Chapter 25 Watch your brother avenge you!
Cao Hai panicked and secretly glanced at the kitchen lady, but she glared at him fiercely, signaling him not to panic.
Xing'er tugged at the old woman's sleeve, and the old woman scolded, "What are you afraid of? The old lady is here to support us."
The gatekeeper hurriedly left, and soon after, the sound of orderly footsteps echoed in the courtyard.
Lu Bohong, dressed in an indigo official robe, with a standard iron ruler at his waist and cowhide wrist guards, led more than twenty soldiers to escort a thin man into the main hall.
Lu Zhaoruo looked up and saw her elder brother dressed in official robes, his brows piercing beneath his turban, exuding righteousness, handsome and imposing...
Thinking of him lying in bed, seriously ill and so thin he looked like skin and bones, I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.
Just then, she heard the wooden chair creak and saw that Zhang was no longer sitting still, with beads of sweat on her forehead.
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly knelt down, crying out, "Brother..."
She raised her tear-streaked face, straightened her posture, and bowed deeply to Lu Bohong, who was dressed in official robes: "I beg you, sir, to do me justice!"
Lu Bohong rushed forward, taking two steps at a time, and grabbed his sister's elbow. A spicy smell rushed into his nostrils, and his eyes immediately welled up with tears. He glanced at the handkerchief in his sister's hand, but still said solemnly, "Stand up and talk."
As he turned around, he deliberately rubbed the leather wristband heavily against her sleeve and whispered, "Watch your brother vent your anger for you."
He looked at Shen Qingshu in the main seat, stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Uncle Shen, I apologize for disturbing you."
As he spoke, his eyes subtly swept over Zhang, "This morning, when we apprehended this scoundrel, we found several stolen items in his shop. After identification, some of them were indeed found to belong to the Shen family."
The man knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf.
Deputy Inspector Li raised his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately presented him with a lacquered tray covered with a red cloth.
He yanked it open—
A bronze-gilded silver hairpin, a hollow silver earring, and a silver bracelet with medicinal properties.
Upon seeing this, Dongrou rushed forward to examine it closely and exclaimed, "It is indeed something from my mistress's dressing case!"
Lu Zhaoruo wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and choked out, "My lord, please understand that these are all the jewelry I lost recently."
Then, soldiers brought up two jars of wine, a basket of silver bone charcoal, and three dou of white rice.
Upon hearing this, Zhang's expression changed, and she gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with all ten fingers.
Shen Qingshu stared at the contents of the hall, his face turning ashen with anger.
Lu Bohong asked, "Uncle Shen, are these items all lost from your residence?"
Shen Qingshu stood up and examined it closely for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "It is indeed something from the house."
Having said that, his gaze was like a knife, fiercely piercing the family of the old woman who was kneeling on the ground.
Lu Bohong continued, "This person has confessed that he specializes in collecting stolen goods from the maids of wealthy families, and..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the kitchen maid's family, "They confessed that the regular guests of the past two days were all servants of the Shen family."
Xing'er's face turned deathly pale, her fingers twisting tightly around her sash.
Cao Hai's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his eyes darted nervously toward Zhang Shi.
Tao'er didn't even dare to lift her head, and kept hiding behind Cao Hai.
Cao Cangtou, his back hunched, stared intently at the ground with his cloudy old eyes.
Only the old woman remained calm, even glancing at them and telling them with her eyes not to panic.
Lu Zhaoruo hurriedly asked, "Are you sure it's the maid in front of me?"
Ya Ren looked at Dong Rou and shook his head.
Lu Zhaoruo asked again, "Who was it? Who exactly took my jewelry to your place to sell?"
As she spoke, she wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face: "These were all gifts from my husband. If any of the servants in the household were to steal them and sell them, I would break their hands."
The broker, his hand trembling, pointed shakily at them and said, "It's...it's them! This old woman has been bringing charcoal to sell these past few days, and that girl..."
