Chapter 52 It's her turn.
Vice Minister Song turned around and looked outside.
Outside the door, Wei Yan led a group of yamen runners in, followed by a servant boy with a flustered expression.
"Master, a high-ranking official from Bianjing Prefecture suddenly barged in, and this servant was unable to stop him..."
As they were talking, Wei Yan stepped inside and was taken aback when he saw Shen Cong sitting at the head of the table.
Then he bowed respectfully.
"Your humble servant, Wei Yan, judge of Bianjing Prefecture, pays his respects to Your Highness."
Shen Cong nodded slightly.
"Why is Lord Wei visiting the Song family so late?"
Wei Yan subtly pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "You're still here so late, aren't you?"
"Here's the thing, Bianjing Prefecture received a report from the Marquis of Anping's residence that the wife of the Marquis of Anping's heir had gone missing from the Song family."
As a judge in Bianjing Prefecture, it is my duty to get up in the middle of the night when a case arises.
Shen Cong glanced at him sideways, then lowered his head to continue teasing the snow eagle, appearing completely unconcerned.
Wei Yan shrugged and looked at Vice Minister Song.
"Lord Song, I had no choice but to come here after receiving the report. It is my duty, and I hope you understand."
Song Shilang's face was stiff, his lips twitched repeatedly, but he couldn't manage a smile.
Late at night, Wei Yan led a group of yamen runners in.
Without a doubt, a large crowd had already gathered near the Song family's residence to investigate the situation.
Tomorrow morning, the censor's memorial impeaching him will be on His Majesty's desk.
Damn it.
But he couldn't kick Wei Yan out, so he could only suppress his anger and explain, "It was just a misunderstanding."
I just asked my daughter to come back for something, but the little girl doesn't understand and cried and screamed as if something had happened.
"I'm truly sorry to have alarmed the Bianjing Prefecture government; please return, Lord Wei."
Wei Yan smiled slightly.
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not is not for Lord Song to decide; we should ask the victim who filed the report."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Li Nanke and saw her red and swollen eyes. He couldn't help but curse inwardly that Minister Song was a scoundrel.
How could I bear to let such a cute little girl cry?
Her voice softened slightly. "You sent your servant to report to the authorities in Bianjing, didn't you? What happened today? Was your mother injured?"
Li Nanke looked up at Wei Yan, her lips trembled, and her eyes reddened again.
His voice was very loud, and he spoke very quickly.
"It was I who reported it to the authorities, sir. My mother was summoned back by my maternal grandfather and forced to return the silver that you just ordered to be returned to the Song family yesterday."
My maternal grandfather even forced my mother to write a letter of repentance, saying that everything that happened yesterday was my mother's fault.
"I don't understand. Did the adults make a mistake yesterday? Why did Grandfather make Mother do this?"
She chattered away, telling Song Shilang what he had done without hesitation.
Song Shilang's face was as black as ink, and he glared at Li Nanke with eyes that seemed to want to devour her.
Li Nanke exclaimed in surprise, like a startled little rabbit, and immediately hid behind Wei Yan.
It only poked its head out, looking panicked and terrified.
"Oh dear, my grandfather is glaring at me again. Oh dear, I'm so scared."
Song Shilang felt his chest heaving with blood.
You brat!
She's scared? She even dared to hit him with a teapot just now, what's there to be scared of!
"Your Honor, you are a good official. Please tell my grandfather what exactly happened yesterday."
Otherwise, my mother and I wouldn't be able to leave the Song family. We're so scared.
Vice Minister Song...
Wei Yan chuckled inwardly as he watched Li Nanke's eyes darting around behind him.
However, he put on a very displeased expression.
"Yesterday, I received a report and have investigated it thoroughly. The criminal, Qian, colluded with Manager Liu and Zhang Jiulang to forcibly buy the shop of Lady Song, the wife of the Crown Prince."
