After telling everything she knew, Ziyue mustered up the courage to look at Mr. Ji.
Facing those cautious but sincere eyes, Ji Dong's confusion deepened -
He has been an official and has solved cases for many years, and he thinks he is quite good at reading people's eyes, but what's the reason for the strong desire in the other person's eyes like "I want to go to jail" and "Sir, can you see me?"?
This maid has such a clear and clear plan for the rest of her life - does the Xia family know?
In other words, by sending such a person to the Yamen, the Xia family is not planning to get the troubled fourth girl again?
As for why he said that the girl was careless, there was no other reason - the book that was popular in major teahouses was actually too highly discussed. In line with the principle of understanding the public sentiment, he also went to listen to it twice and paid for it at public expense.
I ate two pots of tea and a plate of melon seeds.
If public funds didn't allow it, he would have wanted to have two plates of pastries, after all, they sounded quite satisfying.
Ji Dong took his eyes away from Ziyue and looked down at the bozi in his hand.
Above this is the latest confession of Zhan Yunjiao recorded by Master.
He had just carefully distinguished it, and found that there was almost no discrepancy between what Ziyue said and Zhan Yunjiao's confession, and they were very consistent.
Master Ji could tell the difference, and many people who watched the excitement from beginning to end also understood it.
The low murmurs of the crowd were overlapping and noisy.
At this time, Zhan Yunjiao seemed to suddenly remember something again, and said hesitantly: "Sir, in order to let the women of the country keep secrets, Xia Xi used both soft and hard tactics on the women of the country... and also gave some property to the women of the country...
…I wonder if it can be used as physical evidence?”
Ji Dong immediately asked: "What are they all about?"
"Some broken silver, banknotes, and some jewelry..."
Ji Dong's eyes moved slightly.
Most of the broken silver and bank notes cannot be used as physical evidence, but the same cannot be said for jewelry - for example, many of the jewelry stolen by the flower picker earlier indirectly exposed the identity of the victim.
“Where are these things today?”
"Sir, it's still in my house and has never been touched..." Zhan Yunjiao explained in detail the location of the hidden things: "It's in the innermost porcelain jar under my mother's bed."
"Here comes someone."
Ji Dong immediately ordered: "Go to Zhan's house in the south of the city to get this thing."
Fearing that something might happen if things were too late, the officials hurried all the way on horseback, and soon took what Zhan Yunjiao had said and the porcelain jar back to the Yamen.
"May I ask if this official has seen my mother? Is she okay now?" Zhan Yunjiao asked the official who was holding a porcelain jar.
The officer glanced at Ji Dong.
Ji Dong nodded slightly.
Although it is not appropriate to talk about matters unrelated to the case in court, there are still human feelings outside the law.
The official replied: "Your Majesty seems to be in good health, and there is a woman taking care of you."
Zhan Yunjiao was relieved, but she couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Is there a mother-in-law taking care of her mother?
Could it be...Xu Mingyi's arrangement?
——She remembered that that night in the forest outside the city, Xu Mingyi had said that before it was found out that her mother was involved in the matter, she would order someone to take care of her basic daily life.
She didn't believe it at the time.
Of course, she doesn’t believe it now!
It was just a subconscious guess just now. If you think about it carefully, you will know that Xu Mingyi can't be so kind at all - someone who could ignore their mother and daughter without any grievances before? How could he be almost killed?
After she was killed, did she really send someone to take care of her mother?
It must be my brother's arrangement...
Thinking of the brother who "resurrected from the dead"? Feeling that everything is in his brother's plan now? Zhan Yunjiao is more confident.
Brother said, now he is working under an adult? If she is sentenced to exile, brother will try to replace her on the way...
At this time, the contents of the jar had been taken out. After Ji Dong looked at the pieces of jewelry, he finally locked his eyes on a hairpin.
He knew nothing about women's jewelry, but this hairpin looked very different, and how exactly was it different? It looked very expensive.
"Since you are Miss Xia Si's personal maid, do these things belong to her? You should be able to identify them, right?" Ji Dong looked at Ziyue and asked.
Ordinarily? This kind of question shouldn’t be answered by a servant of the Xia family, but this little maid’s sincerity in wanting to go to jail is really strong, and she has gained his trust in a sense.
Ziyue nodded slightly: "Young lady, you can try to identify me..."
Ji Dong then ordered someone to bring the jewelry on the tray to her.
"These...are indeed my girl's things." Ziyue said firmly.
Zhou Nu on the side was confused.
How come...it's all there?
It's obviously just a hairpin that belongs to Xia Xi.
