Chapter 120: Hello Chang’an
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**Chapter 120: Falling from Grace (Seeking Monthly Votes)**
Yao Yi looked at Madam Jie and her maidservant, “May I ask if Madam Jie has anything she wishes to explain?”
The maid felt inwardly vexed that the Xuanzhe Army would pay attention to such trivial matters!
At that time, nothing had happened in the building; why would they keep an eye on when their bearers left and whether they had a lantern or not for no reason?
Madam Jie’s expression was cold and aloof: “Since I entered the building, I haven’t left. How would I know where the bearers went or what they did? I don’t know what you wish me to explain, Minister Yao.”
Yao Yi didn’t engage her in a verbal spar: “Since Madam Jie doesn’t know, we can only bring that bearer up to clarify, so there won’t be any misunderstandings about Madam Jie.”
Madam Jie sneered inwardly: “Feel free, Minister Yao.”
After receiving a nod from Cui Jing, a member of the Xuanzhe Army quickly went downstairs and soon brought the bearer back up.
The bearer felt a surge of anxiety as he entered the building, feeling flustered under the gazes of Minister Yao and the others. He frequently glanced at Madam Jie and the maid.
However, Madam Jie didn’t look at him.
“I ask you, do you know whether this maid beside Madam Jie went downstairs to fetch tea before?”
Hearing the title of “I” from official, the bearer was scared, and he instinctively looked at the maid: “Qiao Mama, what… what’s going on?”
Yao Yi frowned, raising his voice slightly: “I ask you a question; why are you asking someone else?”
The bearer’s face turned pale in fright, and he immediately knelt down.
Though he was also one of Madam Jie’s people, compared to Qiao Mama, he was merely a nameless bearer, whose courage and status were equally insignificant.
The maid reprimanded sternly, “Just answer truthfully to how Minister Yao asks you!”
The bearer’s expression changed repeatedly as he knelt there. Although he was timid, he was still smart; he quickly thought for a moment and nodded: “Yes… Qiao Mama did go downstairs to fetch tea.”
Yao Yi continued, “Did she say anything to you while fetching the tea?”
“Um…” The bearer stumbled over his words: “She instructed me to keep an eye on the sedan!”
“Then why did you leave alone after she went upstairs?”
The bearer’s expression shifted again, and he could only reply, “I… I went to relieve myself!”
“Then why did you have a lantern when you left, but it was gone when you returned?”
Sweat instantly broke out cold on the bearer’s forehead.
How… did they know this?
He recalled Qiao Mama’s low voice instructing him: to hang the lantern in Fenggu Alley, not to speak to anyone, not to linger, to go quickly and return quickly, and if anyone asked later, to say he went to relieve himself.
He only knew this much!
Although he thought the instruction was a bit strange, he was just a bearer and had to follow orders, not daring to ask for reasons.
But now he was suddenly brought up for questioning…
The man stealthily raised his eyes, looking at the serious faces of everyone in the room... with this atmosphere, could something major be happening?
Seeing him remain silent, Yao Yi coldly asked, “Did you leave that lantern in Fenggu Alley?”
The bearer’s mind exploded with a “bang,” and he instinctively said, “No… I didn’t go to Fenggu Alley!”
Qiao Mama had already instructed him not to speak carelessly, especially in times of trouble; it was even more essential not to admit anything!
Yao Yi pressed, “Then where is the lantern?”
“Lantern…” The bearer stammered, “It accidentally fell into the urinal when I was… relieving myself and I didn’t pick it up again!”
Some of the women frowned upon hearing this.
Yao Yi asked again, “Where did you relieve yourself?”
“Right at the end of the back street… under that old willow tree!” The bearer answered without hesitation this time, “If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to check! But that lantern… it’s probably been blown away by the wind!”
Yao Yi pondered for a moment.
Setting aside the fact that more than an hour had passed and any traces would have dried, just the claim of relieving himself at the back street didn’t explain anything—it was normal for him to take a break on the way back from Fenggu Alley.
This bearer was timid, but his mouth was tight…
At that moment, a subordinate who had been sent to Fenggu Alley returned: “Sir, we didn’t find any lanterns near Fenggu Alley.”
Madam Jie raised her brows slightly and said calmly, “There’s a new batch of palace attendants in the Eastern Palace recently. I must go to the Eastern Palace tomorrow to inspect the palace rules. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave.”
Her words clearly implied using her connections in the palace to pressure them. Yao Yi understood her intention.
