"Aunt Cui, what nonsense are you talking about? How could we have such things in our warehouse? Don't slander me!" Jin Cai looked at the man in disbelief.
She followed Mama Chen to handle all the affairs in the mansion. This warehouse was not a shameful place. She had been in and out several times. There were only cloths and some silk threads. There were no forbidden items in the palace! Aunt Cui didn't care about Jin Cai at this moment. She just said, "If you don't believe me, just go to the warehouse. I remember there is a jade pendant in it. On it, there seems to be a word Pei engraved on it! Because the jade is flowing with blood color, it is a treasure at first glance. I dare not touch it! The Liu family is just a merchant family. Such blood jade cannot be bought even with money. It must not be something from the Liu family?"
Shen Qingqiu's face still showed no expression, but Jin Cai couldn't stand it anymore, "How can you say such things? Don't the young lady and the lady treat you well?"
But Aunt Cui didn't even look at her.
Lin Xuanfeng frowned upon hearing this. The blood jade had the word Pei engraved on it. Although blood jade was precious, it was not uncommon. However, Pei was the queen's surname, and how could an ordinary person dare to carve something as precious as blood jade?
"Whether it is true or not, you will know if you go to the storeroom and take a look." Aunt Cui was afraid that Lin Xuanfeng would not go, so she continued, "In fact, a few days ago, I saw my wife going in and out of the storeroom in a panic. She found these things when she went in... I didn't know what happened at that time. I was so bold that I took these things. But God knows, I know stealing things from the palace is a capital crime, how dare I?"
"You!" Jin Cai was already furious when she saw that she was trying to put the death penalty on herself.
Shen Qingqiu stood up and looked at Lin Xuanfeng, "In that case, Jin Cai, you accompany this gentleman to the warehouse."
Jin Cai: “Young lady?” Although she was not as smart as the young lady, she knew that there must be something fishy about the warehouse that the old woman was talking about.
"Since my family is innocent, why should we be afraid of others coming to search?" Shen Qingqiu slightly raised the corners of his lips.
Lin Xuanfeng frowned slightly, his mind in a turmoil.
Aunt Cui was relieved. She was sure that there was solid evidence in the warehouse. As long as they searched, the Liu family would be sentenced to death! At most, she was charged with theft. Perhaps because of her meritorious reporting and the princess's crime, she could be released in a month or so.
"Jincai, go."
Jin Cai didn't dare to disobey her, so she said yes and glared at Aunt Cui before taking the detectives to the storeroom at home.
As a result, only Shen Qingqiu, the two constables escorting Aunt Cui, and Aunt Cui were left in the courtyard.
"Uncles, can you let her go first?" Shen Qingqiu asked.
Regardless of her appearance, just by looking at her golden and jade clothes, one can tell that she is from a wealthy family. Among the detectives, except for the eldest son Lin Xuanfeng who was a god sent down from heaven to understand the people's sentiments, few were wealthy. Seeing that she was born into a wealthy family, she actually called him uncle.
His ears softened instantly, "It's not impossible." With a little girl and a middle-aged woman on either side, how could he not hold them back?
Shen Qingqiu smiled, "Thank you, uncle. There is some breakfast steamed by my servants in the kitchen. You guys are rushing here so early in the morning. You probably didn't have time to eat." He winked at the servants over there, and soon someone came to greet the two of them, "Sir, follow us to the kitchen for some morning tea."
The two detectives looked at each other, then looked at Shen Qingqiu, but said nothing and followed the cook.
"It's just you and me left, Aunt Cui." Shen Qingqiu slowly walked to Aunt Cui.
Aunt Cui shuddered, apparently remembering the ferociousness of this master when he practiced martial arts in the garden.
Shen Qingqiu smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, "Aunt Cui may have forgotten, but I still remember that when my mother, Chen Mama and I first arrived in the capital, Aunt Cui, you were so warm and welcoming and introduced houses to us. At that time, my mother's embroidery business had just started and was not doing well, but you also introduced us to the neighborhood shops that had good and cheap embroidery threads."
At that time, Aunt Cui's enthusiasm and kindness were genuine, but people are just so fickle.
Shen Qingqiu's eyes turned cold, "So I'll give you one chance. If you tell me the truth now, I'll save your life."
Aunt Cui looked at Shen Qingqiu with some fear on her face, "I, I don't know what you are saying..."
Shen Qingqiu has never been a person who hesitates. Especially after hearing her words, he regretted giving her a chance. "Okay."
If a person really wants to die, even eight horses can't stop him.
She sat there again, drinking the milk tea that the kitchen had carefully prepared for her.
Aunt Cui raised her eyes. She got up early in the morning and had not eaten anything because she was worried about something. She was not hungry, but the smell of milk was very appetizing. She ate happily, and she seemed not afraid of being found out. Lin Xuanfeng was a man of action. He searched the Lin family's warehouse thoroughly to make sure nothing was missing before returning to the yard.
