Yan Tongshu stared at Cen Xu. "There is only one truth."
Cen Xu's eyes were complex, as if to say, so it's just as I suspected.
He lowered his gaze with a faint smile and bowed to Yan Tongshu with an exceedingly meticulous, elaborate salute. "Please, Lord Yan, ascend the hall and bring the culprit to justice."
Yan Tongshu gathered everyone in the courtyard.
The runners brought out chairs, and she and the Minister of Punishments took their seats.
Once everyone had fallen silent, Yan Tongshu spoke steadily. "Let us first go through the case from the beginning. On the twenty-fifth, at the hour of si, three ke, Lord Cao left the Cao residence. He first went to visit Prince Ming, then at midday, dined with General Meng Yi of the Meng family at Huihua Tower. After that, he left Huihua Tower and was last seen on Liutai Road, where he vanished from sight. At the hour of wei, four ke, as agreed, Dingsheng Troupe entered the Cao residence. Just after the hour of xu, three ke, Lord Cao returned through the main gate. At the hour of hai, one ke, Cao Yang fell into the water. At the hour of chou, Lord Cao died. Does anyone have any objections?"
The Minister of Punishments shook his head.
Lady Cao, Xiao Jun, and the others all indicated they had no objections either. Since no one objected, Yan Tongshu said, "Summon the gatekeeper on duty that day, Duan Zhou, and the study attendant, Zheng He."
Duan Zhou and Zheng He were brought in by the runners.
Yan Tongshu first questioned Duan Zhou. "Duan Zhou, at first you claimed you left your post because of a sudden stomachache. Later, you confessed on your own that you harbored resentment toward the Cao family and often abandoned your post. So that day was not a special circumstance."
Although Duan Zhou had already turned himself in two days earlier and had long since taken the money, planning to leave the Cao residence once the case was over, facing so many officials and admitting his fault still made his heart race.
His voice weak, he replied, "Yes... more or less... that's how it was."
Yan Tongshu continued. "Not long after you abandoned your post, you returned and saw that General Cao had already entered the residence and was walking toward the study."
Duan Zhou lowered his head. "Yes."
Yan Tongshu's voice suddenly turned low and sharp. "Are you sure you saw him?"
Duan Zhou looked lost and helpless. "I... I really did see him, sir."
Yan Tongshu pressed again. "Did you 'see with your own eyes' Lord Cao return?"
Duan Zhou raised his head. "I..."
He opened his mouth, trying to recall. "I saw the general walking toward the study."
Yan Tongshu: "Did you see his face?"
His face?
The Minister of Punishments, Cen Xu, Zhang Jiu, Lady Cao—everyone turned to look at Yan Tongshu at once.
Duan Zhou thought for a moment, then shook his head. "By the time the general was already walking away toward the study, he had his back to me."
Yan Tongshu: "Then how do you know that person was Lord Cao?"
Duan Zhou was stunned for a long time, then mumbled, "It's just... I... that day... at the hour of xu, three ke, because it was winter, it got dark early, so when the general returned... that had to be the general. I served as gatekeeper at the Cao residence for many years. The feeling of it was... the general..."
By the end, Duan Zhou himself no longer sounded certain.
Indeed. He had never even seen the face—how could he be sure it was the general?
Yan Tongshu spoke calmly. "I will ask you again. At the hour of xu, three ke, you were the only gatekeeper on duty at the main gate. You neglected your post and were not at your station. When you returned, you saw that Lord Cao had already entered the residence and was walking toward the study. Then who opened the gate for Lord Cao?"
That's right.
Everyone fell into thought.
If the gatekeeper wasn't there, who opened the gate for General Cao?
No one opened the gate—so how did he get in? Did he climb the wall?
Seeing that Duan Zhou was already completely dumbfounded, Yan Tongshu turned to Zheng He. "Zheng He, you said you saw Lord Cao near the bamboo grove. Are you certain that was Lord Cao?"
