Chapter 103: The Death of Qiao Yuhe

Chapter 103

Sun Yu was not blindly confident.

First of all, more than ten years had passed since the case. It was impossible to investigate the crime scene. Physical evidence had long been erased by time, leaving only a few witnesses who had also been dealt with long ago.

When officials wanted to act unscrupulously, the sky above the commoners collapsed and they could do nothing but cry and flee.

The more confident Sun Yu was, the more brutal the tragedy years ago proved to be.

And the more Qiao Yuhe hated him.

"Sun Dog, are you confused? How could I possibly be here without evidence?" The young woman in her early twenties laughed bitterly. "Have you forgotten that the Qin family’s jade mine is still in your hands?"

The Qin family had accumulated some savings after discovering the jade mine. After the entire family died, how could the mine end up in the officials' hands without any tricks? Who would believe that?

Visibly, Sun Yu panicked for a moment.

But soon he regained his composure. "The jade mine was a gift from Qin Feng. I have a deed of gift written by him. On what grounds are you accusing me of a crime just because I own the mine?"

"Besides, with no one left in the Qin family, if not me, the mine would belong to someone else anyway."

As expected of a former official, his sophistry was layered with logic, leaving no loopholes.

Take the deed of gift for example. Sun Yu did have one, undoubtedly written by Qin Feng, not forged.

But only the Qin family knew under what circumstances Qin Feng wrote this deed of gift - when he was already fatally wounded and dying, while Sun Yu held his parents and wife hostage, forcing him to write it or else his whole family would die.

For the sake of his elderly parents and newlywed wife, Qin Feng reluctantly lifted his brush before death.

Yet now, this deed of gift had become evidence for Sun Yu to evade legal investigation.

Qiao Yuhe collapsed on the ground, wailing in despair and helplessness.

Seeing this, Sun Yu became even more arrogant, stroking his beard. "Miss Qiao, I won't blame you for going mad. As long as you admit to falsely accusing me, I'm still willing to take you as a concubine of the Sun family, but you can only be a lowly one."

A proper concubine came from a good family, and was still treated with some respect.

But a lowly concubine had a vulgar status, no different from a signed slave. She could be sold anytime, with the only extra function of warming beds.

From the moment Qiao Yuhe determined to file an appeal at the government office, she never intended to be Sun's concubine again.

She tilted her head and glanced coldly at Sun Yu. Suddenly she kowtowed to the Prefectural Magistrate, "Your Honor, please serve justice for this woman. I will never withdraw my accusation. If Sun Yu is not convicted, I will not die in peace."

This was not a mere bow, but earnest kowtows banging on the ground.

At first, only Qiao Yuhe's forehead turned red and swollen. Soon her skin ruptured, and then the floor was covered in blood.

Xu Mo sat despondently in the room for half a day.

Half a day later, he went to the government office and asked the Prefectural Magistrate to release Sun Yu.

The Prefectural Magistrate was puzzled. "If Sun Yu is released, no matter how slight the evidence, he will erase it all. By then we really will have searched in vain."

Xu Mo sneered coldly. "It might be good if he does erase everything. We can then directly track down conclusive evidence."

Moreover, detaining Sun Yu for long was beyond the Prefectural Magistrate’s ability to withstand the pressure.

So that afternoon, Sun Yu walked out of the dungeon with bloodshot eyes, cursing all the way, repeating his hatred for Qiao Yuhe.

According to the prison guard, the two were detained near each other. Qiao Yuhe’s hatred for Sun Yu penetrated her bones. She spent everyday shrieking curses at him, never giving Sun Yu a moment of rest. Whenever Sun Yu dared shut his eyes, she would insult his ancestors down eighteen generations.

In short, during his four days in prison, Sun Yu did not get a single minute of rest.

Under normal circumstances, returning to the Sun Residence his first action should be to rest. But instead he immediately summoned residence doctors, seeming to be plotting something.

At the same time, Xu Mo went to the prison alone. Under the guard's watch, he visited Qiao Yuhe.

These four sleepless days had tortured not only Sun Yu, but also Qiao Yuhe.

The charming, beautiful young Madam at the Yuzhen Store now looked pale and frail like an eighty-year-old crone.

“Are you certain?” After a long silence, Xu Mo only asked this one question.

The guard was baffled.

But Qiao Yuhe smiled bitterly. "I’ve been certain for a long time."

"I see." Xu Mo closed his eyes, seemingly reluctant at heart. "Madam Qin, please be at ease."

He brought no food or drink, only bowed slightly to Qiao Yuhe through the bars.

Then Xu Mo left.

Soon after, Qiao Yuhe’s two children came to visit their aunt.

They brought food and pastries, crying out at their unrecognizable mother, "Auntie...Auntie..."

In the end, as a lowly concubine, she was only worthy of the title Auntie, not Mother.

Qiao Yuhe looked longingly at her eldest daughter, drank down the wine, and finished the pastries.

When the guard came to hurry them, she began foaming at the mouth. By the time the doctor was called, her body was already rigid and icy cold.

"Mother..." her eldest daughter wailed bitterly. "Wake up, Mother, don't sleep..."