The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 778 Unyielding (3)_1

Chapter 778: Chapter 778 Unyielding (3)_1

As soon as the possibility of a lighter sentence was mentioned, Lady Chen’s heart was moved, and she cried out her innocence, "I saw it! I saw it! Please spare me! Spare me!" Her daughter Wenlee had already married an official in the Crown Prince’s Chancellery, and her eldest son was also about to undertake tasks for the Crown Prince. The whole family had moved to Capital Jingcheng, and no matter how capable Qian Wanxiu was, she couldn’t possibly confront them in Capital Jingcheng, could she?

As she started to confess, Jiang Benxin waved his hand to stop her.

Tears streamed down Lady Chen’s face as she cried incessantly, filled with both fear and hatred in her heart.

"Confess the truth!" Jiang Benxin roared furiously.

"Your Honor! I saw... I saw that it was..." Lady Chen still had a hint of hesitation in her heart. If she truly implicated Pei Wensheng, and Qian Wanxiu’s son was charged with murder, Qian Wanxiu would definitely not let her off the hook. Pei Wensheng, who was so young and dared to kill, was even more ruthless and vicious than Qian Wanxiu. She wouldn’t kill her, would she?

"Who did you see?" Jiang Benxin pressed in a deep voice.

Lady Chen gritted her teeth, "... Pei Wensheng, I saw him rush out of Pei Wenjie’s room in a flurry. After that, the wet nurse went back to Pei Wenjie’s room carrying water from the kitchen." It was Pei Wensheng himself who killed the person, so she couldn’t be blamed! Even if Qian Wanxiu promised her benefits, nothing was more important than her own life. If she was imprisoned, it would be over for her! Perhaps they even wanted to pin the murder of Pei Wenjie on her and make her the scapegoat!

When the commoners at the door heard that it was indeed Pei Wensheng, they were all shocked and sighed in disbelief. Although rumors suggested as much, most people still couldn’t believe that Pei Wensheng, at such a young age, would kill. Even if he disliked his illegitimate younger brother, he couldn’t possibly smother him! A baby of only a few months old, and he was already capable of such a cruel deed. At such a young age, it was far too ruthless.

At that moment, a short and skinny man, pale-faced, came forward, shouting that he had come to surrender himself.

Someone recognized him; he was Zhou Cai, the assistant in Qian Wanxiu’s silk and satin shop.

Jiang Benxin ordered for the man to be brought forward for questioning.

Zhou Cai entered with heavy steps, knelt before the court, "Your Honor! I am here to confess! It was I who smothered that little bastard Pei Wenjie!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately started buzzing with conversation. Lady Chen had already confessed; during her visit to the latrine, she saw Pei Wensheng rushing out of Pei Wenjie’s room, and by the time the wet nurse entered, Pei Wenjie had already suffocated. Moreover, Pei Wensheng was so frightened when he appeared in court yesterday, and then there were the occurrences with the vengeful spirit that came to claim lives at midnight. Now Zhou Cai came forward to confess, claiming he was the killer!?

Lady Chen’s face changed as she watched Zhou Cai admit to killing Pei Wenjie. Qian Wanxiu’s moves were truly swift, finding a scapegoat so quickly. But she had already confessed to seeing Pei Wensheng...

"Zhou Cai! How and why did you kill him? Tell the truth!" Jiang Benxin sneered, raising his voice to interrogate.

"Your Honor!" Zhou Cai inhaled deeply, "I am fond of Shu Hua and wanted to marry her. With the birth of a new young master by a concubine, Shu Hua became worried for the First Madam and complained to me a few times. I decided to repay the First Madam’s kindness and to win Shu Hua’s hand in marriage, so I sneaked into the courtyard and took the chance to smother that little bastard Pei Wenjie! When I fled, I ran into the Fifth Young Master by accident and frightened him. I also encountered the First Madam when she came out to use the latrine."

"Is that so? Did Pei Wensheng enter Pei Wenjie’s room with you?" Jiang Benxin inquired again.

"No! I went there quietly by myself, without telling anyone. I just wanted to rid the First Madam of this trouble, so I could marry Shu Hua and take her home!" Zhou Cai hurriedly replied.

"But just now, Lady Chen has already confessed that the person she saw fleeing from Pei Wenjie’s room was Pei Wensheng, not you!" Jiang Benxin slammed the clapper-board emphatically.