Chapter 156: Treason
Duke Cui stepped forward and recounted what had just happened, adding, "Actually, when we made the bet, I felt it was inappropriate and tried to dissuade them. Unfortunately, they refused to back down. Now, Prince Chaolan has been found. I don't know why you acted this way, but you are a prince after all, so you must give an explanation."
"Brother!" Li Xiu seemed to have found his backbone when he saw Duke Li, and even tried to confuse right and wrong. "It was just a joke just now. I didn't expect His Royal Highness to take it seriously."
Duke Cui was very dissatisfied with this statement. "We are all witnesses. It was clearly a gentleman's bet. How can you lie and treat it as a joke? Young masters of noble families always make final promises. But it's no wonder. Master Li, you are a bastard's son. You can't compare to the upbringing of legitimate sons."
"Duke Cui, you!" Li Xiu was furious. He had been raised by his stepmother since childhood, and no one in the Li family dared to mention his illegitimate status. Now that Duke Cui had pointed it out in public, he was naturally ashamed and annoyed.
Duke Li used a look to appease his brother, and then he spoke:
"Our Duke's Mansion has been attacked by assassins many times before. To protect the safety of our family members, we set up traps and mechanisms. I think Prince Chao Lan accidentally entered a trap and was trapped in the underground space. This is all a misunderstanding!"
"When I recover from my illness, I will personally come to apologize. When Prince Chaolan comes to visit the Duke's Mansion again, please reveal your identity. The Duke's Mansion will certainly give you a warm reception, and there will be no more accidents!"
These words not only easily characterized Lin Qingyue's distress as an accident.
It even hinted that the accident happened because she concealed her identity and broke into the Duke's Mansion.
"As for that bet..."
He chuckled and continued, "A gentleman's agreement is unbreakable. But as an older brother, I can't just watch my brother die. How about using ten prosperous shops on East City Street as a ransom?"
The laws of the State of Qi stipulated that if a noble committed a crime, except for the most serious crimes, in general cases he could pay money to atone for his crime, which was called "copper redemption."
This rule is obviously unfair to the lower class, but the nobles are the makers of the law and have already left a way out for themselves.
Duke Li's move not only saved Li Xiu, but also prevented him from being branded as a traitor.
It turns out that old ginger is still spicy.
Dongfang Qi said, "Since it is Prince Chaolan who is frightened, we need to ask her opinion on whether she is willing to pay the ransom."
Lin Qingyue woke up at the perfect time, held her forehead, and said weakly, "I seemed to have heard the word 'copper redemption' just now?"
Duke Li said, "Prince Chaolan heard correctly."
He then repeated his previous proposal. Fearing Lin Qingyue would disagree, Duke Li added, "Each of the prosperous shops on East City Street is worth over 50,000 coins. Ten of them would be worth 500,000 coins."
Lin Qingyue smiled so hard that her teeth were visible: "Okay, deal!"
Dongfang Qi was amused by her greed and laughed inwardly. He said loudly, "Come here, get the shop's title deed and help Prince Chaolan transfer the ownership!"
Is it too hasty to transfer ownership right away?
However, the prince had already spoken, which was considered to have saved his brother's life. So Duke Li did not delay and ordered his steward to obtain the land deed and cooperate with the prince's men to handle the transfer.
The matter was resolved, and Duke Li breathed a sigh of relief. He began to pretend to be weak again, "My body is really not doing well. I started to feel dizzy and blurry after being out for a while. I really can't entertain you. Please forgive me!"
This is going to drive away customers.
It would have been fine if the prince had not come, but he caused so much trouble when he came, so Duke Li was naturally unhappy.
Dongfang Qi suddenly said, "By the way, what exactly was that treasure we just dug out? I'm really curious. Why don't you open it and take a look, Master Li?"
Li Xiu then remembered that he had been holding a wooden box in his hand. When the prince suddenly asked him about it, he inexplicably had a bad premonition.
Just as he was about to refuse, the thing in his hand was suddenly taken away and in the blink of an eye it was in Lin Qingyue's hand.
She looked at it curiously. "This box looks very exquisite, but it's covered in dirt. Where did you get it from?"
Dongfang Qi explained, "Just now, in order to save you, I dug up all the flower beds in the Duke's Mansion, and this thing was dug out from the soil."
Lin Qingyue had an innocent look on her face, eyes full of curiosity: "It's buried so secretly, could it be some rare treasure?"
As she spoke, she deliberately slipped her hand and the small wooden box fell to the ground.
"Bang!" The box broke and a blood-red jade rolled out from it, landing right at the feet of Duke Cui.
This is, Hongyu!
Duke Li's expression suddenly changed.
Duke Cui picked up the red jade and exclaimed in amazement: "What kind of jade is this? It's bright red and translucent. It's really beautiful!"
Dongfang Qi said calmly, "Duke Cui, you may not know that this is called red jade. It was originally pure and flawless white jade, sewn into a young girl's chest, nurtured with her blood. It took many years to grow into a jade this beautiful, blood-red in color."
"Could this be the ruby in the Donglin Mansion case?" Although Duke Cui had never seen it before, the Donglin Mansion case was a big deal, so of course he had heard of it.
The case is still under trial, but the red jade has been identified as evil jade. All of it has been confiscated and sealed, and is not allowed to circulate outside to prevent further tragedy.
So at this moment, Duke Cui suddenly felt that the jade in his hand had become a hot potato. He was about to put it back on the ground, but suddenly he discovered something.
"Hey, there are words engraved underneath. It's a seal..." But when he saw the words engraved on the seal clearly, his hand shook and Hongyu fell down.
Dongfang Qi quickly caught the jade stone and took a closer look, his expression filled with surprise. "Mandated by Heaven, may you live forever and prosper? This is the inscription on the national seal. How could it be engraved here..."
He instantly flew into a rage and shouted, "How dare you, Li, privately carve the imperial seal. This is a heinous crime of treason!"
Duke Li fell straight out of the sedan chair, shouting in panic, "This isn't the Li family's stuff! This is a frame-up! Your Highness, the Crown Prince, please understand!"
Li Xiu hurriedly explained, "Our Li family has always been loyal and a role model for noble families. We would never do anything so treasonous!"
Dongfang Qi's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the warmth he had shown when he was ignored by the Li family disappeared completely.
"The red jade was originally created by your Li family. It was just unearthed from the Li family in full view of the public. It was locked up when it was unearthed. Since then, it has been held by Master Li Er and has never passed through anyone else's hands. Who could have framed it? It's not like you guys staged this all yourself."
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