It was stipulated in the law of the Mo Country that the ordinary murderer should be imprisoned or more and a servant who murdered the master should be hanged.
Shi Wang was Shi Junfeng’s personal servant. He wasn’t grateful to his master’s kindness but killed him, and he would surely be sentenced to death.
Shi Wang turned pale with fear after he knew that.
Facing the fear of death, Shi Wang suddenly had courage. He raised his head and looked at Mo Junyang, asking in a loud voice, “Your Excellency, don’t you want to know the truth?”
He glanced at Shi Junhe with threat and his meaning was obvious. Anyway he would die. If he insisted that Shi Junhe had ordered him to do that, the first master would never disassociate himself.
However, Mo Junyang laughed, with coldness in his eyes. “I don’t like to be threatened, especially by a servant who killed his master.”
He also swept his eyes over Shi Wang’s family members coldly.
Before Shi Wang understood what Mo Junyang meant, the middle-aged woman realized something from their conversation gradually.
The middle-aged woman wiped her tears and looked at Shi Wang in disbelief, asking with uncertainty, “Shi Wang, have you killed somebody?”
After she asked, both the old woman and boy next to her were shocked.
Shi Wang finally understood Mo Junyang meant that even a ruthless and crafty person didn’t want his closest family members to see his ugly face.
Mo Junyang had saved the lives of Shi Wang’s family members and brought them to him, yet later they saw that he was questioned and even condemned.
He was kind but so merciless.
However, Shi Wang didn’t have so much time to think about these. Facing his mother’s and his wife’s surprised and scared eyes, he blushed and had a headache, anxious to find a hole to hide himself.
The old woman emotionally grabbed Shi Wang’s sleeve and asked while trembling, “I have taught you many times. Our family is poor, yet even poor people should have self-respect, and we can’t do anything evil. Have you forgotten what I told you?”
“No!” Shi Wang replied subconsciously, but looking at the old woman’s face filled with tears, he lowered his head with guilt.
The old woman was Shi Wang’s biological mother and certainly knew what her son’s action meant.
She instantly felt dizzy and staggered backward. Fortunately she was supported by the middle-aged woman, so she didn’t fall on the floor.
However, tears fell along her cheeks, and she wept in silence.
“Mother, are you okay?” It was Shi Wang’s first time to see that his mother shed tears so sadly, so he was in panic.
He wanted to come up and support the old woman, while she pushed him away.
The old woman stated firmly, “I don’t have a son like you. You did something wrong but didn’t admit it. What’s more, you even tried to put the blame on somebody else. I wasted time on raising you for so many years. How can I have the face to see your father after I die…”
The old woman cried again, which made Shi Wang shed tears, too.
Shi Wang knelt on the floor and kowtowed repeatedly, replying in a hurry, “I admit it. I admit my fault. Mother, don’t be sad.”
Afterward, he raised his hand to wipe his tears with his sleeve and then turned around, kowtowing to Mo Junyang.
This time, he didn’t extravagantly hope to use himself as a bargaining chip anymore but turned to Shi Juncai, saying, “I did everything under the third master’s orders.”
“You are lying. Don’t talk nonsense!” Hearing Shi Wang mention him, Shi Juncai shrieked in an instant.
Shi Wang ignored Shi Juncai and continued, “The third master gave me money in advance that you have found in my room, and he told me to work for him. In the beginning, I didn’t agree, yet later he captured my family and forced me to poison the second master and frame the first master after it was found.
“The third master said that he would ensure my family’s safety after I did it. I had no choice but to do as he said in order to keep my family safe.
“The poison was given to me by the third master. On the wedding day of Infanta Baoning, the second master took me to attend the wedding, and the third master secretly found an opportunity to give it to me, so I don’t know what kind of poison it was. He just told me to put some drug in the second master’s drinking water last night.
I thought that the third master merely wanted to get back at the second master and make him uncomfortable as they fell out. I didn’t know that the third master wanted to take the second master’s life. Till the second master’s dead body was found this morning, I knew that…”
“You’re slinging mud at me!” Shi Juncai shouted in a sharp voice. It seemed that if he spoke more loudly than Shi Wang, what he had done would be inexistent.
Shi Wang didn’t jump up in a hurry to retort like he did to Shi Junhe. After he told everything, he knelt on the floor quietly again and waited for punishment.
Mo Junyang was satisfied with Shi Wang’s attitude as he resigned himself to destiny. After the servant told everything, Mo Junyang didn’t make things difficult for him but told Wei Zichao to take Shi Wang’s family members away.
Shi Wang glanced at Mo Junyang with gratitude and didn’t say more but answered every question when Shi Junhe asked about the details.
This time, what he said wasn’t full of holes like that when he framed Shi Junhe.
His answer was logical with sufficient reasons and hard to fault. He told everything that Shi Juncai had ordered him to do.
Shi Juncai heard that and turned ghastly pale, shouting feebly, “No, I didn’t. It’s not me…
“Shi Wang killed Junfeng. How can you believe his words? Right, he must be lying. He wronged Junhe, and he knew that he couldn’t make it plausible, so he wronged me. It must be like this…”
At the moment, Shi Juncai had totally forgotten how he affirmed devoutly that what Shi Wang said was the truth, and he made unfounded countercharges against this servant.
