Liu Heng covered his face, staring at Ning Han in disbelief.
He never expected Ning Han to be so ruthless towards him.
But it's not over yet.
Ning Han said coldly, "I will sue you for your marriage fraud. Liu Heng, you can spend the rest of your life in the Dali Temple prison."
Zhu Jiayu sighed inwardly. She felt that this uncle-in-law was really...
She didn't know how to describe it, because any description seemed to be somewhat disrespectful to him.
But if she were the uncle, she certainly wouldn't let Liu Heng off so easily. Sending the culprit to the Dali Temple would be much more satisfying than killing him herself.
However, since he had been kept in the dark for so many years, the decision on how to deal with Liu Heng would naturally be based on his opinion.
However, there is still one thing she hasn't verified.
Thinking of this, she got off the carriage at the Zhu residence, went to Ning Han's side, and asked, "Uncle, do you know where Jiang Zhi, who served Miss Ning back then, is now?"
Ning Han was stunned, not understanding why she suddenly asked this, but still answered truthfully: "Back then, Liu Heng said that he saw that she had served Tan'er for many years and had worked hard even if she hadn't made any great contributions, so he let her leave the mansion to get married."
"Really? But I heard from her sister, Ah Xiu, that Young Master Liu told her that Jiang Zhi had a serious illness and died." Zhu Jiayu said with a hint of sarcasm.
After she finished speaking, she looked at Liu Heng and smiled: "Young Master Liu, shouldn't you give your uncle an explanation?"
Ning Han indeed looked at Liu Heng as well.
Liu Heng was shocked and stared at Zhu Jiayu in disbelief, stammering, "You...how did you know?"
Zhu Jiayu did not speak, but said to Ning Han, "Uncle, before sending him to the Dali Temple, you should ask about everything first."
Jiang Zhi was Ning Qian's head maid, and now her fate is unknown. Liu Heng's accounts from both sides are inconsistent, making the problem quite obvious.
Moreover, she discovered that almost all the maids and servants who accompanied Ning Wan to the Liu family as part of her dowry, especially those who were even slightly close to her, met with misfortune after her death. Even those who didn't meet with misfortune had all fled to Yujing, their whereabouts unknown.
As for Ning Wan, although she was born weak and sickly, she still lived a healthy sixteen years. How could she have died so young after only two years of marriage to the Liu family? Is there really no hidden story behind this?
Zhu Jiayu thought for a moment, then smiled slightly at Liu Heng, her tone mocking, "Perhaps you don't know, but Mingxin didn't die of illness. It was because I discovered she had tampered with my aunt's medicine that she died in the Ning Mansion. What, when you were dreaming in the middle of the night, didn't she come to tell you how tragically she died?"
Liu Heng looked at Zhu Jiayu as if she were a ghost. He never expected that his painstaking planning would be ruined by such a naive young girl.
"Your uncle is a refined man, so I advise you to confess as soon as possible. Otherwise, once you fall into my hands, you might not even make it to the Dali Temple before you understand what it means to be unable to live or die." Zhu Jiayu's tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.
She said this with one purpose: she hoped that Liu Heng would be sensible and take the initiative to explain what happened back then.
After all, she could see that relying on Ning Han seemed a bit unrealistic.
That's understandable. Ning Han had believed in his brother-in-law's devoted persona for years, continuously providing him with conveniences and even treating him like a brother. Now, he suddenly discovered that he had been deceived by this person all these years, and the blow and hurt he suffered was considerable.
How could he possibly notice anything else?
There was no other way but for her, as the niece, to step forward.
"Take him back to the manor!"
Ning Han finally understood Zhu Jiayu's meaning, and with a wave of his hand, he instructed his attendants.
He stopped looking at Liu Heng, but his mind kept replaying the scenes of the two of them over the years. Over the years, they had drunk wine under the moon, admired flowers and composed poems, talked by candlelight late into the night, and strolled through gardens together. He had once lamented to many people that having one true friend in this life was enough, but now, looking back, he only felt that he was ridiculous.
He misjudged people. All the sincerity he had given over the years, all the joyful times he had shared, were easily summed up in these four words.
Liu Heng understood what he meant, knowing that he was truly disappointed in him and unwilling to listen to another word. A huge panic surged through him, and he staggered over, but somehow tripped and fell, kneeling before Ning Han. He reached out and grabbed Ning Han's clothes, saying, "Brother! Chengze! Listen to me! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to..."
Haven't you thought about anything?
He suddenly shut his mouth again, no longer continuing to speak, and a pleading expression appeared on his face, making him look particularly comical.
Ning Han drew the sword from the guard's waist, turned her eyes away, and cut off the corner of his clothes.
Seeing his expression, Zhu Jiayu sighed inwardly and advised, "It's almost time for you to finish your shift at the yamen, Uncle. You should go back to your residence first. As for Liu Heng, if you really can't bear to leave him, you might as well give him to me."
Ning Han looked at her for a while, then nodded: "Alright, then I'll trouble you."
He was a scholar-official who, despite lacking any special skills, managed to rise to the position of a third-rank official, Tongzhengshi, entirely because of his upright character and incorruptibility, which earned him the emperor's favor.
If he were to interrogate Liu Heng, he probably wouldn't get anything out of him. Firstly, he lacks experience, and secondly, he's too soft-hearted.
Zhu Jiayu knew this too, but at this moment she was thinking more about how the ancients were right when they said that a kind heart cannot command an army and a benevolent heart cannot hold power.
The group, without Xiao Wan's knowledge, brought Liu Heng back to the Ning residence.
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