bestfiction Chapter 202 Heinous crime
Chapter 202 Heinous crime
Prefect Kang, who was sitting on the high platform, didn't seem surprised by Xu Weiyue's coming back, and just smiled.
"Did Miss Xu bring the evidence?"
"That's right." Jiang Lige took a step forward and at a command, more than ten servants came forward carrying boxes. "These are the ironclad evidence of the Han family's murder and robbery!"
After Jiang Lige finished speaking, he opened one of the nearby wooden boxes, revealing the box full of silver ingots to everyone.
A rough count showed that there were probably over ten thousand taels.
The people watching the excitement outside had never seen so much silver and money before, and they all exclaimed "Wow" at the same time, but the Han family didn't care.
"Although there is some rift between the Han and Xu families due to misunderstandings, the Xu family's tactics are truly too shameful. My Han family has been in business for generations. Is it possible that we can't even come up with over ten thousand taels of silver?"
Jiang Lige ignored the Han family's sarcasm and said, "So, this money is all earned by the Han family?"
"Exactly."
Jiang Lige smiled, picked up a silver ingot, took the dagger from his follower and scraped the bottom of the silver ingot. After a layer of silver powder flew off, a mark similar to a copper coin appeared.
Afterwards, Jiang Lige handed the silver ingot directly to the orphan of the Qian family and said softly, "Little girl, let me explain it to everyone."
The orphan of the Qian family nodded, held up the silver ingot symbol, stood in front of everyone and spoke.
"Counterfeit silver has been rampant in the past two years, and since our Qian family is a bank, we're naturally extremely cautious in this regard. That's why we came up with this idea of engraving patterns on the silver base. This copper coin-like symbol is the logo of our Qian family bank, and I'm sure many people have seen it."
Jiang Lige smiled and continued, "So, all this money came from the Qian family bank?"
The orphan of the Qian family shook his head and said, "Everyone who runs a bank will have a reserve of silver that is not often circulated. The silver with engravings is all our Qian family's reserve silver."
"Since it's reserve silver, it generally won't circulate unless the bank has no silver to exchange it for. Even if it does, it won't be more than ten thousand taels!"
After Jiang Lige finished speaking, his eyes turned and fell on the Han family.
The Han family was panicking at this point and quickly retorted, "The Qian family is in the money business, and our Han family also has some of their money deposited in the money shop. Maybe they took it by mistake, or maybe they were determined to frame our Han family from the beginning!"
"Dozens of lives of your entire family were used to frame you? What's the matter? All of you in the Han family are cats. Can one person be worth nine lives?" Jiang Lige shouted angrily, choking everyone in the Han family.
Magistrate Kang on the high platform had seen enough of the drama. He cleared his throat and slammed the gavel, "The evidence is irrefutable. Does anyone from the Han family have anything else to say?"
"Sir!" Han Qi shouted, anxiously, "Sir, please understand! This must be a malicious frame-up by the Xu family! If one plan fails, try another! Otherwise, why would there be two jade pendants?"
At the critical moment of life and death, Han Qi no longer cared about his face. He simply tore his face off and threw the dirty water directly on the Xu family.
After all, the muddier the water is, the better it is for the Han family.
Upon hearing this, Prefect Kang turned his gaze to Jiang Lige again, "What does Miss Xu have to say?"
Jiang Lige sneered and said sarcastically, "Sir, these words must be based on evidence. We have evidence in our hands, and some people are still trying to make excuses and smear us. Now, with no evidence, you're asking me to explain? Isn't that inappropriate?"
Everyone present was choked by Jiang Lige's words. While they were talking, they heard a man's wailing outside. Turning back and taking a closer look, they saw a young man in blue kicking the man he was holding into the lobby of the yamen.
The person who was kicked into the lobby was a familiar face again—
Manager Wan of Meiyuxuan in Nancheng.
"Regarding that extra jade pendant, Shopkeeper Wan has something to say to everyone."
The person who spoke was Ning Yunxiao, who had brought in Manager Wan.
When Han Qi saw Manager Wan appear in the court, his originally arrogant face instantly collapsed.
Prefect Kang glanced at Shopkeeper Wan, who was trembling on his knees, then stroked his beard and looked at the Han family. "I'm sure you all know the principle of leniency for those who confess. The Han family is a wealthy family in South City. I'll ask you one last time today. Do you have anything to say?"
After he finished speaking, the whole place was extremely quiet. No one spoke, and it was so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop.
No one answered, and Prefect Kang immediately looked away. "In that case, then, Manager Wan..."
"Sir! I tell you! I know everything! I tell you!"
Before Governor Kang could finish his words, someone from the Han family gave in and interrupted Manager Wan before he could even open his mouth.
The person who spoke was the seventh son of the Han family, also known as Han Qi.
When the Han family saw this, their eyes widened, wishing they could tear Han Qi into pieces and eat him. The old man of the Han family even slapped him and cursed him for being a rebellious son.
But Han Qi had already opened his mouth, so he naturally didn't care about these things. He snorted and revealed all the shameful things about the Han family.
The common people outside felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this. Who could have imagined that the Han family, who always had smiling faces, could be so evil!
Han Qi's testimony undoubtedly nailed everyone in the Han family to the pillar of shame, leaving them with no possibility of changing their testimony.
Prefect Kang immediately slammed the gavel and had all the members of the Han family and Mei's father imprisoned. His property was confiscated and he would later convict them after the embezzled money was sorted out.
All the silver that originally belonged to the Qian family bank was returned to the Qian family orphans, and the remaining people were released on the spot.
After all, Jiang Lige was now acting under the name of "Xu Weiyue". When he walked out of the court, it was naturally not appropriate for him to be too close to Ning Yunxiao. While no one was paying attention, he quietly lifted the veil and winked at Ning Yunxiao.
Seeing this, Ning Yunxiao's face, which had been quite sour just now, finally showed a slight smile.
Then he slowly looked away, pretending to be unfamiliar.
With some shy little movements, Jiang Lige inexplicably felt in a good mood. Just as she was about to speak to Ning Yunxiao in a low voice, she saw Mei Shuang, who was in a daze, following her and bowing to her.
"I'm here to thank Miss Xu for her advice. It gave me the opportunity to escape from this family."
That’s right, the story of Mei Shuang saving the orphan girl from the Qian family was a fabrication.
The person who actually saved the orphan girl from the Qian family was Magistrate Kang.
And this handle was obtained by Jiang Lige in exchange for Manzhu curing Mrs. Kang's health.
Jiang Lige saw the rebellious spirit of Mei Shuang who had been exploited by her father for many years, and informed Mei Shuang of the news, helping her to completely break free from Mei's father's control, and at the same time completely clearing the Xu family from the matter.
Hearing Mei Shuang's words, Jiang Lige had no choice but to leave Ning Yunxiao behind and said with a smile, "Miss Mei Shuang, there's no need to be polite. We are just getting what we need. Those who do evil will eventually perish. Their current fate is their own retribution."