This thief is a prisoner detained in Jingzhao Mansion, and Zhu Yu naturally didn’t want to interject; she was only responsible for uncovering the part of the truth related to the deceased.
The Capital Governor glared at the thief and snorted, "If you were so honest, you wouldn’t have hidden the fact that you stumbled upon a murder for so long, keeping all of us in the dark!"
After saying this, he turned to the governntal officials and said, "Go find a few who can swim; search thoroughly in the water! Take this thief back to the prison!
If what he said today is true, we’ll talk about making ands in the future. But if it’s discovered in the end that this scoundrel lied again, give him a severe beating with the rod!"
The thief was so frightened that he did not dare to negotiate anymore and did not utter a sound.
No wonder the Capital Governor was so angry; he was now filled with suppressed anger.
If the thief had confessed to accidentally intruding on the cri scene when he was arrested, at least it could indirectly confirm Cao Chenfeng’s innocence, avoiding the current dilemma where he is stuck between a rock and a hard place!
But even if the thief did not say anything, ultimately, isn’t it still the incompetence of his subordinates? That Chief Historian Yu beside Prince Xiaoyao, in just one discernnt, not only noticed the peculiarity of the wound but also discovered the bloody footprints at the scene and deduced the thief’s appearance and identity from them.
Thinking of Zhu Yu’s capability, it was fortunate that she helped, giving this matter so direction; the Capital Governor, Lord Wu, felt a rush of relief.
But then, thinking about owing such a significant favor to Prince Xiaoyao, he snuck a peek at Duke Yan and Prince Yi, making his head throb again.
"This matter... still doesn’t quite make sense..." Lu Zhang, who had arrived a bit late earlier, was standing with his grandfather aside, watching, and by now had roughly understood the situation, "The thief said he saw Cao Chenfeng leave, and then saw another person coming out from inside.
But he didn’t see anyone going up after Cao Chenfeng left...
So, where was this person who left later before?"
As soon as he voiced his doubt, almost everyone’s gaze turned to Cao Chenfeng.
That night, the only person with Miss Zhuang was him. Now that Miss Zhuang had beco a cold corpse, the only person who could shed light on the night’s events was the living, breathing Cao Chenfeng.
Though such a reaction from others was not surprising, for Cao Chenfeng, who had just glimpsed a ray of hope for clearing his na, Lu Zhang’s words seed to be trying to seal the window that had just let in a bit of light.
He suddenly panicked, not giving a thought before starting to defend himself: "That night, I t privately with Zhuang Lanlan, and naturally, it was just the two of us in the room!
If it wasn’t for her telling she was pregnant, causing such panic that I hurriedly left without even finishing the task...
If, if there were soone else present, I would have to be crazy to dare do anything with Zhuang Lanlan..."
He was in a rush and thought nothing of it, since they were all n present, speaking without any reservations.
Zhu Yu felt sowhat embarrassed upon hearing it, but couldn’t show it, wrinkled her brow slightly, and looked elsewhere, pretending not to have paid much attention to Cao Chenfeng’s words.
Cao Tianbao reflexively slapped his once-favored nephew: "Shaless! How could you say such things!"
Cao Chenfeng’s face was smacked to the side, realizing the more he spoke, the worse he made it, he dared not say anything more, helplessly looking at Zhu Yu, treating her as his only lifeline.
"Where in this room could soone hide?" Zhu Yu murmured instinctively as she looked around.
The Capital Governor urgently signaled the remaining two governntal officials, who promptly began searching around the room.
The room appeared empty and spacious, though it was filled with many items. It didn’t seem like a place where a living person could hide at all.
The two officials searched here and there but still couldn’t find any place where soone could hide.
Suddenly, one official stumbled and fell forward with a thud.
Zhu Yu glanced at Lu Qing nearby, noticing how he had just withdrawn his toe back under his robe.
The official fell to the ground, just about to get up when he realized the sound under him seed off. Kneeling down, he knocked on it, and from under the dark wooden floor ca a hollow sound.
He promptly examined the planks, following the line to the side of the bed, finally discovering an unusual seam. He pried it with his hand and managed to lift it.
Underneath the board, disguised as floorboards, was a small hidden chamber, concealed beneath this embroidery tower’s bedroom. The official peeked in and found it just tall enough for a person of average height to crawl through.
"My lord! Here!" The official was delighted, quickly getting up to show Lord Wu his discovery, "There’s a hidden compartnt here, big enough to hide a person!"
The Capital Governor hurried to examine it and indeed, not only could it hide one person, but a few people could be hidden there if needed!
"Boss Zhuang, your unmarried daughter’s room has a hidden compartnt. What was this intended for?" He questioned Zhuang Zhi with an unfriendly tone since a secret compartnt in the bedroom, especially a daughter’s bedroom, was indeed suspicious, and Zhuang Zhi had never ntioned this despite the ongoing commotion.
When they ntioned soone hiding in the room earlier, Zhuang Zhi’s face had already darkened. Now, seeing the official open the board to reveal the hidden compartnt, his face turned pale as if sothing occurred to him.
Now that the compartnt was revealed and the Capital Governor questioned him, Zhuang Zhi quickly knelt to explain: "My lord, this wooden building was initially built by as a riverside villa. Later, I changed my mind after finding the serene surroundings suitable for making an embroidery tower for my daughter.
The hidden compartnt was initially constructed as an interlayer to avoid humidity and cold in winter, or to temporarily store valuables that could easily be exposed.
After the embroidery tower was occupied by my daughter, I forgot about it.
Could it be... could it be that soone sneaked in, hid there, and hard my daughter?
But... but I’ve always been benevolent toward others, even in business, never pushing anyone to a dead end, always leaving a way out and never harboring grudges. Who would want to harm my daughter so deliberately?"
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