CH 43

Warning: Dead rooster, along with slightly graphic description of its murder

Chapter 43: Unquestionable Evidence (1)

Fu Zixian said, "Do not worry. As long as you explain to the Academy that you were with Teacher Li yesterday, no one will doubt you."

Wen Yantong pondered for a moment and then said, "Don't talk when you get there later. Don't get involved or interject."

Fu Zixian only thought she had a plan and was going to explain it herself, so he readily agreed.

The two rushed all the way to the vicinity of the chicken coop. From a distance they saw a large group of people gathered around the chicken coop, surrounding the whole perimeter.

Apart from the students, there were also several teachers. Someone with sharp eyes saw Wen Yantong coming and immediately shouted, "The culprit is here!"translate(d) by puretl . com / do not steal / re po/st

This announcement drew everyone's attention to Wen Yantong. Everyone looked at her and began to talk in a low voice. Their suspicious gazes were ready to pierce right through her.

Wen Yantong smiled and said, "Do not make false accusations, okay? I just came here now. How could I be the culprit?"

As she walked closer, everyone automatically retreated, as if they didn't want to be in contact with her in any way. This allowed her to have a smooth path toward the chicken coop, which was previously surrounded by the crowd.

It was then that she saw Wu-duo's corpse thrown at the edge of the nest. The rooster’s two claws were raised up. Its whole body was stained with a lot of blood. After being left like this for the whole night, its body had already frozen hard.

The head of the rooster was cut off along with its neck, and it was thrown casually beside the body.

The little sh*t’s finally gone. Wen Yantong sighed with relief in her heart.

From its appearance, it seemed that another person was fed up with this noisy chicken. They had endured and endured before finally killing it to vent their anger over presumably their lack of sleep.

"Wen Yantong, someone said that they only saw you wandering around here last night, and you dare say you didn't kill it?" Someone stood up and questioned her boldly.

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Wen Yantong lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, "So I’m not allowed to be up at night?"

"How can the timing be so coincidental?" The person retorted. "You are clearly just making excuses!"

Wen Yantong rolled her eyes and ignored him, feeling that arguing with someone completely unfamiliar was a waste of words. She walked to the side of the chicken’s corpse and crouched down to take a closer look. She discovered that the chicken's eyes were closed.

Half of the rooster's body was soaked in blood, which had already coagulated and darkened in color. She looked around the scene, only to see chaotic footprints and morning frost.

"He’s not talking anymore. He must have a guilty conscience!"

"It must be him. He wanted to kill this chicken a few days ago. It seems he refused to change and killed it."

"This is the dean's chicken, how dare he do just a thing..."

Not only did this rooster have a name, but it also had a house that is considered a mansion compared to other chicken coops. This was not just because this rooster was brought by the dean himself. The most important reason was that this Wu-duo would crow at 6:30 every morning, sometimes so accurately that it called at the same time as the morning bell of Chaoge.

And because of this, Wu-duo was truly a precious rooster. Its status in the academy was not low and it represented the diligence of the students. Secretly murdering this rooster was not just a couple of demerits. This was why Fu Zixian said it was a big deal.

Big enough to get expelled the rooster murderer out of Songhai Academy, or even be sent to jail.

The people around kept talking, throwing one accusation after the other. Their voices became louder and louder, as if they wanted to put pressure on Wen Yantong and force her to confess her guilt.

Fu Zixian clenched his fists and wanted to stand up and speak justice for Wen Yantong. However he remembered that he had promised to not be involved in this matter, so he had to endure the thought of coming forward.

Wen Yantong seemed to turn a deaf ear, and inspected the scene carefully.

Hearing more footsteps approaching, everyone looked over and saw several teachers hurriedly approaching, including Teacher Zhao.

The incoming teachers were all prestigious in the academy, and Teacher Zhao was considered the smallest (influence) among them. Teacher Zhao, whose real name was Zhao Yu, was top scorer in the top imperial examinations. He was a sixth-ranked official, who worked in the court for most of his life, but later was invited to teach in the Academy.

As soon as he saw Wen Yantong standing beside Wu-ya's corpse, he immediately stepped forward a few strides, pulled her up from the ground, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

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"Teacher, I'm studying how this rooster died." Wen Yantong replied.

Zhao Yu had her step back two steps. "You stand back first."

Among the teachers, there was one named Sun Qiu. He was the former Minister of Rites. After he retired from court, he was appointed by the emperor to manage the academy, so he had absolute authority to speak in the academy. Whenever he took a step closer, the students around him automatically backed away.

He glanced at the chicken on the ground and asked solemnly, "Who did this?"

Someone immediately came forward and tattled, "It's Wen Yantong! He secretly killed the chicken last night!"

Wen Yantong immediately retorted, "I didn't kill the rooster! Everyone is a litterateur, you must speak with reason. Why do you make false accusations?"

Sun Qiu turned to look at her. His eyes had been through the fights and schemes of the imperial court's intrigue, he had experienced the officials trying to outwit the other, so just a glance like this made one's heart sink, making the person unconsciously felt oppressed.

"Are you Wen Yantong?" Sun Qiu asked.

Wen Yantong bowed, "It is this student."

"You are quite famous." Sun Qiu's tone was steady, and she couldn't tell whether it was sarcasm or ridicule, so Wen Yantong didn't dare to answer casually.

A group of people stared at the lively scene, no one wanted to interrupt this moment.