After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband-Chapter 695: Cover-Up

She must have considered how to cope if Prince Zhenbei Mansion confronted her with the Jade Pendant.

She didn’t expect, however, that they would bring Old Duke Chong along.

She couldn’t deny it.

Old Madam Duke Chong admitted, "This Jade Pendant is mine, but I lost it over thirty years ago."

This was the truth.

Old Madam Duke Chong’s given name was Huiniang.

The Jade Pendant was a gift from Old Duke Chong, and the characters on the back were carved by him personally.

It was impossible for her to give away the Jade Pendant her husband gifted her.

If it wasn’t to be buried with her, it would only be passed down to her direct descendants.

The only way this Jade Pendant ended up with the Old Lady of Duke Zhen was if it was lost and picked up by the Old Lady of Duke Zhen.

But such an excuse couldn’t convince anyone.

The fake Old Madam had swapped identities, and apart from leaving behind one earring, everything worn by the real Old Madam was found on the fake.

If this Jade Pendant was picked up before the swap, then Mrs. Wang should know, and it should indeed be with the fake Old Madam.

The Jade Pendant could only have gotten to the real Old Madam after the swap.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice boldly speculated that after the real Old Madam regained consciousness before being murdered, she grabbed the Jade Pendant during her struggle.

No one noticed at the time, which is why it was buried underground with her.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice’s analysis was logical and supported, but Duke Chong retorted, "It can’t be ruled out that the fake Old Madam picked up the Jade Pendant and accidentally swapped it during the exchange of clothes with the real Old Madam!"

Xie Jingchen chuckled, "Then let’s ask the fake Old Madam when exactly she gave the Jade Pendant to my grandmother."

According to Mrs. Wang, after the accident with the carriage, the Old Madam was thrown out, hit her forehead, and fainted.

Coincidentally, Old Madam Duke Chong’s palanquin was passing by, and she had her maid help carry the Old Madam into the palanquin and head up the mountain.

Upon reaching the Great Buddha Temple, they helped the unconscious Old Madam out of the palanquin and into the temple’s meditation room to rest.

The space inside the palanquin wasn’t large, and even if it could fit two people, changing clothes inside was nearly impossible, especially duplicating the wound on the forehead.

So the one coming out of the palanquin should still be the real Old Madam.

But after entering the meditation room at the Great Buddha Temple, perhaps it was switched to the fake one.

According to Mrs. Wang, before the Old Madam woke up, Old Madam Duke Chong went to offer prayers.

Yet when the fake Old Madam awoke, she suffered from amnesia.

During the time from Old Madam Duke Chong’s departure to the fake Old Madam’s awakening, Mrs. Wang stayed by the bedside without leaving.

This means there was no opportunity for identity swap during that time.

When the real Old Madam was swapped, Old Madam Duke Chong was inside the house!

The fake Old Madam confessed that Old Madam Duke Chong and the Empress Dowager were the masterminds behind the scene, and now finding the Jade Pendant belonging to Old Madam Duke Chong solidified suspicions that couldn’t be erased by a mere denial from Duke Chong.

Su Jin accidentally blinded one of Old Madam Duke Chong’s eyes with poisoned blood, prompting Duke Chong to pursue legal action relentlessly.

Then it’s clear that Old Madam Duke Chong and the fake Old Madam are implicated in the swap affair. Can she avoid entering the Ministry of Justice Prison?

Court laws weren’t made by Duke Chong alone, and not whatever he desires.

Thus, they imprisoned Old Madam Duke Chong.

Duke Chong’s obstruction was futile because Old Duke Chong agreed to the arrest by the Ministry of Justice.

A sense of filial piety weighed upon him, and Duke Chong couldn’t withstand it.

Although Old Duke Chong couldn’t speak, he could blink, and when Su Chong requested to bring all servants who had been with Duke Chong’s Mansion for over thirty years for questioning, Old Duke Chong consented.

Even the housekeeper matron who served Old Madam Duke Chong for twenty years, though not thirty, was taken away.

Indeed.

Not only them, but even their children and grandchildren were also all taken.

Duke Chong almost fainted from anger.

But there was nothing he could do; he was the one who brought Old Duke Chong back.

In this mansion, although he was the Duke, who dared not to follow Old Duke Chong’s words?

It was just a matter of a few servants. If he didn’t agree, Old Duke Chong would get angry, and if a single breath slipped, the Prince and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice would surely impeach him for unfilial conduct.

Duke Chong could only watch helplessly as a group of people were taken away.

This housekeeper matron became a key figure in convicting Old Madam Duke Chong.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice wouldn’t be harsh with Old Madam Duke Chong, but with a housekeeper matron, he definitely wouldn’t show mercy.

Once in the Ministry of Justice, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice interrogated the housekeeper matron in court.

Marquis Dongxiang and the Prince were present, as were the Hidden Guards, and a crowd stood at the entrance watching the commotion.

Duke Chong had no chance to silence anyone.

Under the harsh torture of the Ministry of Justice, the housekeeper matron confessed.

Though she didn’t know the process by which Old Madam Duke Chong assisted the fake Old Madam in identity swapping, she did know how the fake Old Madam threatened Old Madam Duke Chong to marry a concubine-born daughter to Elder Yong Cheng as a legitimate wife.

At that time, Elder Yong Cheng had no title and was far beneath the social standing of Duke Chong’s Mansion.

And there were other matters, whether the fake Old Madam threatened Old Madam Duke Chong, or vice versa.

The housekeeper matron confessed to having heard Old Madam Duke Chong say, "If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have today’s wealth and glory."

This statement was enough to prove that Old Madam Duke Chong was implicated in the identity-swapping case with the fake Old Madam.

Additionally, Old Madam Duke Chong poisoned Old Duke Chong to cover up her crimes...

Upon hearing this, Xie Jingchen went to the Ministry of Justice to fetch Su Jin.

Because the existing evidence, together with the testimony of the housekeeper matron by Old Madam Duke Chong’s side, was enough to convict her of a capital crime.

Even Duke Chong couldn’t escape suspicion. It was impossible that Su Jin’s skirt hem would be caught between the footstool and bed for no reason.

However, Duke Chong was eloquent, and in his haste for Old Duke Chong, he inadvertently mentioned the footstool; that was his mistake.

But he didn’t know at the time that Su Jin would rise with the medicine bowl; it was the maid who delivered the poisoned blood, not Su Jin.

The matter of accidentally blinding one of Old Madam Duke Chong’s eyes, Su Jin was at fault, but Duke Chong was even more so.

They couldn’t spare punishment for Su Jin alone just because Duke Chong was the son.

Moreover, because Old Madam Duke Chong’s crimes were serious, warranting death, and Su Jin was negligent due only to her earnest efforts to save someone, she was naturally released without charges.

Xie Jingchen took Su Jin to the Ministry of Justice.

But they arrived a bit late; those gathered in front of the Ministry of Justice’s gates for the spectacle had dispersed.

The Prince and Marquis Dongxiang were coming out, ready to return to the mansion.

Marquis Dongxiang’s face remained unchanged, but the Prince’s did not look good.

Xie Jingchen looked at the Prince, "Father, has the case taken another turn?"

The Prince did not respond.

Marquis Dongxiang said, "Not exactly, it’s just that the housekeeper matron by Old Madam Duke Chong’s side might be an agent of the Empress Dowager and put all the blame on Old Madam Duke Chong."

After Xie Jingchen left, the Ministry of Justice asked the housekeeper matron if the fake Old Madam had been silenced by Old Madam Duke Chong.

The housekeeper matron nodded.

But when asked how the silencing occurred, she said she didn’t know.