Chapter 107 You think your plan is perfect, but you have already found many loopholes
When Jinniang first met Cai Jiu, she handed him the banknote and letter as her mother had instructed. Cai Jiu, a man of integrity, tore open the letter and read it carefully, but returned the banknote to her intact hand.
Cai Jiu said, "My life was saved by the old Duke, and he also provided me with many ways to make money in the years that followed. Although times are different now, if you have any instructions, just leave them under the stone lion. I will send people back to the Du family three times a day to check on them, and I will definitely not let you down."
Cai Jiu had done his job efficiently and effectively the previous two times. This time, Jinniang had no more worries and slept peacefully that night.
They say that if you think about something during the day, you will dream about it at night. In the dream, Cai Jiu's people really took the note away and obeyed her words. No one knocked on bowls or sang songs in front of the Du Mansion anymore.
Grandmother was delighted and praised her as her cousin's lucky star. She also said that Su Ying was just a bad mouth, cursing her cousin to fail the exam. Only she, Jinniang, could keep her cousin safe.
So her grandmother wrote a letter to her parents proposing marriage, and she was able to go to the study in the west courtyard openly every day to help her cousin Heng, who was preparing for the exam.
She watched her cousin grind the ink, pick up the brush, roll up his sleeves and add ink, then hand it to her. Her cousin looked gentle, his eyes full of affection. She was about to listen to what he said to her when she was awakened by Biyu.
She was very unhappy and was about to scold him when she heard Biyu say, "Qingquan is here to ask if the young lady is awake yet? The master wants to invite the young lady to the study."
Just yesterday, after she dropped the note, the net Du Heng had Li Mao set began to close. Coincidentally, the beggar who had come to retrieve the note that day was actually a brother of the assassin from the previous assassination. When the two met up, they were both captured by Li Mao.
Du Heng seemed to have a natural talent for judging cases. Not only was he well-versed in the laws of the Great Zhou, but he also knew how to manipulate people's hearts. He immediately ordered the two men to be interrogated separately, and as expected, he quickly extracted the truth from the little beggar.
He didn't want to alarm his grandmother and mother about this matter, so he only sent Qingquan to the side courtyard to report to his second aunt.
Qingquan was eloquent and in just half a cup of tea he had explained the whole story of the case clearly.
"The Master said that if Miss Deng is willing to write down her entire story and clear the Du family's name, he will send her back to Fujian and not pursue the matter any further. What do you think, Madam?"
While Qingquan was speaking, Su Ying was beside her aunt. She only heard her aunt ponder for a moment, then nodded and sighed, "Let's do as Heng'er says! Jinniang brought this upon herself. Since no one else has been harmed, she can write a letter explaining the whole story, and the government won't have to get involved. In short, it's important that this matter is resolved as quickly as possible so that the Spring Examination doesn't get delayed."
Su Ying naturally understood that this was not a woman's kindness, but that her cousin Heng and aunt knew that the matter was difficult to investigate further, and leaving her a chance was already the utmost they could do.
Jinniang didn't want her cousin to wait too long, but she still put some effort into her appearance. She wore no makeup, wanting to appear pale and pure, so that her cousin would see her guilt and remorse for the rumors. However, she was afraid that her plain complexion would cause her cousin to ignore her beauty, so she applied a layer of perfume to make her complexion as soft and smooth as water.
She looked up and down at herself in the bronze mirror, feeling sad and tender, and finally she was satisfied. Without further delay, she let the clear spring lead her to the west courtyard.
Along the way, Jinniang intentionally or unintentionally tried to test Qingquan's cousin's intentions, but Qingquan pretended to be stupid and answered "I don't know" no matter what Jinniang asked.
Jinniang stepped into the study of her cousin whom she had dreamed of thousands of times. Before she had the chance to touch the rosewood desk that she had been longing for, she suddenly discovered that in addition to her cousin, there were also irrelevant people such as her second aunt and the steward Li Mao in her cousin's study.
The little beggar's failure to return overnight would not arouse Cai Jiu's suspicion, but if he did not return the next day, it would alert the enemy.
So Du Heng didn't want to delay any longer. After Jinniang entered the room, he went straight to the point and showed the note that Jinniang had placed under the stone lion yesterday.
Jinniang was shocked for a moment, but then she regained her composure.
Judging from the situation in the study, at most someone would find the note she left behind. How could this be considered evidence?
She lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then looked up at Du Heng with an innocent look on her face: "Cousin, Jinniang doesn't know what your intention is."
