Chapter 332 - 330: Not Just a Simple Murder Case (Part 2)

Chapter 332: Chapter 330: Not Just a Simple Murder Case (Part 2)

Xu Jingjing was silent for a moment, then said, "Even if you manage to think it through, the pain in your heart will not lessen at all."

Mrs. Zhou bit her lip and said, "Mrs. Xu, as a mother, naturally understands Yanxia’s feelings deeply. After the child was aborted, Yanxia was even more despondent than she was when she first returned to the Jiang Family. She barely spoke a word all day. During that time, everyone in the family was very worried about Yanxia and tried every means to make her a little happier.

My mother even sent all her maids to Yanxia’s side, fearing... fearing that Yanxia might not be able to think it through and resort to suicide..."

Xu Jing’s eyes flicked slightly.

So, the Jiang Family also thought that it was possible Jiang San might commit suicide.

She remembered Jiang Yu’s words and asked, "But didn’t Jiang Erlang say he didn’t believe Jiang San would commit suicide?"

Mrs. Zhou sighed lightly and said, "Although Erlang’s thoughts are not as delicate as ours as women, he cares a lot about his sister. He’s not wrong to say it. Although Yanxia was very despondent at first, in the last two months, she has gradually become cheerful and is willing to go outside the residence. We are very happy, but still a bit worried, fearing that Yanxia is just putting on a brave face to prevent us from worrying.

After all, according to Jingyi and the others, Yanxia occasionally still cries secretly when she’s alone at night."

Xu Jing remembered that Jingyi was one of the maids beside Jiang San.

Xu Jing looked at her and asked, "So, Mrs. Zhou, how likely do you think it is that Jiang San would commit suicide?"

Mrs. Zhou was silent for a moment and gently shook her head, "I don’t know. After all, it’s been less than half a year since the incident happened. To say that Yanxia could completely move on in such a short time, I don’t think anyone would believe it."

Indeed.

Xu Jing asked again, "Mr. Yao said that Jiang San snuck out of the residence alone last night. Has she done anything similar before?"

Mrs. Zhou shook her head again, "No, Yanxia is a very well-behaved lady, rarely doing anything out of line, let alone sneaking out of the house. But if she did anything like this during her youth, I’m not sure. If Mrs. Xu wants to know, you can ask Erlang."

Xu Jing couldn’t help but lower her eyes in deep thought.

Mrs. Zhou, representing the Jiang Family to talk about these things with her, must have reached a consensus within the family.

This way, it seems the Jiang Family also thought that Jiang San might have committed suicide, but they ultimately didn’t want to believe it, which is why they wanted to thoroughly investigate.

Xu Jing asked again, "Does Jiang San have any enemies or people who could have killed her?"

If she was murdered, then the murderer must have had some reason to go to such great lengths to kill her.

This question obviously troubled Mrs. Zhou a bit, and she thought for a long time before saying, "To be honest, since I married into the Jiang Family, Yanxia has always been the kind of lady who is self-disciplined and gentle. Though she is the legitimate daughter of the Jiang Family’s main branch, she never puts on any airs and treats the servants well. I really can’t think of anyone who would be her enemy.

The only enemy Yanxia might have had is the Xin family. When Xin Lei was imprisoned, and the rest of the Xin family got implicated and were demoted to commoners, they once begged Yanxia to ask the Jiang Family for help. Yanxia refused, and they... they said some very harsh words to Yanxia. It’s said that Xin Lei’s mother was especially vicious, trying to scratch Yanxia’s face on the spot, fortunately, Erlang and the others arrived in time.

But by now, those scoundrels from the Xin family should have all left the Capital City."

Xu Jing nodded and said, "I understand. If I have more questions later, I’ll ask Mrs. Zhou again."

With that, she was about to walk back with Mrs. Zhou towards the crowd.

Suddenly, a slight snap sounded in Xu Jing’s ear. She was slightly stunned and looked down, only to find that she had accidentally stepped on a twig as thick as a bamboo skewer.

