Xiao Zhixing ordered his secret guards to investigate.
Because this matter involved important figures from Dongzhou, and Xiao Zhixing was also involved, the small Dawanli became the focus of attention in the area.
The tourists who had come to watch the spectacle that day did not leave; besides staying to act as witnesses, they also wanted to know the final truth.
Seven days later, Chang Shigeng, Madam Changxin Feng Changxin, Feng Rong, Miss Chang, Fu Enchen, Feng Cai, the magistrate of Mogan County, the governor of Dongzhou Fu Shengzhi, and others all arrived at Dawanli.
After meeting with Xiao Zhixing, the court immediately convened a hearing at the Dawanli yamen to investigate the case.
After nervously going through the procedures, Village Chief Yu had Zhang Er give his statement before asking Feng Cai, "Steward Feng, do you agree with what Zhang Er said?"
Feng Cai knelt down, "I admit it!"
Feng Changxin and Feng Huier are about 80% similar, and she still retains her charm. She looks like a very gentle and beautiful woman.
Hearing this, he was shocked and furious. "Fengcai!! You...you dare to frame me?!"
Feng Cai remained calm. "Please forgive me, Madam. I am sorry, but I was really short of money and had no choice but to accept bribes to frame you."
"Good, Steward Feng, can you identify who instructed you to frame Madam Changxin?" Village Chief Yu was greatly encouraged.
Feng Cai pointed at Miss Chang, "It's her!"
Miss Chang was furious. "It wasn't me! You scoundrel, you're slandering me! I didn't order you around! I've never even seen you!"
“Miss Chang will naturally not see this old servant. You sent your personal nanny to see this old servant, and gave her five thousand taels of silver. She also promised to send this old servant away from Dongzhou after the matter was settled. In order to convince this old servant, Nanny Chang gave this old servant a token.”
He seemed to have come prepared, taking out a gold bracelet from his pocket.
"No!" Miss Chang was shocked because she recognized it as the bracelet her mother had left her, which she had indeed given to Granny Chang.
"Please, Granny Chang."
The old woman standing next to Miss Chang knelt down, her face pale. "No, I didn't! My bracelet went missing eight months ago. I don't know how it ended up in his hands. I've never seen him before. Please believe me, Miss. I haven't betrayed you!"
Miss Chang was momentarily confused, and the matter came to a standstill.
Village Chief Yu wiped his sweat and turned to Xiao Zhixing, who was playing with the bracelet, for his permission, "Your Highness, what do you think?"
With both sides sticking to their own versions of events, he couldn't openly force a confession through torture.
Xiao Zhixing's gaze swept over everyone present, especially Feng Changxin and Chang Shigeng.
Chang Shigeng remained solemn, while Feng Changxin frowned, seemingly displeased with her gaze.
Xiao Zhixing sighed, "I didn't want to get involved in this matter, since it has nothing to do with me. However, there are some things that I can't understand, so I want to find out the truth."
He gestured for Bai Mei to come forward.
Bai Meiping recounted, "Six months ago, Feng Cai's son, grandson, and daughter-in-law said they were going back to their hometown to buy property and leave Dongzhou. The person who arranged for them was a martial arts friend of Madam Changxin who was unknown to anyone. They didn't go to their hometown."
"Granny Chang's bracelet was stolen and sold by a maid named Xiaohua. She asked someone to sell it to a distant place, and unfortunately, the person who bought the bracelet was a pawnshop of my Ning family in Beizhou. Not long after, the bracelet was bought for a high price and is now in Fengcai's hands."
Everyone was stunned. When they came to their senses, they looked at Feng Changxin in disbelief.
Xiao Zhixing asked curiously, "Lady Changxin, I can understand your dealings with Miss Chang. After all, she's your stepdaughter and stepmother, and you're carrying the child of Prefect Chang. It's natural for you to be at odds, which is quite normal."
"What I'm puzzled about is why you wanted to harm Miss Feng Hui'er? She's your niece, and I really don't understand if there's any conflict of interest between you and her."
Her reputation was ruined by the flower thief, and Feng Hui'er's life was doomed.
Feng Changxin remained silent with a cold face and downcast eyes.