As long as she doesn't know the answer to any question, what can they do to her?
Du Heng knew she would answer like that, so he simply said, "I heard that my cousin has been accompanying my grandmother these days, copying scriptures and reciting texts. I'll just have someone get a copy of the scriptures and compare it with this note. It'll be clear at a glance whether it was written by my cousin."
"My cousin is a smart person. You should have realized that since I invited you to my study, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I already know that you and Cai Jiu from Po Luo Alley were collaborating. The assassination attempt on the Lantern Festival was also a trick you two had devised."
As he spoke, he picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, then handed the pen back to Jinniang. However, unlike in the dream, at this moment, her cousin's eyes were as cold as frost and his face was gloomy, as if he was waiting for her to write down the whole story and then send her away like a plague god.
When she was a child, she would wake up crying from nightmares, and her mother would always tell her not to be afraid, because dreams are the opposite of reality.
This time, she really believed it. Dreams are indeed the opposite of reality, but this time, the good dream turned into a nightmare, and everything was in vain.
But she was unwilling to accept that her childhood dream would be shattered just because of a small piece of paper. This was too much of an underestimation of her.
"Cousin, what's wrong with you? If you want Jinniang to return to Fujian, you can just say so. Why did you let me stay here yesterday when Jinniang asked to come home? Now you are forcing me to admit to those nonsense things? Jinniang really doesn't understand why you are going to such trouble, cousin?"
Du Heng winked at Li Mao, and a moment later, the pair of little beggars were brought in.
"Do you still recognize him?"
Du Heng pushed one of the beggars, who was slightly taller, in front of Jinniang.
"Isn't he the thief who tried to assassinate me that day? Now that he's been caught, why don't you send him to the government office? Wouldn't that reveal the truth?"
Seeing that she was still stubborn, Du Heng was unwilling to give Jinniang another chance. He waved Li Mao away and said bluntly, "You think your plan is perfect, but since the Lantern Festival, you have been full of loopholes."
"I had already subdued him that day. You didn't need to go forward, but you ignored my advice and separated him from me. This was one of your loopholes."
"Second loophole. A while ago, you were telling me about our childhood friendship in the library, saying that you stepped forward to protect me after seeing the thief with a dagger. But when I captured the thief's hand that day, he didn't have the chance to pull out the dagger. How did you know he was armed?"
"Also, that day when you dragged me along to help Wanyi with a riddle and get the lantern, you suddenly cried out that a thief had stolen your purse and birthday gift. The purse was small, the birthday gift was large, and I chased after him because I didn't want the gift from your aunt to get lost. However, a few days ago, when my mother asked you about choosing a gift for Minister Xu's daughter, you clearly said that the hairpin inlaid with South China pearls on your head was the birthday gift from your aunt. That's the third loophole."
"You have too many loopholes that have long aroused my suspicion. I have been hiding them for days because the time has not yet come."
"You are both the victim and the perpetrator of the Lantern Festival's injuries. You know that even if you hand the perpetrator over to the authorities, as long as you hold on and Cai Jiu doesn't show up, this little thief will at most be a scapegoat. Neither you nor Cai Jiu will be in any danger."
Du Heng's words were firm and resounding, leaving Jinniang no room for evasion. "However, as the wild geese leave their mark, their voices remain. In just one night, I've already apprehended the thief from the Lantern Festival. Today, if I report this to the authorities, Cai Jiu will be apprehended. Then, when the yamen search Po Luo Alley, they'll uncover even more evidence. Then, you won't be able to just deny it."
At this point, Rong also spoke. She said, "I'm asking you to write down the whole story now, not only because this incident only hurts you, and no one else. It's also because you are a relative of the Du family after all. You're doing this simply to secure a better future for yourself, but the path you're taking isn't the right one. You'd better stop now."
Seeing she had no more words to say, Jinniang decided to throw in the towel and sneered, "I was wondering why you dragged me here today! Second Aunt, now that you've opened your mouth, I understand. I'm afraid you've already planned a way out for your niece and secretly helped Su Ying and her cousin to make a secret move, right?"
As she spoke, she flashed the jade bracelet in her hand and continued sarcastically, "Isn't it because my grandmother gave me this bracelet and I have to send a letter to Fujian that you are anxious? You are also very clever. Not only did you take the housekeeper power from my aunt, but you also took it from me to clear the obstacles for your niece. The women of you Rong family really are all very clever!"
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