Chapter 252 Incident
"I, I..."
"Miss Taofen." Shen Anan spoke before Master Chen, "As far as I know, Miss Yinhong has helped you a lot. She has done her best for you. Now that she is gone, why don't you accompany her to die?"
Taofen's face turned pale. "I, I, I want to find out the real culprit behind this and avenge my sister."
"Hehe," she chuckled and glanced at the young master of the Chen family lightly.
"Good words cannot persuade a damned ghost, and mercy without salvation will only kill others. If you have thought it through, Mr. Chen, just admit it and don't waste everyone's time."
"I, I, did not kill Yin Hong." Young Master Chen raised his eyes, staring at the Dali Temple official behind the shocking case, and repeated, "I, did not kill Yin Hong. I never went to Zuichunlou that day. Taofen was framing me."
"Tao Fen." He tilted his head to look at Tao Fen who was avoiding his gaze, and said in a resounding voice, "I don't know why you want to hurt me, but when Yin Hong was here, she loved you in every way, gave you countless money, and never treated you badly. You can live with your conscience by doing this."
"No, I didn't." Taofen tried hard to hide the surprise and panic in her eyes, "What I said is true, it was you, you killed her. You said you were not in Zuichunlou that day, who can testify for you?"
"I..." He looked at Miss Xu on the side. Miss Xu immediately avoided his gaze, lowered her head and hid behind him.
Master Chen frowned and was speechless for a moment.
"Mr. Chen, if you can't produce evidence, you will not be able to clear yourself of the charges and will still be sentenced to death."
After a few breaths, the Dali Temple Minister called out in a deep voice, "Come here, drag the young master of the Chen family out and behead him..."
"Wait." Shen Anan stood up slowly and came to the center of the court. "I have evidence."
Mo Xiang pulled out a book from his sleeve and handed it to the Dali Temple Minister, who quickly took it respectfully.
He first glanced at Xiao Yuan, then spoke cautiously, "Fourth Prince's Consort, what are you doing..."
"The account book." She sat down in the chair that Mo Xiang brought, and said calmly, "A few days ago, my people got two hundred-liang silver notes from Miss Tao Fen. I also heard with my own ears that Miss Tao Fen said that after the matter was completed, someone promised her ten thousand liang to cure her lover who was born with a disease."
Shen Anan glanced at Tao Fen, whose face was extremely pale, and continued, "After thinking about it, I suspected that Miss Tao Fen agreed to give false testimony and framed the young master of the Chen family because of that young master's illness, so I asked someone to investigate. Sure enough, we found clues in the money account, but unfortunately the people from the Shen Mansion took the account book away first."
"This one was stolen by the accountant of the Shen Mansion. He was afraid of being implicated, so he fled overnight, but was chased by the Shen Mansion. By chance, he was rescued by my people, and the two hundred taels of silver note came from the Shen Mansion."
"Tsk..." A sneer suddenly sounded in the silent courtroom. Shen Yunbai said coldly, "What can an account book prove? What can two hundred taels of silver prove? Princess Fourth Prince, even if you are eager to save people, you cannot bring such unconvincing things to court."
"Really?" Shen Anan smiled, "Then Lord Shen, tell me, are these two hundred taels of silver notes from your Shen Mansion?"
"So what? I remember the deep friendship between Miss Taofen and that young man, and I couldn't bear to see them separated by the Yin and Yang. So I helped them. What's the problem?"
"Tsk." Shen Anan raised her lips and chuckled, "Then Lord Shen is really a kind-hearted person, and he is very generous."
"How much silver did Lord Shen give you? You actually used two hundred taels of silver to do charity. I remember that you just arrived a few days ago. Have you received the silver? When you were in Lingshan, you were just a farmer who strayed into the mountains. You were very poor. Now, in such a short period of time, you can give out such a large amount of money. I think the Dali Temple should first investigate Lord Shen's money transactions."
"Yes, what the Fourth Prince's wife said makes sense." How could those censors who came to listen not add insult to injury when they got the chance?
"We have long suspected that you were seeking fame and reputation by using that prostitute to frame the son of an official. Now that the evidence is solid, you are still denying it. You are truly shameless."
"Master Temple Minister, that two hundred taels of silver must be the down payment he used to bribe Miss Taofen."
The censors all spoke in unison to condemn Shen Yunbai, and the court was in great chaos. The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple wanted to throw himself down to avoid this disaster.
"Master Shen, do you have anything to say?"
"If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext." Shen Yunbai snorted coldly and sat down leisurely. "Just relying on an account book and making up a charge at random cannot constitute solid evidence."
"You are about to die, and you are still making excuses," the Chief Censor was furious. "If it weren't for you, why did you snatch the bank's account books and hunt down the accountant?"
"Fourth Prince Consort, didn't you just say that you had rescued the accountant? Then let him come to the court for a confrontation and see what else he has to say."
Shen Anan glanced at the expressionless Shen Yunbai, then glanced at Tao Fen who lowered her head with an indistinct expression. She frowned slightly, and a sense of uneasiness slowly crept into her heart, as if something was wrong, but she really couldn't put her finger on it.
