Feng Yuheng didn't really care whether she was afraid or not. Since she came to the Dashun Dynasty, she had never had a peaceful day. She had been through all the ups and downs. Could she be afraid of the prefect of Lanzhou? Or the eighth prince? Monsters attacked her one by one. She knew that the more she got to the end, the more OSSs would be left. It was useless to be afraid. She could only hone herself and keep rushing forward. Once she got through it, she would have a bright future.
Jiang was taken away by Xu Jingyuan and did not return that night. The next day, just when Ji Lingtian made up his mind to go find Feng Yuheng and find a way to settle the matter privately before the Yuexi Palace Banquet, news came from the government that the trial of Jiang's theft of Princess Ji'an's beautiful jade would be held today, and Lord Ji was invited to attend the trial.
Ji Lingtian had to change his schedule temporarily and went to the government office first. He thought that since he was invited to sit in on the trial, Princess Ji'an must have been invited as well, so it didn't matter where he met her, so he might as well go to the government office. Moreover, the case of his wife was being tried in court, and he would feel uneasy if he didn't go and see her.
But when they arrived at the government office, they did not see Feng Yuheng. In addition to Jiang and Jixiang, there was another witness in the hall. It was said that he was the person in charge of Nirvana Pavilion, named Qingyu.
Ji Lingtian gritted his teeth in hatred and could not help but ask Xu Jingyuan: "Master Xu, what do you mean? Since you can let me go out to listen to the trial, why is Princess Ji'an not here?"
Xu Jingyuan was puzzled, "Why is the princess here?"
"Humph!" Ji Lingtian said coldly: "I'm here, why doesn't she come?"
Xu Jingyuan understood, "So Lord Ji is trying to compete with the princess. Then I will do the math for you. The prefect is a fifth-rank official, but because there is no prefecture or province on the southern border and Lanzhou covers a vast area, Lord Ji's rank is the third-rank. In addition, Lanzhou is located on the border and has a special geographical environment. The court attaches great importance to it. Therefore, although the prefect of the border is a third-rank official, he is also treated as a second-rank official. Lord Ji, am I right?"
Ji Lingtian sat up straighter again, obviously taking this honor very seriously, and nodded, "That's right."
"Then I don't understand!" Xu Jingyuan said loudly: "A mere second-rank official dares to compare his status with a first-rank princess? Lord Ji, are you confused because your wife is suspected of theft? She is a princess, not a court official, but a conferment of the royal family!" Are you bored and want to compare with others? He forced himself not to say the last sentence. If this was not in court, Xu Jingyuan would definitely scold him. What border or not, he is still the parent official of the capital, no worse than Ji Lingtian.
Even so, Ji Lingtian's face turned red and white. When he heard the people outside the hall laughing, he felt that he could not listen to this trial any longer. He was a person who could shake the ground when he stomped his feet in Lanzhou, but he had to endure such ridicule in the capital.
But he had no choice whether to listen or not. Xu Jingyuan slammed the gavel and shouted, "Who is kneeling in the hall?"
The trial officially begins!
Jiang and Jixiang had been imprisoned for a night, and their arrogant temper had been worn down. Seeing their master being humiliated in court, they were afraid. She answered whatever Xu Jingyuan asked, and finally explained her identity tremblingly. But when Xu Jingyuan finally asked about the key point of the case, Jiang suddenly became energetic and retorted loudly: "It's not what you said! Princess Ji'an didn't lose any beautiful jade. She sold the jade to me for 80 million taels of silver!"
And what Xu Jingyuan was waiting for was her words: "Oh, then did you give the 80 million taels of silver?"
Jiang shook her head dejectedly, "At that time, the banknotes were not enough, and she said that I could take the jade back first, and then return it to her when the silver was enough."
Qingyu, who was standing by as a witness, laughed out loud, "Master Xu, Princess Ji'an knows everyone in the capital, has she ever done such a losing business?"
Xu Jingyuan shook his head, "How is that possible? Let alone a box of top-grade jade, even if it was a handkerchief, the princess would never let you take it first and then pay for it."
The people outside the hall who were sent by the princess's mansion to listen to the court proceedings couldn't help but stroke their foreheads. Is her princess so stingy?
But Xu Jingyuan continued, "But speaking of spending 80 million taels to buy jade, I have to ask this lady again, do you know anything about jade?"
Jiang nodded repeatedly, "Of course I understand."
Xu Jingyuan raised his hand and shouted, "Please ask Bai Qiaojiang to come out."
Soon, an official invited Bai Qiaojiang out from the side hall. When Ji Lingtian saw Bai Qiaojiang coming, he couldn't help but frown. Speaking of jade knowledge, the world's number one craftsman is naturally the most knowledgeable person. Why did Xu Jingyuan invite him?
Just as he was thinking, Bai Qiaojiang had already begun to look carefully at the box of beautiful jade. He spent half a cup of tea looking at it. When he finally withdrew his gaze, he couldn't help but sigh repeatedly: "Superb jade, rare in ancient and modern times, the most precious treasure in the world."
These twelve words, coming from the mouth of craftsman Bai, can be said to have given the jade a high level of affirmation.
Xu Jingyuan asked Jiang again: "Madam, do you agree with what Bai Qiaojiang said?"
Jiang had no objection to this, so he nodded and said, "I agree."
