Chapter 306: A Storm is Brewing

ll face was taut with anger as she glared at the people from Changxing Hou's mansion and asked, "To elope on your wedding day is such irresponsible behavior. Is this how the son of your Changxing Hou'...By now, the doctor dared not defend himself, his voice trembling as he replied: “Y-yes, that’s right. We initially said it was food poisoning, but a little while ago, that maidservant came to me and said on the way over that I should insist it was a fall that caused her miscarriage.”

His gaze fell on Gu Xiuming, who was still kneeling on the ground, and then he said: "It was this young master who gave me a high-quality jade ornament. I was momentarily greedy, so I agreed to them, but I truly didn't know they would frame someone."

Meng Jinyao took out the large purse that Yuchuan had just given her. She opened the purse and took out a small, palm-sized jade carving of a Pixiu, crafted from high-quality mutton fat jade. She asked the doctor: "My son is quite extravagant with his spending every month, and he doesn't have much cash on hand. The only thing I can offer you is this kind of object. What do you think of this jade ornament"

The doctor, upon seeing the little Pixiu figurine, nodded eagerly: "That's it! My unfilial son, for money, mixed with bad company and pawned this off at a pawnshop, unable to redeem it. That's why he couldn't do anything today and insisted that his aunt had a miscarriage, but how is it in your hands, Madam"

Meng Jiny Yao took out another promissory note from her purse and said in a soft voice, "You didn't lie. It is indeed a death warrant, but our people can buy it back. We also took the other copy of the two-part promissory note, just in case we needed evidence. I didn't expect it to actually come in handy."

The doctor, upon hearing this, was filled with regret, his intestines turning green. He wished he hadn't been greedy in the first place. Now he had caused a huge scandal, and it involved the Changxing Hou Mansion! What should he do His eyes pleaded with Meng Jinyang, asking, “Madam, what… what should I do now”

Meng Jinyao replied, “Although you didn't initially intend to harm me, after hearing what my son said recently, you should know that he wanted to frame me. Yet, you didn't speak the truth, so you are not innocent in this matter. If I had no evidence, I would have been severely wronged by you all. As for what you should do, I truly don't know. Let's wait for the Lord Magistrate to return and make a decision. He is the Minister of Justice and familiar with the laws of our court.”

The doctor almost fainted upon hearing this. Ordinary people are afraid of officials, and now he had to meet the Grand Master of the Dali Temple, such a high-ranking official! Would he even be alive

Meng Jin Yao glanced at him, said nothing more, sat calmly, waiting for Gu Jing Xi to return.

The truth is now clear, and everyone understands what happened. This all started in the backyard - it was a plot, probably hatched by Li Wan'er who saw Meng Jin Yao and then framed her. Or perhaps Li Wan'er and Gu Xiuming had already planned to frame her, and today just happened to be the perfect opportunity.

Zhang and Chen could only feel that they had just watched a thrilling play today, more exciting than any they had ever seen before.

At this moment, Qingqiu ran over, shouting as she went, "Madam, the Lord is back! He's rushing this way!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the doctor's eyes went dark and he fainted right there on the spot.

Everyone glanced at the doctor on the ground, guessing that he must have fainted from fright, so they ignored him and waited for Gu Jingxi to arrive.

Gu Xiuming knelt on the cold floor, not daring to get up. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He had a premonition that this punishment would definitely be heavier than the one he received for running away from marriage before. His ruthless and iron-faced father would definitely not let him off, especially since his father doted on Meng Jin Yao. His father loved Meng Jin Yao dearly and would never be lenient with him.

It wasn't long before Gu Jingxi appeared in everyone's sight.

All eyes turned to him. He had a sullen expression and strode towards the flower hall with heavy steps. Before he even entered, everyone felt an oppressive aura coming from him.

After Gu Jingxi entered the hall, his eyes were cold and he looked around before finally setting his gaze on Meng Jinyao. The coldness in his eyes dissipated, and he asked in a gentle voice: "Ayao, what exactly happened"

Meng Jinyiao glanced at Gu Xiuming and calmly recounted the whole incident to Gu Jingxi.

