Wei Qingzheng had considered many possibilities, but he never expected this to be a complex, multi-layered scheme.
Wang Zhi’s words sent shockwaves through the room. Apart from Wei Qingzheng, the two other detectives were equally unsettled.
It was supposed to involve only three people, but now a fourth person had been dragged into the mix—someone they had no knowledge of.
Seeing Wei Qingzheng’s stunned expression, Wang Zhi couldn’t help but smirk with a hint of smugness. “If you had told me earlier that someone provided you with clues, we wouldn’t have had to go around in circles. If I’m not mistaken, the killer is probably him.”
He paused, then continued, “It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it brief. When I was in Lin City, I offended someone—not just one person, but four. Now, two of them are dead. The person who’s been feeding you clues, based on your theory, is hinting that he’s coming for me next. But he hasn’t shown up yet. Captain Wei, you’ve been played.”
Wang Zhi glanced disdainfully at the officers present, a mocking smile curling at the corners of his lips.
“What’s his name? What does he do? Where is he now?” Wei Qingzheng demanded sharply.
Even before Wang Zhi could finish, Wei Qingzheng had already realized they had been tricked.
He checked his watch. More than two hours had passed since the scheduled time.
If Jiang Jiansheng had been smart enough to stall and had the address, there might still be a chance to find him.
Wang Zhi looked at Wei Qingzheng and spoke softly, “Jiang Jiansheng. He’s a well-known con artist in Lin City, with connections to underground gambling dens in several nearby cities. As for where he lives now, I have no idea.”
He shrugged, his face full of nonchalance.
Wei Qingzheng immediately grabbed his phone, his head bowed to conceal the calculations in his eyes.
Wang Zhi tightened his leather jacket, feeling the hard object inside. It gave him a sense of security.
He wasn’t a fool; he wasn’t about to entrust his life to these people.
If that person came for him, he’d fight back.
Whoever dared to seek revenge against him was practically asking for death.
But his plans were too obvious. Wei Qingzheng saw through them instantly and signaled his colleagues to restrain Wang Zhi.
After heading downstairs, Wei Qingzheng called a contact on his mobile phone, asking about informants connected to underground gambling dens around Jiang City and whether anyone had seen Jiang Jiansheng.
Soon, Wei Qingzheng narrowed it down to an underground gambling den in the southern suburbs. After a chaotic search, he learned that Jiang Jiansheng had left alone.
Further investigation revealed that Jiang Jiansheng hadn’t returned to his residence in Jiang City. Wei Qingzheng suspected he had gone missing and began searching the surrounding areas.
A clue provided by a villager near an abandoned factory caught Wei Qingzheng’s attention.
The villager mentioned hearing eerie screams from the factory in the afternoon, as if ghosts were wailing.
Wei Qingzheng quickly got into his car and sped toward the abandoned factory.
With this clue, he had a sinking feeling.
He was too late. The time wasted on the road had given the killer enough opportunity to murder Jiang Jiansheng.
Arriving at the desolate area in front of the factory, Wei Qingzheng looked at the barren land and the red-brick building in the distance. He turned to his colleagues and said, “Prepare to enter the scene. Zhao Sheng and Qiao Jia, keep an eye on Wang Zhi. I’ll call you in to identify the body once I find it.”
“Got it!”
“Understood.”
The two responded in unison.
Wei Qingzheng put on a mask, shoe covers, and gloves. He began inspecting the area and soon discovered bloodstains on the dry grass.
The others started setting up yellow tape to cordon off the scene, then fanned out to search the factory grounds.
Wei Qingzheng followed the trail of blood, carefully moving forward while paying attention to the ground.
Drag marks gradually appeared before him as he ventured deeper.
His premonition was confirmed. Anger and a tinge of fear crept over him.
Even a seasoned detective like him had been outmaneuvered.
As he walked, his mind raced, piecing together the various clues.
The only silver lining was that these three cases could now be investigated together, as they were clearly connected.
As for who was behind it all, he was confident Wang Zhi would provide the answers.
He couldn’t allow something like this to happen again.
After walking for a long time, the drag marks stretched for nearly two kilometers.
Finally, on a pile of dry grass, Wei Qingzheng found Jiang Jiansheng’s tortured body.
