Chapter 627 A Lock Which Has Been Used for Three Years
Getting Lord Wen’s approval, the two officers from the Ministry of Justice took action. If they could show their capability in front of the young and promising Lord Wen, they could probably have a bright future!
Thinking of this, the two officers from the Ministry of Justice immediately walked over in high spirits. Of course, it was also because they couldn’t bear to be belittled by a maid as the officers from the Ministry of Justice.
“Get out of the way!”
The chest was placed between the two old maids from Duke Xing’s Mansion. Seeing the two officers from the Ministry of Justice coming over, they became uneasy.
“There’s nothing special against the rules in the chest!” An old maid stepped forward, stopped the officers from the Ministry of Justice, and said. The First Miss had just asked the officers from the Ministry of Justice to take them up the mountain in order to put on a bluff rather than to check the stuff they brought.
“We can only confirm whether there is anything against the rules after having a check!” One of the officers from the Ministry of Justice glanced at the old maid and said lightly.
The other one of them came over, crouched down in front of the chest, and began to check it carefully.
The intervention of the officers from the Ministry of Justice confused the onlookers. Could there be anything against the rules?
The crowd became less noisy and looked towards the officers from the Ministry of Justice, who came over. Plenty of people in the capital city could recognize the uniform of the officers from the Ministry of Justice.
“It’s really nothing serious. We just brought the chest our Fifth Miss left in the Yuhui Nunnery. Perhaps it’s been a long time, so she can’t remember it!” The other old maid said with a hollow laugh while reaching out to pull the chest back.
“She can’t remember her own chest?” The officer from the Ministry of Justice, who was standing, glanced at the old maid and said. He, who had seen this kind of people a lot when handling cases, could tell that the old maid was in a panic.
Before intervening in it, he just considered it a farce and didn’t find anything unusual about the two old maids from Duke Xing’s Mansion. However, at this moment, he could tell that the old maids looked very uneasy. Could there be anything fishy about the chest?
“Lord Wen suggested that this is a royal temple and you can’t make a scene at will here. If it’s taken seriously, it could be considered contempt for the dignity of the royal family. We can’t allow you to go on like this. If Lord Wen didn’t see it, we wouldn’t intervene in it. Now that he saw it, we have to help you find out the truth, in case you break the peace of the Huaguang Temple!”
The officer from the Ministry of Justice said with a smile. He was extremely polite and seemed to indicate that he had no choice but to intervene in it. If he didn’t see it, it was none of his business. Now that he saw it, he naturally had to do something. Although it was not a case, wasn’t the ultimate responsibility of the Ministry of Justice to maintain public security and deal with various affairs?
From this point of view, it was reasonable for them to deal with it.
“But… this is nothing serious!” The old maid in front said. However, the old maid behind her reached out to pull her sleeve as a hint for her to step back, and then said to the officers from the Ministry of Justice with a smile, “Your Excellency, since you intend to help us, we can’t have no sense to appreciate your kindness. Go ahead please!”
The old maid thought differently from the old maid in front. They didn’t want the intervention by the officers from the Ministry of Justice and just intended to find an unexpected opportunity to open the chest. However, after being in a stalemate for so long, they still didn’t find the unexpected opportunity. Since the officers from the Ministry of Justice wanted to intervene, they could just let them do it. Opening the chest could only do good to them.
Old Madam of Duke Xing’s Mansion had told them to open the chest on the spot.
As the two old maids stepped aside, the two officers from the Ministry of Justice came over and crouched down in front of the chest. The two of them didn’t open the chest at once but began to examine it carefully. Since they intended to show off their professional skills, they naturally started with the examination.
The chest seemed to have been used for a period of time. They couldn’t tell how long it was, but they were sure that it must have been a long time.
They looked down at the lock on the chest and examined it carefully, and then drew a sound conclusion after discussing in a low voice for a while, “This lock at least has been used for three years!”
“Impossible! How could it be possible!” On hearing this, the old maid, who stood beside the two officers from the Ministry of Justice and didn’t think that they could discover anything, said anxiously with her face turning pale.
“The lock must have been used for more than three years, although we are not sure how long it is.” One of the officers from the Ministry of Justice ignored the old maid’s pale face and continued saying.
“That’s great. My master has stayed in the Yuhui Nunnery for more than two years at most. Before my master went to the Yuhui Nunnery, the silence room had been the First Miss’s residence, so the stuff inside must belong to the First Miss!” Yujie said excitedly at once with her eyes lighting up.
“Didn’t you say that you are not sure how long it is? In this case, how can you say that the lock must have been used for more than three years?” An old maid retorted in disapproval.
“The lock happened to prevail in the capital three years ago. Because the craftsman who made this kind of locks got involved in a murder, the technique of making this kind of locks failed to be handed down! Besides, the lock seems to have been used for three years!” one of the officers from the Ministry of Justice said.
