0p0 Chapter 630 The purpose is the He family.
Chapter 630 The purpose is the He family.
He Yulin followed Madam Xu to the side gate, where he saw Zhang Hu, the head constable of the Jingzhao Prefecture, standing outside with two constables.
Upon seeing He Yulin and Madam Xu emerge, Zhang Hu bowed to them before saying, "Young Master He, Second Madam, we are also acting under orders. Let's see who is in charge. Come with us to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office."
He Yulin was unaware of what had happened, so naturally he wouldn't go with him.
"Officer Zhang, I don't know what happened. Even if I have to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture for interrogation, I need to know what happened."
Zhang Hu said, "Early this morning, a woman named Tao Hong came to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office, saying that she wanted to accuse the He family of disregarding human life and killing her sister."
Before He Yulin could ask what had happened, a young woman dressed in coarse cloth came out from the corner of the wall. Her face was rough from the wind and sun, and it was hard to tell her age, but she looked to be under thirty. Her expression was very unfriendly.
He Yulin noticed her immediately and looked at her warily until she walked in front of the crowd.
"Young lady, what brings you here?"
Zhang Hu looked at He Yulin, hesitated, and said, "This is Tao Hong. She said she wanted to come and confront you in person. She..."
Looking over, He Yulin saw that although Tao Hong was not tall, her aura was in no way inferior to that of the men present.
Especially when she slightly raised her chin, staring at He Yulin as if he were prey, with a cold smile on her lips, He Yulin felt very uncomfortable.
However, he still treated people with courtesy and said to Tao Hong, "Miss Tao Hong, may I come in?"
Tao Hong snorted coldly, "Go in? Do you think that'll give you a chance to kill me and silence me?"
Seeing her unfriendly words, He Yulin frowned and said, "Then let's go to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office. This is the gate of my He residence, not a place for court proceedings."
Tao Hong said coldly, "Of course, but to prevent you from saying I'm slandering your He family, let me ask you a few questions first."
He Yulin stared intently at Tao Hong, but before he could refuse, Tao Hong had already asked her question.
"Young Master He, did your household once have a maid named Cui Liu?"
Upon hearing the name Cui Liu, He Yulin immediately became wary. Could it be that the sister Tao Hong was referring to was Cui Liu?
He instantly understood that the woman in the peach-colored dress was there to cause trouble at the He residence.
He Yulin's face darkened, and he said coldly, "The He family has over a hundred maids alone. Whether there are any 'Liu's' still needs to be investigated. What is your intention in interfering in the affairs of this family, you outsider? Are you here to smear the He family again, just like the rumors from a few days ago?"
To everyone's surprise, Tao Hong seemed completely unafraid and said directly, "Cui Liu is my sister. She was implicated because your mother poisoned your wife. Now your family is living in harmony, but my sister is dead and nobody even knows. What kind of logic is that!"
He Yulin's hands, clenched behind his back, made a cracking sound as he coldly threatened, "Nonsense! These are all rumors. You've slandered the family of an official; do you know you'll be punished with caning?"
Tao Hong suddenly laughed, "That's exactly what I've been waiting for."
After saying that, she took out a stack of letters from her bosom and held them high.
"This is a letter written by my younger sister, Cuiliu. I am her biological sister, born of the same mother. However, after she was born, our family couldn't afford to raise her and gave her away. The letter states that the eldest madam of the He family instructed her to poison the young mistress. In return, she would become the young master's concubine. Every word is clear!"
"Madam He disregarded human life, using my sister as a pawn while acting as if nothing had happened and continuing to live a life of wealth and luxury. The He family, despite being a scholarly family, has shielded criminals and indiscriminately killed innocent people. How dare Grand Tutor He be the Emperor's tutor, how dare he be appointed as an official by the court!"
Within a few short moments, dozens of people had gathered at the side gate of the He residence. Upon hearing Tao Hong's words, they began pointing and whispering among themselves about the He residence.
Faced with the scene before him, He Yulin could barely stand.
