Yuan Qinqin was also very angry. She looked at the old woman. She clearly didn't say that when she came here before. "What did you tell me before? How dare you change your statement now? Are you deceiving me? Do you know what the consequences of deceiving me are?"
When the prefect heard this, his face darkened instantly: "Second Miss Yuan, are you openly threatening your witness in front of me?"
Yuan Xiangxiang quickly spoke up: "My Lord, you misunderstood. My sister is just straightforward and aggressive. She didn't mean to threaten the witness. And the witness said at the time that Madam Fang was the girl they bought from the brothel, and she said there was evidence."
"She said that the girl they bought from the brothel had a mole on her chest. As long as the adults have someone verify her identity, it can be confirmed. My little sister is definitely not framing anyone. She is telling the truth."
The prefect looked at Yuan Xiangxiang and didn't know what to say. You said to verify your identity, then verify it. Who do you think you are? If the other party was powerless, he might just admit defeat. But the other party had a strong backing, how could he admit such humiliation.
As expected, Cao Suixin was the first to be dissatisfied with this matter: "The Yuanhou Mansion is indeed a powerful force. My sister-in-law is innocent, and you want to check her body. What's the matter? Just because you open your mouth, you can say whatever you want?"
Yuan Xiangxiang was no longer anxious at this time. She looked at Cao Suixin with a smile: "What's wrong? Are you feeling guilty? Are you afraid to have a body check? This is the only way to prove that they are not the same person, isn't it?"
Cao Suixin rolled his eyes and said, "You, the Marquis Yuan's Mansion, just found this old woman whose background I don't know from where and want to examine my sister-in-law. You don't take our palace seriously. If I let you succeed today, then won't the Marquis Yuan's Mansion have the final say in the future of the Great Zhou?"
"If you don't like someone, you can find someone to frame that person and make that person prove his innocence and accept your insults, right?"
When the people outside heard this, they all nodded and said, "I think what the county lady said makes sense. If this is the case, then we can frame others at will."
"But I think what Miss Yuan said makes sense. If she didn't feel guilty, why wouldn't she dare? If she hasn't done it, then she hasn't done it. A physical examination will tell you right away."
…
The people outside were noisy and divided into two groups. The prefect couldn't stand it anymore and slammed the gavel: "Silence."
Everyone quieted down and looked at the prefect to see how he would make the decision. Cao Suixin also looked at the prefect, threatening him with bags under her eyes. If this man really dared to let someone check his body, she would definitely get rid of his position as prefect.
The prefect was also in a headache. It was impossible to conduct a physical examination. Such a physical examination would be a great humiliation for the person concerned. Moreover, if it was true, what would happen to the reputation of the prince and princess
What on earth are the people in Yuan Hou Mansion trying to do? Are they questioning the prince and princess? They are simply courting death: "Old woman, don't be afraid. Tell me honestly, are you sure that this lady is the woman you bought in the first place? If not, you'd better think about it. This is a false accusation. Those who maliciously accuse others and destroy their reputation will be sentenced to death."
Yuan Qinqin immediately spoke up: "Sir, you are biased towards the people of the Bingjian Palace! How can you say that?"
The prefect snorted coldly: "Why not? Even if you are not sentenced to death, you will be imprisoned for life for maliciously destroying someone's reputation."
The old woman looked frightened, looking at the prefect, then at Miss Yuan Er. But she saw Cao Suixin suddenly walk up to her and said, "I want to ask you something. Are you saying that she is the woman you bought from the brothel?"
"How much did you spend on it? Where is the woman now? Are you sure they look the same? And where are you from? Where did you open the brothel? When did you buy her? If you bought her, why did she leave the brothel and get married?"
This series of questions made the old woman dizzy: "Wait a minute, there are too many questions."
Cao Suixin looked at the prefect and said, "Sir, I have some questions. Can I ask them? How about we ask them one by one?"
Yuan Qinqin immediately objected: "You are not an official, what qualifications do you have to ask?"
Cao Suixin sneered: "This is about my family's reputation, why can't I ask? Sir, do you think I can ask?"
The prefect nodded and said, "If the county lord wants to ask questions, of course it's fine. Miss Yuan Er, please be quiet."
If we can understand this matter without a physical examination, it would be a good thing. So the prefect did not stop him, and Cao Suixin continued to ask.
"Answer my question. Where did you open your brothel? When did you buy that woman? Where is that woman now?"
The old woman turned pale, looked at Cao Suixin, and answered, "I run a brothel in Lanzhou."
Lanzhou is not located between Jingdu and Xianyou Town, and Tong Ruyan went to Moyun City at that time. It was not Lanzhou at all, so the old woman was brought in to wrongly accuse her.
