Chapter 229: Face to Face
Du Jingyi could tell that Minister Jin and his son were singing the same tune.
It seems that they want to drag the Duke's Mansion into this as well. Even though it was not stated explicitly, everyone understood it. They even mentioned the name of Sanlang from Guihua Lane, which means they want to involve the Duke's Mansion as well.
After hearing this, Second Master Du and Fourth Master Du finally found a way out. They immediately wailed without caring about their dignity and spoke to Shang Ji.
"Second uncle, our Jingxian should never have done such a damn thing, but it has already happened, and it is useless to blame him. Besides, he is now out there, his life or death is uncertain, and we don't know if something happened in the north. His mother is crying her eyes out at home, so please help us."
"Who is your second uncle, Du Si? Didn't you always say that you had an only son? When did you have a daughter? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? Do you think you are worthy?"
Mrs. Du was truly disgusted by their criticisms of her for not being able to give birth to a son many years later, and now that she had found this opportunity, she naturally wanted to criticize them back.
Mr. Du's face turned red and his teeth were about to break.
However, in the current situation, he couldn't do anything even if he had ten times the courage, otherwise how would he pay back the three hundred thousand taels of money?
When he thought of this, he could only give up and swallow his anger.
"Sister-in-law is right. It's not the second uncle, it's the general, it's the young master. Please see that there are people in the Duke's Mansion who are involved. Please help us."
After hearing what he said, Mr. Du sincerely felt that people could be stupid, but he didn't expect them to be so stupid.
He wanted to find fault with the Duke's Mansion in front of so many people. Was he afraid of dying too easily, so he wanted to find a more ugly way to die?
As expected, just as Mr. Du's thoughts came out, Shang Ji, who had been silent all this time, spoke, looking at Mr. Du Si with a forced smile.
"I don't quite understand what you're saying. Not to mention that the third and fifth branches had already separated from the Duke's Mansion, even if they hadn't, this matter doesn't seem to involve the Duke's Mansion."
After saying that, he clapped his hands, and soon a familiar face walked in from outside.
The person who came was none other than Shang Sanlang mentioned by the young man from the Jin family.
He looked calm at the moment, as if he didn't think the matter had anything to do with him. As soon as he entered the door, he spoke to Mr. Du Si.
"Uncle, please don't make random accusations. I have never participated in this matter. Why do you want to pin everything on me? You even want to use me to throw dirty water on the Duke's Mansion? I really need to go to the government office to defend myself."
As soon as he opened his mouth, not only Fourth Master Du, but even Minister Jin and the young master of the Jin family turned ugly.
From the beginning, they were intending to drag the Duke's Mansion into this. Not to mention how to pay the compensation, at least with the Duke's Mansion involved, the outsiders would be more cautious and might not really make a big deal out of it.
But since Shang Sanlang dared to speak like that, could it be that he really had nothing to do with the Duke's Mansion? The father and son of the Jin family looked at each other, their brows furrowed into a "川" shape.
Especially Shangshu Jin, he had no idea that his son was involved at all, and only found out about Shang Sanlang by beating him with a whip after the truth was revealed.
But now, Shang Sanlang actually jumped out and said that he had no involvement in this matter at all. Suddenly, Shangshu Jin felt a chill down his spine. Could it be that this was a trap set up specifically for him?
The civil servant had a hundred thoughts in his mind, but his expression remained calm.
Fourth Master Du is not someone who has been immersed in the court like Minister Jin, so even if he tries to be clever, he can only use a few tricks and be seen through at once.
But for the sake of my son's life and for the family to get through this difficult time.
He didn't care anymore, so he walked up to Shang Sanlang, pulled his sleeve and started talking.
"My dear, you can't just walk away and leave it to my son to deal with. You are a member of the Duke's Mansion, and you don't admit it? For you, it's just a loss of face, but we have to pay a heavy price. How can you be so cruel?"
Mr. Du Si's words made Shang Sanlang recall many past events in the Duke's Mansion, and he suddenly felt embarrassed.
Once upon a time, didn’t the people in the third and fifth rooms all think this way?
I always feel that being protected by Qingtian in the Duke's Mansion is just a loss of face. Now that it really comes to me, I will never accept it no matter what.
So Shang Sanlang pointed to the sky and the earth and spoke.
"Please stop slandering us. I, Shang Sanlang, didn't do it, and I won't do it even if you report it to the emperor!"
The affirmative tone in his words made Shangshu Jin feel a little disappointed.
Is it really necessary to abandon his son and fill the hole of more than 300,000 taels for no apparent reason?
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
He thought silently, no longer having the same expression as before, and then he listened to Shang Ji speaking slowly.
"Originally, this matter has nothing to do with the Duke's Mansion or my wife's family, but some people are determined to discredit our two families, so this general has no choice but to judge the case."
He looked at the young man from the Jin family and Fourth Master Du, with an attitude of a superior, and began to interrogate them in a serious tone.
"You are so sure that the Duke's Mansion is involved in this. Where is the evidence?"
"I... I saw Shang Jia Sanlang's name in an account book that Du Jingxian carried with him. I asked him about it and confirmed that Shang Jia Sanlang had invested 500 taels. Then I followed suit and invested 10,000 taels."
After saying this, the young man from the Jin family felt extremely regretful. If possible, he should have asked someone to copy a copy and keep it. Now he was really in a state of silence, unable to express his pain.
"I had contact with Du Jingxian before, and thought that it would be a good idea to do some small business as the New Year was coming to an end. Unfortunately, when I found out that he had broken up with the Du family, I was afraid that it would embarrass my sixth brother and his wife, so I cut off contact with him."
"As for the account book, I have never heard of it, so I don't know whether the young man from the Jin family and the uncle from the Du family have direct evidence. If not, don't blame me for going to the government office to sue you two for falsely accusing a court official."
Shang Sanlang was originally a minor official in the Ministry of Rites. If the case was really investigated, the charge would most likely be proven.
Du Jingyi glanced at Shang Sanlang and thought of his wife in the room. It seemed that both the couple were very capable.
With just a few words, the young man from the Jin family and Mr. Du Si were silenced.
If they couldn't find the account book, then everything they said would become a crime of slandering court officials. So the already panicked young man from the Jin family was so anxious that he was about to wet his pants.
(End of this chapter)