Zheng He also wore a bewildered expression. "I... I think so? At the time, the general even ordered me to go check what was happening. Though it was dark, and the bamboo blocked some of the view, the build and the voice were definitely the general's."
Yan Tongshu: "Same question—did you see Lord Cao's face with your own eyes?"
Zheng He opened his mouth, unable to give a definitive answer, and fell silent.
The Minister of Punishments pondered for a moment, then asked, "Lord Yan, your meaning is that what Zheng He and Duan Zhou saw was not actually Lord Cao, but someone deliberately impersonating him?"
Yan Tongshu nodded.
The Minister of Punishments: "Then where is the real Lord Cao?"
Yan Tongshu: "Neither dead nor alive."
Cen Xu frowned deeply, stepped forward, and bowed to inquire. "Lord Yan, what does 'neither dead nor alive' mean?"
Yan Tongshu had Pearl bring paper and brush, and as she spoke, she said, "When an arrow strikes the heart, the arrowhead causes a lethal change in the heart's rhythm, producing instantaneous death. In such cases, the victim often instinctively and quite dramatically clutches their chest and collapses. However, Lord Cao's death state was extremely calm. His body fell, his hands hung naturally at his sides, with no other movement at all. Instinct is reflexive—it is an automatic response that anyone would make under the same circumstances."
At that moment, Pearl walked over carrying a tray. Yan Tongshu picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and sketched a simplified diagram of the human heart on the paper.
She held up the heart diagram and pointed with the blunt end of the brush. "This is the heart inside the human chest cavity. These are the superior vena cava, the pulmonary veins, the right atrium, the right ventricle, the inferior vena cava... and the ones on the right correspond respectively."
What veins? Atrium?
Everyone felt utterly confused.
Still, they could roughly understand that it was the area Lord Yan was pointing at with the brush.
But... was the human heart really shaped like that?
Seeing that no one raised any doubts, Yan Tongshu continued her explanation. "Instantaneous death is the state I described above. There are also non-instantaneous deaths—for example, if the arrow damages the myocardium or the heart valves, the heart cannot perform its full function, the victim goes into shock, and eventually dies. When the myocardium is pierced, bleeding occurs, and blood flows into the pericardium. The pericardium is this area—a membranous sac covering the surface of the heart.
The pericardium is a non-expandable, non-distensible sac. When it fills with blood, it compresses the heart, which also leads to shock and death. In both of these cases, before falling into shock and unconsciousness, the victim would experience chest pain and shortness of breath—meaning there would be a certain window of reaction time. But if you recall Lord Cao's appearance before death, there were no such reactionary movements at all.
Then there is the final scenario—if the arrow pierces the lung, blood fills the abdomen and mouth, and the victim chokes on their own blood. But clearly, Lord Cao's oral cavity does not show such a massive amount of blood residue."
The Minister of Punishments, being older, found his head spinning.
What sac? What bag? He didn't even know which characters those words were written with.
Cen Xu and Zhang Jiu were equally confused, but they chose to trust Yan Tongshu.
Xiao Jun had to trust Yan Tongshu—because Yan Tongshu was there to overturn his case. If he didn't trust her, he would have to die for killing a court official.
Xiao Jun spoke up to support her. "Lord Yan is the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, well-versed in criminal law and skilled in autopsy. Her words cannot be wrong."
The Minister of Punishments also regained his composure. Whether Yan Tongshu's claims were true or false was hard to tell, but he had to help Xiao Jun clear his name.
The Minister of Punishments immediately smiled amiably and said, "Lord Yan, your vast knowledge is truly admirable."
Yan Tongshu: "..."
These two were far too perceptive and accommodating, all but bending over backward to please her, and it left her feeling somewhat unsettled.
The Minister of Punishments cast aside all the knowledge that Yan Tongshu had dumped into his brain in one overwhelming rush, and asked: “So, what exactly is Lord Yan trying to say?”
