Chapter 111 Face

"Don't deny it. You just hate me for harming you. Otherwise, why would the Third Prince want to harm you?" The Third Prince's wife said to the daughter of the West City County Magistrate with red eyes.

She now has to take all the responsibilities for the Third Prince. Her arms are broken and her face is disfigured. There is no hope for her life. But the only thing she can do now is to find a way out for her parents, brother and daughter.

The woman angrily retorted: "The Third Prince is a pervert. He took me away because I refused to be his concubine. He said this was the result of my ignorance!"

"Hahaha... It's your blessing that the third prince takes a fancy to you, the daughter of a county magistrate. How dare you reject him? Who would believe this? Ask everyone, for the daughter of a seventh-rank official to be chosen as a concubine by the prince, who wouldn't think that her family is blessed? And who would reject the third prince? It's obvious that you are lying!" Suddenly, the third prince's wife laughed wildly.

"I didn't lie!" The woman's face began to blush as she argued.

At this moment, she realized that her refusal to be the concubine of the Third Prince was indeed incredible in the eyes of most people. After all, this kind of thing would be something that other humble women would be happy to have. However, she was different. Her mother taught her from a young age that she would rather be a wife of a poor family than a concubine of a nobleman. Moreover, she was of noble character and loved reading. She disdained being a concubine the most. However, in this situation, it was obvious that most people did not believe her.

Even the Dali Temple and some officials who were listening to the hearing frowned slightly and looked at her. From the perspective of ordinary people, the Third Prince was of noble status, young and promising. Although his appearance was not as outstanding as that of Young Master Pei and the Eighth Prince, he was still outstanding among men. Such a noble and good-looking man was the dream husband of many women. How many women would refuse him?

And everyone knows that now that the crown prince is no longer capable, the third prince has a great chance of ascending to a high position in the future, and if she becomes the third prince's concubine, she may also be made a princess in the future. Who would not want such a good opportunity?

The Third Prince saw that everyone was looking at the victim with questioning eyes, and his heart gradually relaxed. After looking at Mr. Qi, he calmly said, "My lady, I had a crush on you in the past, and it was my fault. My princess committed such a big mistake against you, and you can rest assured that I will never cover it up. However, I also hope that you will not be blinded by hatred and insist on framing me. As the husband of the Third Prince's wife, I am indeed derelict in my duty, but I should not be slandered by you like this."

"I didn't frame you! I didn't frame you!" The woman held her head and her emotions began to become unstable.

Especially after seeing so many questioning eyes around her, the fear that once tortured her came over her again.

Pei Jingchuan saw something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to interrupt the Third Prince, saying, "This victim has been tortured for a long time in the Third Prince's mansion. Now she sees the Third Prince's appearance, so she will inevitably have a serious psychological trauma. Please don't ask her any more. Now that things have come to this, even if the Third Prince's wife admits all the crimes, this evil thing happened in the Third Prince's mansion. As the Third Prince's wife's bedmate, the Third Prince is more or less suspected of tolerating it, or the crime of negligence."

He knew that after today's commotion, it would be almost impossible to completely convict the Third Prince, so he could only take a step back and implicate the Third Prince.

After hearing what Pei Jingchuan said, the third prince's eyes dimmed slightly. He wanted to say something else, but after meeting the restraining gaze of Mr. Qi in the crowd, he retreated without saying anything.

The Dali Temple Minister did not have the right to convict the Third Prince. He was only responsible for investigating the case and then reporting it to the Emperor. Because the Third Prince was a prince, only the Emperor could judge his guilt.

——The Imperial Palace——

After listening to the report of the cause and effect of the incident by the Grand Court Minister, the Emperor couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief, and his complexion visibly improved.

Although he was indeed disappointed with the Third Prince, when he heard that the Third Prince's wife admitted all the crimes in the end, he felt as if a stone had fallen from his heart.

As an emperor, he needs to consider the people of the world. He is also a father and the heir and inheritor of the Great Xia Dynasty. He cannot let such a scandal happen to the Great Xia royal family. If the third prince is really convicted of this crime, then the reputation of their Great Xia royal family will inevitably be damaged.

So he quickly issued an imperial decree, sentencing the Third Prince's wife Yao Fu to death. As for the Third Prince, he was sentenced to the crime of negligence and was beaten with thirty sticks. He also wrote a self-criticism and posted it throughout the city.

After Concubine Chun learned the outcome of the matter, she was greatly relieved. At the same time, her eyes became fierce, and she thought of the person who had sued the third prince.

She would not let them off so easily in this matter! So, after she had packed up, she went to see the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the prince has been wronged this time. He has been beaten with thirty sticks and had to write a self-criticism and post it throughout the city. Shouldn't the people who framed the prince also be punished?" Concubine Chun knelt in front of the emperor's hall, her face tearful, looking so pitiful.

Hearing this, the emperor frowned and said, "Those are the victims, they are already very pitiful. They were harmed by the Third Prince's Consort. The Third Prince and her are husband and wife, and they were implicated by her. Now that the Third Prince's Consort is dead, what else do you want to do to those victims? Do you think the Third Prince was not scolded badly by the people this time?"

Upon hearing this, Concubine Chun quickly explained, "No! Your Majesty, you misunderstood. I am not talking about those victimized women, but Young Master Pei and his Crown Prince's Concubine. I heard that it was the Crown Prince's Concubine who sneaked into the Third Master's study and rescued those women. She went to the Dali Temple to sue my son for abusing and killing women. She was the one behind this!"

"Really?" The emperor asked with some doubt upon hearing this.

Before, he was focusing on the process of the incident, and didn't delve into the fact that Xu Qingyan rescued those women in the Third Prince's Mansion. Now, after hearing what Concubine Chun said, he became interested. How could a woman like the Crown Prince's Concubine think of going to the Third Prince's Mansion to investigate such a matter?

So he asked someone to invite Pei Jingchuan and Xu Qingyan to the palace.

——Imperial Study——

"Crown Princess, how could you have the idea of ​​going to the Third Prince's mansion to rescue those women out of no reason? How did you know that they were locked up in the Third Prince's study?" The Emperor sat on a high seat and asked Xu Qingyan and his wife who were standing below with a serious expression.

Hearing this, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but curse in her heart: [Oh my God! The emperor is here to call me to task! He must be blaming me for exposing this matter! He is such a stingy emperor, no wonder he ignored the King of Qin for so many years! ]

"Your Majesty, I was invited to the Third Prince's residence. When I went to the palace to relieve myself, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I was in the dark room. Before, there was a feud between me and the Third Prince's wife, and this is something many people know. If I had not escaped that time, I would have been a lantern in the Third Prince's residence now!" Xu Qingyan explained solemnly.

Didn't they conclude that it was the Third Prince's Consort who did it? Then, since there were so many conflicts between him and the Third Prince's Consort, this reason sounded reasonable, right?