Gu Jingxi, upon hearing this, frowned, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed tightly. He lowered his gaze to look at his son kneeling on the ground, his face pale with fear. Half-closing his eyes, a surge of anger welled up in their depths as he looked at the several burly servants and said in a deep voice, "You lot, bring Li's concubine and Hongling out to me." He then turned to Yu Chuan and said, "Yu Chuan, you go and prepare ink, paper, brushes, and ink pads."

Yuchuan immediately understood what he was going to do and went to take care of it.

Those outside of Yuchuan's circle were clueless about what he was up to, all dumbfounded and staring blankly at him. Shouldn't this be the time to punish a few people involved in these incidents Why prepare writing brushes, paper, ink, and seals

Gu Xiuming saw his father return, not saying a word to him. A chill ran down his spine. When he heard the words "writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone," an inexplicable sense of fear washed over him. Various fears piled on top of each other, making him open his mouth several times but unable to find his voice.

Soon after, Li Wan'er and Hongling were also bound by the servants. Both mistress and servant knew that their scheme had been exposed. They knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

After the mistress and maid had been brought here, Yu Chuan prepared his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. He also moved a table over to make it more convenient for writing. Then he went to pinch the doctor's "Person Gate," waking him up.

Then everyone knew what Gu Jingxi intended to do. He treated the small hall as a makeshift courtroom and, in front of everyone, didn't give Gu Xiumin any face whatsoever. He interrogated Gu Xiumin, Li Wan'er, Hongling, and the doctor like he was questioning criminals, not allowing them to argue back even a bit.

After the review was complete, they also had each person sign and seal their statement.

Li Wan'er, Hongling, and the doctor were already terrified out of their wits. They confessed very quickly, hardly needing to be questioned at all; they readily confessed on their own accord and signed and sealed their statements with great enthusiasm.

Gu Xiuming didn't originally want to sign, but he was pressed by Yu Chuan and signed on the statement.

Gu Jingxi looked at four statements, handed the statements of Hongling and the doctor to Yu Chuan, and instructed: "You take Hongling and this doctor to the government office and hand over their statements. Let them uphold justice and judge as they see fit."

Yu Chuan accepted the mission and, after receiving the statement, had his servants escort Hongling and the physician along with him.

The man kneeling was taken away by two guards, leaving only Gu Xiuming and Li Wan'er kneeling. Li Wan'er's body was still trembling, while Gu Xiuming seemed a little better off than her. However, upon learning that he hadn't been sent to the government office, a glimmer of hope arose in him. He thought about pleading with his father for leniency and striving for a lighter punishment.

Then, Gu Jingxi didn't even glance at him. He ordered the remaining servants to tie up Gu Xiuming and lock him in the room, then sent several more servants to guard them. Finally, he took Meng Jinping's hand and left.

Zhang and Chen also followed, but they were curious in their hearts about what kind of punishment they would face from Gu Xiuming and Li Wan'er.

Gu Xiumin watched Gu Jingxi's indifferent back disappear, the sliver of hope that had risen in his heart shattered. He knew that his father hadn't dealt with him now, but only the calm before the storm. The consequences waiting for him were far beyond what he could bear. He hurriedly strained his throat and shouted: "Father! Father! Son knows he was wrong, Father—"

Gu Jingxi ignored him, pulling Meng Jinyao out of Qingyuxuan without looking back.

Zhang and Chen knew that Gu Jingxi was furious at this moment, a little afraid of him, not daring to gossip at all. After leaving Qingyuxuan, they hurriedly left.

Meng Jinyao glanced at the backs of her two sisters-in-law, then turned her head to look at the gate of Qingyu Pavilion, and asked in a low voice, "Husband, Hongling and the doctor have both been sent to the government, what about Xiuming and Li's"

Gu Jingxi's footsteps faltered, he turned his head to look at her, and said softly, "Ayao was wronged. I will give you a satisfactory explanation tomorrow."

Meng Jinyao was stunned: "Do we still need to wait overnight to deal with them"

Gu Jingxi said meaningfully, "If it were just a beating, I could handle it now. As for other matters, we'll have to wait until tomorrow. It's getting late, you should go home for dinner first. I need to visit my mother."

At these words, Meng Jin Yao's heart skipped a beat. She had a premonition that her husband was going to do something big!coming soon.However, they had Yuchuan. Yuchuan had been constantly watching Gu Xiuming. They could know what Gu Xiuming planned to do next, effectively having the enemy in the open while they remained...