Chapter 86 Green Vein Operation 19 Heir
The situation gradually became clear.
The pace of questions in the second half became slower and slower, but Lancaster on the stage answered them faster and faster.
As time went on, the justice, fully warmed up, became more excited and aggressive. He possessed the qualities of a natural debater and orator, a politician, and even began to look forward to the next challenging question.
Heather leaned back in his chair, staring at the figure in front of him without blinking, and never looked away even if it was not the one asking the questions or speaking.
Jennifer also relaxed. "These are just meaningless, rambling questions. They're no match for the Supreme Court Justice. It looks like it's almost over."
Soon, just as she had guessed, the core inquiry team asked the final question.
"We have one last question. You explained earlier that you contacted Hughes only after the article was published. Did he subsequently pay you the corresponding compensation? Can you prove this?"
Lancaster replied: "There is no reward, so there is no way to prove it."
The first MP on the right stood up and said, "Your Honor, in this case, I believe the Parliament has reason to issue a search warrant and conduct a detailed review of your financial transactions to prove your innocence."
Lancaster raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You want to check my bank account, or go through all the houses under my name?"
The congressman was sweating profusely, but thinking of his mission, he straightened his neck and insisted, "If necessary, yes, it is in accordance with the procedures to verify all assets under his name."
Lancaster sneered, "Excuse me, but private property is inviolable. According to the formal procedures, you should first sue me and provide sufficient evidence to prove my suspicion before applying for a search warrant."
The congressman almost collapsed, glanced back in panic, and continued, "That's right, but the court is your territory. I think special procedures should be used."
The atmosphere grew cold again. Lancaster would never allow him to conduct a door-to-door search in such a way that would offend the Duke. However, most of the people present had no legal or procedural awareness. Directly refusing the search would become a flaw in the inquiry, and flaws would always be magnified one day.
"Sir." At this moment, Evan suddenly appeared behind the podium and whispered a few words behind Lancaster.
From Heather's side perspective, she could clearly see the familiar document cover that Evan handed over, as well as Lancaster's stunned expression.
It seems that Reina has completed her mission.
"What's going on?" Jennifer lowered her voice to an almost inaudible level. "Why is the Chief Justice scanning the room? Is he looking for a witness?"
Heather didn't have time to answer because Lancaster finally locked onto his target and looked straight at her.
Heather suppressed the urge to escape and looked at him calmly.
After she weathered the initial storm and had managed to keep her composure for several hours, Lancaster's expression suddenly changed.
The playful smile of confidence just now disappeared, and there was an unprecedented panic in the deep eyes, as if a carefully maintained mask had suddenly broken, and even the hand holding the document was shaking slightly.
The discussions around gradually became uncontrollable, and the congressmen who stood up couldn't help wondering which unknown link had played a role and hit this difficult enemy.
Jennifer couldn't help but start mumbling: "Why does it feel like he's looking at us? Is that right?"
Heather was pulled again and again by her, and finally withdrew her gaze and turned to answer her question: "I don't know, maybe he was looking at the person behind him."
Jennifer glanced back slightly. Everyone in the back row was staring down at their notebooks. None of them looked quite like each other. When she looked back, the Chief Justice had already turned back to face the front.
"I just received some information." Lancaster's expression returned to normal, but only those close to him could feel how abnormal his tone was.
"It records the details of the amount obtained through Residential Green Shield, in addition to the current expenditure. Half of the total amount is retained in an account under Mr. Cummins' name, as confirmed by the bank deposit statement. The other half was invested in a fabric factory that produces masks. I think the low profit is not worth taking any risks.
Furthermore, each of the companies that hired Cummins to design residential vegetation solutions was a well-known figure, making it very easy to prove the authenticity of the account.
He left his seat and walked directly to the chairman of the inquiry panel: "Your Excellency, do you think it is necessary to inspect each of my properties one by one, or to disturb every noble who simply purchased plants?"
The inquiry team gathered together and held urgent discussions and research under pressure from Lancaster, but they did not realize that the Chief Justice, who was right next to them, had already shifted his attention to the media seats next to him.
He forced himself not to look around at this time and cause unnecessary trouble to Heather, but he always felt that her eyes were focused on him.
This made him very anxious.
"Are you ready?" He was impatient.
"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency. We are conducting an expedited study."
They all gathered around the chairman and discussed in low voices.
A Revolutionary Party MP said: "I think there are absolutely no major errors in this information. The total amount is very close to my previous estimate, and every detail is very detailed."
Another person echoed this: "You can take the time to go to that so-called mask factory to verify the finished product, but there's really no need to check the justice's funds. To be honest, it's just a small amount of money, and it's not worth the risk for him."
The person who first asked the question wanted to struggle: "But this is the last question, it's better to check it more clearly."
Someone retorted, "Clear, what do you mean by clear? How many things here do you think are completely clear?"
Before the man could finish his words, the chairman's personal assistant suddenly came hurriedly from the door.
"What's all the fuss about?"
All the MPs pricked up their ears.
"Duke, there's a group of workers gathered outside, about forty or fifty of them. They claim to be members of a workers' mutual aid association. They heard that the factory cleaning bill was going to be discussed here, so they gathered at the door and refused to leave, saying they were defending their lives."
"What?" Everyone present changed their expressions. One noble frowned and said, "These workers are too lawless. How dare they come to the House of Lords to cause trouble? Just tell the guards to drive them away."
