He was frightened by the word "behead" and shrank her neck unconsciously.
She was still confused at this time. She was clearly working hard to provide disaster relief, so how could she end up being beheaded?
I vaguely remembered that Shen Zhixiu said the medicinal materials were moldy and there were fake medicines.
She immediately realized that something had happened to that batch of medicinal herbs.
But how can there be fake medicine?
At this moment, He Shi didn't have time to think too much and wanted to distance herself from the matter first.
At this time, neither your mother's family nor your brother is as important as saving your own life.
He immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, these herbs are all provided by the He family's herbal medicine store. We, the Su family, are just helping out and earning some hard-earned money. This matter of herbs has nothing to do with us."
Su Chengyan also echoed He's words, trying his best to convince the prince that the Su family was innocent.
He Guangfu knelt on the side, his knees straight and straight, his face calm and composed. He was not frightened by the words of the two men, and his expression did not change at all.
After Su Chengyan and his wife finished speaking, Shen Zhixiu looked at He Guangfu calmly, "What did Shopkeeper He say?"
He Guangfu then spoke, "Your Highness, Lord Shen, I am wronged."
"For this disaster relief effort, the He family did seek cooperation from the Su family. The two families agreed that the Su family would provide the labor, the He family would provide the medicinal materials, and the He family would share 20,000 taels of silver as a reward for the Su family's hard work."
Shen Zhixiu asked in confusion, "In other words, you admit that the medicinal herbs used by the Su family for disaster relief were all provided by the He family?"
He Guangfu shook his head, "I admit it, and I don't."
Everyone was even more confused and didn't know what he meant.
He Guangfu continued, "The He family did provide medicinal herbs for disaster relief, but they were not the ones at the door."
"Those were sold to the He family before, but they may have been improperly stored and later became moldy. I also told them at the time that these herbs must not be sold, let alone used for disaster relief."
"As for the fake medicine inside, the He family's herbal medicine store did find a batch of fake medicine, and we also told the Su family that we would destroy it. They are all aware of these things."
"As for the medicinal materials for disaster relief, we gave them back to the Su family and they have been stored in the Su family's warehouse."
He Guangfu's words left He Shi stunned. Others didn't know what was going on, so how could she not know?
I can still vividly remember what they said at the He family that day. Why are they saying something completely different today?
She pointed at He Guangfu and loudly retorted, "You're talking nonsense! You were the one who said that day that even though these herbs are moldy, it would be a shame to throw them away. We might as well use them for disaster relief. The victims don't deserve good herbs anyway. Even if they die, they'll only die of freezing or starvation. It has nothing to do with our herbs."
He Guangfu didn't argue with or look at He, but remained facing the Crown Prince and Shen Zhixiu, his expression respectful, as if waiting for them to make the decision for him.
After He finished scolding him, he just threw his robe and said, "The innocent will be innocent."
It seemed as if he was extremely angry, which made He seem even more unreasonable and wanted to argue.
Besides Shen Zhixiu, several officials from the Ministry of Revenue were also present. But aside from Shen Zhixiu, no one dared to speak a word. The Su and He families each had a Crown Prince Consort. While the head of the He family was from a side branch, who knew what the Crown Prince was thinking? If one misspoke and the Crown Prince held a grudge against them, it would be a loss.
Shen Zhixiu didn't care. She was just the Crown Prince's Consort and not worth his attention.
As for He Guangfu's behavior, it cannot be used as evidence of his innocence.
"Manager He, you keep saying that the Su family knew about it. Do you have any evidence?"
He Guangfu said in a deep voice: "Of course I have evidence. I was afraid that these moldy herbs were sold privately by the Su family, so I specifically asked them to sign the document."
After saying that, he took out the document from his arms and handed it to Shen Zhixiu.
Wen Zhu took it and handed it to Shen Zhixiu.
He Guangfu continued, "Master Shen, please take a look. This document clearly states that the Second Madam of the Su family has signed and sealed it."
As he spoke, he took out another piece of paper and handed it over.
"These are medicinal herbs for the Su family's disaster relief, and they are also signed and sealed by the Su family."
He was stunned. Sign and seal?
She had indeed signed and sealed the document that day, but He Guangfu said that it was only for the purpose of recording it in his account book, and he needed a certificate.
What was written on it happened to be hidden by his sleeve, so she didn't dare to read it carefully. She still had some trust in her cousin.
But the reality gave He a big blow. What she thought was trust was actually stupidity in the eyes of the other party.
Because of her foolish signature, she was pushed out by the He family as a scapegoat.
He was still trying to explain, shouting hysterically, "That's not the case. Those herbs weren't for disaster relief. The He family gave us another batch as compensation because the herbs were moldy."
"I didn't read the document. He tricked me into signing it."
At this time, Su Chengyan, Su Yuanqing, and Su Xiangling who was standing behind the prince were all surprised.
None of them had expected that He was tricked into signing the document.
Once this document is signed, it will be irrefutable evidence.
Shen Zhixiu looked at the document in his hand, handed it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and said in a low voice.
"Your Highness, please see. It is clearly written in the document."
The prince picked up the document, looked at it casually, and returned it to Shen Zhixiu.
The most anxious person at this time was Su Xiangling. She wanted to plead with the prince, but was afraid of displeasing him.
Just as he was about to bow his head and beg for mercy, the prince had already looked at Shen Zhixiu.
"The Emperor has asked Lord Shen to oversee disaster relief efforts. Lord Shen has full authority over how this matter will be decided."
"I'll just watch and when my father asks me about it when I get back to the palace, I'll know what to say."
"Since the evidence is conclusive, I believe Lord Shen knows how to deal with it."
The prince naturally wanted to keep the He family, not for anything else, but just for the annual tribute.
Now that my mother has been stripped of her title and demoted to a consort, if a new imperial medicinal herb merchant is appointed, she won't be able to intervene. It's best to keep things the same.
So no matter whether the He family knew about this matter or not, or whether the Su family was innocent or not, the prince didn't care.
He just wanted to keep his current way of making money, and he didn't care about anything else.
When Shen Zhixiu heard what the prince said, he did not refuse.
He said, "Manager He, in my opinion, the He family is responsible for 80% of this matter, and the Su family is responsible for 20%."
"And if the imperial court wants to hold someone accountable, it will of course hold the He family accountable."
He Guangfu was shocked when he heard this, and he was not convinced by Shen Zhixiu's words.
He asked, "Master Shen, the evidence is irrefutable, why are you still saying this? Is it because the Su family is your in-laws that you are so protective of them?"
Upon hearing this, the prince looked at Shen Zhixiu with a puzzled expression.
"Everyone says that Lord Shen is henpecked. I didn't believe it before, but today I believe it a little bit."
"Could it be that Lord Shen, in order to please his wife, has forgotten even the most basic fairness of an official?"
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