Chapter 202 Approaching Step by Step

As Mrs. Liang said, she suddenly remembered something and asked Ximen Xiaoyue, "By the way, I said earlier that part of the dowry should be returned. Did you bring that part back?"

Ximen Xiaoyue might as well if she suddenly mentioned this issue, he hesitated a bit, "Isn't this all in the side room? It was burned."

Before implementing the fire plan, she had ordered all the valuable dowries to be removed.

Liang stared at the hairpin on her head, "This hairpin is the dowry. It is a jewelry box that I put in the dowry with my own hands. How can you take it out and wear it after it burns?"

Ximen Xiaoyue reached out and touched the hairpin subconsciously, her face was a little stiff, "This...is it? Is this?"

"That's right, I made all your dowry with my own hands, and the headgear you are wearing today was all made by my craftsmen working overnight." Liang said staring at her.

Ximen Xiaoyue couldn't catch up for a while, she just said it was burned, so it's hard to say that I remembered it wrongly and didn't burn it, right? If you admit that you didn't burn it, isn't it telling everyone that you have the intention to embezzle it?

In addition, returning the dowry is a shameful thing, she mentioned it now, it is really embarrassing, and the elders present are all peeping at each other.

"The dowry is originally placed in the side room. When the eldest lady and I go in to return the gift, all the dowry should be put in there. After I take out some of the dowry, you can take the rest back into the treasury, right? But When the fire broke out, Missy and I never left until the fire was over and the whole side room was destroyed, how did these jewelry escape?" Liang's voice suddenly became sharp.

Ximen Xiaoyue panicked, her tongue was tied up, she faltered for a while, and had to admit in a low voice, "I allocated part of the dowry myself, Second Aunt didn't know."

"When will you take out some of it? Why don't I know? You married me and I was not by your side except to salute, and I have been with you since then." Liang asked forcefully.

"This, this..." Ximen Xiaoyue racked her brains, thinking about the time when Mrs. Liang was not by her side.

"Master Taibao!" Liang Shi said solemnly: "There is something strange about this matter, please make sure to find out, all the dowry will be in the side room after I send it over, the jewelry box has a key, and only I have the key. Of course, the lock can be picked, but it’s not weird to pick the lock and take some jewelry on the wedding day? If it’s not part of it, it’s the whole jewelry box. Why move the jewelry box? There’s no one in the side room Watching, because she knows there is a big fire, and if it burns, it will destroy these jewelry."

"Second Aunt, I really didn't intend to set fire to you, don't think too much, if you don't want to give me these jewelry, I'll just return it." Ximen Xiaoyue said pitifully.

The Taibao said to Liang with a slight displeasure: "Okay, you are always persevering. It seems that if you don't ask for clarification today, you will not give up."

After finishing speaking, he looked at Ximen Xiaoyue, "Tell me what happened that day again, the old man will uphold justice."

Ximen Xiaoyue was flustered and confused by Mrs. Liang, and now that the Taibao asked her to talk about that day, she had to try her best to gather her thoughts and say it from the beginning: "...I don't remember the unpleasant things about serving tea. Last night, after returning to the new house, Second Aunt saw that I was unhappy and asked me what was wrong, I..." When she said this, she suddenly became a little confused, and forgot what she said before.

After hesitating for a moment, the Taibao reminded: "You said you complained to the second lady."

Ximen Xiaoyue nodded, "Yes, after I complained to Second Aunt, Second Aunt was going to teach Zian a lesson. I tried to dissuade her, but it didn't work."

The Taibao interjected again, "Well, later Xiangye came over, and you told Xiangye, but Xiangye didn't take it seriously, thinking that the second wife would not do anything."

Ximen Xiaoyue nodded again and again, remembering that she had said it, "Yes, Master Xiang said that today is a day of great joy, and Second Aunt is a measured person and will not mess around, so it was a big mistake."

"Well, yes, this confession is correct. Later, the second lady went to the second lady of the Xiangfu to help deal with Xia Zi'an, the eldest lady of the Xia family. Did you object?" the Taibao asked again.

Ximen Xiaoyue nodded subconsciously, "Yes, I am against it."

However, after finishing speaking, she was taken aback again. Did she say this before?

She looked at Prime Minister Xia begging for help, Prime Minister Xia's face was ugly, he was as smart as him, and he already knew that the Taibao was trying to trick her step by step.

As long as she makes a single mistake, many mistakes will be exposed. Once there are too many mistakes, what she said will not be credible.

Moreover, he believes that the Taibao is definitely not passively questioning today. The Taibao used to be the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, and the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment used to be his subordinate. How about asking Taibao for help?

Sure enough, the Taibao's face suddenly changed, and he looked at Ximen Xiaoyue coldly, "You said it twice, and there were six doubtful points. Do you want me to count them one by one for you?"

Ximen Xiaoyue didn't expect the Taibao to change his face suddenly, and she panicked even more, "What question? No, I'm telling the truth, maybe I forgot some details."

"First, you said that you were not dissatisfied with Xia Zian's belittling you at first, but later you said that you were a little displeased. This means that you are duplicity, so don't pursue it."

"Secondly, you first said that you would go back and complain to the second lady, but then you said that the second lady didn't know where Xia Zian disrespected you, and then you said that you went back to complain, and the preamble didn't make sense. You don’t even know what you made up, do you?”

"Third, you said that during the banquet, the various dishes and chopsticks are arranged, and how the guests sit, and even the second lady sits in the upper left corner. You know everything, but you were not present that night. You are in the new house, and after a fire, you were injured, and Xia Quan who arranged all this was also burned to death in the side room. The only thing that can be explained clearly is that you have been ordering people to pay close attention to the people at this table. "

Ximen Xiaoyue quickly defended, "That's right, I was noticed, but isn't this normal? After all, Concubine Cui and the old lady are sitting there, I always want to make sure that the guests have a good meal."

"Well, then you're admitting that you've been ordering people to keep an eye on it, right?" There was a cold gleam in Taibao's eyes.

"Yes... yes." Ximen Xiaoyue could only admit this.

The Taibao said coldly: "Since you ordered people to watch the people at this table, they must have noticed that when your second aunt and eldest lady Xia Zian left, someone immediately took away their cups."

Ximen Xiaoyue was dumbfounded, who knows?

"Well, it's normal for people to take away the cups after they leave the table." Ximen Xiaoyue defended, fine beads of sweat already appearing on her forehead.

She quickly looked at the old lady. The old lady's face was silent, and her eyes were ashen.

These two questions were clearly a trap, and the hateful thing is that this Ximen Xiaoyue didn't know it, and continued stupidly.

The Taibao continued to ask: "Okay, it's normal to take away the cup, but when your people saw your second aunt leaving, she already needed help, that is to say, she has already started to faint, right?"

Ximen Xiaoyue shook her head, wiped the sweat from her forehead, "I don't know about that."