The Double-Chapter 610 - 177: Confrontation in Court

Mr. Xiao Deyin came to the Jiang Family in the afternoon.

The Jiang Family was in a state of chaos, and Mr. Xiao’s sudden visit at this time was astonishing. He only mentioned that he had received news of Jiang Youyao and was worried, so he came to see her. The Jiang family members, thinking that Mr. Xiao was Jiang Youyao’s zither teacher and shared a teacher-student bond, felt it was appropriate for him to come and show concern. Therefore, the Jiang family members were very grateful for Mr. Xiao’s visit.

After seeing Jiang Youyao, Mr. Xiao quickly came out, his expression very solemn. He then asked to see Jiang Li, who was also once his student, and no one suspected anything.

Jiang Li was painting in her room when she heard that Mr. Xiao was coming. She put down her brush, went to the door, and saw Mr. Xiao anxiously looking inside.

Jiang Li had Bai Xue invite him in.

As soon as Mr. Xiao entered and saw Jiang Li, he couldn’t wait to say, "Jiang Li, today I heard about Youyao’s situation and immediately came to visit. Seeing Youyao like this breaks my heart."

Jiang Li replied, "Thank you, sir, for your concern. It pains me too to see my younger sister like this."

"Princess Yongning is truly despicable," said Mr. Xiao with a shudder. "To use such means on a young lady is appalling." As she spoke these words, she unusually betrayed genuine feelings. The thought of almost falling into Princess Yongning’s hands herself sent chills down Mr. Xiao’s spine, thinking that if she ended up like Jiang Youyao, life would be worse than death.

Therefore, she had hurriedly come here to ask Jiang Li about something. "Jiang Li, Mr. Xue suddenly sued Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong for plotting against Fangfei... What’s going on?" she inquired.

Jiang Li looked at her in surprise, "What’s going on, aren’t you the one who knows it best? Didn’t you say long ago that Miss Xue was conspired against and killed by Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning? Why are you asking now?"

Mr. Xiao awkwardly responded, "Of course I know the inside story. I’m just wondering why... why is it Mr. Xue who sued, and not you, Jiang Li?"

Jiang Li looked at her even more perplexedly, "Miss Xue is the daughter of the County Magistrate Xue, and now besides Miss Xue, there is also Young Master Xue—two lives at stake. It is naturally the County Magistrate Xue who, as a father, seeks justice for his children. I am after all an outsider."

This was also true. When the Tongxiang case occurred, it was because Xue Huaiyuan was the one being framed and he was not in his right mind at the time, leaving Jiang Li as the one to take the lead. Now that Xue Huaiyuan had regained his senses and cleared himself of the false accusations, finding the truth for his children fell naturally to this true member of the Xue Family.

Mr. Xiao too understood that what Jiang Li said made sense, but she still felt it was not right.

Jiang Li queried, "I remember you saying once, Mr. Xiao, that if one day I sought to clear Miss Xue’s name, you would come forward as a witness."

"...Yes," Mr. Xiao replied.

"Then now is the time for you to come forward as a witness," Jiang Li said with a slight smile.

Mr. Xiao frowned, "But now the plaintiff is the County Magistrate Xue, and although he is Fangfei’s biological father, his influence in Yanjing City is weak. Having him step forward makes it easy for others to suppress him. Although Princess Yongning has been demoted to a commoner, Empress Dowager Liu and Prince Cheng are still there, and they will surely try to rescue her."

Jiang Li smiled at her.

"Jiang Li, why are you laughing?" Mr. Xiao said uneasily. Every time she faced this student, she felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t because the other party was the daughter of the Grand Secretary; she had not felt this way when dealing with Jiang Youyao before. Though the Second Miss Jiang was gentle and amiable, with none of the airs of a daughter of a noble family, one could easily become tense in her presence.

Mr. Xiao couldn’t explain why this was.

"I was just thinking of something," Jiang Li said, "You wouldn’t be afraid of implicating yourself by coming forward, would you, Mr. Xiao?"

"Of course not," Mr. Xiao startled, with a feeling that someone had peered into a secret thought, she immediately denied, "I’m just worried for the County Magistrate Xue. If we want to exonerate Fangfei and her brother, it’s best to be successful in one attempt; otherwise, failure could invite retaliation."

"I see, so you are considering the County Magistrate Xue’s welfare. I thought perhaps you felt that his coming forward was not stable enough, and hence you didn’t want to testify," Jiang Li joked.

The joke wasn’t funny at all, and instead made Mr. Xiao’s palms sweat. "How could that be?" she said.