Yan Tongshu looked at Bai Qingmu and Bai Qinglan: “There is another, extremely unusual circumstance involving death by arrow. A state that is neither fully dead nor fully alive.”
Cen Xu: “Lord Yan just said that General Cao was in such a state, neither dead nor alive—could this be that very circumstance?”
Yan Tongshu nodded, continuing to point at the heart drawn on the paper: “If the arrowhead pierces cleanly through the muscle of the left and right ventricles that pump blood, the muscle around the arrow shaft will contract. In such cases, the victim typically bleeds only slightly—in the most extreme cases, not at all. The victim can survive for several hours, or perhaps even several days.”
Zhang Jiu, lost in thought, said: “So then, Lord Cao was ambushed and knocked unconscious outside his residence long before, and the killer disguised himself as Lord Cao, misleading everyone into believing that Lord Cao returned home while fully awake and then met his end in the study.”
Yan Tongshu: “Exactly.”
Zhang Jiu: “If that is the case, then how did the killer control the moment of Lord Cao's death? The situation Lord Yan describes leaves no fixed answer for how long the victim might survive. So it is very possible that Lord Cao lived all the way until noon the next day, when he was found and might have been saved.”
Yan Tongshu's gaze was calm, her voice steady: “And that is where we come to the mechanism beneath the chair Lord Cao was sitting in when he died.”
Zhang Jiu looked up sharply: “The salt?”
“Correct.” Yan Tongshu had the clerk bring out the diagram of the death scene that had been drawn at the time, and displayed it before everyone: “On that day, beneath the chair Lord Cao sat in before his death, there was a large patch of white crystalline residue. After scraping it off and taking it back to Kaifeng Prefecture for examination, we discovered it was ordinary salt. It is winter now, and ice is easy to obtain. Take four blocks of ice and place them under the four legs of the chair. Sprinkle salt on the two front blocks—salt accelerates the melting of ice. In addition, there was a brazier in the study, so the temperature inside was higher than outside, and the ice would gradually melt.
The killer first sent Zheng He, who was on duty in the study, away to the lake. In that short time, Zheng He could not return. He carried the unconscious Lord Cao into the study, placed the ice under the chair legs, sprinkled the salt, and then seated Lord Cao on the chair—only a third of him on it—and arranged his posture so that those outside, seeing only his shadow, would believe he was sitting there calmly. As time passed, the ice melted naturally—the front pieces melting faster, the back ones slower.
The front of the chair lowered while the back stayed high. Lord Cao slid off the chair, and the arrow embedded in his body struck the ground, driving deeper into him. The wound began to bleed, and Lord Cao, already on the brink of death, expired in no time. The melting of the ice hastened his death, and at the same time, it delayed his death. Thus, the killer obtained a perfect alibi.”
Meng Zheng lowered his eyes. So that was it—no wonder his father, when he sneaked into the study, saw water beneath Cao Jian's chair.
One night passed. Cao Jian was dead, the ice had melted, and the brazier had dried up whatever water remained.
Naturally, all traces were gone without a shadow.
This killer was clever—and cunning.
Upon hearing this, Bai Qingmu and Bai Qinglan quietly drew closer together, their eyes filled with caution.
“No, that’s wrong.” Cen Xu looked up sharply: “If Lord Cao was unconscious from the very beginning, how could he have personally ordered Zheng He to go and check on the situation? And how could he have argued with Bandmaster Bai?”
Yan Tongshu turned to Bai Qingmu: “Bandmaster Bai, many of the people in your acrobatic troupe possess unique skills. What is your specialty performance?”
The moment Yan Tongshu spoke, not just the others, but every member of the Dingsheng Troupe also turned to look at Bai Qingmu.
Bai Qingmu's face darkened: “What does Lord Yan think?”
Yan Tongshu: “This official distinctly recalls that the last time I went to the North Field to watch the Dingsheng Troupe perform, Bandmaster Bai performed vocal mimicry with Miss Feng Lai—one person playing several roles, effortlessly, without a single flaw. Moreover…”
Yan Tongshu's gaze wandered over Bai Qingmu: “Bandmaster Bai and Lord Cao are also nearly the same height.”