Thinking of this, Tong Ruyan's face turned very ugly. Cao Suixin continued: "When did you buy the girl? Where is the girl now?"
The old woman's face had turned pale, and she spoke tremblingly: "I remember that I bought the house in the building last year. It's been so long, I don't remember where I went."
Cao Suixin sneered: "Last year, just one year ago, you told me you don't remember it. Sir, she is lying, she is wrongly accusing my sister-in-law. Last year, my sister-in-law was already engaged to Brother Fang, how could she be sold to a brothel."
When the old woman heard this, she immediately said, "No, it was the year before last."
Cao Suixin continued to be aggressive and snorted, "You are a person who talks nonsense and cannot be trusted at all. Sir, I think we should beat her a few times and see if she tells the truth."
The prefect immediately spoke up: "You should be punished for talking nonsense in the hall."
Seeing two yamen runners approaching and about to beat her with a stick, the old woman struggled in fear and then said, "Sir, sir, I was wrong. I shouldn't have given false testimony. Please don't beat me. There are no girls who look alike. It was Miss Yuan who asked me to conspire to frame that lady. The Yuan family is a big family with great wealth, and I dare not disobey."
As soon as these words came out, the entire audience was shocked. Oh my God! This is really a false accusation against this lady. This is too terrible.
It is simply too bad to frame someone just because you have fallen in love with someone else's husband. Yuan Xiangxiang was also stunned for a second, obviously she did not expect that things would develop into this turn.
Looking at the old woman: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
The old woman cried miserably: "Miss, I am not talking nonsense. It was you who said that I should cooperate with you. As long as this lady asks to leave, you will release my nephew."
This is to capture someone's nephew and threaten him. This is simply too much. When Yuan Xiangxiang heard this, she was shocked again: "What nephew? Who kidnapped your nephew? You are talking nonsense."
Cao Suixin sneered, "Is this nonsense? Just search the mansion and you'll know. Or maybe the person you kidnapped is not in the mansion? But if he is or not, we'll know everything if we search it."
Yuan Qingyu was also angry: "How dare you! What do you think the Marquis Gu's Mansion is? Can you search it just because you want to?"
The people watching the excitement didn't know what to say, this scene was really exciting. Just now, Mrs. Fang had to do a body check to prove her innocence, and now Miss Yuan and others were searching the mansion to prove her innocence.
But come to think of it, this Yuanhou Mansion is not an ordinary place, how can it be searched just because someone wants to? It is estimated that there will be another war of words.
Anyway, Mrs. Fang has been cleared of suspicion now, and no one knows what the county lady will do. Cao Suixin frowned, and also understood that this matter was difficult to handle, and could not help frowning: "We have to search after all. Since the prefect does not have this power, then report it to the higher-ups."
Reporting it to the higher authorities would be a big deal. Fortunately, the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty did not impose severe penalties on those who spread rumors and maliciously defamed others' reputations.
We can also take this opportunity to let people know how serious it is to maliciously slander others and destroy their reputation. Cao Suixin thought so and looked at the prefect: "Why don't you send someone?"
The prefect thought about it and realized that it was true. It turned out that these people had such strong backers that a small prefect like him could not afford to offend, so this was a good idea and he sent someone there immediately.
What everyone is most concerned about now is the imperial examination. Who could have thought that such a big incident would happen just after the examination hall was closed for a short while? No one knows what the purpose is.
The prefect thought about it and decided that if such a matter was to be reported, he should report it to Lord Lin Zezhi, after all, he was in charge of this matter.
But on the way there, he met Gu Xiangning. He reported it directly to Gu Xiangning. Gu Xiangning was quite interested after listening, and walked towards the government office.
As soon as Yuan Xiangxiang saw Gu Xiangning coming, she knew she was in trouble. But before she could say anything, she was blocked by Gu Xiangning.
Gu Xiangning sat on the main seat, looked at the two parties below and smiled: "As the Prime Minister of the court, it is okay for me to preside over this interrogation, right?"
Cao Suixin nodded with a smile: "Of course it's okay. It's a pity for you to come here in person. The case is in a difficult situation now. We can solve it by searching the Yuanhou Mansion. Please allow me to search the Yuanhou Mansion."
Yuan Xiangxiang immediately said, "Prime Minister, it is not okay to search the Yuanhou Mansion without any reason."
Gu Xiangning smiled: "How can it be without reason? Didn't I say it? The people from your Yuanhou Mansion kidnapped someone's nephew, old lady, don't you think so? If you lie to me, you will lose your life."