Madam Jiang was momentarily stunned by the question. Recalling her own actions just now, her mind raced at breakneck speed.
"Of course, this is the first time I've seen this note. How could I have known its contents beforehand? Constable Li, don't you suspect that I killed this maid?"
Madam Jiang scoffed. She thought that the blame for the maid's death had been firmly pinned on Yun Xi and couldn't be shaken off!
Madam Jiang thought she had the situation under control, so she was fearless. But Constable Li narrowed his eyes and said,
"Since this is your first time seeing the note, how could you describe its contents in such detail?"
Saying so, Constable Li showed the damaged part of the note in Madam Jiang's hand to everyone. Although the damaged area was small, it contained quite a lot of content!
When he checked the note just now, it was intact, so he could know all the contents. But the note in Madam Jiang's hand was the one damaged by Yun Xi, with a part deliberately torn off.
If Madam Jiang didn't know the contents beforehand, how could she have recited the contents of the damaged part so completely?
Constable Li was in his early forties but had more than twenty years of experience in handling cases. He quickly saw through the oddity!
Meeting Constable Li's sharp gaze, Madam Jiang's face suddenly turned pale. The smug smile on her face a moment ago was instantly shattered!
She was extremely shocked. Staring at the damaged part in his hand as if seeing a ghost, she never thought she would fall into this constable's trap!
"No! It's you! You're so despicable to scheme against me!"
The next moment, Madam Jiang glared fiercely at Yun Xi. Suddenly, she remembered that from the beginning to the end, it was Yun Xi who had been leading her step by step to read out the note.
Presumably, Yun Xi had set things up before that. She had been so careless and fallen into the other's trap!
Yun Xi stared indifferently at Madam Jiang's resentful face, a sneer curling up on her lips.
"What can I do if you're so eager to court death?"
"You forced Cui'er to death to frame me and incited kind - hearted people to help you do evil. You're not only despicable but also shameless and vicious!"
When she saw Cui'er's body in front of her door, she was sure that Madam Jiang would seize the opportunity to use public opinion to slander her.
So when she saw the note, she deliberately acted cold and indifferent, even unconcerned. The purpose was to lure the snake out of its hole and make Madam Jiang show her true colors!
The situation changed suddenly. Before everyone could fully react, Hong Luo immediately raised her voice and questioned,
"Aunt Jiang, it turns out that you forced Cui'er to death! Otherwise, since you haven't seen the note, how could you read out all the contents of the note when it was damaged?"
Hearing this, Yu Zhu also reacted and echoed Hong Luo,
"That's right! You did such a vicious thing and still have the nerve to slander our young lady? I've never seen such a shameless person! Cui'er's attempt to poison our young lady must have been your doing too!"
After their "explanation", everyone immediately understood. Combined with what Constable Li and Yun Xi had said before, they realized that they had been fooled and almost become accomplices of Madam Jiang.
Just then, Zhao Chunsheng stopped a carriage in front of the courtyard gate.
He glanced at the people around, then walked quickly to Yun Xi and reported,
"Miss, thanks to following your instructions and arriving in time. The person almost got killed!"
Yun Xi frowned and looked towards the carriage. She saw two people helping an old woman get off the carriage and walk towards the courtyard gate.
"Hey! Isn't this Cui'er's grandmother?"
Mama Zhang suddenly exclaimed. Since she was an old acquaintance of Cui'er's grandmother, she immediately recognized her.
Looking at Cui'er lying on the ground, Yun Xi felt pity. She immediately stepped forward to block the old woman's way and ordered the others,
"There's nothing to see here. Hurry up and find a place for the old woman to stay. Don't say a word."
Not wanting the old woman to see such a cruel scene, Yun Xi quickly urged.
However, the old woman seemed to have a premonition. Since getting off the carriage, she had been desperately looking for her granddaughter. Thinking of her own narrow escape just now, she already had a bad feeling in her heart.
"Cui'er! I want to see my Cui'er. She's my only relative!"
Seeing Yun Xi blocking her way, the old woman quickly grabbed her arm and called out eagerly.
Feeling the grip of those skinny arms on her, Yun Xi's throat tightened as if there was a fishbone stuck in it. She couldn't spit it out or swallow it down, and her voice was extremely hoarse.
"Cui'er... She has something to do... You should go back first."
The words came out in fragments, just like her floating and unsteady mood at the moment.
However, the old woman didn't believe her. She immediately shook her head and shed tears,
"You're lying to me. Cui'er must have had an accident!"
Seeing Yun Xi's hesitant expression, the old woman was even more convinced of her suspicion. She immediately shook off the support on both sides and stumbled forward. When she saw Cui'er lying in a pool of blood, she burst into heart - rending sobs.
The old woman sat on the ground and hugged Cui'er's cold body with all her strength. Her eyes were blurred with tears, and her expression was grief - stricken.
"She was in a strange mood when she came to see me this afternoon. She said she had done something immoral and harmed the young lady who had always been kind to her. She also said that she knew too much and others wouldn't let her go! She told me to take good care of myself. It was like a farewell!"
She remembered that when she asked, Cui'er just cried. She left a bag of silver and then disappeared.
"Cui'er was born timid and kind. How could she do evil? Someone must have forced her!"
"These heartless people! They not only killed my Cui'er but also wanted to kill me to cover up their tracks! If it weren't for this young master coming in time, I'm afraid I would have been burned to death in the fire!"
This indirectly proved their guilt and Cui'er's innocence!
For a white - haired person to send off a black - haired one, how sad and cruel it was! Seeing this scene, almost everyone present felt sorrow well up in their hearts. Some couldn't even hold back their tears.
The viciousness of the real culprit behind this was simply appalling!
Yun Xi's eyes burned. Her black eyes stared angrily at Madam Jiang,
"Aunt Jiang, don't you have anything to say?"
As soon as Yun Xi spoke, a wave of condemnation erupted from the crowd.
"The culprit!"
"Kneel down!"
"An eye for an eye!"
In the excited crowd, someone threw a stone at Madam Jiang. Then more stones, vegetables, and clods of earth followed, hitting Madam Jiang one after another.
The old woman nearby was also affected. Frightened, she quickly hid far away under the protection of Mama Zhang and others.
Madam Jiang was hit all over her head and face. She was stunned by the sudden turn of events but still shouted to defend herself,
"It's not me! I'm being wronged! She's framing me!"
Madam Jiang pointed at Yun Xi. Seeing that she still couldn't suppress the public outrage, she walked towards Constable Li pleadingly,
"Constable Li, what you said just now was just speculation. There's no evidence to prove that I forced Cui'er to death! She committed suicide out of fear of punishment! Please explain to everyone quickly!"
However, in the face of Madam Jiang's plea, Constable Li responded with silence.