The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 68 So the adulterer was you
"We'll discuss this later." Lord An instructed Shan Dajun to place the jujube paste cake on the long table beside him and asked, "What did you find out at Yunshuizhai?"

Shan Dajun reported, "Your Excellency, it is indeed as Lu Xiucai said. There is a poem he collaborated on with Qiao Xiucai on the screen wall of Yunshuizhai, and the dates match. The manager and staff of Yunshuizhai remember this matter and can all testify to it."

At the same time, Xiao Huan gently tugged at Shang Wan's sleeve and whispered, "Sister, I think there's something wrong with those jujube paste cakes."

Dan Dajun's words just now reminded Xiao Huan of the orange cat that had repeatedly come out to scratch people.

Shang Wan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yuan Yuan, who was tilting her head. "Do you think those were jujube paste cakes that Yuan Yuan wouldn't let you eat at the Lufeng Rice Shop?"

Xiao Huan nodded and whispered a few words to Shang Wan.

Shang Wan glanced at her in surprise, "Well done."

Xiao Huan smiled, pursing her lips; she had only done it on a whim.

Shang Wan stepped closer to the long table, picked up a piece of jujube paste cake, and brought it to her nose to smell it.

Dan Dajun noticed Shang Wan's actions out of the corner of his eye and thought she wanted to eat, so he quickly came over to stop her.

"Madam Shang, those have been scratched by cats and are covered in mud. You can't eat them."

"The jujube paste cake doesn't taste right." Shang Wan shook the jujube paste cake in her hand and looked at Lord An. "My lord, may I ask the coroner to examine these jujube paste cakes?"

Everyone wondered, what does this jujube paste cake have to do with the case?
Everyone thought that Lord An would not agree, but to everyone's surprise, Lord An actually sent a coroner to inspect the jujube paste cake.

Everyone:? ? ?
Are adults really that easy to talk to?
An Daren said that since they still had to wait for Shen Qi to return, it wouldn't hurt to find something to do.

The results came out shortly afterward: the jujube paste cake had been drugged with sleeping pills.

Shopkeeper Ge's cheek twitched almost imperceptibly twice.

Lord An became interested. "Shang, how did you discover that there was something wrong with the jujube paste cake?"

"It was my younger sister who discovered it." Shang Wan gave Xiao Huan a wink, and Xiao Huan stepped forward to add the part about eating jujube cake.

Of course, she didn't say that Yuanyuan stopped her, but rather that she was good at making food and that the smell of the jujube paste cake was a bit off, so she didn't dare to eat it.

Xiao Huan's meaning was clear: she suspected that the jujube paste cake that Shan Dajun brought back was the same one that Lufeng Rice Shop had served to them.

"Sir, please don't listen to her nonsense," said Manager Ge. "Jujube paste cakes can be bought everywhere, and the origin of these jujube paste cakes is unknown. How can we be sure they are related to the rice shop? They are trying to frame us. Please investigate thoroughly, sir."

This statement does make some sense. Just like the silver mentioned earlier, things without markings are difficult to prove.

Xiao Huan said, "My lord, I have evidence. Please have someone break open those jujube paste cakes."

Lord An nodded, and Shan Dajun and two yamen runners stepped forward and broke seven or eight pieces of jujube paste cake into tiny pieces. They found two round, smooth glass beads in two of the pieces.

After cleaning the glass beads, Shan Dajun presented them to Lord An.

When Manager Ge saw the glass bead, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Manager Ge, you personally gave these two beads to Yuanyuan.” Xiao Huan looked at Manager Ge. “There are four beads in total on the counter of the rice shop. They are a complete set. The cracks inside can be pieced together to form a chrysanthemum. As long as we take the remaining two beads, we can immediately verify their authenticity.”

Immediately, Manager Ge's face turned green.

Despite all the planning, I never expected to be tripped up by two glass beads.

He made excuses, saying, "I don't know why there was sleeping pill in the jujube paste cake. Someone must have framed me..."

