usatvline Chapter 405: Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they blame ea
Chapter 405: Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they blame ea
"So this little bitch must have planned this in advance." Mrs. Zhang said, with a hint of ferocity in her eyes.
Gu Jianchu couldn't help but sigh and shook his head helplessly.
It would be fine if they just slandered their own daughter, but they also had to belittle and insult their own daughter like this.
It's really chilling.
As an outsider, she found it hard to bear. She really didn't know how Zhang Ran had survived these decades facing such parents. Now that she was suing them, she must be enduring tremendous pain, feeling as helpless as a blunt knife cutting flesh.
"Mother, Mother Lin and Lian'er are both people from your yard. Even if I have incredible power, I can't buy off the people around you. Don't forget how long they have followed you." Zhang Ran looked at her mother heartbroken, with unspeakable pain in her heart, which finally turned into a helpless sigh.
The door was pushed open a crack, and Yun He poked his head in and asked, "Madam, the pawnshop owner has been brought in. Please bring him in."
"Come in." Gu Jianchu nodded.
The pawnshop owner was quickly brought in, and Yun He handed a jade pendant to Gu Jianchu. Gu Jianchu took the jade pendant, glanced at it, and turned it over to read the words engraved on the back. His eyes were cold, and he didn't say anything polite. He asked directly, "Did he pawn this jade pendant?"
Gu Jianchu pointed at Lord Zhang.
Mr. Zhang was now sweating profusely and his body was shaking violently. He did not dare to look up at the pawnshop owner's eyes. However, Yunhe would not let him do that. He immediately sent someone forward to force Mr. Zhang to raise his head.
The pawnshop owner came forward to take a look and nodded with certainty, "My Lady, it's him. He was the one who came to my pawnshop to pawn the jade pendant. He asked for one thousand taels of silver. I took a closer look at the jade pendant and while it was fine, it wasn't worth that much, so I found some faults and reduced the price to three hundred taels."
"Well done! You dare to pawn my jade pendant. Didn't Lord Zhang just claim that he didn't have it? I had ten of these jade pendants made, and the names of the ladies are engraved on the back. Didn't Lord Zhang take a closer look when he went to pawn it?" Gu Jianchu handed the jade pendant to Qiu Tao, who then passed it to Zhang Ran.
Lord Zhang knew that it was no use making excuses now.
He broke free from the little eunuch's control, knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It is my fault that I was blind and became your thing. Please spare my life."
"I'm afraid Lord Zhang didn't think that I would know when he exchanged the money. What's the matter? You just pawned it as a jade pendant for me. I can't take your life, so please keep your life for now. After all, the crime of trafficking women is enough to make you suffer." Gu Jianchu waved his hand, too lazy to punish him.
Upon hearing this, Lord Zhang collapsed to the ground instantly.
Gu Jianchu had finished his bowl of milk skin when Guyu finally arrived, bringing Mr. Zhang and Madam Zhang over. Guyu stepped forward and handed two pieces of paper to Gu Jianchu, "Your Majesty, these were found under Madam Zhang's dresser drawer. One is a birth contract, and the other is the indenture of Miss Zhang II. It clearly states that they need Miss Zhang to help them bear a child, and also specifies the price of the child."
"Also, this indenture is for a three-year sale. If Miss Zhang Er doesn't give birth within three years, she can return home. If she does, the child will give money to Master Zhang and Madam Zhang based on their personality. However, this indenture has not been notarized by the government, so it's illegal."
Gu Jianchu unfolded the paper, took a look at it, and then handed it to Xie Ci'an.
Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang, who were arrested after returning from worshiping Buddha, knelt on the ground and trembled.
"Your Majesty, we have also brought with us the housekeeper from Mr. Zhang's residence, as well as the maid who previously served Miss Zhang II."
The people around the emperor are so meticulous in their work that they will do some things directly without any further instructions.
"Bring everyone in." Gu Jianchu's aura had completely turned cold, but fortunately Xie Ci'an was there to accompany him, so Gu Jianchu was still relatively calm.
Guyu immediately went out and brought the people into the room. The faces of the housekeeper and the little girl were swollen like pig heads. They must have been punished by Mr. Zhang before Guyu went there.
The four of them knelt on the ground and no one dared to speak.
Until Gu Jianchu's voice came, "I didn't know that if you can't have children, you can buy a girl to help give birth. I don't know how many concubines you can marry with the money you earn from buying women to give birth. Even if you don't want to marry concubines, you can adopt from the side branches. You are so smart and chose the most extreme method."
Zhang Yuanwai kowtowed and immediately began to refute, "The Empress, please understand. It wasn't me. She was the one who didn't want to take a concubine for me and insisted on buying a woman to bear my child. I didn't want to at first and even argued against it, but she has always been the dominant one in the family and I dared not disobey her. So, the Empress's matter has nothing to do with me. They all conspired to do this. I am just a victim. I have no other complaints about not having a child."
Hearing what Mr. Zhang said, Mrs. Zhang looked at her husband, who had slept in the same bed with her for more than ten years, with a look of shock on her face. She raised her hand and slapped Mr. Zhang in the face. "Did I force you again? When I proposed this idea, I also asked for your opinion, and you agreed. Even after bringing Zhang Ran back home, you ran to Zhang Ran's room every night more diligently than anyone else. Did I force you to do all this? Before the incident, you were all good to me and everyone else. Now that something has happened, you put all the blame on me. It's true that husband and wife are birds of a feather, but when disaster strikes, they fly away separately."
"It's true that I was the one who brought this up, but you also agreed to it. When it came to sleeping with Zhang Ran, you were more active than anyone else. Don't think I didn't know. Zhang Ran was pregnant, and you often ran into her yard when I wasn't home."
Gu Jianchu thought that it would take a lot of effort to get them to confess, but she didn't expect that the two of them would tell her everything after a few words, and she didn't need to continue interrogating them.
However, seeing Mr. Zhang starting to shirk responsibility after the accident, I couldn't help but feel sad. Everyone envied them when they were in love, but it was just like this after something happened.
Feeling Gu Jianchu's mood gradually sinking, Xie Ci'an held Gu Jianchu's soft fingers, giving Gu Jianchu enough sense of security. Xie Ci'an exerted a little force and pulled Gu Jianchu's arm, and Gu Jianchu fell into his arms. He held Gu Jianchu's fingers with one hand and placed the other hand on Gu Jianchu's waist. He leaned close to Gu Jianchu's ear and whispered, "Don't worry, Ah Chu, no matter what happens, I will never let go of your hand, not in this life."