"Madam, just let them come to the classroom." Xiao Yuan gave her a reassuring look.
——
Qing An forced the two men to kneel in the middle of the court in front of everyone. The two men saluted together, "I am a humble commoner, paying my respects to all the distinguished people."
"Who is in the hall?"
"I am the owner of the money shop, Wang Shan."
"I am Zhao Wenping, the accountant of the Shen Mansion."
"Wang Shan," the Dali Temple official asked solemnly, "It is said that someone came to your house and stole your bank's account book for last month. Is that true?"
"What account book?" Wang Shan's eyes were filled with confusion. "I don't know."
There was an uproar at the scene, and then it became deathly quiet.
Shen Yunbai chuckled, with a playful disdain in his eyes.
Bang—Qing An kicked Wang Shan to the ground and shouted angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? Think it over before you speak. Tell me the truth about what you told me that day in Qianhao."
Wang Shan was so scared that he trembled and crawled forward a few steps. "My Lord, please understand. I really don't know anything. I was settling accounts at home today, and then I was arrested."
Qing An was so angry that he grabbed Zhao Wenping by the collar and asked, "Tell me, what happened last night?"
Zhao Wenping was shaking even more violently. "You humble servant, you humble servant, I have forgotten what you instructed me to do. Please forgive me." He kowtowed to Qing'an desperately.
"Your Excellency taught me so much last night, and I can't remember it all."
Shen Anan stared at the two of them, her eyes extremely cold. She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Shen Yunbai, who smiled at her.
Those censors were like chickens whose necks were suddenly strangled. Their faces turned red and they couldn't utter a word.
"you……"
"Qing'an, stop." Shen An'an said calmly, stopping Qing'an's fist from swinging.
The two men seemed to be extremely frightened, huddled together and trembling.
"I know that the Fourth Prince's wife is related to the Chen family and is eager to save people, but even so, you shouldn't arrest people at will and deliberately slander them. You must know that framing an official of the court will result in a sentence, don't you think so, Lord Temple Minister?"
I have no idea! ! !
The Dali Temple Minister looked at this dramatic development and wanted to cover his head and pretend to be dead. Under Xiao Yuan's cold gaze, he smiled and said, "Maybe it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
"Sir Temple Minister, it's not good to openly cover up and show favoritism, right?" Shen Yunbai had a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold as ice.
“…”
"What does Lord Shen want?" Shen Anan withdrew his gaze from the two people and said lightly.
"I am acting in accordance with the law. I only hope to be cleared of all charges. Otherwise, if everyone follows suit, good deeds will become hiring murderers to harm people. Who will dare to do good then?"
"Master Temple Minister, please remember the emperor's fair and just instructions. If your majesty is so powerful, I am not afraid to go to Fengtian Palace to discuss the matter."
"This, Lord Shen, is not worth it, not worth it." The Dali Temple Minister was confused, his eyes moving back and forth between Xiao Yuan and Shen Yunbai, wishing he were blind and deaf.
He said carefully, "In this matter, it is indeed the Fourth Prince's wife who was impulsive and reckless and misunderstood Lord Shen. How about I make the decision and have the Fourth Prince's wife compensate Lord Shen, compensate, compensate for the crime... and let this matter be over."
He forced out the last few words under Xiao Yuan's intimidating gaze.
"The case has not yet been concluded. How can Lord Temple Minister be so sure that it was my wife who misunderstood and wrongly accused Minister Shen?" Xiao Yuan's tone was calm, but it made everyone present shudder.
Shen Yunbai said coldly, "The witness has already confessed that it was the Fourth Prince's wife who coerced him. If the case is not closed, what else can the Fourth Prince say?"
Xiao Yuan sneered, his eyes narrowed slightly. Shen Anan spoke before him, "You deliberately designed the two hundred taels of silver from Taofen to convict the Chen family and shut up the censor. Minister Shen, you really have a good plan."
"Shen, I still say the same thing. If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext. The crime of the Fourth Prince's wife hiring someone to frame me has not yet been dealt with. It's better not to talk nonsense, so as not to add new charges."
After the shocking incident, the Dali Temple Chief Justice held his head in his hands, his hair turning white with worry.
"Mr. Temple Minister, according to the law, how should the Fourth Prince's wife be dealt with?"
"Mr. Temple Minister," Xiao Yuan's mere address made the Dali Temple Minister's body tremble violently.
"According to the law, you should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane. If it is a minor offense, you should be sentenced to three years in prison. If it is a serious offense, you should be fined. Minister Shen, this..."
"In this case, please handle it impartially, Lord Temple Minister." Shen Yunbai pressed on.
He wouldn't even dare to kill the Minister of Dali Temple! !
He wished he could shrink under the table and wait until the Fourth Prince and Shen Yunbai had finally sorted out the fight before coming out.
At this moment, Shen Anan glanced at the people involved and spoke calmly, "It is said that the prince is guilty of the same crime as the common people. If I really wronged Lord Shen, I am willing to bear the consequences, but if not, what should Lord Shen do?"
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