The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 259 Identify the murderer
Upon hearing this, Madam Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhiwan's tense heart also relaxed.

"No, sir, don't be fooled by Zhiwan. She did it on purpose, deliberately creating an alibi so she can clear herself of suspicion. She could easily have ordered her men to kill my aunt."

"You've all been fooled by her!" Lu Lan cried out angrily.

"You say she ordered her subordinates to kill your aunt, what evidence do you have? Moreover, according to my investigation, Zhiwan had no dealings with your aunt and had no grudges against her. She had no reason to kill her!" Ouyang Lei slammed his gavel and said in a deep voice, "On the contrary, you are the most likely to have killed Xu Yumei, because there were no signs of struggle or fighting at the crime scene. Only close relatives would be left unguarded or without resistance by the victim!"

"I'm innocent, sir! How could I possibly do something so beastly?" Lu Lan shook her head frantically, looking as if she had been greatly wronged.

"Then I ask you, where were you at 1:15 AM? Who were you with?" Ouyang Lei asked sharply. "Also, why has your personal maid, Huan'er, disappeared?"

Lu Lan clenched her fists tightly. "At 9:00 AM, I stayed in my room. As for Huan'er, I don't know her whereabouts. My aunt was murdered yesterday, how could I have the mind to care about the whereabouts of a maid?" After saying that, she collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly.

"Yesterday at 9:00 AM, Miss Lu was at the back gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, talking to this old man..." Just then, an old man's voice rang out from outside the hall.

Ouyang Lei looked outside and saw that it was Li Qianshi from the Inspectorate. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Who is speaking outside the hall?

"Your humble servant is Li Bingcai." The old man walked in.

Lu Lan's body stiffened, but then a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes.

"Lord Li said that yesterday at 9:00 AM, Lu Lan and you had a secret rendezvous at the back gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion?" Ouyang Lei's eyes narrowed slightly.

The word "secret rendezvous" made Li Bingcai's face burn with embarrassment. He felt a little annoyed, but he still nodded. "If Ouyang Shaoqing considers our normal meeting as a secret rendezvous, then it is a secret rendezvous."

"A proper meeting at the back door? Or is this something you fabricated to exonerate Lu Lan?" Ouyang Lei stared at him sharply.

Li Bingcai said helplessly, "If you don't believe me, you can ask the old woman who guarded the gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion yesterday. My servant can also testify for me."

Ouyang Lei knew he had come prepared, and asked in a deep voice, "How long did you two meet at the back door, and when did you part ways?"

"Although I am concerned for Miss Lu Lan, we are not yet married, so it is not appropriate for us to stay any longer. I only stayed for about a quarter of an hour," Li Bingcai replied.

"Then why is Lord Li only now coming to testify for Lu Lan?" Ouyang Lei asked.

“I’m getting on in years, and it wouldn’t be proper for me to meet a young girl at the back door. If I hadn’t had to, I wouldn’t have wanted to talk about this,” Li Bingcai sighed.

A hint of mockery flashed in Ouyang Lei's eyes. So the other party also knew that he was already quite old?

"Bring in the witnesses!" Ouyang Lei raised his voice.

The appearance of Li Bingcai is a variable in the case, so it takes time to temporarily summon a witness. Therefore, Ouyang Lei announced a temporary adjournment of the court.

Upon seeing this, Madam Wei hurriedly sent someone to fetch a doctor to treat Shuang'er's injuries.

No sooner had the injury been bandaged and treated than Ouyang Lei announced that the court would resume proceedings.

It turns out that all the witnesses have already been invited.

The old woman guarding the back gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion yesterday was surnamed Lin.

Her eyes flickered when she saw Wei.

"Yesterday at 9:00 AM, were you guarding the back gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion?" Ouyang Lei asked in a deep voice. Granny Lin nodded and was about to reply when Ouyang Lei suddenly warned in a deep voice, "According to the laws of my Great Chen Dynasty, as a witness, if you dare to lie even a single word, you shall be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and two years of exile! Granny Lin, you should think carefully before you answer."

Granny Lin's eyelids twitched, but after glancing at Li Bingcai beside her, she steeled herself and nodded, saying, "Everything I said is true, I dare not deceive you, sir. Yesterday at 9:00, I was indeed on duty at the back gate. There are records in the manor. If you don't believe me, you can ask your wife to check."

Ouyang Lei nodded. "Since you've confirmed that you were on duty, then tell me, who did you see at the back gate yesterday at 9:00 AM? Tell the truth, don't hide anything."

Granny Lin said, "The servants who come and go from the mansion to make purchases every day all enter and exit through the back door. I saw quite a few people yesterday. I wonder who you want to ask about, sir?"

“Yesterday at 9:00 AM, did you see Miss Lu Lan and this… Lord Li at the back gate?” Ouyang Lei pointed at Li Bingcai.

"I've seen them." Granny Lin nodded immediately. "The two seem to have... a private relationship. When I saw that the Fourth Miss was seeing an old man, I was puzzled. So I hid to the side and peeked. I saw the old man pulling and tugging at the Fourth Miss."

The two stayed together for about fifteen minutes before separating.

"Bang!" Ouyang Lei picked up the gavel and slammed it down hard.

The old woman, Lin, flinched in fright and stammered, "This old woman's words are all true, not a single word is false..."

"Then let me ask you, what color clothes were Miss Lu and Lord Li wearing yesterday? Since you were hiding and spying, you should know. Also, yesterday you saw Lord Li with several servants, were they in a carriage or on foot?"

What did Lord Li and Lu Lan say to each other?

A barrage of questions knocked Granny Li unconscious.

She subconsciously looked at Li Bingcai, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

Li Bingcai turned his head away, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

"Old Lady Lin, what are you looking at Lord Li for? Or do you want Lord Li to give you an answer?" Ouyang Lei asked unhurriedly.

Granny Lin trembled with fear. "This old woman has poor eyesight and a bad memory. I... I don't remember what color clothes they were wearing..."

"Your eyesight is poor and your memory is bad, yet you can remember so clearly that you saw them yesterday at 9:00 AM, that they only stayed for about 15 minutes before leaving, and that you can even remember what Lord Li looks like, but you can't remember what color clothes they were wearing yesterday?" Ouyang Lei sneered.

Old Mrs. Lin was drenched in sweat. "I see so many people every day, I really can't remember what color clothes they were wearing, but I swear to God, I did see them at the back door yesterday at 9 am."

"It seems you won't tell the truth unless I torture you! Guards, bring the finger-crushing torture!" Ouyang Lei coldly ordered.

Immediately, a constable brought over a finger-crushing stick.

Granny Lin's face changed drastically, and she cried out to heaven and earth, "My lord, I am innocent! Everything I said is true, and there is absolutely no falsehood!"

The constables ignored her, pinned her down, and forcibly put finger-cranking sticks on her hands.

"what--"

As the constables tightened the ropes on both sides, Granny Lin let out a bloodcurdling scream, "My hands..."

Even though her face was contorted in pain, Granny Lin still stubbornly insisted, "This old woman...did not give false testimony. Yesterday at 9:00 AM, I did indeed see Miss Fourth at the back door..."

Before she could finish speaking, a man whose face was covered in blood was suddenly thrown in front of her.

"Old woman Lin, in order to pay off your son's gambling debts, you have gone against your conscience and fabricated false testimony, wasting the years that the Duke of Dingguo's mansion has taken you and your son in!"

As the voice fell, a girl with a dusty face knelt down with a thud and shouted, "My lord, this servant Huan'er accuses Miss Lu Lan of murdering Aunt Xu and trying to frame her cousin Zhiwan!"