Like Chang Suining , he had already discerned the connection between Madam Jie and this matter—after handling so many cases, the answer was nearly clear.
However, mere speculation wouldn’t convince the public; he needed evidence to support his claims. Without evidence, everything could be dismissed as mere “coincidence.”
Given more time, he was confident he could find other leads, but due to her status, he didn’t have sufficient reason to detain her.
Once she left, she would undoubtedly take measures to erase the evidence.
At this moment, the most crucial lead was…
Yao Yi instinctively glanced at the bearer when he heard Chang Suining say, “Madam Jie can leave, but this bearer must stay.”
Earlier, she had exchanged a glance with Cui Jing.
As soon as she agreed to demonstrate her innocence through drawing, they had shared a moment of eye contact.
At that time, Cui Jing had spoken a few words to Chang Kuo, after which Cui Yuanxiang had left the Dengtai Tower at Cui Jing’s command.
From that moment, Chang Suining had known that Cui Jing was sending someone to investigate.
Thus, her deliberate act of creating an intricate, time-consuming painting, along with her earlier “rebellious” remarks towards Madam Jie, were both aimed at stalling for time.
Now, her insistence on keeping the bearer behind had a similar purpose.
Madam Jie was infuriated by this demand and sneered, “How long do you intend to harass me, Lady Chang?”
“Is this harassment?” Chang Suining looked at the bearer, “Who can prove that what he said is true? Can we just dismiss suspicions based on a few of his words?”
“Exactly.” Wei Shuyi stepped forward, “Unless he can prove that he hasn’t been to Fenggu Alley—”
The mention of “proving” made Madam Jie’s expression darken: “Minister Wei is a high-ranking official, so you should be quite familiar with our laws. May I ask which law this farce has violated tonight? Is there a dead body or theft? On what grounds do you detain and interrogate my family’s servants?”
A farce?
They were on the verge of ruining someone’s reputation, yet she lightly referred to it as a farce!
Wei Miaoqing, unable to endure any longer, stood up: “What law has that woman broken in terms of her alleged innocence? Is there a dead body or theft? Why can anyone come and interrogate and discuss? It was Madam Jie who publicly demanded that Lady Chang prove her innocence; now, the time has come for her own servant, who clearly has accomplice suspicions, to prove his innocence, and she questions the grounds for this?!”
She finished in one breath, surprised at herself.
Did she really just say all this?
Indeed, it seemed that she had been inspired tonight; otherwise, how could she speak so smoothly against Madam Jie?!
Madam Jie’s face turned frostier as she fixed her gaze on Wei Miaoqing. She recognized her immediately as the legitimate daughter of Marquis Zheng.
Or rather, she remembered very well those who behaved improperly yet refused to be controlled.
She barely deigned to reply to Wei Miaoqing, coldly saying, “The things that are fabricated, I allowed Yao Yi to interrogate just now to give him face and to provide everyone with an explanation. But I’ve already answered everything I needed to. If you persist in this stubbornness, it would be suspicious!”
Her usual demeanor was one of sternness; now, her face was completely cold, and her voice deep and powerful, easily intimidating the crowd, especially the women, into silence.
“Has Madam Jie spoken too soon—” It was Cui Jing who spoke up.
His gaze passed over Madam Jie, looking toward Cui Yuanxiang, who was hastily coming up the stairs.
Ming Luo, who had remained silent until now, also turned to look; upon seeing Cui Yuanxiang approaching, she already had her answer.
Cui Yuanxiang had not returned alone; he was accompanied by two people, one large and one small.
The larger figure was a young man dressed like a peddler, while the smaller one was an eight- or nine-year-old boy.
“That’s him! He’s Zhou Er!” The boy pointed directly at the kneeling man named Zhou as he walked over.
The man was taken aback: “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to testify!” The boy glared at him. “I saw you sneaking around this afternoon, clutching a bundle like you were about to run away... I followed you all the way to Fenggu Alley, and when I saw someone hanging a lantern, you left, so I knew you must have been up to no good!”
The man stared back at him: “You… I only borrowed ten coins from your sister! Is that why you’re following me?”
The boy scoffed, “What borrowing? You pretended to be sick to swindle it! Who knows if you were planning to run away without paying it back? You and your uncle are no good!”
So he had picked up that lantern and waited near Dengtai Tower until Cui Yuanxiang, who was searching around, stopped him to ask questions.
