Chapter 7 A Visit to the Jail

• Qiao Xuanshuo remained silent.
• He started the engine and sped up.
• Bai Ruoxi was suffocating. Despite the open window and proper distance between them, she couldn’t help sweating and her heart thumped.
• After they came of age, this was the first time she stayed so close to him for more than half an hour. She was so tense, afraid that her affection for him might be noted.
• The car pulled over at the gate of a military building. Bai Ruoxi frowned and unfastened the belt.
• Her mother was kept here currently.
• Due to the severity of the case, no one except the lawyer was allowed to visit her before the trial.
• So, even though she tried every way, she hadn’t seen her mother yet after the arrest.
• When Bai Ruoxi got out, she was surprised to see Qiao Xuanshuo making a phone call beside the car.
• Two minutes later, an armed soldier came out and saluted Qiao Xuanshuo.
• She was stupefied.
• What seemed impossible to her was done with simply a phone call.
• Once again, she admired this powerful and reliable man.
• Bai Ruoxi cautiously followed Qiao Xuanshuo through a few doors and came to the meeting room.
• Her mother, Ang Xiao, was waiting for them already.
• She looked thin and worn, but still elegant and loving.
• “Mom…” Bai Ruoxi held back the tears and hugged her mother.
• Ang Xiao sobbed, “Ruoxi, how did you get in here?”
• Bai Ruoxi blinked and calmed herself down. She was not here to catch up, “Mom, brother helped me.”
• Ang Xiao wiped the tears and turned to Qiao Xuanshuo with a smile.
• Qiao Xuanshuo walked in slowly and asked gently, “Is everything all right, Mom?” He used a completely different tone when talking to Ang Xiao.
• Ang Xiao smiled, “It can’t be better. They take very good care of me. I do nothing but sleeping and eating all day.”
• Bai Ruoxi was surprised and puzzled.
• Obviously, this man was very courteous to her mother.
• “Please sit down first,” Qiao Xuanshuo gestured with respect.
• Bai Ruoxi felt warm and happy at the sight. Although Qiao Xuanshuo disliked her, at least he respected her mother, who had taken care of him for years.
• Ang Xiao sat opposite them.
• Sentimental as she was, Ang Xiao tried to keep a bright smile, “Xuanshuo, don’t give me any more privileges. I don’t want to bring you trouble.”
• Bai Ruoxi was more confused.
• Qiao Xuanshuo smiled bitterly, “There’s barely any privilege.”
• “Even the guards show me too much respect. I’m a prisoner now, Xuanshuo. This is so unusual that other mates are frightened of me.”
• Qiao Shuo looked down without reply.
• Bai Ruoxi held Ang Xiao’s hand, “Mom, let’s focus on the case right now. Tell brother what happened…”
• “Haven’t I told him…” Now it was Ang Xiao’s turn to feel confused.
• “Eh-hem!”
• Qiao Xuanshuo gave a little cough to interrupt her.
• Bao Ruoxi looked at him, lost in thoughts.
• How could he act as if he knew nothing about it when she begged her? Why?
• “Mother, tell us about what happened please,” Qiao Xuanshuo asked softly.
• Ang Xiao found his behavior bizarre today, but still she told them the whole story once again.
• “It was that morning…”
• “Your auntie invited me to the beauty salon. I thought that after you and Yin Rui get married, we would be a family, so I asked her to come along. We went to the salon, had lunch and went shopping. Around three o’clock in the afternoon, Yin Rui said she wanted to learn baking from your auntie. That was when we went back to the North Manor.”
• “Your uncle and their children were not at home then. Only two servants were cleaning the poor. We made cakes and had afternoon tea. At dusk, Yin Rui left and not long after that, I went back to the South Manor as well. But about an hour later, I heard the siren of the ambulance and police. And the next day, I was arrested.”
• Bai Ruoxi was worried, “What about the CCTV? I remember there’s a camera in the kitchen.”
• “The police said that the security system happened to have broken down that day. And I left my coat and phone there.”
• “Why are your fingerprints on the knife?”
• Ang Xiao shook her head and sighed. “It doesn’t mean anything. I was cutting the fruit with that knife earlier.”
• Bai Ruoxi buried her face in her palms, anxious and hopeless. She hated herself for being so emotional and stupid. She was dying to get her mother out of this place.
• “Most importantly, the DNA test has confirmed that there are fragments of your hair in auntie’s nails,” added Qiao Xuanshuo.
• Ang Xiao nodded calmly, “I was framed. But what matters more is that your auntie lost her life at such a young age. I just hope the murderer will be punished.”
• “Can Yin Rui testify for mom?” Bai Ruoxi turned to Qiao Xuanshuo for help.
• “Why do you ask me?” Qiao Xuanshuo frowned.
• Afraid of annoying him, Bai Ruoxi dared not to say a word. ‘Because she’s your fiancée,’ she thought to herself.
• Ang Xiao broke the silence, “She can’t. She left earlier than me. I could prove her alibi, but not the other way around.”
• Bai Ruoxi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. While reviewing the whole story, she caught a small detail. With hands banged on the desk, she said excitedly, “Mom, I think I’ve got it…”
• Startled by her sudden move, Ang Xiao’s heart almost skipped a beat.
• Qiao Xuanshuo, however, fixed his curious eyes on her.
• “The servants. You mentioned that two servants were cleaning the pool, right?”
• “That’s right,” Ang Xiao nodded.
• Bai Ruoxi looked very excited and hopeful. “It shouldn’t be strange. But having lived in this family for more than ten years, I know that auntie hated it when servants worked together. She once said that they might waste time chatting if so. Cleaning pool is not a difficult task. Auntie wouldn’t have allowed them to do it together.”
• Obviously, Ang Xiao didn’t know about that before.
• Qiao Xuanshuo’s lips curved into a please smile.
• “We can dig into this and find out why they had to work together that day regardless of the risk that they might upset auntie,” Bai Ruoxi continued.
• But nobody responded to her.
• She looked at her mother and Qiao Xuanshuo, wondering if she said anything wrong.
• After a short silence, Qiao Xuanshuo stood up, “Mom, we have to go now. Next time you will go home with us together, I promise.”
• Ang Xiao felt reassured and nodded, “I believe in you.”
• Before Bai Ruoxi could process their conversation, her hand was caught. “Let’s go.”
• Another hand was holding hers. The warmth and strength from him stroke her.
• Her head went blank at once. She left the room without even saying goodbye to her mother.
• She sped up to follow his pace, and her heart was pounding.
• To her disappointment, just after they walked out the second gate, he let go of her. Maybe he did it only to assure her.