Chapter 470 [Redressing the Injustice for the Zhaoping Marquisate]

A path was immediately made through the crowd.

Everyone saw a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and tattered official robes rushing through the crowd like a wild bull with wind in its hair, running on the bluestone road of Linlang Street.

His face was pale, as if he had been extremely frightened.

"Who is this? He's wearing an official robe, and he looks like he's of high rank."

"Where is he going? Is he heading towards the Marquis of Zhaoping's mansion? Let's follow him and see!"

Curiosity drove people to follow this madman.

Everyone followed him and saw this madman in official robes stumbling all the way to the former site of Marquis Zhaoping's Mansion.

Then, the madman plopped down on his knees in front of the gate of Marquis Zhaoping's mansion and began to kowtow to it repeatedly, muttering to himself, "My Lord, my son, I was wrong. I shouldn't have slandered Marquis Zhaoping's mansion as a demon star. I was also instructed by someone!"

"If I don't do this, that person will kill my whole family!"

Liu Xi was taken by Su Rui to the most gloomy cemetery outside Beijing and locked up for ten days. Coupled with all kinds of modern technology to scare and torture him, he was almost crazy. At this time, he kept confessing his crimes in front of Marquis Zhaoping.

"Please forgive me, I don't want to go to hell!"

"It was Yao Chengping who threatened me!"

The madman kept repeating these few words over and over again. He kowtowed and shed tears of repentance, and his forehead had already become a mess of blood and flesh.

The snowflakes falling from the sky landed on his broken forehead, turned into blood and flowed down, making his face look even more hideous!

The crowd who were watching heard clearly what the madman was muttering over and over again, and their faces were filled with horror!

"Slandering the Zhaoping Marquis Mansion as a demon star? Who is this person?"

"Yao Chengping? Isn't this the Tiger General currently stationed in the northwest? Is this the Marquis of Zhaoping Mansion that he falsely accused?"

A knowledgeable citizen in the crowd speculated, "Looking at the official robes he wears and what he says, could this be Liu Xi, the director of the Imperial Observatory who advised the emperor back then?"

Someone who didn't know the situation hurriedly asked, "What's going on with the demon star? What did Liu Xi say?"

Soon, some older people told those who were unaware of the incident what had happened.

Three years ago, that was the 20th year of Qingning.

Emperor Qingning, who had always been in good health, fell seriously ill without any warning. The Imperial Hospital tried its best to treat him but there was no improvement.

Soon after, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory advised that there was an evil star suppressing the Purple Star, and if the evil star was not killed, the emperor's illness would not improve.

Emperor Qingning, who was lying on his sickbed, immediately ordered a thorough investigation, and it turned out that something had happened in the Marquis Zhaoping's Mansion.

The imperial guards seized witchcraft items and a privately made imperial seal from the mansion of Marquis Zhaoping.

Emperor Qingning was furious, but the previous emperor had ordered that those who had made great contributions to suppressing rebellions and guarding the border should not be killed, so he ordered the exile of Marquis Zhaoping and his family to Haizhou.

After Marquis Zhaoping and his family were exiled, Emperor Qingning's illness also recovered.

At this time, someone excitedly pointed out: "This man is Liu Xi, the former director of the Imperial Observatory. There's no mistake! I used to be a waiter at the best teahouse in the capital. Liu Xi often came to drink tea and even touched my hand. What a pervert!"

"Later I heard he resigned due to illness! I didn't expect he was crazy! Now it seems he must have done something wrong, and there must be something wrong with his mind that made him crazy!"

When they learned that the identity of this madman was Liu Xi of the Imperial Observatory, it caused a huge uproar!

"Liu Xi slandered the Marquis back then, so the story of the Marquis and the Crown Prince plotting rebellion is probably also a slander!"