“It was you after all!” the Minister of Punishments roared. “Men, seize him!”
“Hold on!” Bandmaster Bai stepped forward, shielding Bai Qinglan, who had gone unnoticed until now: “Everything just now was merely Lord Yan’s speculation. The officials of the Ministry of Punishments have evidence for their accusation against General Xiao. But what about Lord Yan? What evidence does Lord Yan have that I committed this crime? Simply because I am skilled at vocal mimicry and share a similar build to Lord Cao? That would be far too frivolous. I don’t accept it.”
“Whether you accept it or not, you have no say!” The Minister of Punishments was eager to brand Bai Qingmu a criminal then and there to secure Xiao Jun’s freedom. He barked: “Men, seize Bai Qingmu. Subject him to severe torture—this official refuses to believe we cannot pry his mouth open.”
Yan Tongshu shot a vicious glare at the Minister of Punishments: “Lord Chu, handling cases requires evidence—hard proof. Torture invites wrongful convictions.”
The Minister of Punishments retorted with displeasure: “Lord Yan must not be soft-hearted like a woman.”
Yan Tongshu was furious: “Lord Chu, if you keep charging ahead so recklessly, I will submit a memorial against you to the court tomorrow morning.”
The Minister of Punishments fell silent.
Yan Tongshu's memorials were not ordinary memorials. Others impeached a person based on the matter at hand; she would list every fault you ever had since birth. Even if the impeachment failed, you would still be mocked by all the officials from the beginning of the year to the end of it.
Besides, Yan Tongshu had the same goal as he did—to overturn Xiao Jun’s verdict—so waiting a little longer was fine.
Cen Xu smiled slightly: “Please enlighten us, Lord Yan.”
Yan Tongshu: “First, they needed to ensure that Cao Jian would not wake up during the course of their scheme, and that a slightly deeper stab of the arrow would kill him. So they had to injure him and knock him unconscious in advance, let his wounds worsen, and ensure he was barely clinging to life—so that even if the plan went wrong, he would still die regardless.
But if they had knocked him out first, then placed him in the study and stabbed him with the arrow, the wounds would be fresh and shallow. After the ice melted and Cao Jian fell, the arrow might not have driven deep enough to kill him. Any mishap, and Cao Jian would have been discovered and saved.
Second, the Dingsheng Troupe brought many trunks into the residence. With Cao Jian unconscious, they had to use a trunk to carry him. Lord Cao was wounded, his clothing damaged and stained with blood. The killer could not wear such clothing to impersonate Lord Cao. The wounds and the clothing had to match, so he also could not strip Cao Jian and then stab him.
Therefore, the killer must have tailored a set of clothing identical to Lord Cao’s. Every step of that day’s operation was rushed, every second counted. The killer could only have worn that clothing underneath, then taken off or thrown on an outer robe to switch disguises quickly.
Third, the killer transported the wounded Lord Cao in a trunk, so there was bound to be blood inside. To cover up the bloodstains, they painted a fresh coat of lacquer inside after the deed was done. Blood would have seeped into the wood; if you scrape away the new lacquer, you will find the old blood concealed underneath.”
Fourth, your timing was tight, and the Kaifeng Prefecture has been keeping the Dingsheng Troupe under surveillance all along. Bandmaster Bai, you never had a chance to destroy the clothes and the trunk, and today’s sudden search left you no time either. Fearing someone would discover that you owned the same outfit as Lord Cao, you would inevitably put the clothes on underneath your own again."
Yan Tongshu waved his hand, and the constables came forward to strip Bai Qingmu’s outer garments. Bai Qingmu struggled twice but couldn’t break free.
When the constable peeled off his coat, there it was—the exact same outer robe Lord Cao had been wearing on the day of his death.
The Minister of Punishments barked angrily, “How dare you!”
