Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 92 - 91: Facing Death Without Fear

The servant named Xu Shan just glanced at Zhuang Zhi, made no response, simply shifted his gaze away, and lowered his eyelids to look at the ground in front of him, humming faintly through his nose.

Zhu Yu examined Xu Shan closely once more, noticing that although he was dressed in old, coarse cloth and looked like someone who did hard labor, his physique was very strong, with the contours of muscle faintly visible under his sleeves.

Before getting married, when she was still at the Prince Shuo Mansion, Zhu Yu had noticed that those in the house who chopped wood and did heavy lifting looked quite different in build from the guards who trained daily, even though they all had considerable strength.

Zhu Cheng was very generous to the household servants, ensuring that even those doing hard labor in the Prince Mansion ate well three times a day, never being deprived of food.

Yet despite this, those servants who did physical labor still generally had a thin physique, only with firm muscles on their arms.

The guards, on the other hand, were different. Not only did they have better food, but they also spent more time on daily training, skillfully brandishing heavy spears and broadswords, becoming particularly robust, with broad shoulders and narrow waists, exuding strength and might at a glance.

This Xu Shan, be it his form, demeanor, or the composure he displayed before these important figures, in no way resembled a servant raised in a merchant household just to do heavy labor.

In Zhu Yu’s opinion, this person’s calmness seemed excessive, not like a simple martial artist, but more like a bred assassin, someone who had long disregarded his own life.

She lifted her eyes and looked again at Little Tao’er by the door. Little Tao’er knelt on the ground, looking sorrowfully at Xu Shan’s back. Though her face displayed more emotion than Xu Shan’s, as a maid who had always served beside Miss, she was still more composed and steady than Cao Chenfeng just now.

The Capital Governor cleared his throat, and said sternly, "Prisoner Xu Shan, do you know why you were brought here?"

Xu Shan let out a hum: "I am a straightforward person, don’t like beating around the bush, and always take responsibility for my actions!

I killed Miss Zhuang. You brought me here to ask about this, didn’t you?"

"What courage to take responsibility!" The Capital Governor sneered, "You speak well; since you’re so candid, why accuse and frame Cao Chenfeng after the murder?!"

Xu Shan turned his head and looked disdainfully at Cao Chenfeng: "So what if I framed him? Zhuang Lanlan, as a woman, was shameless, carrying on with a man before marriage, and committed all sorts of scandals.

What’s more, she was pregnant, and that Cao clearly refused to marry her. If this got out, my master would never be able to show his face again.

The master treated me well, so I thought that instead of letting Zhuang Lanlan disgrace her father completely, it would be better to avoid future shameful acts!

As for that Cao..."

He spat contemptuously toward Cao Chenfeng: "The type of pompous aristocratic scion I despise most!

Always putting on airs, acting grand, but in private, still toying with others’ daughters without taking responsibility!

He stirred up such trouble, yet hoped to escape unscathed, then marry well and rise high, leaving the mess for my master to clean up? No such fairytale!"

"Just for this?! You took it upon yourself to murder your master’s daughter?!" The Capital Governor found Xu Shan’s reason to be utterly absurd, "No, you were hiding in that bedroom beforehand!

Zhuang Lanlan wasn’t guarded or resisted before you killed her, could it be... She knew beforehand you were hiding in the room?!"

Xu Shan admitted readily: "She arranged for me to hide in the secret compartment!

Zhuang Lanlan said she was going to tell Cao Chenfeng about her pregnancy, and feared he might deny it, so she had me hide under the floorboard to listen in case, after confronting him, he tried to renege. She would give me a signal to come out and threaten him. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But as I listened to their movements from below, my heart filled with disgust. This pair of despicable lovers disgusted me!

So I changed my mind at the last minute. When Zhuang Lanlan signaled, I didn’t come out. After Cao Chenfeng hurriedly fled, I emerged, catching Zhuang Lanlan off guard, and killed her with a single stab!"

Zhuang Zhi nearly broke down upon hearing this, thumping the floor and howling in anguish.

Cao Tianbao’s face was even gloomier than before, though the fact his nephew was framed had come to light, the true murderer’s words further tarnished the Cao Family’s reputation, crushing it underfoot like a shoe, leaving him utterly humiliated, wishing he could have parted ways with Cao Chenfeng and left with Duke Yan earlier.

As Zhuang Zhi cried, he pointed at Xu Shan and cursed: "You cursed thing! No matter what, she was my only daughter. However wrong she was, she didn’t deserve to die, yet you were so vicious!

You not only killed her, but also inserted General Cao’s nephew’s knife into the wound to frame others, causing me to seek justice in the wrong direction all this time!

Little Tao’er knew well Lanlan was muddled, doing those absurd things, yet she hid it from me!

You killed my daughter, and trapped me in injustice, traitorous after I treated you siblings so kindly for years, this is how you repay the Zhuang Family!"

Xu Shan glanced at him, then at Cao Chenfeng, tugged a smile at his lip: "Master, that Cao was scared enough to drop his sword and flee. Do you think you can get a resolution from him, that his family would consent to the marriage?!

I did you service, nipping trouble in the bud, and instead of thanks, you ask all kinds of nonsense!"

These words left Zhuang Zhi fuming, and he struggled to get up, trying to fight Xu Shan in anger, barely held back by the governmental officials restraining him tightly.

The Capital Governor rubbed his temples, feeling a great headache from all this fuss, quickly waved his hand, no longer wishing to continue questioning, motioning officials to take Xu Shan back to the dungeon.

After all, the culprit confessed, and Cao Chenfeng’s murder suspicion was wholly cleared; today’s events satisfy General Cao, with the rest left for later deliberation.

Governmental officials from Jingzhao Mansion were escorting Xu Shan and Little Tao’er away; upon reaching the door, Xu Shan, who hadn’t resisted, suddenly burst with wild strength, breaking free from two officials and dashed toward the outer corridor, plunging headlong before everyone’s eyes.

Everyone froze for a moment, Little Tao’er wailed and, taking advantage of the officials’ shock at Xu Shan’s move, followed her brother’s lead, ran to the outer corridor edge in a few steps, and leapt down.