Five Years After My Death, the Mad Emperor Still Summons My Spirit

Chapter 224: Chapter 224: "I’m Afraid Miss Qin Will Have to Take a Trip to the Ministry of Justice.

"That’s right, I saw it too."

"This young lady isn’t lying. My aunt and I were out shopping today and came to this Treasure Pearl Pavilion, and my aunt suffered an unprovoked attack. Her arm is still covered in blood!"

"Officer, I saw it too. It was this Miss Qin who assaulted someone in the street. She’s just as vicious as the rumors say..."

Hearing these words, Ma Dali turned his head to look at Qin Lingzhi.

At this point, even without a response from the Shopkeeper of Treasure Pearl Pavilion, the situation was already quite clear.

"In that case, Miss Qin, please come with me to Jingzhao Mansion," Ma Dali said. "According to Dayan Law, those who commit assault in the streets, even if no one is killed, will be detained and sentenced according to the circumstances."

Qin Lingzhi retorted, "Do you know who I am? How dare you keep talking about taking me away?"

Hu Yuwan also stepped forward at this moment. "My sister-in-law was just playing a joke on everyone. She can be a bit heavy-handed and accidentally hurt someone. Taking her to Jingzhao Mansion seems a bit unreasonable, don’t you think? The young lady of the Huaihua General Mansion can’t just be taken away by anyone."

"The people from Jingzhao Mansion can’t take Miss Qin away, but what about me?!"

Just as Hu Yuwan finished speaking, a man’s voice suddenly came from the entrance.

Ming Lingyi and Cai Jie both turned around. Upon seeing who had arrived, Cai Jie visibly relaxed, and a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

Jiang Yuchuan strode in through the main door of Treasure Pearl Pavilion. His gaze first fell on Ming Lingyi, but he quickly moved to Cai Jie’s side. He looked down, his brow furrowed slightly. "Did anyone give you trouble? Are you hurt? I heard there was a disturbance here while I was still at the Ministry of Justice. I remembered you were planning to visit some jewelry shops today, so I rushed over."

Cai Jie shook her head. "I’m not hurt, but many of the common people who came to the shop to watch us bid against Miss Qin were injured."

When Jiang Yuchuan appeared, Qin Lingzhi’s eyes were fixed on him.

If Qin Lingzhi had once held a bit of admiration for Jiang Yuchuan, after the incident at Qinglong Temple, she had long since come to see him as an enemy.

She was especially displeased now, seeing Jiang Yuchuan dote on a country girl like Cai Jie while treating her as if she were thin air.

"So what if I hurt people?" Qin Lingzhi said. "My sister-in-law already explained that it was an accident. Besides, she also guaranteed that the Qin Family can afford to pay the medical expenses for anyone injured in the shop today."

Hearing this, Jiang Yuchuan finally turned to face Qin Lingzhi.

"Miss Qin." His voice was clear and cold. "The Dayan Law clearly states: ’He who injures another in the streets shall be imprisoned for one year. If the injury results in disability, the sentence is increased by three degrees; if it results in death, the sentence is execution.’"

Jiang Yuchuan paused, then responded to Qin Lingzhi’s previous sophistry. "Article 243 of the law specifically notes—’He who unintentionally injures another shall have his crime reduced by two degrees, but must still be punished.’ Which is to say..."

Qin Lingzhi’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the corner of her skirt. She glared at Jiang Yuchuan, but he ignored her.

"Which is to say," Jiang Yuchuan took half a step forward, his figure casting a long shadow on the bluestone floor of Treasure Pearl Pavilion, "even if it was an accident as you claim, according to the law, you would still be sentenced to four months of imprisonment. What’s more..."

He suddenly produced a complaint from his sleeve, the ink still wet. "Perhaps you are unaware, but when you were injuring people with your whip just now, the victims weren’t limited to those still here. One woman was struck across the side of her face by your whip and has already gone to seek medical treatment."

"The victim’s family has already submitted a petition to the Ministry of Justice, stating that you shouted ’Get out of the way!’ as you swung your whip. Those four words are enough to prove you knew people were in front of you and still lashed out, injuring them. The claim of it being ’unintentional’ will be difficult to uphold."

Jiang Yuchuan looked coldly at Qin Lingzhi, whose face had changed, as if she were finally learning the meaning of fear. He delivered his conclusion, "So, today, Miss Qin, you truly don’t need to go to Jingzhao Mansion. Instead, you’ll be taking a trip to the Ministry of Justice with me!"

A sudden clap of thunder echoed outside. The perfectly fine weather seemed to turn exceptionally muggy and humid, as if a great storm was about to break.

But even this thunderous omen wasn’t enough to make the onlookers in Treasure Pearl Pavilion quickly leave for home.

Ma Dali and the others were also stunned. They hadn’t expected a case for their Jingzhao Mansion to now apparently become a case for the Ministry of Justice.

Hu Yuwan stepped forward. "So it is Lord Shaoqing. But weren’t your words just now a bit too severe? My sister-in-law is merely young and naive..."

Before Hu Yuwan could finish, Jiang Yuchuan cut her off coldly. "Being young and naive is no excuse for Miss Qin to ignore the laws of the Dayan Dynasty."

Hu Yuwan: "..."

She was now beginning to understand why Qin Lingzhi had detested this distinguished-looking Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice so much since returning from Qinglong Temple.

’What woman would possibly like a man so blunt, one who doesn’t give her any face?’

’But, even if we go to the Ministry of Justice...’

Hu Yuwan shot a glance at Qin Lingzhi, clearly trying to placate her.

Even if they really went to the Ministry of Justice right now, she was confident she could get her out unharmed.

’So what if Jiang Yuchuan is the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice?’

"Fine," Hu Yuwan nodded. "But before you take my sister-in-law to the Ministry of Justice, I have a presumptuous request."

"Please speak," Jiang Yuchuan said.

Hu Yuwan covered her mouth with her hand and smiled. "It’s nothing major, really. Today, I was bidding against Boss Ming here. Based on the outcome, it seems Boss Ming has won. It’s not that I doubt Boss Ming’s character, of course, it’s just that my sister-in-law is also truly fond of this set of Dongzhu pearls. If, when the time comes to complete the transaction, Boss Ming finds himself temporarily unable to produce that much gold, I would be more than happy to help."

Hearing this, Cai Jie grew a little nervous and whispered into Ming Lingyi’s ear, "She doesn’t want to stay and help at all. She clearly just wants to watch us make a fool of ourselves..."

Cai Jie wasn’t sure if Ming Lingyi could actually produce twenty-five taels of gold.

In her eyes, even one tael of gold was an immense amount, yet Ming Lingyi was now about to spend over twenty taels of gold on a set of Dongzhu pearls for her.

If Ming Lingyi hadn’t stopped her from interjecting earlier, she definitely would have put a stop to this absurd bidding war.

Even if it meant losing some face, she didn’t want Ming Lingyi to spend so extravagantly because of her.

And for such a huge sum of gold, no less.

After saying this, Cai Jie looked toward Jiang Yuchuan with a complicated expression.

She was, of course, hoping that once Jiang Yuchuan understood the situation, he would be able to dissuade Ming Lingyi.

However, Jiang Yuchuan was still unaware of how much money Ming Lingyi had spent on this set of Dongzhu pearls, nor did he know it was a special trousseau gift for Cai Jie’s wedding, so he immediately nodded.