Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 204 She is a sinner
"It was me who killed my father and my mother."

As Shao Qingqing spoke, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face, blood flowing down the corner of her mouth.

"The Cao and Shao families owned taverns, one on the main street and the other at the end of an alley. My father and Cao Hongfu were originally apprentices trained by the same master. The Cao family was prosperous, while my father and mother had been married for many years before they had me, their only daughter."

To bring honor to my parents, I was competitive from a young age. Later, I was fortunate enough to obtain the recipe for Qingguang Wine, and I thought I was superior to the Cao family, becoming somewhat arrogant and ignorant.

Shao Qingqing smiled sadly, "Back then, my family was making a fortune every day, and I couldn't help but feel a little proud. But I never expected that my success would attract the attention of the bandits from Black Tiger Mountain. One day, when I went to the estate in the suburbs to check on the grain for brewing wine, I was kidnapped by the bandits."

Cao Yuanxu from the Cao family was kidnapped along with me. We both suffered terribly in the mountains, and Cao Yuanxu was beaten and injured all over his body while trying to protect me.

About three days later, Lord Li Mu discovered our whereabouts and led the garrison to Black Tiger Mountain to suppress the bandits, which is how I was rescued.

As Shao Qingqing spoke, she sighed softly.

"Cao Hongfu and my father were not on good terms, and Cao's sons were also sharp-tongued and mean-spirited, not good people. But Cao Yuanxu was a good bamboo shoot among bad bamboo. Because of this experience of sharing life and death, the two of us often met, and soon we secretly got together without our families knowing."

During that time, I didn't manage the family's tavern; I was busy recuperating from my injuries and reminiscing about the past.

Unbeknownst to me, something had already happened in my family. While I was being kidnapped and my parents were searching for me everywhere, Cao Hongfu bribed my maid Xiao Hong to steal the recipe for Qingguang wine and secretly added croton powder to my wine vat.

I thought the tavern, which seemed to be thriving, was nothing but a castle in the air. Only when I recovered from my injuries and wanted to tell my parents about my marriage to Cao Yuanxu did I realize that everything was over.

Cao Yuanxu?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes glancing at Li Mu standing in the doorway.

His face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with undisguised astonishment!
Clearly, Shao Qingqing never mentioned her relationship with Cao Yuanxu during the previous trial.

"Under those circumstances, how could I mention Cao Yuanxu? Not long after, my father suddenly committed suicide. I stayed at home to handle the funeral arrangements, and there was no word in the county town that anyone from the Cao family had been murdered."

Hearing this, Li Mu, who was standing at the door, finally couldn't help but interject, "In order to avoid panic among the people, I usually keep the news of my cases under wraps until the case is solved and the murderer is caught, and then I will make it public."

Shao Qingqing's train of thought was interrupted by him, and she paused for a while before continuing to speak.

"After sending my father up the mountain, I dealt with the disputes among relatives over the inheritance and the creditors coming to the door. Once I calmed down, I thought about seeking justice for my father. The Cao family used despicable means to bankrupt my family and indirectly drove my father to his death. If I do nothing, how can I be a son?"

As Shao Qingqing spoke, tears streamed down her face.

She was the youngest daughter of her parents, who doted on her like a precious gem.

He puts her first in everything, and he'd even risk his life for her...

"Xiao Hong is the only witness who witnessed Cao Hongfu killing my father. I wandered around the Cao family's house under the pretense of emptying chamber pots and finally figured out that Xiao Hong was hiding in the Cao family's house. She became Cao Hongfu's second son's concubine."

At the same time, I also found out where everyone in the Cao family lived. When I climbed over the wall in the middle of the night, I deliberately chose the corner where Cao Yuanxu was.

I figured that even if Cao Yuanxu was discovered upon landing, she wouldn't make a fuss. But when I entered the courtyard, I found that Cao Yuanxu's room door was open. I felt something was wrong, so I went inside and, afraid of being discovered, closed the door again.

Cao Yuanxu lay motionless on the bed. I walked over, but he didn't react. I felt something was wrong. I saw water and a handkerchief by his bedside, so I wrung out a handkerchief to wipe him. But just as my hand reached into the copper basin, Lord Li Mu rushed in with his men..." Shao Qingqing said, covering her face.

She rubbed her hands vigorously and continued, "I didn't kill any members of the Cao family at all. I only found out that six members of the Cao family had died after I was arrested. To be honest, I was very happy at the time, thinking that some hero had avenged me first."

Zhou Zhao looked at her quietly, "You've been identified as the murderer, so why wasn't your affair with Cao Yuanxu mentioned?"

Shao Qingqing shook her head. "My father is dead, but my mother is still alive. If she knew that I was related to the Cao family descendant who killed my father, I don't know how heartbroken she would be. So I omitted the part about Cao Yuanxu."

As Shao Qingqing spoke, she gave a mocking laugh, "I genuinely believed back then that as long as I hadn't killed anyone, Lord Li Mu would definitely give me justice."

Shao Qingqing stopped there, glancing at Li Mu at the door with a particularly meaningful look.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms covered in whip marks and branding marks.

The room was unusually quiet. Zhou Zhao could almost imagine the scene: Shao Qingqing was caught red-handed but refused to confess. Li Mu couldn't find a second suspect and resorted to the most common method used by officials of the Great Qi Dynasty: torture.

“I didn’t budge until that night when Cao Hongfu’s wife, Luo, suddenly came to the prison. After she arrived, she cursed at me and told me something.”

Shao Qingqing clenched her fists.

"She told me that when the Shao family had their accident, she went to look for my father, carrying my undergarment and the handkerchief I had given to Cao Yuanxu. She told my father that I was already Cao Yuanxu's woman, which happened half an hour before my father committed suicide."

She said the murderer who killed my father wasn't the Cao family, but me! My father committed suicide because he had such a worthless daughter as me.

"I killed my father, the father who carried me on his back to brew wine, and who never said a harsh word to me..."

Zhou Zhao sighed inwardly.

Shao Qingqing changed her testimony for two reasons: first, Cao Hongfu's wife vented her anger, and second, Li Mu subjected her to severe torture.

At first, she was thinking about her mother who was away and wanted to avenge her father; but in the end, she realized that she was the murderer and couldn't accept it at all, let alone endure such severe torture.

That's why, when she first saw Shao Qingqing in prison, she looked like a living dead person.

This is why Shao Qingqing's mother attempted suicide by poisoning herself in an attempt to awaken her.

Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry. When Shao's mother learned that Li Mu was also at the Court of Justice, she had no way to appeal, so she schemed and plotted to get the case into Zhou Zhao's hands.

"At the time, I was determined to die, feeling that I deserved to die. If I confessed, I would be beaten less, but the whip, soaked in salt water, was incredibly painful. I wanted to go to the underworld as soon as possible, catch up with my father, and tell him that I was wrong..."

But I never imagined that I would once again so irresponsibly cause my mother's death. I am guilty.

(End of this chapter)