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Chapter 946: Chapter 949: Where’s the Evidence?
Qiao Duo’er spoke with composure, "Smuggling private salt was just an excuse by Li Zhengtian to frame Lord Qin, and as for seeking personal gain, I only had one piece of musk, which was distributed among the people of my village."
If she had done it, she would have admitted it without hesitation.
But for the things she had never done, even if a knife were pressed to her throat, she would remain unflappable.
Impatient, Li Zhengtian blurted out, "Prince, she is lying. I discovered that Qiao Duo’er’s deer farm has over a hundred male musk deer, and most of the musk used for disaster relief came from her farm. A piece of musk is worth a hundred gold; she must have made a fortune."
He had been in prison these days, but Servant Fu had been busy, having already managed everything.
Besides bribing Aunt Fu, he also dealt with Jia Wenjing, who even showed up today.
Without any surprises, he was sure to topple Qiao Duo and her people.
"Do you have evidence?" King Qin asked.
Li Zhengtian nodded, "I have the accounts of the deer farm, and I have already persuaded her; she can testify for me."
"Bring the witness forward," King Qin ordered his guard.
His guards were selected from the Border Army; he only trusted his own people.
Soon, Aunt Fu was brought into the hall.
"She is in charge of the deer farm?" King Qin confirmed with Duo’er.
Seeing Aunt Fu, Qiao Duo’er was surprised, but she couldn’t deny that it was indeed Aunt Fu whom she had bought to raise musk deer.
Before King Qin could ask, Aunt Fu volunteered, "Your Highness, my husband and I went to Tan Family last year to take up the work of raising musk deer, and nobody knows the situation better than we do."
"Tell me how many musk deer the Tan Family has raised in total."
"There are a total of six to seven hundred musk deer, nearly half of which are males. This summer, a hundred more young deer were born."
Aunt Fu said this while casting a guilty glance at Qiao Duo’er.
Although it was only a momentary glance, King Qin still caught it.
But he was judging a case at the moment, where evidence was vital. Announcing the verdict prematurely would certainly lead to dissatisfaction.
Like Servant Fu, who was sitting in the auditor’s seat.
Some people’s entire purpose was to find fault with him, but he was intent on making his case airtight.
"How much musk did you collect in total?"
"Just under three hundred pieces, Young Master Bai had also been there to see it."
Hearing Aunt Fu speak brazen-faced lies, Qiao Duo’er was both infuriated and amused.
"You and Uncle Fu are truly remarkable, managing to raise six to seven hundred musk deer by yourselves? Not to mention anything else, when the musk deer mature, they dig out the fragrance pouches and cover them with excrement; could the two of you keep up with that?"
Qiao Duo’er raised an eyebrow.
At that time, she and Tan Zhenghong were exhausted just watching two musk deer.
Aunt Fu retorted with annoyance, "Madam, it was you who said that on a regular basis we don’t need that many people, and to find some temporary workers to help out when the deer start digging for musk."
That could be a viable explanation, so Qiao Duo decided to stay silent.
A single lie requires many more lies to cover it up, and with too many lies, the truth will eventually come to light.
King Qin then turned to Bai Yifan, "Have you been there?"
"Of course, I have. That hill used to be my land, which I bought to plant medicinal herbs, but the soil was poor, so I sold it to my sworn sister. I have never seen three hundred fragrance pouches, though," Bai Yifan spoke frankly.
He had visited several times and even adjusted the deer’s diet.
Aunt Fu wiped the sweat from her forehead, "Young Master Bai, people must have a conscience. At the time, you said it could be very profitable."
Bai Yifan bowed respectfully, "Prince, I may not have seen the fragrance pouches, but I did see one thousand taels of silver."
