Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

The onlookers glanced at Marquis Anshun, then at Old Madam Yu, who was standing up to Marquis Anshun in court, and their gossipy hearts were immediately stirred.

It seems that the Yu family and Marquis Anshun are not as amicable as the rumors suggest, and there may be some shady dealings unknown to outsiders.

The Yu family panicked as soon as the incident occurred in the previous life. In addition, the Grand Eunuch Yu in the palace also got into trouble at the same time, so no one thought to investigate the truth of the matter.

In a panic, he went to Marquis Anshun and asked him to mediate between the two.

Taking advantage of the situation, Marquis Anshun seized control of the Yu family, and it was only after nearly half of the Yu family's fortune was taken away that the matter was settled.

The Yu family realized that everything in the Marquis's mansion would eventually belong to Lin Tianci and Lin Wanwan. Although they were unhappy that Marquis Anshun wanted to take half of the Yu family's fortune, they did not investigate it further afterward.

With the Yu family's wealth, Marquis Anshun bribed officials and officials, and at a young age, he became the Minister of Justice. Later, he was appointed to the Grand Secretariat and became the youngest powerful minister in the Ming Dynasty.

However, I can finally rest easy this time. Without the Yu family's financial support, Marquis Anshun's dream of becoming the youngest powerful minister in the Ming Dynasty is simply a pipe dream.

"An'an is right. His life will never be as smooth as it was in his last life. Mother will definitely not let him have an easy time."

"You are Tianci and Wanwan's maternal grandparents, would I, the Marquis, possibly harm you?"

When Madam Yu's attitude became firm, Marquis Anshun's attitude softened, and the onlookers outside thought about it.

Yes, for the sake of his two children, Marquis Anshun would never do anything to harm the Yu family.

Madam Yu ignored him and waited quietly for the yamen runners to come and take Cao's body.

In fact, Marquis Anshun had considered having Cao's family silenced before the yamen runners arrived, but he knew that killing Cao's family would be useless, as Liu Quan would definitely implicate him as long as he lived.

If he doesn't admit it, it will only damage his reputation. But if Cao's death is found to be related to him, it will not only damage his reputation, but his official career may also be affected.

"Since you won't listen, I will no longer concern myself with the affairs of the Yu family."

Marquis Anshun feigned helplessness and turned to leave.

"Now that you're here, why don't you listen to who's trying to frame my Yu family? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Yu Laosan was arguably the most impatient member of the Yu family, and couldn't help but step forward when he saw that Marquis Anshun was about to leave.

"This case is none of my business. Standing in the hall will only hinder the Prefect of the Capital from handling the case. I will simply stand outside the hall."

Although he left the courtroom, Marquis Anshun did not leave; he stood outside the courtroom.

He knew that once Liu Quan implicated him, the Prefect of the Capital would definitely order him to be summoned.

If he left now, he might be suspected of having a guilty conscience if the constables called him back later, so he had no intention of leaving.

To say that Marquis Anshun was able to rise to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, his mental fortitude alone was beyond that of ordinary people.

Cao was brought to the courtroom, her whole body trembling like a leaf. When she saw Liu Quan, she tried to walk over, but the bailiffs forced her to kneel on the ground.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

The Prefect of the Capital slammed his gavel, and Lady Cao was so frightened that she prostrated herself on the ground.

"Cao, I ask you, how did you know that the Yu family's shop contained contraband?"

After hearing what the Prefect of the Capital said, Cao immediately looked at Liu Quan, who was kneeling to the side.

Liu Quan kept his head down and didn't even glance at Cao Shi.

Without Liu Quan to advise her, Cao Shi became increasingly flustered and had no choice but to reveal what she knew.

"My lord, I heard it from my husband, Liu Quan, when he was drunk."

Cao dared not hide anything and told them everything she knew.

"Last night, the head of the household got drunk and was boasting to the women at the table that the Yu family's shop had a contraband item on display."

He could gain immense benefits from this alone, but the head of the household didn't say how much, and this humble woman had no idea.

Now everyone understood perfectly well: someone had set a trap for the Yu family, and Liu Quan, as the Yu family's steward, had betrayed them.

Even his wife, Cao, was a tool he used. Knowing that Cao was a big mouth and couldn't keep secrets, he used her mouth to spread the news.

In the Ming Dynasty, anyone who reported contraband was rewarded, so Cao said that being reported was a very normal thing.

If someone reports it to the government, the yamen will handle it. It's a normal procedure to search Yu's antique shop for contraband.

If the Yu family hadn't been so meticulous in their investigation, they might have suffered a major setback this time.

"Liu Quan, what else do you have to say? Who ordered you to do this? Confess now!"

"Sir, I was just talking nonsense. No one instructed me; it was just a coincidence."

Not only would the Prefect of the Capital not believe this, but probably not a single commoner listening to the trial outside would believe it either.

"How dare you! Even now you still dare to deceive me! Guards, bring on the torture!"

Soon, bailiffs stepped forward and placed Liu Quan on a bench. The board fell on Liu Quan's buttocks and back one stroke after another, and the entire courtroom was filled with Liu Quan's screams of agony.

Cao Shi became even more terrified, cowering to the side, unable to bear looking at Liu Quan's miserable state.

No one present sympathized with him; what was there to pity about a treacherous servant?

Marquis Anshun's hands, hidden under his sleeves, tightened and loosened repeatedly, but his face remained calm.

"Sir, I'll tell you."

When the thirtieth stroke landed, Liu Quan simply couldn't take it anymore.

The Prefect of the Capital raised his hand, and the bailiffs who were about to administer the beating stepped aside.

"Tell me, who exactly ordered you to do this?"

"It is...it is Marquis Anshun."

Everyone looked at Marquis Anshun, who was standing in front of the people, while Marquis Anshun coldly looked at Liu Quan.

"How dare a lowly slave try to bite me? Don't you even know if you're worthy of me?"

The Yu family and the Marquis of Anshun's household are related by marriage; I have no reason to harm the Yu family.

Even the Prefect of the Capital couldn't understand how the investigation had ended up with the Marquis of Anshun; it simply didn't make sense.

"Liu Quan, do you have any evidence to support your claim?"

"Yes, Marquis Anshun promised to give me one thousand taels if I could accomplish this for him."

He had previously given the young man five hundred taels of silver, and the silver note was in the young man's pocket, promising to give him the remaining five hundred taels after the matter was settled.

A yamen runner stepped forward, took five one-hundred-tael silver notes from Liu Quan's pocket, and presented them to the Prefect of the Capital.

The banknotes were neither new nor old, and their origin could not be traced at all.

"My lord, this is a complete slander against me. I did not do such a thing."

The common people looked at Marquis Anshun, then at Liu Quan, who was slumped on a bench, and were almost confused. The more they tried to understand the case, the more confusing it became.

"Liu Quan, do you have any other evidence to prove that Marquis Anshun instructed you?"

Marquis Anshun was very confident about this. He only asked Liu Quan to do things for him, without telling him the purpose of doing so, so Liu Quan had no idea.

He initially thought the matter was simple, which is why he took charge of it personally.

If he had known the matter would escalate to this extent, he would never have personally met with Liu Quan.

"My lord, I have evidence."