Inside the cloth bag were two gold ingots, a gold bracelet, a gold hairpin, and a handful of silver melon seeds.

Gold and silver aside, the jewelry was personally commissioned by Cen Shi.

She personally reviewed and meticulously revised every drawing.

The finished products were also carefully inspected by her, so how could she not recognize them?

She looked at Wen Wan in astonishment.

Wen Wan was already extremely flustered at this point, and stammered.

"I... I did lose some gold and silver items some time ago, but I didn't know they were here."

Upon hearing this, Madam Cen breathed a slight sigh of relief, realizing that her daughter was not that kind of person.

Then, recalling her words, his expression turned cold and stern again.

"Who, who stole it? Why didn't you tell us? What if the other party is trying to harm you?"

With tears welling in her eyes, she looked extremely aggrieved and stammered.

"I... I just returned to the manor and don't know anything. I'm afraid my father and mother will blame me, so I dare not say anything for now."

"You." Upon seeing this, Madam Cen felt both helpless and heartbroken.

Prefect Lu was not fooled by her.

"Since the items were stolen, how did those two people manage to enter the heavily guarded Earl's mansion and steal from your house?"

"This, sir, I really don't know. Perhaps someone is working with me from the inside to harm me."

As he spoke, he glanced at Yun Zhiyi, the implication being quite clear.

Yun Zhiyi smiled and said, “My lord, she imprisoned me in the house and whipped me. I still have whip marks on my body. The whip should still be hidden in her courtyard. We can find it and compare it. When I struggled, I left scratch marks on her wrist and also scratched her feet. There should still be bloodstains on her shoes. In addition, in order to save my life, I bit her maid Hongrui’s right ear during the struggle. My lord can find out by checking all of this.”

Wen Wan's pupils contracted slightly, and she instinctively covered her wrist.

Seeing her actions, the crowd couldn't help but become suspicious.

An Yuanbo frowned, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Cen looked back and forth between her two daughters, a sudden sense of unease rising in her heart.

The prefect immediately sent men to the Earl's residence to gather more people and search for evidence.

He then ordered the coroner to take Yun Zhiyi to examine her injuries and had someone examine Wen Wan's wrists and shoes.

Wen Wan's face turned deathly pale. Looking at the person who had come, she only wanted to run away, and she clenched her sleeves tightly.

"Get out of my way! How dare you look at my body like that!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Cen immediately added, "Sir, a woman's reputation is of utmost importance. It would be too hasty to order an investigation based on just a few words."

Prefect Lu showed no mercy.

“Madam, our household is currently investigating a case, and we need to examine every clue. If Miss Wenwan is truly innocent, our household will clear her name, and no one will criticize us. However, if you keep it hidden, it will only arouse suspicion.”

"This..." Upon hearing this, Madam Cen did not know how to refute it.

An Yuanbo's eyes darkened as he looked at his daughter, seemingly understanding something, and he gritted his teeth.

He spoke up as well.

“My lord, we cannot simply accept whatever others say. If they also say that she has injuries, are you suggesting that my daughter should undress in court and have someone examine her? My daughter is, after all, a noble lady of the Earl's mansion; how can she tolerate such an insult?”

Yun Zhiyi turned her head to look at him, her lips moved slightly, then she lowered her eyes again, concealing the deep disappointment in them.

The other party had clearly realized something was wrong, but still chose to cover it up.

Prefect Lu's gaze was deep, as if he had also seen something.

He simply didn't get entangled with An Yuanbo anymore.

They planned to interrogate the witnesses and witnesses together once the evidence was found.

The courtroom fell silent for a moment, with only the whispers of those outside.

Wen Wan's shoulders relaxed, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

The thought of the yamen runners who were to escort the people made him anxious again.

Time was short, and they were in a hurry to host a banquet.

Thinking that the Earl's mansion was safe, they had not yet done a thorough cleaning.

The current situation is unknown.

A short while later, the yamen runners who had left returned.

Constable Zhou presented the whip.

"My lord, when I was looking for this maid, I found a whip hidden under the bed in her room. The whip was covered in bloodstains, which had not yet dried, so it must have been used not long ago. In addition, there was indeed a bite mark on the maid's right ear."

"What!" Cen suddenly stood up, staring intently at the whip and red ribbon that were presented to her.

Wen Wan's body went limp, and she sat down on the ground. "No, no."

She was now completely panicked.

Prefect Lu ordered the coroner to compare the teeth marks.

The coroner stepped forward, examined Yun Zhiyi's teeth, and then looked at Hong Rui's wound.

Then, cupping his hands in greeting, he said, "The tooth mark on this maid's ear is similar to that of Miss Wen, and the wound is fresh, so it must have been there about an hour ago."

Prefect Qin swept his sharp eyes over her, "Wen Wan, didn't you say that Wenrou left the manor in a huff last night? Now why are there teeth marks on your maid? What do you have to say now!"

Wen Wan's mind went blank, and all she could do was cry out that she was wronged.

"My lord, I...I really don't know, I haven't seen this maid today either."

Cen Shi snapped out of her shock and looked at her in disbelief.

She clearly saw this girl when she went to look for her not long ago.

She suddenly remembered that the girl seemed to cover her ears from time to time.

Her heart sank suddenly, and she looked at her daughter, who was openly lying, in disbelief.

He then looked at his adopted daughter, whose expression remained indifferent.

Looking back on those moments.

Her daughter waited on the veranda, refusing to go inside. The door was tightly closed, and her hands unconsciously tightened, feeling slightly cold.

At this point, Prefect Lu would not allow her to explain further and ordered the examining woman to come forward and check her wrists and shoes.

Startled, Wen Wan quickly scrambled away and clung tightly to Cen Shi's feet.

"Mother, I won't investigate, I didn't do it, I don't want to."

She was so panicked that she was talking nonsense.

Little did they know that it was precisely this appearance that aroused suspicion.

Cen was stunned by the truth she had imagined. At this moment, she looked at her adopted daughter and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

The old woman stepped forward and forcibly grabbed her wrist.

An Yuanbo tried to stop him, but was stopped by Prefect Lu.

"My lord, this court is conducting a trial, please do not disturb us."

Now that An Yuanbo was certain, he could not allow his daughter to be convicted.

"Lord Lu, my daughter is alright..."

Prefect Lu interrupted him directly.

"If Your Excellency does not trust this manor, why don't we submit this to His Majesty for a trial in the Golden Palace?"

This is a blatant threat.

An Yuanbo looked grim.

As she spoke, Wenwan's right hand was pulled out by the old woman, who pulled up her sleeve and revealed the scratch marks on it.

Then lift the hem of the skirt to check the shoes, and then take them off directly.

“My lord, Miss Wenwan does indeed have three finger marks on her wrist, and there are also bloodstains on her shoes. The patterns are quite clear, so we can compare them.”

The crowd erupted in uproar upon hearing this.

At this moment, everyone already had a decision in mind, and they couldn't help but look at Wen Wan, who was still holding Cen Shi and crying for help.

Prefect Lu had Yun Zhiyi's fingerprints taken, and the comparison was successful.

He didn't look at Wen Wan, who was cowering in fear and looking utterly pathetic, but instead interrogated Hong Rui.

Hong Rui initially tried to deny it, but Prefect Lu showed her no mercy and ordered her to be caned.

After nine strokes, she finally couldn't take it anymore and confessed.

Upon hearing this, Cen felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.