“Uh… Maybe someone bought the lock before that, but used it later rather than use it at once!” The old maid felt her heart thumped, but still insisted.
“It turns out that the lock doesn’t prevail now and failed to be handed down long ago. That’s great. Three years ago, my master just moved to the capital city. She was unlikely to go out to buy a lock, let alone put it away and use it later!” Yujie immediately retorted.
“But no one can say that the lock must have been used for three years!” the old maid still said stubbornly.
The officers from the Ministry of Justice ignored them, picked up a brick, and smashed the lock. After that, they opened the chest and took out a set of clothes and a box of jewelry.
Plenty of people were amazed at the gorgeous clothes, which were almost dazzling in the sun but looked small. When the jewelry box was opened, people found the jewelry inside was even more gorgeous and extraordinary.
“The clothes are so small… that they fit the Fifth Miss before she went up the mountain! They definitely don’t fit the First Miss!” the two old maids exchanged glances, breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately put on a casual smile and said.
Shao Wanru was still pet.i.te when she went to the Yuhui Nunnery, so it was reasonable that she brought a set of small clothes.
“Where… where do the clothes come from?” Yujie and Qu Le opened their mouths wide in shock and said, almost unable to believe what they saw.
“I have no idea… What… what’s going on?”
Obviously, the two maids were also confused and had no idea what was going on. Looking at this set of clothes, they really couldn’t figure out when their master had this set of clothes.
“The clothes are small and fit a girl of eleven or twelve years old,” one of the officers from the Ministry of Justice unfolded the clothes and said strictly.
“When the Fifth Miss went to the Yuhui Nunnery, she was eleven years old. But… but she went there to observe mourning for the heir and Infanta Qinghua and meditate. How could she wear such gorgeous clothes and resplendent jewelry? What… what happened?”
The two old maids also looked confused, as if they really knew nothing about it. However, they were loud enough to be heard by everyone around them.
Thinking of what had happened before, plenty of people thought that they had understood. The Fifth Miss Shao was obviously a person intent on seeking fame. She claimed to observe mourning for her parents. However, these clothes and jewelry indicated that she just pretended to be aloof from material pursuits but actually she did that in order to show her filial piety.
The clothes and jewelry obviously belonged to the Fifth Miss Shao. Otherwise, the maid would not deny it immediately. It was because she was afraid that others would discover the stuff inside and suspect the Fifth Miss Shao.
“These things definitely don’t belong to my master. My master has never seen them before. Someone intends to set up my master again after the failure last time!” At this moment, Yujie realized what was going on and said angrily, “My master almost got killed on the mountain path before. Isn’t it enough?”
Her words reminded everyone of what had happened. It was so serious that plenty of people still talked about it in private and thought that the conclusion drawn by the Ministry of Justice was too simple. The incident sounded not simple. How could they make it a minor incident and conclude without a concrete result?
Nevertheless, as the victim in the case, the Fifth Miss Shao was really generous. She agreed with the result with no objection. It could be seen that she was a kindhearted girl. In this case, she seemed to be unlikely to do something against “filial piety”.
Seeing that plenty of people began to vacillate, the old maid hurriedly said, “How can you say that? Who would set up the Fifth Miss…”
“It happened before! My master almost got killed on the mountain path. The First Miss got involved in the incident, and now she has something to do with the chest. Is the First Miss not compatible with my master in Eight Characters? Before my master went to the Yuhui Nunnery for meditation, the First Miss hurried down the mountain. Now the First Miss has something to do with these!”
Yujie angrily interrupted the old maid. She had always been more courageous than ordinary maids. Moreover, they were not in Duke Xing’s Mansion. Strictly speaking, she now couldn’t even be considered a maid of Duke Xing’s Mansion. So she felt that she had justice on her side when talking about this.
Hearing what she said, the old maid was so frightened that her face changed dramatically. She had never expected that Yujie would have the nerve to say something like that in front of so many people. Yujie shouldn’t say that as a maid. Wasn’t Yujie afraid that the Old Madam would instruct other servants to beat her to death after knowing it?
“How… how dare you!”
“I would say something offensive rather than let someone set up my master unscrupulously.” Yujie said coldly, and then took two steps forward and bowed respectfully to the two officers from the Ministry of Justice, “Your Excellency, please find out where the clothes and jewelry come from. Is there no way to find out who intends to set up my master?”
“A lock which has been used for more than three years and the clothes which fit my master when she was younger. At that time, we just moved to the capital and really didn’t know about this kind of lock. Besides, my master was young and wouldn’t have any opportunity to go out. Even if she had an opportunity to go out, she didn’t know about this kind of lock. But now everything shows that they belong to my master. I’m wondering whom my master has offended so that she’s criticized like that!”
Qu Le was also an eloquent person arguing a point to death. Although she was not as sharp-tongued as Yujie, she followed Yujie’s topic and cooperated with Yujie well!