Hearing the words "really" and "no problem" constantly coming from their mouths, Zhao Xin's eyes narrowed, and he stared intently at the two thin pieces of paper being passed around in the crowd.
Impossible! She clearly didn't sell them!
"My lord, we've all checked it; the indenture is genuine!"
Several tall, muscular women emerged from the crowd.
"Yes, I just bought a servant today, and I still have his indenture on me. You can compare them if you don't believe me!"
One of the women pulled a thin piece of paper from her bosom.
The three contracts were passed around in the crowd before finally being given to Luo Pinzheng.
The onlookers all agreed it was true, so Luo Pinzheng couldn't make a judgment on her own. Once her lie was exposed, she immediately changed her tune.
"Oh dear! I read too many official documents last night, and my eyes are a bit blurry today. I didn't see it clearly for a moment! It's my fault!"
She looked apologetic, and her apology seemed very sincere, but when she turned her head and saw the several adjutants beside her, her expression immediately changed.
"How have you all been doing your jobs? Am I seeing things, or are you all seeing things too? After today, you're all fired! You're all demoted to guard the front gate!"
Her expression was furious, and her voice was very authoritative. Those around her who were being scolded lowered their heads and dared not answer.
"Hehe! Su Qinghe! Your indenture is indeed genuine; I have wronged you!"
Luo Pinzheng turned to look at Su Qinghe, his smile more like a grimace.
Su Qinghe remained calm. "Lord Luo is busy with official duties, and it's understandable that he might make a mistake at one moment. I understand!"
"But since the indenture is real, then the crime of this commoner forcibly abducting laborers..."
Su Qinghe looked up at her, waiting for her to reply.
"That's completely fabricated!"
Luo Pinzheng straightened his expression and spoke clearly and distinctly.
Upon hearing her words, Ji Yuan and Ji Qingyu both breathed a sigh of relief, and a hint of joy finally appeared on their faces.
"My lord! This humble subject disagrees!"
Zhao Xin listened for a long time, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, so she called out to Luo Pinzheng anxiously.
Luo Pinzheng frowned as he looked at her.
"Zhao Xin, since Su Qinghe has the indentures of those two people, you should stop talking now, or I will accuse you of false accusation!"
She slapped the wooden board in her hand with a "smack".
Jing'er was startled. His eyes darted away, and he lowered his head, tugging at Zhao Xin's sleeve. "My lady! How about we call it quits?"
Zhao Xin ignored him, only bowing to Luo Pinzheng and the surrounding people with an excited expression.
"My lords! Gentlemen! I, Zhao Xin, swear that I never sold either of them!"
As she spoke, she pointed at Ji Yuan and Ji Qingyu.
Ji Yuan clenched his fists, stepped out from behind Su Qinghe, and looked at Zhao Xin with eyes that seemed to want to devour her.
"What exactly do you want! You were the one who betrayed us in the first place, what are you playing at now?"
He was trembling uncontrollably; he truly hated this hypocritical woman!
"Since you don't want my brother, why are you bothering me now?" Ji Qingyu pulled Ji Yuan's hand and stood with him.
"That's utter nonsense. Does my Zhao family lack those two taels of silver?"
Zhao Xin's face contorted with rage as he roared.
"You may not lack money, but you are blinded by greed and are worse than a beast!"
“At that time, my entire Ji family was in trouble, and I was only able to escape because I was their adopted son.”
"Seeing that my brother and I had lost our support, and fearing that we would be implicated by the Ji family, you decided to send us out to curry favor with a noble lady who happened to visit our residence that day!"
Ignoring Ji Yuan's objections, Ji Qingyu exposed the despicable things Zhao Xin had done!
“My brother refused, and in the struggle, his face was smeared. I was also seriously injured. Your nobleman then despised us. When things fell through, you simply locked us in the woodshed!”
"We were sold into a brokerage firm just a few days later, right there at the Zhao family mansion. Who would have dared to sell us if it weren't for your orders!"
Ji Qingyu finished speaking in a sharp and urgent tone before Ji Yuan pulled her back.
The surrounding area immediately erupted in discussion.
"My God! I never expected this Zhao to be this kind of person, actually using his own husband and brother-in-law to curry favor with others!"
"Her husband's family suffered a disaster, and not only did she not help them, she actually did something so beastly!"
"Ugh! Rich people are so dirty!"
Seeing that this matter had been exposed, Luo Pinzheng looked at Zhao Xin with increasing dissatisfaction.
This person is truly useless; I don't know how she managed to curry favor with the Prince of Changping! Now that things have developed this way, there's nothing she can do to help her unless things take a turn for the better!
Hearing their words, Zhao Xin looked somewhat embarrassed.
She hadn't expected Ji Qingyu to be so crazy, not afraid at all to say such things and displease the current wife.
Didn't he ever consider that Su Qinghe would look down on him if she knew about this? Didn't he care at all about his reputation as a man?
Su Qinghe pulled the still-settled Ji Qingyu back behind her and looked coldly at Zhao Xin.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
Seeing that things were going badly, Jing'er tugged at Zhao Xin's sleeve again, trying to persuade her to go back.
Zhao Xin gritted her teeth, ripped off her sleeve, and remained defiant as she looked at the people around her.
"So what if I want to give them away? Ji Yuan is my husband, and it's none of your business how I want to treat him."
"As for Ji Qingyu, he's a young man who lost both his parents and is now living under someone else's roof. As his brother and sister-in-law, it's for his own good to find him a good wife!"
"Besides, that noble lady is of high status and powerful; it would be their good fortune to be able to serve by her side!"
"But I never expected you to be so ungrateful. Not only did you ruin things for me, you also ran away on your own."
"You went out and got caught, and then you turned around and said I betrayed you. You have no shame!"
"You!" Ji Yuan was so angry that his breathing became rapid.
“If a wealthy family wants to sell a husband, it must have the wife’s family’s seal. The contract you just saw clearly had your Zhao family’s private seal on it. What’s the point of your sophistry?”
Do you think we're all fools?
"What?"
Zhao Xin's expression changed drastically, and he grabbed the contract on the desk to read it.
She had only watched them pass it around from a distance; she hadn't actually taken a look at it herself.
When she saw the bright red seal that belonged to the Zhao family in the lower right corner, she was completely stunned.
She genuinely believed that they didn't want to be given away and had run away on their own.
But what's with this indenture bearing the Zhao family seal?
With this mark, it proves that the Zhao family agreed, so her plan to use their escape as an excuse to force them to return is no longer possible!
She was hoping that now that they were healed, she could capture them again and hand them over to that lord!
"What on earth is going on?!"
Zhao Xin roared angrily, but no one could answer her.
Jing'er, who was standing behind her, turned pale when she saw the contract.
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