If they continued talking, they would touch upon the hidden secrets of the case handled by Qi Su. Jingzhao Yin had been an official for many years and knew that these things were not something that he or the people in the court could know. This time, he closed the case with the bang of the gavel in a very clean and decisive manner.
The victim's family was stunned. They had originally wanted to extort money, but they didn't expect to get nothing. They were unwilling but helpless. The group of people in mourning had to disperse.
Xu Mingye glanced at Qi Su and asked with his eyes. Qi Su nodded slightly, and Xu Mingye remained silent.
Although the case was closed, Mingyu's doubts were still there. According to Qi Su, this matter had nothing to do with Xu Mingye, but why did those people insist that they saw Xu Mingye and not someone else? Looking at the "flirting" between Xu Mingye and Qi Su, there must be something else going on.
After the case was closed, the people who were watching in the court gradually dispersed. Today, my younger sister had such a big incident. Fu Lexin and Fu Leqian were busy with the lawsuit. They simply exchanged a few words with Sima Hong and took Fu Lemei out.
Mingyu was filled with guilt. Looking at Fu Lemei's pitiful back, she called out, "Lemei..."
Fu Lemei turned her head and glanced at her. Mingyu looked at her with tears in her eyes, and the words were stuck in her throat. She didn't know what to say to her. Madam Xu sighed behind Mingyu: "Good girl, she is really wronged."
Fu Lexin patted Fu Lemei on the shoulder, and Fu Lemei turned around and followed her brothers out. When the three of them were about to leave the court, Xu Mingye, who had been silent, suddenly took a few steps forward and shouted in a deep voice, "Miss Fu!"
Fu Lemei heard Xu Mingye's call and paused. But she didn't look back. She took her brother's hand, lowered her head and walked out quickly, and got on the Fu family's carriage. She didn't look back at Xu Mingye.
Xu Changqian sighed. He and his family had been worried for so long, but he didn't expect the whole case to be a misunderstanding. Looking at Lu Hao standing aside, Xu Changqian no longer admired him as before. He almost ruined his son's reputation. Although it was Hong Fang'er's problem, Xu Changqian couldn't help but put the blame on Lu Hao.
Sima Hong wanted to talk to Mingyu alone. The little girl must be scared. However, he also thought happily that he was not afraid of tiger-like enemies but pig-like teammates. After Lu Hao's cousin made such a scene, Mingyu's petty and vengeful personality would never look at Lu Hao again in the future.
But Xu Changqian and Madam Xu were watching closely. After politely and distantly thanking him, Sima Hong took Mingyu and Xu Mingye out of the court. Sima Hong had no choice but to watch Mingyu's petite and slender figure leave the court in public.
Mingyu left the court and was about to take a carriage home with her family when a girl in a lotus green silk skirt and two buns walked over and said to her with a smile, "This must be Miss Xu. My young lady wants to say a few words to you."
Madam Xu had already gotten into the carriage. When she heard the question from outside the carriage, she cautiously lifted the curtain and asked the girl, "Girl, where are you from?"
The girl laughed, and there was a hint of pride in her smile. "My master's surname is Deng, and our mansion was built by imperial order."
After being frightened for so long, Mingyu finally let go of the tension in her head when she saw that Xu Mingye was fine. She just wanted to go home and lie down on the bed and sleep till the sun went down. She didn't want to talk to anyone at all. However, after hearing what the maid said, Mingyu put her foot back on the carriage.
"Is your young lady's surname Deng? Is she the one called Deng Zhenzhu?" Mingyu asked.
Hearing Mingyu dare to call her young lady by her name, the maid looked a little surprised and nodded, "That is my young lady's maiden name."
"Where is she?" Mingyu asked.
The maid pointed to the teahouse next to the government office and said, "My young lady is waiting in the private room on the second floor."
Mingyu nodded and smiled at the Xu family in the carriage, "I'll go take a look. You guys go back first. I'll be home soon."
In fact, because of Xu Mingye's incident, Madam Xu had no good feelings about teahouses, which were murder centers. "Do you know Miss Deng?" Madam Xu frowned and asked. If Mingyu knew the young lady of the Duke's Mansion, why didn't she hear her daughter mention it
Mingyu smiled and said, "Whether I recognize her or not, it seems that she recognizes me now."
The maid's face became even uglier. What did Madam Xu mean? She made it seem like her daughter was cheating. She couldn't help but raise her voice and said, "Madam Xu, my house was built by imperial order..."
"Are you done yet?" Mingyu turned around and interrupted her angrily, "Is it the rule of your Dengguo Mansion that you must emphasize your family background when you meet people? I'll have to ask Madam Dengguo about this when I meet her some other day."
The maid was choked back and stared at her toes unwillingly.
Madam Xu glanced at the maid. The maids in the Duke's Mansion were so domineering, so wouldn't that young lady be even more difficult to serve? "It's better not to go. Let's go home together." Madam Xu said.
