Chapter 429 The Crown Prince's Visit
When the Crown Prince, accompanied by the imperial physician and coroner, went to the Marquis of Pingyan's residence to confirm Min Ji's fate, the Qiao family had not received a single word of it.
There was nothing they could do; ever since the Qiao family mansion was besieged, no one from the Qiao family could get out, and no one could get in either.
If it weren't for Wei Jia's habit of preparing for a rainy day and storing a large amount of food in the Qiao family's cellar long ago, the twenty-odd people in the mansion would probably have gone hungry.
Although the mansion had no shortage of rice and flour, and there were chickens, ducks and geese to eat, fresh vegetables ran out the next day.
Now, only Min Qiao's table still has a few vegetables left.
"Madam, it's been three days. The people from the Marquis's residence are still outside. Could something have really happened to the Marquis of Pingyan?"
Wei Jia couldn't help but feel a little worried.
These past few days, everyone in the Qiao family has been on tenterhooks, fearing that the people from the Marquis of Pingyan's residence might burst in at any moment.
Madam Min shook her head dismissively, "My stab wasn't too deep, and the guard gave Min Ji a life-saving pill, so he won't die."
"Besides, if something really happens to him, then the people from the Marquis's mansion should rush in and kill me to avenge their Marquis."
"So far, no one has rushed in yet, right?"
The person standing to the side nodded in agreement, but then couldn't help asking, "Madam, how long are we going to have to wait? We can't keep going like this, can we?"
Madam Min smiled and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the Crown Prince should take some action in the next couple of days."
Just then, a maidservant suddenly ran in to report that the people from the Crown Prince's residence had surrounded the people from the Qiao residence and the Pingyan Marquis's residence.
The maid was terrified, and Wei Jia and Zhen Huan also looked worried.
Only Min Qiao's face showed a smile, and she said in a relaxed tone, "Look, the turning point has come, hasn't it?"
Next, they waited for the Crown Prince to summon them.
However, this wait lasted for a whole day.
It wasn't until the next day that Xia Linyuan, who had personally come to visit, finally arrived at Madam Min's door.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Min Qiao led her people to the gate to greet them.
"Qiao, the envoy from Dayan, greets His Highness Crown Prince Da'e." Min Qiao bowed respectfully, her attitude neither humble nor arrogant.
Xia Linyuan raised his hand, "Madam Qinghe, you may dispense with the formalities."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Madam Min Qiao rose and gestured for her to come inside. "Please come in, Your Highness."
Xia Linyuan didn't stand on ceremony and walked inside first.
Soon, Madam Min personally led Xia Linyuan to the main hall for receiving guests.
Before Madam Min could arrange for a maid to serve tea, Xia Linyuan cut to the chase and said, "The Marquis of Pingyan is dead."
The room fell silent immediately after he said that.
"impossible!"
Min Qiao instinctively blurted out in denial, "How could Min Ji be dead?"
Xia Linyuan observed Min Qiaoshi's expression without revealing his true feelings. "Everyone dies. Marquis Pingyan is also a human being. Why wouldn't he die?"
Madam Min choked, took a deep breath to calm herself, and then said, "As the saying goes, good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years."
“Min Ji is cunning and ruthless, and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. A man like him will not die easily.”
As she spoke, Madam Min Qiao looked at Xia Linyuan with suspicion in her eyes, "Is Your Highness really certain that Marquis Pingyan is dead?"
"Has the body been seen? Has the imperial physician examined it? Where is the coroner? Was the coroner ordered to perform an autopsy?"
That's exactly what he was thinking.
But, performing an autopsy... wouldn't that be a bad idea?
He was a meritorious official who helped him rise to power, and to have him disemboweled after death is simply too disrespectful.
Xia Linyuan couldn't help but twitch his lips. It seemed that Marquis Pingyan had thoroughly offended Lady Qinghe.
