The onlookers whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with utter disgust and disdain as they looked at the Lu family.
Seeing the situation develop in an unexpected direction, the old lady pointed at Jin Shu, stammering but ultimately unable to utter a single word.
Lu Mingqian kept his head down, too ashamed to look up after being scolded.
As for Deng Qiao, she only felt innocent and pitiful.
She had no idea about these things before, since she had been living outside with Lu Mingqian ever since she transmigrated, so how could she know what Jin Shu had experienced in the Duke's mansion?
At this point, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was no longer willing to listen to the nonsense spouted by the Lu family.
"So, it turns out that all of your Lu family's wealth was earned by Jin Shu, something you've never mentioned before!"
The old lady had suffered a stroke that left her with a crooked nose, slanted eyes, and difficulty speaking, but she was still very stubborn.
"Without the Lu family's wealth, how could she have built such a high-rise building out of nothing! Besides her, who else could have stolen all these things!"
"Who else could it be? One of the three of you! I've figured it out. You're all a family with your own ulterior motives, selfish and greedy. The evidence points to the thief being an inside man. In other words, one of you three stole the item!"
I'm making this clear today.
If the thief comes forward and confesses, the others will not pursue the matter further.
If no one confesses, then there's nothing I can do; all three of you will have to go to jail!
The three people below shuddered upon hearing this.
Deng Qiao looked at Lu Mingqian in a panic.
"It wasn't me, it definitely wasn't me! I don't know anything about the Lu family, I just got back, how could I possibly know that there were things hidden in the Buddhist hall!"
Lu Mingqian also shook his head frantically.
"It wasn't me! Why would I steal my own things?!"
Both of them denied it, putting pressure on the old lady.
She built the Buddhist temple, designed the Buddha statue, hid the items inside, and was the only one who ever saw what was inside. Most importantly, she also had the only key in the world.
At this point, the old lady was speechless, sweating profusely, her mouth crooked and drooling, which made the surrounding jury shake their heads.
There's always a reason why someone is pitiful. This old woman brought this upon herself, raising such a good son who only cared about protecting himself in times of crisis. Now look what happened, she's hoisted herself by her own petard, and nobody is speaking up for her.
Lu Mingqian looked at the old lady with pleading eyes.
"Mother, just admit it. Maybe there's no money inside that Buddha statue at all!"
This is also a line of thinking: replace theft with reporting a false official.
At this moment, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review coldly remarked from above.
"Reporting an unauthorized official is a crime punishable by one degree!"
The old lady trembled, and two lines of tears streamed down her face.
If she doesn't admit it, her precious son will have to suffer along with her.
"I...I admit it, it was me, I took it! I took it!"
Lu Mingqian and Deng Qiao both breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone who had seen their performance couldn't help but frown and shake their heads.
What two beasts!
He'd even abandon his own mother to save himself!
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review continued to ask.
"Tell me what you took, and where did you hide it?!"
"I...I took everything...all of it..."
She couldn't say it.
Just then, a fast horse stopped outside the yamen. A yamen runner dismounted and ran quickly into the yamen. He then walked up to the Minister of Justice and whispered something to him.
Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review frowned instantly, and his expression became extremely solemn.
"You mean, everything's still there?!"
"Yes, we did as instructed and broke in to check everything. They're all hidden inside that manor!"
"Very well!! What a fine 'thief crying 'stop thief'' act!! Do you really think I'm a fool?!"
He glared angrily at Lu Mingqian and Deng Qiao and roared.
"You two have some nerve! Stealing from your own homes! And then you dare to come here and report me to the authorities?"
I see you all living too leisurely every day, and want to find yourself some hardship!
Lu Mingqian and Deng Qiao, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, were immediately restrained by the constables on both sides.
The two looked panicked and struggled, shouting.
"We're innocent, sir! There's been a mistake, there must have been a mistake!"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review slammed his fist on the table.
"With all the stolen goods on display, what else do you have to say! Guards, take these two to the dungeon! To await their fate!"
Deng Qiao struggled desperately, twisting and turning like an eel.
She screamed.
"It has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me! I don't know anything, sir! It was all Lu Mingqian, he did it all! I'm an outsider, everything about the Lu family has nothing to do with me!"
At this point, anything she says will only make people more disgusted.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review's face was extremely dark.
After all that hard work and investigation, it turns out I was just a thief crying "stop thief!"
Those items were found in the two people's villa outside the county. The most conspicuous items were thirteen house deeds and some family heirlooms that the old lady had emphasized. In addition, there were many gold and silver treasures hidden there. With the evidence conclusive, what else could the two people argue about!
Now the Duke's mansion is completely finished.
When this matter reached His Majesty's ears, he was furious. He never expected that such an outrageous thing would happen right under the nose of the capital. He immediately ordered the confiscation of all property in the manor, returned the portion that originally belonged to Jin Shu to her, and turned over the rest to the national treasury.
The matter involving Lu Mingqian and Deng Qiao involved deceiving the emperor. His Majesty personally punished them, demoting Lu Mingqian from a nobleman to a slave and sending him and Deng Qiao to the border to dig a canal.
The old lady suffered a stroke and became paralyzed due to these repeated shocks. Her beloved nephews and nieces all fled when they saw this, none of them willing to take care of her in her old age or see her off in death. In the end, she was sent to a place for the elderly to live alone, where she waited to die with a group of seriously ill elderly people who had no children.
As for Lu Gu, he became Jin Shuqiu's son because Jin Shuqiu broke away from the Lu family and changed his surname to Jin.
At this point, one of the tasks in this world has been completed.
The only remaining family to revive is the Jin family of Qingyang. Because of Jin Shu, all the outstanding descendants of the Jin family have caught His Majesty's eye, and three of them entered the court and became officials within a year. Compared with other declining aristocratic families, this is already a great blessing.
With the Jin clan rising again, Jin Shu's second task was completed.
With nothing to do, she developed a new hobby: raising children.
Lu Xu won first place in the martial arts test at a young age, and before he was thirteen, he went out to make his way in the world with the army.
At the age of seventeen, Lu Huai and Lu Gu both passed the imperial examination and became successful candidates in the provincial examination. Five years later, they both became the top two scholars in the imperial examination.
When the two went to court together to meet the emperor, they both requested an imperial decree for Jin Shu. (End of Chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com