(1 min.)
"If I can prove that I didn't steal it, then you'll let me slap you ten times?"
Anyone who was wrongly accused as a thief would not be happy. Zhan Xueyuan kept pestering endlessly, which made Yu Shu impatient. If it were any other time, she would definitely teach her a lesson.
However, the overall situation was more important, so she asked someone to find Xue Rui to solve the problem. Who knew that Zhan Xueyuan, who had lost the Heaven Jade, would bite people like a mad dog whose tail had been stepped on. She even blamed Xue Rui.
Yu Shu lost her patience and made up her mind to make Zhan Xueyuan bear the consequences.
Zhan Xueyuan had a strong temper. Under Yu Shu's provocative gaze, she pushed away Cui Yun, who was trying to dissuade her in a low voice. She gritted her teeth and actually challenged Yu Shu.
"If you want to prove that you stole it, do you dare to kneel down and apologize to me?"
Xue Rui frowned and his face darkened. Before he could say anything, he heard Yu Shu agree readily, "Why not? We'll do it."
Then she said to everyone present, "You all heard it. Be my witness. Miss Zhan personally promised me to slap her."
Zhan Xueyuan trembled with anger. In her opinion, Yu Shu, who was very interested in her Heaven Jade on the first day she moved into Huazhen Garden, must have been greedy, so she took the opportunity to steal her treasure. Otherwise, why would Yu Shu stop people from searching her room? She must have thought that she didn't dare to make a big deal out of the ancestral worship ceremony, so she wanted to hide for a while and take the Heaven Jade for herself.
If she had tolerated it, maybe Yu Shu would hide her Heaven Jade somewhere else, and it would be difficult to find it again.
As a direct descendant of the Zhan Family, the Heaven Jade was no different from a lifeblood to Zhan Xueyuan. Without the Heaven Jade, it was impossible for the family to give her a second piece. Without the Heaven Jade Feng Shui Sutra, half of her life would be ruined. Knowing the pros and cons, how could she not be anxious and terrified? Regardless of how big of a commotion she made, she had to get the Heaven Jade back.
"Alright, if you want to prove that you didn't steal it, then let me search your room and body right now!"
Yu Shu sneered and said, "I said I wanted to prove that I didn't steal your stupid stone, but I didn't agree to let you search me."
"What, you want to deny it!?" Clear Snow said anxiously.
"Who's going to deny it? I'm still waiting to slap your face," Yu Shu teased. She pointed at Xue Rui, who was standing behind the door, as if it was a matter of course.
"With the junior minister of the Supreme Court, Lord Xue, here, I'll let him make the decision. I think he will definitely give a convincing answer as to who is right and who is wrong between you and me."
With these words, she threw the ball to Xue Rui. Not mentioning what others thought, Xue Rui, who had just been a bit angry, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Looking at Yu Shu's cunning eyes, listening to her words that were filled with trust, his heart itched, and he really wanted to grab her in his hands and rub it.
Yu Shu's actions had to be said to have won his heart. He liked her stubbornness, but as a man, he hoped that the woman he admired would be able to trust him.
Since that was the case, he naturally wouldn't waste Yu Shu's trust.
Xue Rui turned to look at Zhan Xueyuan, who had an unconvinced expression, and reprimanded coldly,
"I am the Judge of the Supreme Court. With the official seal, I have the right to interrogate officials and scholars below the sixth rank and fifth rank. I can act first and report later. What rank are you? How dare you question me?"
Xue Rui was young and successful. He was born in a family of generals and ministers. He worked in the Supreme Court and received orders from the Emperor. All he saw were murder cases and capital punishment. His official prestige was much stronger than those civil officials who had been officials for many years. If he really put on airs, all the people present, including Lord Wang of the Ministry of Rites, were not enough.
Being stared at by him, Zhan Xueyuan panicked. He lowered his head and said with grievance, "Even if you are an official of the imperial court, you can't fabricate facts and be biased."
"You don't need to say it. I will judge it myself."
Lord Wang coughed slightly and came out to smooth things over, "Lord Xue, let's find out the truth as soon as possible, so as not to disturb the superiors."
Xue Rui nodded and exchanged glances with Yu Shu. Seeing her secretly winking at him, he revealed a smile at the corner of his mouth. Then, he put on a serious face again. His gaze swept over the others and finally fell on Wen Shao 'an. He asked a seemingly unimportant question,
"Did the six of you walk in the garden in the afternoon?"
Wen Shao 'an saw Xue Rui looking at him. He hesitated for a moment before answering, "Yes, Lord Wang asked us to change into formal attire and practice our gait in the garden."
Xue Rui asked Lord Wang again, "Did you pass by the South Garden?"
To avoid disturbing the nobles, Huazhen Garden usually did not allow people to enter freely, especially the north and south gardens. Lord Wang hurriedly explained,
"Yes, we did pass by the South Garden, but I did not bring them in randomly. Instead, we walked by the Treading Swallow Bridge."
"Yes, I was in the pavilion in the garden at the time and saw you," Xue Rui said casually, "There is a newly dug flower pond under the Treading Swallow Bridge. Because it is filled with water, it is not easy to walk, right?"