"It must be Yao Chengping who wanted to replace the Xin family father and son, so he slandered and framed them. My two cousins ​​worked as cooks in the Zhaoping Marquis's mansion. At the time, Zhaoping Marquis treated Yao Chengping like his own son. He lived and ate with the Crown Prince. I never thought he was such an ungrateful person that he ruined the Xin family!"

"Yes, how could it be such a coincidence that it snowed in June? God must have opened his eyes!"

"The Zhaoping Marquisate was full of loyal and righteous people who dedicated themselves to protecting the people of Dasheng, yet they ended up dying unjustly in a foreign land. What a pity!"

"Marquis Zhaoping and his family fought off foreign enemies to keep us safe. They are the protectors of Dasheng. Now that they have suffered such injustice, we, the people, should seek redress for them!"

"right!"

"Yes! To redress the injustice done to the Marquis of Zhaoping's mansion!"

In the vast flying snow, the voices calling for justice for the Marquis Zhaoping's Mansion were heard by hundreds!

At this time, Liu Xi, who was still kowtowing in front of Marquis Zhaoping's mansion, fainted due to excessive blood loss.

Zhang Yuan and his detectives had just returned from Linlang Street. Seeing the situation in front of Marquis Zhaoping's residence, he led his men into the crowd and asked, "What's going on? Who beat this guy?"

The angry people wanted to seek justice for the Zhaoping Marquisate, and when they saw Zhang Yuan passing by, it was like grabbing a life-saving straw.

"Master Zhang, you are the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, renowned for your fairness and justice. Please redress the injustice for the Marquis of Zhaoping's mansion on our behalf!"

Zhang Yuan looked a little confused: "Wait a minute, don't get excited. What happened there?"

So someone told Zhang Yuan that Liu Xi had just confessed his sins in front of the Marquis of Zhaoping's mansion.

Zhang Yuan's expression became serious after hearing this: "Is this really true?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "We all heard and saw it, how could it be false? Master Zhang, please speak up for the people. We can all testify!"

Someone took the lead and bowed to Zhang Yuan: "Master Zhang, please redress the injustice for the Marquis of Zhaoping's mansion!"

Everyone followed suit and knelt down.

"Fellow villagers, you absolutely cannot do this! It is my duty to judge this case impartially!"

Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Since so many people have testified, let's take Liu Xi back to the Dali Temple first! Protect him as a key figure."

Zhang Yuan, carrying everyone's expectations, took Liu Xi away with the detectives.

As soon as he left, Xia Su, the commander of the military division in charge of the capital's security, arrived late.

Today, He Lin suddenly had something important to discuss with him in secret. It was about the fourth prince born to his sister, Concubine Rou. He did not dare to delay and found a secluded place to talk to He Lin.

Ever since He Lin sent the shelled Amomum villosum to Concubine Rou to protect her pregnancy, he has also used his connections throughout Lingnan to help the Xia family a lot and has been regarded as a loyal and reliable ally by the Xia family. Xia Su and Concubine Rou both plan to help the He family more after the Fourth Prince is made the Crown Prince and inherits the throne in the future.

This confidential discussion also concerned the Fourth Prince's health. The Imperial Hospital's Chief Judge, Lord Qi, stated that the Fourth Prince's immune system was significantly weaker than that of an average person, and that five medicinal herbs needed to be purchased from overseas. He Lin had found these five herbs today and had given them to Xia Su.

This matter concerns the future of their Xia family and cannot be taken lightly, so Xia Su wasted a lot of time.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he came out of the secret meeting place, his subordinates hurriedly informed him that something happened in Linlang Street.

"The military is on the move. All outsiders, please exit Linlang Street immediately!"

Xia Su braved the snow and rode his tall horse, galloping all the way to the front of Zhaoping Marquis's mansion. He glanced at the bloodstains on the ground and asked, "Where is that nonsense Liu Xiren?!"

——"Master Xia, Liu Xi has been taken to the Dali Temple by Master Zhang!"

Xia Su's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. It's bad!