On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the sky cleared after a snowfall. On the red sandalwood desk in the study of the Marquis's Mansion lay a gilded box, monk's hood poison, a secret letter, and other pieces of evidence. Jiang Wan, dressed in a plain pleated skirt, knelt on the green bricks, with the cook Wang Wu and the maid Xiaocui standing behind her with lowered heads. Marquis Li Chongshan stared at the confessions on the desk, the wolf-hair brush in his hand blooming a blot of ink on the Xuan paper.
"Is this all the evidence?" His voice was low, carrying suppressed fury.
"Replying to Uncle," Jiang Wan said, bowing, "the confession of the cook Wang Wu, the secret letters between Jiang Rou and Wang Wu, and the monk's hood poison found in her room are all right here." She signaled Lüluo to present the ledger. "Here are recorded the sums of money she used to bribe the servants, with the fingerprint of the recipient on every single entry."
Chapter 138