Chapter 127: One wave after another
Ever since the beating, Cui Yan has been on leave and has not attended court, nor has he gone to apologize to Jiang Shen. The emperor has not asked about the matter, but he has not spoken to the queen about granting Changle a marriage, as if he needs to think it over again.
Jiang Lan arranged for the Black Armor Guards to secretly protect Jiang Shen on the way to and from court to prevent Cui Yan from making any further moves.
However, one problem arises after another.
Jiang Cheng was reported to the police, who accused him of secretly amassing wealth, taking bribes and perverting the law, abusing his power for personal gain, and taking human lives lightly.
The source of the matter lies with Zhang.
After Zhang got married, she used some channels to engage in the business of lending money to officials, and the interest rate was ten times higher than that of regular money houses. The husband of a family hanged himself because he could not pay back the money and was desperate. Zhang used extraordinary means to settle the matter. This happened three years ago. Now, the wife and children of that family reported it to the government, and the matter was brought up again.
In addition, there are two other charges: one is to occupy the people's land and force purchases and sales; the other is to treat tenants harshly and take human lives.
Jiang Cheng swore that he had not done these things. The emperor detained him in the palace and asked the Imperial City Bureau to investigate all these matters.
After hearing the news, Jiang Lan rushed to the Shangshu Mansion to discuss countermeasures with Jiang Shen.
Since Zhang was sent away, all the account books in the mansion were handed over to Jiang Lan. When she checked these account books, she did not find any funds of unknown origin, unless Zhang had another private account book.
Jiang Lan took people to Zhang's former residence and searched the house carefully. They found the account book in the mezzanine of the dressing table. It clearly recorded every loan amount and interest. Later, Jiang Shen came over and told her that the housekeeper was missing. When he came back today, he was still there, but now he could not be found.
The two of them also realized that there was something wrong with the housekeeper. Jiang Lan felt that the housekeeper was most likely aware of the situation, but she felt that the possibility of him being in cahoots with Zhang was unlikely.
During her last trip to Sangcheng, she confirmed that the housekeeper was not from the Zhang family. At most, he knew about it but did not report it. Perhaps he hid away because he was afraid of getting into trouble when her eldest brother asked about those things when he came back.
Jiang Lan asked the Black Armor Guards to go find the person and bring him back as soon as possible after finding him.
She wanted to meet Zhang in person.
Ever since Ji Quan secretly told Jiang Shen that Zhang had poisoned Jiang Lan, Qi Wuhan transferred everyone to the separate courtyard where prisoners were held.
When Jiang Lan arrived at the villa, two black-armored guards brought Zhang to her.
When she saw him again, Jiang Lan no longer had any particularly strong feelings in her heart. Neither hatred nor disgust could stir up much waves in her heart.
Zhang seemed like a completely different person. Her expression was dull and numb, she was unkempt, and she no longer had the meticulous care she needed. The wrinkles on her face grew as lushly as weeds. She looked 10 or 20 years older in an instant, and her figure became bloated. She no longer looked like a lady at all, and was not even as good as an ordinary woman.
Jiang Lan just met her once and then left. Facing a person who had already become numb, there was nothing more to ask.
The moment she stood up to leave, a change appeared in Zhang's dull eyes. She mechanically turned her head to glance at her back, and suddenly she started yelling excitedly, "Come on! Come and kill me! Come on, come and kill me, come and kill me..."
Jiang Lan did not stop. The moment she saw the other person, she suddenly realized one thing: to her, the other person had long become an insignificant person and was not worth her wasting time and energy.
When they returned to the Shangshu Mansion, the black-armored guards had already brought the butler back.
Just as Jiang Lan guessed, the housekeeper was afraid of a disaster, so he ran back home in a moment of confusion and wanted to send his wife and children away first.
The housekeeper could prove that Jiang Cheng really didn't know about these things, and that Zhang had done them privately. The housekeeper was kept in the dark at first, but later he accidentally saw Tan Xiang delivering silver to someone, and then he saw that person coming to the house to deliver silver. He probably guessed what was going on, but he didn't have any solid evidence. If he offended Zhang, the mistress of the house, his family would have a hard time, so he didn't tell Jiang Cheng. He never thought that it would cause such a big mess now.
"It was all my fault. I thought I could get away with hiding it from you, Master. I never thought I'd end up in such a disaster. I deserve to die. I'm willing to testify for you, Master."
Jiang Shen helped the butler up, which made the butler feel even more ashamed.
"I will hand this account book over to His Majesty tomorrow and report the situation truthfully."
"Master, you can't..."
The housekeeper felt that once the account book was handed in, the matter would be over, and the charges would be completely confirmed. He advised Jiang Shen to think twice and not be impulsive, as there would always be other ways.
Jiang Lan supported Jiang Shen's decision. Instead of hiding it, it would be better to hand it over openly. Even if he didn't hand it over, he would still be involved in a murder lawsuit.
Moreover, Qi Wuhan had told her before that the emperor was getting older and becoming more and more suspicious, and his health was also getting worse. He was likely to become even more suspicious. If she was open and honest, maybe she could win the emperor's leniency.
The next day, Jiang Shen presented the account book to the emperor.
Everyone thought he was a fool for voluntarily handing over the evidence of his crime. Most people would not be able to do such a heroic act of sacrificing their own relatives for the sake of justice.
Jiang Shen reported the whole story to the emperor, and the next moment someone jumped out to question him, saying that he had made up a story to exonerate Jiang Cheng, and then pinned the crime of deceiving the emperor on him.
Jiang Shen did not argue with these people, as they could always find excuses to accuse him.
"Even if Lord Jiang truly was unaware, he still bears the responsibility of negligence. How can he shoulder such a heavy responsibility if he can't even manage his family affairs?" Prince Rui changed the subject and continued, "If it was really Madam Jiang who did it alone, then why didn't she come to testify? Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we ask her."
Jiang Shen clenched his fists, knowing that someone would definitely ask this question, and he had already made up his mind to tell the truth about Zhang's poisoning and murder of Jiang Lan. No matter what the consequences were, at least he could get justice for Jiang Lan.
When he was about to speak, Prince Fu spoke first.
"I heard that Madam Jiang is ill, and very ill. I guess she can't even get out of bed. How can she come here to testify?"
Prince Rui, oh~? He said, "Really? I heard that Madam Jiang made a mistake and was sent to the inner prison."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.
"Your Majesty, there is another hidden story behind this matter," the emperor spoke before Jiang Shen could finish his words.
"That's enough, I don't want to hear any more!"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, everyone fell silent.
After the court was dismissed, Eunuch Liu brought Jiang Shen to the imperial study. The emperor asked him privately about the hidden secret he had mentioned before, and Jiang Shen told him the whole story truthfully.
The emperor didn't say anything and let him go back first.
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