"Grandpa is on the farm? No one told me for all these years? Second uncle, you should have told me earlier. If I had known that grandpa was on the farm, I would have moved there to accompany him. How could I let him be alone on the farm?" Ling Xiang turned the tables on Ling Chengfu.
"Go and invite Old Master Ling."
I originally thought that going to the farm to invite Old Master Ling would take a lot of time, but before long, Old Master Ling came to Shuntian Prefecture with the yamen runners.
The yamen runner reported back, "Not long after we left the house, we ran into Old Master Ling who had rushed to Shuntian Prefecture."
Yuan Zhengqing asked Old Master Ling to sit down. He didn't show him the two deeds right away. Instead, he asked, "Old Master Ling, when you settled Ling Xiang and the Marquis of Zhenguo's huge estate, do you still remember the contents of the final deed you signed?"
Old Master Ling's face was pale, and he looked at Yuan Zhengqing with cloudy eyes, then at Ling Chengfu.
"Dad, you came all the way back, please let me know, I'll pick you up." Before he could speak, Ling Chengfu said respectfully,
"Back then, everyone in the Ling family had agreed that I would raise Ling Xiang and manage the Zhenguo Marquisate Mansion. Do you remember?"
Over the years, he has been brainwashing Old Master Ling, telling him that a daughter who is married off is like spilled water, and Ling Xiang is destined to belong to someone else's family, and he cannot let her hand over the Marquis of Zhenguo Mansion to others.
He believed that his biological father must know the pros and cons of this matter and would firmly stand on his side!
"Cough cough cough..." Old Master Ling started coughing violently, and Yuan Zhengqing quickly ordered someone to serve tea.
After a while, Old Master Ling finally calmed down.
"I never thought that even though I'm half buried in the ground, I still have the opportunity to go to court." He sighed heavily and asked,
"Second brother, was Xiang'er's face made by your wife?"
This matter is already a done deal, Ling Chengfu has no choice but to admit it:
"Ms. Ling Zhang acted on her own initiative and plotted to murder Xiang'er. I absolutely cannot tolerate this! Don't worry, Dad. I've already written the divorce letter. Once this matter is over, I'll make a clear break with her."
Ling Zhang had been in jail for two days and looked extremely haggard. Upon hearing this, she said in disbelief, "Master, you want to divorce me?"
"I told you a long time ago to treat Xiang'er well, why didn't you listen?" Ling Chengfu scolded.
How could Ling Zhang be willing to be ruthlessly abandoned? She roared, "I am acting on my own? Master, you should speak with conscience! In this family, what have I done without your consent?"
"Silence!" Yuan Zhengqing slammed the gavel, interrupting Ling Zhang's roar.
Old Master Ling closed his eyes in pain, and when he opened them again, he had made up his mind: "Xiang'er, promise me one thing."
Ling Xiang said firmly, "Grandpa, I will definitely do my best to fulfill your wish. However, we are in court now. What we need is the truth, not a compromise."
Old Master Ling looked at Ling Xiang for a long time, then nodded and said, "I feel relieved that you are in the Ling family."
He turned to look at Yuan Zhengqing and said, "Master Yuan, back then, for the sake of the Zhenguo Marquisate's assets and Ling Xiang's upbringing, my second son, Ling Chengfu, swore in the ancestral hall that he would treat Ling Xiang well and would never covet the Zhenguo Marquisate's property. He promised to return everything to Ling Xiang upon her coming of age, and only then did we agree to let him take over the Zhenguo Marquisate."
"Dad!" Mr. Ling Er had never expected that he would be betrayed by his own father. "Are you getting senile? I'm your only son now! Do you want to watch the Zhenguo Marquisate change its name?"
"As a human being, you cannot go against your conscience. Second brother, Dad doesn't want you to be ashamed to face your eldest brother a hundred years from now..." Old Master Ling spoke earnestly, and then he couldn't stop coughing.
