Peach Blossom.

When these words were spoken, everyone around them was shocked.

Chen Liang, Chen Chong and others were stunned, and the other servants from various mansions and nearby villagers who were watching were talking about it.

Shen Yuan was the first to retort: ​​"You are talking nonsense! That is my grandmother's coffin, how could there be someone else inside?"

"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you'll know once you open the coffin." Secretary Chen smiled and walked in front of Shen Meng and Shen Yuan, "Please give me a nod, Master Shen."

Shen Meng showed an indifferent attitude and hummed weakly: "My wife has passed away many years ago and is sleeping peacefully in the ground. Why do you want to open the coffin and disturb the peace of the dead just because of a few words from you, sir? What's the reason?"

Secretary Chen smiled and said, "I am in charge of the Ministry of Justice. Someone has filed a complaint for murder and I have no choice but to accept it. I hope Master Shen will understand."

"I don't understand. Who is the deceased? Who is the murderer? Who is the plaintiff? Where are the witnesses and evidence? Please explain it clearly." Shen Meng put his hands in his sleeves, with an indifferent look, as if he was not talking about his own business.

"Don't worry, Master. We will know everything later." Secretary Chen smiled, and walked from Shen Meng to Chen Ji and Si Rong, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, please allow me to open the court to try the case, and summon all those involved in the case here."

Chen Ji chuckled and said, "Taking care of the Ministry of Justice is your responsibility. Why do you need my permission? Please do as you please, my dear."

Secretary Chen bowed and left, then immediately sent someone to summon the plaintiff, defendant, and witnesses, and asked his subordinates to set up a formation on the spot similar to that of a court.

Si Rong looked at him sideways, wondering if it was her illusion, but why did she feel that the way Chen Ji and Chen Mi talked seemed to be gloating?

Chen Chong was impatient. Seeing Secretary Chen setting up the court, she went over and asked, "What on earth are you doing? What's your purpose in bringing so many of us here?"

Secretary Chen bowed and smiled, saying, "Master, please be patient. The plaintiff is not far away and will be here soon."

After hearing this, several officials of the Chen family immediately realized that the plaintiff was clearly arranged to be nearby in advance, and the so-called asking them to identify the cause of the cracks in the tomb and uphold justice was simply an excuse to invite them to the scene.

Chen Xin asked in a low voice: "You were the one who blew up the tomb, weren't you?"

Secretary Chen grinned and said, "Are you kidding me, bro? I'm not in charge of the treasury, so where can I get the gunpowder?"

"Don't talk about those useless things!" Chen Chong interrupted them angrily and asked Secretary Chen: "If you still recognize me as your master, then tell me honestly, what is the murder case? Why must it be tried here?"

"It's the Shen family's murder case. The deceased and the murderer are both from the Shen family..." Chen Mi politely bowed to Chen Chong. Before he finished speaking, he saw Shen Meng approaching Chen Ji and Si Rong.

To be precise, Shen Meng just approached Si Rong and showed his concern in a friendly manner: "The sky is still gloomy, and it may rain soon. Princess is weak, so you'd better go back and rest early."

Without waiting for Si Rong to answer, Secretary Chen quickly walked over and called out to Shen Meng: "Isn't it possible that Master Shen is feeling guilty and is afraid that the Emperor and the Empress will see something they shouldn't see?"

"What a joke. As a grandfather, I'm afraid that my frail granddaughter will get wet in the rain. What's wrong with that?" Shen Meng's voice hummed in his throat again, with an arrogant look on his face, and he didn't even look at Secretary Chen.

Secretary Chen smiled maliciously and said calmly, "Don't worry, Master. I have enough umbrellas and cloaks here. I will never let the emperor, the queen, and the others get wet in the rain."

Shen Meng didn't say anything, just gave a subtle sneer.

Si Rong remained silent. Although she had realized that nothing good would happen next, she really wanted to understand the Shen family and everything about her biological mother.

While they were talking, the two plaintiffs had been called in.

An officer informed Chen Mi, who then took the main seat in the court. Chen Liang, Chen Chong and others had no choice but to stand behind Chen Ji.

The plaintiffs were two middle-aged women who, escorted by several officers and soldiers, climbed to the hillside where the Shen clan ancestral hall was located and knelt in a makeshift court.

Secretary Chen then began the interrogation in a serious tone: "Who is this person?"

Both women lowered their heads and introduced themselves:

"I am Zhang, a commoner. I was once a maidservant of the former mistress of the Shen family, Yuan. I accompanied the mistress from the Yuan family to the Shen family and served her closely for many years."

"I am He, a commoner. I was originally the wet nurse of Miss Shen Hui, the legitimate daughter of Master Shen."

"Oh... have you all been slaves in the Shen family for many years?" Secretary Chen nodded and asked Shen Meng who was standing next to him: "Do you recognize Master Shen?"

Shen Meng was standing a few steps away from the two women, still with his hands tucked into his sleeves, half-opening his eyes, shaking his head: "My eyes are blurry and I can't recognize them..."

Secretary Chen smiled evilly and said to himself, "Master Shen is old, and he is a servant after all. It is normal that he does not recognize me after we have not seen each other for many years. It seems that I have to find someone else to confirm the identities of the two plaintiffs."

After that, Secretary Chen looked at the first plaintiff again: "You are Yuan's maidservant who came with her as a dowry. Then Yuan's sister, who is now Madam Shen, should have seen you, right?"