Furthermore, Madam Qian and Manager Liu had been embezzling money from Madam Song's shop for a long time, and then giving all of that money as a gift to Madam Song.
"As for whether your wife instructed the two of them or was deceived by them, there is still a lack of direct evidence."
One thing is certain: your wife is not innocent in this matter, but it sounds like Lord Song does not agree with my judgment.
"Could it be that Lord Song believes your wife is innocent, and that the Crown Prince's wife is setting a trap? If Lord Song truly has doubts, that's fine too."
We can report this case to the Court of Judicial Review and then request the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate to assist in the joint trial of this case.
Investigating a case requires thorough verification from multiple sources to uncover the truth.
Vice Minister Song's face turned pale instantly.
If this matter really gets reported to the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate, he won't get promoted, and he'll be stuck as the Vice Minister of Rites for good.
He immediately waved his hand.
"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. Investigating cases is the duty of the Bianjing Prefecture. I did not mean to question Lord Wei."
"Oh? So Lord Song agrees with my assessment?"
"This... I agree, of course I agree."
Wei Yan raised an eyebrow. "Then what happened today... Lord Song's words and actions are somewhat inconsistent. Tsk tsk, perhaps we should report it to the Court of Judicial Review."
"No."
Song Shilang blurted it out.
Wei Yan looked helpless.
"If this matter is not resolved clearly, it will likely cause even greater trouble in the future. We are of the same rank, so it is understandable that Lord Song is dissatisfied."
Vice Minister Song's face turned bright red.
He knew that Wei Yan was pressuring him to draw a conclusion about what happened yesterday.
But he had no way to refute it, so he could only grit his teeth and slap Zhang hard across the face.
"You vile woman, you've been gossiping and deceiving me. It turns out you were the one who conspired with them to do this, yet you're trying to pin it all on Song Yi."
"You vicious woman, how could your heart be so black!"
Lady Zhang was supporting Vice Minister Song when, without any warning, she was slapped hard across the face and knocked to the ground.
My ears were ringing, and five finger marks quickly appeared on my face.
She looked at Minister Song in disbelief, her voice suddenly becoming shrill.
"You...you hit me!"
Vice Minister Song's expression was sinister.
"Ignorant woman, you still won't admit it even now? How could my Song family have married a daughter-in-law like you?"
How could Hui'er and Xiuwen have a mother like you? If I had known this would happen, I would have divorced you in the first place.
As he spoke, he subtly hinted with his eyes that Zhang should admit her mistake.
Lady Zhang understood his implication; she knew that Vice Minister Song was suggesting she take responsibility for everything.
She almost ground her teeth to powder; in that instant, she seemed to see Qian's mother before she died.
That's how she forced Qian's mother to accept everything.
I didn't expect it to be her turn so soon.
Zhang's long fingernails dug into her palm, almost crushing it, before she could barely squeeze out a sentence through her teeth.
"Sir, I was wrong. It was all my fault. I dare not lie to you in a moment of confusion."
"I have failed the master, and I have also failed Song Yi."
Vice Minister Song flicked his sleeve and snorted coldly.
"Idiot, if this happens again, I'll divorce you immediately and I won't let you off easily. Now hurry up and apologize to Yiyi!"
Madam Zhang was filled with hatred, but dared not resist.
Someone has to take responsibility for this matter today; it's either her or Vice Minister Song.
If Vice Minister Song falls from grace, neither she nor her two children will benefit, so she might as well grit her teeth and accept it.
Zhang lowered her eyes and apologized to Song Yi in a low voice.
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been blinded by greed and instructed Qian and Manager Liu to embezzle money from your shop.”
You shouldn't have lied to your father and made him force you to write a letter of repentance and take responsibility for your mistakes.
"Yiyi, you're fine right now anyway, so let's just let this go, considering how good I've always been to you."
Song Yi's hands, resting on her knees, unconsciously tightened around her skirt, unable to suppress the anger within her.
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