Wishful Things

It was clear that the day before yesterday, in the courtroom, he still looked like he was about to collapse and go crazy...

Why did he suddenly become so decisive and rational now?

Could it be that after being taken into prison, apart from Wu Chao, she...has anyone else met?

That intuition came to mind again, and Xu Mingyi subconsciously looked back slightly.

In the past few days, she always felt that there was a pair of eyes staring at her secretly...

"There is no basis for your words. You claim that you were coerced by the fourth girl of the Xia family. Are there any witnesses or evidence to prove this?" Ji Dong asked, looking at the girl kneeling in the hall.

"Witness..." Zhan Yunjiao seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "There is someone who can prove that I have been to Xia's mansion before, and Miss Xia forced me to go there! It's just... I don't know if that person is willing to testify for me, and I don't know if she will cover Miss Xia..."

Ji Dong's eyes moved: "Who are you referring to?"

"Miss Zhou from the Palace of the Minister of War..."

Hearing this, Ji Dong stroked his beard.

Under this seemingly ordinary movement, in fact, several beards were removed in one fell swoop.

...How did you bring in the Minister of War's mansion again!

Why did he open this class without thinking about it? It must be because I ate too much for breakfast at that time!

But now that the arrow is on the line, he can't pat his ass and leave, can he?

Thinking in this way, Mr. Ji resisted the uneasiness in his heart that "I don't know how many people will be offended this time". He turned his head and said to the yamen servant: "Quickly go to the servant's house of the Ministry of War, and send Miss Zhou to come and answer—"

This kind of thing has to be fast.

Otherwise, once the excitement spreads, these witnesses will have enough time to react, and the testimony will often change.

And why didn't it also be reported that the four girls of the Xia family came to confront them in court - it was also out of consideration of the rigor of the testimony.

After all, even Zhan Yunjiao had thought that this witness would most likely cover up the suspect.

When dealing with similar cases as usual, he would also ask people to interrogate suspects and witnesses separately as early as possible to achieve the purpose of distinguishing true and false testimony.

The yamen servant quickly responded.

Zhou Shilang went to the Ministry of War early, and at this time, there was no one in charge of the mansion except Mrs. Shilang.

When Mrs. Shi Lang heard that someone from the yamen wanted to send her daughter over for questioning, and it was related to the case of the girl from the Xu family that had been widely circulated the day before yesterday, she was so shocked that she dropped the candied fruit in her hand.

She hastily put down the fragrant tea in her hand, and hurried to the front hall to meet those officials, stuffing money and asking them to sit down and drink tea.

Seeing that she was quite frightened, the chief official could only comfort her: "Madam, don't worry, it's just a testimony. As long as the girl from your mansion answers truthfully and proves that she has nothing to do with this case, I will send her back to your mansion afterward."

The servant's wife was still worried, and when she wanted to ask a few more questions, she heard the official's tone become much stiffer: "This case cannot be delayed, please make it easier for Madam, so as not to let the people around at this time guess that your government intends to hinder the official business of the government."

Madam Shi Lang's face paled upon hearing this.

With her husband not at home, she can't bear the crime of obstructing official duties...!

The Zhou family started their business step by step. She and her husband were both born in ordinary families, and it was because they caught up with the good opportunity not long after the founding of Daqing that they were lucky enough to reach their current status.

In her heart, her family is far inferior to those real honorable families in terms of foundation, so she has always been extremely cautious and never dared to show anything.

Thinking about this, Mrs. Shi Lang weighed it over and over again, and in the end she still asked someone to invite her daughter over.

"Answer well, if your lord asks you anything, just say what you know..."

Listening to her mother's nervous instructions, Zhou Wei nodded hastily, and said in a trembling voice: "Mother, don't worry, my daughter knows."

Judging from the present, Ji Wanyou's plan seems to be going smoothly...

And even though she knew exactly what she needed to do next, it still couldn't reduce the fear and anxiety in her heart.

Not to mention that the process must be difficult, but the result alone is beyond her control...

Would she really not be involved?

Their Zhou family...would it be possible to forge a beam with the Xia family?

Will Xia Xi really be punished? If Xia Xi is finally exonerated, will she be charged with perjury instead? How will Xia Xi take revenge on her?

Because of these unknown guesses, she couldn't close her eyes last night, and truly realized what it means to regret.

After arriving in the majestic courtroom, feeling the pressure and attention from all sides, the sense of fear and apprehension was immediately magnified a lot.