He picked up his phone and made a call. “Bring Wang Zhi in to identify the body.”
After confirming the message was received, he crouched down and used a flashlight to examine the corpse in detail.
By then, the forensic team from Jiang City had arrived.
The sound of camera shutters clicking filled the air. After Wang Zhi identified the body, it was confirmed to be Jiang Jiansheng.
Once the identification was complete, Wang Zhi was taken away.
Wei Qingzheng surveyed the scene, frowning at the shattered legs and the slit throat. This was another brutal, vengeful killing. The killer clearly harbored deep hatred for these four individuals.
Wang Zhi’s casual mention of “offending” someone was undoubtedly an understatement.
Wei Qingzheng, wearing gloves, lifted one of the victim’s hands. The muscular arm and the dense tattoos caught his eye. Subduing a grown man like this, with minimal signs of struggle, suggested this wasn’t the primary crime scene.
He shook the hand slightly, and it flopped limply, like rubber, before falling back onto the grass.
The movement revealed a red plastic lighter hidden beneath the grass.
“Get me an evidence bag,” Wei Qingzheng said, sensing this might be a clue left by the killer. He reached out to a colleague collecting evidence.
The colleague handed him a transparent plastic bag.
Wei Qingzheng carefully picked up the lighter with his gloved hands and sealed it in the bag.
The forensic team worked quickly, finishing the examination and wrapping up the scene.
The preliminary assessment was that the victim had his legs broken, his hands injured, and had crawled two kilometers before being killed and dragged back.
The most notable detail was the presence of muscle reactions consistent with anesthesia, suggesting the use of anesthetic drugs.
Wei Qingzheng couldn’t help but think of Sun Bin’s wife, who had been a nurse before coming to Jiang City and would have had easy access to such drugs.
He made a mental note of this and continued to search the scene with the others, hoping to find more clues.
By the time they finished, it was already 10 p.m., and everyone was feeling the strain.
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a loud noise, like a firecracker, echoed through the air.
Wei Qingzheng’s heart skipped a beat. He stood up, his face grim.
He recognized the sound all too well—it was a gunshot.
Hearing Zhao Sheng’s voice, Wei Qingzheng grabbed his flashlight and rushed out.
The others quickly followed, running toward the source of the gunshot.
When Wei Qingzheng arrived, one of their cars was missing. Zhao Sheng was on the ground, clutching his stomach, and Wang Zhi was nowhere to be seen.
“He… he had a gun…” Qi Jia, a young officer, was visibly shaken, stammering as he recounted what had just happened.
Wei Qingzheng’s heart sank, his face darkening.
He instinctively scanned the area and noticed another car was gone.
Clearly, Wang Zhi had planned this.
He urgently turned to Qi Jia and asked, “Which way did he go?”
There was no time for anger or blame—they needed to act fast.
Qi Jia helped Zhao Sheng up and pointed in a direction.
Wei Qingzheng gestured to a few team members. “Come with me. We’re going after him. Qi Jia, you and the forensics team stay here and call an ambulance for Zhao Sheng.”
He checked Zhao Sheng’s condition and was relieved to see the wound wasn’t life-threatening.
Otherwise, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.
He got into a car and sped off in the direction Qi Jia had indicated.
In the distance, he could see the taillights of the car Wang Zhi had taken.
Wei Qingzheng pushed the car to its limit.
Not only was Wang Zhi a wanted criminal in Lin City, but he also held crucial clues to the three cases.
The vehicles raced through the outskirts, both sides pushing their luck.
Just as Wei Qingzheng was closing the gap, they entered the city.
A taxi blocked his path, preventing him from catching up in time. By the time he spotted the stolen car again, Wang Zhi had abandoned it and fled on foot.
Wei Qingzheng and his team got out to search but returned empty-handed.
Walking up to the car, Wei Qingzheng’s pent-up anger and frustration surged, and he slammed his fist hard on the car hood.
The loud "bang" echoed, a clear display of his fury.
He swore to himself that he would catch that person and Wang Zhi!
After contacting nearby police officers to help with the search, Wei Qingzheng returned to the police station and sat outside the forensic lab, waiting for the autopsy results.
In the meantime, he called to check on Zhao Sheng’s condition.
Upon hearing that the bullet had been removed and that Zhao Sheng was out of danger, Wei Qingzheng let out a long sigh of relief.
