Chapter 60 They were so foolish to have survived until now, killing them all.
Qi Jingxuan's return puzzled both the Emperor and Consort Shu. They were even more shocked when he entered the hall and directly asked about Lin Si.
"How...how did you know?"
The emperor asked in surprise.
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingxuan knew without a doubt that Lin Si was indeed dead.
His eyes widened, his fists clenched, and his eyes were slightly red: "Why didn't you tell me I had come to pay my respects to Father and Mother this morning? Why didn't you tell me?"
He came happily and left happily. The two of them said nothing more than inquiries about his marital life with Shen Yan.
The emperor was speechless for a long time. It was Consort Shu who spoke up: "We didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that you've just gotten married, and we...we didn't want to spoil your mood."
A key witness died on the wedding day. Who would be happy to hear that, especially since the person is already dead? What good would it do to tell him now? What problem could it solve?
So the two of them discussed it and decided to tell them in a few days. At least after Shen Yan's third-day homecoming, it would keep them happy for a few more days.
"Won't it be less disappointing if I find out later? Will it be less disappointing if I find out now?"
Qi Jingxuan said loudly.
Seeing that he had yelled at Consort Shu in his anger, the Emperor immediately frowned and said, "Ah Xuan! How dare you speak to your mother like that? Does she want Lin Si dead? Doesn't she want to find out who harmed you? After your accident, she worried about you more than anyone else, and trusted you more than anyone else. Now you're taking your anger out on your mother for a little dissatisfaction."
Qi Jingxuan choked, realizing he had made a mistake. His arrogance vanished instantly, and he slowly lowered his raised chin, saying in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Mother, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened more and more, and her voice choked up: "I'm just... I'm just angry."
The emperor felt sorry for him when he saw his appearance and sighed, "You have reason to be angry. It's my fault. I was careless and that's why they succeeded. You can blame me, but don't blame your mother. It has nothing to do with her."
Qi Jingxuan shook his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve: "I'm angry at myself, angry that I can't do anything right, angry that I... am like a useless piece of trash, always just waiting. Waiting for others to help, waiting for others to find out everything, while I can't do anything myself..."
On the way here, he was thinking that if what Gao Zheng said was true, then why didn't his father and mother tell him the truth? They had no reason to hide it from him. The only possibility was that they wanted him to be happy during his wedding days.
He actually figured it out, but because he figured it out, he became even more annoyed when it was confirmed.
He resented his own incompetence, resented that he could only ever be tolerated and protected by his parents and relatives, and resented even more that everything Gao Zheng had predicted was right; he was a complete failure and a burden to others.
He was so happy at his wedding yesterday, and he was so embarrassed and ashamed to be exposed like this today. That's why he was so furious and powerless after learning the truth, and he took his anger out on his mother who was trying to protect him.
When Consort Shu saw him shed tears, her own eyes also stung. She reached out and called out, "Ah Xuan, come here to your mother's side."
Qi Jingxuan walked to her side with his head down as usual, plopped down on the footstool, buried his head in her knees, and murmured, "I'm sorry, Mother, I'm sorry."
Consort Shu gently stroked the top of his head and slowly shook her head: "You are not a waste, you are just... just..."
She choked up as she spoke, her eyes reddening as she swallowed the rest of her words.
Her son, Ah Xuan, was clearly intelligent, and his studies had always been better than anyone else's. But born into this cannibalistic place, born into the womb of her, a powerless yet favored concubine, he couldn't be intelligent, couldn't be better than others. He had to be dissolute and dissolute, he had to be foolish and ignorant, he had to let everyone know that he was not fit to be a pillar of the state and could not shoulder great responsibilities. Even though they, mother and son, never had any desire to compete for the throne, they had to be extremely careful, not allowing anyone to misunderstand them in the slightest. Because for them, being misunderstood meant death.
Who wants to die? Who doesn't want to live a good life? So they live foolishly like this, and have lived until now.
Even though they had already made such concessions, there were still people who wouldn't let them go, and there were still people who wanted Ah Xuan's life.
"It's all your fault! It's been your fault from beginning to end!"
Consort Shu suddenly turned her head and shouted at the emperor beside her.
The emperor was taken aback, then lowered his head sheepishly.
Others might think that Consort Shu was blaming him for not protecting Qi Jingxuan, for not uncovering the truth, and for not protecting Lin Si, the suspect and witness. But he knew that she was resenting everything from the beginning. She resented him for forcing her into the palace and for letting A-Xuan be born in this dangerous place.
Qi Jingxuan didn't want them to argue because of him, so he looked up and changed the subject: "Was it Consort Hui who did it?"
These words startled them again, and they asked in unison the same question as before: "How did you know?"
Qi Jingxuan then relayed Gao Zheng's words. After listening, the emperor pondered and said, "Back then, I transferred Gao Pei from Yue Mingfu to the capital because of his talent in handling cases. Unexpectedly, after arriving in the capital, he was unwilling to go to the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review, and even the Censorate. He insisted on editing books in the Hanlin Academy. Now it seems that he should indeed be transferred to the Three Departments."
