Song Yue scoffed: "Even if there are real family members here, what about these imposters? Princess Qing, these guards were all brought by you personally, shouldn't you give an explanation?"
Princess Qing frowned and explained, "The Qing Prince's Mansion has already given each family of guards one hundred taels of silver as compensation. These families may have learned some of the truth during the burial, which is why they are unwilling to accept this and have come to the Duke of Jing's Mansion to seek justice."
"Yes, we only found out that the breadwinner of our family had died when we knew we were going to hold a funeral. We are just ordinary people, what's wrong with wanting justice?"
A quick-witted person rushed out from the crowd, stretched their neck, and shouted with a flushed face, telling the Prefect of the Capital their home address and their relationship with the deceased.
Princess Qing continued, "People die for money, birds die for food. It's understandable that those who impersonate others might cause trouble in order to compensate for the money."
That makes sense.
“These guards have served me for over a decade, and they died innocently in the Duke of Jing’s mansion while protecting me. How can I let them down?” Princess Qing slowly stood up from her chair, her gaze fixed on Song Yue. “I did not harm anyone in the Duke of Jing’s mansion that day; I was merely seeking justice. Yet you have been shouting for violence and repeatedly defying your superiors. What is the meaning of this?”
Song Yue narrowed her eyes. She knew all along that this scheme was set up for her mother and the emperor. They wanted to use this incident to give the Northern Chu Emperor a bad reputation for being indulgent, and to make Princess Jia Hua bear the crime of disregarding human life and abusing her power.
Princess Qing rubbed her temples and sighed, "I didn't want things to escalate like this either. Third Miss, the person is dead, but they won't let it go. What can I do?"
Perhaps it was Princess Qing's words that gave them great encouragement, and the situation took another turn, with everyone looking at Song Yue.
"Since the Princess insists on making a scene, then this junior can only play along to the end." Song Yue smiled faintly, raised her chin, and winked at a corner not far away.
"Please, Your Excellency, grant me this justice!"
A cry rang out, and the crowd parted to make way.
A woman carrying a swaddled baby and supporting an elderly man slowly walked over. Both of them were dressed in coarse linen clothes.
"My lord, I am Li Zhu's wife. My husband, like them, was a guard by the Princess Consort of Qing." The woman cried until her voice was hoarse, sobbing uncontrollably as she held her child in her arms and knelt before the Prefect of Jingzhao. "My lord, a few days ago, Li Zhu was sent home in a coffin. When I was on watch that night, I noticed movement in the coffin. When I opened it, I found my husband was still alive."
Upon hearing this, Princess Qing's pupils instantly contracted, and she looked at the woman in disbelief, her gaze turning gloomy.
The woman trembled slightly, but mustered her courage and continued, "My husband said that when the guards were carried away, several of them were still barely alive. They were all killed by the order of Princess Qing. In the end, my husband died from his serious injuries."
Upon hearing that the person had died, Princess Qing breathed a sigh of relief and sneered, "I remember you. You were the one who tried to extort a thousand taels of silver from me. When I refused, you turned around and framed me. I never thought that a mere woman could be so greedy. Considering that your husband has died, I will let you off the hook."
The woman's eyes widened upon hearing this: "When have I ever extorted money from the princess?"
"Your Highness, it's because you're too kind-hearted that you're bullied," the maid said. "That woman is so ungrateful."
The woman blushed with anger at being slandered.
"My lord, I have a suggestion. We can open the coffin and examine the body to find out whether what this woman said is true or false," Song Yue said.
The Prince Qing's residence was already a focus of Song Yue's attention. Ling Yi had privately reported to the Princess Qing that all the corpses had been placed in coffins and not buried together.
She became suspicious and sent someone to keep an eye on things.
Song Yue was surprised that the Prince Qing's mansion would bring so many family members, and she guessed the purpose of the Prince Qing's mansion.
“I also have my husband’s last words written before he died.” The woman held up a letter.
Princess Qing's expression changed drastically. She gritted her teeth and gave a wink to the guard beside her. The guard had just moved when the Prefect of the Capital rebuked him: "How dare you! You dare to kill someone in front of me to silence them and steal the evidence?"
The guard frowned and hurriedly said that he dared not, that he had simply slipped.
The Prefect of the Capital ordered his men to protect the woman, and then took a look at her last words before putting them in his bosom. The woman wept bitterly, pleading, "Please, Your Honor, give me justice."
The Prefect of the Capital said, "Rest assured, I will not stand idly by in this matter."
With these words spoken, the others dared not speak rashly.
Princess Qing's face turned cold: "The words of an ignorant woman cannot be trusted..."
The Prefect of the Capital immediately ordered the coroner to be summoned and the coffin opened on the spot for examination. He said, "The swords of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are all specially made. The wounds caused by different weapons are also different. An examination will tell us."
Seeing that the other party was ignoring her and clearly favoring the Song family, Princess Qing felt something was wrong and quickly sent someone to ask for help.
Song Yue gave Princess Qing a provocative smile: "Princess, you've resorted to such despicable means to slander my mother and defame the Emperor. But this scheme is too low-level."
Looking into the other person's eyes, Princess Qing's mind went blank for a moment before she suddenly realized: "You knew all along!"
We have all the witnesses and physical evidence; we're just waiting for her to bring people to our door.
Having been humiliated time and again, Princess Qing's face turned extremely ugly. When she got up to leave, she found herself surrounded by layers upon layers of people, making it impossible for her to get out.
Song Yue was no longer in a hurry and waited patiently.
With this matter escalating to such an extent, it's impossible for the Prince Qing's Mansion to remain unscathed!
Civil officials and censors would not give up easily.
In the end, Prince Qing didn't even show his face. He only sent someone to warn Princess Qing not to get involved with the Prince Qing's mansion. Princess Qing's mind went blank after hearing this.
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