"Didn't your sister become a noble lady in the Marquis's mansion? How come you look the same as before? Why doesn't she help you?"
"Oh, don't mention it." Hong Guang waved his hands. "My sister gave birth to a girl, what's the use? They are a wealthy family that values incense and worship the most, and they don't care about girls."
"The first wife of the Marquis's Mansion also gave birth to a girl, but she was born half a year later than your sister."
"You also said it, she is the eldest lady, how can my sister compare to her." Hong Guang sighed.
He finally got a chance to climb the social ladder, but it turned out to be of no use at all. He was still a pauper.
"Alas, if your sister is the eldest lady, her daughter would be the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion. Although she cannot bring more descendants to the Marquis's mansion, when she grows up, she can marry into a good family with her status as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion. You will still have a chance to become rich in the future. What a pity."
The man just said it casually, but Hong Guang kept it in mind.
Another time, when he went out, he met a little girl crying loudly on the roadside. After asking, he found out that she went out to the market with her mother and got lost.
An idea emerged in Hong Guang's mind.
As long as Ling Shen's daughter is gone, then his sister's child would naturally become the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion.
This idea gradually took root in Hong Guang's mind until his sister died, and then Hong Guang decided to give it a try.
So he found a way to bribe Zhang Liang, a servant in the Marquis's Mansion.
When Ling Qingwan was two or three years old, she was not shy and was simple. Zhang Liang kept talking to her about the rabbit lanterns at the Lantern Festival. On the day of the Lantern Festival, Ling Qingwan kept clamoring to go out and play. Ling Shen was weak after giving birth to a child, and she was unable to do so, so she could only ask the nanny to take care of her. Including Zhang Liang and Jinchuan, there were seven people in total.
The Lantern Festival was packed with people, and while everyone was dispersed by the crowd, Zhang Liang carried the young Ling Qingwan to Hong Guang who had been following behind. By the time the nurse reacted, Ling Qingwan had disappeared.
Afterwards, these seven people were driven out of Ling Mansion and went to Jingzhou to seek a livelihood.
As for Ling Qingwan, Hong Guang originally wanted to drown her. But Tao was a mother after all, and she couldn't bear it. After some persuasion, Hong Guang agreed to hand her over to the matchmaker and sold Ling Qingwan to a remote village.
When Hong Guang finished telling the story, the people outside who were watching the fun were already filled with righteous indignation. Some even threw vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at him, calling him heartless.
"Miss Ling was only two or three years old at the time! You were so cruel to kidnap a two or three year old child and even wanted to drown her!"
"Fortunately the little girl was lucky enough to survive. But I don't know how much she has suffered over the years."
"You might as well just die! It's a waste to be born like this!"
Everyone was talking about it, all condemning Hong Guang.
Lord Sun immediately ordered people to restore order.
"You have concealed what happened thirteen years ago until now, why do you suddenly want to surrender?" Sun Jian asked Hong Guang curiously.
It can't be that Hong Guang has a change of heart.
If he had any conscience, he wouldn't do such a thing.
"Because... because I found out that the General's Mansion is investigating this matter. I'm afraid they will find out, so I want to surrender first and ask for leniency." Hong Guang answered according to the man's instructions.
Lord Sun frowned.
Since the General's Mansion was investigating, it proved that they already knew that Ling Qingwan was kidnapped thirteen years ago by someone behind the scenes. But no news of it was leaked.
There was only one possibility. The General's Mansion guessed that it was Hong Guang who caused Ling Qingwan to be kidnapped, but they had no evidence, so they did not arrest Hong Guang immediately.
In addition to Hong Guang, there was another person who participated in this incident, and that was Zhang Liang. If Zhang Liang were still alive, the General's Mansion would definitely look for him. After all, Zhang Liang was a very important witness.
…
"By the way, you just said that you bribed a servant named Zhang Liang in the Marquis' Mansion. So where is Zhang Liang now?" The more Lord Sun thought about it, the more strange it seemed, so he asked Hong Guang.
Hong Guang's heart skipped a beat.
Yes, how could he forget about Zhang Liang
In addition to being charged with the crime of trafficking the eldest daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, he also had a life.
There was another reason why Hong Guang agreed to let the man come forward and surrender. That was that according to the laws of Dai Viet, although child trafficking was a serious crime, it was not punishable by death. At most, he could just stay in jail for a certain period of time before being released.
Now that the matter was out in the open and with the Jingzhao Yin Mansion coming to judge, the General's Mansion and Ling Qingwan would no longer be able to do anything to him.
So surrendering is actually a good thing for Hong Guang.
But murder is a capital crime!
"Hmm?" Lord Sun urged Hong Guang.
"Sir, Zhang Liang and I haven't seen each other since that incident. It's been more than ten years. How would I know where he is now!" Hong Guang had a sad face and an innocent expression.
"Really?" Lord Sun's eyes dimmed.
Hong Guang looked guilty, and it was obvious that he was hiding something.
He didn't believe Hong Guang's words.
"It's absolutely true!" Hong Guang nodded heavily. "You think, I have chosen to surrender, so I must have really come to my senses. Why would I hide something from you? What is there to hide from you?"
Lord Sun frowned.
His intuition told him that Hong Guang was lying. But in court, everything required evidence. Without evidence to prove that Zhang Liang had been framed by Hong Guang, he could not convict Hong Guang.
"Okay, I'll send someone to investigate Zhang Liang's case. Once we have verified everything, we'll hold a public trial."
After Lord Sun finished speaking, he signaled the soldiers to take Hong Guang away.
Suddenly, someone outside beat a drum again.
"Your Excellency, it is Zhang Liang's parents who say their son died unjustly and ask you to give them justice."
"Call them in." Lord Sun ordered.
Then, an elderly couple walked in with staggering steps.
"Sir, I am a villager of Qinggu Village, my name is Zhang Zhi. I am also from Qinggu Village like you, my surname is Yuan. I have three children, the youngest is Zhang Liang, he worked in the Marquis' Mansion more than ten years ago. Later, he lost the young lady of the Marquis' Mansion and was driven to Jingzhou. As a result, he died after just over a month."
"Sir, my son died unjustly. Please help me!"
After saying this, the couple kowtowed to Lord Sun.
"Don't worry, old men." Lord Sun said gently. "If your son was really killed by someone, I will definitely seek justice for you two. Now the most urgent thing is for you two to tell me why you think your son wants to die, and what is the basis for it."
"At that time, my son's employer came to tell us that my son fell into a well and died in the middle of the night. We thought it was true and just lamented that he had a bad fate. Until last month, when my eldest son got married and renovated the old house, he found this in the yard of his home."
Zhang Zhi tremblingly took out a box from his pocket and had the yamen soldier hand it to Lord Sun.
The box was not expensive, just an ordinary wooden box, which looked worn out and the cracks were covered with dirt and dust. When Lord Sun opened it, an unpleasant smell hit his nose.
He frowned and took out a letter and a few silver bars.
Zhang Zhi and his wife could not read and did not know what was written on it. They said that they had to ask a teacher from the same village to understand it.