Ouyang Lan and Li Zhentian sat in the room and interrogated all the servants one by one. However, after interrogating all the servants, they didn't get any clues. According to Ouyang Lan's arrangement, there are one servant and one maid in one group, exactly five groups. The shift changes every two hours and takes turns waiting outside the door. No one is arranged to wait for orders during Chou and Yin hours. You are not allowed to enter the room when no one is inside. The guard here also said that no outsiders have ever entered or exited the inn. Therefore, the person who stole the things must be someone inside the inn.
At this time, Ouyang Lan, Jian Xin, Li Zhentian and Zhao Shu were discussing in the room, while Li Yu and Li Longzhan were also watching.
Ouyang Lan complained: "I think that woman is the most suspicious!"
Everyone knew that Ouyang Lan was talking about Mrs. Zhou, but no one mentioned it.
Li Longzhan said: "No. My mother has always taught me not to do such sneaky things. I also believe that my mother would never do such a thing."
Li Zhentian said: "Your aunt is just suspicious."
Zhao Shu said: "It can't be the second lady. The owner and his wife's room is on the second floor, while the second lady's room is on the first floor. Someone just said that from the beginning to the end, the second lady has never gone upstairs. .As for stealing at night, the second lady doesn’t know martial arts, so it’s impossible.”
Li Longzhan said: "That's right. I can testify that my mother has never entered your room privately even when my father and aunt were not at the inn."
Ouyang Lan refused to give up, "Could it be that she instructed one of her servants to do it? After all, she used to be from this capital, so it's hard to guarantee that she doesn't have any acquaintances."
Li Zhentian said: "It's unlikely. These servants are all newly recruited. Even if Wei Min can know one or two of them, he can't know them all. We are in a class of two, randomly assigned, and one of them stole , wouldn’t the other person know? Besides, yesterday, people here testified in pairs that no one entered our room when we were away from the inn. "
Ouyang Landao: "That means someone is lying!"
Zhao Shu said: "In fact, we do not rule out the possibility that two people committed the crime. However, if it is true that two people committed the crime, then we can only ask again one by one. Or report it to the official."
Li Zhentian shook his head, "Since I said it today, as long as he takes the initiative to send it back, I will forget about it. If I report it to the official, then this matter cannot be hidden."
Ouyang Lan held her head and shook her head: "This won't work! That won't work either! Let's let Brother Han do it, he has a bright mind!"
Zhao Shu looked at the door and said sternly: "Who?"
I saw a little head sticking out from the other side of the door, it was Mu Lan. After hearing Zhao Shu's shout, Mu Lan walked in bit by bit. Jian Xin said: "Mu Lan, why are you here? Did you see something, hear something, or have any clues?"
Mu Lan shook her head, "I don't have any clues."
Jian Xin was a little frustrated and said: "Then what are you doing here? I can't teach you etiquette now. The top priority now is to find the lost jade belt."
Mu Lan pursed her lips and said, "I have a way. Do you want to try it?"
Ouyang Lan said with great interest: "Tell me about it."
After Mu Lan told everyone the method, Li Zhentian nodded, "You can give it a try. But you have to suffer a little."
Mu Lan replied: "It doesn't matter."
In the afternoon, Ouyang Lan gathered everyone together again and said harsh words: "Okay! You are very tough! You are all not allowed to eat today! If you can't find it for a day, you won't be allowed to eat for a day. I think you can survive it." In a few days. Also, if no one admits it tomorrow, each person will be punished with ten lashes. Just to let you know that if one person commits a crime, everyone will be punished." Then he tossed his sleeves and left.
After Ouyang Lan left, the servants immediately exploded. "Whoever stole it should recognize it! Don't let everyone suffer the punishment with you." "That son of a bitch, his hands are so unclean!" "Bah! It's so unlucky for him to encounter something like this when he comes out." "What if? I will be beaten tomorrow, and when I find this person, I will beat him back even more damn hard!" Such voices started to shout and curse in the crowd. Some of these people were cursing, some were frowning, and a few were uneasy.
Li Zhentian looked at Ouyang Lan's leaving figure and explained to everyone: "Don't be offended, everyone. My wife has such a temper. But don't worry, I will try my best to persuade my wife. However, I still say the same thing, as long as you Take the initiative to hand it over, and I will keep you safe and sound. Let's all disperse." Then he hugged a fist and left. After taking only two steps, he turned around. He shouted to Sister Zhang, the head waiter of the maids, "Sister Zhang, come with me."
