Chapter 200: Chapter 200: The Outcome

“My lord!” Mrs. Lin suddenly spoke from outside the court hall, “I, the wife of a minister, also have evidence.”

“Bring it in,” Lord Tao said loudly.

Mrs. Lin entered the hall and presented a stack of letters, “These are all letters sent by Xiao Fengxing to my daughter Lin Qingqing in the past.”

“Before Xiao Fengxing was betrothed to Fu Mingzhu, he already secretly had an affair with my daughter, so from that time, he was sending letters to my daughter.” Mrs. Lin said, “Even after being betrothed to Fu Mingzhu, the correspondence continued unabated.”

“At the bottom of each letter, there is a signature and date,” Mrs. Lin said, “And the paper used for these letters, when compared to those provided by Chang Tai, can presumably reveal when those provided by Chang Tai were written.”

“Good!” Lord Tao hurriedly ordered people to open each letter presented by Mrs. Lin and compare them with those provided by Chang Tai.

Since there weren’t many letters provided by Chang Tai, it was quite fast to compare each one with those from Mrs. Lin.

“Call a few shopkeepers over; they sell brush, ink, paper, and inkstones daily, so they should know more about these matters.” Lord Tao said.

Having more people verify means Xiao Fengxing can’t question and exonerate himself.

Before the shopkeepers arrived, Lord Tao first ordered people to eliminate those with obvious differences.

When the shopkeepers arrived, the verification was indeed quicker.

After everyone had examined them, the remaining letters were not that many.

After waiting for a while, three shopkeepers were brought over.

“Did you explain the reason to them on the way here?” Lord Tao asked.

“I’ve already explained it all,” the government officer replied.

“Good, you three together, filter them out,” Lord Tao said.

“Yes.”

The three men began comparing, and after about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they had a result.

“My lord, we’ve discussed it and reached a conclusion,” one shopkeeper said.

“This letter, along with these few letters, were written during the same period. They all use hemp paper from Yizhou produced in the year of Dingchou, visible with curtain-line patterns on the paper surface, but that year’s hemp paper was not of high quality, turning yellow quickly with more curtain-line patterns.”

“This letter, along with this letter, is particularly special,” another shopkeeper said, holding both a letter from Chang Tai and one from Mrs. Lin, “These two are both written on sheepskin parchment from Persia.”

“It is written on this letter that this is sheepskin parchment from Persia, brought back by a shopkeeper named Zhang Shengquan during his trading journey. Looked novel, so he specially used this sheepskin parchment to write a letter to the Lins.”

“Although sheepskin parchment does not easily deteriorate, it is thick and heavy, unlike our paper from Great Xi which is as light as cicada wings, and sheepskin parchment carries a strong stench, so our shops here don’t sell it. Therefore, these two are particularly recognizable.”

Sheepskin parchment was used by Xiao Fengxing to instruct Chang Tai to handle affairs back then; needing to travel far from the capital, taking a long time, for convenience in preservation.

“And this letter and these few other letters use cane paper from Yuezhou, made from wild kudzu vines from Tiantai Mountain, in the Four Bright Mountains range. A single sheet of cane paper sells for six coins, indeed not cheap. Judging from the colors of these letters, it belongs to the same period of cane paper.”

“According to the market price at the time, it was eight coins per sheet,” the shopkeeper said.

This price was indeed not cheap.

After all, paper is a consumable, unlikely to be used in single sheets.

Fu Shinian listened outside the court, his lips coldly curled.

This expensive paper was all bought by Fu Mingzhu to give to Xiao Fengxing.

Yet, Xiao Fengxing used it to write love letters to Lin Qingqing.

The shopkeepers handed the classified letters to Lord Tao.

The signatures and dates at the top were clear as day.

Even the handwriting was identical.

“Guards!” Lord Tao said, “Take Xiao Fengxing to the prison!”

“Also arrest Liu Yuemei,” Lord Tao said sternly, “They both poisoned Marquis Changping; such a grave offense, I must report to the Emperor for him to decide!”

“As for Lin Qingqing, though not directly involved, was an accomplice to Xiao Fengxing,” Lord Tao said, “Conspired with Xiao Fengxing to harm Marquis Changping and Jiahui Princess. I will also report to the Emperor.”

Mrs. Lin’s legs gave way; if this matter reached the Emperor, with the Emperor’s favor for Marquis Changping, what good outcome could her daughter possibly have?

Mrs. Lin hurriedly looked at Xiao Chengyu; she dared not speak out, fearing any accidents, knowing Xiao Chengyu would certainly not protect Lin Qingqing.

All she could do was plead anxiously with her eyes.

“Though the Lins were accomplices in this case, many things were indeed kept from them by Xiao Fengxing; I will tell the Emperor truthfully,” Xiao Chengyu said.

“Thank you, Marquis Xie! Thank you, Marquis Xie!” Mrs. Lin hurriedly replied.

“Mother…” Though Xiao Chengyu had spoken, Lin Qingqing still felt nervous, clutching Mrs. Lin’s hand, “Mother, you must save me, mother!”

“Take the Lins away!” Lord Tao said sternly.

Knowing the Emperor had always been concerned about this matter, Lord Tao immediately went into the palace after concluding the case to see the Emperor.

Finally, the results for Xiao Fengxing, Lin Qingqing, and Chang Tai came out.

Xiao Fengxing and Chang Tai were exiled to the northwest border to do menial work.

Should there be an amnesty, Xiao Fengxing will not be on the list of pardons ever.

Old Aunt Liu, though not guilty to the extent of Xiao Fengxing, had also participated in conspiring against Xiao Chengyu and was exiled together with Xiao Fengxing.

Regarding Lin Qingqing, Mrs. Lin had originally planned it well, sending Lin Qingqing to a temple to live quietly, and when the dust settled, quietly sent her to a small town in Jiangnan, buying a large house with servants tending to her.

Though lacking capital’s prosperity, the life wouldn’t be worse than now.

But how could the Emperor allow Lin Qingqing such comfort?

Granting Xiao Chengyu’s request not to take Lin Qingqing’s life was already merciful.

Though she won’t be exiled, Lin Qingqing has to stay in the Jingyue Temple outside the capital for life, shave her head and become a nun, unable to leave or meet family.

Additionally, the palace will regularly send someone to check, ensuring no one attempts to secretly send Lin Qingqing away.

Upon hearing this decree, Mrs. Lin felt like the world was collapsing, fainting on the spot after hearing the decree.

Lin Qingqing in prison, upon hearing this result, wailed, but to no avail.

Mr. Chang personally came to announce the decree, adding that the Emperor’s oral command was, “The Lins have only two outcomes, either death or go to Jingyue Temple as a nun. Lin, choose for yourself.”

Faced with death, Lin Qingqing lacked the courage.

Ultimately, she was bound and sent to Jingyue Temple.

Initially, at Jingyue Temple, she wailed, resisting persistently.

But Jingyue Temple was never a quiet nunnery.

Women who had committed offenses historically, were all sent there, not a good place.

The nuns inside were tough characters.

Would they allow Lin Qingqing to cause a commotion?

When Lin Qingqing made a fuss, she was locked in the firewood room with no food or drink.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep