Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 497 Misunderstanding
All eyes were focused on the doorway.

Zhou Chongzheng took a deep breath; he was all too familiar with this kind of situation.

Whenever someone comes, there are always new antics.

Who will be the one returning this time?

Just as he was pondering, Wang Yuan's figure suddenly appeared.

Aside from Lin Zhiqing, everyone was somewhat surprised.

Why would the Imperial Censor be here?

No, there's someone else following him!
Zhou Chongzheng frowned and looked at the woman behind him.

At this moment, the Liang envoy's eyes widened in disbelief.

Wang Shuyi looked directly at the envoy from Daliang and walked out from behind Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan glanced at the corpse on the ground, and closed his eyes when he saw the wounds on the corpse's hands.

Then, he looked at the bright yellow hem of his robe behind the curtain, cupped his hands, and spoke:

"Your Highness, I have come here today because my daughter has something to say."

"Your subject, Consort Wang, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Consort Wang knelt on the ground.

Wang Yuan stood to one side, seemingly just offering a greeting, without saying anything more.

The Crown Prince raised his hand, signaling Wang Shuyi to rise.

Wang Shuyi stood up, looked at Zhou Chongzheng, her eyes resolute:

“My lord, I was also present when the envoy had a conflict with Miss Lin Er.”

Amidst everyone's shocked gazes, Wang Shuyi looked at the Liang envoy with a sharp look in her eyes:
"I am the woman that Miss Lin saved. Only I know the whole story."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the face of the Liang envoy.

The Liang envoy was shaken; he had never imagined that the woman before him was the daughter of the Imperial Censor.

He hadn't thought that much about it at first; he just thought that if he found the woman in front of him, he could coerce her into testifying against Lin Zhiqing.

But how could the daughter of the Censor-in-Chief be so easily threatened?

Things are in trouble!
Even so, he showed no sign of unease.

Seeing this, Wang Shuyi was not surprised at all. She nodded to Lin Zhiqing, and then looked at the dancer who had given false testimony:

"You just said you saw Miss Lin kill that servant with your own eyes. Could you please repeat that in more detail?"

The dancer swallowed hard, and just as she was about to speak again, Wang Shuyi interrupted her once more.

"Alright, what are you so nervous about?" Wang Shuyi frowned.

"The wound on the attendant's hand was inflicted by me. After Miss Lin saved me, she herself was in danger."

"He told me to go first, but the attendant grabbed my wrist. In my fear, I threw a stone at the attendant's wrist."

“Throughout the entire incident, Ms. Lin did not lay a hand on anyone.”

"You're lying!" The Liang envoy couldn't take it anymore and raised his voice.

But to the others, this sounded more like a way of encouraging themselves.

The Liang envoy also realized this. He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and then spoke:
"First of all, there's something wrong with what you two are saying. Why did I arrest Miss Wang? It's because she entered the bookstore without permission..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan subconsciously frowned, but Wang Shuyi interrupted the Liang envoy without hesitation:
"May I ask, sir, did you personally see me leave the bookstore?"

The Liang envoy remained silent for a while, but still hesitated to nod.

Wang Shuyi sneered: "My father is very strict with me. I went to the temple to offer incense that day."

"It is precisely because it is dangerous for women to go out that I dressed as a man. I suppose Miss Lin also had concerns, which is why she chose to appear in men's clothing."

"You see, even when dressed as a man, we still encounter some bad people. It proves that we did the right thing."

"I never imagined that Your Excellency would be so heartless as to sacrifice a precious life to frame Miss Lin." The Liang envoy was finally losing his composure: "What reason do I have to frame her!?"

"Your Excellency, what's the rush? There are plenty of reasons to give," Wang Shuyi pressed on.
"The Marquis of Changning is a reason, the Marquis of Wangshu is a reason, and losing to Miss Lin at the palace banquet a few days ago is also a reason!"

"Otherwise, I really can't understand why you would use such despicable means to frame a woman."

"I was here, but what if I wasn't? Wouldn't you have been able to frame Miss Lin and mistreat her?"

Wang Shuyi's words were very sharp, almost bringing the grudges between the Lin family and Daliang to the forefront.

If the Lin family were to say this, it would be absolutely unacceptable.

But no one would blame Wang Shuyi, just as no one would doubt the bias in the words of the Imperial Censor.

This father and daughter are so beautiful!
Seeing that the time was right, Lin Zhiqing stepped forward and said:

“Your Excellency, it was clearly you who tried to force your way into the bookstore. I was on my way to take over my mother’s shop when I happened to arrive at Qixiang Street.”

Unfortunately, I just happened to witness a spectacle.

"You wanted to bring that dancer into the bookstore, but after being refused, you became angry and embarrassed. You happened to see Miss Wang passing by, so you verbally harassed her and forced your attendants to take her to the Sifang Pavilion."

Wang Shuyi nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's exactly it!"

Lin Zhiqing took a deep breath:

“I had met Miss Wang once before at the Spring Banquet, and I couldn’t stand idly by, which is why I stopped you.”

The Liang envoy frowned: "If that's the case, why didn't you say earlier that this matter was related to Miss Wang?"

"If Miss Wang had stepped forward earlier, wouldn't it have proven your innocence much faster?"

Lin Zhiqing frowned: "I know Miss Wang, but I didn't know she was the daughter of the Censor-in-Chief. Where should I look for her?"

"Miss Wang did not appear at the palace banquet. She usually keeps to herself and rarely goes out. I only know that there is such a person."

Lin Zhiqing's words are highly credible.

Everyone present knew that Wang Yuan was very strict with Wang Shuyi, and Miss Wang had never participated in most banquets in the capital.

Seeing that most people seemed to have already believed Lin Zhiqing, the Liang envoy quickly thought for a moment, then pursed his lips and said:

"There may be a misunderstanding."

These words signaled Lin Zhiqing's success.

The envoy from Great Liang has backed down!

There are too many flaws in this matter, and any further explanation will only make people dislike us.

The Liang envoy showed no outward expression, but he gritted his teeth.

He had intended to take this opportunity to teach Lin Zhiqing a lesson in order to mitigate the impact of the recent newspaper reports.

Furthermore, the attendant's death was so sudden that he genuinely believed Lin Zhiqing was responsible, and also...

He glanced at the platform and sighed inwardly.

Wang Shuyi is indeed a variable.

Who knew the daughter of the Imperial Censor would suddenly appear?

Even if someone wanted to help him, they probably wouldn't be able to.

If this matter continues to escalate, things will only get worse.

But what exactly is Lin Zhiqing trying to do?

The Liang envoy looked at Lin Zhiqing and felt that the woman's expression was too calm.

He couldn't understand how things had gotten to this point.

Could it be that he was mistaken, and that Lin Zhiqing did not kill the attendant?
Then who could it be?