Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 26

In the government office on the other side, after receiving the order, the jailer released the man from the cell. The man immediately led the officers to a secluded mansion in the city, rescuing his wife and children who were detained there and catching several other suspects who failed to escape. They were taken back to the jail for separate interrogations, which lasted until the next day before their mouths were finally pried open.

Subsequently, a stack of letters and several iron seals of unclear purpose were found at Su Hang's residence. The letters he exchanged with various contacts matched the testimonies of his co-accused completely. Among the letters, the oldest one clearly stated that Su Hang had pledged allegiance to another faction. The seal on this letter belonged to the Prince of Huainan, making it unquestionably genuine.

Su Shiyu read the letter several times and found no flaws, only to become more puzzled.

The murder case was expected to be connected to previous incidents, and now with both testimonial and physical evidence, it was conclusively the Prince of Huainan orchestrating everything. If this conclusion was true, could it be that all his previous suspicions were just overthinking? Could what Tan Jing said be true, and all the facts had actually been openly laid out before him?

"Yuer." A familiar voice suddenly sounded.

Su Shiyu snapped back to reality, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly turned around.

A dignified woman stood a few steps away, holding the hand of a little girl about six or seven years old. She looked straight at Su Shiyu and then, holding the little girl's hand, stepped through the busy officers searching the courtyard, walking straight towards him.

Su Shiyu slightly narrowed his eyes, a faint smile on his face, and respectfully said, "Aunt."

The woman stopped in front of him, remained silent, and then suddenly raised her hand, fiercely attempting to slap him. Su Shiyu, with eyes lowered, did not move.

But just before her hand could touch Su Shiyu, it was firmly grasped by a man in blue who suddenly appeared. "Madam Su, you should think carefully about the consequences of insulting a court official," Chu Mingyun said coolly.

The woman's eyes reddened, and she trembled with anger. "Let go of me! Let go!" she demanded.

The little girl beside her did not understand what was happening and was frightened by the scene. She frantically tried to pull at her but failed, then turned and threw herself towards Su Shiyu, pleading, "Mother, don’t hit! Don't hit brother!"

Su Shiyu quickly bent down to catch her, but the woman fiercely broke free from Chu Mingyun's grasp and pulled the girl back, leaving Su Shiyu’s outstretched hand empty.

"Brother is good, don't hit brother, Mother!" she said in a panicked voice, almost crying.

The woman, tears welling up in her eyes, knelt down and hugged the girl tightly, then turned her head and glared fiercely at Su Shiyu, speaking to her daughter in her arms, "Ying'er, look clearly at him. Do you see anything in him that resembles your brother?"

Ying'er looked over in confusion. "Yes, Shi Yu brother..."

"He is not," the woman hissed through clenched teeth. "He is the enemy who killed your father, heartless and cruel!" She suddenly raised her voice, piercingly loud so that everyone in the courtyard could hear, "Su Shiyu! You deny your own kin; is your heart made of stone? You even killed your own uncle, so you might as well kill us too! After all, we're all criminals; what are you afraid of, do it!"

Su Shiyu said nothing, sighed lightly after a long pause, and turned to walk into the house.

The woman got up to follow him but was quickly restrained by the officers. Unable to break free, she cursed a few times, then knelt down and wept bitterly, holding her daughter.