Could it be that Ziyue was also secretly bribed by Miss Ji?
Impossible, Ms. Ji would have informed her of such important details in advance? How could someone be added at last minute?
So, what exactly is going on with Ziyue?
"And this hairpin... I remember... it seems to be a reward from the palace!" Ziyue picked up the ruby double butterfly hairpin and said.
Although she had no idea when her girl actually gave these things to Zhan Yunjiao? Some of them even did not belong to her girl at all, but she would never admit that she was wrong about this hairpin.
Even she really doesn’t understand why her girl would give such a special thing to Zhan Yunjiao? It’s not an exaggeration to say that she is so stupid that she goes to heaven on the spot - but then she thinks about it, is the girl so stupid? And she has always grown up? Maybe she is not at all.
Maybe it’s a reward from the palace if I don’t remember.
Hearing the words "reward from the palace"? Ji Dong's face couldn't help but change slightly.
He thought of someone.
In Huaihua Hutong, the back street of the Yamen, there lived an old eunuch who had worked in the palace as a costume supervisor for many years. He just left the palace last year to take care of himself due to old age and illness.
It was said that he was taking care of himself when he was sick, but in fact he was leaving the palace to wait for death. However, after leaving the palace, the old eunuch's body and bones became healthier. However, he could not return to the palace after he died, so he stayed like this for a long time.
It’s on.
But people are not idle either.
Because he came from the Department of Jewelry Supervision, he was at the forefront of jewelry aesthetics. Jewelry masters often came to ask for advice, and he also attracted the favor of a large number of female relatives of officials, so he had to start classes directly where he was.
Because of this, he inevitably became one of the objects of Master Ji's jealousy.
Jealousy is jealousy. Now I have something serious to ask for advice, so I still need to have a good attitude.
Therefore, Ji Dong ordered the officials to invite people to come over, and he did not forget to ask for good words.
As for appearance fees and so on...
They are all doing things for the people. Wouldn't it be insulting to the old man to mention this?
The old eunuch was also very considerate and came over without any delay.
And he immediately concluded: "This thing is indeed made by Si Decoration Supervisor... But everything that comes from Si Decoration Supervisor has a special mark, and the craftsmanship is here, and it cannot be fake."
As he spoke, he pondered for a moment, then looked at it carefully, and then said: "This hairpin looks like the set of ruby jewelry I handled before leaving the palace... I remember that it was sent to the Queen's Palace at that time.
.”
"That's right..." Ziyue hurriedly answered: "My maid, I remembered that there used to be a pair of these hairpins, and they were the ones the Queen gave to my fourth girl last year!"
Ji Dong nodded solemnly.
That being the case——
"Come on, please go to Xia's Mansion again and ask Miss Xia to come over as soon as possible to clear up the confusion."
Under such overwhelming evidence, it would be unjustifiable if he continued to act cowardly.
If today's case cannot come to a conclusion, it is destined to be withdrawn.
When the official went to Xia's house to invite people again, the atmosphere in the crowd outside the hall became completely agitated.
"This is a human and material evidence... I'm afraid it won't work if I don't admit it!"
"She is really the fourth girl of the Xia family..."
"It's not surprising if you think about it carefully... Miss Xia Si's disagreement with Miss Xu is not something that happened in a day or two."
"Can that be called a disagreement? Anyone with a discerning eye can see that it was Miss Xia Si who repeatedly took the initiative to stir up trouble..."
"It's exciting now..."
"I just said, why did you just call a maid over? You are too guilty to show your face."
"The Duke of Zhenguo is not someone to be bullied... Even if Chief Xia wants to protect his daughter, I'm afraid it will be difficult!"
Let’s take a step back, can this be defended?
If the government doesn't settle this matter, General Xu will most likely go to the Xia family with his sword in hand to ask for advice on how to be a good man!
"...Is Xia Shoufu that unreasonable person? Have you forgotten what happened last year?"
Mentioning the major case that caused a sensation in the capital last year, many people's expressions changed.
In that case, the second son of the Xia family was finally sentenced to Lingchi, but Xia Shoufang never protected him from the beginning to the end. Therefore, even if something like this happened, Xia Shouxu's reputation was not
He was not affected, but on the contrary, he became an example in the eyes of the people of righteousness and annihilation of relatives.
It's a pity that such a loyal and strict chief minister has such a pair of debt-collecting children...
Some people can't help but think - it was an accident that a second son was born, but now a fourth girl is born, can it still be an accident?
However, these conjectures must not be talked about in front of others.
"grown ups……"
In the hall, Zhou Nu, who was standing aside, turned pale and said, "I have explained everything I know, but I am feeling a little unwell now... Do you think I can go back first?"
