bookcurios Chapter 564: Portrait? The evidence is irrefutable but the defendant is still denying it.
Chapter 564: Portrait? The evidence is irrefutable but the defendant is still denying it.
"It was under my bed. I had been hiding here and there for all these years and almost forgot about it. A few days ago, when we came home from outside, my wife was cleaning the house and she found the portrait from under the bed. She thought that I was having an affair and that was why she had to follow us around. She wanted to divorce me, and then I remembered about it. I was afraid of getting into trouble, so I put the portrait away and didn't tell anyone. It came in handy today." After Li Er finished speaking, Lord Qu asked the officials to go to Li Er's house to get the portrait.
Soon, the official brought back the portrait that Li Er mentioned and handed it to Lord Qu. After Lord Qu looked at it, he gave it to the Imperial Censor and others beside him. After checking it, he asked, "Shen Wenting, now that the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say!"
"It's unfair, sir! It's too arbitrary to conclude that I did it based on this portrait alone! I don't even know where this portrait came from. Maybe they stole it." Shen Wenting still refused to admit it.
"Shen Wenting, now that we have the witnesses and evidence, you are still quibbling! You say you didn't do it, but you colluded with my mistress to replace my child, and said that your child with my mistress was the orphan of your distant relative! How are you going to explain that I raised your mistress's child for more than ten years?" Chen Shuhua felt extremely disgusted when she saw Shen Wenting's face.
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar below. Today's news was more shocking than the last.
"Oh my god! What does Madam Chen mean by this? Is she saying that Miss Shen Youran of the Shen Mansion is the child of Lord Shen and his concubine, and not adopted?"
"I was wondering why Lord Shen treats his adopted daughter better than his own. I thought he disliked the young lady who came back from the countryside, but now it turns out she is his own child!"
"So, he has more than one mistress, bah! He is such a bastard. He ruined the innocence of the young lady of the Duke's Mansion for his own fame and gain, and then swapped the child after marrying her. He is a beast in human form, and has read so many books but nothing has worked for him."
Hearing the people's discussions, Shen Wenting became angry and yelled at Chen Shuhua: "What do you mean by stealing a child? Don't talk nonsense! I sent her to the countryside because the master said she was a disaster. Besides, I sent her with your consent. How can it be considered a stealing?"
"Then what do you mean by arranging your concubine to be my female doctor?!"
"What mistress? That's nonsense. My lord, I don't admit the crime!" Shen Wenting didn't want to argue with Chen Shuhua anymore.
"Sir, I have a witness!" Chen Shuhua ignored him and asked Sir Qu to call for the witness.
"Send a witness." Lord Qu agreed.
After a while, Aunt Zhong was brought up.
"Who is in the hall? Tell me your name."
"My name is Zhong Xi, and I am Shen Wenting's concubine."
"Xier, why are you here?" Seeing that it was Aunt Zhong, Shen Wenting was a little flustered, worried that she would really say something unfavorable to him.
"An Jing! You said you were Shen Wenting's concubine, then why did you become Madam Chen's witness? What is your relationship with the baby-swapping incident?" Lord Qu looked at her and asked.
"My lord, I have no idea about the baby-swapping that Madam Chen mentioned. Madam Chen and I only met once, and I had just entered the Shangshu Mansion not long ago, so how could I know about their affairs? I came here today because I was completely forced to do so, because the Duke's Mansion kidnapped Concubine Shen from Prince Rui's Mansion to threaten me and make me give false testimony for them." Unexpectedly, Aunt Zhong directly bit back and continued, "Concubine Shen was abducted by people from the Duke's Mansion, and the crime of framing Prince Rui and the princess was pinned on her. She is innocent and did no harm. I beg you to make the decision for me and Concubine Shen." Aunt Zhong knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Lord Qu, asking him to make the decision for her and Shen Youran and to completely deny what they had done.
"Zhong Xi, you!" Chen Shuhua didn't expect that she would suddenly change her mind.
"That female doctor went back to the countryside because of something. We haven't had any contact over the years, and I don't know where she went. How could she be my concubine? What Chen said is all fabricated just to frame me. I beg you to clear my name, sir." After hearing what Aunt Zhong said, Shen Wenting instantly felt confident again. She was his childhood sweetheart, so of course she would stand on his side. How could he doubt her!
Shen Wenting's concubine suddenly changed her story, which made Lord Qu a little embarrassed. Although he stood on the side of Duke Chen's Mansion, he also needed evidence to solve the case, so he continued to ask: "Madam Chen, your witness said that he was forced, do you have anything to add?"
"Sir, she is the female doctor from that year, Xier, Shen Wenting's childhood sweetheart. She just disguised herself and returned to the capital as a concubine. Shen Youran is his and Shen Wenting's biological daughter!" Chen Shuhua said, pointing at Zhong Xi.
"Your Excellency is wronged. She is just my aunt! Not my childhood sweetheart." Anyway, Xi'er has changed her appearance now, so it's up to them to decide who it is. As long as Xi'er doesn't admit it, they can prove it. Shen Wenting looked at Chen Shuhua proudly and said, "Ms. Chen, I know you divorced me and feel resentful towards me, but you can't bear to see me remarry and take in concubines and resume my position. If you bow your head and admit your mistakes to me, since we were once husband and wife, I can forgive you for what happened!"
"Bah! Stop flattering yourself. I'm divorcing you, not getting a divorce. What does it have to do with me whether you take a concubine or not? You are such a hypocritical beast. I really regret not seeing your true face earlier."
"Quiet! Don't disturb the order in the court! Since there is no evidence, then the matter of child swapping..." Lord Qu slammed the gavel, asking them not to make noise in the court. He was about to pronounce the verdict and move on to the next charge when he was interrupted.
Yao Qingnian came up and said calmly, "Your Excellency, my daughter is the daughter of Madam Chen of the Duke's Mansion. If I can prove that this Concubine Zhong disguised herself and that the wanted Concubine Shen is a mother and daughter, then it can be proved that my mother did not lie."
"How do you prove it?" Lord Qu looked at Yao Qingnian, who had been silent in the hall.
"My lord, I have some knowledge of medicine and can do a paternity test for Aunt Zhong and Concubine Shen to prove their identities as mother and daughter. As for the disguise, I also have a way to restore them to their original appearance."
"What is paternity testing? Is it a blood test to identify relatives?" Lord Qu asked curiously.
"Blood test is not accurate. Only paternity test can accurately prove the relationship between people."
"Okay! I'd like to see how you can prove it!" Lord Qu saw that she was neither humble nor arrogant, and immediately felt admiration for her.
Not only Lord Qu, but also the people watching outside were interested. Since ancient times, besides blood test, is there any other way to prove blood relationship? It's really rare.