As long as there was no life-threatening danger, it was fine.
Qi Jia, covered in blood and with red eyes, stood in front of Wei Qingzheng. "Captain Wei, it’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention. I thought it would be fine to go to the bathroom, but I never expected..."
He never expected that Wang Zhi, who had been wearing a coat the entire time, had a gun hidden inside. Without hesitation, Wang Zhi shot Zhao Sheng and fled.
"It’s my fault," Wei Qingzheng stood up and patted Qi Jia’s shoulder, taking the blame upon himself. He had underestimated the situation, failing to search Wang Zhi and assigning an inexperienced officer like Qi Jia to assist Zhao Sheng, which led to Zhao Sheng ending up in the hospital.
Qi Jia was a rookie officer in the team, often lacking experience. It was his first time witnessing such a scene, and the fact that he could even speak coherently was already commendable.
Wang Zhi was indeed a cunning fox, hiding his true nature so well that even Wei Qingzheng hadn’t anticipated this outcome.
Qi Jia wanted to say more, but Wei Qingzheng stopped him.
"Learn from this lesson. That’s all that matters. I’ll handle the criticism and write the report," Wei Qingzheng said.
"Click."
The door to the autopsy room, with its glass upper half, opened. After comforting Qi Jia, Wei Qingzheng turned around to look.
The forensic examiner came out and delivered some good news.
They had found another fingerprint on the lighter that didn’t belong to Jiang Jiansheng.
The examiner removed his mask and said, "Most of the fingerprints on it match Jiang Jiansheng’s, but there’s one that’s unfamiliar."
Hearing this, Wei Qingzheng’s mind lit up. "Is the fingerprint intact?"
The examiner nodded. "It’s fairly intact. This seems to be Jiang Jiansheng’s backup lighter. He had another metal one in his clothes, which was likely his usual one. This plastic lighter might belong to someone else."
This at least proved that Jiang Jiansheng had interacted with the owner of the fingerprint, providing an important lead.
"Let’s go compare the fingerprints," Wei Qingzheng said, his heart racing as he turned to Qi Jia.
Qi Jia glanced at the clock on the wall, nodded firmly, and followed Wei Qingzheng.
After losing the lead on Wang Zhi, Wei Qingzheng had thought he would come up empty-handed. But now, out of the blue, they had a fingerprint at the scene that didn’t belong to Jiang Jiansheng.
He had a strong intuition that this fingerprint might belong to the killer.
Acting on his hunch, he quickly began comparing the fingerprints with Qi Jia.
In front of the bulky computer, Wei Qingzheng watched as the data scrolled past.
After more than half an hour, the fingerprint didn’t match any in the database.
Wei Qingzheng’s face fell. When Qi Jia placed a box of food in front of him, he barely had any appetite.
It really wasn’t there.
He began to doubt his intuition.
Tearing open a pair of disposable chopsticks, he mechanically shoveled food into his mouth.
After a few bites, Qi Jia spoke up. "Captain Wei, why don’t you drive home later? I’ll stay and wait for the results."
Wei Qingzheng had been working non-stop on this case for the past two days, and Qi Jia was worried he might collapse from exhaustion.
Though it was an ominous thought, he couldn’t help but fear it might happen.
Hearing Qi Jia’s words, Wei Qingzheng suddenly had an idea. He looked up, his eyes lighting up. "That’s it! The car!" He threw down his chopsticks, the office chair screeching as he slid over to the computer. "I remember we collected fingerprints from taxi drivers in the southern district. Let’s compare those!"
"Huh? Oh... okay!" Qi Jia was momentarily stunned by Wei Qingzheng’s sudden energy but quickly caught on and agreed.
With a good memory, Qi Jia soon found the relevant data and handed it to Wei Qingzheng.
Wei Qingzheng quickly took it, flipping through the pages until he reached Sun Bin’s file.
Under the white light, the red fingerprint on the paper was placed side by side with the one on the computer screen.
Wei Qingzheng suppressed his emotions, meticulously comparing the two.
Qi Jia stood up and leaned in, his eyes fixed on the screen.
"They’re identical!" Qi Jia exclaimed in surprise.