Bai Qingmu gave a cold smirk. “I don’t accept this. I admired Lord Cao, so I had the same clothes tailored for myself. Is wearing them a crime now? There’s blood in the trunk—what if I just accidentally pricked my own finger and it bled? Does that count too?”
“And what about Lord Cao’s cause of death?” Yan Tongshu raised his eyes. “We only need to open the chest and examine the body. Look at where the arrow is, and we’ll know exactly which manner of death Lord Cao suffered. As long as we can prove that Cao Jian had already fallen unconscious several hours before his death, the killer will have no way to escape. Of course, opening the chest to examine the body requires the consent of Lord Cao’s family…”
Everyone turned to Lady Cao at the same time.
Lady Cao, who had remained silent throughout, let out a derisive laugh. “Examine? Of course we’ll examine.”
Putting aside her deep gratitude for Xiao Jun’s years of loyalty and her unwillingness to see him come to harm—just considering that bastard Cao Jian, she would have loved to skin him alive and have him torn apart by horses. As for opening the chest, she’d even agree to mincing Cao Jian’s corpse into ground meat.
Since the family had consented, Yan Tongshu went to change into autopsy robes.
The constables moved the items in the hall to one side, clearing enough space, and then carried out Cao Jian’s body.
The arrow in Cao Jian’s chest had never been pulled out, so it was still sticking out neatly.
Yan Tongshu changed into her gear, put on a mask, and walked over.
The entire hall went dead silent. So quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Yan Tongshu first washed the chest area with vinegar, then used a small knife to cut through the skin and flesh around the wound along the opening.
The hall was so quiet that the Minister of Punishments and the others watching seemed to hear the sound of flesh being sliced open.
Yan Tongshu cut down from the center of the sternum, gradually separating the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and chest wall muscles.
In this era, people still believed that “one’s body, hair, and skin are received from one’s parents and must not be harmed.” Damaging a corpse was not accepted by most people.
Lady Cao had agreed to open the chest only because she hated Cao Jian to the bone.
But facing the actual blood-soaked scene of an open chest was still too much for her.
A man’s chest split open, the skin and flesh peeled back, spreading out to either side of the body like slabs of pork. Guts and gore everywhere—absolutely brutal.
The Minister of Punishments covered his eyes.
Even Xiao Jun couldn’t bear it. Killing people on the battlefield was one thing; this he could not stand.
Zhang Jiu and Cen Xu struggled to suppress the vomit rising in their throats, forcing themselves to study carefully.
Yan Tongshu switched to a sharper blade, cut through the junction between the ribs and costal cartilage, and removed the sternum, setting it aside.
Yan Tongshu pointed at the wound and said, “Look here. The arrow indeed pierced straight through both the left and right ventricles.”
The Minister of Punishments instinctively shook his head. He wasn’t looking, not even on pain of death.
If he looked, he’d have nightmares for sure all night.
Xiao Jun also shook his head. He wouldn’t look either, but it was absolutely not because he was scared.
Even though he had cuckolded Cao Jian, Cao Jian was still his brother, so it was to protect his brother’s dignity in death that he refused to look. Definitely not because he didn’t dare.
Lady Cao also refused to look. That no-good, ill-fated Cao Jian—dead is dead, his grievances had nothing to do with her.
Yan Tongshu: “…”
These people had absolutely no professional integrity.
Especially the Minister of Punishments, Chu Lishen. He was the head of the Ministry of Punishments, for heaven’s sake!
Fortunately, there were three who had the nerve.
Meng Zheng, Cen Xu, and Zhang Jiu—those three dared to look.
After confirming the position of the wound, Yan Tongshu changed her clothes, washed up, and came back to continue the trial.
The Minister of Punishments quietly moved his chair a few feet away from her.
Yan Tongshu glared at him. The Minister of Punishments smiled awkwardly. “Lord Yan is the chief judge, after all. I wouldn’t dream of stealing your thunder.”
Spineless man.
