kvmb Chapter 219 You cooperated very well too!
Chapter 219 You cooperated very well too!
Princess Li Duan raised her chin, her cheeks slightly puffed out in anger, looking determined to find that person no matter what.
Xue Wanning lowered her eyes slightly, looking helpless and wronged.
In comparison, Princess Liduan really does look exactly like the one who bullies others by relying on her power.
The prefect's gaze fell on the two of them, and for a moment he was undecided.
The eldest princess spoke up at the opportune moment, "If Your Excellency finds this difficult, I can personally invite each of the guests from that day over. What do you think, Your Excellency?"
The prefect hurriedly replied, "This official thinks the county magistrate's words are reasonable. Although the county magistrate did not see who the person was, she remembers the general back and figure. If she checks one by one, there will surely be clues. So I trouble Your Highness to help check the list. I will definitely investigate carefully and find the person who murdered the county magistrate and restore justice to the county magistrate."
"Since Miss Xue cannot prove her innocence, and the county princess has testified against you, we will have to trouble Miss Xue to remain in the yamen for the time being to cooperate with our investigation. After we have clarified the matter, we will send Miss Xue back. Guards, take Miss Xue away," the prefect ordered the yamen runners.
Xue Wanning's expression changed drastically. Forgetting everything else, she suddenly looked up and raised her voice to question, "Since there is no evidence, why are you locking me up? Does Your Excellency intend to force a confession out of me?"
The prefect remained expressionless and said solemnly, "Miss Xue, please don't misunderstand. I have already asked you if there are any witnesses, and you said no. Since there are neither witnesses nor physical evidence, it is difficult to verify the truth of what you just said. Currently, you are the prime suspect in this case. I am merely following procedure by temporarily detaining you. Once the truth of the case is clarified and your innocence is cleared, I will send you home."
Xue Wanning's face turned deathly pale, and she slumped to the ground. Two constables stepped forward and tried to drag her up, but Xue Wanning angrily shook them off and said sharply, "I can walk by myself!"
Then, unwillingly, he got up and left with a sullen face, following the constable.
The prefect struck the gavel again: "Court adjourned—"
Outside the yamen, the onlookers huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.
"You really can't judge a book by its cover. This eldest daughter of the Xue family looks so gentle and kind. Wasn't she betrothed to the Crown Prince not long ago? She's about to become a prince's consort, so why is she being all entangled with a strange man?"
"Who knows if the county princess is slandering her? This Princess Li Duan is known for her domineering and arrogant ways; she's not someone to be trifled with!"
"I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be slander? The county princess looks much thinner, she must have suffered a lot these days! Oh dear, she was just taking a nice stroll in her own garden and she ran into this unpleasant thing. Luckily she escaped a disaster, she's really blessed with good fortune!"
"I wonder who Miss Xue is having a secret rendezvous with. It could be someone very important, otherwise how could Miss Xue be keeping the Crown Prince on her leash while having a secret rendezvous with someone else!"
"Can anyone be bigger than His Highness? But this must be something shameful, otherwise how could they dare to silence even the princess's precious daughter? That's outrageous!"
"That's hard to say. Didn't someone say before that His Highness's health isn't good? This Miss Xue might not even want to get married!"
"..."
Hearing the surrounding chatter, Sheng Yunjiao frantically winked at Lu Yangyang. Seeing that Lu Yangyang was distracted, she leaned closer and whispered, "Really?"
Lu Yangyang looked at the eldest princess who had already stood up in the hall, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
She finally realized why His Highness the Crown Prince said that sometimes evidence isn't absolutely necessary.
On the day the Princess learned of Li Duan's disappearance, she had already questioned everyone left in the Princess's residence and examined the scene countless times. If there was any evidence pointing to Xue Wanning, it would have been found then and there.
Even if Xue Wanning were not careful, she couldn't possibly leave any obvious evidence. The fact that she chose to meet that person secretly at the Princess's birthday banquet can only mean that they don't usually have the opportunity to meet, so she looked for an opportunity at that time.
That person's identity must be extraordinary.
After being discovered by Riduan, she hurriedly left, but she must have checked her belongings. Apart from the cloak that was taken, she couldn't have left anything behind. In this way, unless someone saw her, there was no way to prove that it was her.
Therefore, it is difficult to establish a case against Xue Wanning based solely on evidence. Even if the case is taken to the Dali Temple for investigation, it will ultimately only be Li Duan's side of the story.
However, Li Duan did not wrong Xue Wanning. It is a fact that Li Duan overheard Xue Wanning secretly discussing plotting to harm Sheng Junyao, and the two knocked Li Duan unconscious and sent her out of the city to silence her. The reason the two wanted to silence Li Duan was not because she overheard anything, but because they were worried that if Li Duan recognized their identities, it would cause even greater trouble, so they wanted to kill her.
However, if Li Duan were to publicize this matter and tell everyone that she did not know who the other person was, but was certain that one of them was Xue Wanning, then in this situation, if she did not want things to escalate further, Xue Wanning would have no choice but to take the blame alone in order to quickly quell the matter.
In this way, the matter was settled and the big issue was reduced to a small one. As long as Li Duan didn't continue to press the issue and make trouble, the other party wouldn't dare to expose themselves to Li Duan again.
The pear end is now safe.
This method must have been devised by the eldest princess.
Firstly, regardless of whether Xue Wanning can be convicted, she will undoubtedly be severely weakened by this incident, which can be considered as avenging Li Duan. Secondly, this action serves as both a warning and a deterrent, warning Xue Wanning and those behind her who want to harm Li Duan that if they dare to touch Li Duan again, she will not hesitate to fight to the death and pursue the matter to the end.
Lu Yangyang's eyes practically lit up when she looked at the Eldest Princess. The Eldest Princess's move was a completely open scheme, forcing the other party to compromise!
At this moment, after being reminded by Lin Shuang, Li Duan naturally noticed Lu Yangyang and Sheng Yunjiao in the crowd outside. She hurriedly asked someone to inform the Princess, and then rushed over, showing off to Lu Yangyang: "How was it? Did I do a good job?"
Looking at her radiant and smug appearance, Lu Yangyang found it hard to believe that this was the same person who had recently been covered in dust and dirt, crawling through cowsheds and riding in donkey carts with her. Xiao Li was indeed a very adaptable person!
She nodded and said, "Your Highness is truly amazing! You cooperated very well too!"
Li Duan muttered, "How do you know it was my mother's idea? I asked her why, and she gave me a long explanation, but I didn't understand any of it. You guys are really something, always speaking in half-hearted terms. Oh well, I'm happy as long as I can see Xue Wanning is unhappy today!"
As she spoke, she squeezed herself between Lu Yangyang and Sheng Yunjiao: "Come on, come on, today I, the county magistrate, am treating you to a play!"