"Is this the eldest girl of the Zhou family you mentioned?" Ji Dong first testified to Zhan Yunjiao.

Zhan Yunjiao looked at Zhou Wei and nodded firmly.

"Returning to my lord, it was this Miss Zhou who came to the place where the Minnv lived, and told me that Fourth Miss Xia wanted to see me, but now that Miss Xia has been restrained, this meeting can only be in the Xia Mansion. So, the Minnv exchanged clothes with Miss Zhou's maid, pretending to be her maid, and entered the Xia Mansion with her."

Ji Dong looked at Zhou Luo: "Miss Zhou, is this true?"

Zhou Wei's eyes were red, she opened her mouth, and her voice was as low as a mosquito's, "My lord, I... I... can't remember."

Ji Dong couldn't even catch what she said.

But seeing this expression, he already knew the answer.

If Zhan Yunjiao is lying, then Miss Zhou can categorically deny and refute.

With such an appearance, it's nothing more than not daring to speak rashly to offend the Xia family—hey, they are also fallen people in the world.

But what can be done?

In this world, as long as you live, you will always encounter difficult choices.

But no matter what the situation is, you must remember one thing - in the face of interests that will not touch your life, you should try to choose a path that makes your conscience feel better, because this is what you need to face alone day and night.

Of course, if you lose your life by doing so, it's still important to save your life.

My life is gone, so what can I do to guard my conscience?

——A not-so-bright but practical little coup for dealing with the world from Mr. Ji.

"I have something to remind Ms. Zhou - in the courtroom, every word must be true. If not, no matter what the reason is, it must be punished as a crime of covering up, or even as a criminal."

"..." Zhou Wei trembled when he heard the words, bit his lower lip, and nodded with a struggling expression just now.

"Master Hui... Miss Zhan's words are indeed true. I did take her to the Xia Mansion to meet Fourth Miss Xia... This is what Miss Xia asked someone to send a letter to me and entrusted me to do it."

"Is that letter still in your hand?"

Zhou Wei nodded: "Still..."

Ji Dong asked her to order his personal maid to go back to Zhou Mansion to get the letter, accompanied by officials.

"Then do you know why Miss Xia wanted to meet Zhan Yunjiao?" Ji Dong then asked.

Zhou Wei shook his head quickly.

"My lord, I really don't know! The letter didn't explain the reason, it just said that I should find someone to take them to the Xia Mansion! And after I brought them there that day, I wasn't there when they talked, so I didn't know anything about what they were talking about..."

She said, turning her head to look at Zhan Yunjiao: "Miss Zhan also knows all about this!"

She said this to Ji Dong, but her eyes were firmly fixed on Zhan Yunjiao, and she didn't dare to blink.

Will Zhan Yunjiao really clear her suspicions as Ji Wanyou said?

At this moment, Zhou Wei was extremely tense.

He also realized more deeply that from the very beginning, from the moment she listened to Ji Wanyou's arrangement, everything about her was out of her control!

Ji Dong also looked at Zhan Yunjiao: "Is this statement true?"

"Miss Zhou is right." Zhan Yunjiao glanced at Zhou Wei, and said slowly: "Miss Zhou just took me to meet Xia Xi, and she didn't know about Xia Xi's plan—when Miss Zhou went to see me that day, she saw that my family was in dire straits, and she even gave me money. Based on this alone, I can't wrong her indiscriminately."

Hearing this, Zhou Wei's tense breath suddenly relaxed, she knelt there with her hands on her legs, her head hung down, and big tears rolled down and fell on the back of her hands.

Ji Dong nodded, and then asked: "According to this, the first time you met Miss Xia was in Xia Mansion—after that, how did you pass on the news?"

If it was said that she was still disguised as a servant girl and taken away by the girl of the Zhou family, then if the girl of the Zhou family didn't know about it, she could only be lying.

"The subsequent plans will be passed on by a maid next to Xia Xi." Zhan Yunjiao replied truthfully.

"Maid? Can you still describe this person's appearance clearly?"

Zhan Yunjiao thought for a while, then nodded, "I've seen her many times, so I should give it a try."

Hearing this, Ji Dong immediately asked someone to fetch the drawing paper, and the master drew the portrait on the spot according to Zhan Yunjiao's description.

There are three portraits, and the gaps are not too big. In the end, Zhan Yunjiao pointed to the one that resembled the most.

