"How dare you! In this courtroom, I am the prefect of a prefecture. Do not try to curry favor with me."
"Mo Lou, today we have witnesses and physical evidence. If you do not admit it, I will investigate all the places you operate."
Xu Hongkuo not only found musk, but also dozens of bottles of fake herbal oil in a hidden compartment.
Although Mo Lou disgraced their family's reputation as a scholarly household.
However, he also owned an underground casino, where he kept a large number of thugs.
This is his main source of income; if it's seized, he'll lose everything.
Baicao Oil was just something he and Old Zhai wanted to make a quick buck of; they never intended to run it for long.
I just didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly, it's really infuriating.
"Lord Xu, the fake medicine has nothing to do with me. It was all made by Elder Zhai himself. I had no idea about it at all."
The manor on Yaling Mountain was one he wanted to borrow from me; I had no idea he was going to use it to make counterfeit medicine.
If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have lent it to him.
After the effects of the anesthetic wore off, Old Zhai was stripped of his clothes and changed into a new set, which no longer contained any of his poison.
"Young Master Mo, if things are exposed, you think you can make me take the blame? Don't even think about it."
Old Zhai was so angry that his eyes widened and his mouth twitched even more frequently.
"Why not you, Lord Xu? Although I, Mo Lou, have accomplished nothing, I know nothing about pharmacology, much less how to make any fake medicine. All of this has nothing to do with me."
Mo Lou looked like a thug. If it weren't for Xu Hongkuo's protection, he would have been eaten alive long ago.
"My lord, I made the fake medicine, but I did so at Mo Lou's behest. Otherwise, how could a quack doctor like me have the capital?"
The money he got from selling fake medicine is still in Mo Lou's hands, and it's currently hidden in a secret room in his underground casino. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to check it out.
And Anxintang, which sells counterfeit medicine, only dares to sell it under Young Master Mo's name; these are all eyewitness accounts.
"You, you dare to investigate me? Who told you all this? Tell me..."
This is Mo Lou's private treasury. If the authorities find out, he will be guilty even if he is not guilty.
"Hahaha, Young Master Mo, you don't know yet, do you? You've been poisoned by me, and you confessed it yourself, hahaha..."
Madam Mo was terrified and pointed at Old Master Zhai, cursing, "You...you actually dared to poison Lou'er, you've gone too far!"
He turned around and groped Mo Lou's body, "Lou'er, how are you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Xu Hongkuo slammed a chopping board down, and the courtroom fell silent again.
"Enough. What you say is useless. I only care about evidence when handling cases. Men, go and investigate the underground casino. If you find any stolen money, shut it down as well."
Mo Lou ran to Xu Hongkuo's desk, her nerves taut, and placed her hands on the desk.
"Uncle Xu, you can't shut down my casino."
"How dare you! Guards, bring Mo Lou to the courtroom. This is where I conduct my cases. If you dare to be disrespectful again, don't blame me for being impolite."
Mo Lou was carried back to the spot where Old Master Zhai was kneeling by two minor yamen runners. He couldn't believe that Xu Hongkuo had changed so much today.
No matter what he did before, Xu Hongkuo had never been as ruthless as he was today.
"Bring Dong Yu and the other three here."
Today, the yamen arrested not only Mo Lou, but also Dong Yu, Zhou Tan, and a group of ordinary people who had bought fake medicine.
"Sir, we are innocent!"
Dong Yu knelt down and cried out that they dared to sell fake medicine because Mo Lou had connections with the prefect and was protected by him.
But judging from the prefect's attitude towards Mo Lou, they are truly afraid. They will say anything as long as they can reduce the punishment.
"Dong Yu, you tell me, where did the fake medicine sold by your Anxintang come from? Confess and you'll be treated leniently. Don't blame me for not warning you."
Dong Yu and the other three immediately knelt down, their hearts filled with lingering fear.
"My lord, it was always the servants of Young Master Mo who brought us the fake medicine. We've told them everything we know. Please spare our lives, my lord."
Mo Lou never expected that when the wall falls, everyone will push it down.
The people who had bought the counterfeit medicine were furious when they heard what Mo Lou and Dong Yu said.
"Sir, no wonder the herbal oil we bought from Anxintang is completely useless; it turns out it's fake medicine."
"Sir, you must do us justice! That's all our hard-earned money! Make them refund us!"
"Yes, return the silver to us, return it to us..."
Xu Hongkuo gestured for them to be quiet, saying, "The people's affairs are my affairs, and I will definitely give you justice."
After a long while, several yamen runners carried back two large boxes. When they opened them, they found they were full of silver.
"Sir, these were all found in the casino's secret room, and they're all here."
Xu Hongkuo dismissed the yamen runners, saying, "I understand."
Turning to look at Mo Lou, he realized that he had indulged Mo Lou all these years, but Mo Lou was insatiable.
"Mo Lou, tell me, where did all this silver come from? It must be at least a hundred thousand taels."
"I...I..."
Mo Lou was speechless for a long time.
Whether it was Elder Zhai's identification or Dong Yu's betrayal, Zhou Tan wrote down the course of events, detailing how he helped Mo Lou deceive people, all very clearly.
Mo Lou can't escape this crime no matter what.
"Mo Lou, since you can't say it, then I will say it for you."
The herbal oil you and Elder Zhai made is actually just herbs mixed with water to bring out the scent. It also uses musk. Do you know how harmful musk is to women?
You're not just scamming people, you're harming them.
Xu Hongkuo sighed. It had come to this after all. He felt sorry for his mentor, but as an official, he couldn't let down the people.
“Mo Lou, according to the laws of this dynasty, for manufacturing counterfeit medicine and collecting large sums of money from the people, he shall be given thirty strokes of the cane and imprisoned for ten years.”
When Xu Hongkuo said this, the entire Mo family felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had cracked. The Mo family was a well-known family in Anchangzhou, and now it was about to be destroyed.
Madam Mo fainted: "Grandmother, Grandmother, don't scare me!"
"Grandma, Grandma, please save me! I don't want to be imprisoned, Grandma."
Without Xu Hongkuo, Mo Lou is nothing.
Mo Sang pinched the philtrum of Old Madam Mo, and she slowly woke up.
Several people helped her up. With two lines of tears streaming down her face, Old Madam Mo walked shakily to Xu Hongkuo.
“Hongkuo, you are kind-hearted. Before you passed the imperial examination, it was Grandfather Molou who taught you to read day and night.”
I remember you loved my noodles the most, and I would cook noodles for you every time you came to visit.
Later, when you went to the capital, you passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. You have no idea how happy that old man was.
Then, when you came to Changzhou to serve as the prefect, my old man passed away before he even had a chance to be happy for you.
"The Mo family has been so fortunate to have you take care of them all these years, but you're the only son left in the Mo family. The Mo family truly cannot live without Mo Lou."
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