mtl008 Chapter 430 Conclusive Evidence
Chapter 430 Conclusive Evidence
Soon, Shi Ying, expressionless, presented a dark wooden box and placed it on the table in the center of the hall.
Old Madam Lu's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and a strong sense of unease gripped her.
The timing of the box's appearance and Yuan Wan's resolute expression made her feel that things were far more complicated than they appeared.
Yuan Wanru stretched out her delicate hand and gently opened the box lid.
She took out a piece of paper, glanced at it, and read it aloud in a clear and cold voice: "On the third day of the twelfth lunar month last year, Chunxing, a maid in the Zhou family, suddenly suffered a hemorrhage in the mansion and died. The Zhou family did not report it to the authorities and secretly gave her family members money to keep quiet."
"Your aunt must remember this matter vividly, right?"
Lu Yuxiu's pupils suddenly contracted, as if bitten by a venomous snake, and she shrieked in denial: "Nonsense! I don't know what you're talking about! What Chunxing? I don't know her!"
Yuan Wanru's lips curled into a faint, cold smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes: "Aunt has a terrible memory."
"It seems that human life is indeed as worthless as grass in my aunt's eyes. No wonder she could raise such a heartless beast as Zhou Jianming!"
Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a sharp question: "Why did Chunxing suffer from postpartum hemorrhage?"
"Because she's carrying Zhou Jianming's bastard child!"
“Aunt, for the sake of your son’s ‘innocent reputation’ and ‘bright future,’ you didn’t hesitate to order someone to force-feed her a bowl of potent poison! That’s how you ended that girl’s life! You have such a cruel heart!”
"You're spouting nonsense! You're spouting nonsense!"
Lu Yuxiu, acting as if she had gone mad, pointed at Yuan Wanru and screamed, "You shameless woman! Don't even think about throwing mud at my son!"
Wang Min gasped. Ever since she married into the Lu family, her relationship with Lu Yuxiu had been lukewarm.
In her youth, Lu Yuxiu was just like the old lady Lu—selfish, mean, and ungrateful. She never knew she could be so contemptuous of human life.
Zhou Fang was also secretly alarmed. She dared not say that she was a good person, but compared to Lu Yuxiu, she seemed to really be considered a good person.
Are the lives of those maids not lives too?
Yuan Wanru ignored Lu Yuxiu's hysteria, steadily picked up the second piece of paper, and spoke clearly, her voice like ice beads falling on a jade plate: "It seems that Aunt really doesn't remember. Then, Aunt must also say that she doesn't remember the matter of Qiuyue, the maid of the Zhou family, who drowned herself in the well in January this year?"
Before Lu Yuxiu could react, she continued reading: "Qiuyue had feelings for the young man next door, but Zhou Jianming forcibly defiled her! Her innocence was ruined, and she had no will to live, so she chose to commit suicide! A vibrant life was thus lost to your son's lust!"
Then, Yuan Wanru picked up the third piece of paper, which seemed to carry a heavy burden of injustice: "This piece of paper is about Caihe, a peasant girl. Zhou Jianming coveted her beauty and kidnapped her in broad daylight!"
"She was released three days later, but Caihe, unable to bear the humiliation, hanged herself on the day she returned home!"
After reading these words, Yuan Wanru felt a surge of anger rising within her.
She suddenly grabbed the celadon teacup beside her and slammed it hard on the ground!
"Bang—crash!"
The ear-piercing cracking sound made everyone's heart skip a beat!
The flying shards of porcelain were like her erupting rage.
Yuan Wanru pointed at Zhou Jianming, whose face was ashen, and shouted angrily, "Zhou Jianming! Open your dog eyes and see clearly! In this box, there are written records in black and white, detailing the seven or eight lives you owe! You have a mountain of blood debts! How can you still sleep soundly at night?! Is your heart made of stone?!"
"You wretch! It's all fake! It's all a fabrication by you, you poisonous woman!"
Zhou Jianming was completely enraged. His eyes were bloodshot, and he roared like a trapped beast, struggling to pounce, but Xuan Ying held him down firmly.
His face was a mixture of extreme fear and frantic hatred. His crushed hand flailed futilely, the wound reopening and bleeding profusely.
Yuan Wanru gestured to Shi Ying to bring the dark wooden box to Lu Bai, her voice clear and firm: "Second Uncle, please take a look."
“These are not just empty words from me. Every single case is a copy of the case file that has been investigated and confirmed by the local government in Jiangnan. The official seal of the government is clearly stamped on them.”
Lu Bai solemnly took the wooden box, took a deep breath, and then quickly flipped through the thick stack of lawsuits, testimonies, and official documents.
The more he looked, the more ashen his face became, his brows furrowed tightly, and his hand holding the paper trembled slightly with anger.
In a short while, he had finished reading through the charges in the box.
"Snapped!"
Lu Bai slammed the last sheet of paper onto the table, his chest heaving violently. He glared at the limp Zhou Jianming, his voice trembling with rage: "Zhou Jianming! You...you're utterly depraved! You're worse than a beast!"
Lu Yuxiu was surprised that Lu Bai did not refute Yuan Wanru's words.
This means that those papers really...
"The official seal...it really is the official seal..."
Zhou Jianming had also thought of this problem, and his last glimmer of hope was completely crushed.
His face drained of all color, as if all the bones had been removed. He collapsed, screaming in despair, "It's all over! It's all over! Mother! Save me! I don't want to go to jail! I don't want to die!"
Lu Yuxiu hugged her son tightly, crying her heart out: "My son! My son! No! Mother won't let you go to jail! Mother has money! Lots of money! Even if Mother has to give up everything, I will definitely get you out! Mother will protect you... Mother will protect you..."
She spoke incoherently, as if clutching at her last straw, her voice shrill and helpless.
The smug look on Madam Lu's face had vanished, replaced by extreme shock and disbelief.
She gripped Granny Cao's arm tightly, supporting her swaying body, her eyes fixed on Yuan Wanru, her voice shrill as she demanded, "Yuan! How...how did you get these things?! Where did you get them?!"
Faced with her questioning, Yuan Wanru remained calm and composed, even with a faint smile playing on her lips: "That's a good question, Madam."
Her gaze swept over the mother and son who had collapsed on the ground, her tone tinged with a cold mockery, "It's all your fault, my good grandson, that you provoked me on your very first day you stepped into the Marquis's mansion."
Her gaze suddenly turned sharp as a knife, as if it could rip out one's heart and lungs: "His eyes are so unclean. From the first time he looked at me with those eyes, I wanted to gouge them out."
Yuan Wanru paused, her tone returning to calm, yet even more chilling, "However, I am a reasonable person. I can't just gouge out someone's eyes for no reason, can I? That's why... I sent someone on horseback to my hometown in Jiangnan for a proper 'visit'."
She gently stroked the smooth surface of the wooden box, as if recounting a trivial matter: "It's quite a coincidence, I only got my hands on this evidence this morning."
She spoke those last few words casually, yet they struck Old Madam Lu's heart like a hammer blow, making her instantly realize that the entire bet was a trap tailor-made for her from beginning to end.