"Then according to Madam, what is the real value of this box of jade?" Xu Jingyuan asked Jiang, "Is it more or less than 80 million taels?"
Jiang was extremely fond of this box of jade and had already estimated its value in his heart. When Xu Jingyuan asked, he immediately said, "More than that. I have a superficial vision, but I know that this jade is the best in the world. 80 million taels of silver sounds like a lot, but compared to these jades, it is really...too insignificant."
Xu Jingyuan didn't say anything. He looked at Bai Qiaojiang. Bai Qiaojiang thought for a while and gave a very fair price: "Eighty million taels of gold. Worth it!"
At this sentence, all those who heard it gasped. Those who were stopped outside the court to watch the excitement stretched their necks, trying desperately to get a glimpse of what the beautiful jade that was worth 80 million taels of gold looked like. Unfortunately, the jade was in the court, so how could they see it.
Ji Lingtian sat on the side and felt his head buzzing. He had a premonition that he would definitely lose the lawsuit and lose miserably.
Xu Jingyuan finally spoke again, still asking Jiang: "Bai Qiaojiang is the best craftsman in the world. Do you agree with the value estimate he gave?"
Jiang sighed and nodded, "I agree."
So Xu Jingyuan said, "This beautiful jade is worth 80 million taels of gold, but you said that Princess Ji'an wanted to sell it to you for 80 million taels of silver. Madam, can you explain the truth?"
Jiang immediately said, "Maybe the princess doesn't understand jade!"
As soon as these words came out, Qingyu immediately said, "No! The princess doesn't understand, but His Highness the Ninth Prince does. At first, His Highness the Ninth Prince offered 50 million taels of gold for this box of jade, but they couldn't afford it."
Jiang nodded, "Yes, so you lowered the price."
There was another round of laughter inside and outside the hall. From 50 million taels of gold to 80 million taels of silver, is Princess Ji'an crazy?
Jiang also felt that this reason was untenable. At this time, Jixiang, who had been kneeling beside her without saying anything, finally spoke up and said, "That's because they knew my wife's identity! That's why I did them a favor and sold the deal for 80 million taels."
"What?" Xu Jingyuan and Qingyu exclaimed at the same time, and then Xu Jingyuan said, "Say it again? I didn't hear it clearly."
Jixiang continued, "I mean, they didn't know my wife's identity at first, so they asked for a high price! Later, they found out that my wife was the wife of the prefect of Lanzhou, and they were afraid, so they lowered the price! I guess... I guess they wanted to make friends with her!"
boom!
Everyone in and outside the hall laughed again!
This time, even Ji Lingtian couldn't sit still. He stood up and raised his foot to kick the girl, but was stopped by the officer next to him.
Xu Jingyuan slammed the gavel and shouted, "Silence!"
Immediately, the officers standing in the hall responded in unison: "Mighty!"
Jiang shuddered again, and then she heard Xu Jingyuan ask her: "Princess Ji'an, the future wife of the Ninth Prince and His Royal Highness, do you think she would be afraid of you because of your status as the wife of the prefect of Lanzhou? And she even gave up such a box of beautiful jade just to make friends?" After saying that, he looked at Ji Lingtian and said, "Master Ji, what do you think about this matter?"
Ji Lingtian closed his eyes slightly, and the anger in his heart was rising! Damn it! This girl must be strangled to death when she returns. She is simply unable to help but causes trouble.
He calmed down and replied, "She is just a maid, she has no knowledge and speaks nonsense. Lord Xu should never judge her based on this. Princess Ji'an is a princess, so she naturally looks down on us, a minor official. How could she be afraid of her?"
Jiang was about to cry, and glared at Jixiang fiercely. Jixiang knew that he had said the wrong thing, and knelt there and dared not say anything. She didn't think so at first, but she was used to speaking quickly, and she was used to the fact that no one dared to offend Jiang in the South Territory, so she blurted out such words, and now she really regretted it.
Xu Jingyuan's words came again: "Jiang, you stole the beautiful jade from Princess Ji'an, do you plead guilty or not?"
Jiang Shi had no way to defend herself. If she admitted it, she really didn't steal it, and she felt wronged. If she didn't admit it, the facts were all there, and she had no right to stand. At this moment, she finally understood that the reason why the woman didn't even let her keep the IOU yesterday was for revenge. It was because of their arrogant words yesterday, and it was because no one dared to provoke her in the southern border, so she was a little uncomfortable with being inferior to others when she came to Beijing. Now think about it, the rumor that Princess Ji'an would take revenge for every grievance was true.
Jiang was silent for a long time, but Ji Lingtian took over the conversation - "Admit it, then tell me, how do you solve this matter?"
Xu Jingyuan looked at Qingyu and said, "Miss Qingyu has received instructions from the princess before she came here. Considering that the Moon Festival Palace Banquet is coming soon, this matter should not be made too big, so as to avoid the magistrate of Lanzhou losing face in Beijing. It is better to settle it privately."
Ji Lingtian nodded, "Thank you, Lord, for your sympathy."
Xu Jingyuan added: "Then Miss Qingyu, please tell us how to settle this privately!"
Qingyu smiled and looked at Ji Lingtian: "My princess said that a private settlement would only require some compensation, and she will just pretend that this incident never happened."
"Okay." Ji Lingtian could accept this approach, "Then tell me, girl, how much the princess wants!"
Qingyu smiled even more strangely, "Not much, just 80 million taels of silver!"
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