But to say it is the most similar is only in comparison.

If you want her to say, it's just a rough drawing. But that servant girl was born very ordinary, with no special features at all, and that's all she could describe.

And you can't say in public that this master's painting is not good, right?

Let's just leave it at that, anyway, we can still recognize her face to face.

Ji Dong took the portrait and looked at it, and when he was about to say something, suddenly a yamen servant came from behind and whispered something in his ear.

And quietly handed over a folded drawing paper.

Ji Dong's eyebrows moved slightly, and he unfolded the drawing paper in front of him.

I haven't seen the maid in person yet, let alone how she looks like, but the degree of vividness alone is enough to surprise people.

After such a comparison, he couldn't help but look at his master again - he seemed to understand why the suspects in many cases, after being described by the common people, were painted by the master's hand and posted for arrest, but in the end they couldn't be caught...

Moreover, the portraits drawn by the master and the few suspects who were caught often make people feel that they are not exactly the same, but that they have nothing to do with each other.

In this regard, the master explained that the person who described it was far from clear enough.

——I really want to know who Wu Shisun asked for the painting, and can I lend it to him for free in the future?

Seeing Mr. Ji in the hall looking towards him, Wu Chao nodded slightly, which was a response to the portrait.

Immediately, Ji Dong ordered people to go to Xia Mansion.

The words are still very polite: "Take the portrait and go there. If there is indeed someone who looks similar, I will invite Miss Xia to come to clarify the doubts."

The officer responded and went immediately.

The master glanced at the drawing paper in the officer's hand - no, why does it feel like he didn't draw the one?

Outside the hall, Xu Mingyi and Wu Chao looked at each other through the veil hanging from the veiled hat.

Wu Chao knew that she must have thoughts, so he moved closer to the person and leaned slightly in her direction.

Xu Mingyi stood on tiptoe and whispered something in his ear.

The girl's breath lingered softly in the boy's ear through the tulle, like a mid-spring warm wind.

Wu Chao nodded, and when he straightened up again, he felt that the ear that had been blown by the warm wind was itchy and hot, making him want to rub it.

A group of officials came to Xia's house soon.

But I heard that Xia Xi was not in the mansion.

"It's really a coincidence that my young master has been shocked for some reason recently. My wife took the fourth girl to go outside the city early in the morning to offer incense and ask for evil spirit talismans... He hasn't come back yet." The chief steward said with the chief official.

He didn't tell a lie. After all, if such a blatant lie was spoken out, the guards at the city gate would find out that it would only be more troublesome if it was exposed.

Since something like the Second Young Master happened in the mansion last year, everyone in the Xia Mansion is more cautious in their words and deeds than usual.

If it was in the past, this mere official, how could he deserve to be greeted by a dignified butler in person.

Even if he was given a cold bench to sit on, Ji Dong didn't dare to say anything.

Of course, the person surnamed Ji is also afraid to do anything now, but the master said that the mansion should not allow anyone to grasp the slightest clue.

"It turns out that Miss Xia is not in the mansion." The chief official took out the portrait: "I don't know that the person in this painting is Miss Xia's maid? Can you let this person go with me first?"

Looking at the portrait, the butler's brows twitched.

...how come it looks so similar? !

It is clearly such an ordinary face, but after looking at this portrait, people can immediately tell which one it is.

Under such circumstances, he just wanted to say that the mansion seemed to be impossible without this person.

"...This is indeed the servant girl in our fourth girl's yard." The head steward said calmly, "It's just that this is a personal servant girl, so she is always by her side to serve her. Today, when the girl goes out to offer incense, this servant girl also goes with her."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to the official and said, "I'm going to ask someone to go out of the city to invite my fourth daughter back. It's just that this time, it will take an hour to come. You might as well go back to Mr. Tongji to explain the situation—"

An hour is enough to ask the master for instructions.

In fact, as early as a quarter of an hour ago, he had already sent someone to send a message to the master—and all he could do was to stabilize the situation before the master returned.

Unexpectedly, the official said: "Of course I have to reply to your lord, but it's enough to go back alone. I'm waiting for your lord's order to come to invite Miss Xia. Before I see Miss Xia, I can only wait here. I have official business, so please forgive me if I disturb you."

Thank you Qinghan, Nanhuang Youxue, and Crane Xinging for their rewards.

Thank you for your monthly ticket recommendation tickets and comments, good night.