Wei Qingzheng’s tense lips relaxed into a smile. "They’re identical. Let’s input it into the computer for another comparison!"
This was just to be thorough. Even though they were certain it was a match, they couldn’t jump to conclusions yet.
After scanning it into the computer, the two fingerprints slowly began to overlap.
Qi Jia turned to Wei Qingzheng and shouted, "A hundred percent match!"
Wei Qingzheng stood up from his chair. "Contact the others. We’re making an arrest!"
His eyes sparkled with determination, and his entire demeanor seemed revitalized.
While waiting for the team to assemble, he quickly shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth.
Soon, they had gathered four or five officers.
Given how dangerous the suspect was, Wei Qingzheng couldn’t afford to let him escape. If that happened, Wei Qingzheng might as well resign and become a security guard.
After hastily waking up his superior to obtain the arrest warrant, Wei Qingzheng set off.
At three in the morning, Wei Qingzheng kicked open the door to Sun Bin’s house.
Holding the arrest warrant between his index and middle fingers, he flashed the text in front of Sun Bin’s eyes.
"Sun Bin, you’re suspected of involvement in a homicide. Come with us."
[What? What just happened?]
[Did the game mission just end? Is this a bug?]
[Wait, why? I checked carefully. Sister Sang didn’t leave any evidence!]
The audience was in an uproar, with many viewers feeling as if they had just seen the mission completion screen.
The chat was flooded with question marks, everyone confused about what had happened.
Why? Why did Wei Qingzheng arrest Ye Sangsang?
The viewers felt like they were staring at a giant question mark.
To make matters worse, Ye Sangsang chose to pause the game at that moment. Her playtime was up.
The audience: ...
Sister Sang, you’re ruthless.
Amid the wails of a hundred thousand viewers, Ye Sangsang calmly announced she was logging off and then disappeared.
This sparked a wave of desperate pleas for her to stay, but nothing could stop her.
She had already delayed for a long time, and even with some time skipped, she had slept an hour longer than usual.
When she woke up, Ye Sangsang saw the lunch that had been placed on her table.
A caregiver approached and helped her up, saying, "Miss Ye, you slept exceptionally well today."
"Indeed," Ye Sangsang replied indifferently.
After this brief exchange, silence followed. Ye Sangsang washed her hands, ate her meal, and then went out.
This time, however, there was a new development: a rehabilitation therapist had arrived.
The girl, who introduced herself as someone arranged by Su Xu, was there to help Ye Sangsang with leg rehabilitation.
After assessing the condition of Ye Sangsang’s legs, the girl said, "If you actively participate in rehabilitation, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to stand again. You could dedicate two hours a day to this."
"Thank you, but I like my wheelchair," Ye Sangsang stated flatly, her expression unreadable.
The girl’s face showed a flicker of surprise, followed by pity. She tried to persuade her, "We can’t let ourselves be consumed by negative emotions. If your legs improve, your overall health will too. Can you trust me?"
"I said I don’t need it. Stop being presumptuous," Ye Sangsang replied, her dark eyes locking onto the girl’s. After a few seconds, she mechanically pushed her wheelchair away.
When her allotted activity time ended, Ye Sangsang took her medication and moved herself back into bed.
The girl still hadn’t left and tried to continue persuading her, but Ye Sangsang called a nurse to have her removed.
The girl, however, refused to give up and left her business card on the table.
After reading a bit from a psychology book, Ye Sangsang thought about the game and fiddled with her gaming device.
When the caregiver came in to tidy up, the card was left untouched.
Seeing it, Ye Sangsang smirked, muttered "pathetic," and then logged back into the game.
Unbeknownst to her, during her absence, her audience had started watching the replay, trying to figure out what had happened.
Unfortunately, without Ye Sangsang’s perspective, they couldn’t make sense of it.
Forums and social media platforms were abuzz with discussions, but despite all the analysis, no one could piece together the truth.
The only way to get answers was for Ye Sangsang to log back in.
The moment Ye Sangsang reappeared in the game, the viewers who had been waiting in the livestream chat instantly perked up.
【Wuwuwuwu, finally got in! Stuck at the most exciting part, Ye Sangsang, you have no heart!】
【I need answers! Since the game mission hasn't been concluded, there's still a chance for Sister Sang to turn things around!】
【And what about Wang Zhi? I believe Sister Sang can perfectly complete the mission!】
The live chat was filled with praise and complaints.