Zhang replied hurriedly: "Yes, yes. Although the second daughter of the Yuan family was still young when the mistress got married, she often visited the Shen family after she grew up, so she and Master Shen..."

Shen Meng suddenly coughed, and Zhang was so scared that she dared not to continue speaking.

Secretary Chen smiled and looked at Shen Meng, and asked, "Master Shen, are you okay?"

"There's phlegm in my throat and I can't cough it out..." Shen Meng groaned and coughed a few more times.

Everyone present had already heard what the woman was about to say, but no one had the nerve to say it out loud.

Secretary Chen then asked another plaintiff, "You said you were the wet nurse of Shen Hui, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family. If we call Shen Hui over, maybe she will recognize you, right?"

"But...Miss Hui...Miss Hui has passed away a long time ago!" He blurted out.

Everyone's eyes widened.

With a bang, the gavel in Secretary Chen's hand fell.

Then Secretary Chen shouted, "What nonsense! Shen Hui runs a restaurant in the city, and everyone in the city knows it. How dare you curse the daughter of the Grand Tutor in broad daylight?"

Mrs. He was even more furious, and she argued, "I am not talking nonsense! The Shen Hui who runs Meixiangxie is not the Miss Hui I served back then! She is the murderer who killed Miss Hui and her daughter!"

Everyone present once again widened their eyes.

"Oh? Didn't Master Shen's original wife, Yuan... die of an acute illness?" Secretary Chen pretended to be confused. He looked around and everyone had a look of surprise on their face, except Shen Meng who was calm and composed.

Zhang quickly proved: "Your Excellency, the mistress is in good health and has never suffered from any acute illness. She was harmed by someone! Moreover... Boss Shen of Meixiangxie is indeed not Miss Hui. All the old servants who served in the inner house of the Shen family in the early years recognized Miss Hui's appearance, but most of them were sent out of the Shen family and can't be found!"

Secretary Chen looked around and then returned his gaze to the two plaintiffs. "False accusations will lead to imprisonment. I have already asked someone to invite Madam Shen and Boss Shen. Do you... dare to confront them face to face?"

Both women said, "We dare."

Secretary Chen nodded and said, "In that case, you should tell us the details of the murder case one by one, so that the emperor, the queen and all the adults can understand it clearly."

Zhang began to tell the story: "One night 20 years ago, I happened to see my mistress's sister, Xiao Yuan, meeting with Master Shen alone in the garden. I felt something was wrong, so I told my mistress.

The mistress was furious and immediately ran to the garden to catch the girl in the act. She grabbed her sister and was about to beat her. Just as they were arguing, a mad woman with disheveled hair suddenly ran in with a thick wooden stick in her hand and hit the mistress on the back of her head.

The mistress was so focused on her sister that she had no idea there was someone behind her. The crazy woman rushed over so fast that by the time the woman reminded her, it was too late. The mistress was bleeding from the head and died on the spot.

He continued, "Miss Hui was confused about the etiquette of marriage, so she wanted to ask the mistress that night. But when she arrived at the mistress's room, she heard the servants say that she had gone to the garden. When Miss Hui and the common woman rushed to the garden, they happened to see the mistress lying dead.

Miss Hui was timid, so she ran out screaming, but the crazy woman caught up with her and beat her to death with a stick. Master Shen and Xiao Yuan saw it with their own eyes, but in order to cover up their private affairs, they not only did not pursue the murderer, but were threatened by the murderer... and agreed to let the murderer replace Miss Hui to marry.

The reason why Grand Tutor Shen agreed to this was mainly to secure his position as the father-in-law of the emperor. That was why the Shen family could not hold a funeral for Miss Hui, because Miss Hui died on the same day as the mistress Yuan, so they stuffed Miss Hui into the mistress's coffin and buried them together..."

When He talked about Shen Huizhi's death, she became more and more sad. After she finished speaking, she covered her face and burst into tears. Zhang also followed her and became sad.

Secretary Chen asked: "Do you know the true identity of the murderer?"

Both of them shook their heads, and Zhang said, "We two women had never seen that crazy woman before, and we were quickly expelled from the Shen family after that."

"But how could an ordinary crazy woman enter the Shen family's house? How could she have the opportunity to commit a crime?" Secretary Chen smiled slightly and looked at Shen Meng with doubt: "Master Shen is dazzled, I wonder if you can still hear clearly? Did you understand what they just said?"

Shen Meng still shook his head and groaned, "If I don't know the person, what's the point of understanding him?"

"It seems that it is really useless to talk to Master Shen. We still have to wait for Madam Shen and Boss Shen to come." Secretary Chen sighed as if talking to himself.

The jury chief had written down the testimonies of the two plaintiffs and brought them to Secretary Chen.

Secretary Chen glanced at them for a few times, then looked up and asked the two plaintiffs, "You just said that the mother and daughter of the Shen family were beaten to death with sticks, but did you see it with your own eyes?"

They both replied, "I saw it with my own eyes."

"Then sign it." Secretary Chen immediately asked someone to take the confession down and give it to the two women.

As the two were signing their names, they heard a loud voice behind them asking, "Since you saw it with your own eyes, why didn't I beat you to death with sticks?"

They turned around suddenly and saw Shen Hui slowly walking towards them.