He pointed his finger at Xing'er: "The other day she brought a gilded silver hairpin, yesterday she brought a hollow silver earring, and this morning she brought a silver bracelet, saying it was a gift from the mistress..."
After saying that, he pointed to Cao Hai: "And him, he took two jars of the finest wine."
Finally, pointing to Cao Cangtou, he said, "And this one, he picked out three dou of white rice and sold it to me."
"nonsense!"
Zhang slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, the teacups rattling loudly. "You unruly commoner, how dare you slander a servant of the Shen family?"
"Madam, you are wise!"
Suddenly, the old woman rushed forward, grabbed Zhang's leg, and cried, "I'm innocent! That charcoal...that charcoal was what I saved up, and the wine...the wine was..."
She was rambling incoherently, her eyes darting around, clearly unable to come up with a plausible lie.
Seeing this, Xing'er also knelt down with a thud, crawled a few steps on her knees, grabbed Zhang's skirt and cried, "Madam, save me! How could I, this servant, dare to steal your things? This bastard must be making false accusations!"
Upon seeing this, Tao'er and Cao Hai hurriedly knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy incoherently.
Cao Cangtou, his beard trembling and tears streaming down his face, cried out, "This old servant has been loyal all his life, how could I have done such a despicable thing..."
Shen Qingshu's face was ashen, his chest heaving violently. His gaze swept over them with a sinister intensity, then he glared fiercely at the broker: "You scoundrel, who instructed you to dare frame my Shen family?"
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her eyes and sneered.
Although it wasn't Shen Qingshu who ordered it, he definitely knew something. Keep pretending, keep pretending...
The broker was not afraid at all and said loudly, "I didn't lie! Every time they come, they say it's a gift from the master, but what family would give away so many good things? Although I am greedy, I am also afraid of getting into trouble, so I made sure to keep a record... They even put up a deposit."
As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled booklet from his pocket and handed it over with trembling hands.
Lu Bohong took it, glanced at it, and sneered: "It's all written in black and white on this paper. On such and such a date, Shen Jiaxing'er sold a copper-plated silver hairpin. On such and such a date, the kitchen lady sold ten catties of silver bone charcoal. Even the prices are written clearly."
"Their signatures are still on it!"
He closed the booklet and looked at Shen Qingshu meaningfully: "Patriarch Shen, do you think this is a frame-up?"
The family of the old woman in charge of the kitchen was immediately thrown into chaos, their faces turning ashen.
Tao'er, the most timid of them all, had already collapsed to the ground, covering her face and sobbing, "What should we do... what should we do..."
Lu Zhaoruo glanced coldly at the crowd and said indifferently, "Now that the evidence is all there, it is time to send them to the authorities for investigation and punishment."
Upon hearing this, the old woman grabbed Zhang's skirt and wailed, "Madam, please save my family..."
Zhang's expression changed drastically. She was secretly annoyed that this stupid woman was trying to drag her into this at this moment, which would only arouse more suspicion.
He immediately kicked the dog away and shouted angrily, "You shameless bastard! I have always treated you so kindly, yet you dare to do such a treacherous thing as stealing from your master!"
After saying that, he panicked and glanced at Shen Qingshu.
Shen Qingshu glared at her fiercely, then turned to Lu Bohong, cupped his hands and said, "I am truly grateful to my nephew for purging the traitors from within the Shen family this time. However, according to the 'Criminal Code,' when a servant commits theft, the master has the right to punish him at his own discretion. I hope my nephew will do me a favor."
Lu Bohong said solemnly, "Uncle Shen, please allow me to report. As an inspector, I have found three suspicious points in this case."
"Firstly, the jewelry among the stolen goods were all gifts from my brother-in-law, yet the maid dared to steal them so boldly; secondly, ordinary maids would not dare to steal and sell the wine, silver charcoal, and white rice; thirdly, the Shen family has been in business for generations and is very particular about accounts, and the warehouse is inventoried every month, so how could so many valuable items have gone unnoticed?"
"Therefore, one cannot help but suspect that someone from the main family may be involved in this."
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