Ling Xiang took out the agreement signed with Mr. Ling Er and handed it over, explaining:
"Second Aunt had previously promised to return the power of managing the household to me. However, after the agreed time, Second Aunt was unwilling to return it. In the end, I signed an agreement with Second Uncle and agreed to the conditions proposed by Second Aunt. Only then did I get the household account books and keys.
"But, for some reason, the housekeepers and servants refused to listen to me and were deliberately slacking off. Zhang Sui even took control of the treasury and refused to pay me. I had no choice but to beat him up, strip him of his accountant position, and have his family take him back."
Yuan Zhengqing read the confession of the servants in the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion and confirmed that what Ling Xiang said was true, and then said:
"Since Zhang Sui made a mistake while serving in the Zhenguo Marquisate, he deserves to be punished. Ling Zhang, do you have any objection to Ling Xiang's words?"
"No, that's not right, it's not like that!" Mrs. Ling Er was no longer able to figure out the situation and looked at Master Ling Er for help, "Master, tell them, it's not like that!"
Second Master Ling stepped forward and slowly knelt down: "Your Excellency, I have no intention of killing my niece Ling Xiang, let alone of seizing the family property of the Zhenguo Marquisate."
Yuan Zhengqing looked at the confession and questioned, "According to the confessions of the servants of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion, Ling Xiang once raised the issue of the ownership of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion's property with you. You said you wanted to convene a clan meeting. Is this true?"
"Yes." Master Ling looked at Ling Xiang, and something flashed through Master Ling's mind.
He connected all the events that happened in the past few days and suddenly understood one thing: It turned out that what Ling Xiang wanted was to take back everything in the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion!
Ling Xiang has always been timid, but her temperament suddenly changed. It must be that Xiaoyu told Ling Xiang what she heard!
Ling Xiang hadn't mentioned anything about the flower viewing banquet at Prince Qin's Mansion these days. He thought Xiaoyu was afraid of death and didn't dare to tell Ling Xiang. Ling Xiang also saw that Xiaoyu was watching her closely, and he didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he ignored Xiaoyu.
If I had known this earlier, I should have killed Xiaoyu directly!
"Chuan Ling family elder."
Yuan Zhengqing sent someone to invite them. The elders of the Ling family came with them. Yuan Zhengqing ordered someone to prepare seats for them. Then he asked:
"Fourteen years ago, the former Marquis of Zhenguo and his wife disappeared, leaving behind only the infant Ling Xiang. How were all matters concerning the Marquis of Zhenguo's mansion decided at that time?"
"It's been so long since that happened, we don't remember it clearly." said an elder of the tribe.
The other elders nodded in succession: "With no one in the first house, it is natural for the second house to take charge. Over the years, the second son has done a good job and has not disgraced the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion."
"For such an important matter, there should have been a deed left at that time, right?" Yuan Zhengqing said.
Master Ling nodded and said, "I did sign the contract at that time. Since you are asking, I would like to ask the elders to help me take out the contract from the ancestral hall to prove my innocence."
The clan elders took the lead in offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple and solemnly took out the deed from that year.
After working for a long time, it was already dark when the deed was finally retrieved.
The elder opened the deed, cleared his throat, and prepared to read out the contents.
As a result, everyone pricked up their ears and waited for a long time, but the elder never spoke.
"What's wrong?" Yuan Zhengqing asked first.
The clan elder coughed, sighed, and handed the deed to Yuan Zhengqing.
Yuan Zhengqing took it and looked at it, his face changed: "Where is the contract?"
"This is it," the clan elder reminded him. "The clan seal used when the contract was signed, as well as the fingerprints of the second brother and little Lingxiang, are still on it."
Yuan Zhengqing stared at the seal and handprints on it. "So the words are gone? Did you use special ink back then?"
The elders all shook their heads: "For something this important, it's impossible to use special ink."
Yuan Zhengqing was quite experienced in this and immediately ordered people to prepare something to make the words visible.
They tried soaking in water, roasting with fire, and even some special methods, but there was still only a seal and two handprints on it, and not a single word was visible.
"Maybe it was not kept properly, but it doesn't matter. I have a copy of this deed." Master Ling went to get the deed himself. The difference from the one in the ancestral hall was that his copy had words on it.
The clan elder breathed a sigh of relief and read from the deed, "Marquis Zhenguo Ling Chengtian and his wife have disappeared. We have searched for them for six months without any trace. The vast estate of the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion cannot be left unattended. Because the Marquis Zhenguo's only daughter, Ling Xiang, is young, all of the estate is now being handed over to the Marquis Zhenguo's younger brother, Ling Chengfu. Ling Chengfu must diligently raise Ling Xiang until she marries."
According to the deed, all the properties of the Marquis of Zhenguo Mansion belong to Mr. Ling Er, and Mr. Ling Er's responsibility is to raise Ling Xiang and let her get married.
It can be said that Ling Chengfu basically did not pay anything, but got all the property of the Marquis of Zhenguo Mansion for free.
But Ling Xiang, the only heir, got nothing.
It is incredible that such an unequal treaty that is completely biased towards one side could be passed in the Ling family ancestral hall.
Yuan Zhengqing held up the contract and asked the Ling family elder, "Are you sure this is what was written in the contract we signed?"
An elder was the first to nod: "Although I don't remember it clearly, it should be roughly like this."
"Yes, that's right." Other elders also echoed.
"My parents disappeared for only a year. I don't think the elders would completely ignore an orphan like me. Besides, my parents' subordinates were still there at that time. Would they agree to such a contract?" Ling Xiang questioned.
"It's been so long, we don't remember it clearly, but the contract is here, so it can't be wrong." An elder advised Ling Xiang.
"Xiang'er, you are a girl, and you will get married sooner or later. When you get married, I can't let you give the family property of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion to your in-laws."
"Yes, she's a girl, so we should raise her with all our heart and let her marry into a good family." Other elders echoed.
Ling Xiang finally understood where Mr. Ling Er's confidence came from. With a mocking smile, he asked, "Are there only two copies of the deed? Where's my copy?"
The elder thought seriously and said, "Your share was originally held by your father's trusted subordinates, but they all left later. We don't know where your copy of the deed is."
In fact, Mr. Ling had been planning to seize the property of the Marquis of Zhenguo's Mansion for a long time, and the person holding Ling Xiang's deed had long been assassinated by his men.
"The Marquis of Zhenguo is an important official at the imperial court, and his residence was granted by the emperor. According to the rules, any changes to his property must be approved by the emperor. There should still be a copy of this deed in the emperor's possession. I wonder which government office you originally placed it in?"
Master Ling said, "In the Dali Temple."
Since it involves other government offices, we have to negotiate with them. It is getting late now, so the case can only be heard in court the next day.
One night is neither long nor short, and it is enough time for people with aspirations to do many things.
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