The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 261 The truth comes out
Upon hearing this, Lu Lan was utterly shocked and began to scream frantically, "My lord, I'm not convinced! This wretched maid has been bribed to frame me! And I didn't send anyone to kill her! I didn't do it! I'm innocent..."

"I will investigate the matter of Huan'er's family almost perishing in the fire. I will not wrong anyone, nor will I let any real culprit go unpunished!" Ouyang Lei said, glancing at Li Bingcai.

Li Bingcai broke out in a cold sweat from shock.

“But the evidence against you for murdering your birth mother, Xu Yumei, is irrefutable and you cannot deny it!” Ouyang Lei’s gaze then turned to Lu Lan.

"I didn't, I didn't kill anyone, let alone my aunt. I'm innocent..." Lu Lan roared.

"Roaring in court is an aggravating offense!" Ouyang Lei threw down an order, "Take him into custody immediately!"

Lu Lan's expression changed drastically, and she grabbed Li Bingcai's robe, crying, "Lord Li, save me!"

Li Bingcai's eyes flickered, and he said to Ouyang Lei, "Young Master Ouyang, isn't it too arbitrary to conclude that Lu Lan is the murderer of Xu Yumei based solely on this maid's one-sided testimony?"

“The evidence is conclusive, yet you call it arbitrary? Then, Lord Li, what do you think is not arbitrary? This maid was the one who reported it to the authorities that day. Lord Chen and all the constables have seen her. She is Lu Lan’s personal maid. If she hadn’t been instructed by Lu Lan, why would she have reported it to the authorities?”
Furthermore, the maid nearly lost her life, and all of this was inextricably linked to Lu Lan.

"On the contrary, Lord Li, I will hold you accountable for giving false testimony!" Ouyang Lei looked at him coldly.

Li Bingcai's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down. "Every word I have said is true!"

"Not a single lie?" Ouyang Lei sneered, then ordered his men, "Bring Granny Lin and her son in!"

Soon, Granny Lin and her son were dragged in like dead dogs.

"Old Lady Lin, the evidence against Lu Lan for murdering her birth mother Xu Yumei is conclusive, and she has already been sentenced to be executed in the autumn. Your act of giving false testimony just now is suspected of violating human ethics and disrupting the legal order, which constitutes a serious crime and almost caused this official to make a wrong judgment. According to the laws of Da Chen, you should be punished by having your tongue cut off, then paraded through the streets in shackles, and exiled for ten years!"

As soon as Ouyang Lei finished speaking, Granny Lin burst into tears, crying out, "Your Honor, I'm innocent! I was coerced into committing this crime. Please, Your Honor, show leniency..."

"Coerced? Who coerced you? Speak quickly, and perhaps you can be lessened in your punishment!" Ouyang Lei said in a deep voice.

Granny Lin gritted her teeth and said to Li Bingcai, "It was him! He coerced me! He taught me to say those things just now!"

"You're talking nonsense! When have I ever coerced you?" Li Bingcai cursed.

"Your Honor, it is this Lord Li who instigated me to give false testimony. This is absolutely true. My good-for-nothing son has become addicted to gambling and is heavily in debt. This Lord Li suddenly came to me this morning and told me that as long as I say a few words here, he can help pay off my son's debt. After it is done, he will also give us a sum of money so that we can go far away."

"I was greedy for a moment, and that's why I listened to him and came here to say those things. But that was not my intention. I beg you, sir, to see the truth and punish us leniently!" Granny Lin said urgently.

She truly regretted her actions; she should have known better than to be greedy.

Now look what's happened, he's going to be exiled.

Granny Lin was filled with deep regret.

"So, you didn't see Lu Lan and Li Bingcai at the back gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion yesterday at 9:00 AM?" Ouyang Lei asked.

"No, no, this old woman has never seen them at all," Granny Lin hurriedly shook her head.

Ouyang Lei slammed his gavel, "Li Bingcai, what else do you have to say?" Li Bingcai's legs went weak and he knelt down.

“As an official of the imperial court, you not only committed perjury yourself, but also bribed and coerced others to commit perjury together. This is a crime of knowingly breaking the law, and your crime is doubled. I will definitely report to the Emperor to remove you from your post and punish you severely!” Ouyang Lei said coldly.

Li Bingcai lowered his head, his face ashen.

Seeing his appearance, Lu Lan knew that all was lost and felt utterly hopeless.

But thinking about how much effort he had put in and how much he had done, and how Zhiwan was still perfectly fine and unaffected, he felt extremely unwilling to accept it.

She shouted angrily at Zhiwan, "Zhiwan, you've ruined my whole life! Even as a ghost, I'll never forgive you!"

“Even on the verge of death, you still don’t repent. You’re in this situation because of your own actions. Stop blaming others for your misfortune! You murdered your own mother; you’re worse than an animal!” Zhiwan said with disgust.

“Exactly! You killed your own mother, did someone else teach you to do that? Stop making excuses for your stupidity and wickedness! You brought this upon yourself, and no one else is to blame!” Madam Wei said hatefully.

"No, I didn't! I didn't kill my aunt! I've been framed!" Lu Lan shook her head frantically and turned to look at Old Madam Lu. "Grandmother, please save me! It wasn't me who killed my aunt, it was Zhiwan!"

Stunned by Ouyang Lei's methods, Old Madam Lu finally came to her senses upon hearing this. Her lips moved as if she was about to say something, but Wei interrupted her, "Old Madam, it's best not to speak. Ouyang Shaoqing just said that those who commit perjury will have their tongues cut out, be paraded through the streets in shackles, and be exiled for ten years. You're already so old, aren't you afraid of ruining your reputation in your later years and having to suffer that kind of hardship?"

Madam Lu's face stiffened, and in the face of Lu Lan's plea for help, she finally chose to remain silent.

Seeing that her grandmother ignored her, Lu Lan turned pale and cursed viciously before being taken away by the constables: "Zhiwan, you will die a horrible death, I will haunt you even as a ghost!"

Wei was so angry that she wanted to slap her a few times, but Zhiwan held her back.

"Aunt, she's just making a fuss because she's at her wit's end. There's no need to pay her any attention."

Madam Wei was still furious. "How could our Lu family produce such a beast?" As she said this, she glanced at Old Madam Lu.

As long as that old hag is around, there will never be a day of peace in the mansion.

She thought bitterly, having already made a decision in her heart.

Granny Lin was also taken away by the yamen runners for giving false testimony.

As for Huan'er, although she knew about the crime but did not report it, Ouyang Lei considered that she was willing to testify at a crucial moment and identify the murderer, so he only sentenced her to ten strokes of the cane as punishment.

"Thank you, sir!" Huan'er knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

The truth of the case has now come to light.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, Cousin Zhiwan, your suspicion has been cleared. You can leave now," Ouyang Lei said.

"Young Master Ouyang, thank you so much. We really owe you a lot this time," Zhiwan said sincerely.