Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved

Chapter 147: Chapter 147 Our Little Sister, It’s Her
 

Lady Wang shouted, refusing to admit the accusations from the midwife and the mountain bandit man, adamant that the two were framing her.

The Second Prince ordered the paper that served as a token to be presented to the Minister of Dali Temple and the Minister of Punishment.

The Minister of Dali Temple had someone bring pen and ink, and asked Lady Wang to write a few characters as in the letter.

Lady Wang’s fingers pretended to tremble, so the characters she wrote naturally looked somewhat different.

But the Minister of Dali Temple, Sikong Fu, scrutinized them carefully for a moment, squinting his sharp eyes as he looked towards Lady Wang.

Lady Wang’s heart skipped a beat, feeling as if Sikong Fu had seen right through her.

“Lord Sikong, have you discerned anything?” asked the Second Prince.

Sikong Fu passed the two pieces of paper to Su Yuting behind him, “Yuting, you tell us.”

Su Yuting glanced at them and said, “The content on these two pieces of paper is from the same person. A person’s handwriting might change over time, but their writing habits generally don’t. Judging by the character shapes, brushstroke structure, and stroke directions, it can be verified that they were written by the same person.”

“You’re lying! That letter couldn’t have been written by me! This is a setup, a frame-up!” Lady Wang yelled.

However, the Minister of Punishment, Jia Shibai, picked up the two pieces of paper and spoke after looking at them:

“I feel that the handwriting on these does not come from the same person. Moreover, there is no signature or seal of Lady Wang on the letter. Relying solely on handwriting that is only thirty to forty percent similar cannot be used as physical evidence.”

Lady Wang immediately became arrogant:

“Lord Jia has keen insight! How could I be such a wicked person! These two lowly people must have been instigated by evil-doers to deliberately frame me, they must be severely tortured to confess their backer!”

The old woman and the man panicked at once, for they were merely accomplices and guilty as such. Prince Ling had promised them amnesty if they were willing to identify Lady Wang.

But they did not expect that the Minister of Punishment would side with Lady Wang; after severe torture, how would they still be alive?

However, since they had been roughed up by the Prince Mansion guards, no matter how panicked they were, they dared not look at Prince Ling.

A trace of triumph appeared on the face of the Second Prince.

With such paltry evidence, daring to come to the Prefecture Yamen to confront them, his Eldest Imperial Brother was still too naive.

Who would have expected that the always stern-faced General Fu would suddenly speak up:

“Fu Baozhu is not my daughter. Ah Jiu is my biological daughter. From the first moment I laid eyes on her, I felt the pull of our blood relation. I have been mistaken for sixteen years, and I will not continue the mistake. No matter how you argue, take Fu Baozhu away. From now on, Ah Jiu will enter the genealogy of the Fu Family!”

He wanted to avenge his deceased wife, but it was clear that the Second Prince was on the side of Yongning Marquis Mansion, and today, he might not be able to bring Lady Wang to justice.

But he did not want to keep making mistakes; he was convinced that Ah Jiu was his biological daughter.

Despite, despite the fact that Ah Jiu hadn’t spoken a word to him today.

The truth was already apparent; General Fu did not need so-called evidence. He only knew that he had to acknowledge his biological daughter.

“Father! What are you saying! How can you listen to their nonsense!”

Fu Baozhu screamed shrilly, her face turning both pale and green.

“I am your and mother’s biological daughter! How could Murong Jiu possibly be related to you by blood! Brothers! Say something! Didn’t you always love Baobao the most?”

Fu Baozhu was indeed panicked, afraid that General Fu would disown her.

Even if this matter of acknowledging ancestry was postponed until after she married into the Western Regions, she wouldn’t have said anything.

Having raised her for sixteen years, could she really not compare to Murong Jiu, this person who had suddenly appeared?

“You are not our sister.”

Fu Heng’s voice was cold.

Fu Sheng and Fu Han were equally indifferent to her.

Fu Sheng looked at Murong Jiu, “Our sister is her.”

Murong Jiu pursed her lips, her heart was also agitated.

Today she appeared very calm, but in reality, her emotions were constantly churning. She knew the guilt that General Fu and his sons felt towards her, they suffered greatly upon learning the truth.

The death of her biological mother had always been an unhealed scar in the heart of General Fu. To brutally tear it open again was just too cruel.

But to restore the truth of the facts, there was no other way.

Murong Jiu couldn’t help but think of the deaths of the Fu Family in her previous life.

It was an even more tragic event.

And their deaths seemed to be inextricably linked to her.

On her deathbed, the Second Prince had said that her father and brothers all died because of her.

It must have been that the Second Prince used her as a threat, leading to that tragic outcome.

She said, “Facts speak louder than words. The things that have been done cannot be erased by a few words of cunning defense. Today we will settle this grudge; Lady Wang will have to eat the bitter fruits she sowed herself.”

Lady Wang angrily retorted, “How dare you speak to me like this! I am your real mother! Now that you have become Princess Consort Ling, do you despise the poor and love the rich? You crawled out from my womb—I almost lost my life giving birth to you! Maybe it is you who killed the General’s wife! Misfortune befalls anyone who associates with you!”

Lady Wang’s mouth was too foul, and whether it was the effect of the slow poison, she was becoming increasingly agitated and her words grew more spiteful.

“You caused your grandfather’s death not long after you were born. It is no wonder that the fortune teller called you a disaster star. Prince Ling, just you wait. Associating with her will bring you no good end; she will be the death of you all!”

Although she knew that Lady Wang was intentionally saying such venomous things to drive a wedge between her and Jun Yuyan, and to make General Fu and his sons despise her as well, she fully knew that Jun Yuyan and General Fu and his sons would not believe it, but her face still turned pale for a moment.

She remembered her previous life.

Jun Yuyan, General Fu, and her four older brothers—all of them met with terrible ends, dying tragically and leaving behind infamy.

She even began to dizzily wonder if she really was a curse, bringing misfortune to all those who cared about her.

“Ah Jiu.”

Jun Yuyan immediately noticed her condition and tightly grasped her hand.

Murong Jiu came back to her senses and shook her head at him, indicating that she was alright.

But the look in Jun Yuyan’s eyes cooled, and he suddenly stood up, saying coldly,

“Lady Wang, you deserve to die a thousand times over. Do you think the only evidence we have is what’s before us right now? Ridiculous.”

He glanced outside, and immediately someone brought in an old woman holding her like a discarded sack and threw her onto the ground.

“Nanny Fan!”

Fu Baozhu immediately recognized the old woman; it was Nanny Fan who had always taken care of her.

Lady Wang’s arrogance withdrew from her face, and she felt extremely uneasy.

The Second Prince’s expression was also uncertain.

General Fu and his sons showed a look of surprise. Although they were aware that Nanny Fan was problematic, and no matter what they questioned, she had remained silent. She was originally confined in the firewood shed of the General’s Mansion. How did Prince Ling get his hands on her?

Minister of Punishment Jia Shibai spoke up, “Prince Ling, who is this person below? She seems to have lost her senses and probably can’t be interrogated, can she?”

Nanny Fan quickly raised her head:

“This old servant is very lucid! This old servant will confess everything! It was Lady Wang, it was Lady Wang who instructed this old servant to switch the identities of Murong Jiu and Fu Baozhu and had this old servant take care of Fu Baozhu while also stealing gold and jewelry from the General’s Mansion to subsidize Lady Wang’s household!”