Jiapingguan Chronicle

Mianbai told Yingwu where he hid the account book, and Yingwu arranged for Anying to get it.

When they searched the theater before, they had found the so-called open account book. The contents recorded in it were indeed as Mian Bai said, that the company was close to running out of money and the entire troupe was counting on the ticket money from this performance.

However, they also did not believe that the troupe was really so poor. As expected, this was just a means for Mian Bai to restrain Ke Chenyi. The troupe's financial resources were indeed more than that.

"There's nothing to ask for now. Lao Wu, send the class master back." Shen Cha waved at Ying Wu and looked at Mian Bai who stood up and saluted. "Go back and have a good rest. If we remember anything and need to ask you, we'll send someone to find you."

"Yes, General, I will cooperate."

Shen Cha didn't say anything, just nodded slightly and watched Ying Wu take Mian Bai out of the court. Merlin followed them out and only returned to the court when he saw them go far away and gestured to Shen Cha.

"Tell me everything!"

Shen Cha stood up and stretched. She had been sitting on this hard chair for more than two hours. The medicine had made her feel sour, so she had to stand up and move around.

"Do you think there is some truth in what Mianbai said?" Ying Er looked at Shen Cha. "Mianbai's relationship with Ke Chenyi, as well as his relationship with the Grand Empress Dowager and Concubine Hui, seems a bit too complicated, right?"

"The relationship between Mianbai and Ke Chenyi, according to what we said before, including the confessions of Ke Chenyi and Xiaotong themselves, all show that Mianbai has been treating Ke Chenyi harshly for so many years. But whether it is from the account books, or from the evidence listed by Mianbai, or the new confession that Ke Chenyi was tricked into giving, what Mianbai said may be more credible." Jin Miaomiao yawned and followed Shen Cha to stroll in the court. When she came to Shen Jiu, she grabbed him and asked him to pace with her, "You have been sitting for so long, get up and move around."

"Yeah!" Shen Jiu was very obedient. He followed Shen Cha and Jin Miaomiao, swinging his arms and legs with them, saying as he swung, "Sister Miaomiao is right. I think so too. Compared with Ke Chenyi, I am more willing to believe Mian Bai. You saw their confrontation in the court just now. Ke Chenyi was panicked at first, and then he was timid. After learning that his purpose was completely lost and had nothing to do with him, he was in a state of giving up. Anyway, he couldn't get what he wanted, so he just shook everything out." He sighed softly and shook his arms, "His words actually confirmed the truth of what Mian Bai said."

"There's nothing wrong with your understanding." Shen Cha turned around and looked at Shen Jiu, smiling, "But have you ever thought of another possibility?"

"Another possibility?"

Shen Jiu didn't have much experience in interrogating prisoners. At most, he had interrogated captured prisoners during wars. That kind of interrogation didn't require any skills. He just beat them. If they were hurt or scared, they would tell the truth. But for this interrogation subject who was as slippery as a loach, he could only listen from the side.

"Boss, what you mean is," Merlin also followed the team and shook hands with them, "Is it possible that the two of them colluded with each other and had already anticipated what we would ask and predicted it."

"There is absolutely no possibility of this."

"Oh?" Merlin came over and raised an eyebrow at Shen Jiu, "Young Master, are you so sure? Why?" "Sister Xiao Linzi, if a person wants to kill another person, that kind of look can't be hidden. We have all seen such fierce eyes, haven't we?"

"You mean, the look in Ke Chenyi's eyes showed that he wanted to kill Mian Bai?"

"Yes, I saw it, and I was shocked." Shen Jiu sighed and said, "I didn't expect that Mr. Ke, who should be a gentle and elegant person in my impression, would have such a fierce expression. At that time, I felt like..."

"What does it look like?"

"Mian Bai is the murderer of his father, or even the murderer who wiped out his entire family." Shen Jiu shook his head helplessly. "I was really scared when I saw it. I even told my sister that I didn't expect such a gentle person to have such a ferocious expression. If he had been allowed at the time, he might have pounced on Mian Bai and bit her like a wild beast."

"Indeed." Shen Cha nodded. "Although I didn't express my opinion at the time, I was a little surprised to hear him say that. He was able to grasp this point. It seems that he has grown up."

"Of course!" Shen Jiu shook his head with a smug look on his face. "You guys negotiate with them and get their words out. I'll just listen quietly and observe their expressions. If they really colluded with each other, their expressions wouldn't be so natural. Especially Ke Chenyi. After he found out that the teahouse had nothing to do with him, his expression was simply amazing. He was really disappointed."

"That's right. This truth was a disaster for him. He collapsed at that moment." Merlin shook his hands and followed Shen Jiu. "I was right next to him at the time. You can never act out that feeling of despair."

"That's right." Shen Jiu nodded, "So there are definitely a lot of conflicts between these two people, and their relationship is definitely not simple. To put it more appropriately, their relationship is more like being at loggerheads, but they want to make money together. If one of them is missing, the other person may not be able to make the money. And there is another point, Mian Bai holds the things that the Empress Dowager left for Ke Chenyi. If Ke Chenyi wants to use these, he must be tied to Mian Bai, otherwise, he won't get a single cent."

"Yeah!" Shen Cha looked at him, then exchanged glances with Jin Miaomiao, "He has definitely grown up."

Ying Er picked up the paper rolls on the ground and put the jewelry back into the boxes. After he had packed up everything, he also started to shake hands.

"To be honest, I trust Mian Bai more. That Ke Chenyi." He shook his head slightly. "You can tell at a glance that he is not the kind of person who tells the truth."

"It seems that everyone has the same idea. I didn't expect that we just arrested someone who disturbed the public order in the city, but it led to such an interesting thing." Shen Cha smiled, "It's a pity that we won't be able to hear the performances of Second Grandfather, Qi Bo, and Yan Bo in the future. People like them are not worthy of being on stage."

Everyone following behind her nodded silently. It was true that meeting someone was not as good as hearing about him. If they knew that Mr. Ke was such a person, it would be better not to meet him, and it would be better not to know him at all!

(End of this chapter)