But Gao Pei insisted on not going, and there was nothing he could do. Gao Pei was a meritorious official, and he couldn't simply force him to go where he didn't want to, disregarding Gao Pei's wishes. What if Gao Pei resigned then? Wouldn't that make it seem like he had driven Gao Pei away?
“Gao Pei is unwilling to go, but isn’t there his son Gao Zheng? I think the boy is quite good, and he has a lot of his father’s style.”
Consort Shu said.
The emperor had no recollection of Gao Zheng, but from what Qi Jingxuan said, he could tell that Gao Zheng was a meticulous, bold, and careful child. Moreover, the child seemed very interested in criminal investigations, unlike his father.
He nodded and said to Qi Jingxuan, "Why don't you let him come with you to investigate this case? He's new to the capital and young, so the person behind it probably won't be wary of him. If you come across anything you can't figure out, you can let him consult his father. I think Gao Pei, although he doesn't like criminal matters, dotes on his son and is willing to make exceptions for him. With Gao Zheng, you'll have Gao Pei too."
Although Qi Jingxuan disliked Gao Zheng, he knew the emperor was right, so he nodded in agreement.
Consort Shu then asked, "Does Aci know about Lin Si's matter?"
Qi Jingxuan shook his head: "I don't know. I came to the palace to ask you as soon as I heard about it. I... I don't know how to tell her when I get back."
Then she turned to the Emperor and asked, "Father, how exactly did Lin Si die? Why did Consort Hui kill him? Have you found out anything from the interrogation?"
At this point, the emperor's expression darkened again.
Yesterday was Qi Jingxuan's wedding. Although he couldn't attend, he was very happy. In the evening, he came to Zhaohua Palace, had dinner with Consort Shu, and stayed overnight. However, in the middle of the night, a palace servant rushed over and said that something had happened at the Shenxing Division.
Most of the people imprisoned in the Imperial Prison were palace maids and eunuchs, or some craftsmen who had made mistakes. Even if something serious happened to them, it wouldn't be worth waking the sleeping emperor in the middle of the night. The only one who might have disturbed him was Lin Si, whom he had personally ordered to be imprisoned earlier.
Even if Lin Si were dead, it could have been reported the next day. After all, the dead cannot be brought back to life, and even if the emperor were summoned, Lin Si could not be resurrected.
Ke Lin Si was a high-ranking criminal whom the emperor had ordered to be closely guarded. He Yuan and Eunuch Fu Shun had both personally interrogated him before, and the Imperial Prison was extremely careful, not daring to let anyone near him easily. Such a person would not die easily. The reason he was allowed to be killed this time was because the person who did it was someone the palace servants of the Imperial Prison never expected—Consort Hui.
A few days ago, Consort Hui punished two eunuchs around her, imprisoning them in the Shenxing Division, saying that the palace servants would discipline and clean them up before releasing them.
Just yesterday, two more people came to Consort Hui's place in the middle of the night, in a hurry, saying that it was a misunderstanding, that they hadn't investigated clearly before, and that the one who made the mistake was actually someone else, and that the two eunuchs had been wronged.
The palace servants in charge of the Imperial Prison found it somewhat amusing, but since the two men belonged to Consort Hui, and Consort Hui had spoken, they decided to release them. So they sent someone to take them inside.
Unexpectedly, after they went in and untied the two eunuchs, the two men suddenly changed their attitude. Together with the two who had just arrived, they covered the jailer's mouth, snatched the key from his body, and rushed to the place where Lin Si was imprisoned. They quickly broke in and killed him.
By the time the other palace servants realized something was wrong and rushed over, these people had already committed suicide in prison; not a single one survived.
There was no need for interrogation; even a fool could see they were after Lin Si. Throughout the entire affair, no one on Consort Hui's side had made a mistake; it was all a setup to kill Lin Si. The first two arrived to locate Lin Si and pinpoint his position, aiming for a swift and decisive strike, while the other two were there specifically to assist them.
The emperor himself ordered the prisoners to be executed, and it was the concubines in the harem who carried it out. The officials of the Imperial Prison dared not wait and immediately reported it.
So the emperor was woken up in the middle of the night and learned this shocking news.
His first thought was that perhaps Consort Hui and the Sixth Prince were behind the incident involving Marquis Cheng'an, but he dismissed the idea after it only crossed his mind briefly.
Regardless of whether they had any reason to do such a thing, even if Consort Hui and the Sixth Prince combined their intelligence, they couldn't possibly scheme against someone and leave no trace. Just like this time when Consort Hui killed Lin Si, she had no other way but to plant someone to kill him.
Such a person might be able to get things done, but it's difficult for them to conceal their tracks and remain undetected. On the other hand, the incident at the Cheng'an Marquis's residence was meticulously planned from beginning to end, with the person behind it all remaining completely hidden.
As for the He family behind Consort Hui, they couldn't possibly do that for them. If the He family had that ability, Consort Hui wouldn't have needed to send someone to kill Lin Si herself today.
So she was just a knife, someone else told her to kill Lin Si.
Why did you do this? Who told you to do it?
The emperor asked angrily.
Consort Hui merely sneered, remaining kneeling silently on the ground without uttering a word.
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