Mingyu shook her head. Sima Hong was still in court. Since the Sima and Deng families had intended to marry each other, she wanted to go see what was going on. "You go first. Tell Dongyuan and Lixiang to wait for me downstairs."
Seeing that her daughter insisted, Mrs. Xu had no choice but to draw the curtain and ask the carriage to leave first.
Fuchunlou is next to the government office in Beijing, and most of the people who come to drink tea there are officials from the imperial court, so the quality is naturally good. As soon as Mingyu entered the teahouse, a sharp-eyed waiter came up and asked, "Is this Miss Xu?"
Mingyu nodded, and the waiter bowed and said with a smile: "Miss Deng is waiting for you on the second floor, please follow me."
After entering the box, the first thing she saw was a silk embroidered peony screen. Around the screen, there was a tea table in the middle of the box. Deng Zhenzhu was wearing a red robe embroidered with delicate water patterns and auspicious clouds. Several cranes made of silver threads were flapping their wings as if ready to fly. The collar revealed the overlapping layers of snow-white inner collar, and she still wore the huge diamond necklace on her chest.
Deng Zhenzhu's outfit was the formal attire for noble ladies and rich girls of the Great Chu. Apart from the gorgeous outer robe, the inner garments had to be layered with several pieces. However, because it was too complicated, not many women would wear formal attire unless in formal occasions.
When Mingyu came in, Deng Zhenzhu was kneeling on a mat making tea, with four maids standing behind her. The kettle on the small red clay stove was steaming. Deng Zhenzhu saw Mingyu coming in and said with a smile, "Miss Xu, you're welcome. Please sit down." As she spoke, she gently pinched the wide hem of her sleeves, revealing a piece of snow-white and delicate wrist, raised the purple clay teapot on the table, elegantly poured a cup of tea, and pushed it to the opposite side of her.
Whether in the past life or this life, Mingyu didn't like the kneeling position, so she just walked over and sat sideways on the couch opposite Deng Zhenzhu. The last time Mingyu saw Deng Zhenzhu was during the Queen April's birthday celebration. Compared to her then, Deng Zhenzhu today was less fierce and more gentle.
"I wonder what Miss Deng wants me to do?" Mingyu asked politely.
Through the rising water vapor in front of her, Deng Zhenzhu looked at Mingyu and smiled, "I just learned that your brother is in trouble. Those people are used to extorting money. They can't satisfy their appetite without a thousand taels of silver. If you don't give them some benefits, they will keep things quiet. Today, the matter is temporarily settled, but I'm afraid there will be trouble in the future."
Mingyu lowered her eyelids and nodded, "I haven't thought about this level yet. Thank you Miss Deng for reminding me."
Deng Zhenzhu laughed, her chubby face flushed. Her fair fingers turned the small purple clay teacup in front of her and she sighed, "Your family just came to the capital, and your father and brother are both good officials with clean hands. I can't bear to see your family encounter such a thing..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a maid behind Deng Zhenzhu came forward, quietly placed an envelope on the table, pushed it in front of Mingyu, and then walked back quietly.
Mingyu was confused and looked down at the envelope. There was nothing written on the blank cover. She then looked at Deng Zhenzhu, wondering what kind of medicine this girl, who was not even older than her, was selling.
Deng Zhenzhu smiled and said, "Open it and take a look."
Mingyu followed his instructions and opened the envelope. There was a thin piece of paper inside. After taking it out and looking at it, Mingyu could not help but be surprised. It was half a bill of exchange from Baofeng Bank in Beijing. The stamp of Baofeng Bank was stamped on the side. The face value was one thousand taels. The rule of Baofeng Bank was that each party held half of a bill of exchange. When the depositor needed to withdraw money, he would take half of the bill to the bank. If the two bills matched, he could withdraw the money.
Deng Zhenzhu looked at Mingyu's expression carefully, her attitude was very sincere, she smiled and said: "Don't think too much, this is just a little token of my appreciation. I saw that you were in trouble and wanted to do my best to help you. I don't mean to look down on you at all."
Mingyu suppressed her doubts and surprise, put the bill back into the envelope, and pushed the envelope back to Deng Zhenzhu. Deng Zhenzhu had no relationship with her, and suddenly she threw one thousand taels at her. How could she possibly accept it
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Miss Deng." Mingyu hesitated for a moment, and quickly thought of the right words, "But this... is too expensive, I really can't accept it. As for the money, if necessary, we will find another way."
"Miss Xu, now is not the time to talk about face and dignity." Deng Zhenzhu said softly, "You didn't know me before, but you should have heard of me. I rarely help others out of kindness."
Mingyu smiled and said, "I am very grateful for your kindness, but I cannot accept a reward without merit. My parents and my brother will not agree to me taking your money for nothing."
The smile on Deng Zhenzhu's face faded a little, and she clasped her hands together, "What if this thousand taels was given to you by the Marquis of Anxi? Will you accept it?"
Mingyu looked at Deng Zhenzhu in surprise, unable to believe it, "Are you saying that Sima Hong asked you to give me this thousand taels?"