It wasn't just Shen Leyi who found it strange; the others, seeing Shen Yunxi's confident demeanor, were also somewhat worried. Could it be that she had really discovered something?

For a moment, everyone's eyes fell on Shen Leyi, as if asking her if she had done something wrong and Shen Yunxi had noticed.

The old Marquis coughed lightly, "Since Xiao Liu says he has evidence, why don't we take it out and have a look?"

Instead of letting your imagination run wild, it would be better to let Shen Yunxi produce evidence and see if she has actually found out anything.

“Grandfather is right, we should produce evidence. But what I have here is not just evidence, but also two witnesses.” Shen Yunxi nodded slightly, turned around and looked at the door, and said to the outside, “Zhizhi, Cai’er, bring them in.”

"Yes, Miss." Zhizhi and Cai'er's voices rang out from outside the door.

Not long after, two ordinary men walked in through the door. The others didn't react much, but Shen Leyi's face turned pale and she immediately lowered her head.

After lowering her head, she realized she was overthinking things. She hadn't revealed her face and wasn't afraid the two people would see through her.

"This humble servant greets Your Excellency, and all the gentlemen, ladies, young masters, and young ladies." The two men knelt down together.

Having done wrong and feeling guilty, they didn't even dare to stand up anymore and could only kneel down, praying in their hearts that the Shen family wouldn't hold it against them.

Judging from their clothes and appearance, they should be long-term workers from Liantang. Shen Li looked at Shen Yunxi, then quickly looked away, his expression unreadable, as if he was thinking about something.

"Sixth Brother, what are these two doing?" the old Marquis asked.

It's really strange. Could these two people be the witnesses that Shen Yunxi mentioned?

Given Shen Yunxi's confidence, she wouldn't just randomly find two people to be witnesses; that would be taking them too lightly. The old Marquis, however, wasn't foolish and felt that things weren't so simple.

Shen Yunxi glanced at Shen Leyi, who was trying to minimize her presence, and a beautiful smile appeared on her lips. This time, she smiled and looked at the old Marquis.

“Grandfather, you may not know this, but these two are the long-term workers of the Lotus Pond. They tend to the lotus flowers in the pond before the Lotus Viewing Festival, all for the sake of the annual Lotus Viewing Festival. Speaking of which, I was lucky enough to find some clues on them.” Shen Yunxi looked at the two kneeling men. “Bring out the things and let us see them.”

The two men dared not hide anything, and each took out a purse from their pockets, opened it, and took out the silver notes inside.

Both silver notes were for one hundred taels each, which shows that the person who gave them to them was quite generous.

However, the focus was not on the banknotes, but on the purse that contained them. On the lower right of the purse was embroidered a small character that read '沉' (chen).

In other words, it was the purse that the Shen family took out.

As for why it is so certain that it is the Shen family, it is because each family's surname is written differently, and the character "沈" on this purse is written in the same way as the Yong'an Marquis's mansion.

"Sixth Brother, these two purses don't prove anything. They might have been taken by a servant in the manor. Besides, you're using the purses yourself. Are you trying to find evidence to take the blame for yourself?" said Madam Shen.

The old Marquis glanced disapprovingly at Madam Shen. Since Shen Yunxi dared to bring people here, it meant she had other plans, and it wasn't up to her to decide.

Therefore, it's best to wait and see how things develop, and not to speak out, otherwise you might get yourself into trouble.

Unfortunately, Old Madam Shen didn't notice the old Marquis's expression at all. She looked at Shen Yunxi with amusement, and even though she didn't say anything, you could see the schadenfreude on her face, as if she was mocking Shen Yunxi for being so stupid.

Seeing Madam Shen's expression, both Shen Zhong and Lan Pei looked rather grim.

They look down on their daughter so much in front of her husband and mother. If they're not around, their daughter will inevitably be bullied by Old Madam Shen. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

"Grandmother, don't panic. I haven't even started questioning you yet. As the saying goes, 'Haste makes waste.' It's always good to understand the situation clearly so that no one is falsely accused." Shen Yunxi was not in a hurry at all. She looked at the old lady with a smile, and then looked at the two people kneeling on the ground. "You two, explain what happened and how these two purses ended up in your hands. You must explain clearly, or I will send you to see the authorities."

The two dared not hide anything and quickly confessed what had happened.

"I've always worked at the Lotus Pond. Since it's a government-run area, the wages are decent. One day, a veiled lady suddenly came to the entrance of the Lotus Pond. Normally, outsiders aren't allowed in, but this lady somehow managed to sneak in and found me. I'm a long-term worker responsible for planting lotus flowers, and it just so happens that the Lotus Pond harvested a new variety of purple water lilies last year, which I was in charge of. The lady gave me a hundred taels of silver, saying that as long as I kept the purple lotus flowers closed on the day of the Lotus Viewing Festival, I could open the pond to the public when I saw another lady coming in this direction. As for the other lady, the veiled lady gave me a portrait of her, but she took the portrait."

The person looked at Shen Yunxi as they spoke, indicating that she was the person in the painting.

Shen Yunxi listened attentively, which means that Shen Leyi at that time was quite clever, at least she knew to destroy the evidence and take away the portrait.

If they don't take it, they might be able to find something about the painting technique, the paper, and the paint.

According to Shen Leyi's plan, handing the items over to the farmhand and wearing a veil herself wasn't too foolish; at least it could conceal a lot of things.

Unfortunately, she had no idea that Shen Yunxi had already arranged for Cai'er to secretly follow her and was fully aware of her actions. Otherwise, Shen Yunxi would not have known what Shen Leyi was planning.

Another farmhand chimed in, "I'm responsible for maintaining and cleaning the entire lotus pond. A veiled young lady gave me a purse containing a hundred taels of silver. Her request was that I wipe the wooden railings daily with aged vinegar, at least ten times a day. After rain, I must wipe them even more to ensure the vinegar penetrates the railings. I'm only responsible for these tasks; I haven't harmed anyone. Please, Lord Marquis, spare me. I have elderly parents and young children to support."

The man started to cry as he spoke. He wasn't completely unaware of the situation and understood that there was probably some kind of scheme involved, but the temptation of one hundred taels was simply too great, so he couldn't resist.

Hearing this, Shen Leyi still put on a brave face, looking at Shen Yunxi with her head held high.

"Xiao Liu, what these two people are saying doesn't seem to have much to do with my falling into the water. What does that prove?"