The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 251 Willing to Die
“Yes.” Zhiwan did not deny it and explained, “Today is the day I move out of the Lu family. Early this morning, the servants packed up their things and moved them out. The servants also have to go with me, so after the things were moved out, they waited outside the gate of the mansion.”

I took my maid Shuang'er and went with my aunt to the Fushou Hall of Old Madam Lu to say goodbye to her.

After leaving Fushou Hall, my aunt asked me to come back here to check if I had left anything behind, so I returned with my maid.

This is, after all, the place I've lived for five years. I've grown attached to it and am very attached to everything here.

Just as I finished looking around the outer room and stepped into the inner room, I smelled a strong stench of blood. I immediately sensed something was wrong, and then I saw Aunt Xu lying dead on my bed.

My maidservant rushed in immediately upon hearing my scream and witnessed Aunt Xu's death. She was terrified as well.

Just as we were at a loss, Lu Lan suddenly arrived.

As soon as she entered, she saw Aunt Xu lying on the bed and immediately accused me of being a murderer.

As I sent the maid away to fetch someone, Lu Lan suddenly went berserk and lunged at me, grabbing my neck and trying to kill me. Luckily, my cousin returned in time and saved me; otherwise, I'd probably be dead by now.

Listening to her calm statement, the official looked at her with some surprise.

The girl in front of me looks young, but she is calm in the face of adversity and speaks clearly and logically.

The official nodded and looked at Shuang'er, "Is what your young lady said true?"

“My lady’s words are all true, that is the truth.” Shuang’er nodded vigorously. “My lady and I do not know why Aunt Xu appeared in this room. Normally, my lady has no dealings with Aunt Xu and has barely spoken to her. How could she possibly kill her? Please investigate, sir.”

"You are master and servant, so naturally you will cover for each other and will not admit that you are the murderers!" Lu Lan said angrily. Then she said to the official, "I beg you, sir, to investigate thoroughly, give my aunt justice, and bring the murderers to justice!"

Just as the official was about to speak, Lu Zhan suddenly said, "Zhiwan moved out of the Lu residence today, and I'm afraid everyone in the family knows that. Moreover, the servants of Yaoguang Pavilion did not return after they finished moving their things. In other words, when Zhiwan and her mother went to say goodbye to her grandmother, this courtyard was empty."

Therefore, if someone takes advantage of this gap to enter Yaoguang Pavilion and do bad things, no one will notice.

The official was taken aback. "You mean to say that the real murderer took advantage of this opportunity to come in and kill Aunt Xu?"

Lu Zhan nodded. "According to the coroner's autopsy results, the deceased died at 1:15 AM. At that time, my cousin was at Fushou Hall talking to my grandmother. Therefore, my cousin can be completely ruled out as a suspect."

Lu Lan quietly clenched her fist.

"Besides, I'm curious why Lu Lan suddenly came to Yaoguang Pavilion as well?" Lu Zhan's gaze suddenly fell on her.

Lu Lan seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said with an embarrassed expression, "My aunt told me this morning that Zhiwan is moving out of the Lu residence today. Thinking that she will be my elder brother's wife in the future, and even more so the mistress of the Lu family, she thought she would come to see Zhiwan off, so as to take the opportunity to get closer to her, and perhaps in the future, she could get Zhiwan's help... I haven't seen my aunt go back for a long time, so I came looking for her, but I didn't expect to find my aunt dead in Zhiwan's room..."

At this point, she covered her face and wept bitterly.

Lu Zhan said calmly, "The reason you made up sounds reasonable, but since your aunt wanted to get close to Zhiwan, why didn't she do it while Zhiwan was still in the Lu family? Why did she have to choose this time when she was about to leave the Lu family?"

“My aunt is weak-willed and shy. She usually can’t find a suitable opportunity. Today, Zhiwan is leaving the manor, so she wanted to use seeing Zhiwan off as an excuse to get closer to her.” Lu Lan’s emotions became agitated again as she spoke. She turned to Zhiwan and questioned, “My aunt came from a humble background and was always cautious in the manor. She just wanted to get closer to you. Why did you have to kill her so cruelly?”

Even if you become the matriarch of the Lu family in the future, you shouldn't disregard life. My aunt was a living person, and you killed her..." Zhiwan looked at her coldly. Her words implied that her aunt was weak-willed and of humble origin, in an attempt to gain everyone's sympathy and make them ignore what her cousin had just said.

"You keep saying that Zhiwan killed your aunt, but did you see it with your own eyes?" Lu Zhan asked in a deep voice.

Lu Lan wiped away her tears and said, "I've already addressed this issue before, but I'll repeat it again. Although I didn't witness Zhi Wan commit the crime, when I arrived, my aunt was already dead on Zhi Wan's bed, and Zhi Wan and her maid were right there. If they didn't kill her, then tell me, brother, who killed my aunt?"

Lu Zhan looked at her coldly, "It's you!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at him in astonishment.

Lu Lan was stunned for a moment, then shook her head with amusement. "This is absurd. You'll say anything to exonerate Zhiwan. Do you even deserve your official robes? I never imagined that the dignified Minister of the Court of Judicial Review would judge cases like this. You're bending the law for personal gain, do you even realize that?"

"Lu Lan, you don't need to change the subject." Lu Zhan's voice was icy. "It was indeed you who murdered Aunt Xu. I don't know what grudge you had with Zhi Wan, but this is not the first time you have harmed her. And this time, in order to frame her, you even killed your own mother. You are truly heartless and insane!"

Lu Lan sneered, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. You are my elder brother and also the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. If you insist on protecting Zhiwan, my aunt will only die unjustly."

Hearing her constantly bring up Lu Zhan's official position in an attempt to smear him, Madam Wei was so angry that her heart pounded.

Zhiwan was also very angry.

Lu Lan not only framed her, but also tried to smear her cousin. Every word she said was telling others that her cousin was abusing his power for personal gain.

She was about to speak when she saw Lu Zhan walk to the bedside.

He checked the bed and the floor thoroughly, and then said, "There are no signs of struggle at the scene. Even the sheets and blankets are still neatly arranged, which is very strange. Could it be that when Aunt Xu faced the murderer, she didn't struggle at all, but just stood there and let herself be killed?"

Upon hearing this, the official went forward to investigate and found that the situation was indeed as he had described.

"This is very strange. When faced with death, everyone would be afraid and instinctively struggle, but this deceased person looks very peaceful, without any fear or terror, as if she was prepared to be killed." The official looked at Aunt Xu's face and said thoughtfully.

“The coroner just said that my aunt was attacked from behind. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already dead at the hands of the murderer, so naturally she wouldn’t have shown any signs of pain.” Lu Lan said, looking at the two of them, “You’re colleagues, you’re not trying to protect each other, are you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to the Inspectorate?”

Upon hearing this, the official was already somewhat angry.

This Lu family girl threatens them at the drop of a hat; she's really unreasonable.

He shook his head and said, "Miss Lu, you don't know this, but even if someone is stabbed in a vital spot, they can't die immediately. Being stabbed in a vital spot is very painful. Before they die, a normal person will show a painful expression on their face."

But your aunt, instead of showing any signs of pain, appeared quite peaceful, and seemed... somewhat relieved.

She would only willingly die if the person who killed her was someone she knew and valued.

(End of this chapter)