Lady Lu abruptly stood up and asked the steward, “Did they say what it’s about?”
“Duchess,” the official from the Dali Temple did not force his way in. After entering, he respectfully performed a bow. “Lord Yang requests that Lord Cen and his wife, Shen Qingrui, come to the Dali Temple.”
Shen Qingrui tensed up. “What is this about?”
“You will know once you and Lord Cen arrive.”
Lady Lu glanced outside. Seeing no soldiers surrounding the residence, she calmed down slightly and said, “It’s getting late. Why not discuss this tomorrow?”
She attempted to stall, hoping to give her husband and son time to deal with the servants who knew about the matter and to figure out why the Dali Temple had sent someone.
If it wasn’t what they suspected, speaking carelessly would only cause unnecessary trouble. She also believed that Shen Yiren, the true legitimate daughter of the General’s Manor, wouldn’t pass up a thousand taels of gold to actually report the matter to the authorities.
“It is indeed getting late,” the official from the Dali Temple said. “Please, Lord Cen and his wife, come with us to the Dali Temple quickly. Prince Duan needs to dine at the appointed time. If he is delayed and his health suffers, neither the Duke’s residence nor the Dali Temple can afford the consequences.”
“Prince Duan?” Lady Lu exclaimed in surprise. “What does Prince Duan have to do with this?”
“Duchess, where is Lord Cen?” The Dali Temple official did not respond directly. “Prince Duan’s close attendants, Cang Xu and Cang Ming, are waiting outside the residence. It would be best not to make them come in themselves.”
Lady Lu took a deep breath. Prince Duan was directly involved.
“I am here,” Cen Liangxuan said as he walked out upon hearing the commotion. Shen Qingrui immediately stood by his side and whispered, asking what they should do.
It was someone from the Dali Temple, and Prince Duan was there too!
Cen Liangxuan lowered his voice. “It must be about something else. Shen Yiren doesn’t have that kind of influence. My servant and your maid have already been sent away by Father. Don’t worry.”
Shen Qingrui relaxed slightly. “Alright.”
The two of them left the residence, with Duke Anguo and the Duchess following.
Outside the gate stood not only Prince Duan’s close attendants but also Luo Qing, Luo Xue, and the others kneeling under their swords.
Cen Liangxuan staggered.
Shen Qingrui’s eyes widened in shock. This was not about something else—it was about Shen Yiren!
That wretched woman had actually reported it to the authorities!
The Duchess’s head buzzed, and she steadied herself by leaning on Duke Anguo’s arm.
Duke Anguo appeared calm on the surface, but his pupils trembled slightly.
Dali Temple.
Lord Yang, dressed in official robes, sat in the center of the high hall. Prince Duan sat beside him, leaning back in a pearwood chair with one hand resting on the armrest. Upon hearing the greetings from the others, he raised his eyes and gestured lightly with his fingers, signaling them to rise.
“I happened to be passing by and saw a six-year-old child beating the drum to seek justice for his sister, so I came in to listen.”
Lord Yang, sitting upright in the high hall, smiled faintly. It was quite a coincidence—Prince Duan’s carriage had been parked outside the Dali Temple for a quarter of an hour before Xiao Ba even began beating the drum. He had personally gone to pay his respects, but the Prince had not shown himself.
As soon as Xiao Ba beat the drum, the Prince emerged on his own, claiming he had nothing to do and happened to be passing by, so he decided to listen to the Dali Temple’s proceedings.
Lord Yang didn’t believe it at all.
Now, the members of the Duke’s residence below likely didn’t believe it either.
“Duke Anguo, Duchess, please take a seat to the side,” Lord Yang said after arranging seats for the two. Then, he addressed the people below sternly. “Lord Cen, Madam, you have been accused of conspiring to kidnap Shen Yiren, the legitimate daughter of the General’s Manor, disguising it as her elopement, and having Shen Qingrui take her place in marriage to Lord Cen. Is this true?”
Xiao Ba spoke again, “It’s true, it’s true! Your Honor, didn’t I already give you all the evidence? And them, they saw it too!”
Xiao Ba pointed at Luo Xue and Luo Qing, then at the servants who had previously attended to Cen Liangxuan. The four who had been caught as they exited through the back door were still holding bundles in their hands.