Chang Shigeng, standing beside her, turned red and white in turns, his expression a mixture of shock, disappointment, and anger. "It was you?! Why did you do this?!"
Feng Changxin suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment. "You dare to blame me? Haha, isn't all of this your fault?"
Everyone was puzzled. How could this be related to Chang Shigeng again?
Upon hearing this, Chang Shigeng seemed to understand something. His face darkened, and he hurriedly grabbed her arm, saying, "Alright, I'll handle this. You can leave now..."
"No way, what are you afraid of? Hahaha, I've had enough! I've had enough of you, you disgusting hypocrite!"
Feng Changxin broke free from him, got up and walked into the hall, his smile strange as he said, "This is such a grand occasion, all the parties involved are here, and even Xiao Yan's daughter happens to be here."
She scanned everyone, and said to Feng Huier first, "Why do you like to show your face in public? Why don't you stay at home obediently?"
Feng Huier felt uneasy from her strange gaze and words.
Chang Shigeng stood up and shouted angrily, "Shut up! Your hysteria is acting up again. Men, take her away."
Feng Rong angrily said, "Lord Chang, please have some self-respect. My Feng family is here, and it is not your place to yell at her."
Feng Changxin covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes reddening with laughter. "Feng family? I am no longer a member of the Feng family. Feng Rong, your hypocritical act disgusts me."
Feng Rong's face fell.
Feng Changxin fanned his face with a handkerchief, his tone sinister, "Do you know why Chang Shigeng is so nervous? Hahaha, it's because that old bastard is after your daughter—"
Wow, everyone's eyes widened.
Chang Huier turned pale and covered her mouth, gagging repeatedly in disgust.
Xiao Zhixing seemed to understand something.
Feng Changxin laughed loudly, "You old and ugly thing, you were so infatuated with my good niece that you were completely bewitched. It's a pity you have the desire but not the courage. How could you possibly covet the eldest daughter of the Feng family?"
Chang Shigeng stood up, his eyes blazing with fury, and reached out to cover her mouth.
Mo Mei stepped forward and grabbed him with her hands behind his back, "How dare you be so insolent in front of the Prince?"
Feng Changxin clapped his hands and laughed, watching Chang Shigeng struggle like he was watching a monkey show. As he laughed, his eyes turned fierce. "He doesn't dare to touch Feng Huier, but he has his eyes on me. A dignified prefect of a prefecture tricked me into teaching his daughter, but then he forced himself on me in the backyard!"
"That was my chastity, which I had guarded for over forty years! The most precious thing I wanted to leave to Zhao Lang, he took it away!!"
Feng Changxin screamed sharply, her voice a mix of crying and laughing, "Hahaha, I've become an unclean woman, what can I give Zhao Lang now?"
She suddenly stared at Xiao Zhixing, "Back then, he wanted the throne, so I helped him. I wrote 'Admonitions for Women,' intending to personally cut off Xiao Yan's path to the top. Hahaha, I succeeded! I can help Zhao Lang; I'm no less capable than her—"
"I'm no worse than her!"
Feng Changxin went mad and pointed at Chang Shigeng, "He is also an admirer of Xiao Yan, but unfortunately he can only be a toad, daydreaming. Chang Shigeng, do you think I don't know you are jealous of Zhao Lang? Do you think you could become emperor if you married Xiao Yan?"
"Pah! Don't you even know what kind of worthless wretch you are? How could you compare to me, Zhao Lang?"
She laughed for a while, seemingly returning to normal. "You ruined my innocence, so I'll ruin your daughter, ruin the people you care about, and I'll also carry forward the 'Admonitions for Women'."
"Through Zhang Er's act of defiling Feng Hui'er, I will let the whole world know that it is wrong, unsafe, and inappropriate for women to walk and show themselves in public."
"Especially you, Xiao Zhixing, how dare you despise Zhao Lang! I will gather all the scribes in the world to imprison you in the backyard, just like Xiao Yan, so you can be a man's caged bird instead of showing off your power outside!"
You could hear a pin drop at that scene.
Feng Changxin's erratic and incoherent statements left everyone speechless with shock.
Until Xiao Zhixing spoke.
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