Chapter 549: 549. Chapter 549: Collecting Cheng Jingyu's Money

549. Chapter 549: Collecting Cheng Jingyu's Money

Seeing the masked black-clad person furious and wanting to kill Cheng Xianglan, Shi Lin raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "What, you're panicking?"

"What am I panicking about? I just told her not to spout nonsense."

The masked black-clad person spoke.

His words had just fallen.

Shi Lin spoke up: "If you say it's nonsense, then it's nonsense; otherwise, what is it?"

Detestable.

If he doesn't say something today, it probably won't work.

The masked black-clad person instantly thought of what to say.

He turned his gaze to the Minister of Justice and said, "Minister of Justice, the matter is this: I took Cheng Jingyu's money and came to rescue his mother; I never expected to be caught by you so shortly after arriving here."

"How much money did you take from him?"

Shi Lin asked calmly.

His demeanor made the masked black-clad person feel uncertain: "I, I took two thousand taels of silver notes from him. He said after the matter succeeds, he'll give me another three thousand taels of silver notes."

"Really?"

"And the silver notes?"

Shi Lin continued to ask him.

The masked black-clad person didn't understand what Shi Lin meant, but still produced the two thousand taels of silver notes he had taken.

Of course, these two thousand taels of silver notes were not given to him by Cheng Jingyu, but by someone under the Empress.

Shi Lin took them and placed them on the table before Minister of Justice Jiang, and they examined them together.

Minister Jiang asked, "Minister Shi, is there any problem with these silver notes?"

He looked for a while but saw no problem.

These silver notes come from the Wind and Moon Money House in the Imperial Capital; many people deposit money there, and Cheng Xianglan and they would deposit theirs there too, so it's not strange at all.

"The silver notes are fine; the problem is that Cheng Jingyu could never have that much money. His mother's monthly earnings are all deposited in the Wind and Cloud Money House, something we and the shop's manager know. If you don't believe me, Minister Jiang, you can send someone to investigate."

Shi Lin spoke without a pause, clearly not lying.

The masked black-clad person stuck out his neck and said, "You know that too; what if this money is Cheng Jingyu's privately hidden stash?"

"Do you think his mother is an idiot? Every inflow and outflow of money is recorded."

Shi Lin's words left the masked black-clad person unable to respond for a moment.

All the embroidery workers of the Lanxiang Embroidery Workshop were released, while the manager and assistants, like Cheng Xianglan, were detained in the Ministry of Justice.

Minister Jiang immediately had them brought in for questioning.

It was confirmed to be exactly as Shi Lin said.

He sent people to follow them back to retrieve the account books, and then went to the Wind and Cloud Mountain Villa.

Minister Jiang slammed the evidence on the table and demanded of the masked black-clad person, "What else do you have to say?!"

The masked black-clad person still insisted that Cheng Jingyu had bribed him.

Shi Lin no longer bothered with all that; early the next morning he took the evidence left by Zhang Yun's grandfather and presented it to the Emperor.

Zhang Yun's grandfather had taught the Emperor, so the Emperor naturally recognized his handwriting.

Thinking of the death of their family.

The Emperor sent people to examine the corpses; the Empress, who had thought there would be no problem, did not expect the bodies to have already been swapped back.

Now.

It was immediately discovered that their family did not die of illness, but were killed by someone stabbing them with needles.

Each of their heads had a needle puncture.

But at that time.

Zhang Yun was still young, and with the Empress's powerful influence, he dared not oppose her.

Zhang Yun's grandfather had died, and the person who had assisted the Empress in childbirth back then also died; now, only those who serve her nearby and the Consort Yue's side know the truth.

To clarify matters, the Emperor first sent people to bring Consort Yue and her attendants for questioning.

However.

Their statements, however, disappointed the Emperor.