Cen Liangxuan and Shen Qingrui still wanted to plead their innocence.
Lord Yang produced a freshly written document and asked whether the fingerprints on it belonged to the two of them.
Their open mouths closed again.
The marks from pressing their fingerprints were still visible on their fingers. Even if they denied it, Lord Yang could simply have them press their fingerprints again for comparison, and the truth would be clear.
Shen Qingrui said, “Shen Yiren forced us to press our fingerprints using a dog! This was not our intention.”
“If Miss Shen forced you to press your fingerprints, you just did it? It must be because you had something to hide.” Zhou Jinyan spoke slowly, seemingly dissatisfied with the slow pace of Lord Yang’s interrogation. He raised his chin and pointed at the four kneeling on the ground. “Answer me, why were you running?”
The servant replied, “This servant was not running. The master simply granted us permission to return to our hometowns to visit family.”
As servants, their duty was to protect their masters at all costs.
Luo Qing nodded repeatedly in agreement.
But Luo Xue remained silent. Her hands, clutching the bundle, trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes darted around nervously.
She had already betrayed the young master and the young mistress back at the general’s residence. Yet, instead of punishing her, they had allowed her to leave?
What kind of master would be so generous?
When she and Luo Qing were first chosen as the second young lady’s maids, it seemed like a good opportunity. But deep down, she knew that Madam disliked the second young lady and had assigned them, with their lowly status, to spite her.
When the Duke and the young master gave them travel expenses and told them to leave, her first reaction was not joy at the prospect of ending her life as a servant, but fear.
Fear that she would meet her end along the way.
When Cang Xu and Cang Ming intercepted them, her first reaction was a sigh of relief.
“And you?” Zhou Jinyan looked at Luo Xue.
Since she had already betrayed them, why not go all the way? Luo Xue steeled herself, kowtowed, and said, “Your Highness, Your Honor, if Luo Xue speaks the truth, can you guarantee her safety?”
Lord Yang opened his mouth to speak.
Zhou Jinyan responded, “Since when has the law of the Great Zhou Dynasty dictated that speaking the truth would cost someone their life? I am here watching.”
Lord Yang: “…Prince Duan is absolutely right. Speak freely.”
Luo Xue kowtowed again, then raised her head. “The young master arranged for us to leave because we knew about some of the schemes he and the young mistress had plotted against the second young lady. Today, during the homecoming visit, the young mistress…”
“You wretched slave!” Shen Qingrui slapped Luo Xue. “How dare you slander your master here!”
“Shen Qingrui, if you dare obstruct the witness’s testimony again, do not blame this official for being impolite.” Lord Yang glared at her angrily.
Cen Liangxuan frowned. At a time like this, disciplining a servant only served to confirm the truth.
And because of that slap, Luo Xue spoke even faster.
“Today, during the homecoming visit, the young master ordered Luo Xue to search the second young lady’s former side courtyard for a letter. He also told this servant to dig up a dark blue bundle from under the artificial rockery. And the second young lady’s clothes are mostly dark blue!”
“When the second young lady saw this servant digging up the bundle, she took it to confront the young mistress and the young master. That’s why they later compromised and signed the document with the second young lady. Please, Your Honor, and Prince Duan, see the truth and help the poor second young lady!”
“Nonsense!” Lady Lu tried to step forward to argue but was held back by those beside her.
Duke Anguo said, “Lord Yang, everything must be based on evidence. You cannot slander my son merely on the basis of a coerced written statement.”
Cen Liangxuan saw that on the table before Lord Yang lay only a grimy bundle and a stark white written statement. He was gambling on a possibility—that the letter was gone, perhaps lost when Shen Yiren fell off the cliff, or torn to shreds.
“Lord Yang, where is the letter that Luo Xue claimed this young master was looking for? How could such crucial evidence be missing?”
Seeing him remain calm and composed, Shen Qingrui also straightened her back. “Indeed, where is the evidence? Are we to rely solely on the one-sided words of a child and the baseless accusations of a servant? I sent someone to dig up the bundle to retrieve my own. As for why Shen Yiren’s was dug up instead—well, who knows if it wasn’t a scheme concocted by those master and servant?”
“The letter is right here.” Outside the courtroom, a graceful figure, pulling Mo Shuanglan along, leaped in with a light step.