Ye Sangsang glanced at it, indifferent, and clicked into the game world.
Unnecessary scenes were filtered out, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in an interrogation room.
It seemed some time had passed, as indicated by the electronic clock on the wall.
She looked around in confusion, clenching her fists to express her anger. As Wei Qingzheng walked in, she exclaimed, "What do you mean I'm suspected of murder? You think I killed Wang Shun? I didn’t kill him! How could I? We had no grudges. His death has nothing to do with me. You can’t frame me!"
Her face turned red, and she tried to stand up to prove her innocence, but the restraints of the chair forced her back down.
Her innocent, earnest, and aggrieved expression left the live chat viewers stunned.
Even though it wasn’t the first time they had seen Ye Sangsang’s acting skills, they were still taken aback by her display of grievance and anger.
Her confident demeanor almost made some less resolute viewers believe she was truly innocent, leaving them momentarily speechless.
【If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I might have believed her too!】
【Sister Sang is really dedicated, taking the game so seriously. In reality, criminals are all master actors—they won’t admit anything unless the evidence is right in their faces. PS: Sometimes, even with ironclad evidence, they still won’t confess.】
【The earlier comment is right. As a police officer, I’ve seen plenty of people like this. Let me remind everyone: don’t easily trust criminals. They’re really good at acting and lying through their teeth!】
Ye Sangsang’s acting skills plunged the chat into a sea of lessons and warnings.
Many viewers shared their own experiences, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and not being fooled by criminals playing the victim.
After Ye Sangsang finished speaking, Qi Jia turned up the heat. He sat down, then immediately stood up and slammed the table. "Sun Bin! Stop lying! We’ve got key evidence. If you confess now, I can still consider it a voluntary admission!"
"Otherwise, you’ll be facing the firing squad!"
Wei Qingzheng frowned, reaching out to pull Qi Jia back into his seat. He looked at Ye Sangsang like a friend and said, "Qi Jia is young and hot-tempered. Don’t mind him."
Ye Sangsang quickly shook her head, indicating she didn’t mind, and whispered, "I really didn’t kill anyone. The most I’ve ever done is kill a chicken. How could I dare to kill someone? If I met someone as vicious as Wang Shun, I’d run for my life."
"I believe you," Wei Qingzheng said, "but according to our evidence, you’re not only connected to Wang Shun’s case but also to his friend Zhou Qiang and the recently deceased Jiang Jiansheng." He stared intently at Ye Sangsang. "Do you know them?"
Ye Sangsang shook her head in confusion. "I really don’t know them. I’ve only heard Wang Shun’s name from neighbors in Lin City."
"Stop playing dumb! Do you think we’d arrest you without reason? Tell the truth—where were you this afternoon? What did you do?" Qi Jia lost his temper again, shouting at Ye Sangsang.
【Hmm, this cop has quite the temper.】
【True, compared to Wei Qingzheng, who’s much calmer.】
【To the earlier commenter: don’t be naive. They’re playing good cop, bad cop!】
Chat: ???
So that’s what’s going on.
Ye Sangsang looked earnest and said, "I didn’t do anything this afternoon. Around 4 p.m., I felt unwell, so I went home early to rest. My wife was also off, and we watched some TV, had dinner, and then went to bed."
At that moment, a police officer walked in and whispered something to Wei Qingzheng.
Wei Qingzheng’s sharp phoenix eyes grew more serious. He pressed his pen against the white paper on the table, watching the ink spread, and said, "This doesn’t prove you don’t have an alibi. And we already have key evidence linking you to the crime."
His tone was heavy, and someone with weaker nerves might have already cracked under the pressure.
But Ye Sangsang firmly shook her head, saying solemnly, "I wouldn’t kill anyone. I don’t believe I could kill anyone. If there’s any evidence, it must have been planted by someone else."
"We’ve already sent someone to ask your neighbors. When Jiang Jiansheng died, you weren’t home, and your car was gone. So you’re lying," Wei Qingzheng said with undeniable certainty.
Ye Sangsang’s eyes flickered, her fingers tightening slightly, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.
Qi Jia shouted, "Still not coming clean?"
