Reborn as a concubine's sister, the eldest lady went crazy

Xu Yixing didn't know what specific method Lu Anyuan used, but she had already made arrangements everywhere, so those guys shouldn't suffer.

Unexpectedly, before Lu Anyuan could come up with his "clever plan", Shen Yue arrived first.

"Sir Shen, are you here to see me?" Lu Anyuan did not return from court today. He did not know why he was tripped up. And this Shen Yue had to choose this time. It was really troublesome!

This was the first time Xu Yixing had seen Shen Yue. He saw that he had a straight figure. Although he was only middle-aged, his eyebrows, beard and hair were already gray, and he looked older than his father.

"Greetings to the Seventh Prince's Consort. I am not here for no reason today. I have a case to consult with Your Highness."

Shen Yue spoke so straightforwardly, without any of the cautiousness that other officials showed towards the royal family. Xu Yixing really admired him from the bottom of his heart.

"Please take a seat. Tea is served. Please ask your questions." Since the other person was so straightforward, Xu Yixing didn't need to be polite.

"Thank you very much. There is a rice shop in the east of the capital called Ten Dou Rice. Does Your Highness know about it?"

"Yes, that's my business."

Shen Yue was delighted. It was not uncommon for officials to engage in business, but it was rare to see someone who violated the law as unrestrained as the Seventh Prince's wife. She was somewhat similar to Xu Laosha. They were indeed father and daughter.

"Since you admit it, it's easy to deal with. The night before yesterday, Mr. Zhao in the yamen received a tip-off that someone was trading private salt outside the city, so he led people to encircle and suppress them. Who do you think this person is?"

Xu Yixing smiled and said, "Sir, there is no need to beat around the bush. I already know about this. The clerk is indeed an clerk in my store, but this business is not mine. I believe you have already asked Shopkeeper Ge, and he doesn't know about it. How can I know the thoughts of those clerks without him knowing?"

Shen Yue had a strange expression on his face, which seemed to be disdainful and regretful. He took out a piece of paper from his official robe and handed it to Xu Yixing: "Shopkeeper Ge has confessed that you asked him to do the illegal salt trading. Please take a look at the black words and red handprints on this paper."

"Bullshit!" Xu Yixing slammed the table. Is this shopkeeper Ge mentally ill? I told him to answer truthfully, what is he doing?

Shen Yue didn't care about her angry look. The confession was already there. Although he couldn't directly take the princess to prison for interrogation, the emperor would deal with her if he handed her over to him.

"Sir Shen, I wonder if your Jingzhao Prefecture was tortured into confessing?"

"How dare you!" Shen Yue was also angry. He hated the loss of innocent lives the most. This shopkeeper Ge confessed without being tortured. How could it be torture? "Don't think that you can slander others just because you are the prince's consort. I am a fourth-rank official after all. You can't suppress me just by relying on your status!"

"Hmph, Lord Shen is really good at confusing right and wrong, as he was able to find out something that didn't happen." Xu Yixing provoked Shen Yue. She really didn't believe that Shen Yue would confess under torture, but she couldn't just accept it.

"You!" Shen Yue flicked his sleeves, turned around and left, without giving Xu Yixing any face at all.

"Sir! I want to confront Manager Ge in court. If something has not been done, it has not happened. No matter how you forge evidence, it will be in vain."

What what what? Shen Yue was so angry that he jumped up and down. Are all members of the Xu family so unreasonable? I forged evidence. What a joke!

"Hmph, what a coincidence. The prisoner has committed suicide in prison." Shen Yue got angry when he talked about this. He had already signed the confession, but this morning he received a report that Manager Ge had been killed in prison. Otherwise, he would not have had to go through this trip.

Xu Yixing understood that if it was not Shen Yue who did it, then someone bribed or induced Manager Ge to confess and then killed him to silence him.

"That's really strange. Lord Shen just got the confession and the person died. What a coincidence."

"Aren't you killing people on purpose to silence them because you were afraid the truth would be exposed?" This is what is called tit for tat.

Shen Yue knew that he would not gain anything by coming to the Seventh Prince's Mansion today, but the witness was dead, so he had to come. He did not expect that the prince's wife would have such a stubborn and unreasonable personality, just like his father!

"You're kidding. Since you've already got his confession, what's the point of me killing him? If I was afraid that he would expose me, I should have killed him before you caught him."

Shen Yue remained silent. This was true, but he was a judge and evidence was king. Ever since he started investigating the shops in the capital, he had encountered the greatest resistance from the Seventh Prince's wife. Now that he had finally obtained "confirmed evidence", how could he give up?

Xu Yixing saw that Shen Yue had calmed down a bit, and continued, "Your Excellency, you came here today simply because the witness was silenced, and you had no choice but to come. Otherwise, you could have just reported it to His Majesty and he would have made the decision, right?

But I would also like to remind you that what you see is not necessarily true. I heard that the people and goods your master captured only weighed three stones in total.

My Lord, the price of salt in the capital is 20 wen per dou. If it is private salt, it can only be sold for 10 to 15 wen at most to have a market. Three shi of salt is only 30 dou, and if all are sold, it will only be 450 wen. My good Lord, do I really need this little money?"

"Perhaps you took these smuggled salts in order to transport them to places where the price of salt is high. As far as I know, the barbarians in the southern border can sell a bushel of salt for three hundred coins or more. Besides, who knows if you only have these three stones?"

Regarding the amount of contraband salt, Shen Yue always felt that if this was done by the Seventh Prince's wife, then there must be a large amount of contraband salt in her hands.

"Come on, sir. Even if you don't know everything about my family's assets, you should have some impression. To put it bluntly, even if I really do something high-risk, there must be a corresponding reward. Since you have interrogated Manager Ge, did he tell me where the other salt is hidden?"

Shen Yue was silent, somewhat regretting that he did not go with Master Zhao that day, as he might have discovered more.

"Forget it. I will get to the bottom of this matter. Your Highness, there is no need for you to be so aggressive."

Shen Yue bowed and left the main hall, but was bumped into by Lu Anyuan who was coming in at the door.

Lu Anyuan's eyes were red, and he handed a memorial to Shen Yue. While rubbing his eyes, he spoke for Xu Yixing and said, "Sir Shen, look, anyone in the capital can smuggle salt, but we won't."

Shen Yue opened the memorial and his face changed color: "When was this memorial written?"

"Just now, the emperor asked us to discuss matters in the study. I heard that you were visiting the mansion, so I brought this memorial back to save you from worry. How do you think?"

Shen Yue read the memorial from beginning to end again and handed it back with both hands: "This case is indeed unusual. I will give you a reply after I have investigated it."