The Lord did not answer her question, but continued to ask, "Did you know at the time that she was the young lady of the Wu family?"
The old woman with yellow teeth slapped her thigh and said with a wronged expression, "Reporting to Your Lordship, we receive and send off so many people every day, how could we possibly inquire clearly about everyone's affairs? At the time, seeing that the two of them were very familiar with each other, we believed this woman's words."
This old woman with yellow teeth was very shrewd. She had already sensed something was wrong at the time. After all, the clothes worn by that young girl were not cheap; she was not an ordinary commoner. Moreover, the other party asked for no money, which was clearly a tactic commonly used by ladies of the inner chambers. To be safe, she had even kept that young girl in her small courtyard for a few days.
Although everyone outside said that the masters of the Wu mansion were looking for the eldest young lady of the Wu family, according to her observation, it was all superficial work. Knowing their attitude, she acted boldly and entrusted someone to sell her to another region.
"Master Wu, Madam Wu, do you have anything else to say?" Seeing that the matter was basically clear, the Lord asked as a formality.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, when our young daughter was lost, it was this woman along with several servants from the mansion who accompanied her. That day was the Lantern Festival, and there was a stampede. The crowd was very chaotic, and the two of them were separated from others. In the end, only she returned and could not explain the whereabouts of our young daughter, only saying that there were too many people at the time and they were pushed apart. Finally, we gave her twenty great boards and drove her out. Yet she claims we instigated it, clearly holding a grudge and slandering us deliberately. Without evidence, we will not admit it." Master Wu was calmer than his wife. At that time, he had only given her fifty taels of silver and left no clues. He did not believe the other party could provide evidence.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu He eagerly said, "I have evidence."
Master Wu and Madam Wu immediately widened their eyes, unconsciously looking at her, ready to refute at any moment.
But when they saw the jade pendant and a hairpin she took from her embrace, their eyes were extremely complex, from initial shock to disbelief, and finally to despair. Sudan Novel Network.
Someone immediately took the items from her hand and placed them before the Lord. That jade pendant was given to Master Wu by his father when he was young, and it was engraved with his name. Because it was slightly chipped, he had not worn it for many years and kept it in the warehouse. He had no idea how it ended up in her hands.
Beside him, Madam Wu was also extremely shocked. That hairpin was part of her dowry. The style was a bit old, and she had not worn it for over a decade.
Master Wu felt as if he had entered a dead end, anxiously pacing within it, searching for an exit. But no matter how he looked, everything was in vain. He subconsciously felt a hand gripping him tightly, making it impossible for him to escape.
He had originally wanted to tell the truth, but if he told others that the items had been in the warehouse for more than ten years without being touched, who would believe him?
Seeing that they remained silent for a long time, the Lord forcefully struck the gavel, "If you don't speak again, I will consider it an admission of guilt."
Master Wu and Madam Wu exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
Since they had sold their own daughter, the crime was not severe. Each was sentenced to one year.
When the Lord inquired about the whereabouts of Miss Wu, the old woman with yellow teeth claimed that she did not know. At the time, she had handed her over to another broker, who had long since passed away. It was indeed difficult to investigate immediately.
Yu He had only acted under orders and voluntarily surrendered, so she was sentenced to five years.
The judgment that was most difficult for Master Wu and Madam Wu to accept was this. Once one had been to prison, it was a stain on their entire lives. Furthermore, with no one left in the Wu family to restrain their son, given his lawless nature, he would undoubtedly squander the family fortune very quickly.
They could only watch with unwillingness as the constables led them away, preparing to give instructions when the butler came to visit. For some reason, when the incident occurred, they never thought of seeking help from the County Princess. Perhaps subconsciously, they felt that she would not stand on their side.
They still needed the butler to investigate clearly who was targeting them, as the enemy was in the dark and they were in the light. Moreover, the fact that those items could quietly flow out of the Wu mansion's storeroom indicated that the mastermind was very capable, and most likely an insider.
When Wu Caiwei learned that the butler had returned from prison, she began to investigate the people around Master Wu and Madam Wu, and her mood became joyful.
She thought that in this lifetime, they would never be able to find out, because that person was her. She had sneaked into their storeroom alone under the cover of night and spent a long time choosing these two items with her keen eyesight.
They were only sentenced to one year, and this was the result of the Wu family butler using a large sum of money and running around. However, Wu Caiwei had plenty of ways to ensure they would never get out again.
Without the two old foxes, Master Wu and Madam Wu, in charge, and with their second young master being such a good-for-nothing, investigating matters would be much simpler.
Soon, under his threats and intimidation, a maidservant defected, saying that on the day Madam Wu had an accident, she had seen the current madam sneak towards the pond with two maids. Not long after, they returned in a panic. As for what they did, she did not know.
Soon, the two maids were summoned based on her description. However, they were now managers of the Wu mansion. When questioned, although there was a hint of panic on their faces, they stubbornly denied it.
Wu Caiwei did not believe they were innocent. She directly subjected them to severe torture. It was only when one of them could not bear it any longer that she confessed that Madam Wu's death was premeditated. Under the command of the current madam, they had pushed her into the pond. They had also personally watched her struggle in the pond and slowly sink to the bottom.
Finally, Wu Caiwei ordered that the two of them be thrown into the woodshed without any medical attention, leaving them to their own devices as they lay on the verge of death from their injuries.
As for how Wu Yuxuan's leg became like this, he knew best. Wu Caiwei left the opportunity for revenge to him. Soon, it was heard that the two managers of the mansion had their legs broken and were driven out of the mansion.
Initially, the Lord heard that a County Princess lived in their mansion and thought that since she had lived there for so long, she must have some feelings and would surely come to their rescue. However, to their great surprise, the County Princess went out every day to eat and drink as usual, as if this matter did not exist.
This stumped him, and he did not know what the County Princess's intentions were. He quickly sought help from the Prefect. The Prefect had heard that the County Princess was very close to the eldest young master and could only hint to him to handle the matter impartially.
Thus, Madam Wu and Master Wu suddenly discovered that their treatment was not as good as before.