Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 463 Murder Case
All three families were conducting self-inspections, and the Yao family was the first to discover problems.

Yao Bin's third brother, Yao Kuan, once secretly traded with merchants from the enemy country when he was serving on the border. Although the amount was not large, it obviously violated the law.

This incident could definitely become a reason for Prince Zuo to criticize the Yao family. When Yao Bin learned about this, his face became solemn.

Prince Yizuo is ruthless and will never miss any opportunity to strike his opponents.

Yao Bin called Yao Kuan over and said sternly, "Kneel down."

"Brother." Yao Kuan was still unaware of what had happened.

"Yao Kuan, do you want to execute your entire family?" Yao Bin threw the stack of evidence in his face.

Yao Kuan lowered his head and looked carefully, his face pale, and he knelt in front of Yao Bin, "Brother, I only did it once."

"Isn't it enough to do it once? The head is only enough to be chopped off once." Yao Bin was furious, his eyes full of disappointment and anger.

Yao Kuan's behavior is very likely to bring disaster to the family. If Prince Zuo seizes this opportunity, the consequences will be even more disastrous.

"Brother, I know I was wrong. I was just greedy at the moment. Brother, please help me." Yao Kuan begged.

Yao Bin pinched his brows and said, "Write a letter of apology and I will ask His Majesty for mercy on your behalf. I hope His Majesty will give you a lighter sentence considering that this is your first offense and it has not caused serious consequences."

"Can I not write it?" Yao Kuan still wanted to be an official.

"Okay, if you don't want to write it, then don't write it. Wait for your house to be searched and you to be dismissed from your job." Yao Bin responded coldly, without a trace of emotion in his tone.

Only the most direct and severe method can make Yao Kuan learn a lesson for his greed and recklessness.

"Not really. I have my sister-in-law." Under Yao Bin's gaze, Yao Kuan's voice became smaller and smaller.

"Okay, I'll write it." Yao Kuan obediently.

While Yao Bin was scolding Yao Kuan, Ling Ze also found out that someone in his family privately ran a gambling house and lent money, with nine out of ten returning the money.

This was a capital crime punishable by beheading. Ling Ze was so angry that he had a headache. "Immediately close down this gambling house and arrest all the people involved!"

"Also, tie up that Ling Mian and send him to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow morning!" Ling Ze's voice was cold and hard, and it was obvious that he was extremely angry about this matter.

As the head of all officials, how could he tolerate someone in his family doing such illegal things? This would simply smear his reputation and pose a hidden danger to his political career.

"Yes, sir." The servant responded and retreated, but Ling Ze's brows were still furrowed.

He knew that once Prince Zuo knew about this, it would definitely become an excuse for him to attack him.

Although he could sacrifice his own relatives for the sake of justice, his family's reputation would still be damaged.

On the Yun family's side, Rong Zhi hasn't returned yet, and Yun Hao still doesn't know whether any of the clan members have done anything illegal.

At this time, a murder occurred in the city. The victim was the mistress of Cai Zhanshi in the Zhanshi Mansion. There was two lives lost.

Cai Zhanshi's wife was a daughter of the royal family and had close ties with Princess Pingyang. Cai Zhanshi could be considered to be on the side of the regent.

Yun Hao suspected that it was Prince Zuo's men who did it. He was worried that Prince Zuo would resort to any means necessary to attack Zhao Wangshu.

"Wangshu, when you go out, bring more guards with you," Yun Hao warned.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Wangshu looked up at him. "What happened?"

Yun Hao told about the murder and expressed his suspicions.

"The weather is getting colder and colder. I rarely go out. Don't worry about me." Zhao Wangshu replied.

After a pause, "You have to be careful too, don't let those bad guys take advantage of you." Yun Hao hugged her gently, "I will be careful, I will accompany you until old age, and take you to travel to Jiangnan."

The couple stayed together for a while, and then little Yunyu was brought in by the wet nurse. The family of three sat at the table on the kang and had dinner.

The case involved officials, and the prefect of Jingzhao made every effort to handle the case.

Cai Zhanshi also hinted to the prefect that the person who killed his concubine was most likely his legal wife.

His wife only gave birth to two daughters for him, and his three concubines each gave birth to a daughter. The one in the concubine's belly, according to the doctor's diagnosis, is a son.

The prefect understood his hint, but said nothing. After sending him away, he said to the lawyer, "This is against etiquette and law."

According to Daliang law, if a man has no children, most of the family property will belong to the clan after a hundred years. Even if the wife dislikes the son of a concubine, in order to protect the family property, she must let the son of a concubine recognize his ancestry and return to his clan.

The lawyer said, "Master Cai's youngest daughter has married a man and has given birth to a son."

"If this is the case, then Madam Cai is a suspect." The prefect said, stroking his beard.

After investigation, it was found that the case had nothing to do with Mrs. Cai. Mrs. Cai had already firmly controlled the family property in her hands. She would not care even if her concubine gave birth to ten or eight sons, let alone one.

"If Mr. Cai cared about this son, he would not have known about it for so many days and would not have brought him into the house. I am not a jealous person. Having one or two more concubines in the house is not a big deal." Mrs. Cai said calmly in response to the inquiry.

At this time, it was discovered that a large amount of property was missing, which was most likely a case of home robbery.

Soon, some yamen runners found the lost jewelry in several pawnshops, and Cai Zhanshi confirmed that he had bought them for his mistress.

"Do you know the person who came to pawn his things?" the prefect asked several shopkeepers.

Several shop owners said they didn't know him.

Yes, if the person who pawned the things had killed the mistress, he would not dare to come forward to pawn the things in person.

Based on the descriptions of several shopkeepers, a portrait of the pawnbroker was drawn, and the yamen runners were asked to find the person based on the portrait.

Upon hearing the news, Mr. Zeng immediately said to Prince Zuo: "Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity to divide them."

"What do you mean?" asked Prince Zuo.

"According to intelligence, someone in the Ling family opened an underground gambling house. If someone loses everything, they can sneak into the mistress's house, kill people and rob them in order to make a comeback." Mr. Zeng smiled sinisterly.

Prince Zuo understood what he meant instantly, "Go and arrange it. Even if it's not, make it so."

Although the importance of the Zhanshi Mansion is not great, it can win over officials who are on the side of Ling Ze and weaken their power. This is undoubtedly a good move for Prince Zuo.

Prince Zuo sighed again, "Yao Bin is very cunning and got away quickly."

"Although Yao Bin managed to survive and was not implicated too much, Yao Kuan was stripped of his official position. This is also a good thing. The prince can place our people in there and slowly sideline Yao Bin and seize the military power from him." Mr. Zeng said with a smile.

"As for the Ling family, the seemingly lush tree has already had some dead branches. We can use these dead branches to make the tree die from the roots."

"I have had people spread some rumors about the Ling family's underground gambling house in the capital. I believe it will soon cause a sensation. When the time comes, we will take advantage of the opportunity and will surely be able to take down the Ling family in one fell swoop."

"Ling Ze and Yao Bin have both fallen. Yun Hao can't handle the situation alone. There is no need to worry."

"You are right." Prince Zuo nodded with satisfaction, "They are bound to fail if they go against me."

Mr. Zeng flattered, "Your Majesty is the Emperor Star descended to the earth. Those who do not know the current situation and go against you will naturally not have a good end."

Upon hearing this, Prince Zuo's smile deepened, as if the position was within his grasp.