allonlinenovel Chapter 124 Since you're going to compensate me, give me 2 taels of silver.
Chapter 124 Since you're going to compensate me, give me 2 taels of silver.
"I'm telling the truth!" Lin Fu shouted sharply, his voice hoarse.
Lin Fu had followed Lin Yuansheng for many years, colluding with him in evil deeds, so he was naturally no good person either.
If this matter is attributed to Lin Yuansheng, he has official rank and can be spared the death penalty. However, Lin Fu is just a servant, a commoner. If he hired someone to kill someone and then killed someone last night to cover it up because he was afraid of being exposed, then he will surely die.
"My lord, please investigate thoroughly. I'm telling the truth. It was Lin Yuansheng who ordered me to do it. I... I'm just a servant, a lackey. My lord, please think about it carefully. Where would a servant like me get the money to hire someone to kill someone?"
“You stole it from me.” Lin Yuansheng sighed softly and said to Lord Zeng, “My lord, two years ago I sold a painting. The buyer of that painting was my current wife, Zhou. The money suddenly disappeared later. I even told my wife about it.”
"That is indeed the case." Madam Zhou, who was sitting to the side, nodded. The Zhou family was worried about Lin Yuansheng, or perhaps they wanted to see which one was Lin Yuansheng's true face. Therefore, Madam Zhou came to listen to the trial today.
“I heard Ning’er mention this before. She said that the money she gave Yuansheng to buy a painting was stolen by some thief. She even begged her father to send someone to catch the thief, but it turned out to be an inside job.”
Madam Zhou now completely trusts Lin Yuansheng.
"Lord Zeng, this matter should be concluded by now. Could it be that you really believed this villain's words?"
Lord Zeng said, "When the Jingzhao Prefecture handles cases, there is no reason to believe anyone; what matters is evidence and the truth."
Madam Zhou then asked, "So what is the truth? Isn't it that back then, this servant named Lin Fu stole his master's money to hire someone to kill him, and now he's doing the same thing—killing to cover it up?"
Lin Yuansheng also said, "Sir, why don't you ask the others whether it was Lin Fu or me who ordered them to do it?"
Lord Zeng also paused. It was Lin Fu who contacted those who chased after Song Pingping, and it was also Lin Fu who led the men to kill her and silence her last night.
Originally, with Lin Fu arrested and his testimony obtained, it was natural to point the finger at Lin Yuansheng as the culprit.
But Lin Yuansheng also has evidence to prove that Lin Fu attacked Song Pingping because of personal feelings, and that it had nothing to do with him. He was just a kind master who had mistakenly trusted an evil servant. What wrong had he done?
If Lin Fu has no other evidence to prove that he was instructed by Lin Yuansheng, then all the blame will really fall on his head.
Of course, even if Lin Yuansheng is implicated, Lin Fu will not escape punishment.
The two are no different from each other, but Lin Yuansheng is more cunning. He had already planned that if things came to light, he could get rid of everything and remain completely innocent without a single stain on his reputation.
Lord Zeng had no evidence and could do nothing to him.
Lord Zeng felt a sense of powerlessness.
The master instructed the servants to step forward, and when something went wrong, they took full responsibility, claiming that they were only doing the wrong thing because they couldn't stand seeing their master being bullied.
The authorities knew something was wrong, but since someone confessed, the mastermind behind it all remained untouched, leaving the authorities helpless.
Whether it's true or false, it's all up to the master and servant to decide.
Lord Zeng asked Lin Fu, "Lin Fu, do you have any other evidence?"
Lin Fu thought and thought, but he really couldn't think of any evidence to prove that Lin Yuansheng had ordered him to do it. He was very scared at the moment: "Sir, it really was him who ordered me to do it. Sir, you have to believe me."
"When he said he lost money, it was because he was afraid someone would use the money to trace him back to him. The letters he made me write were to appease the Zhou family. And this time, he made me do it to silence them!"
"Lin Yuansheng, I've done so much for you, I've worked hard even if I haven't done anything great, why did you have to hurt me! You...you're worse than a pig or a dog!"
“I knew you were a beast long ago. I wanted to get rid of Song Pingping a long time ago, but I was too proud and greedy for the money she gave me, so I kept putting it off.”
Lin Yuansheng had Lin Fu write those letters for two reasons: first, to deal with the Zhou family, and second, to extricate himself from the situation without damaging his reputation.
Faced with Lin Fu's accusations and insults, Lin Yuansheng simply shook his head calmly: "I trusted you so much, but I never expected that you would do so many wrong things behind my back, and now you want to frame me. From now on, our master-servant relationship ends here, and you will have to bear the consequences of your mistakes."
At this point, he bowed to Lord Zeng and said, "Lord Zeng, you don't need to give me face. Just judge according to the law."
"Then Lin Fu shall be sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane and exiled to a desolate island, and the rest shall be exiled as well."
......
There was no evidence to convict Lin Yuansheng, and it also cleared him of the stigma of having married another woman.
When Song Pingping, supported by her maid, came out of the Jingzhao Prefecture with Granny Jin, her face was frighteningly dark.
Granny Jin advised her, "He had already found a scapegoat, so it's normal that you lost to him."
“I just can’t swallow this.” Song Pingping took a deep breath. “Lin Fu is no good, and Lin Yuansheng is even worse.”
"We have to swallow it now, even if we can't. We need to investigate further to see if there's any other evidence."
"It won't happen again," Song Pingping sighed inwardly.
Lin Yuansheng was meticulous and had already planned to kill her. He had Lin Fu as the scapegoat. Lin Fu would be the one to appear in court, and the money used could be said to have been stolen by Lin Fu. Moreover, there was a letter written by Lin Fu as evidence that he had a motive to kill her.
"Miss Song."
The two had just started talking about Lin Yuansheng when they heard him shout. They turned around and saw Lin Yuansheng hurriedly chasing after them.
"What are you doing here?" Song Pingping's face was cold and stern.
Lin Yuansheng bowed and said, "Miss Song probably has some misunderstandings about me, but I really didn't do those things. It's all my fault for trusting Lin Fu, which caused us to miss each other."
"We've been together for so many years. Even if we can't be husband and wife, we're still like brother and sister. From now on, let's treat each other like brother and sister, and let me make it up to you, okay?"
“Okay,” Song Pingping suddenly said.
"Huh? Okay?" Lin Yuansheng was a little confused when Song Pingping suddenly answered "okay".
Song Pingping sneered, "Don't talk about brother and sister anymore. If we can't be husband and wife, then we're enemies. Who would be your brother and sister? But you do owe me. Since you're so sincere about making it up to me, I'll naturally accept it too."
"One hundred thousand taels of silver."
Lin Yuansheng wondered if he had misheard.
"what?"
Song Pingping sneered: "If you want compensation, then give me 100,000 taels of silver."
“I started supporting my family when I was ten years old, and I also paid for your education. All the money I brought from home was spent on you. Now I want you to repay me a thousand times over, so that this debt of gratitude can be settled.”
"What, you don't want to?"