Ling Xiang quickly walked over to calm him down, "Grandpa, don't get excited."
Old Master Ling stood up and knelt before Yuan Zhengqing. "If a child is not taught well, it is the fault of the father. My Lord, Ling Chengfu has made a mistake, so let me, as his father, take the punishment for him."
As early as when Xuanyuan Qi gave him the deed, Ling Xiang had already found a way to restore the words on the deed.
But she didn't expect that Lian Cailiang would send her the deed with words already written on it.
She was not sure whether the contract written by Lian Cailiang was the same as the original one. In order not to let him down, she decided not to restore the contract.
She was very touched that her grandfather came out to testify for her, allowing her to win the game directly.
After this incident, Ling Chengfu and his wife could no longer jump around. Instead of severely punishing Ling Chengfu and letting his grandfather lose his only son, it would be better to go with the flow and save Ling Chengfu to let his grandfather feel at ease.
What's more, Ling Chengfu killed the Ling family army, so it would be too easy for him to go to jail. He must pay the price in blood to pay tribute to the heroic spirits of the Ling family army.
Ling Xiang knelt down along with Old Master Ling. "Master Yuan, please allow me to report that even though my second uncle is no longer alive, he still raised me. Although he attempted to seize the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion's property, he was unsuccessful. He also had no involvement in Ling Zhang's poisoning. I beg you to be lenient with my punishment."
Ling Xiang, as the victim, pleaded for mercy. Yuan Zhengqing looked at the white-haired Old Master Ling and granted their request:
"The prisoner, Ling Chengfu, has monopolized the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion's property for many years. He violated the contract and tampered with the contents of the contract with the intention of seizing the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion's property. The evidence is conclusive. Ling Chengfu is now sentenced to return all the property of the Marquis Zhenguo Mansion and apologize to Ling Xiang in public.
"The prisoner, Ling Zhang, poisoned Ling Xiang. The evidence is conclusive. She must hand over the antidote, be imprisoned, and executed in the autumn!"
Except for the two main culprits, all other accomplices received the punishment they deserved.
As participants in the poisoning, Nanny Zhang and Huamei were sentenced to exile.
He Xun, who provided the poison, was eventually acquitted because he did not actually participate in poisoning Ling Xiang. Since there was no corresponding law in the Dajing Empire, the poison maker was not breaking the law.
Those deeds were taken into Shuntian Prefecture as evidence of the crime.
He Xun handed over the antidote for Zhang Qian.
Ling Chengfu looked dejected. He admitted his mistake to Ling Xiang in public and vowed that he would never interfere in the affairs of the Marquis of Zhenguo's Mansion again.
It was just a face-saving effort. In front of Yuan Zhengqing, Ling Xiang generously forgave Ling Chengfu, but no longer called him second uncle.
After the matter was settled, Ling Xiang supported Old Master Ling and said, "Grandpa, let's go home."
Old Master Ling sighed, "People always make mistakes. Mistakes are not to be feared. It's never too late to stop."
"I will remember your teachings." Ling Chengfu leaned forward and said, "Dad, I will carry you back."
"Grandpa, I have something else to do. You go back to the Marquis' Mansion first. I'll be back soon. Let's have dinner together tonight." Ling Xiang said goodbye to Old Master Ling and held the armrest of Lian Cailiang's wheelchair.
"Uncle Lian, can I take you back?"
Ling Xiang won a great victory today and took back the Marquis's things. Lian Cailiang was very happy.
However, Ling Xiang was too kind and actually pleaded for Ling Chengfu, the evil man. He really couldn't understand Ling Xiang's behavior and refused:
"Ms. Ling, I'm just here to return the property to its original owner. I won't bother you any more."
Recalling the scene of being persecuted by Ling Chengfu, the woman pushing the wheelchair also strongly disapproved of Ling Xiang's behavior, and quickly pushed the wheelchair away from Shuntian Mansion.
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