The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 324 Strange

Liang Youde had just been disciplined by his family and hadn't recovered yet. He had to say those words in the loudest voice, and soon he was panting.

He paused for a moment before continuing, "But the rest of the Liang family has nothing to do with this matter. I will take responsibility for my actions. Whatever the outcome may be, it is what I deserve. I only ask that everyone let the Liang family off the hook."

The clan chief sincerely said, "Neither the Liang family nor Youde ever intended to shirk responsibility. To express our apologies, the Liang family is willing to donate 70% of its family fortune as compensation!"

The Liang family's attitude and remedial measures were exemplary, but because their eyes and ears were being watched, they didn't have time to get the latest information.

Therefore, they were unaware that there was another hidden danger in this matter.

Liang Youde solemnly apologized to the people, then turned back to face Le Zhenghong.

After a moment of silence, Le Zhenghong asked with a deep gaze, "You say the Liang family is innocent, then was the Liang family's encroachment on the land also your doing?"

Le Zhenghong's tone was flat, but it was clear that he did not believe the Liang family was truly innocent.

The clan chief's heart sank to the bottom. He looked at Liang Youde with a dark expression and asked, "What else are you hiding?"

“Occupying land?” Liang Youde was dumbfounded.

Le Zhenghong asked sternly, "You don't know?"

"I don't know anything about it! What land encroachment? I absolutely did not do such a thing!"

In the Dayong Dynasty, land could not be bought or sold privately. If a land was truly unclaimed, it would be confiscated by the government and then reassigned.

However, given the inconvenient transportation in ancient times, the imperial court lacked sufficient control over areas below the county level, so land could still be transferred privately under various pretexts.

If this kind of thing doesn't escalate, it's fine, but if it does, it's still a serious crime.

Zhang San couldn't help but sneer: "Don't you know? If it weren't for your Liang family taking advantage of our misfortune, forcing us to sell our land and ourselves, why would we help you steal soil?"

If Liang Youde still doesn't realize something is wrong at this point, then he is the biggest fool in the world.

He looked at Zhang San and said seriously, "Who got the land and whose name is on the deed are all traceable. I admit I almost made a big mistake because I was confused for a moment, but I didn't do the land grab."

Li Si, fearing that others would think they were making things up, quickly said, "Lord Le, the Liang family can make excuses about other things, but our master's family is the Liang family."

Liang Youde frowned: "I admit that the Liang family is indeed your main family, but I found you through a legitimate brokerage firm. Your land has absolutely nothing to do with the Liang family."

"Alright, no noise in the courtroom."

Le Zhenghong was prepared and took out several deeds: "Liang Youde, you said that the Liang family has never seized land, but the victims are not just Zhang San and Li Si in court, but many others. And these deeds do indeed bear the seal of your Liang family head."

Liang Youde blurted out, "Impossible!"

The deeds in Le Zhenghong's hand were half the height of his palm. With so many deeds, how could he not know if the Liang family's land had changed hands?

But there are other victims standing here today.

Although they are not sold into slavery like Zhang San and Li Si, they can only work as tenant farmers for wealthy families because they have lost their land.

How can farming other people's land be the same as farming your own?

They hated Liang Youde to the core.

Liang Youde's denial was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

The victims below were either cursing or crying, and some were so agitated that they almost wanted to rush onto the stage and confront Liang Youde face to face.

Fortunately, the security was tight today, otherwise the situation would have gotten out of control.

Liang Youde's expression turned serious; he realized he had to say something.

"My lord, I, Liang Youde, have nothing to hide from others. There must be something hidden in this matter. I beg you to investigate thoroughly in front of everyone and clear my name!"

Because there were too many victims, Lok Ching-hung had already obtained their testimonies, and today he only called a few up to question them in person.

The reasons these families lost their land varied, but all revealed the influence of human intervention.

They were initially unaware that the mastermind behind it all was the "Liang family," but when Le Zhenghong investigated, he sent people to investigate the situation one by one, and finally discovered that all the land had fallen into the hands of the Liang family.

Liang Youde's words were resounding, and his frank demeanor calmed the aggrieved parties, who, though still harboring doubts, were eventually brought to their senses under the control of the guards.

“My parents are honest and law-abiding people. One day, my father was bitten by a poisonous snake while climbing the mountain. Fortunately, he was saved by a passerby. My father was extremely grateful to his savior and had no sense of caution. As a result, he was led astray into gambling and eventually lost a hand and the family’s ancestral property was transferred to another owner.”

“The Liang family is recorded in the government records. I have also sent people to investigate secretly, but we found that no one in the Liang family could be matched with your father’s savior. In other words, the person who led your father to gambling addiction was not a member of the Liang family.”

……

"I am not a native of the capital. I fled famine years ago and came here to live with my aunt who married into the capital. I am quite capable, so I acquired some land in a few years and settled down in the capital. Later, as my business grew, I hired some people to help manage the land. However, last year, my son killed a merchant in a dispute. To save my son from imprisonment, I had to sell all my possessions to silence the merchant. Fortunately, after emptying my possessions, the merchant did not push his luck and went back to his hometown."

"So, you mean you've never met any members of the Liang family from beginning to end, and this matter has had no apparent connection with the Liang family?"

"Yes. Not long after, I discovered that this matter was very strange, so I made some inquiries. I heard that the person who was supposedly killed by my son had left the capital unharmed. Unfortunately, when I went to look for him again, I had already lost all trace of him."

If he hadn't sensed something was wrong, he would have kept it a complete secret for his son's sake.

After questioning ten people, each person had different details about losing their land, but they all had one thing in common: there was no trace of the Liang family.

This left not only the people in the audience, but also Liang Youde and the victims completely baffled.

The eldest prince couldn't help but ask in astonishment, "Liang Youde, are you really the head of the Liang family?"

Liang Youde smiled wryly: "That's true."

"Then how come you don't know anything about this..."

The Third Prince covered his mouth: "Brother, don't interfere with Lord Yue's investigation."

The eldest prince slapped his hand away: "Aren't you curious?"

"Curious..."

"That's it."

The emperor coughed lightly, and the two noisy brothers immediately quieted down.