Ye Sangsang swallowed hard, lowering her head slightly. "I… I’ll tell you… My wife and I went to a few pharmacies, trying to buy some medicine… We were delayed for a while…"
Her face showed shame and a bit of defeat.
Qi Jia didn’t understand at first but was stopped by Wei Qingzheng before he could speak. "Tell me, which pharmacies?"
Ye Sangsang vaguely mentioned three pharmacies, naming their approximate locations in the south and north of the city. She said she wasn’t sure if two of them had the medicine she needed, so she hesitated at the door and didn’t go in.
In the early 2000s, buying something like Viagra was almost as embarrassing as committing a crime.
Qi Jia, who had been ready to press further, immediately understood what she was talking about.
"Go and check if anyone saw them at those pharmacies," Wei Qingzheng instructed seriously.
Qi Jia nodded and went to inform his colleagues outside.
Back in the interrogation room, Wei Qingzheng continued, "You say you have an alibi, and I’ll tentatively believe you. But now, explain why your fingerprints were found at the crime scene."
Ye Sangsang still looked utterly confused, as if she had no idea what was happening.
Qi Jia sat down beside her, a cold smile on his face. He held up a transparent evidence bag with a lighter inside. "This lighter was found at the crime scene. Care to explain why your fingerprints are on it?"
Wei Qingzheng sighed. "I don’t know what grievances you have with them, but please believe that the police will give you justice. Taking the law into your own hands is not the way to go."
The only thing missing now was Sun Bin’s motive for the murder.
And the chat went wild!
【This lighter!!! It looks familiar!】
【I remember now! Earlier, when Sister Sang triggered the mission, she ran into Jiang Jiansheng and gave him this lighter!】
【So Sister Sang did this on purpose, right? She deliberately let Wei Qingzheng arrest her? Feels like Sister Sang has a bit of a dark sense of humor.】
Finally, the chat understood why Ye Sangsang had been arrested.
And in her lowered eyes, there was a hint of amusement.
Of course, she wasn’t just doing this for fun. Besides wanting to tease Wei Qingzheng and satisfy her own twisted sense of humor, her other goal was to completely lower Wei Qingzheng’s guard.
Wang Zhi wasn’t an easy target, and if Wei Qingzheng kept monitoring her, she wasn’t sure she could succeed.
Ye Sangsang’s lowered head gave Wei Qingzheng a glimmer of hope. He spoke again, "If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. I’m listening."
He meant it sincerely.
If Sun Bin really was the killer, he believed there must be a reason, and he would do everything he could to help.
Ye Sangsang looked up, about to speak, when the interrogation room door opened, and someone walked in.
"We called the pharmacies. One of the clerks at the two pharmacies they didn’t enter said they saw the couple. The other wasn’t sure. The clerk at the pharmacy they did enter remembered them buying medicine and leaving. As for whether it was Sun Bin and Lin Shu, colleagues are already on their way with photos to confirm."
The teammate whispered the results of the investigation into Wei Qingzheng’s ear.
Wei Qingzheng frowned slightly, but this still didn’t clear Sun Bin of suspicion. They needed to check the timeline more carefully.
"What did Lin Shu say?" he asked.
The teammate quietly repeated the same story Ye Sangsang had just told. After some hesitation, Lin Shu had also chosen to tell the truth.
Things were getting complicated. Wei Qingzheng turned his gaze back to Sun Bin.
Now, he was waiting to hear what Ye Sangsang had to say.
The investigating teammate left.
Ye Sangsang waited until the person had left before speaking with a hint of grievance, "This... this lighter, I gave it to a stranger a couple of days ago, on South River Road. I... I really didn’t kill anyone..."
Her face was filled with regret, regret for having given the lighter away.
Wei Qingzheng’s calm expression cracked instantly, almost unable to hold itself together.
He suddenly stood up, "What did you say?!"
"The lighter... the lighter was the one I gave... gave to that person," she murmured.
Wei Qingzheng stared intently at Ye Sangsang. The situation was too absurd. He abruptly stood up and left the interrogation room.
He didn’t believe it! He had to investigate!
But soon, he obtained the entire account of how Ye Sangsang had given the lighter to the other person, coincidentally captured just before the surveillance footage was set to be automatically erased.
It was as if the heavens themselves were determined to prove her innocence.
