Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Luo Family's Daughter (First Update)

Yun Shuang seemed oblivious to the glances around her, speaking in a calm voice: “In this world, those who hate you, aside from them, include your wife—Luo Xueqing. It is Madam Luo above all.”

At her words, everyone except for Jiang Xiao and a few others widened their eyes in astonishment.

Yang Yuanyi hurriedly interjected, “If Madam Luo were here and knew what Lord Fan has done—such a vile, beastly thing—of course she would hate him. But isn’t Madam Luo still missing…”

Before he could finish, Yan Fang blurted out loudly, “Missing? What missing! Lady Yun already found Madam Luo! She’s here at this very inn—you didn’t see her when you came in?”

The crowd was even more shocked.

After receiving the report, they had rushed over, barely glancing at those gathered in the main hall before heading straight to the crime scene. They truly had no idea who else was at the inn; they had planned to question everyone after examining the scene.

County Magistrate Ding immediately ordered, “Someone, bring Madam Luo here at once!”

A constable standing beside Yang Yuanyi responded and hurried downstairs.

Magistrate Ding stroked his beard in satisfaction, casting a sidelong glance at Yun Shuang.

Tch, this woman is stealing all the limelight. Aside from that traitorous Yang Yuanyi, the others won’t listen to her. Ah, being county magistrate still matters.

Yet, before his self-satisfied look could land on her face, a certain brash young man leapt over, blocking the woman from view. “Lady Yun, how did you find Madam Luo? You’re amazing!”

Magistrate Ding: “…”

Yun Shuang merely smiled faintly. “You’ll understand once Madam Luo arrives.”

Soon, the constable returned, leading in a slender woman dressed in a gardenia-colored cross-collared short jacket and a gold-woven skirt. By her side was Lianxin.

The officials instantly understood why they hadn’t recognized her at first. Like Yun Shuang, she too wore a veiled hat.

Once the woman stopped before them, she gracefully removed her hat and handed it to Lianxin. Immediately, a fair, beautiful face appeared—delicate as a silver plate, fresh and pure as a lotus rising from water.

She first turned toward Jiang Xiao, offering a formal bow. “This humble woman greets Commander Jiang.”

Then she faced County Magistrate Ding, bowing again. “Greetings, Magistrate Ding.”

Although Yun Shuang had suspected she was no ordinary woman, seeing her now, she could not help but marvel. Luo Dafu truly raised a remarkable daughter.

At this moment, the others recovered from their surprise. Chen Hao, his expression conflicted, looked at Luo Xueqing, his hand half-raised as if to walk toward her. “Xueqing…”

But someone was faster.

“Xueqing! Why… why are you here? Where have you been these past days? Do you know how worried I was…?”

Fan Youliang hurried over, reaching to grasp Luo Xueqing’s shoulders. Luo Xueqing fixed him with a cold stare, stepped back, and said, “Fan Youliang, at this point, there’s no need for you to keep up the act before me. The sight of you now—it fills me with nothing but disgust.”

Fan Youliang froze mid-step, his entire body going rigid.

Luo Xueqing then swept her gaze coolly over the others. “May I ask, sirs, how did you find me?”

After the murder in the inn, Luo Xueqing knew her exposure was only a matter of time. Yet she hadn’t expected that, when the constable came downstairs, he would ask directly, “Is Madam Luo here?”

This meant they already knew she was at the Yiyuan Inn before he came down.

But what surprised her was that, as soon as she asked her question, everyone’s eyes turned in unison to the veiled woman standing among them.

She was momentarily taken aback, then heard the woman speak: “Madam Luo, your disappearance six days ago was your own design, wasn’t it? Living day in and day out with your husband, you inadvertently discovered his betrayal. But he was always cautious, leaving you no evidence, so you simply vanished yourself, hiding in secret, waiting for him to make a mistake.”

Luo Xueqing fixed her gaze on Yun Shuang for a long moment, then suddenly let out a soft laugh. “Magistrate Ding, when did your yamen hire such a brilliant woman?”

Magistrate Ding: “… Actually, she was invited by Commander Jiang.”

If not for the fact that she was a woman, he would suspect Commander Jiang had brought her in just to replace him!

Luo Xueqing did not immediately explain her disappearance. Her gentle eyes, shadowed with steely resolve, turned to Lianxin. “Let me guess, how did you find me? Was it because of Lianxin?”

Lianxin’s face changed at once, panic in her voice. “Madam, this servant never betrayed you in any way…”

Yun Shuang answered calmly, “Yes. I had Vice Commander Yan secretly follow Miss Lianxin. This morning, she was seen sneaking into Yiyuan Inn.”

Lianxin stared at her in shock.

Luo Xueqing gave a soft laugh. “When did you notice?”

Yun Shuang replied, “From the first moment I saw Miss Lianxin, I guessed that your disappearance was likely orchestrated by yourself and your loyal maid.”

Even Luo Xueqing could not hide her surprise at this.

Yun Shuang raised two fingers. “Miss Lianxin revealed two suspicious points. The first was her appearance.”

Lianxin quickly protested, “What was wrong with my appearance?!”

“Nothing at all,” Yun Shuang replied, meeting her gaze. “But that’s exactly the issue. Your appearance was too perfect. When I saw you yesterday, your hair was neat, your clothes immaculate, your face painted with flawless, everyday makeup. For someone whose mistress has just vanished—a woman you regard as a sister—how could you care so much about your looks? There’s only one explanation: you were involved in Madam Luo’s disappearance.

And as Constable Yang said, you looked as pretty as ever, even right after Madam Luo went missing.”

So it was… just because of that!

Not only Lianxin, but everyone else stared at Yun Shuang in astonishment.

Yun Shuang smiled faintly. “The second suspicious point was that you immediately reported to Commander Jiang that Lord Fan had been unfaithful. Yet your only evidence was that, after Madam Luo vanished, Lord Fan no longer allowed others to enter their room. Such a clue is hardly proof of infidelity, yet you spoke with such certainty. It means, deep down, you already knew he truly had another woman.”

For a moment, everyone present was struck speechless.

Magistrate Ding couldn’t help but exchange a long, searching glance with Yang Yuanyi, each finding the other’s eyes and ears most displeasing.

His so-called skills must be fake—woven from weeds, no doubt! Otherwise, how could he have missed such glaring flaws?