Chapter 178: A bit familiar, isn't it?

Once some things are started, they cannot be stopped.

After confessing all her crimes, Lin Pozi's face was ashen, and she slumped to the ground like a pile of mud.

She knew that everything was over.

Her life would stop forever at the age of forty, and even after death, she would find no peace; she would be branded with the reputation of a poisonous woman and reviled by the world.

Lin Pozi looked back at her husband and daughter, her eyes filled with deep reluctance and attachment.

"Mother..." Lin Qingshuang's eyes turned red. The mother and daughter gazed at each other from afar, nothing but tears streaming down.

Lin You Tian closed his eyes and sighed dejectedly.

He truly could not understand how things had reached this point. They had clearly held the upper hand before; as long as they had persisted and refused to budge, they could have sent Du Shi to her death.

Why had they suddenly recanted at the final moment, causing all their efforts to fall short?

Was it a sudden awakening of conscience, or had they been bewitched?

The case of the poisoning of Jiang was now concluded, but the matter was not yet over.

"Bao Pi, do you know your crime?" the Magistrate shouted sternly.

Bao Pi had long since lost his previous composure; terrified, he crawled on the ground, shivering, and confessed everything before any torture was even applied.

The person who bribed him was also an old woman, about sixty years old, quite plump, and dressed like a respectable nanny from a wealthy family. She had given him two taels of silver to come forward and give false testimony.

Having been a waiter for so many years, Bao Pi had long since trained a pair of sharp eyes, best at capturing the features of guests.

He remembered very clearly that there was a very conspicuous scar on the back of the old woman's hand, likely caused by a burn.

After hearing Bao Pi's testimony, the Magistrate was basically certain.

This old woman and the one who visited Lü Xiue in the prison were likely the same person—the mastermind behind the scenes.

And the goal was to deal with Du Shi.

With these clues, it would not be difficult to find the person.

The Magistrate immediately called for the artist from the Ya Men and ordered him to draw a portrait of the old woman according to Bao Pi's description.

The artist was a professional in this regard and finished in just a quarter of an hour.

Bao Pi took it, looked at it, and shouted, "That's right, it's her!"

Lin Pozi also nodded silently.

She no longer dared to speak; the more she said, the more she would err. For now, it was only her own crime, but if she said a few more words, she might drag her whole family into it.

"My Lord, since this woman once went to the prison to visit Lü Xiue, she must have held a consent form issued by the Xian Ya. As long as you search and compare, you should find something," Jiang Li reminded.

Reasonable. The Magistrate nodded in agreement, then had a bailiff take the portrait to the Assistant Magistrate's office in the east, as all document-related matters were managed there.

Halfway there, the bailiff ran straight into Du Ren Mei.

Du Ren Mei was holding up the hem of his official robes, running toward the courtroom, covered in sweat.

The bailiff hurriedly stopped her, "Lord Du, where are you going? Your subordinate has an urgent matter to discuss with you."

"Whatever urgent matter it is, it can wait until I return." With that, Du Ren Mei started to leave.

The bailiff refused to let him go, "Oh, Lord Du, this matter is of the utmost urgency! The Magistrate is waiting over at the courtroom!"

The courtroom? Du Ren Mei immediately stopped in his tracks.

"What is it? Speak quickly."

The bailiff explained the ins and outs of the matter in a few words, then said, "So the Magistrate ordered me to come over and check who visited Lü Xiue that day, so I can go back and report."

Du Ren Mei suddenly realized.

That was it. Although A'Man had a fierce temper, she could never commit such a wicked act as poisoning someone. Sure enough, someone was framing her behind her back.

"Hmph, let me see what that black-hearted old thing looks like. If I catch her, I'll cut off her head!"

Du Ren Mei snatched the portrait from the bailiff's hand and stared at it.

With a round face and small eyes, the corners of his mouth drooped into a mean arc; one look and you knew he was a crafty, troublesome person.

Huh, why does she look a bit familiar?

Du Ren Mei studied it carefully for a long while, then his heart suddenly jumped, and he hurriedly turned to return to his office.

After entering the room, he dismissed the two clerks, searched the shelves for a long time, and finally took out a booklet containing detailed records of daily prison visits.

Including names and relationships to the prisoners.

Three days ago, it showed that someone had brought a consent form to see Lü Xiue, registered under the name Huang Gu, claiming to be a relative of Lü Xiue.

Du Ren Mei breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it wasn't Nanny Kang; they must just look alike.

"Alright, take this and reply to the Magistrate." Du Ren Mei safely copied the record and handed it to the bailiff.

The bailiff went to report.

"Lü Xiue, does your family have a relative named Huang Gu?" the Magistrate asked.

Lin Pozi shook her head.

If there were one, how could she not know?

The Magistrate guessed it was an alias. Indeed, such matters were highly risky if exposed; anyone with a bit of intelligence would not use their real name.

After thinking, the Magistrate decided to use the "needle in a haystack" method: post the portrait on the public notice wall outside and let all the people of the county report it.

And offered a reward of three taels of silver.

The onlookers immediately boiled over, scrambling to go and see.

*Wuwuwu*, this time they had lost their pants betting; what if they were lucky enough to know that old woman? Three taels of silver—that would at least recoup some losses.

"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, let me see first!"

"Your dead-fish eyes are about to spark; you definitely don't know her, get out of the way."

"What is this drawing? Two eyes, a nose, and a mouth—don't all people look like this..."

It was noisy by the public notice wall; someone had their foot stepped on, someone else had their waist squeezed, and cries of "ouch" rose one after another.

A woman with a sorrowful face happened to pass by.

The woman was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, like a sumo wrestler. She hadn't wanted to join the fun, but the little boy she was holding was mischievous; he shook off his mother's hand and squeezed in between the adults' legs.

"Qian'er!" Fearing her son would be trampled, the woman hurriedly used her massive frame to bump everyone aside, rushed in, and picked up the child.

Just as she turned to leave, her gaze inadvertently fell on the notice wall.

This portrait looks a bit familiar.

She looked at it several more times and finally remembered who it was!

But could she afford to offend anyone from the Du Fu? Lord Du was fine, but Lady Du was someone who would seek revenge for the slightest grievance, and she had the Beian Marquis Mansion backing her...

"Sigh, three taels of silver. What a pity I don't know her," the man next to her shook his head and said regretfully.

Yes, three taels of silver.

The woman hugged the child in her arms tighter, a battle raging in her heart.

With these three taels of silver, Qian'er's illness could be saved. Even if she offended the Du Fu, at worst she would lose her job; she could go find another way out. Even if she went to the wharf to carry sacks, she wouldn't starve to death.

Thinking of this, the woman gritted her teeth, suddenly reached out and tore down the portrait, then strode toward the inside of the Ya Men. ===== CHAPTER 179 =====