Several people from the Lin family came forward, knelt down, and saluted the adults.
Wang Jian didn't make things difficult for him and just called the man up to answer him.
Lin Wuchen stood up and looked at Qian Ming, then laughed in anger, "Detain? We have to try him first. There's no reason to detain someone without a crime."
He bowed to the three adults in the hall and said, "My lords, what we took away from the Su family yesterday was my aunt's dowry."
"The Great Zhou Law clearly states that a woman who divorces can take her dowry with her. If she dies of illness, her dowry remains with her husband's family, and her parents are not allowed to ask about it."
"My aunt signed the divorce agreement yesterday. After she signed, we took the dowry away. Is there a problem?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Ming immediately shouted, "You said it was a dowry, do you have any evidence?"
Then he said to the hall: "My lords, as far as I know, Lin Wanyin has been married into the Marquis' Mansion for twenty years. No one knows whether she spent her dowry herself or secretly sent it back to her parents' home."
"Now that they're divorced, she emptied the Su family's warehouse and said it was her dowry. It's really unacceptable."
Qian Ming was in his thirties, sporting a wisp of goatee. His eyes were droopy, his lips thin, and his face sunken. Lin Wuchen, observing his features, felt that he was an extremely difficult and unreasonable person.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Qian? Did you see my aunt spending the money with your own eyes, or did you see her taking the money back to her parents' home with your own eyes?"
"As a lawyer, what's the crime for making such a fuss in court without any evidence?"
Lin Wuchen suddenly shouted at the last sentence, frightening Qian Ming so much that the hand that was pulling at his beard suddenly trembled. He pulled a strand of beard directly from between two fingers.
Qian Ming grimaced in pain and forgot to even say anything in rebuttal.
The onlookers all nodded, thinking that what Lin Wuchen said made sense.
Today, Lin Wuchen wore a moon-white brocade robe with dark patterns, a narrow brocade belt tied at his waist. Standing in the hall, he looked like a refined and elegant young man. Meanwhile, lawyer Qian had a pointed face and a mean demeanor. His face revealed his preference for who to trust.
Seeing that Qian Ming hadn't spoken for a long time, Su Chengye coughed twice. Qian Ming came back to his senses and said, "Then I'd like to ask Third Young Master Lin, how did you determine that the things in the Su family's warehouse were Lin Wanyin's dowry?"
Lin Wuchen shook his head and said, "There is one thing I want to make clear. The things we took away were not all my aunt's dowry."
Wang Jian frowned and looked at Lin Wuchen, "Isn't it all dowry?"
Lin Wuchen nodded and said, "It's indeed not all dowry, because my aunt's dowry has long since filled the Su family. The Su family has relied on my aunt's dowry for their livelihood for the past twenty years."
"Some of the things we took away were used to pay for the dowry, and some were bought with the money my aunt earned from the dowry shop."
"So according to what's written in the Great Zhou Law, we can take all of this away."
Qian Ming immediately retorted, "You said that the dowry shop made some of the money, do you have any evidence? And you said that Lin Wanyin's dowry was given to the Su family, is there any evidence?"
Wang Jian also lowered his head and discussed with Wen Shaoqing and Liu Yushi for a few words. They all agreed that where Lin Wanyin's dowry money was spent and whether these properties were earned by the dowry shop were the key to determining the verdict of this case.
After discussion, Wang Jian said in a deep voice.
"Can the Lin family provide evidence? First, they need to prove whether Lin Wanyin's money has been spent at the Su family over the years, and second, they need to prove that the property you took away was bought with the money earned from the dowry shop."
"If you can't prove this, then all the property you took away must be returned to the Su family, and I will sentence you to the crime of robbery."
Su Chengye and Su Chengyan exchanged a glance, both smiling slightly. Facts and whether they could be proven were two different things. The Ministry of Justice didn't judge cases based on facts, only on evidence.
Even if everyone in the world knows about this, it is useless without evidence.
Lin Wuchen said to Wang Jian, "Sir, could you please allow my servant to bring up the evidence?"
Wang Jian nodded in agreement.
Lin Wuchen shouted outside: "Carry the things up."
Immediately afterwards, a servant came in carrying four camphorwood boxes, put them down and left.
Lin Wuchen said loudly, "My Lords, these two boxes contain the details of my aunt's expenses since she married into the Lin family."
"Every penny spent from the dowry was recorded in detail."
"These two boxes contain the Su family's accounts over the years, including the money Pingning Hou spent on buying these things, as well as the mansion's income."
"You all should be able to read the account books. If you look at them, you will find that the Su family's own industries have very little income. There are only a few farms and two silk shops."
"Let me be frank. If the Marquis of Pingning relied on the Su family's income, he wouldn't be so radiant. He would have been starving to the point of being emaciated and pale."
These words made the onlookers burst into laughter, and many of them looked at Pingning Hou Su Chengye unscrupulously.
Su Chengye's face flushed, and he scolded, "You are just talking nonsense. Do you think that the adults will believe you just because you say that?"
Lin Wuchen smiled and said, "You gentlemen are naturally not so confused. We are not afraid of having our Lin family's accounts checked. You can ask officials from the Ministry of Revenue to check them, even on the spot."
Qian Ming's eyes turned, he walked around the camphorwood boxes twice, and opened one of them.
"Sir, since Third Young Master Lin said he could check it on the spot, why don't I just flip through a few pages and ask."
Wang Jian hesitated. "These are twenty years of account books. What can we possibly learn from them?"
Not to mention the past twenty years, he couldn't even remember many of his family's accounts from last year.
Lin Wanyin stepped forward and said, "Since Lawyer Qian said so, let's ask him right then and there."
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