Chapter 586 Wu Tingtan is dead!

"Granny Liang, teach her manners!"

An old woman stepped forward, twisted Shen Yuanhe's arms, and stepped on her back. Another old woman stepped forward and began slapping her without saying a word.

The two were well-trained and coordinated, clearly indicating that they were experienced in using torture on people.

Before Shen Yuanhe could react, she had already been slapped five or six times.

"Father, save me..."

"Father……"

Shen Congwen was taken aback by Zhou Xinrou's sudden action, and his heart skipped a beat.

Over the years, Zhou Xinrou had always given him the impression of being indifferent to worldly affairs and devoted to Buddhism. Even so, with the Empress Dowager and the Emperor as two powerful figures, he still held her in the highest esteem.

Who would have thought that someone who usually devotes himself to worshipping Buddha could be so ruthless and hurtful with just a few words?

“Princess…” Shen Congwen unconsciously lacked confidence.

This feeling was all too familiar, ever since the princess chose him to marry her, and right up until now. It was only after his daughter ascended the throne, and the court officials treated him with utmost respect, that he forgot this feeling.

"Since you invited me here, it's because you want me to handle family matters!" Zhou Xinrou said coldly.

Shen Congwen hesitated, looking troubled.

Shen Yuanhe was scared; she knew she had made a mistake.

No matter how detached she was from worldly affairs, this princess was not someone she could look down upon.

“Mother, Yuanhe was wrong.”

"Mother, your daughter knows she was wrong!"

"Please, Mother, forgive your daughter this time!"

The two old women looked like they came from the palace; their faces were as cold and hard as stone, as if they were only beating an insignificant person. When they made their move, not a single hair fell out, and their sleeves only swayed slightly.

After twenty or thirty slaps, Zhou Xinrou finally spoke.

Shen Yuanhe's cheeks were already swollen, and tears were streaming down her face.

This was a method specifically used in the palace to punish palace maids; it would damage their skin but not their bones. It would break their pride without affecting their work.

"Alright, at least you can explain yourself to those people outside now," Zhou Xinrou said mercilessly.

Shen Yuanhe finally realized she was scared. Now, being thrown to the ground like a dead dog by the two maids, she quickly got up and carefully knelt on the ground, no longer having the slightest thought of resistance.

Shen Congwen sighed, "Why don't you thank your mother for her teachings!"

Shen Yuanhe quickly said, "Thank you for your teachings, Mother!"

Zhou Xinrou sat expressionless, as if she were still the same princess who ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist prayers and didn't care about anything else.

...

"Your Majesty, a message has arrived from Tianjin."

Shen Lanxi took the secret report, read it, chuckled, and destroyed it.

"Your Majesty, is there good news in Tianjin?" Liu Yan asked curiously.

Shen Lanxi: "The strategist persuaded Liu Binglin to join our Great Zhou."

Liu Yanhui's face lit up with joy.

"With Liu Binglin working with us from the inside, the speed of recapturing Tianjin will definitely be much faster."

Shen Lanxi smiled but did not answer; she had other plans.

The Imperial Guards have come to deliver a message; they were the Imperial Guards she sent to keep an eye on the Shen family.

"Your Majesty, several daughters of the Shen family are making a fuss about getting divorced. The others have already successfully divorced, but only Shen Yuanhe's husband's family has come to make trouble."

Shen Lanxi frowned unhappily: "Has anyone from the Shen family stepped forward to handle this?"

"We invited Master Shen and the Princess."

"How was it resolved?"

"The princess had her maid slap Shen Yuanhe, and Shen Yuanhe is currently negotiating with her husband's family."

Shen Lanxi nodded.

"Don't interfere unless the commotion reaches the palace gates."

"yes!"

Liu Yanhui frowned. Why was the Shen family repeatedly hindering His Majesty?

“Your Majesty, Wu Yanzhi’s position in charge of the bulletin board is for personal gain. He used the position of bulletin board editor to change his son’s position in the Ministry of Personnel to a chief clerk position.”

Shen Lanxi: "Wu Yanzhi's rise to his current position can't be attributed to sycophancy."

Liu Yan replied, "It's a pity that there's no one to carry on his family line."

Shen Lanxi: "I remember that he and Liu Mingxin's family are related by marriage?"

Liu Yanhui's eyes flickered.

"Having such a marriage partner is simply a hindrance to the Liu family. They'd be better off without one like that!"

Liu Yanhui understood.

Two days later, Wu Tingtan was killed at home by a falling tile.

Wu Tingtan has already married into the Liu family, so it's a matter between the Wu and Liu families.

Both families were stationed on the main road leading out of the palace. After the two officials finished their court session, they immediately rushed to report the situation.

"Master, something terrible has happened! Miss is in trouble!"

"Master, something terrible has happened! The young mistress is in trouble!"

Wu Yanzhi and Liu Mingxin immediately rushed to the Liu family.

When Shen Lanxi proposed the concubine tax and the family division tax, many people took the opportunity to divide their families. Because the Liu family had few sons, Liu Mingxin's wife kept quiet about it.

Wu Tingtan is now dead, right in his own home, killed by falling tiles – it's incredibly bizarre.

Although Wu Yanzhi had already remarried, he still loved this daughter very much. When he arrived and saw the body covered with a white cloth, tears immediately streamed down his face.

"How could my daughter have been killed by a falling tile?"

Who was present at the time?

"Where was he crushed to death?"

"If your Liu family doesn't give me an explanation today, don't blame me, Wu Yanzhi, for turning my back on you!"

After confirming his daughter's death, Wu Yanzhi started making a scene on the spot.

Liu Mingxin felt his head buzzing and immediately summoned the housekeeper for questioning.

"Tell me everything clearly in front of the Prime Minister. If there is any concealment, I will not let you off lightly."

A flicker of panic crossed the steward's eyes, and he hurriedly said, "Master, I don't know either. When I heard the maid shouting, I went to check, and the young mistress was already dead."

"I've already asked the maids. At the time, neither of the two maids was with the young mistress. One went to get tea, and the other went to get tea and snacks. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen in the blink of an eye?"

Wu Yanzhi immediately grasped the key point.

"Then how can you be so sure that my daughter was killed by a falling tile?"

The butler immediately replied, "There was a patch of blood-stained broken tiles where the young mistress had her accident. Coupled with the injury on her head, the servants in the school all guessed that she was killed by falling tiles."

Wu Yanzhi didn't believe it and asked the butler to take him to the place where the accident happened.

After reading it, I immediately became suspicious.

The wall was only two meters high. Even if a tile fell from the pavilion next to it, which was only four or five meters high, it might injure someone, but it wouldn't kill them.

"Don't touch my daughter's body, and don't touch the spot where the tiles fell. Anyone who touches it is tampering with the crime scene and is the murderer of my daughter."

Liu Mingxin sensed something was wrong.

"Prime Minister, your daughter is also my daughter-in-law. We are all deeply saddened by her accident."

"But it's not right for you to talk like that."

"Your daughter's death was an accident, but the way you're talking makes it sound like the Liu family killed her!"

In the imperial court, Wu Yanzhi and Liu Mingxin had always been at odds. If it weren't for the late emperor's bestowal of a marriage, their two families would never have become related by marriage.

"Whether it is or not, it's hard to say until the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice have verified it!"