Only then did he realize that going to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office was just a pretext; Tao Hong's real purpose was to spread the word about his mother harming A Ning.
Tao Hong wanted to ruin the He family's century-old reputation and destroy the official careers of the He family's men.
Whether he comes out today or another day, the outcome will be the same.
Looking at the chaotic scene before her, Madam Xu was filled with resentment.
If my father-in-law and brother-in-law had handled Jia's case fairly, things wouldn't have gotten to this point.
Now, the entire He family is at stake because of Jia's selfishness and malice, ruining everyone's reputation and future, including her two children and her husband.
If only I had known, I should have brought up the division of the family the day they started protecting the Jia family, so that their whole family wouldn't have been dragged into this mess.
Zhang Hu walked up to He Yulin and said, "Young Master He, please ask the Madam to come out and come with us to the court for a confrontation."
Upon hearing this, He Yulin's eyes immediately turned red. He stood in front of everyone, spread his arms, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Anyone who dares to force their way into my He residence today will have to step over my dead body!"
Behind him, Madam Xu quietly entered the room and instructed the servant: "Have the master, madam, eldest master, first madam, and young madam all come to the main hall, quickly!"
The servant witnessed the entire incident from inside the door. Knowing the importance of the matter, he dared not delay for a moment and immediately ran away.
Xu waited in the hall for less than a cup of tea before the entire He family, except for He Yulin and He Zhang who was stationed in the military camp outside Beijing, arrived.
The He family members gradually sat down in the chairs.
Seeing Xu's gloomy face, as if a storm was brewing, He Wen asked, "Sister-in-law, why did you call us here?"
Grand Tutor He chimed in, "Yes, Second Brother's wife, why are you making such a fuss?"
Madam Xu first gave Grand Tutor He a reassurance pill before she spoke.
"The fact that my sister-in-law drugged Wan Ning has been exposed by Cui Liu's own sister. He's right outside the side gate now, bringing people from the Jingzhao Prefecture to demand an explanation. Yu Lin is blocking the way, and there are already dozens of people watching outside the gate."
Xu's cold words were like a thunderbolt, leaving everyone in the hall frozen in place.
Jia's body had begun to tremble uncontrollably.
They all knew how serious the situation was.
Do you have any good ideas on how to solve this?
No one in the hall spoke.
Jia was afraid.
He Wen was reluctant to part with it.
Grand Tutor He and his wife did not want to be bad people.
Before they could react, Madam Xu's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Madam Jia, and she said, "Now, we have two options. One is for you, sister-in-law, to resolve this matter yourself. If you disagree, then we'll take the second option: our second branch of the family will split up, and everyone will live their own lives from now on. No one should try to implicate anyone else!"
"Brothers and sisters?"
Jia looked at Xu incredulously, her eyes filled with shock.
She used to be respectful and polite to me, and she didn't say anything about what happened that time. But now that something has happened, she's so heartless.
When Xu met her gaze, her attitude was extremely cold and hard. "If there is only one reason, there is another. If we don't resolve this issue thoroughly today, who knows what other troubles might arise in the future? I cannot let my two children take risks with you!"
"Eldest daughter-in-law, go out by yourself! We will get you out as soon as possible and not let you suffer too much in prison." After saying this, Grand Tutor He clutched his chest and turned away, unable to bear looking at Jia Shi any longer.
Jia looked at them helplessly and incredulously.
How could they abandon her? They've treated her so well all these years; she only made this one mistake!
"Father, Mother, Husband?"
Madam He was indecisive and just held a handkerchief and cried softly.
He Wen closed his eyes and said nothing more.
As the victim, Qin Wanning knew this was a matter beyond her control, so she kept her eyes down and remained silent from the moment she entered.
She wholeheartedly agreed with what Ms. Xu said.
Jia slowly got up, wiping away her tears as she walked out, her eyes filled with anticipation that gradually turned into despair with each step.
"boom!"
A dull thud rang out, and blood splattered instantly, staining the walls and the floor of the hall red.