Yan Tongshu gave a dismissive snort and continued the trial: “Just now, Lord Cen, Judge Zhang, and Lord Meng have all confirmed the wound. Would Bandmaster Bai like to inspect it himself?”
Bai Qingmu: “No need.”
Gone was the humble, low-key commoner he’d projected earlier. Cold and arrogant, he said, “Zheng He personally heard me arguing with Lord Cao and saw with his own eyes me leaving the study. I am the most direct person in the case of General Cao’s death. As long as it’s determined that General Cao was actually injured before that time, I have no defense left.”
Yan Tongshu pressed her lips together. She looked over at Bai Qinglan, who stood off to the side, head bowed and looking meek.
Zhang Jiu asked, “Did you commit this crime alone?”
Bai Qingmu raised his head and puffed out his chest. “Yes. One person, one deed. I confess. Beheading or prison, I accept it. Please, sirs, arrest me now.”
Zhang Jiu asked, “Who are you protecting?”
Bai Qingmu: “Lord Zhang, this does not make sense to me.”
Zhang Jiu’s gaze was sharp. “In that case, allow me to remind you. Lord Yan has said that Lord Cao had already been injured and rendered unconscious by someone’s scheme during the day, then carried into the mansion. The Dingsheng Troupe entered the mansion at four in the afternoon for the performance, bringing in many chests. That was the only opportunity for you to hide the unconscious Lord Cao inside one of the trunks and sneak him in.
Following the clues Lord Yan just gave, after you all entered the courtyard assigned for resting, everyone began sorting out their own performance equipment, and no one paid attention to anyone else. At around seven-forty in the evening, during that window, you changed into Lord Cao’s clothes, and when the gatekeeper, who had left his post without permission, returned, you pretended to be entering the mansion, making him mistakenly believe Lord Cao had come back. Later, after you all finished dinner, the steward came over and gave you a stern warning. Bai Qinglan, heartbroken, ran out.
Then, by coincidence, still drunk, you rushed out to demand an accounting from Lord Cao. It must have been at that same time that you once again disguised yourself as Lord Cao and fooled Zheng He, who was on duty at the study at that moment. You sent him away to go check on something. While Zheng He was gone, you carried Lord Cao to the study and faked a conversation between two people, so that when Zheng He returned, he didn’t dare to enter and disturb. At the same time, you used Lord Cao’s voice to make him believe Lord Cao was still alive.”
Zhang Jiu demanded of Bai Qingmu: “Bandmaster Bai, in such an elaborate scheme, how could you possibly have accomplished all these steps so smoothly?”
At this point, what more was there to explain?
Everyone understood now. All eyes turned to Bai Qinglan, who had stayed conspicuously low-profile through the entire inquest.
Cen Xu spoke up. “There was someone assisting you. Bai Qinglan first pretended to be heartbroken and ran out. Then you pretended to be drunk and came out. At the time you two had agreed upon, she lured Cao Yang into the water and caused a commotion, drawing everyone’s attention to Cao Yang’s drowning. Then she ran back to the Dingsheng Troupe’s courtyard in a panic, pretending it was her first time hurting someone and that she was terrified, which diverted the attention of the entire troupe. Meanwhile, you used that opportunity to carry General Cao out of the troupe’s courtyard, into the study, and then carried out your string of performances.
By the time Zheng He hears your argument, you will have poked a hole in the window, creating the illusion that someone was crouching outside the wall and shot General Cao with a single arrow. After that, you will pretend to be driven away by General Cao in a fit of rage. As the head of an acrobatic troupe, your hands and feet are nimbler than most, and you can work the latch from outside faster than anyone else. From leaving the room to leaving the courtyard, the time is nearly the same, so Zheng He has no suspicion."
"No!"
Bai Qingmu suddenly lost control, screaming hoarsely: "It has nothing to do with Qinglan. I did it alone."
Yan Tongshu's gaze was cold and still, each word crisp: "How could you alone control all the timing?"
