439, Abominable and Hateful (2 more updates)
“Speak up, who are you, where do you come from, and who’s in your family? You keep saying that I am your daughter, may I ask what your basis is for this claim? Is there any distinctive mark on me to prove I am your daughter, and you say you’re not stopping me? Not stopping me from what? Let me say this again, don’t even think about slandering me; I, Xie Zhinuan, am not easily fooled!”
With her own efforts, she had managed to buy so much mountain land, acquired fields and houses, started restaurants and taverns; without wits, even the greatest backing would be futile, as she would still be susceptible to being plotted against.
“I, I…” The woman hesitated.
This Xie Zhinuan was clearly not as the inquiries suggested, and the master had said…
No, she couldn’t implicate the master, or else she wouldn’t even know how she died.
“I, I…”
“Speak!” Xie Zhinuan said sternly.
Her eyes deep and somber, she just watched the woman.
The woman swallowed nervously.
She knew that today, no matter what she said, once it left her mouth, it would be taken as absolute truth. With so many listening and watching, she would not be allowed to retract her words later.
And Xie Zhinuan was not like she had imagined-so eager to find her kin, so desperate to find her way home.
If she knew that Xie Zhinuan had even sent away Xie Rong, who had been confirmed as her biological brother, she would not have rashly come forward to claim kinship.
“You, you are the one who fell in love with a scholar and then eloped- we’ve searched for you for a very long time!” The woman’s voice grew quieter as she spoke.
The two men behind her also grew anxious.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Mu almost lunged forward to slap her twice across the face.
All nonsense.
Upon hearing this, Xie Zhinuan appeared to suddenly understand.
“Really? Then may I ask the scholar’s name? Where does he live? How did you come to know about our elopement? And how did you find this place now? Where is your family’s home? When did I meet the scholar, and when did we elope? You’ve searched for a long time, may I know for how long and which places you’ve looked? Who can testify to this!” Xie Zhinuan asked, question after question.
Her mind was remarkably clear as if she were interrogating at the Governor’s Office.
“Exactly, if you say Miss Xie is your daughter, then please present the evidence!” Magistrate Liu stepped forward.
“Today, I am here to serve as a witness, and since you claim Miss Xie is your daughter and eloped with someone, you must clarify everything. If you can’t, such deliberate defamation is not a simple matter of corporal punishment!”
Especially since Xie Zhinuan was quite famous in Fengping County; who didn’t know about her past in Xiaohe Village, that due to an injury, she forgot her former life but was thought to be here to claim her family. To smear her reputation required a great deal of audacity.
Eloping with someone…
Xuan Mu watched the woman with a cold gaze.
At first, he suspected that his own mother had arranged for someone to tarnish Xie Zhinuan’s reputation.
Not to mention, Xu Xuanjin thought the same.
The nature of his aunt was such that she could indeed stoop to doing something like this.
“I, I…” the woman stuttered.
Because many things could be easily checked to reveal her lies.
She also had not expected Xie Zhinuan to remain so composed.
“It seems that you are not my kin at all. One reason you’re here is to throw dirt on me, and the other is to extort money!” Xie Zhinuan said, then turned to Magistrate Liu, “Sir, do you agree that such a venomous person should be severely punished?”
“They must be severely punished. Guards, seize these three and lock them in the dungeon. Tomorrow, I will preside over the trial. To frame Miss Xie in such a way is utterly abhorrent!”
Not just abhorrent, but downright detestable.
Chapter 441