“You’re saying that Rubing came across that incident on a Saturday while it was snowing? Was it earlier in the night?”

“That’s right!” Mu Yu and Rong Jian both stopped in their tracks and turned around to answer in unison.

Rong Jian hastily asked, “Did you see her that night?”

“Yes. She stayed here for a long while.”

Rong Jian’s expression tensed, and he hastily continued to ask her, “What time did she arrive?”

The old woman thought it over for a bit. “Around 9.00PM.”

“Are you sure?” Mu Yu was delighted.

Rong Jian continued his frantic questions. “What was the exact timeframe? I want an accurate idea of the time!”

His sudden raised voice startled the old woman, and she didn’t answer him immediately. After careful contemplation, she finally answered, “She was here from 10.00PM to midnight.”

“Are you sure?” Rong Jian—whose body had stiffened for a moment—suddenly grabbed her arm. His tone had changed somewhat, but he didn’t dare to believe the woman. “B-But your eyes! You couldn’t check the time!”

Mu Yu also worriedly reminded her, “Grandma Xiao, your words are going to be used as evidence in court. You must be honest.”

While she truly hoped that Old Madam Xiao would be able to prove Feng Rubing’s innocence, she also didn’t want the old woman to falsify evidence for Feng Rubing’s sake. After all, one could not escape their duty to the law.

“I cannot see, but I can hear,” Old Madam Xiao said as she pointed to the side.

Mu Yu and Rong Jian followed the direction of her finger, and it was only then did they notice the nondescript, old-fashioned mechanical clock hanging on the wall. Its metal pendulum swung left and right rhythmically, and it was accompanied by a series of clicking sounds.

Since the clock looked rather ancient, Mu Yu reflexively checked her own watch strapped to her wrist; she realized that the old clock was perfectly accurate down to the second. Feeling that the old woman’s words could be trusted, Mu Yu instantly looked at Rong Jian with utter joy.

Rong Jian voiced Mu Yu’s question. “Grandma Xiao, does anyone help you to calibrate that clock?”

“Zhang’s grandson, Baozi, regularly comes over after school to help me calibrate the clock. After all, I need to take my medication on time. Ever since my eyesight began deteriorating five years ago, I had no choice but to listen to the clock to know when it’s time for my medicine. Zhang has always been worried that the clock’s inaccuracy will affect my medicine schedule, but she’s also rather forgetful. That’s why she began reminding young Baozi to visit me after school and make sure that the clock is keeping time. If the clock is behind, he will immediately adjust it. I’ll also give some snacks to him; it’s now a habit for Baozi to immediately come over once school is over. He’s been doing this since he was in first grade, and he’s now in fifth grade. That’s why you can relax—this clock is accurate, and I’ve also gotten this habit over my years of listening to the clock. Each time I hear the clock chime on the hour, I will instinctively count the number of chimes to determine the time.”

Rong Jian asked her once again. “In that case, are you sure that Rubing was at your home on the 20th of January between 10.00PM to 12.00AM?”

Just like Mu Yu, he also eagerly hoped that Old Madam Xiao would be able to testify and prove Rubing’s timing. However, due to the old woman’s age as well as her limited eyesight and movement, they had to be patient and carefully ask her about the details.

“I am sure!” Old Madam Xiao understood the importance of her words, only nodding solemnly once she had carefully thought things over. “It was the Laba Festival that Saturday. Zhang’s family made laba congee, and they gave me a huge bowl of it; eating laba porridge during the Laba Festival can guarantee good health for the coming year. I know that Rubing doesn’t care for these old traditions, but I had hoped that she and Qiqi will stay healthy, so I left them a good amount of porridge. I was going to give it to Rubing when she came over at night so that she could eat it at home—she’d always bring some household essentials whenever she visited on Saturdays, and she’d listen to my rambling. She would occasionally visit me in the afternoon or at night; she’d also typically come visit me whenever she has some free time on her hands, but she doesn’t have a fixed schedule for that. Still, Rubing normally comes on Saturdays. Even if she doesn’t, she’d still give me a phone call.”

