Yao Yi looked at Master Jie's servant: "May I ask Mrs. Jie if there is anything you would like to explain?"
The servant girl was secretly annoyed that those Xuance soldiers actually saw such trivial things in their eyes!
It was clear that nothing had happened in the building at that time. They had no reason to do so. How could they even stare at their bearers, whether they had lights or not?
Xie's face was cold and arrogant: "I have never left the building since I entered it. How can I know where the bearer went and what he did? I wonder what Yao Tingwei wants to hear my explanation?"
Yao Yi did not engage in a verbal argument with her: "Since Madam Xie doesn't know, she can only ask the bearer to come up and talk to her, so as not to cause misunderstandings and cause people to misunderstand Mrs. Xie."
Xie Shi sneered in her heart: "Yao Tingwei, please."
After receiving Cui Jing's nod, a member of Xuance Army quickly went downstairs and quickly brought the bearer up.
The bearer's heart was pounding. He entered the building and felt at a loss under the gaze of Yao Yi and others. He frequently looked at Mrs. Xie and the servant girl.
However, Mrs. Jie didn't look at him.
"I would like to ask you, do you know that the servant girl beside Mrs. Xie went downstairs and returned to the sedan chair to get tea?"
Hearing the words "I am my officer", the bearer's calves trembled with fright, and he subconsciously looked at the servant woman: "Mother Qiao, how...what's wrong with this?"
Yao Yi frowned and raised his voice by two points: "I ask you something, why do you ask others?"
When the bearer heard the sound, his face turned pale with fright, and he immediately knelt down.
Although they are both Mrs. Jie's people, compared with Grandma Qiao, he is just a hardworking bearer whose name is not even known. His courage and status are both worth mentioning.
The servant woman said sternly: "Whatever Yao Tingwei asks, just answer it truthfully!"
The face of the bearer kneeling there changed again and again. Although he was timid, he still had some brains. He thought about it quickly, nodded and said, "Yes... Nanny Qiao went downstairs to get some tea."
Yao Yi: "Did she say anything to you when she was getting tea?"
"Say..." The bearer said with his tongue tied: "I told the little men to guard the sedan!"
"That being the case, why did you leave alone after she went upstairs?"
The bearer's expression changed and he could only say: "I, I went to relieve myself!"
"Then why was it that I had a lamp in my hand when I left, but it was gone when I came back?"
The sweat on the bearer's forehead suddenly felt cold.
Why...you even know this!
The words that Mother Qiao told him in a low voice echoed in his mind - hang this lantern in Fenggu Lane, don't talk to anyone, don't stay, go back as soon as possible, if anyone asks you afterwards, just say go and relieve yourself.
Already.
That's all he knows!
Although he felt that this order was a bit strange, he could only obey it as a bearer, and he did not dare to ask more about the reason.
But now he was suddenly brought in for questioning...
The man quietly raised his eyes, looking in shock at the serious faces of everyone in the building... Looking at this posture, something serious must have happened!
Seeing that he didn't answer, Yao Yi asked coldly: "Did you leave that lamp in Fenggu Lane?"
There was a "boom" in the bearer's head, and he subconsciously said: "No... I have never been to Fenggu Lane!"
Aunt Qiao wouldn't let him talk nonsense at all. The more something happened, the more he couldn't admit it!
Yao Yi: "Where is that light?"
"The lamp..." the bearer said tremblingly: "When I was undressing and lifting my pants, the lamp accidentally fell into the urinal... and I didn't pick it up again!"
Some female relatives frowned slightly when they heard this.
Yao Yi asked again: "Where did you relieve yourself?"
"It's at the end of the back street... under the old willow tree!" The bearer answered without hesitation this time, "If you don't believe me, please ask someone to take a look! But that lantern... has probably been blown away by the wind!
"
Yao Yi thought for a moment.
Not to mention that more than an hour had passed, and there were real traces of urine. Just saying that he was in a back street, even if he actually saw it, it doesn't mean anything - urinating on the way back from Fenggu Lane is normal.
This bearer is timid, but he has a strict mouth...
At this time, the entourage he had just sent to Fenggu Lane to check also came back: "Sir, no lanterns were found near Fenggu Lane."
Mrs. Xie raised her eyebrows slightly and said softly: "A new group of palace residents have arrived in the East Palace recently. I have to go to the East Palace tomorrow to review the palace rules. It's already late now, so I won't accompany them."
Yao Yi could clearly hear the idea of using the palace to oppress people in her words.
