With both witnesses and evidence in hand, the Jingzhao Yin focused on questioning several maids around Huang Mengling's mother and the maids around Huang Mengling, and recorded the relevant statements of other maids and servants in two thick volumes.
Huang Mengling's parents blamed each other, and the strangulation of Huang Zhiyi's biological mother was also fully investigated. The three murders were reported to the Ministry of Justice for sentence.
All the Huang family’s property was checked, and the dowry from Huang Zhiyi’s mother was compared with the gift list given by Huang Zhiyi’s grandmother.
Qinghe dug out an old jacket from her bag, opened it, and took out the young lady's dowry list.
The old head of the farm took several people from the farm back to his hometown in Qiyang, and brought back a list of gifts left by the maidservant around my grandmother, as well as the outgoing and outgoing records and account books of my grandmother's private warehouse.
The Huang family had long since lived off their wealth, relying almost entirely on this generous dowry and supplies from Qiyang. Aside from the money converted from some shop properties sold by the Duke of Xiangguo's mansion into cash, as evidenced by business contracts and bank accounts, this money had been taken by Huang Mengling during her divorce. It was now considered stolen property, along with the other properties she owned, including Fuzi and Zhuangzi, and sealed away.
People from Qiyang's hometown finally came and collected the bodies of the three people, preparing to move them back to Qiyang for burial.
The Jingzhao Yin summoned the leader of the group, checked the accounts on both sides, and said to them, "The money squandered by Huang's parents can only be offset by the Huang family's house, which has been sealed. This house covers a large area and is worth about 10,000 or 20,000 silver coins. However, a rough estimate shows that it is still not enough to compensate for the loss of your family's property."
He then produced two more books: "This is the proceeds from the theft of Huang Zhiyi's silver jewelry, house, and shop, and the sale of the property under Huang Mengling's name. It's all registered. Huang Mengling squandered some of it early on, and it's impossible to make up for it. This is the remaining portion of the Huang family's house and Huang Zhiyi's mother's dowry, also registered. According to the law, these items should return to her parents. Go back and find your employer and ask them to send someone in charge with their own seal to take over."
The two men looked ashamed, their eyes reddening. "To be honest, sir, we are Mother Zhiyi's eldest and second brothers, Lou Yuanshan and Lou Yuanhai. My younger sister and niece died tragically because of our incompetence and cowardice. We are too embarrassed to accept these things. We can only consider them as a way to accumulate merit for my younger sister and niece's reincarnation, which can be used to build bridges and roads, and to help the poor."
The Jingzhao Yin said, "If you want to do this, it will naturally be a good deed to accumulate merit. However, you should first take the property back, and then you can handle it yourself. My chief clerk and accountant will assist you in the handover."
The two men received the property and wanted to go and thank Wang Lingyi, so they asked the old village head to help deliver the invitation.
Since she was meeting a stranger, Wang Lingyi suggested to her husband, Jiang Heng, that they go to the front garden hall. As usual, Jiang Heng took her in his arms and kissed her twice, his hand clasping her slender waist, unwilling to let go, as he said, "I'm on duty and can't accompany you. I'll have Qianyun Saowu wait for you in the front garden hall."
On this side, Huang Zhiyi's uncles Lou Yuanshan and Lou Yuanhai and the old village head arrived at the mansion, and Qianyun Saowu served them tea and water.
Wang Lingyi brought her maid and Qinghe to the front courtyard's flower hall. Upon seeing the two Lou family members, Qinghe knelt down and bowed deeply, "Master, Master, it's Qinghe's fault that I can't protect the young lady."
The two men hurried forward to support her: "It turns out that we, the two of you, are useless as masters, so how can we blame you... You have suffered a lot over the years." After helping them up, they looked at the scars on Qinghe's face, thought of their sister and niece, and felt sad. They said, "If you are willing to return to your hometown in Qiyang, the Lou family will support you until the end of your life. If you don't want to go back, the Lou family will pay for your resettlement."
Qing He said, "My wife has found a doctor to heal all the old injuries on Qing He's body. The old lady, the young lady, and the young lady are all gone. Qing He will not go back. Qing He has already accepted a new master."
Wang Lingyi felt a little embarrassed when she heard this. She had only been temporarily settling Qinghe down and helping her with her injuries, but she hadn't expected... Furthermore, the girl's indenture, originally with her mistress, had been returned to the Lou family. As expected, upon hearing this, Lou Yuanshan and Lou Yuanhai took a small box from their servants and placed it on a side table. They first found Qinghe's indenture and handed it to Wang Lingyi. They then took out a silver note and gave it to Qinghe. Wang Lingyi then returned the indenture to Qinghe.
Qinghe was shocked and thought that Wang Lingyi didn't want her. She was terrified. The current life was as good as a dream compared to the past, and Qinghe didn't want to lose it.
Qi Yang had no relatives or former master, and she was covered in old injuries and disfigured, so it was very difficult for her to live alone.
Qing He refused to accept the indenture, saying, "I'm very good at embroidery, and I embroider very well..." Wang Lingyi, upon seeing this, put the indenture away and thanked the Lou brothers. Qing He breathed a sigh of relief.
When asked about their next plans, the Lou brothers wanted to use all the property they received this time to build bridges and roads in the name of their sister and niece.
Wang Lingyi thought the Lou family, with their business acumen, shouldn't take this opportunity to test the waters in Kyoto. The farmhouse, shop, and house were all ready. With more money, they could build more bridges. But it was just a suggestion. If they simply wanted to donate the money, she could contact the Ministry of Revenue.
The Lou brothers already knew from the old farm owner and the verified account books that Wang Lingyi had bought Huang Zhiyi's farm. The money was now in their hands. This time they intended to return the money to Wang Lingyi, and just regard the farm as a gift from their Lou family, to thank Wang Lingyi for finding Qinghe and clearing the name of their sister and niece.
Wang Lingyi was unwilling to accept the money, and both sides declined. Finally, Wang Lingyi said, "The money should be used to build bridges and roads." If the bridge is built, then the name of the bridge should be added with Yuanyue. Yuanyue is the name of Huang Zhiyi's mother, Lou Yuanyue.
In the past, everyone only knew that Ye Zhou favored his concubine and killed his wife. Now, this murder case that was caused by a loyal servant more than ten years ago has basically been concluded after the Jingzhao Yin closed the case and reported it to the Ministry of Justice for review.
The Huang family's mansion has been sealed off, and the displaced servants bring the Huang family's story to life in the streets and alleys. A playboy's daughter, born to a concubine, isn't even a legitimate daughter, but later pretends to be the legitimate daughter. The mother and daughter then torture and kill the legitimate wife and daughter, stealing their dowry and private property.
Furthermore, the previous sale of the manor had already ruined her goodwill, and the sympathy she had held for years crumbled in an instant. Consequently, many of the women in the inner court no longer held such a strong dislike for the "favored concubine," Tang. At most, it was just a matter of "evil will be punished by evil." Furthermore, Tang's treatment of her was no more than a hundred times stronger than her treatment of Lou Yuanyue and Huang Zhiyi. She had divorced the Duke of Xiangguo's mansion amicably, while Lou Yuanyue and her daughter had died tragically.
The "evil" concubine Tang Miao was just about to ask Ye Zhou to fire her and leave the Duke's Mansion.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