As she spoke, she pointed in the direction of the clock. There was a telephone by it.

“This is the telephone that Rubing specially installed for me so that she can contact me easily. I can’t see the keys, so I can only answer phone calls. I can’t dial any numbers at all, so she’s typically the one calling me. It was snowing heavily that Saturday, and the children outside were all excited; in fact, they kept yelling and screaming for most of the night. I wasn’t sure whether Rubing would come, and I couldn’t give her a call either. To top it off, I couldn’t sleep either, so I sat on my bed waiting for her until the clock chimed ten times. The children had all gone back indoors to sleep by then, and Rubing still hadn’t arrived, so I changed out of my clothes and got ready for bed. I hadn’t expected to hear Rubing knocking on the door the moment I lay down to sleep. She said that Qiqi had run away from home; I was so worried at that time as I told her to hurry up and find Qiqi. However, Rubing said that her friends had gone to look for Qiqi; she felt tired and wanted to have some quiet for herself at my home. She sat for a while, and then she began to cry. I thought that Qiqi had frustrated her, so I comforted her for a long while. She stopped crying eventually and sat on my bed with me. Then, Rubing only went out again when the clock struck midnight. That’s right! If you don’t believe me, you can ask Zhang’s son, Junhua. He saw that my lights were still on at 11.00PM when he came back from work. Thinking that I was unwell, he knocked on my door—Rubing was the one who answered it.”

The words at the end of Old Madam Xiao’s statement delighted Rong Jian to no end. He said to Mu Yu, “I’m going to find Junhua and ask more about the situation.” With that, he immediately dashed out of the door and charged over to Madam Zhang’s house.

He felt that evidence from the young, clear-headed Zheng Junhua would be more convincing.

“Chief—”

Mu Yu wanted to follow him, but she hadn’t expected Old Madam Xiao to get up as well and accidentally kick the stool in front of her due to her haste.

“Watch out!” Mu Yu frantically went over to help Old Madam Xiao up. “You didn’t slip from that, right?” she asked anxiously.

“I’m fine.” Instead, Old Madam Xiao clung to her and said, “You must find out the truth and set Rubing free as soon as possible, miss! She’s innocent!”

“Don’t worry, Grandma Xiao.” Mu Yu helped her sit down and soothed her. “I also believe that Madam Feng is innocent. Likewise, I hope that she’ll be able to walk free as soon as possible as an innocent person. Please sit down; I’ll call my colleague over to help put your words in writing. Please carefully think about the events on the day of the Laba Festival and repeat them to my colleague later.”

“Okay.” Old Madam Xiao couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, and pity was written all over her face. “Rubing is a pitiful child. I cannot fathom why God would treat her so badly when she’s such a kind child.”

Mu Yu’s heart softened upon hearing that. When she called Liu Xiaofan to explain the situation, she too couldn’t suppress a sigh. After she put away her phone, she crouched before the old woman and said to her softly, as though she was trying to comfort herself, “With you and Junhua as witnesses for Madam Feng’s whereabouts during that time, we will definitely be able to clear her name. Madam Feng will absolutely be freed with her name intact.”

“Oh, God must open his eyes!”

“It will happen! It will!” Mu Yu said in a most confident tone. At this point, she had no idea whether she was comforting the old woman or herself.

Soon, Liu Xiaofan dashed over with a few other policemen. He first ordered two of them to follow Rong Jian over to Madam Zhang’s house and record Zheng Junhua’s statement. Meanwhile, he and another policeman stayed behind to take Old Madam Xiao’s own statement.

Half an hour later, Rong Jian, Liu Xiaofan, and Mu Yu rendezvoused at Old Madam Xiao’s door. Everyone seemed quite emotional, especially Rong Jian. Due to his overexcitement, his entire face wasn’t just shining a brilliant red—even his bloodshot eyes were emitting an odd gleam. He let Liu Xiaofan take the wheel while he and Mu Yu sat in the back. Throughout the journey, he kept talking loudly to Gu Jihui over the phone, reporting everything that had transpired.

After they returned to the station, Rong Jian let Mu Yu go back to the forensics lab while he and his subordinates brought Zheng Junhua and Old Madam Xiao straight to Gu Jihui’s office.

