Miss Truth
Chapter 292 - 184 Playing with Fire, One Burns Oneself

Chapter 292: Chapter 184 Playing with Fire, One Burns Oneself

Luo Ling single-handedly supported her grandmother and often did manual labor, so having calluses on her hands wasn’t strange. However, even if she were much stronger than the average woman, it would not have been easy for her to kill several adult men all by herself.

If Luo Ling was not the murderer, then the only person who could have made her willing to take the blame wasn’t Su Luan, it must have been Liu Shisan! The one etched into her very marrow! Only he could drive her to such lengths!

"You’re saying Liu Wen isn’t dead!" the County Magistrate Song exclaimed, aghast. He had personally seen the beggar’s body cold, his complexion cyanotic, already breathless! After finding nothing unusual, he had ordered the body to be thrown into the Morgue.

Xiao Song looked at him expressionlessly, "The Su Family is of the same heritage as the Medicine King; is it so strange they could concoct a drug that simulates death?"

That emotionless gaze sent shivers down County Magistrate Song’s spine.

Xiao Song glanced at the Clerk who had stopped writing and then continued, "Once you’ve finished, send it to Lady Su for her to stamp."

Xiao Song didn’t doubt the truth that Su Luan disclosed, because he had never sensed that Su Luan had feelings for Mu Qilang similar to the deep feelings Luo Ling had for Liu Wen. Even if Mu Qilang truly met a tragic death and she genuinely grieved, it would not have been enough to drive her to insanity to commit murder herself.

Before coming to the Su residence, Xiao Song’s thoughts were the same as Ran Yan’s: even if Su Luan truly was the murderer, avenging her husband could be understood. However, now that he knew the real truth, Xiao Song felt that if he gave too lenient a sentence, it would be a disservice to her ruthless methods!

The truth was the truth, but Xiao Song also did not believe that Su Luan had told the whole truth. To absolve herself of the crime, she certainly hid many things that could be mentioned or not. For instance, how much influence did she really have over Liu Wen? Was she involved when the Liu family disowned him? And how did he end up on such a desperate path...

Even without asking, Xiao Song could guess some of it. He had already decided that he would handle the case according to the law, he just hesitated on how to report these matters to Ran Yan. The truth was often so disheartening.

Despite all this, Xiao Song still kept his promise, allowing Su Luan to await her trial at home.

The night breeze was cool, and the bead curtain reflecting the lamp light cast shimmering, watery patterns on the wall, swaying gently like ripples on a pond.

Within the small loft, Su Luan slumped over the table, powerlessly, and after a long while, she began to sob and laugh, her voice carrying a sense of relief and satisfaction. It took about a quarter of an hour for her to finally calm down.

She took out a handkerchief and wiped her face clean, her gaze falling on the Ying Luo tassel on her chest. After looking at it for a while, she untied it and laid it on the table. Compelled by some sentiment, she began to meticulously count the coral beads on it.

Her mother had said she had too much blood on her hands, laden with heavy sins, and in order not to implicate her family, she took vows and went to live in the Chang’an Nunnery, where she received this string of Ying Luo. She never parted with it, only able to sleep with it on.

Before, Su Luan had only kept it as her mother’s keepsake in her trinket box. After she drove Liu Wen to a dead end and felt guilt that kept her from sleeping, she took it out. Perhaps having found some psychological comfort, she really felt more at ease.

This string of Ying Luo was made up of coral beads, onyx, and colored glass, all in a blood-soaked shade of red. Among them, the coral beads were the most numerous. She had never counted them carefully, but Buddhist items always had a specific number, such as forty-nine, eighty-one, ninety-nine...

"Ninety-nine!" Su Luan moved the last coral bead aside, and suddenly, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

She had been too careless! To have obediently spilled everything.

But this way... it’s better. Su Luan let out a sigh and clutched the Ying Luo tightly to her chest.

Xiao Song and his party returned to the County Government, ordered the arrest of Liu Wen, and organized the case files. After finishing all this, it was deep into the night.

"Assistant Minister Xiao." County Magistrate Song carefully caught up with Xiao Song, who was just about to leave, "That... the coral bead is evidence, what do you say..."

Xiao Song had mentioned his schedule; he would leave for Chang’an before dawn, so County Magistrate Song hurried after him, thinking Xiao Song had forgotten. The coral bead, though rare, was just a tiny one and would not bring much money.

"Who says it’s evidence?" Xiao Song paused, turning back to look at him.

"The one that Lady Su dropped..." County Magistrate Song looked puzzled, unable to understand what Xiao Song meant. Could it be that he coveted even a single coral bead?

"It’s nothing but a trick I used to fool Lady Su. Because I had seen Lady Su several times before, I noticed the Ying Luo around her neck had an old tassel but new strings, and I figured they’d been replaced only two or three days ago. It happened that I listened to Bai Yi describe the scene of the assault that night, so I decided to test her, and she actually fell for it, ha!" Xiao Song laughed as he left the County Government.

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