The war god prince climbs the wall every night, and the princess is angry

Chapter 167 Searching the Mansion

As soon as the three words "there is evidence" came out, Xie Qian'an clenched his hands suddenly, and looked at Yongning Hou calmly. Everyone saw the surprise and suspicion in his eyes.

Xie Rong's eyes flashed with interest, and he asked, "Where is the evidence?"

Shen Qionghua straightened up and said, "The evidence is on the box containing the silver. Your Majesty, please allow me to stand up and I will explain to you."

Xie Rong nodded.

Shen Qionghua stood up staggeringly. Her legs were numb from kneeling for so long.

She walked to the box of silver in the main hall and looked around as if she were looking at merchandise.

All the boxes were opened, some were full, some were half empty and scattered all over the place.

Shen Qionghua walked to a box that was half empty, picked up a piece of silver-wrapped copper, weighed it in his palm, and then threw it back into the box. To everyone's astonishment... he kicked the box over.

Pieces of silver-coated copper hit the floor of the Tai Chi Hall, as if hitting everyone's heart.

Shen Qionghua squatted down, pulled out the remaining pieces of copper-clad silver, and then stared at the inner wall of the box carefully.

After a while, a smile finally appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The person in charge was somewhat surprised and suspicious, but he said sternly, "Shen's daughter, stop being so mysterious. If you can't produce any evidence, then you should just confess your guilt."

Shen Qionghua ignored her and bowed directly to Xie Rong, saying, "Your Majesty, this box is the evidence."

"Oh, but what's the explanation?" Xie Rong asked.

Shen Qionghua nodded and said, "In reply to your Majesty, since these boxes are used to store silver, I have specially selected reinforced boxes. Although this box containing copper-clad silver may look the same as the box for silver, it actually has a different secret inside."

"My evidence is that the inner wall of the boxes containing silver shipped out from the Shen family all had the word "Shen" engraved on it, but the inner wall of the box containing silver-wrapped copper does not have it." Shen Qionghua said with a firm look.

Upon hearing this, Xie Qian'an frowned for a moment, then relaxed his brows in an instant. He exchanged glances with Shen Qionghua across several people in charge, and did not miss the mockery in her eyes.

Li Shunquan immediately walked to the box, reached out and touched the inner wall to examine it carefully, and then he and several eunuchs emptied the box containing the silver and examined it carefully. Sure enough, he touched a small, uneven word "Shen" in the upper left corner.

Li Shunquan looked at Shen Qionghua strangely, and then checked several boxes containing silver and silver-wrapped copper.

Finally, he ordered two young eunuchs to carry one each and present it to the emperor.

Xie Rong stood up, glanced at the spot Li Shunquan pointed, and sat down again, saying, "Indeed, the inner wall of the box containing the silver has the word 'Shen' engraved on it."

Shen Qionghua immediately said, "Your Majesty, every box shipped out of the Shen family today has words engraved on the inside, but this silver-covered copper box doesn't have any. It must have been replaced midway."

As he spoke, his eyes shot straight in the direction of Xie Qian'an.

Xie Qianan glanced at the person in charge. Cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead, but he could only bite the bullet and say, "Who knows if what you said is true?"

"Perhaps you had already guessed this and made preparations in advance. You deliberately left the boxes containing the silver-covered copper uncarved."

Xie Nanyuan said, "Father, this official is clearly making specious arguments. If we follow his words, no matter what evidence Princess Jialin produces, they will all be accused of pre-preparing."

"Then doesn't that mean Princess Jialin will never be able to prove her innocence?"

"I have a different opinion." Marquis Yongning glanced at Xie Nanyuan and said, "I think the master's words make sense. It is not impossible."

When Xie Rong heard what Yongning Hou said, he said, "I heard that Yongning Hou's wife had some relationship with the Shen family. I didn't expect Yongning Hou to say this."

Marquis Yongning said with a fair look, "Support justice over kinship. Right and wrong, let the facts speak for themselves."

Shen Qionghua sneered and said, "I dare not ask for help from the Marquis of Yongning. Even though I have lived in the Marquis of Yongning's mansion for a while, my mother and I almost got into trouble. How can I dare to ask for help from the Marquis of Yongning?"

If it is said that the last time Shen Qionghua met the emperor, she secretly told him that the Yongning Marquisate coveted the Shen family's property, this time she directly brought the conflict with the Yongning Marquisate to the surface.

In this way, if the Yongning Marquisate committed any crime in the future, the emperor would not implicate the Shen family even though he knew that the Shen family and the Yongning Marquisate were not on good terms.

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Qionghua said this, Yongning Hou's face became visibly gloomy.

Shen Qionghua's words made his just attitude seem like a joke.

Xie Rong's eyes swept between the two of them, and after a while, he showed an ambiguous smile.

He looked at Shen Qionghua and said, "Although what the chief said is a bit unreasonable, it is indeed the truth. Princess Jialin, do you have any other evidence?"

Following Xie Rong's words, everyone's eyes fell on Shen Qionghua.

Shen Qionghua slowly shook her head and said, "No, your servant has none."

Xie Qian'an let out a light breath, the frown on Yongning Hou's face relaxed a little, and Xie Rong looked regretful.

Xie Nanyuan's heart was lifted up. He clasped his hands together and said, "Father..."

Xie Rong waved his hand. "Although this matter may not necessarily be directly related to her, there is indeed a problem with the Shen family's disaster relief money. Although the crime is not punishable by death, some punishment is necessary. Everyone who goes to the Shen Mansion today will be punished."

Xie Rong looked at Shen Qionghua and said slowly: "If that's the case, then the title of the County Lord..."

"Your Majesty!" Shen Qionghua shouted, her eyes full of determination.

"Although I have no evidence, I understand one thing: to catch a thief, you must take the dirty stuff."

"The amount of silver this time is quite large. If it falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, we don't know what the consequences will be."

"How about this, Your Majesty? Send someone to search the homes of those who went to the Shen family to move the silver today. If they don't find the over one million taels of silver..."

"Then my Shen family will take responsibility for this crime!"

Everyone present was shocked, and those in charge all thought Shen Qionghua was crazy.

Xie Rong coughed lightly, "County Master Jialin, please don't act on impulse..."

"This humble servant has not acted impulsively," Shen Qionghua said, "but I have one request that I hope the Emperor can grant."

"You say." Xie Rong said.

"I think Prince An's Mansion and Marquis Yongning's Mansion should also be searched!"