Zhuang Meiniang had just been brought to Dali Temple. She had not yet had time to change into a prison uniform. She was still wearing the gorgeous floor-length red dress, her hair was neatly styled in a bun, and her tassels were slightly swaying around her face. Shaking, it drew a beautiful shadow.

When Lin Fei and others came over, she was sitting quietly on the stone bed in the prison without speaking.

Instead of her flirtatious ways when she teased the scholars in the study, Zhuang Meiniang’s whole person became a little more demure.

Most of her face was shrouded in shadow. When she heard the movement, the face in the shadow raised slightly, then returned to its original shape.

“Zhuang Meiniang!” After catching Lin Fei’s look, Liu Yuan stepped forward and said, “There are folk remedies for seeking a child in your cupboard. Are you and your husband at odds with each other because of this?”

Zhuang Meiniang did not deny this. She said calmly: “We have been married for twenty years but have no children, so naturally we will have disputes because of this.”

“There are medicines to replenish qi and blood in your cupboard. Did your husband ever do anything to you because of your childlessness?” Liu Yuan asked.

According to the neighbors, Zhuang Meiniang had never shown any injuries on her face. She had always looked like such a beautiful woman. It was just that before her husband passed away, she dressed conservatively, unlike now, where she wore a dress that left a large area of ​​her fair skin exposed.

In the eyes of the neighbors, this was naturally the reason why Zhuang Meiniang was restless without her husband.

And yet, at this moment, because of that medicine, Liu Yuan and the others stumbled upon another possibility: Zhuang Meiniang’s so-called conservative dressing, tightly wrapped in layers of clothing, was likely due to injuries on her body.

As this was suggested, Zhuang Meiniang couldn’t help but burst into laughter, saying, “Indeed, it’s the esteemed officials of the Dali Temple who are much more observant than the neighbors from the surrounding streets. After so many years of not noticing, the esteemed officials of the Dali Temple managed to see it in just one meal’s time.”

Even if Zhuang Meiniang’s husband cared about his reputation and didn’t leave any visible injuries on her face, could they really not have noticed anything over the course of twenty years? Or perhaps they did notice but simply didn’t dare or want to acknowledge it; after all, it was their private affairs.”

Looking at Zhuang Meiniang’s current appearance, one could guess how beautiful she was back then.

After the case of Madam Rouge, Zhuang Meiniang would definitely be criticized as her sister, and ordinary people would avoid her, fearing that Zhuang Meiniang would kill someone like her elder sister if they disagreed with her.

Under such circumstances, the study owner’s willingness to marry Zhuang Meiniang was probably inseparable from her pretty face. However, no matter how beautiful her face was, it became stale over time, and because of her childlessness, Zhuang Meiniang began to be neglected and beaten severely.

“When he treated you like this, didn’t you think of resisting and killing him?” Liu Yuan asked.

Under such circumstances, except for a very small number of people who dare not say anything or fight back due to various reasons, most people cannot bear it and start to think of ways to get out of this pit of fire.

“I’m not a fool. Who could bear it?” Zhuang Meiniang spoke, sighing softly before continuing, “At first, I thought it was my fault. I consulted many doctors, and they all said I was fine, and that there was no problem. Once, I was beaten badly. I couldn’t help but advise him to seek help, but he beat me even harder for it.”

After hearing this sentence, everyone suddenly understood: this childlessness thing was either because the two parties were really not destined, or it was just there was a problem with one or both parties. No matter what, the owner of the study would definitely not admit that he had this problem.

“After I advised him, I endured many beatings for several days in a row. Then, one day, he began disappearing frequently, sometimes during the day, sometimes at night. I suspected he had someone else outside, but I didn’t dare say anything,” Zhuang Meiniang continued. “Until one day, he came back and told me he had a future wife, prepared to remarry, and asked me to pack my things and make way for her.”

When Zhuang Meiniang said this, she smiled bitterly and said in a faint voice: “When I was young, I learned to make rouge from my sister, and I had a skill that I could establish myself in. But after what happened to my sister, I had no choice but to give up this skill to avoid suspicion. Then at that time, I saw that he was a gentleman and treated me very well, so I married him.”

“After years of enduring, just when my looks haven’t aged yet, I have to pack up and make way for someone else?”

“He also said that I was not allowed to take anything away from home. I ate his food and wore his clothes. I didn’t earn anything.” Zhuang Meiniang said with a bitter smile, “Even if he found a boy to help look after the study for so many years, he could have gotten a lot of wages. What he said was so unpleasant and what he did was so cruel. It’s impossible to say that I didn’t hate him.”

“Ruan Zhan and Han Jun became regular visitors to this study earlier than those students. They have been together for a long time. I met each other, and I asked them to help me. When they found the woman, I found out that she was the wife of a mountain man on Yishan Mountain.” Zhuang Meiniang said.

A mountain man?

“Zhou Dagui?” When Liu Yuan heard this, he immediately remembered the name of the mountain man, and his heart skipped a beat. “Did your husband and his wife die in public?”

“I heard that was the case.” As Zhuang Meiniang said that, she raised her head and looked at them. The face left the shadow and turned a little pale. “I don’t know if the death of these two people was related to him. I even looked for him once after that. He said no, that he was suffering. It was a punishment from God. Everyone was watching when it happened! It had nothing to do with him.”

That was true! The deaths of those two people were really bizarre, and it would be really difficult to convict Zhou Dagui for that.

“Zhou Dagui also knew that his wife was pregnant. He said it couldn’t be his, as he couldn’t have a child. It was obvious whose the child in his wife’s belly was.” Zhuang Meiniang frowned when she said this. Shaking her head, she was puzzled and seemed to be mocking herself, “But I have seen many doctors and they all said that there was nothing wrong with me. Could it really be that there was no fate between me and my husband?”

No matter how skilled the investigator was, such matters of fate cannot be determined. Naturally, no one could answer her.

Liu Yuan paused and then said: “So, Zhou Dagui obviously knew about his wife’s infidelity, and he thought that the child in his wife’s belly belonged to your husband, so he killed him for it… This is wrong! These two things are wrong. The death of a person…”

“Whether it’s right or wrong is another matter. Furthermore, killing someone might not require him to do it personally,” Lin Fei suddenly interjected, cutting off Liu Yuan’s words. “Repeatedly attempting to kill someone with an axe might fail the first time, the second time, or even the third time. But with enough attempts, there will eventually be success.”

The act of adultery was not something one could openly boast about. If these two had experienced such an incident, they wouldn’t have spoken about it; they likely would have considered it a mere coincidence.

“So, Zhou Dagui is still a suspect.” Liu Yuan heard this and said hurriedly, “But Ruan Zhan, Han Jun…”

The incident between Zhuang Meiniang’s husband who died in this case and Zhou Dagui’s wife was either a coincidence or related to Zhou Dagui. There was no doubt about it.

This case was turning into a very difficult case.

But the whole case initially stemmed from the matter involving Han Jun, Ruan Zhan, and others. They were the ones who were being initially investigated in this case. The case of adultery also had nothing to do with these two individuals. Zhou Dagui had no reason to randomly kill Ruan Zhan and Han Jun.

Furthermore, such a delicate and poisonous killing method seemed to have little to do with Zhou Dagui!

Of course, Dali Temple handled cases based on evidence. Whether it was relevant or not, they would only know after investigation.

(End of chapter)

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