were there that day, Wu Sanlang’s driver hadn’t even left yet! If you don’t believe me, you can ask them!"

From Chen Xi’s appearance, she was evidently too afraid to lie further.

Peony suddenly stepped forward, her expression thoroughly somber, "Yes, I remember this matter as well."

Little Tao and Shen Zhiyi also testified one after another.

Everyone looked at Wu Youbing with an increasingly skeptical gaze.

Not until then did Wu Youbing, grown as he was, understand what it felt like to be unable to wash off the dirt even by jumping into the Yellow River, his chest heaving heavily, suddenly gritting his teeth and letting out a low growl, "Anyway, it’s not me! Don’t expect me to confess, at worst we all die together after three days!"

Everyone felt a panic rise in their hearts.

Mrs. Yu’s request to them was to find the real murderer of Wang Wuniang.

However, although Wu Sanlang was the prime suspect, they had no evidence proving he was the murderer. If he refused to confess, they would still fail to fulfill Mrs. Yu’s demand.

Seeing the atmosphere at the scene come to a stalemate, Xu Jingjing was silent for a moment, then spoke indifferently, "I actually think the murderer isn’t Wu Sanlang."