The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Chapter 1747 The Rough Plum is Gone

Su Aixiu thought for a moment and said, "That has to start from the day before the Crown Prince's wedding."

After Liu Dalan was beaten by two thugs who broke into her home that day, Su Aixiu was always uneasy. Liu Dalan prevented Hebao from talking about the matter with Cheng Tiezhu in order to protect her. However, Su Aixiu was afraid that Hebao would escalate the situation and eventually cause an uncontrollable situation. So she wanted to go against her mother-in-law's wishes and tell Cheng Tiezhu about the matter. But on that day, the Prince's Mansion invited her, and Cheng Tiezhu did not give Su Aixiu a chance to speak.

Su Aixiu was unwilling to give up. She decided to wait for Cheng Tiezhu to come back and make him decide. However, Cheng Tiezhu returned home in the middle of the night, completely drunk. He fell asleep as soon as he got home and couldn't be woken up even when Su Aixiu shook him. Su Aixiu thought that one more night wouldn't make a difference, and she could talk to him in the morning.

The next morning, Cheng Tiezhu was going to take Su Aixiu to the Prince's mansion for the Crown Prince's concubine-selection banquet. Just as Su Aixiu was examining her clothes, Xinhe ran out of her grandmother's room, "Mother, Grandma needs her bedding changed!"

Cheng Tiezhu asked, "Your mother and I are going out. Go and ask your aunt to look after your grandmother!"

Xinhe said, "My aunt isn't home. I wonder where she went?"

Cheng Tiezhu was displeased. "This person is really poorly taught. Running off so early in the morning, I wonder what he does all day! Xinhe, go and tell Cumei to look after your grandmother."

Xinhe pulled a letter from his sleeve. "I found this on the cutting board. It looks like a letter from Cu Mei."

The two hastily written lines above read: "Something came up at home, I won't be coming tomorrow." — Cu Mei

Su Aixiu looked at the letter and said, "That's not right. I knew when Cu Mei came home last night. Why didn't she just tell me she was taking leave? Why did she have to write a letter? I went to the kitchen last night, and there was no letter on the cutting board!"

At this moment, Cheng Tiezhu, who was in a hurry to leave, complained: "Don't you know the rules? Why didn't you say so earlier? Today is the day the Crown Prince is taking a concubine. It's not appropriate to be late."

"You and Dad go, Xinhe and I will stay home to take care of Mom." Su Aixiu was in a hurry to take care of Liu Dalan, and this matter was not mentioned.

A little over an hour after Chen Tiezhu left home, people from the yamen arrived, and He Bao accused Liu Dalan of murder.

Shang Xi asked Su Aixiu, "You just said you're not the murderer, and that He Bao framed you. Then who is the murderer? Liu Dalan has been bedridden for months. Apart from harming her family, she hasn't made any enemies with outsiders. Who would harm her?"

Yu Hua also said, "Yes, you say you didn't do it, then why did the constables find arsenic in your house? If you didn't murder for money, then what about the gold and silver valuables under the windowsill behind your house? Those are all Liu Dalan's lifeblood!"

At this point, Su Aixiu burst into tears. "It was given to me by my mother-in-law a few days ago. My mother-in-law realized that He Bao was no longer reliable and was thinking about swindling money from her. My mother-in-law was thinking about my unborn grandson, so she gave me the money and told me to bury it so that He Bao wouldn't find it."

Yu Hua questioned Su Aixiu once again, "Your mother-in-law is a miser, how could she have a change of heart!"

"Aunt Yuhua, you must believe me, it really was my mother-in-law who gave it to me! It was Hebao who harmed me!"

Looking at Su Aixiu's pitiful state, Yu Hua felt pity for her. "You want us to believe you, but you have to provide evidence. He Bao accused you, and she has evidence. If you want to get away with this, you also need to provide evidence. If you just make empty promises, do you think the Prefect will believe you?"

“Aunties, I really did frame you. He Bao was greedy and wanted to get my mother-in-law’s gold and silver treasures. When she found out that my mother-in-law had given the gold and silver to me, she framed me.”

Shang Xi couldn't understand it no matter how she listened. "Ai Xiu, you said He Bao was greedy, but she found that the gold and silver under the window hadn't been touched at all. You said He Bao framed you, but who poisoned your mother-in-law?"

Su Aixiu cried and said, "Would you believe me if I said it was a lotus bud?"

Yu Hua was the first to let go of Su Aixiu's hand. "It's rare for a daughter-in-law to kill her mother-in-law, but it's even rarer for a daughter to kill her mother! Aixiu, you can't accuse He Bao just because He Bao accuses you. Everything needs to be based on evidence."

These past few days, Su Aixiu has pondered the matter countless times. He Bao wronged her, so why couldn't He Bao be the one who killed her? Putting aside family ties, He Bao is the most likely murderer who murdered for money. "Cheng Tiezhu doesn't believe He Bao did it, and neither do the two aunts?"

Yu Hua suddenly became exceptionally clear-headed and neutral in her stance. "He Bao is heartless and insane, but in my memory, she and Liu Dalan are always on the same vine. Besides, Liu Dalan is her mother. How could she be so beastly as to commit matricide? I'd rather hear you say that the murderer is someone else than believe that He Bao is the murderer!"

Su Aixiu could tell that no one in front of her believed her, but what she said was not without basis. "Aunties, He Bao has gone astray. She colluded with two thugs. Those two thugs were the ones who broke into the house and robbed us that day. It must have been He Bao who ordered them. They even beat up my mother-in-law! If you don't believe me, you can ask Cu Mei!"

Shang Xi had heard of those two thugs. "Su Aixiu, did you see those two thugs beat up your mother-in-law with your own eyes?"

"I didn't see it!"

"Did Cu Mei see that?"

"I didn't see any plums either, my mother-in-law said so!"

"Then there's no way to prove it since the dead are dead."

"We can find those two thugs and ask them. We'll find out that it must have been He Bao who ordered them. If she can get thugs to beat up her own mother, what else wouldn't she do!"

Shang Xi said, "The problem is, we haven't found those two thugs, and we can't even find Cu Mei, the servant you hired to do odd jobs. Cu Mei's son is even coming to your Cheng family to demand that he be taken away."

"How could this happen! Auntie, please believe me, no matter how poor I am, I would never do something like murder for money. Please help me."

Shang Xi said, "To prove whether what you said is true or not, we need to find those two thugs!"

Suddenly, Su Aixiu grabbed Shang Xi's hand tightly, "Auntie, we need to find Cu Mei too."

"You suspect that Cu Mei is in danger!"

Su Aixiu nodded vigorously.

Shang Xi said, "We shouldn't delay. I'll go find the yamen runners and have them look for Cu Mei. If they find Cu Mei, they'll probably find those two hooligans."

After leaving the prison and getting into the carriage, Yu Hua asked Shang Xi, "Who do you think killed this person?"

Shang Xi said, "Judging from Su Aixiu's eyes, she doesn't seem guilty at all, so she doesn't seem to be lying. We can only go find those two thugs first. Maybe if we catch those two thugs, the truth will come out."

Yu Hua then asked, "Was it He Bao who killed him back then?"

Shang Xi thought for a moment and said, "He Bao accuses Su Aixiu of murder for money, and the evidence is conclusive. However, Su Aixiu denies it and instead accuses He Bao of murdering her mother and framing her. They are both suspects. Haven't we already had the yamen runners take He Bao into custody as well? We'll find out by interrogating her!"