Chapter 189 Produce Evidence
"From now on, the Marquis of Pingjiang's Mansion will follow Miss Jiang's lead and remain silent." Yu Lin closed his eyes dejectedly, as if his spine had been pulled out.
There was no smug look on Jiang Qingning's face, as if everything had been expected.
She nodded slightly: "The Marquis is a smart man." As she spoke, she took out a thin brown paper envelope from her sleeve. Instead of handing it directly to Yu Lin, she placed it on the coffee table between them.
"A little sincerity." She said calmly, "Your Majesty, please take a look at this first."
Yu Lin's fingers trembled, and he almost held his breath as he carefully picked up the light envelope.
He pulled out a few yellowed pages with frayed edges. On them were densely packed account figures, a few blurry rubbings of personal seals, and a small, crudely drawn sketch of the warehouse's location.
The content did involve the grain transport three years ago, mentioning the original allocation records of that batch of official salt and the signatures of several minor officials who handled it, and even vaguely pointed to a small leader of the grain transport gang who had been executed... But the most crucial specific warehouse location and final destination, as well as the evidence of silver and money transactions directly related to him, Yu Lin, were not mentioned at all.
However, this is enough.
These fragments, like the outermost corners of a puzzle, cannot form the complete picture, but they prove with absolute certainty that the other party holds the core secret that can kill him.
The fact that the other party can produce these insignificant scraps means that the fatal core must be under their control.
Yu Lin's forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat, and his hands holding the papers were shaking like leaves in the wind.
He finished scanning quickly, and when he looked up at Jiang Qingning, the last trace of luck and struggle in his eyes completely disappeared, leaving only bottomless awe and fear.
At this moment, he was extremely sure that the young woman in front of him possessed the terrifying power to make things happen at the touch of a button and easily decide the life or death of his Yu family.
"Have you finished reading this, Lord?" Jiang Qingning's tone remained calm. "Your Majesty, please dispose of these things as you wish. Whether to burn them or keep them is entirely up to you."
She downplayed it, as if she was just giving away a few pieces of waste paper.
Yu Lin, however, was holding a red-hot iron. Upon hearing this, he immediately crumpled up the pieces of paper into a ball, as if he was throwing away something extremely filthy and terrible, and held them tightly in his palm. His knuckles turned white from the force.
How could he dare to stay? He wanted to turn it into ashes immediately!
"Thank...thank you very much, young lady..." His voice was dry and full of exhaustion after surviving a disaster.
"My Lord, please don't misunderstand that I'm deliberately exploiting your weaknesses. Instead, you should be grateful for my kindness. If I hadn't stumbled upon something and followed the clues to find these things, I'm afraid everyone in the Yu family would have been reduced to ashes months ago."
Jiang Qingning's eyes were indifferent, without any hint of lying.
Yu Lin immediately thought of a person, the man with a beard, a cruel heart, and a mind bigger than the sky.
"Wang Liuyan, right?" Jiang Qingning glanced sideways and released a piece of news that reassured Yu Lin and Yu Heng.
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis and Prince. If the original owner of this thing hadn't disappeared, I wouldn't be sitting here discussing matters with you all."
Yu Lin's tense heart finally relaxed. He stood up, bowed, and said, "Miss Jiang saved my life. My entire Yu family will never forget this. From now on, I, Yu, will never change my mind!"
"It's alright. We are in-laws, so it's only natural for us to help each other. My sister Qingxi is still missing, and Yuerou is my only sister. She's suffered a lot in the past. If it weren't for the Marquis's tolerance and generosity towards her daughter-in-law, whose good reputation spread throughout the capital, I wouldn't have bothered to investigate and reached a cooperation agreement with the Marquis."
Mrs. Hou was shocked. She didn't expect that the reason why their Yu family was safe until now and even found a backer was because of her.
Jiang Yuerou felt a pang of pain in her heart. Her elder sister had been speaking well of her until now, even on her wedding day, when she even added three thousand taels of silver to her dowry.
Jiang Qingning stopped looking at him and turned his gaze to the side. After meeting her gaze, Jiang Yuerou, who was too nervous to breathe, smiled.
"I'm sorry to bother you, my Lord, your Madam, and the Crown Prince today. Qingning and Yuerou haven't seen each other for a long time, and I have some personal conversations to share. Could you please excuse me? After all, my official reason for coming here today is to visit my sister."
The Marquis's wife had already been frightened by the previous confrontation and was disturbed. When she heard this, she felt like she had grabbed a life-saving straw and hurriedly looked at her husband.
Yu Lin waved his hand tiredly, signaling her to make arrangements.
The Marquis's wife immediately stood up and said with a forced smile, "Of course, of course. You sisters can go and talk. Yuerou, take your elder sister to your courtyard and have a seat. I'll treat her well."
"Yes, mother." Jiang Yuerou quickly stood up, knelt down and responded, suppressing the trembling in her voice.
Jiang Qingning stood up and nodded slightly to Yu Lin and Yu Heng: "My Lord, Prince, Qingning will take his leave."
Yu Lin just waved his hand weakly, and Yu Heng stood up to return the greeting, watching Jiang Qingning and Jiang Yuerou leave the flower hall with a complicated expression.
After leaving the suffocating flower hall and walking along the winding corridors of the Marquis' Mansion, Jiang Yuerou felt her tense nerves relax a little, but her back was still cold.
She led Jiang Qingning towards the courtyard where she lived. The courtyard of the third room was not big, but it was decorated quite elegantly and quietly.
After entering the main house, he dismissed the maids on both sides and left only his trusted maidservant to guard outside the door.
Jiang Yuerou personally poured a cup of hot tea for Jiang Qingning, her fingers still trembling slightly.
She watched Jiang Qingning calmly take the teacup and couldn't help but whisper, "Big sister... I was really scared just now... Father..."
"Nothing." Jiang Qingning interrupted her and took a sip of tea. "The Marquis is a wise man and knows how to choose. But you..."
She put down the teacup and her eyes fell on Jiang Yuerou's slightly pale face. "Have you been having a good time in the Marquis' Mansion these days? How has Yu Sheng treated you?"
Mentioning her husband, Jiang Yuerou's expression softened a bit, revealing a helpless but genuine smile: "Thank you for your concern, sister. It's just a matter of getting by. My husband has a gentle personality and doesn't have any great ambitions. He's only average in his studies and martial arts. My parents-in-law don't have high expectations for him. They just hope that he stays content and happy."
"After I got married, I took care of the yard and served my parents-in-law and husband. My life is quite peaceful. Compared with many other families, I am already enjoying a good life." She said this honestly, without complaining or showing off, with a sense of contentment.
Jiang Qingning listened quietly and nodded. "Being able to live a peaceful and stable life is already a blessing. In today's world, so many wealthy families can be overturned at any time."
"For a noble family like the Marquis's, it's rare to find a stable home."
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