Bai Qingmu panicked, breathing rapidly: "Then it was coincidence. In any case, all of this was done by me alone."
"Coincidence?" Yan Tongshu pressed: "No one can shoot an arrow so accurately into a position that is neither dead nor alive. And you were up against a master like Cao Jian. Unless you had drugged him beforehand."
Her gaze turned to Bai Qinglan, who stood with her head lowered, her brows gentle and obedient. "Bai Qinglan is a physician, skilled in autopsies and versed in drugs. The spot you couldn't find, she could find. Only she, with the experience of a doctor and a coroner, could accurately locate that position between life and death and drive the arrow in steadily. All your scheming required exquisite coordination."
Bai Qingmu's eyes were bloodshot, veins bursting: "I told you, this has nothing to do with Qinglan. The arrow was driven in by me, the man was killed by me. All of this is just your speculation—you have no evidence! Qinglan found out I had killed someone, and I feared she might reveal it, so I threatened her and made her help me."
"Is that so?" Yan Tongshu's tone was steady, yet pressing step by step: "Then why did you kill Cao Jian?"
This was the point Yan Tongshu could not understand.
Bai Qingmu struggled: "Cao Jian forced my sister to marry his older brother, who was over forty. My sister was in the bloom of youth, so young..."
"The fortune-teller." Yan Tongshu interrupted Bai Qingmu's words, her voice rising slightly as she challenged: "Wasn't that you in disguise? How else could it be so coincidental? Those words—'destined to bear sons and prosper the family'—were so targeted, as if tailor-made. Wasn't it deliberately spread to reach Cao Jian's ears? Your original purpose was to lure him close to you.
Because without the phrase 'destined to bear sons and prosper the family,' given your status, you could never have approached Lord Cao, let alone met him. Only if he came to you on his own initiative, pressured you, witnessed your lowliness and helplessness, would he let down his guard. Only then could you easily drug him and kill him."
"Why?" Yan Tongshu looked at the two of them, her voice carrying deep bewilderment: "Why kill someone? What grudge do you hold against Cao Jian?"
Bai Qinglan was such a good person—gentle, kind, always willing to help, her eyes often filled with compassion for the world.
What kind of deep hatred could have driven them to scheme meticulously, step by step, and force them into the desperate situation of killing him?
Bai Qingmu gasped like a trapped beast, his face twisted in agony: "I told you! It has nothing to do with my sister! I did everything!"
"Brother~" Bai Qinglan suddenly called out softly: "Stop struggling."
"It has nothing to do with you!" Bai Qingmu screamed hoarsely.
Bai Qinglan raised her head, walked step by step to Bai Qingmu's side, and took his hand: "Brother, even if you say that arrow was driven in by you, I am still an accomplice. Conspiring to murder a third-rank official of the court—whether as the mastermind or the accomplice—is a capital crime. There's no difference."
Bai Qinglan knelt before Yan Tongshu: "Lord Yan, as you and the other officials just deduced, my brother and I used 'destined to bear sons and prosper the family' as bait to lure Cao Jian in. On the day Cao Jian died, in the daytime, I stopped him in the alley, knelt and wept, and begged him. He had no guard against me, so I took the chance to drug him. Then my brother carried him back home, and I drove the arrow into his heart. After that, we entered the residence to create the illusion that he had been assassinated by a single arrow. Lord Yan, please sentence me to death."
"Why?" Yan Tongshu wanted to know the truth: "Why did the two of you go to such lengths to kill Cao Jian?"
Bai Qinglan's slender lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, mist gathering in her eyes as she said word by word: "Because he deserved to die."
Bai Qingmu wept, lowering his head to look at Bai Qinglan: "You fool, why would you admit to all this?"
After saying this, Bai Qingmu also knelt beside Bai Qinglan: "Lord Yan, Qinglan and I are not blood siblings. My original surname was Cheng, and hers was Mei. Eighteen years ago, my father once ran a traveling acrobatic troupe in Qingzhou, called the Yunsheng Troupe..."
