"This is also my guess. The servants in the General's Mansion were careless and smuggled the tiger tally out of the mansion by mixing it with the ornaments. They may have been instructed by someone, and that person is most likely Jiang Wan!"

Ji Rong said with a stern face, "Do you think you can make false accusations based on your mere conjecture?"

“Lord Ji, my guess is not unfounded. Madam Jiang has always been domineering and rude, disrespectful to her mother-in-law, and utterly devoid of any feminine virtues. Who else could be capable of such lawless acts but her?”

Song Ziyu narrowed his eyes.

"Her past misdeeds in the mansion can be attested to by her grandmother, her wife Madam Gu, and her elder sister, Princess Anyang!"

Jiang Wan sneered: "In the end, it's all baseless accusation. Does the general intend to attack my heart with just words?"

The matriarch suddenly stood up and sighed.

"A-Wan, you were married into the Song family by imperial decree, and the entire family doted on you. We never expected that you would be so unruly as to do something that would bring disaster to the whole family!"

“Exactly!” Song Tingyue looked at Jiang Wan and added fuel to the fire, “Over the years, your grandmother has pitied you for losing your mother and doted on you, letting you manage the household and providing you with the best of everything. Is this how you repay the Song family?”

Wang couldn't help but say, "That's utter nonsense! The General's Mansion is going too far!"

She jumped up in anger, but Ji Huaichuan pressed her down again: "Mother, don't be anxious. They have no proof and can't do anything to my cousin."

"Enough!" Ji Rong's face turned cold. "This is a government office, not a place for your idle chatter. You keep saying that the Jiang family was involved, but if you don't have evidence..."

The elder's wife suddenly spoke, interrupting him.

"My lord, I have evidence!"

Jiang Wan raised an eyebrow and slowly looked at Madam Yuan.

Ji Rong frowned as well: "What evidence?"

"The Tiger Tally is such an important item that the General's Mansion set up a mechanism when it was first preserved. Only the Song family members of all generations know how to break it," the old lady said in a deep voice. "If it is stolen by outsiders or taken out by brute force, the mechanism will definitely be damaged."

As she spoke, she gestured to Granny Wu to take out a rectangular pear wood box.

"In this generation, only Ziyu knows how to break this mechanism. If he takes out the Tiger Tally and lends it out privately, there is no need to destroy the mechanism. He can then secretly return it afterward, and no one will notice."

"But now, the mechanism inside this box has been damaged."

The elder lady raised the box and spoke loudly.

"This proves that someone else took the tiger tally from it, and it was definitely not Ziyu himself!"

The people were stunned.

Even Pei Xi frowned and couldn't help but look at Jiang Wan.

Ji Rong stood up, his expression becoming more serious.

The case lasted for nearly a month, and neither the elder's wife nor Song Ziyu ever mentioned any government agency.

Clearly, they had this backup plan in mind, waiting for the trial to begin so they could present the crucial physical evidence in full view of everyone.

"Someone, bring the box here."

"Wait a minute."

The matriarch looked at Ji Rong.

"Please forgive me, sir, but this Tiger Tally mechanism involves the privacy of the General's Mansion. There are too many people in the hall to see it, so please forgive me for not being able to open it in public."

"If you wish to see, sir, one of you may move to the back room, and I will personally demonstrate it for you."

Ji Rong and Jiang Linyuan exchanged a glance and agreed, "Okay, I'll go with the old lady."

He immediately walked towards the inner hall.

As the matriarch watched Ji Rong's retreating figure, a faint smile appeared on her aged face, subtle yet strangely ambiguous.

She clutched the box tightly in her hand and followed after him.

Just then, Pei Xi suddenly spoke up: "What mechanism? It's so mysterious, even I, the prince, am very curious."

He stood up and stretched.

"Since waiting is boring anyway, I, the prince, will go and take a look."

The matriarch was stunned: "Third Prince, this... is probably inconvenient."

"What's inconvenient about it?" Pei Xi pouted. "Are you afraid that I, the prince, will reveal your Song family's secrets?"

The matriarch of the Song family said, "The Song family has ancestral rules that outsiders are not allowed to..."

"What outsider?" Pei Xi was displeased, glaring at him. "I'm here today on behalf of my father! Doesn't your Song family claim to be the most loyal to the royal family? What secrets do you have that I can't see?"

Pei Xi became more and more excited as he spoke, and started shouting.

"Be careful, or I, the prince, will impeach you and accuse you of disrespecting the royal family!"

The matriarch's face stiffened, and she was speechless for a moment.

There must be no third person present for what she is about to do.

Despite all the planning, I never expected Pei Xi to step forward and cause trouble.