TGCFNM -Chapter 410 The Wu Family of Those Years

Chu Ling looked at Lu Shi. “Just now, we had that same feeling—as if by simply following your investigation, Lord Lu, this case could naturally be resolved.”

“Was Lord Lu deceived? Were the witnesses or evidence falsified?” Wan Sanjin asked.

Lu Shi shook his head. “Everything that happened was real, and all the witnesses and evidence were genuine. Even I thought at the time that I might be overthinking it… but then I met Wu Ting…”

Lu Shi recalled eight years ago, the thin young boy in prison, curled up in the corner. His bones were so distinct that every joint was visible through his frail frame.

Yet when Wu Ting saw him appear, he did not panic or cower. Instead, he hurried over to him, even stumbling as he went.

“Lord Lu, I stole the jade Guanyin; it has nothing to do with my family. I was wrong, I was wrong—I truly admit my mistake. Lord Lu, please just kill me, just kill me. I was wrong, I truly was wrong…”

Lu Shi shook his head. “It was only theft, not a capital crime. Neither you nor your family will die.”

Wu Ting’s thin arms wiped his tears vigorously, leaving his eyes red.

Lu Shi asked, “Did you only take the jade Guanyin?”

Wu Ting immediately nodded. “There were so many things in that room. I thought taking just one wouldn’t be noticed, so I took the jade Guanyin. I thought it was a gift someone had sent to the Si family.”

“Then how did you get to the storeroom, and how did you get inside?” Lu Shi asked.

Wu Ting recalled the events of that day. “A maid was clumsy and splashed water all over me. I saw she was young, so I didn’t hold it against her. Then she went to her brother and asked him to dry my clothes. I followed them. Everyone along the way knew her brother; I thought he must be well-liked in the mansion.”

“Soon, I arrived at the place. That maid’s brother took my outer robe to dry, and I was bored, so I went outside. I walked along a deserted path and saw a storeroom with its door open. Outside were piled gifts, and I even saw a gift sent by my own Wu family. It had fallen on the ground, so I picked it up.”

Suddenly Wu Ting stopped, frustrated, clutching his head. “Why did I go out? If I hadn’t gone out, none of this would have happened!”

Lu Shi continued, “When you opened the slightly ajar door of the storeroom, what did you see?”

Wu Ting lifted his head. “So many treasures—calligraphy, ceramics, jade carvings, jewelry… and a half-human-high piece of red coral. The jade Guanyin was at the foot of the red coral. Its color looked ordinary, so I mistakenly thought it was a cheap gift from some family, and I wanted to take it to sell.”

Lu Shi nodded. “So you took it?”

Wu Ting nodded awkwardly. “I took the jade Guanyin and returned to the room to wait for my clothes to dry. I almost fell asleep while waiting. Then the maid’s brother came, I changed my clothes, and he sent me out of the mansion.”

Lu Shi nodded. This matched perfectly with the testimonies of the maid and her brother, with no discrepancies.

“Other than the jade Guanyin, you didn’t touch or see anything else, right?” Lu Shi asked.

Wu Ting nodded. “I only took the jade Guanyin. Then I was scared, so I left immediately.”

After finishing his questions, Lu Shi turned and left.

Soon, the case was judged. Wu Ting was imprisoned for theft, but the Wu family quickly redeemed him, reportedly offering an ancient painting so exquisite that even the Si family would not refuse it, saving Wu Ting’s life.

But from that moment, misfortune struck. First, the Wu family lost their title, then one by one, family members died. Branches of the family began to separate, the servants collectively rebelled, took away their contracts, packed up, and left. Eventually, Wu Ting left as well.

Now the Wu family was in ruin. No one mentioned them, and no one remembered them.

Lu Shi took a deep breath and looked at Chu Ling. “Do you understand why, after meeting Wu Ting, I began to feel that something about this case was strange?”

“Not to mention the slightly ajar storeroom door, not to mention that a little maid’s brother could take him near the storeroom—just looking at Wu Ting’s own testimony… he said there were many treasures in the storeroom, and the jade Guanyin was the least noticeable. So he took the jade Guanyin, and then the Si family reported it to the authorities, and he was caught,” Chu Ling explained, turning to Lu Shi.

“Lord Lu, everything is too coincidental, almost like a setup. But it’s also his own stupidity for actually stealing something.”

Lu Shi nodded. “There’s one more point.”

“One more point?” Chu Ling echoed, then carefully recalled what Lu Shi had just said, but couldn’t figure out what else there could be.

At that moment, Wan Sanjin slowly raised his hand and asked, “Is it the blood coral?”

Lu Shi looked at him, as if suddenly realizing something. “Right, you’re the second son of the Wan family. You know about blood coral, don’t you?”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “Blood coral is extremely rare, especially one that’s half a person’s height. That’s a true treasure.”

Chu Ling understood. “A storeroom holding a half-human-height blood coral, yet left unlocked—that’s the part that doesn’t add up.”

Lu Shi shook his head again.

Wan Sanjin licked his lips, hesitated, and said, “Actually, our Wan family used to have two blood corals, both quite large. My eldest brother said to save the better one for me and took the slightly lesser one away.”

Chu Ling was momentarily stunned, silently looking at Wan Sanjin.

Lu Shi also looked on, surprised.

Wan Sanjin gave an awkward laugh. “There’s so much in my treasure house, I almost forget what’s in there, haha… hahahaha…”

“What’s so different about that blood coral?” Chu Ling asked Lu Shi.

Lu Shi looked at Wan Sanjin.

Wan Sanjin thought for a moment. “Anyway, the Wan family would never have given a blood coral to a noble household, so the Si family must have obtained it elsewhere… Ah, my eldest brother said it was sold, and apparently sold for quite a lot, much higher than usual.”

“The blood coral was the real gift,” Chu Ling said to Lu Shi. “The jade Guanyin wasn’t meant as a gift at all.”

Lu Shi nodded.

“The Imperial Consort De, as well as the Si family, were all lying. The blood coral was what was truly intended to be sent, and the jade Guanyin really was as Wu Ting said—not eye-catching… Then why report it to the authorities? Was there something wrong with the jade Guanyin?” Chu Ling frowned.

Lu Shi looked at Chu Ling appreciatively and began to explain. “The story at the time was this: when the Si family redeemed the jade Guanyin from the pawnshop, they discovered it had a crack. So the Si family had to replace it with a more expensive gift and sent the blood coral to the palace instead.”

After speaking, Lu Shi glanced at Wan Sanjin.

Wan Sanjin nodded. “It was indeed expensive. My eldest brother made a fair amount of profit.”

“Lord Lu, have you seen that jade Guanyin yourself?” Chu Ling asked.

Lu Shi nodded. “I made a point to come see it. The base really had a crack, and it looked like it had been broken in half and then glued back together. So I asked the Si family some questions, closely watching their expressions. I saw genuine anxiety and nervousness, and realized that the jade Guanyin was indeed problematic—but it wasn’t them who broke it.”

“The pawnshop staff, however, claimed that no one had touched the jade Guanyin. No one knew how the crack appeared. So I investigated the pawnshop.”

Lu Shi’s eyes darkened slightly. “Within the capital, I couldn’t find out who owned the pawnshop in the first place. Not long after, the pawnshop was transferred to someone else, and the matter could no longer be traced.”