Aunt Yun, as if that wasn't enough, continued, "So, Miss Xue doesn't want to compensate me for this whole shelf of stuff?"
"Then let's report this to the authorities and let everyone see what kind of upbringing the daughter of the Minister's family has. Not only does she slander people, but now she's trying to renege on her debts. She's definitely not as good as your elder sister, after all, she was once the most talented woman in the capital."
Having said that, he beckoned the maid beside him to go to the government office.
The onlookers now looked at her with more mockery, and some even pointed and whispered about her.
Xue Lingyu was so angry that her eyes turned red, but she could only say anxiously, "Wait, I, I'll compensate, no, there's no need to report it to the authorities."
If she were to report this to the authorities, and things got out of hand, her father would definitely confine her to her quarters, and might even make her relearn the rules.
Her father absolutely must not find out.
But how could she possibly come up with four thousand taels?
Aunt Yun simply waved for the maid to stop, then looked at her and said, "Miss Xue, do you want to pay in full at once, or do you want to write an IOU first, which I will then send to the Minister's residence?"
Xue Lingyu was a little anxious. She looked at the four people beside her and immediately had an idea. She quickly said, "We will split the silver equally among the five of us, eight hundred taels each. I don't have that much on me right now. I'll go back and get it first."
As he spoke, he turned to leave.
Her lackey, however, stopped her first, saying with obvious displeasure, "Why should we split this money with you? You were the one who crashed into the shelf, and it was your own idea to slander her. What does it have to do with us?"
You'll have to pay for this yourself; don't expect us to.
"That's right, don't think you're something special just because you're the daughter of a high-ranking official. There are officials everywhere in the capital. My father may not be as high-ranking as your father, but he's still a third-rank official. Don't try to cheat us."
"Yes, you'll have to pay for it yourself. Don't you always talk about being the daughter of a high-ranking official? What, you can't even come up with four thousand taels?"
"Tsk, you must be having a really tough time being the daughter of a high-ranking official. Back when Miss Xue was around, people would spend a fortune to get a painting from her! You're definitely not as good as Miss Xue."
They were already fed up with being openly and subtly mocked by Xue Lingyu every day.
The only reason they followed the other party was to see if they could get any benefits. Now, not only did they not get any benefits, but they also lost face, and this person actually wants them to pay money. They really have a dream.
By now, the onlookers had figured out what was going on. They had initially thought Aunt Yun's words were a bit harsh, but now their anger was directed at Xue Lingyu.
That slight apprehension was instantly replaced by anger.
“You are the daughter of a high-ranking official, do you really need to make things difficult for this young lady? Not only have you framed her, but now you show no remorse and even want to force others to pay for your money. You are truly disgracing the high-ranking official’s family.”
"That's right, you've even started slandering people. If you're so capable, then pay for it yourself. I want to see what the Minister will do when he finds out his daughter is like this!"
"No wonder Lord Xue used to dote on your elder sister the most. He probably knew you were like this before, which is why he treated you this way. I used to feel sorry for you, but now it seems you deserve it."
"That's right. Someone of questionable character, whose talent and appearance are inferior to Miss Xue, still has the nerve to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the name of the Minister's Mansion. He is a disgrace to the Minister's Mansion."
Upon hearing these words, Xue Lingyu felt her legs go weak. She immediately forgot about Xue Xingzhao's punishment, wrote her name on the IOU, pressed her fingerprint, and ran away.
Seeing this, Song Miaoyin and the others were too ashamed to stay any longer and hurriedly squeezed through the crowd to leave.
Seeing that there was no excitement to be had, the others also dispersed.
The bustling Baoxiangfang quickly became deserted again.
*
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice.
Lu Cijian frowned as he listened to Yuan Hui's words, then narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you sure there's nothing unusual about the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War?"
He was certain that his idea was correct; since the mine had existed for three years, the number of weapons produced there must be countless.
Whatever the reason why the King of Chu started producing substandard weapons, he must have secretly replaced them for the army. It's just unknown how he managed to do so without being noticed.
For example, the war last year.
Although the war started in Tianyue Prefecture, the weapons of the troops stationed in the prefecture were manufactured and transported by the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War. There were many opportunities to operate during this period, but there were also many people involved in the transportation, including people from the Surveillance Bureau. No one could replace the original weapons without anyone noticing under such circumstances.
The problem must have originated in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.
The place is a mixed bag of people; it's easy to squeeze your own people in.
Since you did it, you must have left some clues; it's impossible that you couldn't find any trace of it.
Yuan Hui sighed helplessly. He also found it strange, but his men just couldn't find anything unusual. What could he do?
"You know, I'm just a member of the Ministry of Justice, and my connections are limited. The troops stationed in the prefectural city are either dead or wounded, and no one can prove that the problem was indeed with the weapons."
I've only heard of it.
In just a few days, I've already done quite a bit by getting a basic understanding of the situation at the Ministry of Works' Ordnance Bureau and the Ministry of War. To find out anything more, we'll have to proceed slowly.
Lu Cijian nodded, but didn't say anything more.
Yuan Hui's investigation scope is limited. It's already quite difficult for him to get in on the Military Equipment Bureau and the Ministry of War. It's better for the people from the Ink Pavilion to investigate the rest.
Seeing that he stopped speaking, Yuan Hui suddenly said, "I heard that the King of Chu has recently fallen ill and has been absent from court for several days, and has also closed his residence to guests."
Lu Cijian raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "He's definitely not in the capital."
After all, the mine was the culmination of his many years of hard work; how could he possibly stay in the capital with peace of mind after it was destroyed in one fell swoop?
Yuan Hui nodded, "That's what I suspected too, but unfortunately he's not in the capital, so he can't prove anything."
"As for Zhu Shichang's case, it's been settled recently. Do you know how it was settled?"
Lu Cijian looked at him and said calmly, "The head of the Wan family pleads guilty."
Yuan Hui nodded, "Not only that, when the Ministry of Justice arrived at the Wan family, the head of the Wan family had already hanged himself from the roof beam. There was also a confession on the table, which clearly stated how he had single-handedly supported Zhu Shichang and how he had built the mine over the years."
He claimed he was merely blinded by greed and had no intention of rebellion.
When he heard about this, he was furious. Unfortunately, the head of the Wan family was dead, and no one had any evidence to prove that the person behind it was the King of Chu. They could only hastily close the case by accusing the other party of illegally mining iron ore, manufacturing weapons, and killing innocent people.
He still trembles with rage at the thought. Those were the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, all killed because of broken weapons. The person behind it not only escaped punishment but was still plotting his own schemes. How could he not be furious?
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