Like Chang Suining, he had already made up his mind as to whether Mrs. Jie had something to do with this matter - he had handled so many cases, and the answer was almost obvious.
But speculation alone cannot convince the public, and evidence is needed to speak for itself. Without evidence, everything can be described as a "coincidence" by the other party.
If he was given more time, he would definitely be able to find other clues, but since the other party's identity was here, he really had no good reason to hold him back at the moment.
Once the other party leaves, there will be secret attempts to erase the clues.
The most important clue at the moment is obviously...
When Yao Yi looked at the bearer subconsciously, he heard Chang Sui Ning, who was sitting in the chair, say: "Mrs. Xie can leave, but this bearer needs to stay."
Just now, she exchanged a look with Cui Jing.
As early as when she had just agreed to paint to prove herself, the two of them had had an eye contact.
At that time, Cui Jing and Chang Kuo exchanged a few words, and then Yuan Xiang left Dengtai Tower at Cui Jing's order.
At that time, Chang Suining knew that Cui Jing had sent people to investigate.
Therefore, whether she deliberately painted a complicated and time-consuming painting, or those "contradictory" words directed at Xie Shi just now, they all had another purpose of delaying time.
It is the same reason to ask the bearer to stay at this time.
Xie was angered by her request and asked with a sneer: "How long will Mrs. Chang keep messing around?"
"Why are you just messing around?" Chang Suining looked at the bearer: "Who can prove that what he just said is true? Can the suspicion be eliminated with just a few words from him?"
"That's right." Wei Shuyi walked over and said, "Unless he can prove that he has never been to Fenggu Lane——"
The word "self-proof" made Xie's face darken: "Wei Shilang is an important minister of the imperial court. It is said that he is very familiar with the laws of our court. I dare to ask which law tonight's farce violated?
Was it someone killed or stolen? Why should we arrest and interrogate the slaves in my house?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Farce?
You almost ruined the festival of names, yet you talk so lightly about what a farce!
Wei Miaoqing stood up unbearably: "Whether the woman's innocence was damaged or not, which law did she violate? Was it a life or a theft? Why can everyone come to interrogate and discuss it? Let Madam Chang testify in public.
It’s Mrs. Xie who is in charge, and now it’s the turn of her servant who is clearly suspected of being an accomplice to prove himself, but why are you asking why?!”
She finished speaking in one breath and was surprised at first.
This...she actually said this?
Is it true that you have some talent tonight? Otherwise, this mouth would be so smooth with Mrs. Jie?!
Xie's face felt a layer of frost on her face, and she looked at Wei Miaoqing intently.
She recognized at a glance that she was Zheng Guogong's legitimate daughter.
In other words, she remembers very clearly those aliens who behaved inappropriately but refused to obey discipline.
She seemed to ignore Wei Miaoqing at all, and only said in a cold voice: "I just let Yao Tingwei interrogate me because of this nonsense. It is to give Yao Tingwei a face and to give you an explanation. But I have already answered all the questions that need to be answered.
If you continue to insist on being arrogant, it will be suspected of having ulterior motives!"
She usually likes to treat others solemnly, but now her face was completely cold and her voice was cold and strong, which made it easy for everyone, especially the female relatives, not to dare to have the slightest idea of refutation.
"Mrs. Jie, is it too early to speak?" It was Cui Jing who spoke.
He looked past Jie Shi and towards Yuan Xiang, who was quickly walking upstairs.
Mingluo, who had never spoken before, also looked over. When she saw Yuanxiang approaching, she already had the answer in her heart.
Yuan Xiang did not come back by himself, he was accompanied by two people, one large and one small.
The older one is a young man dressed as a hawker, and the younger one is a boy of eight or nine years old.
"That's him! He's Zhou Lao Er!" As soon as the boy came over, he pointed at the man named Zhou kneeling on the ground and said.
The man was stunned: "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to testify!" The boy stared at him: "I saw you sneaking around in the afternoon, holding a baggage in your arms for fear that you wanted to run away... I followed you all the way to Fenggu Lane and saw someone.
If you come here, hang up a lamp and then leave, I know you are going to do something bad!"
The man also stared at him: "You... didn't just borrow ten cents from your sister, why are you following me like this!"
The boy snorted: "What's the borrowing? You pretended to be sick to get it. Who knows if you refused to pay back the money and ran away! You uncles and nephews are not good people!"
So he picked up the lamp and waited for Zhou Lao'er to come out near Dengtai Tower, until he was stopped by Yuan Xiang who was leading people to explore around and asked.
At this time, the sword boy also recognized the boy.