Lord Wang continued, "Yes, we could not go around it. I could only have them carry their clothes, but they still stepped in a lot of mud.
Hearing this, Xue Rui smiled and lowered the lantern in his hand. Pointing at their feet, he said, "Then let's look at your shoes."
Everyone lowered their heads and looked at their shoes, then at the people beside them. Seven people, seven pairs of feet, all somewhat dirty. Not a single person's shoes were clean.
There was nothing special?
"What does Lord Xue mean by this?" Lord Wang asked in puzzlement.
Xue Rui did not say anything. He brought them back to the door of Zhan Xue Yuan's room and pushed open the door that he had previously closed. The candles in the room were bright. It was not as clear as it was during the day, but it did not obstruct people's vision.
Before they could see anything, Xue Rui had already pointed it out.
"Look at the floor, aren't there some dirty and messy footprints?"
She was not the only one who had entered Zhan Xue Yuan's room. In addition, she had tossed Tian Yu and searched everywhere, so it was not strange for there to be some footprints on the wooden floor. However, there were a few sets of footprints that were stained with some brownish-yellow mud. They were different from the blurry footprints at the side and were especially obvious.
Holding the lantern, Xue Rui looked at their expressions and said slowly, "There were some clouds in the afternoon and the sun did not come out.
You walked over Swallow Trampling Bridge and returned here not far. The mud on your shoes was not dry, so when you stepped on the wooden floor of the room, you left marks. I heard from Yu Suanzi that not long after Miss Zhan and Miss Cui returned, they invited her to tour the garden together. She rejected them and then she took a nap in her room. It was only two or three quarters of an hour before Miss Zhan and Miss Cui came back and found that Tian Yu was missing, so they complained to Yu Suanzi. Am I right? "
The few of them nodded in agreement. Wen Shao 'an pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know when Miss Zhan and Miss Cui went out, but I saw them coming back from outside. The six of us came back from outside at a quarter past five in the evening, but the two of them came back at half past five in the evening. "
Wen Shao 'an's words confirmed Xue Rui's words. Zhan Xueyuan and Cui Yun went out alone and came back not long after.
Hearing this, Yu Shu already understood. Looking at the footprints in the room, she couldn't help but show a trace of mockery on her face.
And Xue Rui didn't ask any more questions. He said to Zhan Xueyuan in a low voice,
"You said that you put Tian Yu under your pillow after you changed into your gown and forgot to put it on after you followed Lord Wang to the garden. During this period, Yu Suanzi was with you and didn't have a chance to enter your room. Everyone can testify that, unless she knows how to clone herself. This is nonsense. So if she stole your things, it must be when the two of you left the backyard alone — "
"It was a short period of time. The mud on your shoes hasn't dried yet. Whoever entered your room must have left footprints on the ground. But go in and take a look yourself. Are there only two people's footprints on the ground? Other than you and Miss Cui, there's no third person."
Xue Rui's sharp eyes stared straight at Cui Yun. The latter was stunned and then said nervously, "I did enter Xue Yuan's room, but I was with her the whole time."
After saying that, he hurriedly turned his head to look at Zhan Xueyuan, but saw the doubt on her face. He immediately smiled bitterly, "Xueyuan, why would I take your Tian Yu? Without your Zhan family's Tian Yu Scripture, what use do I have for it?"
Just as Zhan Xueyuan's expression loosened, he heard Yu Shu say mockingly, "You have no use for Tian Yu, but what use do I have for it? I already said that thing is just a piece of broken stone to me."
The few people outside the door looked at each other, thinking that this was strange. Yu Shu had never entered Zhan Xueyuan's room, and Cui Yun had always been with Zhan Xueyuan. Why did Tian Yu disappear?
Zhan Xueyuan's face tensed up, and he glared at Yu Shu angrily. Ignoring everyone, he walked into the room alone, took the lamp on the table, and checked inside and out. When he came out, he still stared at Yu Shu, and said to Xue Rui,
"I can't agree with what Sir said. It's hard to guarantee that someone wouldn't change into a clean pair of shoes and come to my room. That way, no one would know."
After Xue Rui's analysis, she had calmed down quite a bit, and could finally use her brain.
Cui Yun hurriedly added, "That's right, she must have changed her shoes before coming here."
This time, Lord Wang and the others shifted their suspicious gazes to Yu Shu's face. At this moment, they heard Xue Rui ask,
"Shu, how many pairs of shoes are there in your room?"
Yu Shu crossed her arms. She finally knew why Xue Rui went to her room after looking at Zhan Xueyuan's room. There was a hint of amusement hidden in her eyes as she cooperated with him and said,
"Excluding the pair of shoes on my feet, there is only the pair of boots given to me in today's formal dress.
Xue Rui said to everyone, "Follow me."
The seven people, including Lord Wang, followed Xue Rui to Yu Shu's room. After entering the door, they followed behind Xue Rui and entered the bedroom. They saw him open the wardrobe next to the bed, revealing the lattice inside. On the bottom layer, there was a pair of light boots.
Xue Rui took out the pair of boots, did not explain anything, just handed it to everyone, and lifted the soles —
There was not a speck of dust on it.
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