Sun Yu was not blindly confident.
First of all, more than ten years had passed since the case. It was impossible to investigate the crime scene. Physical evidence had long been erased by time, leaving only a few witnesses who had also been dealt with long ago.
When officials wanted to act unscrupulously, the sky above the commoners collapsed and they could do nothing but cry and flee.
The more confident Sun Yu was, the more brutal the tragedy years ago proved to be.
And the more Qiao Yuhe hated him.
"Sun Dog, are you confused? How could I possibly be here without evidence?" The young woman in her early twenties laughed bitterly. "Have you forgotten that the Qin family’s jade mine is still in your hands?"
The Qin family had accumulated some savings after discovering the jade mine. After the entire family died, how could the mine end up in the officials' hands without any tricks? Who would believe that?
Visibly, Sun Yu panicked for a moment.
But soon he regained his composure. "The jade mine was a gift from Qin Feng. I have a deed of gift written by him. On what grounds are you accusing me of a crime just because I own the mine?"
"Besides, with no one left in the Qin family, if not me, the mine would belong to someone else anyway."
As expected of a former official, his sophistry was layered with logic, leaving no loopholes.
Take the deed of gift for example. Sun Yu did have one, undoubtedly written by Qin Feng, not forged.
But only the Qin family knew under what circumstances Qin Feng wrote this deed of gift - when he was already fatally wounded and dying, while Sun Yu held his parents and wife hostage, forcing him to write it or else his whole family would die.
For the sake of his elderly parents and newlywed wife, Qin Feng reluctantly lifted his brush before death.
Yet now, this deed of gift had become evidence for Sun Yu to evade legal investigation.
Qiao Yuhe collapsed on the ground, wailing in despair and helplessness.
Seeing this, Sun Yu became even more arrogant, stroking his beard. "Miss Qiao, I won't blame you for going mad. As long as you admit to falsely accusing me, I'm still willing to take you as a concubine of the Sun family, but you can only be a lowly one."
A proper concubine came from a good family, and was still treated with some respect.
But a lowly concubine had a vulgar status, no different from a signed slave. She could be sold anytime, with the only extra function of warming beds.
From the moment Qiao Yuhe determined to file an appeal at the government office, she never intended to be Sun's concubine again.
She tilted her head and glanced coldly at Sun Yu. Suddenly she kowtowed to the Prefectural Magistrate, "Your Honor, please serve justice for this woman. I will never withdraw my accusation. If Sun Yu is not convicted, I will not die in peace."
This was not a mere bow, but earnest kowtows banging on the ground.
At first, only Qiao Yuhe's forehead turned red and swollen. Soon her skin ruptured, and then the floor was covered in blood.
Yet she seemed unfazed, still kowtowing relentlessly, begging Heaven to serve justice, hoping for a miracle from the divine.
The masses around them couldn’t bear to watch, and the court clerks had long closed their eyes.
The Prefectural Magistrate stared wide-eyed, red-faced, and slammed the bench furiously. "Detain both parties in prison. This case will be reopened later."
He intended to investigate personally.
Despite Qiao Yuhe's bloody face and hideous look, hearing the news, she still couldn't help but smile, the corners of her lips curving up, just like that sunny day ten years ago.
"Dead dog Sun, your end is near." She mouthed provocatively.
Sun Yu was startled, and immediately tried to rush forward, only to be stopped by bailiffs.
"Your Honor, I'm an accomplished official. Without evidence, how can you detain me? I object." He struggled free of shackles and roared at the bench.
The clerks were somewhat hesitant. The Dayu Dynasty did have this rule - clear evidence was required for detention, to avoid wrongly accusing the innocent.
The Prefectural Magistrate’s face was ashen, his voice small yet firm. "Laws are dead, people are alive."
Witnessed by crowds, Sun Yu howled as he was thrown into the dungeon.
Qiao Yuhe was naturally also jailed. Her bloody appearance was so horrifying that the clerks specifically invited a doctor to dress her wounds and treat her.
At the same time, chaos brewed outside.
Sun Yu was the most promising son of the Sun family, the most cherished younger brother of the Suns. With him imprisoned, neither the Sun Family nor Sun Clan would let the matter rest.
The Sun Family went to the Prefectural Magistrate’s office repeatedly, hoping he would release the man.
The Sun Clan then applied pressure, even saying bluntly: Sun Yu was innocent. If the Prefectural Magistrate insisted, it would be murdering the innocent.
Murdering the innocent indeed.
The Prefectural Magistrate trembled with anger, whiskers shivering, and immediately dispatched bailiffs that night to find evidence.
Everyone waited.
Waited for the Prefectural Magistrate to find evidence of Sun Yu’s murder of the Qin and Qiao families, to find charges that could behead Sun Yu.
At this critical juncture, Jiang Yi and Jiang Er returned from the south.
Covered in dust, as soon as they arrived at Hairpin Courtyard, they knelt down.
Xu Mo’s heart sank. He anxiously asked, "Nothing found?"
Jiang Yi heavily nodded.
Xu Mo sat despondently in the room for half a day.
Half a day later, he went to the government office and asked the Prefectural Magistrate to release Sun Yu.
The Prefectural Magistrate was puzzled. "If Sun Yu is released, no matter how slight the evidence, he will erase it all. By then we really will have searched in vain."
Xu Mo sneered coldly. "It might be good if he does erase everything. We can then directly track down conclusive evidence."
Moreover, detaining Sun Yu for long was beyond the Prefectural Magistrate’s ability to withstand the pressure.
So that afternoon, Sun Yu walked out of the dungeon with bloodshot eyes, cursing all the way, repeating his hatred for Qiao Yuhe.
According to the prison guard, the two were detained near each other. Qiao Yuhe’s hatred for Sun Yu penetrated her bones. She spent everyday shrieking curses at him, never giving Sun Yu a moment of rest. Whenever Sun Yu dared shut his eyes, she would insult his ancestors down eighteen generations.
In short, during his four days in prison, Sun Yu did not get a single minute of rest.
Under normal circumstances, returning to the Sun Residence his first action should be to rest. But instead he immediately summoned residence doctors, seeming to be plotting something.
At the same time, Xu Mo went to the prison alone. Under the guard's watch, he visited Qiao Yuhe.
These four sleepless days had tortured not only Sun Yu, but also Qiao Yuhe.
The charming, beautiful young Madam at the Yuzhen Store now looked pale and frail like an eighty-year-old crone.
“Are you certain?” After a long silence, Xu Mo only asked this one question.
The guard was baffled.
But Qiao Yuhe smiled bitterly. "I’ve been certain for a long time."
"I see." Xu Mo closed his eyes, seemingly reluctant at heart. "Madam Qin, please be at ease."
He brought no food or drink, only bowed slightly to Qiao Yuhe through the bars.
Then Xu Mo left.
Soon after, Qiao Yuhe’s two children came to visit their aunt.
They brought food and pastries, crying out at their unrecognizable mother, "Auntie...Auntie..."
In the end, as a lowly concubine, she was only worthy of the title Auntie, not Mother.
Qiao Yuhe looked longingly at her eldest daughter, drank down the wine, and finished the pastries.
When the guard came to hurry them, she began foaming at the mouth. By the time the doctor was called, her body was already rigid and icy cold.
"Mother..." her eldest daughter wailed bitterly. "Wake up, Mother, don't sleep..."
