Seeing the dirty broom hurtling towards Gu Qianluo, Chen Jinheng's eyes darkened, and a surge of anger rose in his heart. He swung his leg and kicked the flying broom away.
Seeing that he was angry, Gu Qianluo quickly stood in front of him and held the old woman's hand tightly.
"Auntie! We really came here to find out what's going on!"
Look, this is relief money sent to you by the Marquis's mansion.
After saying this, Gu Qianluo placed the loose silver in her hand into the old woman's palm and wrapped her hands tightly around it.
“Auntie, the Marquis’s mansion knows that you are having financial difficulties. Although this amount of silver is not much, it should be enough for you to get through the end of the year.”
Upon hearing this, the old woman felt a surge of doubt. She took out the silver, counted it, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"Miss, is this silver really for us?"
"Yes, yes, as long as Auntie and Uncle come with us to Chaolu Manor tomorrow."
Not only this silver, but the Marquis's mansion will also send some relief grain to help you through this difficult time.
The old woman's eyes flickered, her heart filled with unease, and she asked softly, "Young lady, do you want us to go to Chaolu Manor?"
"Don't worry, madam. My wife and I have already found out about the matter of you being extorted for grain, and we will return to Chaolu Mountain Manor tomorrow to deal with it."
"At that time, I would appreciate it if you and the old man could come together to confront him."
Upon hearing this, the old woman's expression darkened, her heart pounding with anxiety. She clenched her fist nervously, holding the silver coins, and said softly...
"This...this won't do. What if we anger them?"
They'll take back the land we rented. No! No!
There are ten of us in our family. The adults are fine, but we have two infants who need to be fed. We can't let them go hungry!
"How about this, you take the money first, I'll go in and talk to the master, and if he's willing, we can go to Chaolu Manor tomorrow, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jinheng and Gu Qianluo exchanged a glance and smiled with delight.
"Alright! Auntie! You and Uncle should think it over carefully tonight. Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), Chaolu Manor will send someone to pick you up."
My wife and I are waiting for your good news at Chaolu Mountain Villa!
Upon hearing Gu Qianluo's words, the old woman's hesitant expression suddenly brightened, and she said joyfully,
"Okay! I'll go ask now!"
"Um."
Seeing the old woman's cheerful figure, Gu Qianluo finally felt relieved and said happily, "Let's go!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Chen Jinheng's eyes as he asked,
"Are you really that careless? What if they don't come tomorrow? Wouldn't your trip have been for nothing?"
Gu Qianluo revealed a confident expression, looked at Chen Jinheng, and smiled, "No way! I promise!"
Seeing her rarely smile, Chen Jinheng suddenly raised his hand and gently stroked the tip of her fair nose, teasingly saying,
"Is Madam that confident?"
"Of course!" Gu Qianluo affirmed once again.
Seeing the weariness she unintentionally revealed, Chen Jinheng's eyes darkened. He pulled her into his arms, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and suddenly leaped into the air, his clothes fluttering as he weaved through the bushes.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and all things were still asleep, a solemn atmosphere permeated the main hall of Chaolu Manor.
County Magistrate Li Kaiming was already seated in the main seat, and Clerk Zou had prepared the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Today, Chen Jinheng was dressed in a black python-patterned robe with auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs. A gold-inlaid belt was tied around his waist, and a jade hairpin held up his dark hair. His face was as beautiful as jade, and his eyes were like stars.
Beside her, Gu Qianluo wore a long brocade dress with gold peony flowers embroidered on the hem. She wore a double fish and pearl-inlaid phoenix hairpin on her forehead and a brocade belt around her waist, making her look dignified and noble.
Chen Jinheng stood tall and straight, holding Gu Qianluo's hand with a steady and powerful grip.
He walked slowly in from outside, his demeanor elegant. He respectfully bowed and greeted the officials at the table, saying,
"Jinheng greets the County Magistrate and the Clerk!"
"I trouble you two to grace Chaolu Manor with your presence today, for a matter concerning embezzlement within our prefecture. I humbly request that Your Excellency, the magistrate, conduct a fair and impartial investigation."
Upon hearing this, the two slowly stood up and greeted him, "General Chen, we are ready. When may we begin?"
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen."
Chen Jinheng's eyes darkened. He summoned a servant and ordered sternly, "Bring Manager Liu, Ling Xi, and Ling Fan here!"
Suddenly, Manager Liu and his two companions, escorted by guards, slowly entered the hall.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Chen Jinheng nodded to the county magistrate in the main seat and said gently,
"My lord, the person has been brought in; the trial may begin!"
Manager Liu raised his eyes, and when he saw the two people in the main seats, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly knelt down and bowed.
"Greetings, Second Young Master; Greetings, Magistrate."
"No need for formalities, Manager Liu. Are you aware that Ling Xi and Ling Fan embezzled the land rent from Chaolu Manor?"
Upon hearing this, Manager Liu broke out in a cold sweat and replied, "This subordinate did not know!"
Magistrate Li then turned to Ling Xi and Ling Fan and asked sternly,
"Lingxi, Lingfan, I have evidence that you two colluded with Manager You, who sells groceries in the county, to embezzle the crops of the tenant farmers at Chaolu Mountain Villa, defraud them of interest, bully the elderly and weak, and privately bully and intimidate the tenant farmers. Do you two plead guilty?"
Upon hearing this, Ling Xi and Ling Fan immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Magistrate Li, begging for mercy.
"Your Honor, spare us! We're innocent! We're innocent!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Qianluo's eyes flashed with anger. She picked up an account book and handed it to Magistrate Li, stating her position.
"Your Excellency! I believe these two are habitual embezzlers."
This is the account book that I took out from the Marquis's residence. This one is the account book that Manager Liu handed over.
According to the rent payment records of Yang Da'an's family, they had already paid off the previous year's land rent.
However, Lingxi and Lingfan deceived Yang Da'an's family by replacing high-quality agricultural products with low-quality ones, and also privately disposed of the rent for the so-called "low-quality" products belonging to the Yang family.
This caused them to continuously lend out grain in order to pay off the previous year's land rent.
Now, the livelihood of Yang Da'an's family has been completely squandered by these two, and even their two newborn babies have to endure hunger and thirst!
Upon hearing this, Ling Xi and Ling Fan knew they couldn't refute it, so they quickly turned their criticism towards Gu Qianluo.
"Second Madam! You can't turn your misfortune on the two of us just because you've lost favor!"
"We've just started working at the resort; how could we dare to do something like embezzlement and illegality?"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Li instructed the clerk to record Gu Qianluo's statement, then turned to Chen Jinheng and asked,
"I have already learned the general outline of the matter concerning Ling Xi and Ling Fan's embezzlement, but I would like to hear Yang Da'an's side of the story. I wonder if he has come today?"
After speaking, Gu Qianluo's brow twitched slightly, and she slowly turned around to explain gently to Magistrate Li,
"My lord, Yang Da'an has some family matters to attend to and is afraid he will be unable to come today. I hope Magistrate Li will understand."
Upon hearing that Yang Da'an had not come, Magistrate Li frowned and said coldly, "If the parties involved do not come, I cannot convict Ling Xi and Ling Fan."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jinheng's eyes suddenly darkened, and he silently clenched his fists.
Gu Qianlu's heart sank. Could it be that this matter was truly beyond resolution?
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