She didn't dare to see Xia Xi.
Because of his own testimony, and even more because of that hairpin...
Yes, she hates and even despises Xia Xi, but she is the one who plots against the other party behind his back, and because the other party has been arrogant since childhood, and his status is far higher than hers, that kind of fear that has been deep-rooted for many years is a constant.
It's deep into your bones.
Especially since her current confidence is indeed not very good, she is really afraid that Xia Xi will say something in front of her regardless of embarrassing her.
The little girl with round cheeks was pale and her forehead was wet with cold sweat. She looked weak and pitiful.
Ji Dong considered it for a while and said: "The case has not yet been concluded. Miss Zhou is an extremely important witness. It is somewhat against the rules to leave at this time. But if you are really ill, you can't delay - let's do this."
, I will first pass it on to Ms. Zhou to take a look."
Zhou Nu couldn't help but tremble.
Well...it's not like we just ask him to do it directly, right?
After Master Ji finished speaking, he realized that something was wrong, so he coughed lightly and changed his words: "...Come here, please ask Miss Zhou to go to the cubicle to rest for a while, and ask the doctor to come and take a look at Miss Zhou."
The official responded and took Zhou Nu to the compartment on the left side of the court hall.
Zhou Nu sat there, holding a cup of hot tea tightly, the tension in his heart not diminishing at all.
She had never felt that time was so difficult to pass, and now she just wanted to end it all and go home.
At the same moment, in the private room on the second floor of the Zhuangyuan Building, Xiao Qi was detailing the progress in the yamen to his son and Miss Xu.
Half an hour ago, seeing that the case would not be settled for a while, Xu Mingyi took Wu Chao to the Zhuangyuan Building for dinner.
"According to this, it turned out to be very smooth." Xu Mingyi said thoughtfully: "The witnesses and physical evidence are all above the key. Xia Xi is destined to be unable to escape this time."
Wu Chao looked at her.
There was no joy on the girl's face that her enemy was about to be punished.
Obviously, from beginning to end, what she valued was not the appearance of the matter or Xia Xi's fate - or in other words, she never took Xia Xi seriously from the beginning. If the government did not give justice, she herself would not
I will seek justice with my own hands.
What she values has always been what is hidden behind this matter.
Wu Chao guessed and asked: "Do you think someone is manipulating this matter?"
Xu Mingyi nodded without hesitation.
At first, when she saw Zhan Yunjiao suddenly changed her story, she became suspicious.
Then Zhou Nu came forward to testify——
Immediately afterwards, the Queen's reward became physical evidence, which blocked Xia Xi's last escape route.
But before that, Zhan Yunjiao's behavior that day was not like someone who had any evidence.
Xia Xi must also be very confident that she has not left any clues. Otherwise, I am afraid that she will not do nothing, and she can still have the leisure to burn incense today——
Therefore, what happened today was extremely sudden, leaving no room for Xia Xi to react.
The opponent's purpose is very clear and his actions are accurate.
But she didn't think it was someone "helping" her vent her anger.
Xia Xi's identity is destined to make this case special. Before the real overall situation, the differences between the girl's family are not worth mentioning. The family background behind both parties is the most important.
Therefore, she could almost conclude that someone was taking this opportunity to deal with the Xia family.
No, or in other words, not taking advantage of the opportunity——
It is very likely that it was premeditated from the beginning!
Xu Ming thought of the figure of Cao Zhuangyuan whom he had seen outside the teahouse opposite that day when Xia Xi was injured by the Third Eye.
At that time, she had speculated whether someone might have deliberately led Xia Xi here, intending to make her lose her composure and make a fool of herself in front of Cao Zhuangyuan.
And the person who is most suspicious is, of course, the girl from the Zhou family who was with Xia Xi that day and who came forward to testify today——
But now it seems that this girl from the Zhou family is just a pawn to do things for others.
Otherwise, we won’t be in a position where we have to personally testify and harm ourselves.
Thinking of this, Xu Mingyi couldn't help but suddenly realized, his eyes flashed, and he whispered: "It turns out that I was used as bait to lure Xia Xi into the bait..."
But, who could this person be?
At this time, Wu Chao, who had been thinking about this matter, raised his eyes to look at her and said seriously: "The Minister of War -"
Perhaps it was because he saw things more simply and straightforwardly, without her known complicated processes, and at this time his ideas were obviously a step faster than hers.
Xu Mingyi subconsciously looked at the young man with a look of surprise and determination.
After he reminded her like this, she also realized that it was indeed the Minister of War's Mansion who was the most suspicious...
