OBS Chapter 124 Finding Clues
Chapter 124 Finding Clues
Lu Jingning quickly caught the fear in Tao's eyes.
Unlike the past, I felt truly scared.
Tao opened his mouth to explain, but ended up saying, "I don't understand what you're saying."
Hard mouth!
Lu Jingning was not in a hurry to pry open the man's mouth. After living in Shangguan Mansion for so many years, there must be clues around him.
Today she will uproot this man!
Xue Yuan brought a chair and placed some tea and snacks on the small coffee table. Lu Jingning yawned, walked slowly towards the chair, sat down and leaned against it, with a lazy smile on his face.
Tao looked at Lu Jingning several times, but didn't dare to speak casually.
Shangguan Si was not stupid, he saw something was going on, and asked despite his discomfort, "Is mother hiding something from me?"
"Don't listen to her nonsense!" Tao refused to admit it. "She is still upset about the antidote and is trying to sow discord."
Shangguan Si was half-believing and half-doubting.
About half an hour later, the housekeeper came in with dozens of servants and maids. When they saw the bloodstains in the yard, they were trembling with fear.
The timid ones were about to cry.
Lu Jingning held the indentures that he had looted from Tao's house in his hand and read them out one by one.
A large number of people were screened and a few suspicious ones were left behind.
Then he gagged Tao's confidant, who often did things for Tao, and beat him up.
After twenty strokes of the board, these people were somewhat dazed, and begged for mercy: "Big bastard, spare my life."
"Madam Shangguan committed treason and was sentenced to death. You are all people she favored. I will now give you a chance to atone for your sins."
Lu Jingning had Tao's mouth blocked and pen, ink, paper and inkstone distributed to everyone.
"Write down what you know, and I promise I won't leak it."
Everyone was holding pens and papers, feeling a little overwhelmed.
"My lady, I can't read." A maid knelt down and kowtowed to her.
Lu Jingning smiled and said, "I forgot to tell you, if there is not a single word on the paper, or it is made up, this will be the fate of Fang Mama!"
Mother Fang was beaten so hard that blood came out of all her orifices and her body turned into mud.
Everyone turned pale when they heard this.
Only by writing can you live. If you don’t write or write blindly, you will surely die.
Half an hour later Xue Yuan presented a stack of papers.
The crooked words came into view. At first, they were all trivial matters and had nothing to do with treason. Lu Jingning patiently read through them bit by bit.
Until he pulled out a few pieces of paper and handed them to Xue Yuan.
Xue Yuan understood and used her excellent memory to find the person.
Eight people, both men and women.
They knelt on the ground, bewildered.
Lu Jingning asked the rest of the people to retreat and pushed the eight people aside and told them not to speak.
Several managers from the farm shops came hurriedly.
At first glance, I was scared by the bloodstains on the ground.
"Greetings to the great ***."
"Madam Shangguan collaborated with the enemy and treasoned and colluded with Northern Qi. You are all accomplices. Do you know what the crime is?"
Lu Jingning spoke in a low voice, his sharp eyes searching through the people: "This matter could result in the confiscation of property and execution at the lightest, and the punishment for serious cases is the execution of all nine clans. Although some of your family members are still in Northern Qi, the people you live with day and night are in Southern Liang..."
After these words were spoken, the timid people became so frightened that their legs went limp.
He glanced towards Tao.
Tao glared and tried to signal him, but the other party thought that the truth had been revealed and didn't care much: "Master, I'm just a handyman. I don't know what treason is. Please forgive me, Master."
He pointed at Mrs. Tao and said, "The old lady did tell me to send a sum of money to Xiguan every once in a while. It has been twenty-five years now. I don't know anything else."
Xiguan is the border between the two countries, half of which is Southern Liang and the other half is Northern Qi.
"Woo woo!" Tao struggled desperately, sobbing incoherently.
Shangguan Si, who was standing by, was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.
His mother was actually colluding with Northern Qi?
"Uncle, you may not know that the old lady is holding Miss Liao hostage. She would rather you be beaten to death than rescue you. Have you ever thought about what she wants?"
Shangguan Si blinked and swallowed his saliva. Having been an official for many years, once some things were revealed, it was very clear to see the purpose behind them.
Tao's purpose is the same as Mo Yunyao's.
This would stir up internal strife in Southern Liang. If anything happened to Liao Han, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess would definitely have a rift.
If Liao Han gave birth to a son, she would definitely compete with the Crown Princess.
With Mr. Liao standing between the two of them, there is bound to be no peace.
Besides, Liao Han was reluctant to give up her son.
Shangguan Si shook his head: "No, no, mother would not do that, you must have misunderstood."
Lu Jingning was too lazy to explain and said to everyone, "If anyone knows the whereabouts of Miss Liao, I will return the indenture immediately and reward you with ten thousand taels of silver!"
She shook the ten thousand taels of silver in her hand.
A large sum of money will always bring out a brave man. Sure enough, an older servant raised his hand:
"I...I heard Fang Mama say when she was drunk that the most dangerous place is the safest place."
Lu Jingning frowned and repeated this sentence over and over again.
Suddenly, she told Xue Yuan, "Go to Zhongling Pavilion."
Zhongling Pavilion was her mother's boudoir, and she had never been back there since their breakup.
Xue Yuan immediately took people to Zhongling Pavilion. About an incense stick later, she came back and nodded at Lu Jingning excitedly.
The big stone in Lu Jingning's heart fell to the ground quietly.
He immediately gave the banknotes and the contract to the servant and said, "Remember, don't say anything you shouldn't say when you get out, otherwise you will definitely get into trouble."
"Yes!"
The servant boy left excitedly with the banknotes and the indenture.
Seeing this, others were eager to try.
After hiding in Nanliang for so many years and having to rely on themselves for everything, they were already tired of it. Some even wasted most of their lives. Now that they were in danger again, they chose to betray the Tao family without hesitation.
Tao's face turned pale little by little, and she stared at Lu Jingning viciously.
"Clean up this place, and let's go somewhere else to continue our conversation."
The air was thick with the smell of blood, and she had had enough of it, so she went to the next yard and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are these all true?" Shangguan Si came back to his senses, still with shock in his eyes.
Lu Jingning asked someone to take the thing out of Tao's mouth.
Tao started to curse: "You are slandering me!"
"Slander?" Lu Jingning sneered, "I have already made up my mind to send you to Northern Qi."
Tao was shocked and looked at Lu Jingning as if he was a monster, shocked and scared.
"You...what do you want?"
Lu Jingning rubbed his ears. He didn't want to continue explaining to her for the time being. He waved his hand and asked someone to release Tao.
Before leaving, she warned: "If you dare to die, I will wipe out the entire Tao family!"