At this moment, Jiantong also recognized the boy.
On that day, when he had followed Zhou Ding, Zhou had nearly harmed the boy when he was leaving the gambling den, but he had thrown a stone to wake a black dog in the alley, saving the boy’s life.
Unexpectedly, this child had become a witness today.
“I’m not a good person; I’ve been bribed, and I’m not denying it…” Zhou Er slumped to the ground with a sigh.
“This young brother just said he saw someone hanging a lantern in Fenggu Alley with his own eyes?” Yao Yi interjected at the right moment.
The boy quickly nodded: “Yes! I was keeping a close watch, and I saw it clearly!”
Yao Yi nodded in satisfaction.
The child was energetic; only kids could manage such things in this hot weather.
“Then can you tell me if that person is in the building or not?”
The boy immediately pointed at the bearer: “It’s him!”
The bearer’s face changed in shock: “You’re talking nonsense!”
“I saw it clearly; you were the one who secretly hung that lantern at the alley entrance!” The boy didn’t give him a chance to argue and told Yao Yi, “He was rolling up his sleeves, and I saw a big black mole on his arm! It seemed to be on the right side!”
It was common for laborers to work bare-chested in hot weather, but Madam Jie had strict rules against her servants wearing revealing clothing, so the bearer wore a long-sleeved shirt.
At this moment, his sleeves were down, and hearing the boy’s words, he shook his head repeatedly.
At Chang Kuo’s gesture, two servants stepped forward: one restrained him, while the other rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a prominent black mole.
One of the servant women beside Madam Jie gritted her teeth: “Where did this little brat come from… How dare he collude with someone to slander my lady!”
Her words backfired, provoking an accusation:
“It’s her… she bought the lantern from a small vendor.”
The peddler said to Cui Yuanxiang.
The servant woman suddenly recognized him as the lantern vendor, and her face turned pale.
Although they had thought such matters would leave no trace, she had been very cautious, not daring to use any lanterns from her own household and instead buying a plain, nondescript lantern on the way…
Little did she know that these people could trace it back to the vendor!
Cold sweat broke out on her face, but she still insisted, “You… you must have colluded beforehand!”
However, the crowd had already formed their own conclusions.
Today, the victim was Lady Chang; how could the victim collude?
Countless gazes turned toward Madam Jie.
The bearer trembled as he knelt on the ground.
Zhou Er moved closer to him and said in a brotherly tone, “I say, big brother, you should learn from me and just confess… think about it, if you go back like this, can you still live?”
After crying and howling all night, he was exhausted, his knees were aching from kneeling, and he just wanted to end this quickly.
This heartfelt advice, tinged with concern, nearly made the already crumbling bearer break into tears, snapping the last remaining thread of his composure.
“It was… it was Qiao Mama who asked me to hang the lantern! I didn’t do anything else, and I don’t know anything! I lied just now because Qiao Mama told me to; I’m just a lowly servant; my life depends on my master’s words… I truly dare not disobey!”
As the bearer spoke, he suddenly lunged forward, clutching Yao Yi’s leg, and pleaded, “Lord Yao, I’ve heard you’re a good official; please have mercy and help me escape this fire pit! I’m willing to work like an ox or horse for the rest of my life to repay your kindness!”
“…” Yao Yi paused for a moment before nodding: “I can help you redeem yourself.”
The bearer was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed.
Zhou Er was taken aback.
Just like that, with a little push from him, this big brother had soared to new heights!
At this point, the truth was beyond dispute, and the crowd erupted in an uproar.
The gazes of the women turned toward Madam Jie had completely transformed.
Madam Jie felt those accusatory looks were like hands, the very hands that once held her up high, now threatening to pull her down from her pedestal.
“Using such despicable and underhanded tactics against an innocent girl—this is the so-called way of a teacher that you, Madam Jie, pride yourself on?” Chang Kuo asked furiously.
This was also what the other women wanted to know.
In their anger, they felt a chill.
How could someone so respected, with the power to elevate or destroy a person with a single word, possess no corresponding morality? Wasn’t that a disaster for them?
“I have never wronged you, Madam Jie.” Chang Suining looked at the stiff-faced Madam Jie, “Your actions today seem to indicate you are acting on someone else’s behalf.”
Madam Jie’s heart jolted.
As she locked eyes with the girl, her fingers trembled, digging into her palms, and she squeezed out a cold laugh from between her teeth.
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(End of Chapter)
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