Chapter 258 - 256: Irrefutable Evidence (Second Update)

Chapter 258: Chapter 256: Irrefutable Evidence (Second Update)

Everyone’s eyes were immediately fixed on Luo Ren.

Luo Ren’s expression was clearly filled with fear. He quickly glanced around the courtroom and stammered, "No... no, the woman who instructed me to write the ransom letter is not here..."

The crowd was taken aback, and Xu Sihai hastily said, "How could that be possible! Look again, carefully, maybe you missed someone!"

Wang Qilang scoffed dismissively.

However, Xu Jing didn’t seem too surprised and said calmly, "We are quite certain that the letter was written by you. Your neighbors mentioned that a young woman visited your house a few days ago. Their description matches precisely with the woman who previously sought out people in your line of work. And two days ago, you suddenly left a large sum of money to your family and disappeared without a trace.

If you cannot identify the person who instructed you, we will have no choice but to treat you as an accomplice to the kidnappers and charge you accordingly..."

"No, no, no!"

Luo Ren broke out in a cold sweat and quickly shouted, "Although that woman is not here in the courtroom, I remember her appearance! She... she looked very delicate and had a face as round as a silver plate. She wasn’t slim but rather slightly plump, which made her seem resourceful and capable. She was also very generous, and there was a small mole on the corner of her right eye!"

With his description, the faces of the Xu Family turned increasingly pale. Xu Jie suddenly turned his head sharply, looking in disbelief at Xu Ya beside him.

How... how could this description resemble her sister’s most trusted maid, Tanyun?!

But how could that be possible!

Xu Ya was already frozen in place, her mind a blank.

In fact, from the moment Luo Ren entered, she was on the verge of collapse.

How is this man here!

How did that woman find him!

Clearly... clearly, Tanyun said that she personally saw him leave the Western Capital! She also warned him not to take another step back into Western Capital without her permission!

Luo Ren finished speaking, and as if worried this wasn’t enough, he suddenly searched himself and pulled out a handkerchief, raising it high, "Jiang Zhaoyin, this... this is the handkerchief I stole from that woman! I feared she would turn on me afterward and harm me, so I managed to steal this handkerchief from her, thinking that if anything happened, I could use it to protect myself!"

A government official nearby quickly took the handkerchief and handed it to Jiang Shaobai.

Xu Jing slowly looked at Xu Ya, who was already on the verge of collapse, and sneered, "Dealing with a tiger only leads to this. Minister Xu seems to believe women shouldn’t be familiar with all walks of life, but the outcome of ignorance is being sold by someone and still feeling pleased.

Don’t you agree, Xu San Niang?!"

Most of the people present were old foxes, and when Xu Ya’s complexion started to look off, they had already noticed something was amiss.

Thus, when Xu Jing suddenly directed the accusation straight at Xu Ya, everyone wasn’t too surprised. Jiang Shaobai picked up the handkerchief and said calmly, "Xu San Niang, do you recognize whose handkerchief this is?"

The handkerchief was a personal item of a woman, with her handiwork on it. A simple comparison would reveal whose handkerchief it was.

This was ironclad evidence!

"I... I don’t know! I don’t know!"

Xu Ya suddenly shrieked and staggered a few steps back.

However, her behavior only solidified the doubts everyone had.

Even the Xu Family members, who still held a sliver of hope, looked at her with disbelief. Mrs. Wen’s lips trembled continuously as she muttered, "Ya’er, what... what is going on? This must be that wretched girl Xu Jing slandering you with nonsense, it must be! Speak up! Quickly, tell us!"

But Xu Ya could no longer hold it together and suddenly collapsed to the ground in despair.

Xu Jing quietly watched her and spoke calmly, "In fact, I didn’t expect to find Luo Ren so quickly, nor did I expect him to have such a handkerchief on him.

I thought that if I could find the person who wrote the letter for the mastermind, I could trace back and find out who he had met during that time. If I could prove that person had met with Xu San Niang or someone around her, it would prove Xu San Niang’s involvement in plotting this abduction case!"

Once that point was proven, the most suspicious individuals wouldn’t be just Xu Huaiyang and Xu Huaijin.

It would give me the opportunity to ask the Wang and Xu Families for more time to investigate, such as tracking down Luo Ren or investigating where Xu Ya or her associates had gone during that time. Surely one of those places would be where the two children were being held.

Xu Hanguang is Xu Ya’s brother. Even if this abduction was just a facade, Xu Ya would never trust anyone else with this matter. She would likely find the place personally or send someone she trusts to do so.

"I just didn’t expect to find Luo Ren so easily. Xu San Niang must not have expected this either, that Mr. Luo’s departure from the Western Capital was just a facade. He came back the same day and had been hiding in Western Capital’s casinos, living like a god."

Xu Jing sneered and said, "He clearly didn’t take you seriously, holding that handkerchief to control you without fear. If I’m not mistaken, once he runs out of silver, he would come back to you, threatening you with that handkerchief to give him more money!"

Xu Ya was, after all, too young and had been sheltered in the backyard all along, which is why she fell for Luo Ren’s tricks.

Luo Ren’s face turned white as he suddenly realized.

Damn, how does this woman know exactly what I planned!

Xu Ya shuddered violently, suddenly looking at Xu Jing with boundless hatred. Blood had started to seep from her bitten lower lip as she cried out, "Xu Jing! The one who should never be underestimated, it’s you! You! As a child, you and your mother already occupied everything that was mine! The position of Xu Family’s legitimate eldest daughter, father’s favor, even the gold and silver treasures that should have belonged to me were shamelessly taken by you! I could only hide in the corner, watching you enjoy what should have been mine!

I worked so hard to take everything back, but you appear in front of me again like a haunting ghost! Why! Why! I only wanted to drive you away! Return to my original life! All of this is your fault..."

Before she could finish, Duke Qiao suddenly strode forward, his face tense as if cast in plaster, his voice rolling like thunder, "To think the person who kidnapped my grandson is you! Such audacity! Where is my grandson now? If you dare harm a single hair on his head, don’t expect to leave the Western Capital Yamen unscathed!"

Xu Ya was no Xu Jing. Faced with Duke Qiao’s rage, she quaked violently, her face turning from white to blue, unable to utter a word from sheer terror.

Xu Guangyi, both furious and anxious, could only rush forward to shield Xu Ya, saying, "Duke Qiao, my... my eldest daughter was momentarily misguided, it’s not intentional. She’s been obedient and sensible since childhood, Guang’er is her own brother. She would never harm those two children.

This is merely a child’s mistake. I’ll immediately have Ya’er tell us where the two children are. I beg Duke Qiao’s forgiveness."

"A child’s mistake?"

Xu Sihai couldn’t help but clench his fist, gritting his teeth. "When you accused Xu Jing of masterminding everything, why didn’t you say it was just a child’s mistake? Xu Guangyi, one must have a conscience!"

Xu Guangyi’s face turned various shades of blue, but he could only grit his teeth silently, swallowing all his grievances, and turned angrily to say, "Xu Ya! If you don’t want to harm the whole family, quickly tell us your brother and Young Master Wang’s location!"

Xu Ya’s lips trembled as she was about to speak, when suddenly, a government official burst in urgently and bowed, saying, "Reporting to Jiang Zhaoyin, people from both the Xu and Wang Families have suddenly come, saying... saying they have received new ransom letters!"

This news was like a bolt of lightning, causing everyone to stare in shock.

Xu Ya, stunned, couldn’t help but tremble and said, "Impossible! Impossible! I... I only had them write one letter!"