Mu Yu initially wanted to follow them as well, but she suddenly remembered that she wouldn’t be able to see Feng Rubing during this time. Moreover, this was under the police’s jurisdiction, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything even if she followed them. At that thought, she turned back to head for the forensic lab. When she returned to the lab, she saw Nie Yunkang still sitting there by the computer, poring over Li Jianyun’s case without even blinking once. She immediately walked forward and quickly told him all about the new evidence that was in Feng Rubing’s favor.

“For real?!” Nie Yunkang practically stood up in a fit, delighted surprise all over his face. Yet, he still didn’t quite dare to believe his ears.

“Yes! Chief Rong has already brought them over to meet Director Gu!”

“That’s great! Indeed, hard work does not betray you! I was saying that nothing would happen to Rubing! Those who are good will have peaceful lives! Haha, hahaha!” Nie Yunkang clapped his hands together, spinning on the spot while guffawing.

It was Mu Yu’s first time seeing Nie Yunkang—who was over forty years-old—laugh so much like a child. She was instantly caught up in his cheer too, and she began to laugh with him. However, neither of them dared to get too excited over this because there still wasn’t a clear judgement for this incident. After laughing for a while, they fell silent again; their long and anxious wait began once more.

Initially thinking that they would soon hear some good news, Mu Yu wondered whether she should arrange for a dinner celebration tonight. To her surprise, Rong Jian still hadn’t called her even when the work day was nearly over. Mu Yu was worried; she began to feel fidgety, afraid that things wouldn’t develop as they wanted.

Nie Yunkang consoled her, saying that the situation was a bit more complex because the case had already been handed over to the prosecutors; there was a need to follow procedure when submitting new evidence, so she should wait patiently.

When Qin Jinhuan came to pick her up after work, Mu Yu refused to leave; she wanted to stay at the station to wait for more information. She only stopped being insistent once she heard that Qin Jinhuan would be leaving for a business trip that next morning, and she followed him home. However, even though she was physically at home, her heart still remained at the station; even her dinner didn’t seem tasty. Qin Xiaozhi simply mentioned how she couldn’t bear to see Qin Jinhuan leave for his trip, and he also laughed while comforting her. Mu Yu couldn’t be bothered to explain either, so she just clenched her teeth. After dinner, she didn’t have the emotional capacity to chat with Qin Xiaozhi and Qin Chengxi; she used it as an excuse to return glumly to her room, and Qin Jinhuan went with her.

“Why hasn’t Chief Rong called me even though it’s this late, Huan? There can’t be any unexpected event, right?” she asked Qin Jinhuan in frustration the moment they were back in their room.

“What kind of unexpected thing could happen? At most, it’ll only solidify Madam Feng’s guilt.”

“How can you curse her like that?” she answered him angrily.

He chuckled. “I was just joking.”

“That joke isn’t funny at all!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop, all right? Don’t get frustrated either. Have a seat, and I’ll help you call Chief Rong after I’m done packing my things.”

She immediately hugged him and snuggled up to him. “I’ll help you pack up later. Can you please make that phone call now?”

He pretended to be offended. “I don’t see you being this frantic when I’m about to head off on a business trip, but here you are, getting worked up over someone else. Do I still mean anything to you?”

“Getting jealous over another woman? Fine, quit your dawdling. Hurry up and call him.” As she spoke, she fished out his cell phone from his pocket and handed it over to him with a cheeky grin.

He accepted the phone and side-eyed her with a meaningful glance. “Do I get a reward?”

“If it’s good news, I’ll do anything you want.”

“Okay!” He immediately unlocked his phone, but before he could dial Rong Jian’s number, Rong Jian himself called him.

“Quick! Answer it!” Mu Yu had already stepped over to his right, for Qin Jinhuan typically answered the phone with his right hand. As she spoke, she pressed her ear close to his phone.

He immediately accepted the call. The moment the call went through, Liu Xiaofan’s harried voice blared over the speakers. “Young Master Qin, something’s happened to Chief Rong!”