After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Chapter 223 Clear Rewards and Punishments (Part 2)

"Xiao Heng, are you a member of the royal family?"

"No, my original name was Wu Heng. I was expelled from the Wu family for making a mistake, but fortunately His Highness the Crown Prince took me in and bestowed upon me the surname Xiao. My only relationship with the royal family is that of master and servant. His Highness is the master, and I am the servant."

"Let me think about why you were expelled from the Wu family." Lu Zhiyuan clicked her tongue twice: "You are an adopted child from the eldest branch of the Wu family, and the identity of your biological parents is unknown. After your parents passed away, your second and third uncles coveted your family's property and, on the grounds that you were not of Wu family blood, colluded with the head of the Wu clan to expel you from the Wu family. You felt indignant and cried out your grievances in the street, but fortunately, the Crown Prince took you back to the Eastern Palace."

Xiao Heng said, "I have never done anything to wrong Your Highness."

Lu Zhiyuan pointed at the ledger in front of him: "You have backbone and disdain to collude with them. The fake ledger was made overnight, and not only is it covered in ink stains, but it's also so fake that it's laughable. I've seen the real ledger, and there's nothing wrong with it. This land deed is yours, and I've gotten back what belongs to you for you."

Xiao Heng looked at the land deed and was slightly moved.

He didn't care about the house, the livestock, or who owned anything else. He only cared about this piece of land, where his parents and grandparents were buried. They had treated him exceptionally well, like their own son. Because he had been driven away, he wasn't even allowed to visit their graves. After several years, he was finally able to kneel before his parents' and grandparents' graves and kowtow.

Xiao Heng held the land deed and sincerely and respectfully kowtowed.

"I, Xiao Heng, hereby pledge allegiance to His Highness the Crown Prince and to His Highness the Crown Princess from this day forward. If I break this oath, I will have Guard Lu bury me alive and the Xie brothers skin me alive."

"Just be loyal to Your Highness, and Your Highness will protect me."

The gold ingot was given to the third steward, whose father was seriously ill and needed a hundred-year-old ginseng. This ginseng was not only extremely expensive, but its authenticity was also questionable. Lu Zhiyuan gave him not only the gold ingot but also a letter. With this letter, he could purchase the finest ginseng from any of the Xie or Lu family's clinics.

He did indeed falsify the accounts, but not the major expenses. There was some embezzlement, but not much, and it was all used to pay for his father's medical treatment.

The silver ingots were given to the fourth steward, whose son needed money for his wedding, but he couldn't raise enough from relatives and friends to meet the bride's family's demands. He falsified major expenses and also stole items to resell, but instead of spending the money, he secretly returned it to the treasury. He made a mistake, acknowledged it, and corrected it; he deserves a reward.

Seeing that the first four people had all received something, the fifth person chuckled and rubbed his hands together.

Lu Zhiyuan turned around, picked up the bloodstained dagger, and severed his tendons. The fifth steward gasped in pain and protested, "Your Majesty said you would forgive and forget! Although I falsified the accounts, I did not spend a single penny of the money on the books. I am not satisfied with Your Majesty's treatment of me."

"You didn't spend a single penny; you wanted to spend but couldn't. Your false accounts all belong to the shops. On the surface, the shops are open every day but barely break even. In reality, the shops aren't breaking even; they're losing money. You were afraid His Highness would hold you accountable, so you sided with those officials who had grievances against His Highness and wanted to depose the Crown Prince, using information from the Eastern Palace to obtain funds to cover the deficit. His Highness's several close calls were all related to you!"

The fifth steward shook his head: "I did not, Your Majesty, please do not slander me."

"Slander? You dare say you didn't have any dealings with the Prince of Yong'an's men?"

“Those are all things of the past! My original intention was good; it was for Your Highness’s shop.”

"To do those dirty things like buying and selling people just for His Highness's shop?"

"No, I didn't do that. I just helped the children from poor families find homes."

"Find a home for a poor man's child? Not bad, that's a good reason." Lu Zhiyuan glanced at the steward: "Give him a packet of mute medicine and find him a new master. Remember, he must have a house and be well-fed and clothed."

“No need for Brother Lu to move, I’ll do it!” Han Ting picked him up and said, “I know where there are such places. Don’t worry, you’ll be better off than those kids.”

The fifth steward had a bad feeling and was about to run away when Han Ting grabbed him by the neck and shoved a pill into his throat. The pill was bitter and astringent, and when he swallowed it, his entire throat felt like it was on fire.

Seeing the fifth manager's miserable state, the sixth began to kowtow and beg for mercy, voluntarily admitting his mistakes. Lu Zhiyuan reached out, and Liu Ying handed over the handcuffs.

The sixth steward quickly caught him and voluntarily went to the government office to turn himself in.

By the time everything was settled, it was already noon.

After asking Qingzhi, Lu Zhiyuan learned that the Crown Prince had not yet left court. She instructed Lu Yun and the others to handle the aftermath, while she and Liuying went to greet him at the East Palace gate. Even if they were a fake couple, newlyweds should still put on a show of affection. Just as they caught a glimpse of a shadow, the steward rushed over, and upon asking, they learned that a nanny had hanged herself.

The old woman in charge of spices had noticed that many of the spices purchased for the household had been replaced, according to the account books. He consulted someone knowledgeable about spices, who told him that some were not only of inferior or fake quality, but also contained spices that looked similar but were actually poisonous. He couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if the household's incense makers had turned these spices into incense and powder, and then burned or sprinkled them in important areas of the mansion.

He wanted to find the nanny in charge of the matter to get to the bottom of things, but the nanny hanged herself.

The steward dared not delay and quickly came to inform Lu Zhiyuan.

When they arrived at the backyard, it was already surrounded by many people, three layers deep. The steward gestured for everyone to disperse, and Lu Zhiyuan led Liuying into the room. It was a very ordinary servant's room. The old woman had hung a white silk ribbon from the beam, stood on a wooden stool, and stuck her head inside. Judging from the marks on the beam, the old woman had struggled before her death, consistent with suicide by hanging.

The wooden stool looked like it had been kicked over during a struggle; one corner was damaged, but the damaged part was new and stained with water. Not far from the hanging was a table, its surface clean, with only a teapot on it. The water in the teapot was warm, indicating that the old woman had sat here drinking tea before hanging herself, but there were no teacups on the tray.

The firefly looked around and found teacups in a wooden basin. There was a teapot and four cups, all soaking in the basin. There were water stains in the basin, and judging from the color of the water stains, the teacups had been washed and then poured out. However, there were still tea stems stuck in one of the cups.

“Your Highness, this teacup is rather strange,” Liu Ying said. “The water in the teapot is warm, which means that the old woman wanted to drink tea. Tea needs a teacup, and the teacup is placed in these wooden basins. There are tea leaves on the teacup, which means that the cup has been used. If it has been used, why didn’t she clean it before she died? Look at the furnishings in this room, the old woman is not the kind of person who is sloppy. On the contrary, she likes to keep everything neat and tidy.”

The teacups were washed hastily, and the person who washed them probably wasn't a maid. If they wanted to cover it up, why not wash the teacups properly? Why the rush? Was the King of Hell on their deathbed?

With a "whoosh," he picked up the teacup from the wooden basin and examined it closely.

The old lady wasn't drinking alone; she had invited someone to enjoy tea with her. This person was a close friend of hers. Judging from the cups, two of them were used more frequently and had symbols marked on them.

If the old woman did not commit suicide, then the person who drank with her must have killed her.