Because the twig was too thin, it had already broken under her foot.

She stared blankly at the twig lying in her footprint, and suddenly a flash of insight struck her mind.

Yes, footprints!

She remembered that her height and weight were about the same as Jiang San’s. So, the depth of her footprints in the snow should have been similar to Jiang San’s!

However, as she looked at her footprint now and recalled the footprints of Jiang San she had seen earlier, Jiang San’s footprints seemed deeper than hers!

She hurriedly quickened her pace, walked back to Jiang San’s footprints, and directly stepped into one, creating a footprint of her own next to it.

This direct comparison made the difference between the two footprints even more apparent.

Jiang San’s footprints were indeed deeper than hers!

Xu Jing looked ahead and saw that in one of Jiang San’s footprints not far away, there was a twig that had been stepped on and broken.

The twig was about as thick as a man’s middle finger. Xu Jing picked up a piece and found another twig of similar thickness, placed it under her foot, and stepped on it.

The twig bent but did not completely break.

Xu Jing’s gaze deepened.

Everyone was somewhat startled by her actions, and Mr. Yao couldn’t help but ask, "Miss Xu, what are you doing?"

Standing straight, Xu Jing turned to look at them, took a deep breath, and said, "Jiang San... was indeed murdered. The murderer should be a woman or a relatively weak and short man."

Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces, Xu Jing walked back to stand between the two parallel footprints, pointing at them, "Jiang San and I have similar height and weight, but the footprints left by Jiang San are obviously deeper than mine. Moreover, while walking towards the riverbank, the owner of the footprints accidentally stepped on a twig and broke it. Earlier, I tried with a similarly thick twig, and it did not break under my weight.

This indicates..."

Xu Jing paused, noting that many faces ahead had darkened, as they had understood her meaning, she continued, "That the footprint likely wasn’t left by one person, but by two people. This morning, someone wore Jiang San’s shoes, carried or held her to the riverbank, and then dumped Jiang San into the river..."

The footprint, although deeper than hers, was not much deeper, appearing similar to those left by the nearby large and burly government officials. This was why Xu Jing hadn’t initially noticed the depth issue when she first saw those footprints.

This suggests that if her assumption is correct, the combined weight of the two should be similar to that of the larger government officials.

If Chief Fang had been here, he would have noticed this much earlier.

The Jiang Family was both surprised and furious, Mrs. Zhou took a deep breath and asked, "But then, how did the murderer leave..."

"Swimming."

Jiang Yu, standing next to Xu Jing, spoke each word clearly and coldly, "He jumped into the river with my sister, abandoned her, and swam away.

The shoe left on the riverbank was probably his doing, trying to mislead us."

This explains why the murderer left no trace behind!

Everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

To swim away in this weather, the murderer must be quite audacious!

Having spent a long time in the military, Jiang Yu didn’t find it surprising. After all, winter swimming is a relatively common practice, and many soldiers have the habit of winter swimming.

"Then... who killed Third Sister, after all!"

The young lady from the Jiang Family who first opposed Jiang Yu, now with red eyes, whispered through clenched teeth, "Could it be... could it be the Xin family scoundrels sneaked back to the Capital to kill Third Sister as revenge!"

Mr. Yao immediately glanced at her and said, "I heard earlier that when Jiang San left the Xin family, there was quite a dispute. We trouble the Jiang family members to tell us the specific situation. Besides, we still have a few questions to ask later."

Since this is a murder case, everything is completely different now.

At this time, Duke Xing took a step forward, his voice cold and deep, "Our Jiang Family will fully cooperate with the Western Capital’s government office and also hope that they will quickly apprehend the murderer, so my daughter may find peace in the afterlife."

Upon hearing that her daughter was murdered, the emotionally unstable Duchess Xing staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

Mr. Yao solemnly nodded, "Rest assured, Duke Xing."

Xu Jing slightly pursed her lips, recalling the funeral procession she saw on her way back to the Western Capital the previous day.

It seems, this is not simply a case of murder.