Chapter 257 Trial

Xuanbing and Xuanying were indeed efficient in their work. In just a short while, they identified several key suspects and brought them all to a courtyard. They also brought over the servants of Mingyue Residence and interrogated them in front of them.

Xuanbing had the two people captured last night dragged in. They were a mother and son. The maid had served by Qiao's side for many years and was an old woman who was very loyal to Qiao, just like Granny Wu.

The son was a gardener in the back garden. Last night, the maid was ordered to secretly go to the outer courtyard and instruct her son to slip out through the back door while she hid in the shadows and waited. Unfortunately, she waited until dawn but her son did not return. Instead, she was almost discovered by the guards of the general's mansion and had to return to Madam Qiao's place.

As dawn approached, unable to wait any longer, your servant found a dog hole and tried to sneak out, but she was dragged back by one leg after only crawling halfway through.

Now the mother and son were forced to kneel on the ground. The rag in the servant woman's mouth had just been removed when she started shouting loudly that she was being wronged, accusing the people in the general's mansion of abusing their power and framing innocent people.

The gardener also joined in, crying out that he was wronged.

Unfortunately, Xuanbing didn't waste any words with them and directly ordered his men to break off one of the gardener's fingers in front of all the servants in the courtyard.

With a piercing scream, everyone froze in terror. The maid was stunned, and then burst into an even more agonizing wail.

Xuanbing frowned, then waved his hand and ordered someone to break off another of the gardener's fingers.

After breaking three fingers in a row, the old woman collapsed to the ground, unable to make a sound. The gardener was woken up by being splashed with cold water and immediately confessed.

“I will tell you, I will tell you, it was… it was Granny Wu from Madam Qiao’s side who ordered me to go to the Vice Minister’s residence to inform Old Madam Wen that things had changed at the Earl’s residence and asked her to come quickly.”

The servants in the courtyard witnessed all of this and were so frightened that they trembled. Some of them even wet their pants on the spot.

Granny Wu was quickly escorted over by two guards, and then the courtyard gate was closed, cutting off Qiao Shi, who was following behind crying.

Granny Wu struggled to stop herself from trembling and mustered her courage to call out:

"I'm one of Mrs. Qiao's people. What do you want?"

Xuanbing gestured for the mother and son to repeat what they had just said. Upon hearing this, Granny Wu instinctively wanted to argue, but her eyes darted around as she said:

"Yes, so what if it was this old servant who told them to leave? You've gone too far! You brought so many people into the Earl's mansion at night without any reason. Our lady and the old lady were quite frightened."

"This old servant was afraid our mistress might be frightened into something serious, so I sent someone to inform her family. What's wrong? If something happens to a daughter's family, what law forbids her from informing her family? Didn't our third young lady also come back to her family to support Madam Su?"

Xuanbing didn't waste any words with her. He ordered his men to make her stand with the other servants, his voice as cold as if it came from the underworld.

"Now I'll start asking questions. Whoever knows the answer should speak up. The first person to answer will be fine, and the rest will each receive two lashes."

Who among the people of Mingyue Residence usually gets close to or interacts with the people of Haitang Courtyard?

After saying that, he pointed at Granny Wu and said, "You can also answer."

Xuanbing's question seemed rather ordinary, and everyone looked at each other but no one spoke for a moment.

Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, Xuanbing lazily waved his hand, and several guards holding whips immediately stepped forward and began to lash them one by one. None of his men showed any mercy, and soon the courtyard was filled with wails.

Under severe torture, people began to speak up, and in no time at all, Xuanbing's question went from being answered by no one to being answered by everyone vying for the answer.

Because if someone else beats them to it, everyone else will get whipped.

Soon, the answers from the crowd revealed the truth. A rough old woman responsible for washing the ingredients couldn't bear it any longer and shouted first:

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! The maid Tian who's in charge of tending the fire in the kitchen, and her cousin's daughter, work in the Begonia Courtyard. She's a third-class maid! They've come to Mingyue Residence to look for her a few times before!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than another maidservant added in a shrill voice:

"This servant has seen... seen Sister Cuixi, who serves Granny Wu, speak to Madam Tian privately one night in the corner of the kitchen where firewood is stored!"

Once someone confessed, the others seemed to gain courage and began to reveal all the people and things they considered suspicious. However, in the end, most of the people they pointed out had traces of Tian Niangzi.

Having been called out several times, Tian Niangzi was trembling like a leaf, wailing with tears streaming down her face:

"You're talking nonsense! This old servant is innocent! It's true that my cousin's niece works in the Begonia Courtyard, but it's just visiting relatives and chatting about everyday things. She would never dare to do anything to harm her master."

Cuixi... Cuixi only came to see this old servant because my cousin's niece wasn't feeling well that day, and she was just passing on a message to me on her behalf. There's nothing else!

"My lord, I truly did nothing wrong! I am innocent! If you do not believe me, you may search me, or even my quarters. If you find anything that is detrimental to the Madam, I will submit to your will."

Xuanbing scoffed, "You old codger, you speak so confidently, I believe you. There's no need to search, you definitely won't find anything, I won't waste my energy."

Lady Tian was taken aback when she saw Xuan Bing acting so unpredictably.

Xuanbing ignored her and looked at the crowd, asking:

"Does Madam Tian have any biological children working in the household?"

"Yes, yes, Madam Tian's whole family are servants. Her husband passed away two years ago, leaving behind two daughters and a son, all of whom live in this household. The daughters have already been married off to servants; one is six months pregnant and currently resting at home, while the other went to the master's estate with her husband. Only her youngest son remains in the household, and he is Madam Tian's most beloved son..."

A quick-witted cook, with just a few words, completely exposed the Tian family's interpersonal relationships.

Xuanbing gave a satisfied order: "Go and bring her son over."

Two guards immediately went out to arrest the man.

Madam Tian cried out in alarm, “Sir, what are you doing? My son has always worked as a errand boy in the outer courtyard. He has nothing to do here. He has never done anything to disrespect his master!”

The quick-witted cook spoke up again: "Your son is the eldest young master's errand boy. Besides, you didn't work in our courtyard before. Back then, Mingyue Residence was short of staff. Granny Liu was talking to the steward of the outer courtyard about picking two rough servants to come in. It just so happened that Granny Liu twisted her ankle in the garden that day and you bumped into her. You carried Granny Liu back. Granny Liu saw that you looked honest and kind, so she took you in."

"Yes, yes, you weren't originally from this courtyard. Maybe the day Granny Liu limped was because of your wicked scheme, your aim was to take advantage of the situation and get in!"

Another cook chimed in with a wildly imaginative comment.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Madam Tian was so angry she wanted to curse him out.

As they were talking, Tian Niangzi's son was brought over.