When he was following Zhou Ding that day, Zhou Ding was hit by the boy when he came out of the gambling shop. Impulsively, he wanted to harm the boy, so he picked up stones and hit the black dog in the alley, thus saving the boy's life.
I didn't expect that this child would become a witness today.
"I'm not a good person. I was bribed and I didn't deny it..." Zhou Laoer knelt on the ground and sighed.
"This little brother just said that he saw someone hanging a lantern in Fenggu Lane?" Yao Yi said at the right time.
The boy nodded quickly: "Yeah! I've been staring and I can see clearly!"
Yao Yi nodded happily.
Children are full of energy. It is only these children who can do such a thing on such a hot day.
"Then look and see if that person is in the building?"
The boy saw the bearer at a glance and pointed at him: "That's him!"
The bearer looked shocked: "You're talking nonsense!"
"I can see clearly that you secretly hung this lantern at the alley!" The boy didn't give him a chance to quibble, and said to Yao Yi: "He was rolling up his sleeves at the time, and I saw a star on his arm.
Big black mole! It seems to be on the right side!"
When the weather is hot, it is common for men who do menial work to wear hooded shirts and shirtless clothes. However, Xie's rules are very strict and they do not allow servants to wear clothes that do not cover their limbs. This bearer is wearing long-sleeved shorts.
At this time, his sleeves were down. Hearing the boy's words, he shook his head repeatedly.
At Chang Kuo's signal, two servants stepped forward and one of them restrained him, while the other rolled up his right sleeve and saw a striking black mole.
The maid next to Xie gritted her teeth and said, "Where did you find this stupid kid... I don't know who he colluded with to dare to slander my wife!"
It's okay that she didn't speak, but her utterance triggered an accusation——
"She was the one who bought the lantern from the villain."
The hawker said to Yuan Xiang.
The servant girl then recognized that this was the lantern vendor, and her face turned pale.
Although she thought there would be nothing wrong with this matter at first, she was still very careful and did not dare to use the lanterns at her house. Instead, she bought a simple plain lantern on the way here to use...
But who knew these people could touch this hawker!
Cold sweat broke out on the servant girl's face, but she still said: "You... you may not have colluded with each other a long time ago!"
However, everyone has already made a distinction in their hearts.
The victim today is Mrs. Chang. How can the victim collude?
Countless eyes looked at Mrs. Jie.
The bearer knelt on the ground and shivered.
Zhou Laoer moved toward him and said in a tone of voice: "Brother, you should learn from me and accept it happily... Think about it, if you just go back like this, can you still survive?"
?”
He had been crying and howling all night. His mouth was dry, his energy was gone, his knees were hurting, and he wanted to end it quickly.
This sympathetic and slightly concerned advice made the bearer, who had already collapsed, almost burst into tears, and the last string collapsed.
"Yes... it was Grandma Qiao who asked me to hang the lanterns! I didn't do anything else and don't know anything else! The villain just lied because of Grandma Qiao's explanation. The villain is a lowly slave, and his life and death depend on his master's words.
As for what you said... I really don’t dare not listen!”
As the bearer said this, he suddenly rushed forward and hugged Yao Yi's legs, crying and begging: "Master Yao, I heard that you are a good official. Please show mercy and help this villain redeem himself from this sea of fire! This villain is willing to work as a cow or a horse for the rest of his life.
Repay your kindness!"
"..." Yao Yi was silent for a moment and nodded: "I can redeem it for you."
The bearer was overjoyed and kowtowed quickly.
Zhou Laoer was stunned when he heard this.
With just a few clicks...how could this big brother fly up a branch and turn into a phoenix?
At this point, there is no longer any objection to the truth, and everyone is in an uproar.
The eyes of the female relatives looking at Xie's family also completely changed.
Xie felt that these subversive eyes were like a pair of hands. These hands that had held her up high in the past were now about to pull her down from the unattainable altar.
"To deal with an innocent little girl using such shameless means, is this what Mrs. Jie claims to be a teacher?" Chang Kuo asked angrily.
This is also what the female relatives want to ask.
In addition to being angry, they even felt shuddering.
A person with such prestige can praise or destroy others with just one word. If he has no prestige but no matching morals, wouldn't it be a disaster for them?
"I have never offended Mrs. Xie in the past." Chang Suining looked at the stiff-faced Mr. Jie: "Mrs. Xie's actions seemed to be entrusted by others."
Xie's heart was shocked.
Looking into the girl's eyes, her fingers trembled and inserted into her palms, and she sneered from her teeth.