Sister Zhang walked over, and Li Zhentian and Sister Zhang walked aside. The servants looked at Li Zhentian and Sister Zhang, but they couldn't hear clearly what they said. After a while, Sister Zhang came back. The servants gathered around Sister Zhang and asked what was going on.
Sister Zhang said: "It's nothing. Mr. Li just asked me for a list of all of us."
After hearing this, all the servants went about their business in despair.
On the next day, Ouyang Lan called everyone together again. Sitting on the chair, he looked at everyone arrogantly and said: "Yesterday, the owner of the village interceded for you. For the sake of the owner, I will allow you to eat."
After hearing this, these servants showed happy expressions on their faces. However, this happiness did not last long before Ouyang Lan said another sentence and was knocked back to the ice cellar.
"I can give you food, but this whip is indispensable." Ouyang Lan stretched out her hand, and Jian Xin handed over a whip. Ouyang Lan took the whip and threw it at Zhao Shu in front of him. Zhao Shu took the whip and Ouyang Lan said: "Ten whips for each person. Including the second lady's maid, Chuntao, is not exempt."
When Chuntao heard this, she immediately complained: "Since I can't be exempted, why can Jianxin be exempted?"
Ouyang Lan retorted: "Jian Xin has served me since she was a child, and I have absolute trust in her. Besides, she wants to cause me the trouble of stealing the jade belt. If she directly poisons my food, I will be defenseless. After eating."
After Chuntao heard this, she looked at Ouyang Lan with resentment.
"What are you looking at! Then let me do the surgery on you first. Zhao Shu, do it."
"Okay, madam." Then, Zhao Shu said to Chuntao, "Miss Chuntao, you'd better turn your back."
Chuntao turned around reluctantly, only to hear the sound of a whip. Chuntao breathed violently, and the heartbreaking pain in her back spread all over her body. Chuntao grinned in pain and turned to look at Ouyang Lan.
Ouyang Lan said lightly: "You'd better twist it back. The beating isn't over yet. If it hurts your face, it won't look good."
Chuntao finally finished the ten lashes. Chuntao wanted to touch her back with her hands, but as soon as she touched it, bursts of pain followed. The numerous whip marks, black and purple, are shocking to look at. The faces of these servants were pale and their legs were shaking.
"No one has admitted it yet, right? Let's do it one by one." Ouyang Lan took out the list given by Sister Zhang yesterday and read each name one by one. These people were all severely beaten with Zhao Shu's whip, even Mu Lan was not spared.
After this flogging, Ouyang Lan said: "Okay. Come one by one, and we will continue the trial."
Ouyang Lan's words were like the whispers of a devil, frightening these people to the extreme. They did not expect that a woman with such a beautiful face would do such a vicious thing. Ouyang Lan continued to read the list and began to review everyone. However, after interrogation, there was still no clue. Ouyang Lan put down her words: "No one has admitted it yet, let's continue tomorrow." She left with Jian Xin. These people were left to endure the pain in their flesh and blood.
At this time, Li Zhentian came out of nowhere and said, "Everyone, I'm sorry. I really tried my best, but my wife, ugh. I'll arrange for someone to prepare some medicinal wine for everyone in a while. Sister Zhang, come here. For a moment." Li Zhentian called Sister Zhang over again and said to her: "Madam has arranged for someone to investigate this matter secretly. I think the truth will come to light soon. Just go and comfort everyone." Then he walked away.
At this time, several people still came to ask Sister Zhang what she had to say. Sister Zhang repeated Li Zhentian's words, but there were obviously not as many people today as there were yesterday.
After Chuntao returned, she told Mrs. Zhou about the incident. Mrs. Zhou found some free time and went to Zui Chun Tower again. She told the matter and said in horror: "She won't be able to fight like this. She will confess us when the time comes."
This matter was arranged by Sister You. One of the maids who went there was named Xiaohong. His father and brother were both scoundrels and gamblers. They sold Xiaohong if they didn't pay back the money they owed. Xiaohong wanted to regain her freedom, so Sister You told her to steal the jade belt. When the shift was about to change, Mrs. Zhou asked the two people who were about to change shifts to move some things and move them away. Because they were just going up and downstairs, and the time was very short, they didn't even have time for half a cup of tea, so these two people also Didn't care. If it was normal, Zhao Shu might have noticed it, but at that time, he happened to be packing money to dry in the house.
