The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 32: The Whole Story

"My lord, now that the truth has come to light, should we take Lady Zhong to the Government Office now?" one of his companions, Chen Jia, asked, seeing Ouyang Lei remain silent.

Ouyang Lei snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. "No, she’s not the real killer. She wasn’t telling the truth just now."

"What?" Both Chen Jia and his other companion, Li Kui, were stunned.

Chen Jia suddenly realized. "That’s right! The case file transferred from the Ministry of Justice to our Ministry of Justice clearly stated that Lady Zhong was not at the inn on the night of Guo Yong’s murder. We investigated in Baijia Village as soon as we arrived and confirmed that on the day Guo Yong was killed, Lady Zhong had returned to Baijia Village and was staying with her brother and sister-in-law that night.

But now, Lady Zhong is saying that on the night of the murder, Guo Yong drank heavily, returned to their room, and tormented her even more cruelly.

Her statements contradict each other completely. They don’t add up."

Lady Zhong’s hands, hidden in her sleeves, trembled uncontrollably, but she forced herself to remain calm. "I... I did return to Baijia Village that day. But my brother and sister-in-law have always been cruel to me. Because I didn’t bring them any silver, they threw me out in the middle of the night and sent me back."

Ouyang Lei sneered. "But Baijia Village is not close to Red Leaf Town. By the time you got back to town from there in the middle of the night, it would have been dawn. And according to the official report from the Forensic Doctor, Guo Yong died late that night, around 3 a.m.

Furthermore, you said earlier that Guo Yong was impotent. If he was impotent, and you became pregnant with Ah Xiang’s child, how could Guo Yong not be suspicious and still allow you to give birth? If I’m not mistaken, Guo Yong must have known about your affair with Ah Xiang for a long time. The child was only born with Guo Yong’s consent."

After hearing this, both Chen Jia and Li Kui had a sudden realization. "My lord is right. If Guo Yong was impotent, he must have known the child Lady Zhong was carrying wasn’t his. But he still let her give birth to it. Why?"

"Why? That’s a good question." Ouyang Lei looked at Lady Zhong’s instantly pale face and at Ah Xiang, who was digging his fingers into the floor so hard they bled without him even noticing. He suddenly felt a sense of tragedy for them. "Guo Yong was impotent, which twisted his mind. That’s why he tortured and beat Lady Zhong every night. He must have discovered her affair with Ah Xiang very early on but said nothing. Instead, he let them continue their secret meetings. Once Lady Zhong became pregnant, he used the child in her womb to threaten them, forcing them to be at his beck and call.

At first, only Lady Zhong was being abused and tortured. But because she became pregnant, Ah Xiang also became one of the targets for his frustrations. In fact, the humiliation Ah Xiang suffered was even greater than Lady Zhong’s."

Chen Jia and Li Kui were stunned speechless.

Just then, Ouyang Lei strode quickly to Ah Xiang and ripped open the front of his robe.

His two companions immediately cried out in shock, "How could he be so injured?"

Ah Xiang’s exposed chest was likewise a mess of ruined flesh, looking even more horrific than Lady Zhong’s injuries.

New wounds were layered over old ones, and without proper care, some areas had begun to fester and ooze pus.

Although Ouyang Lei had suspected this was the case, seeing it with his own eyes was still a great shock.

The previously despondent Lady Zhong suddenly threw herself in front of Ah Xiang, her emotions flaring up again. "My lord, I am the real killer! I killed Guo Yong! It has nothing to do with Ah Xiang!"

"No, you’re not." Ouyang Lei shook his head, his gaze shifting to Ah Xiang. "He is the real killer! He is the one who killed Guo Yong!"

Lady Zhong shouted in a furious panic, "How can you wrongly accuse someone, my lord? Ah Xiang is not the killer, I am!"

At that moment, Ah Xiang suddenly lifted his head and stared at her blankly. "Little Cui, why are you doing this? I was the one who killed Guo Yong. The lord is not mistaken."

"No, no... You didn’t kill Guo Yong! The one who killed him was me! It was me! I’m the real killer!" Lady Zhong shook her head frantically, denying it.

Ah Xiang gave a bitter smile and pushed the child back into her arms. "Little Cui, stop talking. This lord is incredibly perceptive. You can’t fool him."

Lady Zhong, sobbing uncontrollably, pounded on his chest. "Why did you have to say it? This all started because of me! You did it all for me." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Ah Xiang let her beat him, sighing. "A life for a life, it’s the law of heaven and earth. We’ve already done wrong by letting that soldier be unjustly accused and take the blame for my crime. We can’t continue down this wrong path."

Lady Zhong collapsed to the floor, tears streaming endlessly down her face.

Ouyang Lei looked at Ah Xiang. "That you can think this way shows your conscience isn’t entirely gone. Can you now tell me the whole truth, from beginning to end?"

Ah Xiang’s gaze turned to Lady Zhong, his eyes filled with deep affection. After a long moment, he began to speak. "Little Cui and I are from the same village. We grew up together as childhood sweethearts and had secretly promised to marry. Unfortunately, Little Cui’s parents died young, and her brother and sister-in-law were in charge of the family.

Her brother and sister-in-law were always greedy. As soon as Little Cui turned fifteen, they couldn’t wait to sell her to a local landlord as a concubine, completely ignoring her desperate pleas.

I had gone away to work to save up enough for the betrothal gift. By the time I returned, what was done was done.

Though I pitied Little Cui, there was nothing I could do. When I heard the landlord was fond of her and she was living a decent life, I felt relieved and left Red Stone Town.

But when I returned again a few years later, the landlord had died. Because Little Cui hadn’t borne him any children, the primary wife sent her away.

That inhuman brother and sister-in-law of hers once again set their sights on Little Cui, planning to sell her to a brothel for silver.

When I heard the news, I immediately gathered all the silver I had, wanting to buy her freedom. But her brother and sister-in-law demanded an exorbitant price—one hundred taels.

Although I had saved some silver over the years, it was nowhere near enough.

Not only did they mock me, but her brother and sister-in-law also hired people to give me a savage beating.

While I was unconscious, they tied Little Cui up and took her to a brothel. That’s where they happened to run into Guo Yong. He paid the silver and bought her.

By the time I woke up, Little Cui was already married to Guo Yong.

At that point, I lost all hope and planned to leave Red Stone Town for good.

On the day I was leaving, I went to say goodbye to Little Cui, only to find her huddled in a corner, crying.

When I asked, I learned that Guo Yong was a hypocritical monster who tortured and tormented Little Cui every night.

The problem was, Guo Yong had a reputation for being a good man in town. If she told anyone, no one would believe her. Instead, they would call her ungrateful.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t leave with a clear conscience. So I found a job in town and stayed to look after her.

Just as you guessed, my lord, Little Cui and I met in secret more often, and Guo Yong found out. But he didn’t expose us. It wasn’t until Little Cui became pregnant that he used her and the child’s lives to threaten me, forcing me to work for him like a slave.

For Little Cui and the child, I didn’t care what he did to me..."

Lady Zhong was already sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. "No, Brother Ah Xiang, I’m the one who dragged you into this! If it weren’t for me, why would you have suffered all his humiliation and abuse?"