Xu Kai remained calm on the surface, his tone still extremely gentle. "Miss Xiao, I'll say it again. Do you have any evidence?"
"Yes." Xiao Yingchu nodded. "When I came to the Ministry of Revenue to file the report, I had already submitted the corresponding account books to the officials here."
Zhu Mingxiu waved his hand, and someone presented several account books.
Xu Kai glanced at the account books but didn't take them. Instead, he turned to Zhu Mingxiu and asked, "It's the duty of the Ministry of Revenue to audit the accounts. Has Your Excellency Zhu had someone verify the account books Miss Xiao submitted?"
"Ah? ... Yes, of course I did..."
Zhu Mingxiu had already realized that something was wrong. When he heard Xu Kai's question, he was at a loss for words for a moment and stammered.
Xu Kai asked again, "Is there any case of passing off inferior goods as superior ones or concealing tax payments?"
"This..." Zhu Mingxiu was speechless.
The account books were genuine.
He had already had someone look through them in the afternoon, and the investigation was clear. There were indeed cases of concealing tax payments.
After all, this was a complaint filed by an important person from the Prince Ning's Mansion. He didn't dare to be negligent. Of course, he had to verify all the necessary evidence.
Only in this way could this case be made airtight and the Li Family Wine Shop be doomed, reassuring the important person from the mansion.
You know, when doing things for important people, you have to be as decisive as this.
Although he didn't know why the Xiao family was making trouble for a wine shop, it was not his place to ask too many questions about the affairs among important people. He just had to do what they told him. Anyway, it wasn't a difficult task for the Ministry of Revenue to seal up a small wine shop.
But now he realized.
There was someone backing the Li Family Wine Shop!
Someone who could make the Minister of the Ministry of Justice come here late at night... The person behind this seemed to have a background no less powerful than that of the Prince Ning's Mansion.
Could it be Princess Chengping?
Probably not.
When Xiao Yingchu came here earlier, he had asked if it was true that the shopkeeper of the Li Family Wine Shop had a close connection with the Cheng Clan of Langya.
Xiao Yingchu had replied that he didn't need to worry. Princess Chengping would definitely not interfere in this matter.
Zhu Mingxiu had immediately felt relieved.
That made sense.
Princess Chengping was the younger sister of Prince Ning. They were from the same family.
Now that Xiao Yingchu had come, it of course represented the intention of the Prince Ning's Mansion.
If the Prince Ning's Mansion wanted to investigate Li Wanming, how could Princess Chengping stop them?
What did this mean?
It meant that all the previous rumors were false!
Hehe, maybe it was the Li Family Wine Shop that had spread the rumors everywhere and rashly tried to get involved with powerful families, which had angered the Prince Ning's Mansion and Princess Chengping, and they wanted to teach them a lesson!
The more Zhu Mingxiu thought about it, the more he felt it was right. It must be so!
So he readily agreed to handle the matter and acted quickly. In the afternoon, he had sent people to surround the Li Family Wine Shop and arrested both Li Wanming and Xiao Jingnan.
...
But now, how did things turn out to be so wrong?
He looked at Xu Kai for help, but Xu Kai just raised his eyebrows and looked at him, as if waiting for his answer.
Zhu Mingxiu regretted it.
He really regretted it.
He really should have let Xu Kai take the people away just now!
Now it was too late. He had even called out the second young lady of the Prince Ning's Mansion in the middle of the night... How could he end this?
Zhu Mingxiu hesitated for a long time and didn't know how to answer.
Should he say that the investigation had been verified or not?
Could the big shots behind this stop making things difficult for a small minister like him...
Hey... Something was wrong!
If Xiao Yingchu was backed by the Prince Ning's Mansion, then if she was called out in the middle of the night to testify, the black-armored cavalry of the Prince Ning's Mansion should have arrived long ago!
Why was there still no sign of them until now?
Cold sweat immediately broke out on Zhu Mingxiu's forehead.
He realized that he had underestimated this matter.
If the Prince Ning's Mansion didn't want to investigate Li Wanming... Then who was the person who had asked Xiao Yingchu to file the report?
The more he thought about it, the more scared he became, and the more terrified he felt.
Could it be that even Xiao Yingchu was just a pawn in someone else's hand?
...
Zhu Mingxiu's face changed several times. He tried to calm himself down and slowly said, "The account books have been verified. Although there are indeed some omissions, after all, we haven't had the time to go to the shop for an on - site inspection, so we can't draw a conclusion yet."
What he said was much more clever than before.
The definite "concealment of tax payments" became "omissions", and the certain case became "not yet inspected in the shop", so it couldn't be finalized.
This statement could both delay time and leave enough room for himself.
Xu Kai was also an old fox in the officialdom. Of course, he understood what Zhu Mingxiu meant. He glanced at Xiao Jingnan and very cooperatively asked, "Then when does Your Excellency Zhu plan to go to the shop for an inspection?"
Zhu Mingxiu stroked his beard and pretended to hesitate for a moment. "It's too late today. It's not suitable to make a big fuss. Early tomorrow morning, I will send people to conduct a verification."
Xu Kai then said, "In that case, what about Shopkeeper Cheng and Mrs. Cheng..."
Zhu Mingxiu said with a solemn face, "Of course, they are ordered to wait in the shop for interrogation. Before the case is fully investigated, they are not allowed to leave the capital."
Xu Kai slowly stood up. "I have the same intention. Then let Shopkeeper Cheng and Mrs. Cheng go back first. We'll continue the trial after the investigation is completed tomorrow."
Xiao Jingnan's gaze swept across Xiao Yingchu, cold and detached.
He stood quietly for a while, let out a soft breath, then turned around and held Li Wanming's hand. His voice became gentle again. "My dear, let's go back first."
He had insisted on holding the trial here today just to force Xiao Yingchu out.
Now that his goal had been achieved, there was no need to continue.
The winter night was cold and dark. Li Wanming wanted to go back and have a good rest.
Li Wanming stood still, just staring blankly at Xiao Yingchu, as if she hadn't heard his words.
Xiao Yingchu still stood there, her figure slender and graceful, looking both frail and strong.
Her body trembled slightly, as if she was also suppressing something.
If Li Wanming had taken a step forward, she would have seen the tears that Xiao Yingchu was trying hard to hold back in her eyes.
It was a pity that Li Wanming just stood there for a while and then followed Xiao Jingnan away.
She had suffered a great blow and staggered, almost unable to stand steadily.
She didn't understand why a girl like Xiao Yingchu would maliciously frame her and almost try to kill her!
It wasn't until Xiao Jingnan supported her and walked out of the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue that her gaze was still on Xiao Yingchu, and she was reluctant to turn around for a long time.
Xu Kai seemed to have said a few words to Xiao Jingnan, and then they got on a carriage. They swayed all the way back to Pingkangfang.
All the way, Li Wanming was very silent.
It seemed to be very noisy behind them. Torches, armor, and horseshoes... The torches were bright, and the swords glistened, illuminating the long street like daylight.
It seemed that the people from the Ministry of Justice had been following them, and it seemed that another team of armored soldiers had come from somewhere else.
But Li Wanming couldn't hear clearly, and she didn't want to hear.
Her thoughts were wandering. Various fragments flashed through her mind like a carousel, intermittent and unable to form a complete picture.
She even thought that it was curfew time now. Why had so many people suddenly come? Didn't they need to sleep? Would such a large group of people making such a big fuss on the long street disturb the people? Would someone scold them tomorrow?
Xiao Jingnan had been holding her shoulder all the way, looking at her with a worried face.
After they returned to Pingkangfang, the Princess and Prince of Ning were both waiting for them at the door.