As she finished her sentence, she threw a look at the runner next to her. He nodded and gave Ji Yunshu an object wrapped in white cloth.
Ji Yunshu unwrapped the cloth, and what appeared was a crystal chandelier, the exact one found in the young miss’ room.
For everyone present, the chandelier did not help at all in explaining the situation.
Magistrate Liu was no exception; he pointed at the chandelier curiously and said, “What does this have to do with the young miss’ death?”
“Oh, it is very relevant to her death,” answered Ji Yunshu.
Ji Yunshu took the table chandelier, turned around to face the housekeeper, and explained everything with a frown.
“Let me guess. That night, the young miss, as usual, lit the chandelier just as she was about to drink her medicine and go to sleep. She was about to drink the poisoned soup when you appeared in her quarters. She was very unhappy about that; she didn’t allow anyone to disturb her at that time and everyone knew about it, including Suyun and Qiaoxin. She lost her composure since you broke her routine, and as someone who has a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder, she fell into a passionate rage and dropped her usual generous young miss’ appearance.”
“So, in her anger, she must have insulted and hit you. As she did so, you remembered that it was her who’d scarred you many years ago, and you couldn’t bear it anymore. You took her pillow and choked her to death.”
Once again, the effect of the surprise caused by the revelation was audible.
Ji Yunshu continued, “While you choked her, you accidentally knocked over the chandelier, and in doing so, it burned your sleeve, creating a dark spot. As the chandelier fell to the ground, the liquid wax splashed onto your clothing. What’s more, you didn’t expect the bowl of medicine to be spilled over onto the ground as the young miss struggled for her life. Some of the poisonous concoction got into her mouth, and some splashed onto your sleeve exactly where the piece of wax was. Therefore, the piece of wax not only contains the smell of lotus flowers, but also has the smell of Roxburg rose flowers from the soup.”
“After the deed, you put the chandelier back to where it was originally and cleaned the room. As you were cleaning up, you saw Suyun sneak into the room. So, you panicked and fled the scene before you could dispose of the cadaver properly. To your surprise, not only did Suyun not tell anyone about the corpse, but she actually put it onto the bed and started cleaning up the scene for you. You were shocked, but relieved that someone helped you finish what you started”
“So, that was convenient for you. You could continue to be a good housekeeper while Suyun would be a scapegoat for your crime.”
The complexity of the case surprised everyone, once again.
Above all, the fact that a single drop of oil wax became the key to elucidating the entire case seemed surreal.
Was the morale of the story to bathe and change clothes everyday if one wanted to murder someone?
The housekeeper looked as calm and docile as ever, but now, his darkest secret was fully exposed.
But he still looked fearless.
Ji Yunshu asked again, “Now, do you admit it, or not?”
“Teacher… what extraordinary intelligence!”
‘Yes, he did confess.’
The housekeeper finally raised his head and stared directly into Ji Yunshu’s eyes. The flesh around his scar, which was dark red in color, looked like it was dipped in blood.
At that moment…
“Milord! A disaster! The prisoner… the prisoner died!” a jailor yelled in a panicked voice as he ran into the hall.
Magistrate Liu frowned and asked, “Who?”
“That prisoner… Suyun from the Zhou Mansion. She committed suicide! She cut her wrist with the edge of a plate used to hold an oil lamp!”
Oil lamp?
This was the oil lamp Ji Yunshu left her in the hopes that it would warm her up!