Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhilan kowtowed faithfully and then faced Liang Jin with a magnanimous expression. “Lord Liang, our Miss didn’t commission any furniture for the Marquis. Instead, she directly provided two thousand taels of silver for the Marquis’s courtyard renovation.”
All the servants in the courtyard gasped when they heard this.
Their Eldest Young Miss was rich!
Even Saint Ruan couldn’t resist teasing, “So she’s a rich lady!”
She had just given him two thousand taels for the courtyard’s renovation, so extorting twenty thousand taels from this rich lady later shouldn’t have been a big issue, right?
Liu Shulan’s complexion paled. “While it’s true that Eldest Young Miss provided the money, she’s always been in charge of the Marquis’s Manor! Every decision in this courtyard was overseen by Eldest Young Miss!”
At this moment, she had to pin everything on Su Yingxue, no matter what! Pushing it to the very end!
“I’ve given the money, but the specifics of the renovation were per my father’s preferences. So, Aunt, if you want to know about the furniture, why not ask the proprietor?” Su Yingxue looked towards Liang Jin.
She stepped aside as Liang Jin had the proprietor from Red Brocade Lane brought forward.
The trembling proprietor, having been questioned by Liang Jin before, was even more frightened this time. Liang Jin’s interrogation was harsher than the last. “Speak! Who in the Marquis’s Manor ordered furniture from you, and why did it contain something poisonous?”
“I’m innocent! I’ve been diligently doing business for years without harmful incidents. If there were any, how could I have lasted this long? It’s only with this Marquis’s Manor…”
The Red Brocade Lane’s proprietor knelt, trembling with fear. “Lord Liang, I’ve mentioned before that while the furniture was custom-made for the Marquis’s Manor, the people of Marquis’s Manor didn’t allow us to deliver it. Instead, they took it away themselves. I also mentioned feeling suspicious as the furniture didn’t directly reach the Marquis’s Manor. But where it went and what was done must be inquired from the Marquis’s Manor’s people!”
As a businessman, he couldn’t control goods that were already sold. To accuse him of plotting against the Marquis based on this would be a grave injustice!
Liang Jin had not investigated the entire Marquis’s Manor before, so he left a gap. At this moment, he had already found the people in Su Yingxue’s courtyard. He had all the servants in the Marquis’s Manor stand together and asked the proprietor of the Red Brocade Lane to identify the person who had asked him to order the furniture and who had brought the people to take the furniture away.
As the Red Brocade Lane’s proprietor turned, Liu Shulan nearly stumbled.
“What do we do, Mother?” Su Yurou whispered in fear. “He recognized us. What do we do?”
“Rou’er, remember this. No matter what happens, claim ignorance. You know nothing!” Liu Shulan, barely able to stand, gripped Su Yurou’s hand tightly.
Su Yurou, tears in her eyes, gritted her teeth. “But, Mother, I’m afraid…”
If something happened to her mother, what would she do?
Liu Shulan, fearing Su Yurou wouldn’t heed her advice, clutched her hand fiercely. “You better remember this! You know nothing!”
Su Yurou’s mouth was muffled by Liu Shulan’s hand, stifling her cries.
The Red Brocade Lane’s proprietor recognized the servants and identified those who ordered the furniture and took it away.
They were all from Liu Shulan’s Qingxin Garden.
Liu Shulan’s face turned ashen.
Liang Jin, with a stern expression, looked down at her.. “Lady Liu, do you have anything more to say? You orchestrated all of this!”