After hearing Lan's order, he clapped his hands lightly, and immediately several palace guards armed with swords rushed into the house aggressively.
The Jiang family's expressions changed instantly.
Jiang Huaizhu just stood up with the help of Jiang Jinan, but he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he fell back to the ground.
Jiang Jinyan secretly gritted his teeth, and when he spoke to stop him, his tone was still humble and polite, "Ninth Prince, although my mansion is simple and ordinary, it is also a mansion built by imperial decree with the inscription personally bestowed by Emperor Taizu. I hope that you will consider the merits of our ancestors who once served the emperor and refrain from making a big fuss. It can be considered as giving some face to my family."
Jiang Jinyi spoke righteously, "They are servants of the Wen Ning Marquisate. Their indentures are in the Jiang family's hands. Even if they have done something wrong, the Wen Ning Marquisate will be responsible for any punishments. Your Highness, forcibly taking them away from the Marquisate is probably against the law."
"Face? Law?"
Jiang Xiancao looked back at them, curling the corners of his lips and tossing the jade pendant in his hand. Although his face showed a sluggish and indifferent expression, his whole attitude was extremely arrogant.
She portrayed Shen Tingsi's indulgence vividly:
"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects. There is a law above all laws. They are servants of the Wen Ning Marquisate. Are you, the masters, not subjects of the Great Sheng Dynasty? When did it become a big deal for me to take one or two servants from my subjects' homes? Compared to the majesty of the royal family, what is the reputation of your Wen Ning Marquisate worth?"
The words "A prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner. Even though you are a prince, you cannot trample on the law and abuse your power" were on Jiang Jinyi's lips, but behind him, Jiang Jinyan pinched his palm tightly, signaling him to shut up.
Jiang Xiancao saw their anger but dared not speak out. The more aggrieved they were, the more wantonly the corners of her mouth rose:
"But rest assured, gentlemen. I am merely guarding these two witnesses and will not harm them. The interrogation will still be your responsibility, but I will trouble you to go to the palace to conduct the trial. I'm sure you won't mind the trouble, after all, the person involved in this case is your own sister."
Jiang Jinyan clenched his fists, but he just lowered his head in a restrained manner, squeezing out a sentence from between his teeth, "Your Majesty, I obey your command and will take the lead in thoroughly investigating the case for you, Your Majesty."
Jiang Xiancao chuckled sarcastically, "Well, I also believe that you, the eldest son of the Wenning Marquisate, would not disregard the facts and resort to despicable and underhanded tactics just to show favoritism. Otherwise, you would be betraying your conscience, humiliating your reputation, destroying your integrity, and ruining your family traditions. You would also be unworthy of the great favor bestowed upon you by your father, the hand-picked third place in the imperial examination."
She clearly didn't say a single dirty word, but Jiang Jinyan clearly felt that she had slapped him in the face in public and even spat on his face.
He was so angry that his whole body was shaking, but he had no way to refute it.
Because the Ninth Prince said it clearly, only if he really did something to confuse right and wrong would he bear the subsequent infamy.
Seeing his elder brother being humiliated, Jiang Huaizhu's eyes rolled around and he suddenly said:
"Your Highness, if you're feeling sorry for Jiang Xiancao and are angry, take it out on me! My brothers have done nothing wrong. I only ask that you, for the sake of our past relationship with Zhu'er, let them go!"
Upon hearing this, the five young masters of the Jiang family all showed more or less moved expressions.
Jiang Jinxing, in particular, could not help but squat down and hug his sister in his arms, "Zhu'er, what nonsense are you talking about? What have you done wrong?"
Jiang Huaizhu grabbed his sleeve and cried in his arms as if she was about to die:
"It's all because Zhu'er offended the Ninth Prince that she implicated my brothers. It's all Zhu'er's fault—"
Jiang Xiancao looked at their deep brother-sister love with cold eyes, and raised the corners of his lips:
"If you truly want to consider your brothers, then I'll give you a suggestion. If you voluntarily abandon your status as the eldest daughter of the Jiang family and leave the Wenning Marquisate, you can stand trial as a commoner. Then I won't involve your brothers."
Jiang Huaizhu's eyes widened, and he shook his head in panic, "Zhu'er has been raised by the Jiang family for many years, how could she abandon the Jiang family?"
Jiang Xiancao calmly replied:
"It's precisely because you have no blood relationship with the Jiang family, yet you've lived a life of luxury in the Marquis' Mansion for so many years that you truly owe the Jiang family a great deal. It's your responsibility to repay the debt. But you're so reluctant. Could it be that you didn't really mean what you said just now about not wanting to implicate your brothers?"
Jiang Huaizhu bit her lip and was speechless, looking helplessly at Jiang Jinyan and others.
Jiang Jinyan stood in front of her and said in a resolute and deep voice, "Ninth Prince, you asked me to investigate the case, and I will do my best. But now that the case is not yet clear, you are treating Zhu'er as a criminal in your words. I will not allow you to bully my sister."
Seeing him protecting Jiang Huaizhu so resolutely, Jiang Xiancao's eyes turned cold.
He kept saying that Jiang Huaizhu was his sister, and as long as he was around, not even the prince could bully her. Then, did that mean that she, his biological sister who was framed and forced to endure the pain of bloodletting, was no longer his sister?
Jiang Xiancao recalled the scene when she just returned to the Marquis' Mansion half a year ago.
That day, she went to the main hall to pay her respects to the Marquis' wife. As a newcomer, she was overwhelmed by the wealth and splendor she had never seen before. She was timid because she did not understand the rules of the Marquis's mansion. When the masters and servants of each room were secretly laughing at her, Jiang Jinyan stood up and said that he would personally teach her the rules in the future, but his sister would not allow others to laugh at her.
He clearly treated her like a younger sister back then, and there were four other brothers—
Although her second brother was a warrior with a bad temper and acted rashly, he was very patient when teaching her horse riding and archery;
The third brother always spoke very little, but it was he who took her to the study and taught her how to read and write, which was her enlightenment.
She had identified all the herbs grown in Fourth Brother's yard, and he had praised her for her talent and intelligence, saying she was a good candidate for a female doctor.
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