The assistant said emphatically, "But they haven't done anything wrong, and their presence has already attracted the attention of the local residents, including some wealthy gentlemen. They also brought two dying patients with them, claiming they were victims of industrial pollution. This has frightened many gentlemen and has prompted them to send people to investigate."
The chairman immediately decided, "I personally believe that stability in London is extremely important. Since we are in the midst of war, we can put internal conflicts aside for now. What are your opinions?"
The person next to him immediately echoed, "Indeed, to be honest, the accusations against the Chief Justice are completely untenable. Currently, no one has been able to refute the results of the contamination experiment. The purpose of this meeting has been achieved. It's better to disperse quickly to prevent the crowds outside from causing chaos."
"Exactly. Honestly, I didn't agree with raising this issue in the beginning, but now that the Chief Justice has released this detailed list, it really ensures that nothing is left out of this inquiry."
The person who first raised the question had no choice but to shut up and accept the result.
The chairman stood up with a gracious expression, walked to Lancaster, and faced the audience: "After the joint agreement of all members of the inquiry panel, all recent accusations against the Lord Chancellor are unfounded. If there are further malicious speculations about the same incident, they will be regarded as opposing the decision of Parliament.
This concludes today’s questioning session.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the venue suddenly became noisy.
During the three-hour-long questioning session, the audience was unable to move their legs or speak for most of the time. They could not bear it any longer and stood up at the same time.
Heiser's vision was immediately blocked, and he missed the figure of Lancaster walking quickly towards the media seats but being stopped by the people surrounding him.
She took a deep breath. That was good. This was good. He had used a questioning meeting to consolidate his authority and status again, and she would have time to think calmly.
Heather stood up and walked straight to the back passage without looking back for a second. Lena happened to squeeze in from behind and supported her with a feeling of relief.
"Ma'am, I was so scared! The guard at the door of the room you told me about refused to let me in. I almost thought I was screwed!"
Everyone around was talking loudly, and Heather's head was buzzing. She followed her and asked, "So how did you find him in the end?"
"I ran into Mr. Laurent! He waited outside with me for a long time, talking to me the whole time. Finally, I contacted Mr. Evan and gave him the information. Madam, did you know that Mr. Laurent was actually an orphan who grew up in a monastery. He wasn't until he was almost ten years old that a passing duke took him to his estate to be raised. He eventually stood out from twenty children. He's really amazing."
"Yeah, yeah." Heather responded vaguely, her thoughts already flying away.
Unexpectedly, when he was about to reach the gate of the Parliament building, he saw a group of men walking through the exclusive passage in front of him, and Lancaster was among them, being surrounded and walked forward.
Heather quickly lowered her head, but soon she realized there was no need to lower her head at all.
All the people in their group were temporarily stopped to prevent them from rushing out and affecting the important people in front from getting on the carriage.
"Hey, Mrs. Duke, have you ever met this judge here? He looks really young among a group of middle-aged people. Who is his wife? I don't think I've ever seen her."
The speaker was a lady who had just married to London and was standing in front of Heather. They stopped here and got bored waiting, so they started chatting to kill time.
Mrs. Duke was not young, but she was very lively. Her eyes lit up when she talked about gossip. "Of course I know him. I saw him when he was a child attending the King's dinner with his father."
Mrs. Duke looked around cautiously, and only felt relieved when she confirmed that the woman closest to her and her maid were concentrating on studying the ground.
"But he's never been married, I'm sure of that. If he did, our family would probably attend the wedding." Mrs. Duke was greatly encouraged by the curious look in the eyes of the young lady next to her, and added, "But I'm telling you this privately. Several ladies around me think he might not have an illegal female companion who has been around for many years, you know."
The narrow alley was becoming more and more crowded, but the guards in front showed no intention of letting anyone pass, and many people had already begun to grumble and complain in low voices.
Some people took advantage of this opportunity to socialize, and even though Lena helped stop them, Heather was still stepped on several times.
She didn't feel any pain in her feet, but she still had trouble breathing.
The young Mrs. Norman and her new husband were in love with each other. She felt a little contemptuous when she heard this, but when she thought about the man's appearance and status, she felt that it was normal to have lovers.
"But how did you know, Mrs. Duke? Did his lover walk openly in society?"
"That's not the case," Mrs. Duke denied.
There was finally some movement up ahead. The huge chairman of the inquiry board boarded the carriage first, and the others followed suit.
"Look." Mrs. Duke took her hand and winked. "See that? The one next to the Chief Justice."
"Which one? I only saw the man he vaguely embraced, and I couldn't see his face clearly unless he turned his head." Mrs. Norman tried to stand on tiptoe, but her movement was too big, and the bigwigs in front of them all turned their heads and glanced in this direction.
Mrs. Duke quickly pulled her down and said, "Don't make a sound. It's that young man, about twenty years old. Do you know who he is?"
He is the legitimate next and only heir to the Lancaster family, and is always accompanied by the Lord Chancellor on important occasions, such as the palace banquet urgently convened by the Regent tonight!"
"Ah? Is that his son?"
"Officially, they're talking about a relative, but they haven't explicitly stated it. Everyone privately thinks it's his biological son. Considering his age, he's an illegitimate child born when he was just eighteen and in love. That makes sense for him not getting married all these years. It must be to protect his position as sole heir."
"Good heavens!" Mrs. Norman exclaimed in a low voice. "London is so different. It's so wonderful."
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