My husband faked his death so I could remarry, but I got involved with my crazy brother and can'

The prefect didn't dare make Su Yingxue kneel, and since Su Yingxue didn't have an official title, he had to let her stand aside.

Su Yingxue said calmly, "My lord, please investigate."

Manager Liu suddenly spoke up: "What nonsense are you talking about? We clearly saw you smashing my lady's carriage this morning! At first, we wanted to stop you, but you had weapons, so we didn't dare to go forward."

"Sir, they are not ordinary people at all; they possess martial arts skills. Moreover, they have markings on their bodies."

"Yes! They have tattoos! I saw it clearly this morning, it was a blue dragon!"

These words caused an uproar among the people:

"Could it be the Green Dragon Gang? Those are bandits! How can bandits act so ruthlessly? Too bad they've bitten off more than they can chew this time."

"Who says otherwise? I originally thought this was just another case of an official's wife oppressing the people, but I never expected there to be such a twist."

"Does this woman even need to be bullied? You probably haven't heard of her infamous reputation. Even if she were to kill someone on the spot, the prefect couldn't punish her. She's a notorious wicked woman from the capital, infamous for her infamy. This time, her actions can be considered as following the rules."

The crowd whispered among themselves, their gazes toward Su Yingxue filled with either awe or fear.

Upon learning of this, the prefect exclaimed, "Investigate!"

The group immediately changed their expressions and tried to leave, but were stopped by the constables.

The constables were no match for them, and several men rushed out, only to be brought back by guards in royal blue official robes in no time.

Their faces were bruised and swollen, bearing the marks of being disciplined.

Now that she looks so well-behaved, she must have been taught a lesson.

The prefect felt a wave of fear wash over him, and when he saw the man being brought back, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"My lord, we've brought the man back. This kind of person, who bullies our Duke's mansion by taking advantage of our lack of manpower and tarnishing the reputation of our Criminal Investigation Division, has been ordered by the Heir Apparent to be dealt with leniently!"

"Rest assured, I will certainly handle the case impartially."

The prefect rose and bowed, then sat down.

Several people were found to have blue marks on their arms.

"They really are from the Green Dragon Gang?! Mountain bandits?! Has the Second Madam done a good deed this time? The Green Dragon Gang is known for all sorts of evil deeds in the eyes of the people!"

"That's right, they often come to my house to steal clothes. A few days ago they even stole my wife's undergarment..."

"They even eat without paying! My stall has lost a lot of money because of them, they deserve to die!"

The people immediately spoke up, their faces filled with disgust for the Green Dragon Gang.

"What did you say? They've all been arrested? And now they're in court?"

Su Zhirou was devastated when she learned of this.

She had initially thought those people were so capable that they were impossible to catch, but now it seemed impossible.

"Yes, Madam, I heard that the young master sent men to arrest them, saying he disliked them for tarnishing the reputation of the Criminal Investigation Department." Dong Rong said anxiously, "What can we do now?"

Su Zhirou gritted her teeth: "What else can we do? Just find someone to take the blame for the mastermind and pay compensation."

"But those things are worth at least 10,000 gold coins. If we take them out, the dowry chest will be empty." Dong Rong felt very distressed.

Although it wasn't her own dowry, her wife was still poor, and she didn't have a good life either.

"What can we do? If we don't find someone to take the blame, we'll go to jail!"

"I am the Crown Prince's consort, how can I go to jail?"

If it's just losing money, that's one thing, but if it's losing face for the Duke's mansion, how will I ever have a good life again?

"Go and make the arrangements for the private vault right now. Remember, you have to make it in time," Su Zhirou urged urgently.

Dong Rong accepted the order and rushed out.

At that time, the people in the yamen were already indignant. The prefect raised his gavel and everyone fell silent.

"Speak, who exactly ordered this?"

He didn't believe they would deliberately offend the nobles.

The people on Qinglong Mountain were already in grave danger because of their evil deeds. If they offended the noble family, wouldn't they be courting death?

"We left Qinglong Mountain a long time ago and have nothing to do with it. It was definitely someone who instructed us."

Seeing that he couldn't gain any advantage, the burly man in the lead spoke up to defend himself.

Su Yingxue stood to the side, watching with a smile, already having her answer in her heart.

I wonder if Su Zhirou is done yet. She's moving so slowly, it's not fun at all.

"yes......"

"It's me!"

The newcomer was a woman dressed rather elegantly. She stepped forward, knelt down, and said in a firm voice, "I ordered it!"

"Why?" the prefect asked.

"As you all know, this lady has a bad reputation. Her horse once disturbed my mother-in-law on the streets of the capital, causing her to be ill at home ever since. I only wanted to vent my anger for her, which is why I resorted to this drastic measure."

"I am willing to compensate for the losses; please, Your Honor, investigate this matter thoroughly!"

"Look closely, isn't it this woman who instigated this?" Su Yingxue asked calmly.

The group exchanged glances and nodded: "It is indeed a veiled woman, and her build is quite similar to the person in front of us."

"In that case, let's discuss the compensation."

Su Yingxue never intended to use this incident to expose Su Zhirou; from beginning to end, she only wanted to extort money from her dowry.

"Here is ten thousand taels of gold, enough to compensate the Second Madam."

The woman raised her hand, and immediately a servant stepped forward and presented her with gold.

Everyone was dazzled and filled with envy.

"Speaking of wealth, the second wife is truly the richest; even a casual carriage of hers is worth a fortune."

"Who can argue with that? But this woman is really strange. Why would she do something so thankless and exhausting? Couldn't she keep the money for herself? Why did she have to give it away to someone else?"

"Isn't it just doing my part to show filial piety? What else could it be for?"

The prefect didn't speak, but looked at Su Yingxue beside him.

Su Yingxue chuckled: "Who said that just because my carriage is worth ten thousand gold pieces, you only need to pay ten thousand gold pieces in compensation?"

"How much more do you want?" the woman asked, frowning.

She only brought ten thousand taels of gold with her.

Su Yingxue raised her lips: "Of course, there's also the emotional distress, lost work time, and even the carpenter's and the horse's money."

"That carriage was made by the best master craftsman in the capital, and even the horses were top-quality horses that I specially sent people to transport back from the ancient grasslands."

"Not only that, my people were frightened because of what you did. Shouldn't you take responsibility?"

"Including me, I should have been at home managing the accounts. I earn at least a thousand gold coins a day just from the accounts. You've delayed me for half a day, so let's say five hundred gold coins."

"All things considered, an extra five thousand gold coins would be just right, no more, no less."

"What?!" The woman was completely taken aback. "You want fifteen thousand taels of gold?! Why don't you just rob me?!"

"Besides, you also framed the Bureau of Arrest and Expedition, so you should give some compensation. As for whether the Crown Prince will pursue the matter, that's another matter. I only want my compensation."

As Su Yingxue spoke, Xia Zhi chimed in, "Who says otherwise? My lady has never had any grudge against you, and this little matter is no reason for you to damage my property and frame the Arrest Bureau! Even if this matter goes to His Majesty, we will still be in the right!"

Upon hearing the words "framing the Arresting Department," the prefect immediately nodded: "Indeed, this is not a reason for you to damage the Duke's carriage. You'd better pay the money back quickly, so you can avoid imprisonment."

"Or are you planning to pay off your debts with criminal charges? Not only you, but your family, even your mother-in-law, will be implicated. You're so filial, surely you wouldn't do that?"