Mo Junyang let Shi Juncai justify himself. After Shi Juncai finished his words, Mo Junyang turned to Wei Ziye at the gate. “Bring the rest of people.”
All people focused their eyes on the gate again and were curious about who he would bring this time.
Shi Qingxue blinked her big eyes and didn’t look at the gate but stared at Mo Junyang.
She blinked and seemed to ask, “Is there really no problem?”
Mo Junyang gave her a smile to comfort her. “Yes. Trust me.”
Shi Qingxue instantly showed a sweet smile. “Okay.”
They exchanged glances and the tense atmosphere was not existent anymore.
“Ahem!” Shi Junhe coughed twice in a low voice to give a hint that they should restrain themselves.
Qingxue immediately stuck out her tongue and made a face. Then she hid herself behind and tried not to be so conspicuous.
Of course, the others paid attention to the case and didn’t notice her actions.
Wei Ziye brought some people soon.
They were several burly men with their hands tied behind their backs. All of their faces were black and blue, and they were in low spirits. Obviously, somebody had taught them a lesson earlier.
After these men were pushed into the ancestral hall and saw Shi Juncai, they knelt down at once and kowtowed to him to ask for help. “My Lord, please save me. Save me.”
They spoke in unison and admitted that they worked for Shi Juncai.
Shi Junhe asked why they had been captured. They answered that they were captured by Wei Zichao when they were about to take actions against Shi Wang’s family.
So the truth had been brought into daylight. Shi Juncai captured Shi Wang’s family and threatened him, forcing him to poison Shi Junfeng and frame Shi Junhe after that.
As the witnesses and evidence were on the spot, Shi Juncai couldn’t justify himself no matter what he said, so he sat on the floor in frustration.
After knowing the fact, Mo Shujun trembled all over her body in anger and couldn’t control herself but walked forward and slapped Shi Juncai hard.
“Bastard!”
Mo Shujun had never said anything so harsh to her youngest son, not to mention beating him.
However, she was really furious this time. After cursing and beating him, she still couldn’t vent her anger, so she picked up the teacup on the table and threw it to Shi Juncai.
Seeing that it was exposed, Shi Juncai didn’t dare to dodge but let Mo Shujun lose temper. He kowtowed to her repeatedly and admitted his fault, begging, “Mother! Mother, I was just brainless for a moment. I was jealous as you treated Junfeng so well, so I lost my mind and made a big mistake.
“Mother, please forgive me as I am your biological son. I promise that I will never do something so evil again. I beg you!”
Shi Juncai made a pitiful plea in tears and cried miserably.
Even though Mo Shujun was hard-hearted, she couldn’t bear to stand by and do nothing to help her biological son.
There was agony in her eyes. At last, she closed her eyes and concealed it. She shook off Shi Juncai’s hand and asked coldly, “You didn’t harm me. Why do you ask me for mercy?”
Shi Juncai was stunned for a moment yet soon understood what Mo Shujun meant.
With a sad face, he knelt to Shi Junhe again and begged, “Big Brother, I was wrong. It’s my fault. I am narrow-minded and jealous of you and Junfeng, so I figured out such a bad idea. However, please save me for the sake of our brotherhood anyway.
“I don’t want to die, really!”
Shi Junhe looked cold and listened to Shi Juncai’s crying bitterly and trying to start with a clean slate as he thought, while he sneered in secret. Shi Juncai said that he didn’t want to die, but Shi Junfeng who had died wanted to die?
After the truth was found, Shi Juncai said tearfully that he knew that he was wrong and begged for another chance, yet Shi Junfeng would never come back.
Shi Junhe realized this point and just felt heartbroken. He looked colder and concealed his emotions.
After Shi Juncai cried, Shi Junhe turned to Zheng Liangcai who curled up like a tortoise after the complete reversal, saying indifferently, “Lord Zheng, hope that you can punish this murderer according to the law as he killed my younger brother Junfeng.”
“Of course. Of course!” Zheng Liangcai answered repeatedly yet couldn’t help peeping at Shi Juncai.
“As for Juncai, I have some domestic affairs to deal with. Lord Zheng, please go back first. I will take him to the Capital Bureau and make everything clear later.”
Shi Junhe made arrangements unhurriedly, and the others thought that he got soft-hearted to Shi Juncai and wanted to minimize the problem.
Zheng Liangcai didn’t want to have a conflict with Mo Shujun, so it was all that he could wish for, and he agreed, telling the runners to escort Shi Wang and leave Duke Shi’s mansion.
Since the truth was exposed, Zhang Qiuyan was petrified. Till she heard that Shi Junhe would bail Shi Juncai, she protested.
“Big Brother, Juncai is your younger brother, but my husband is not? Are you going to see my husband die with a grievance and do nothing?”
Shi Juncai was happy secretly for Shi Junhe’s “protection”. Hearing Zhang Qiuyan’s shout, he rushed to cover her mouth in a rage and cursed, “You are a woman. Do you qualify to make comments when men are talking? Get out of here now. Otherwise, I will kill you.”