Chapter 308 Feng Yuerou's Imprisonment
Min Hui's death caused a huge uproar on this day that should have been a time for family reunion.
To be precise, what caused the uproar was not Min Hui's death itself, but the imperial edict issued by Emperor Xiaozhao.
The Min Qiao murder case!?
Does Emperor Xiaozhao's statement imply that he has already concluded that Lady Min Qiao killed Min Hui?
If that's the case, then why wait another two weeks? Just for the Lantern Festival?
Or was it that Emperor Xiaozhao specifically gave the Jingzhou government half a month to investigate the truth?
If the truth still needs to be investigated, then why bring up something like "Min Qiao's murder case"?
No matter how you look at it, it's full of contradictions.
Regardless of Emperor Xiaozhao's thoughts, one thing is certain: Lady Min Qiao is in trouble.
The Zhao residence.
As soon as Madam Zhao returned to the mansion, she was slapped hard by Master Zhao.
"You dare to get involved in something like this?"
Mrs. Zhao covered her face, feeling utterly wronged. "I never expected that the Lady of Annan would set a trap for me!"
"You didn't expect that? Didn't you know that Lady Annan was part of the Lu family faction? Didn't you know that Lady Annan and Madam Qiao of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion were at odds?"
"However, this does not prevent me from being friends with the Countess of Annam."
Madam Zhao Si retorted, "The discord between the Earl of Annan and Madam Qiao is their business and has nothing to do with me. The feud between the Lu family and the Marquis of Xuanping's family has even less to do with our Zhao family."
"How was I supposed to know that Lady Annam would betray me?"
Mrs. Zhao felt increasingly aggrieved as she spoke.
"You idiot! Don't you know that Lady Annam and Consort Zhao are close friends? How dare you associate with her?"
"It's precisely because she and Consort Xian are good friends that I dare to associate with her!" Madam Zhao was even more puzzled. "Consort Xian is our Zhao family's aunt, your own sister, and my own sister-in-law. Why is it wrong for me to associate with her friends?"
Upon hearing this, Master Zhao felt like dying.
Grand Secretary Zhao raised his hand, interrupting the pointless argument between the fourth prince and his wife, and revealed the truth: "Consort Zhao is not a daughter of the Zhao family, but the daughter of Lu Shanglin."
"What!?" Mrs. Zhao looked at the old man in disbelief, then at Mr. Zhao.
Master Zhao nodded helplessly.
Mrs. Zhao plopped down in a chair, and after a long while, she asked Mr. Zhao in astonishment, "So, from the very beginning, the Duchess of Annan wanted to drag me into this mess?"
"No! It was Consort Zhao who planned from the very beginning to drag the Zhao family down with her." Fourth Master Zhao sighed in frustration.
"What should I do then? If we end up in court, whose side should I take?" Mrs. Zhao asked worriedly.
Master Zhao looked at the old man.
Grand Secretary Zhao was also filled with helplessness.
Despite all precautions, I still fell for their trick.
Zhao Yan is now forcing the Zhao family to stand on the opposite side of Min Qiao's family.
After much deliberation, Grand Secretary Zhao finally made a decision.
"When the time comes, just tell the truth."
"What about Consort Zhao...?" Master Zhao couldn't help but worry.
“She wouldn’t dare. Unless she’s willing to fight to the death. Otherwise, the crime of deceiving the emperor is a handle on my Zhao family, and it’s also a shackle on Zhao Yan.”
He was the one who concealed her identity and sent her to the palace. Yet, for all these years, she has also been deceiving the emperor.
They're evenly matched.
If they want to use this to blackmail the Zhao family, they'll have to see if he's willing to cooperate.
Moreover, as long as that person is not dead, and as long as Emperor Xiaozhao's request has not been fulfilled, the Xuanping Marquis's mansion will not be easily overthrown.
In this round, the Lu family is destined to fail to bring down the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion.