"Does Lady Qinghe not believe that Marquis Pingyan is dead?"
Madam Min Qiao nodded without hesitation and admitted, "He faked his death to escape before and came to Dalu. So, I have reason to suspect that he is also using the 'golden cicada shedding its shell' tactic now."
Xia Linyuan sighed, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Madam this time. Marquis Pingyan is really dead."
“Yesterday I personally led the imperial physician and the coroner to examine the body of the Marquis of Pingyan.”
"The person is indeed dead."
"How is this possible?!" Madam Min still refused to believe it. "My stab wasn't deep, and his guards gave him life-saving pills in time. He'd only be unconscious for a couple of days at most, how could he possibly die?"
"There must be some mistake!"
Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes.
For the past few days, Lady Pingyan had been staying by the Marquis's side, watching him fall into a coma, watching him wake up, and watching his condition deteriorate rapidly because of Lady Min Qiao, and he suddenly died in less than a quarter of an hour.
After that, she stayed by the body of Marquis Pingyan, never leaving his side.
Marquis Pingyan had no chance to escape.
At that time, he had just returned from the palace with an imperial decree and had not yet had time to go to the Marquis of Pingyan's residence. The Marquis of Pingyan also had no reason to fake his death and escape.
But why does Lady Qinghe insist that Marquis Pingyan could not possibly be dead?
Could it be related to the series of assassinations?
Previously, he suspected that the Marquis of Pingyan was shifting the blame to Lady Qinghe, but now that the Marquis of Pingyan is dead, Lady Qinghe has become the prime suspect.
Thinking of this, Xia Linyuan raised his hand, interrupting Min Qiao's incessant chatter.
"Lady Qinghe, Marquis Pingyan is dead, there is no doubt about that."
"Now, let's talk about what happened next."
Min Qiao was taken aback, then suppressed her suspicions about Min Ji's death, composed herself, and looked intently at Xia Linyuan.
"What is the follow-up the Crown Prince is referring to?"
Xia Linyuan didn't try to hide anything and frankly stated the attitudes of the two emperors towards the marriage alliance.
"Therefore, I will not pursue the matter of Lady Qinghe plotting to harm Marquis Pingyan. I will also send someone to escort Lady Qinghe back to Dayan."
"However, the spies sent by Dayan to Daxi will all be executed under the pretext of intercepting the marriage alliance by a third party."
"Qiao Jingyuan, who assassinated the soldiers in the city, and his accomplices must also pay for the lives of the seventeen dead."
As he spoke, Xia Linyuan's gaze swept over Wei Jia and landed on Zhen Huan.
The meaning is self-evident.
Marquis Pingyan is finished, and so is the secret service organization he controls. Qiao Jingyuan and Zhen Huan are also going to be in trouble.
Min Qiao stood up abruptly, shifting her body to block the Crown Prince's view.
"What does Your Highness mean by this?"
"I'm new here and don't know anyone. I'm lucky to have survived. How could I possibly order someone to carry out an assassination?"
"Besides, how old is this girl? How could she possibly have the ability to kill?"
"To be honest, Your Highness, this girl is the daughter of the Marquis of Yongning. She is timid and cowardly by nature. She wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, let alone a person."
"This trip was also to broaden her horizons, toughen her up, and change her petty ways, which is why she came all the way to Da'e with me."
“I can testify that this girl has always stayed by my side and has never left my side for even a moment.”
"I implore Your Highness to make the right judgment."
Xia Linyuan patiently listened to Min Qiao's long string of sophistry before exposing her with a half-smile: "Madam, Dayan has spies planted in Da'e. You don't think Da'e has no eyes and ears in Dayan, do you?"
"Hehe, it's true that this is the young lady of the Yongning Marquis's mansion, but the rumors that she murdered her grandmother and harmed her siblings are not unfounded."
Xia Linyuan scoffed, "How could the old lady have the nerve to say such words as cowardly and timid?"
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