"Your Majesty, this indictment is full of false accusations! I have never done such a wicked thing, Your Majesty!"
Before Xu Ming could finish reading, he knelt on the ground and cried out for justice, "This, this is all Qin Kou'er framing me!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Shanyang immediately grabbed a paperweight from the table and slammed it down. "What did you say? Qin Kou'er framed you? I ask you, did you smash up Qin Tiange's shop? Did you beat anyone? Did your men arrest people as traitors? Which of these things is unjust? Hmph, arresting people without any evidence. Their shop hasn't even opened yet, and you're already calling it a black market. Hmph, I've never even heard of such a thing! You offered a smile, and your men beat someone severely. What are you, government troops or bandits? I now think it's your men who are plotting a rebellion!"
"Your subject would never dare!" Xu Ming kowtowed to the ground, truly making Qin Kou'er grit her teeth in hatred.
"Hmm, you wouldn't dare! What wouldn't you, General Xu, dare to do!" Lan Shanyang had gotten carried away with his cursing, and years of pent-up resentment finally erupted today. "Just two days ago, in front of all of you, I said that Qin Kou'er was a model for the gentry of Jiangnan and an exemplar for merchants across the land! And less than two days later, you're saying she runs a shady business? You're clearly going against me! You're slapping me in the face like this, what are you if not traitors?"
"Your Majesty! This is truly a misunderstanding. I did not order my subordinates to do this. They only went to search because they received a tip-off! The old man kept obstructing them, which led to the misunderstanding! Moreover, I truly had no idea such a thing had happened! Your Majesty, I have served you for twenty years, how could I possibly smear your name! Your Majesty, this is truly a miscarriage of justice!"
As he spoke, Xu Ming kowtowed deeply, looking as if he were truly wronged.
Just as Lan Shanyang was about to explode with anger, Lan Xiuyuan suddenly knelt down and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I went to the Censorate this morning. Miss Qin was detained last night because she was going to accuse a high-ranking official. She has already spent the night in prison! As for what happened last night, I'm afraid there was a misunderstanding or something amiss, since it involved Lord Xu. Therefore, I sent people out last night to investigate thoroughly again!"
When Lan Shanyang saw Lan Xiuyuan step forward, his eyes flashed, and he quickly glanced at Hu Tianyong, who was standing in front of him with his head down. Sure enough, a look of annoyance flashed across Hu Tianyong's face.
Hmph, Lan Xiuyuan's cultivation is indeed far inferior to Hu Tianyong's.
Lan Xiuyuan didn't realize at all that his words were meant to directly oppose Xu Ming. At this moment, kicking Xu Ming when he was down would obviously provoke a full-scale counterattack from Xu Ming, which was a situation that Hu Tianyong did not want.
However, Lan Xiuyuan failed to realize that this was exactly the situation Lan Linxue had hoped for. As a result, Lan Xiuyuan fell into the trap, and Hu Tianyong was also bound to be dragged into it.
But for Lan Shanyang and Lan Linxue, this was the best possible outcome.
Therefore, Lan Shanyang deliberately softened her expression, looked at Lan Xiuyuan with a hint of appreciation, and slowly said, "Xiuyuan is indeed very thoughtful. Tell me, what have you found out?"
Lan Shanyang's slight praise was like a shot of adrenaline to Lan Xiuyuan. He said with a mixture of surprise and excitement, "Your Majesty! Your son has discovered that Wang Dachui, who harassed Qin Tiange last night, did not receive any intelligence. Instead, he went to confiscate Qin Tiange's properties with Lord Xu's military orders! Moreover, their orders were to give Qin Kou'er a good beating, and even better, to capture Miss Qin and label her a traitor!"
As soon as Lan Shanyang finished speaking, the court erupted in a buzz of discussion, as if it had been bombed.
If Lan Qingtian and Chen Kuangzheng were only tentatively throwing stones down, Lan Xiuyuan's words at this moment were practically stabbing Xu Ming in the back.
"You're talking nonsense! Lan Xiuyuan, you're deliberately framing me!"
Before Xu Ming could speak, Lan Jiayuan jumped out and started cursing at Lan Xiuyuan.
Lan Xiuyuan sneered and looked at Lan Jiayuan without any fear, saying, "If I'm talking nonsense, does that mean Zheng Kai is also spouting nonsense? Don't forget, he was one of the parties involved last night."
As he spoke, Lan Xiuyuan took something out of his pocket, raised it high with both hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have a statement from the person involved last night. Please read it!"
Zheng Kai was an adjutant who followed Wang Dachui last night. He was usually very low-key, but Xu Ming never expected that he was actually a spy planted by Lan Xiuyuan.
Hearing that Lan Xiuyuan was going to present his testimony, Xu Ming felt a little nervous.
Lan Linxue was truly surprised that Lan Xiuyuan would actually expose his own undercover agents for Qin Kou'er's sake, and couldn't help but turn to look at him.
Lan Xiuyuan was also looking at Lan Linxue, his provocation was very obvious: for Qin Kou'er, he could build something he had cultivated for many years, Lan Linxue, could you do that?
Lan Linxue immediately understood and scoffed, turning her head back. "Hmph, what's a mere inside man? For Qin Kou'er, he'd risk the entire world. Lan Xiuyuan, can you do that?"
The two were openly and covertly at odds with each other, but Lan Shanyang, holding the memorial presented by Lan Xiuyuan, grew angrier and angrier as he read it, to the point that he was trembling with anger.
After quickly glancing at it, Lan Shanyang grabbed the item and smashed it over Xu Ming's head: "Xu Ming! You've done a good job as a general! Besides oppressing the desperate people, you've also learned to smash and loot! Let me see, let me see properly what your subordinates are saying!"
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