Sister You said calmly: "It's not you who stole it, so what are you afraid of? That Xiaohong, even if she had ten courages, she wouldn't dare to confess to me."
Another day passed, and there were only two days left before the new emperor's coronation ceremony. Just like yesterday, everyone was whipped and interrogated again. After the same thing, Li Zhentian called Sister Zhang and said some innocuous words. Today, only a few people came to ask Sister Zhang.
It's another day, and there is only tomorrow before the new emperor's enthronement ceremony. If he can't find it today, tomorrow Li Zhentian will have to go to the emperor to admit his mistake and show mercy, and reward him with a jade belt. Then everyone was whipped and interrogated again. After the same process, Li Zhentian called Sister Zhang. This time Li Zhentian said to Sister Zhang: "We have found the person. You don't have to suffer tomorrow."
After hearing this, Sister Zhang naturally beamed with joy, and then said bitterly: "There are none of us today who are not beaten, but Madam is like this, being beaten for several days in a row is really too much to bear. Master Li, who stole it?" ah?"
"You don't have to worry about this." Li Zhentian said this and left. At this time, only one person, hunched over and enduring severe pain, came to ask Sister Zhang what was going on. After Sister Zhang informed her, she didn't feel happy at all. Instead, her spirits jumped and a trace of panic appeared on her face. The maid was Xiao Hong. All this was watched by Li Zhentian not far away.
In the dead of night, Xiao Hong secretly walked out of the inn and walked to a dilapidated house in the alley. This is her own home, or her former home. When I walked into the house, it seemed that no one had been back for a long time and it was in a mess. Xiaohong secretly took out a jade belt from under the bed. She originally gave the jade belt to Sister You, but she didn't know that Sister You wouldn't accept it and asked Xiaohong to dispose of it by herself, as long as it wasn't discovered. Xiaohong wanted to destroy the jade belt, but the texture of the jade belt was so strong that she couldn't cut it with scissors. Moreover, as Li Zhentian said, this jade belt cannot be resold. Once it is sold, it will be discovered and reported to the official. She began to feel upset. She resented her family, her father and brother, her elder sister You, and everything in the world. She raised the jade belt and planned to smash it to the ground. However, before the jade belt could hit the ground, a gust of wind hit, and Li Zhentian appeared in front of Xiao Hong and snatched the jade belt from Xiao Hong's hand. Xiaohong looked intently at Li Zhentian, and her heart was filled with despair. She took out the scissors from under the sheets and stabbed her stomach. She didn't even utter a cry, but ended with hatred.
Li Zhentian grabbed the jade belt and was happy when he unexpectedly committed suicide. Li Zhentian sighed: "Why bother." He took Yudai back to the inn.
Today is the last day before the new emperor's coronation ceremony. Everyone must be happy that the jade belt was lost and found. Li Zhentian gave heavy rewards to all his servants. To comfort them for their previous suffering. After getting money, those people no longer care about the suffering they suffered in the past few days. As for Xiaohong, everyone knows about it, but the person has committed suicide, and they will not be unsympathetic to a dead person.
In the room, Ouyang Lan said to Mu Lan: "Mu Lan, thanks to your idea, I found this jade belt. In fact, you don't need to be beaten at all. How is your injury?"
"It's okay, it's okay. The second young master gives me medicine every day, and the medicine he gives me is quite effective."
Ouyang Lan smiled interestingly and said, "Of course, this medicine was prepared by Dr. Han. The effect is not comparable to that of ordinary medicine. Let me think about what I can reward you?"
"No need, madam. Mu Lan will never be able to repay your great kindness in her lifetime, so how can she still ask for a reward?"
"That's not okay."
"There's really no need. It's a blessing for me to be able to serve Madam by my side. Tomorrow is the Emperor's enthronement ceremony. Madam, you need to take a good bath today. I'll boil water for you." Mu Lan said and walked out. The door is closed.
Ouyang Lan and Jian Xin smiled.
In the backyard of Zuichun Tower, Sister You said bitterly: "She is smart and ruthless in her actions. I thought this Ouyang Lan was just a foolhardy woman, but I didn't expect her to be so shrewd."
Mrs. Zhou said: "This time it was not her idea, it was the girl you brought with you at that time, her name seems to be Xiaolan."
"That little girl is so smart. I regret sending her away."
"What about now?"
"We can only wait for a while. After the enthronement ceremony, you should return to Luoyang. I will arrange a person for you, and we will continue to contact you then."
