"Tell me, where exactly did I wrong you?" Ye Jinhu looked at Lu Yanke, who was trembling with fear.

Such a coward, yet he tries to sell smuggled salt like others.

Even a few heads wouldn't be enough to chop off.

"Confess everything you've done."

Lu Yanke was covered in wounds; it seemed the prison guards hadn't shown him any mercy.

When Lu Yanke saw Lord Ye, his legs trembled uncontrollably, and he wet his pants.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Lu Yanke told him without reservation how he got in touch with Prince Jin and how, under Prince Jin's instruction, he sold smuggled salt all over the country.

"Are you saying that all of this was orchestrated by Prince Jin?" Lord Ye asked.

“It’s absolutely true. Every major client was introduced by him. I was just responsible for running errands.”

Lu Yanke was eager to distance himself from the situation.

Ye Jinhu: "Where's the evidence? Where are those clients? Where's the seal of the King of Jin?"

Lu Yanke was speechless.

"What evidence do you have of your financial dealings with Prince Jin?" Lord Ye continued to ask.

"No, Prince Jin always sends people to the salt estate to collect cash and leave, but those people are all his confidants." Lu Yanke roared, "Go and arrest them! Once you catch them, the truth will be revealed."

What do they look like?

Lu Yanke was taken aback: "They all had full beards, and their faces were covered with handkerchiefs..."

"Continue, what are their characteristics?" Lord Ye looked at him: "Are you mute?"

Lu Yanke burst into tears: "So, it turns out that Prince Jin used me as a scapegoat from the very beginning. He had already dug a pit for me to fall into."

They're not stupid enough to be dead yet.

"You only realized it was because the land deeds for the warehouse where the smuggled salt was stored were all in your name, and the contact person looked exactly like you?"

"I don't have that many shops, sir. You must have a way. Please save me," Lu Yanke pleaded.

He muttered, "How could Prince Jin be so ruthless? Most of the money from selling smuggled salt went into his pocket, and I only got a small share."

My lord, I beg you to investigate this thoroughly.

I know I was wrong; I shouldn't have been greedy. But these smuggled salts really weren't mine; I was just responsible for guarding them.

When the Prince of Jin did not send anyone to rescue him, Lu Yanke knew he was a useless pawn.

Lu Yanke knelt down and pleaded, "Please, Your Majesty, have a clear conscience! I was only following the orders of Prince Jin."

"Where's the evidence? Prove that you obeyed Prince Jin, and I'll submit your confession along with it. The Emperor certainly won't punish only you."

"I didn't!" Lu Yanke pleaded, begging Lord Ye to let him go.

Knowing that he could no longer overturn the case, Lu Yanke cursed, "Lin Mushen, you will die a horrible death."

Lu Yanke shouted day and night; only in this way could he alleviate the fear in his heart.

The jailer was so annoyed by his noise that after whipping him a few times, Lu Yanke finally quieted down.

*

Pingyang Marquis's Mansion

Upon hearing that Lu Yanke had been arrested and imprisoned in Dali Temple, Chen Yulan cried and made a scene at home.

"The prince has been sentenced to death, how am I supposed to live?"

Chen Yulan pushed Lord Lu: "Go find someone, no matter who you have to ask, you must rescue Yan Ge'er."

Lord Lu then regretted that he had lived a muddled life and, when he needed help at the critical moment of life and death, he didn't know who to turn to.

At that moment, he remembered how good his former daughter-in-law was.

Seeing that he was helpless, Chen Yulan was so angry that she cursed, "You good-for-nothing, I must have been unlucky to marry you!"

"Slap!" Chen Yulan covered her face in disbelief: "You dare hit me? I'll make you pay with your life!"

"Die! It's better to die. It's just a matter of dying sooner or later." Lord Lu cried loudly.

Chen Yulan was stunned by the tears.

"My lord! What do you mean by dying sooner or later?"

"You idiot, do you think only that rebellious son will die? We're all going to die with him."

"Bang!" Chen Yulan slammed heavily onto the chair.

"What did you say? You said someone should be buried with you?" Chen Yulan cried out in terror.

“That rebellious son committed a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family. The Pingyang Marquis’s mansion is completely finished.” Marquis Lu also sat on the ground and sobbed, just like Chen Yulan.

He begged and pleaded, but no one was willing to get involved in this mess.

Lu Yanke did not commit a minor crime; he committed a capital offense.

Who would dare help someone who illegally sells salt?

How many heads can you lose?

I heard that the Crown Prince has committed the heinous crime of exterminating nine generations of his family.

The Marquis's mansion was filled with wailing and lamentation.

The second wife, Madam Mo, came over aggressively. When she saw Chen Yulan sitting on the ground crying, she grabbed her hair and said, "It's all because you spoiled your son. When your family was doing well, we, the second wife, could barely make ends meet."

"Why should all the benefits go to your eldest son's family? Now that the Marquis's mansion is in trouble, what did we, the second son's family, do to deserve this? We'll be buried with you! Chen Yulan, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Chen Yulan had already gone mad, so she wouldn't tolerate the second wife's temper.

As early as when Mo grabbed Chen Yulan's hair, Chen Yulan freed her hand and grabbed Mo's hair in return.

The two of them started wrestling.

The third wife's family also joined the fray.

They've been bullied enough by Chen Yulan all these years, and now she wants them to die with her.

Madam Song also lost her composure: "If Lu Yanke wants to die, let him die alone. Why did he have to do something like confiscating my family property and exterminating my clan? My poor son, he is only nine years old, and you are going to kill him."

Meanwhile, Madam Lu of Shou Kang Tang fainted many times.

Many of the servants in the Marquis's mansion secretly ran away.

Even without their indentures, they would become undocumented and could very well starve to death outside.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!