***
South of the city, the Qiao residence.
Three days have passed since Emperor Xiaozhao's decree came down and everyone left the Sanfang residence.
After Min Qiao returned, she sent people to find the missing Feng Yuerou, the old woman who relayed the message to Feng Yuerou, and Hua Conglin who had committed murder and fled.
Yesterday afternoon, Chen San came to report that he had discovered the whereabouts of the stewardess who served Feng Yuerou.
After tracking and investigating, the old woman's hiding place was finally located today. Madam Min then ordered Old Woodcutter to lead men to capture her.
Upon seeing the old woodcutter return, Madam Min Qiao anxiously inquired about the results: "Has the person been caught?"
Old Woodcutter nodded. "We caught them. We even followed the clues and found the Feng family."
Madam Min was overjoyed. "You found Madam Feng? Where is she now?"
"I've brought him back. But his condition isn't good. I've already called Dr. Mu over to examine him."
"What's going on?" Madam Min frowned slightly.
The old woodcutter hesitated for a moment, then said, "When we found her, she was locked up in a small courtyard in the west of the city. Several rough old women were guarding her."
"Those rough old women seemed to be acting under someone's orders, and they tortured Feng Shi to the extreme. If we hadn't followed that old woman to find her, I'm afraid Feng Shi wouldn't have been able to endure it."
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao immediately became restless and said, "Take me there to see."
Soon, the old woodcutter led Min Qiaoshi to the courtyard where Fengshi was being settled.
The old woodcutter stopped at the courtyard gate: "Madam, the person is inside. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll go ahead and take care of them."
"Go ahead."
Min Qiao waved her hand and, without waiting for the old woodcutter to leave, stepped into the courtyard first.
When Madam Min Qiao entered the room, Doctor Mu had already examined Feng Yuerou's injuries and taken her pulse.
"How is he?"
Dr. Mu truthfully reported: "She is still unconscious, but her life is not in danger. She just needs to be properly cared for. Otherwise, there may be problems during childbirth."
Madam Min Qiao quickly walked to the bedside, looked at Feng Yuerou lying on the bed with her eyes closed and her face as white as paper, and slowly walked out of the inner room before asking Doctor Mu, "What exactly happened? How did she fall into a coma?"
Doctor Mu sighed and said with pity, "She has many tiny needle marks on her body. They're not fatal, but they can be excruciatingly painful. It's just a common method of torture used in the imperial harem."
"In addition, there were many deep and shallow, blue and purple marks on her neck."
"From what I can see, it appears she was strangled multiple times to instill fear of death, and then released at the last moment. This was repeated torture."
Madam Min was so angry that she was trembling all over, and she didn't even have time to ask who did it.
Then Dr. Mu cautiously continued, "Not only that, there's also..."
Madam Min's face was ashen. "What else? Tell me everything at once."
Dr. Mu steeled his heart before saying, "She was raped... many times! Her lower body was severely torn. If she hadn't risked her life to protect the baby in her womb, the baby would probably have been lost long ago. Now she's showing signs of miscarriage."
"Fortunately, it was discovered in time. If it had been two days later, I'm afraid it would have resulted in the deaths of all three."
"You beast! You even prey on pregnant women!" Min Qiao felt a piercing pain.
Although Feng Yuerou's motives for approaching her were not pure, Feng Yuerou had never done anything to harm her. On the contrary, Feng Yuerou had long been doing her best to please her and try to help her.
Although she has become indifferent to many things, it doesn't mean she is truly cold-blooded.
She wasn't entirely unmoved by Feng Yuerou's attempts to please her.
"I'm entrusting the person to you. If you need any medicinal herbs, just go find Ah Shuang. If the manor doesn't have them, just take the money and go outside to buy them. No matter how expensive."
Madam Min said solemnly to Doctor Mu, "Doctor Mu, I want her and the baby in her womb to be well."
"With me here, Madam, please rest assured."
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