Aunt Cui looked at Lin Xuanfeng and several constables rushing over with serious expressions. She thought that the secret had been uncovered and just stood up to ask more questions.
"You evil woman, not only did you steal things from the palace, you also falsely accused others. Do you know what crime you are guilty of?!"
Unexpectedly, Lin Xuanfeng kicked him in the chest.
Aunt Cui was lying on the ground, and at that moment she didn't even feel any pain. No? How could it be possible!
"No way, sir, it's right there, I can see it clearly!"
Lin Xuanfeng asked, "Are you saying that I am blind?"
"No, no..." Aunt Cui was sweating anxiously, and hurriedly said, "Since the master said that those things belonged to the palace, how could an ordinary woman like me have the opportunity to enter the palace? How could I steal those things?"
"Whether it is true or not, these things were always found in Aunt Cui's room!" It was Tu Jiu and a group of constables who rushed over.
Tu Jiu was holding a bundle in his hand. Lin Xuanfeng took it and spread it on the table. Inside were some pearls and gems.
“They all have traces of being forged in the palace.” Lin Xuanfeng said.
Tu Jiu crossed his arms and said, "We didn't find anything in the storeroom, but there are quite a few things in Aunt Cui's room?"
Aunt Cui glanced at Tu Jiu, then at Shen Qingqiu, "You... you know..." She bit her tongue quickly and turned to pull Lin Xuanfeng's trouser legs, "Sir, they deliberately framed me. How could a little woman like me get these things! It must be that my girl asked Tu Jiu to put the things in my room in order to escape danger!"
"Sir, don't look down on my little girl because she is so young. She is very cruel. I am innocent, sir!"
Shen Qingqiu stared at her ugly appearance for a while before speaking: "You are innocent. I knew long ago that you were going to bring people from the Jingji Prefecture Yamen with you, so I set a trap for you in advance?"
"Yes, that's it!" Aunt Cui had completely lost the ability to think.
Lin Xuanfeng sneered and continued, "How can the people in the capital government come whenever they are called?"
Shen Qingqiu also said: "Auntie Cui, you are the one who brought the people from the Jingji Prefecture Office, not me? If that's what you mean, you are usually busy in the mansion at this time, why did you go out so early this morning and bump into the Jingji Prefecture Office?"
Aunt Cui was already a little panicked.
"Speak!" Lin Xuan's voice was as loud as a bell, which frightened her again.
“You still haven’t said it… It’s you who is wearing the stolen goods, and the things are also in your room?” Shen Qingqiu tilted his head and looked at her, his eyes dark, “Or are you really determined to die?”
I don't know what touched Aunt Cui's nerves, she suddenly said: "It's the number one scholar, it's the lady, and you, it's your whole family! You all framed me!"
Never repent.
Shen Qingqiu stood up, looked at her, opened his mouth but didn't say anything, "Since you have made this false accusation, then I will confirm it." That's all. The corners of his lips curled slightly, and Aunt Cui felt a chill for no reason.
"Mr. Lin," she turned and called Lin Xuanfeng.
Lin Xuanfeng glanced at her, and Shen Qingqiu said: "I remember that Aunt Cui's son was at the bottom of the list of Jinshi. Although he was not as glorious as the top three, he also had the opportunity to enter the palace on the day he passed the list."
When Aunt Cui heard this, her eyes widened suddenly.
Lin Xuanfeng took a deep look at her, then shook his hand and said, "Go search the scholar's house."
Aunt Cui shook her head violently, but at this time she still had a glimmer of hope in her heart, but her face was pale. When the yamen runners came over with her son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and son-in-law, she suddenly collapsed.
"Mom, what did you do? Why do these people say that we stole things from the palace?!" Aunt Cui's daughter-in-law asked while crying.
"I didn't take these things. I really didn't take them!" Mr. Cui knew the law, and now that he had all the physical evidence, he explained with a pale face.
Aunt Cui suddenly got up from the ground and was about to catch Shen Qingqiu, but was stopped by the yamen runners.
Lin Xuanfeng also immediately stood in front of Shen Qingqiu.
"You bitch, you are trying to hurt me on purpose, aren't you? You are hurting me!! How can you be so vicious!!" He had only cursed for a few words when he was forced to his knees by the yamen runners.
Shen Qingqiu said innocently: "I harmed you? It was obviously your son who went to the palace to steal things, and you showed off outside. When the truth was revealed, you wanted to put the blame on me."
Lin Xuanfeng glanced at her and added, "It makes sense."
When Aunt Cui heard that they were going to convict her son, she burst into tears, "Girl, I was wrong. I was blinded by greed. None of this has anything to do with my son! She is innocent!"
"Girl, you can't be so cruel. He is innocent. You can't hurt him like this!"
She cried miserably, but Shen Qingqiu had no sympathy, "Then tell me, your son's death, what does it have to do with me?" She couldn't harm her son's family, but she felt at ease harming their family?
How can such a thing be possible in this world?
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