"Ge Shunliang!" Lord An slammed his gavel in anger. "Are you trying to fool me?"

"I wouldn't dare," Manager Ge immediately prostrated himself on the ground. Lord An narrowed his eyes and demanded, "What exactly are your intentions in putting sleeping pills in the jujube paste cake?"

"I'm not a villain." Manager Ge's eyes darted around as he struggled to find the right words. "It's...it's..."

He stammered "yes" for a long time, still not having thought of what to say, when Shen Qi returned with Manager Qi from Qingfeng Pavilion.

Shen Qi said to the person beside him, "Take a look and see if those two people are in this courtroom."

"Yes." Manager Qi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the hall, finally settling on Fang Cailian and Manager Ge.

Shen Qi followed his gaze and confirmed, "It's the two of them?"

Manager Qi nodded affirmatively.

Shen Qi then stepped forward to report.

It turns out that on the ninth day of last month, it wasn't Lu Chengjing who went to Qingfeng Pavilion, but Manager Ge. Manager Ge booked a private room at Qingfeng Pavilion and ordered a table full of food and wine.

Before long, Fang Cailian arrived and told the waiter that she wanted to see Manager Ge. The waiter then led her to a private room.

The two stayed in the private room for nearly two hours before coming out. Manager Ge left first, and Fang Cailian left a while later.

Manager Qi remembered Fang Cailian because she was pale and had red, slightly swollen eyes when she left, as if she had just been crying.

He kindly asked Fang Cailian if she was feeling unwell, and that there was a clinic nearby where he could send someone to take her.

Fang Cailian treated him like a monster, leaving in a hurry without even replying, as if a dog was chasing her, leaving Manager Qi speechless.

When Shen Qi inquired at Qingfeng Pavilion, Manager Qi immediately remembered the matter. Upon checking the account book, he found that it was indeed the ninth day of the month.

Although based on his description, the woman was undoubtedly Fang Cailian, Shen Qi still brought her back to identify her in person, just to be on the safe side.

After hearing Shen Qi's report, everyone looked at Manager Ge, thinking, "So you're the adulterer."

"Shopkeeper, is it really you?" Fang Bao looked at Shopkeeper Ge in disbelief, unable to accept this result.

The shopkeeper is such a good person, how could he possibly bully Cailian?
No, this can't be true!
Manager Ge's face turned pale and then flushed, and he forced an explanation: "We just had a meal together, nothing happened..."

"My lord!" Fang Cailian suddenly kowtowed to Lord An, her voice filled with hatred, "The one who humiliated me was Ge Shunliang, and had nothing to do with Scholar Lu. Ge Shunliang used the excuse of his brother's invitation to meet me at Qingfeng Pavilion, where he took the opportunity to humiliate me, resulting in my pregnancy. I beg you, my lord, to do justice for me and severely punish this beast!"

Fang Bao felt as if a thunderbolt had struck him on the head, leaving him completely stunned.

It turns out... it really is the shopkeeper.

"I kill you!"

With red eyes, Fang Bao punched Manager Ge squarely on the nose. Manager Ge cried out in pain as blood streamed down his face.

Xiao Fei stepped forward to stop him, "Brother Fang Bao, the shopkeeper isn't that kind of person, please don't..."

"Brother, don't believe him!" Fang Cailian's voice was shrill as she pointed at Xiao Fei. "He's the one who helped Ge Shunliang trick me into going to Qingfeng Pavilion, and then used that to threaten me and force me to submit to him. He and Ge Shunliang are birds of a feather, neither of them are good!"

She was so emotional that she felt waves of cramping pain in her lower abdomen.

"Blood!" someone exclaimed, pointing at Fang Cailian's skirt, which was gradually turning red.

Fang Cailian clutched her stomach, her face deathly pale. Another wave of excruciating pain washed over her, and she collapsed to the ground, her vision going black.

(End of this chapter)