Chapter 975: Plentiful Testimonies
Translator: Endlessæantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Empress Dowager Yunzi even brought the Imperial Censor to personally meet the old couple who lived in another room.
Because Empress Dowager Yunzi and the others didn’t reveal their ident.i.ties,
Laicai and Xiuhua weren’t afraid to speak to them. Whatever Empress Dowager Yunzi and the others asked, the couple answered truthfully.
After three days of investigation, the Minister of Justice handed over a thick stack of testimony to Empress Dowager Yunzi.
This testimony was stamped with a handprint.
After Hui Xiang took the thick stack of testimony and placed it in front of
Empress Dowager Yunzi, the Minister of Justice reported to Empress Dowager Yunzi, “Reporting to the Empress Dowager, I have investigated this matter thoroughly. Wei Zizhan is definitely not His Highness the Crown Prince. Zhu Laicai, Zhu Xiuhua, Doctor Shen, the two midwives who delivered Wei Zizhan’s mother, Grandma w.a.n.g, Grandma Wu, everyone on the street where the Wei family once lived in the county, the servants of Qin Weisai and Qin Weisai’s family, and even the Princ.i.p.al of Shengming Academy, Mister Zhang, can testify.”
After a pause, the Minister of Justice reported solemnly, “Ji Yi left His
Highness the Crown Prince at the Wei Family’s doorstep, and Master Wei had
Zhu Laicai throw His Highness the Crown Prince to the streets. I found Zhu Laicai’s daughter-in-law, Zhu Xiuhua, and she spoke about the day Zhu Laicai lost His Highness the Crown Prince.
“l b.u.mped into Sun Erhei and his daughter-in-law, Zhang San, at the entrance of the alley.l also spoke to Tian Si who lived in the alley, and Cheng Laowu, a shopkeeper.
“All these people were witnesses and saw the Crown Prince at the side of the street in swaddling clothes. 1 also asked their families. Some of these people’s families also heard about a bay being thrown at that time. They said that they saw Zhu Laicai throw this child.
“We’ve also found the two workers who saw it with their own eyes. Although they’re no longer workers at the bank, they still remember that Zhu Laicai was the one that threw this child. When they returned to the bank, they talked about it. There was even a worker who complained that they were being irresponsible.
“I even went to the Zhu Village and asked around. The people of the Zhu
Village all said that they had heard Zhu Laicai and Zhu Xiuhua mention more than once that they had to give away a child because of Master Wei’s orders.
“l asked the village chief about the year Laicai and Xiuhua settled down in this village. They said that they had pitied Zhu Laicai and Zhu Xiuhua and allowed them to settle down in the Zhu Village. At that time, Zhu Laicai and Zhu Xiuhua had mentioned their situation to him and he took pity on them. They called it their retribution at that time.
“Doctor Shen’s servant Da Yong had heard Zhu Laicai and Zhu Xiuhua mention this matter on the day they were expelled from the Wei family as well.
“I’ve also inquired about the eight villages in the vicinity of Locust Village. Basically, I know the exact year and day Xue Dafu picked up a child and brought him home. That child was extremely intelligent and was a child prodigy. The eight villages in the vicinity also know how smart this child is.
“Moreover, in Xue Dafu’s household register in the county office, it was noted which day Xue Dafu adopted this child and where he found the child. The chief and the main registrar who registered this at that time can also testify.
“The villagers all know that the child that Xue Dafu picked up had a jade pendant on him. Because it was carried by the child, no matter how poor he was, Xue Dafu didn’t sell it to anyone and kept it.”
The Imperial Censor reported everything he knew to the Empress Dowager in detail..