Chapter 37: The Little Prince is a cold-faced but warm-hearted person
Dali Temple.
Qin Yanheng propped up his chin and looked at the kneeling figures in the hall. Sun Zhenbao's wet nurse clung to the young girl, while the four men carrying the coffin flanked them with frozen expressions, unwilling to speak. Seeing this, Qin Yanheng raised an eyebrow and asked, "Whoever confesses first will have their sentence reduced."
As soon as these words left his mouth, Luo Qingling, who was sitting next to Qin Yanheng, suddenly glanced at him, pursing her lips and not daring to smile. Qin Yanheng was truly capable. She had never seen anyone so disregard the law. He could just commuted a sentence without any hesitation. He was truly so careless...
It must be said that Qin Yanheng's trick was indeed effective. After hearing this, Sun Zhenbao's wet nurse knelt and crawled forward. She clasped her hands together and bowed to Qin Yanheng, saying hurriedly, "I will tell you, I will tell you... I will definitely tell you the truth. Please, Prince Rong'an, don't kill me..."
"Stop talking nonsense," Qin Yanheng interrupted coldly. He didn't have the patience to waste time with this group of people.
"I married Chef Cui early in life and gave birth to Cui Lihua. He then became a cook at Hua Man Lou, and I became the wet nurse of Sun Zhenbao in the Sun Mansion," the nurse recounted, tears streaming down her face. "Cui Lihua was raised in Cui's village outside Beijing..."
"Get to the point." He didn't want to hear the story of the Cui family of three.
"It's me! I instigated them to steal the Sun family's property. Your Highness, please blame me." Cui Lihua suddenly interrupted. She was about to crawl in front of Qin Yanheng, but was frightened by the latter's glare and dared not move.
"I am asking you whether you are responsible for Cui Susu's death." Qin Yanheng said in a cold voice.
"Yes," the wet nurse lowered her head, "Cui Susu and Li Qingqing are both sisters of Hua Manlou, and were taken in by Sun Zhenbao into the backyard together.
When she was in Hua Man Lou, Cui Susu was jealous of Li Qingqing's ability to win the favor of Sun Zhenbao. She bribed Zhao Mama and set a trap for Sun Zhenbao, and then she got into the Sun family as she wished. But who knew that Sun Zhenbao really liked Li Qingqing, so he also redeemed Li Qingqing.
Sun Zhenbao likes Li Qingqing?
Luo Qingling and Qin Yanheng exchanged a glance, each seeing a hint of surprise in the other's eyes. When they had interrogated everyone in the Sun residence, anyone with a discerning eye could see how awful Sun Zhenbao's attitude towards Li Qingqing was. So why did the wet nurse say this?
"Sun Zhenbao does like Li Qingqing, but it's because of Cui Susu's provocation, and Li Qingqing herself has always refused to sleep with Sun Zhenbao, that's why..." The wet nurse glanced at Qin Yanheng cautiously. The latter had no intention of stopping her, so she continued.
"Later, Cui Susu competed with Li Qingqing for her favor and framed her several times. Sun Zhenbao was completely unaware of this, and I don't know what tricks Cui Susu used. Sun Zhenbao gradually came to trust her and even wanted to give the key to the Sun Mansion's treasury to Cui Susu. I watched Sun Zhenbao grow up, so why didn't she give the key to me but to a qin lady from Hua Manlou? Cui Susu is obviously here for the money!"
The more the wet nurse spoke, the more excited she became. Just as she was about to jump up, two guards drew their swords and placed them across her neck.
"So you took advantage of Cui Susu's greed for money, approached her as a fellow villager of the Cui family, and encouraged Cui Susu to steal the property of the Sun family with you?" Qin Yanheng turned the teacup in his hand and glanced at the people in the hall.
"Yes," the nurse nodded and explained everything. "We stole the treasure out of the house while Sun Zhenbao was asleep."
"How did you manage to avoid the inspection of the officers and soldiers with so many treasures?" Luo Qingling asked.
The wet nurse glanced back at the black coffin by the door, her smile radiant, as if recalling a remarkable plan. She said loudly, "We'll have Cui Susu lie on a wooden plank, holding the stolen gold and silver treasures, and then cover her with a blanket. At daybreak, pretend she's a seriously ill person seeking medical treatment in the city. Four of us will carry the plank and march into the city in broad daylight."
"Who would go through the bedding to carefully examine a seriously ill woman in bed?" The nurse's smile deepened, her eyes filled with darkness. "Who knew that after entering the city, Cui Susu would go against the previously agreed method of dividing the spoils..."
"So you killed her?" Qin Yanheng raised his eyes.
"She was the one who changed her mind first, otherwise why would I kill someone!" Chef Cui, who was kneeling on the ground, shouted loudly.
Seeing this, the three men who were also kneeling beside Chef Cui turned around and suddenly accused Chef Cui in unison of not only killing Cui Susu, but also wanting to kill the three of them together after he succeeded, so that he could pocket all the treasures stolen from the Sun Mansion.
Qin Yanheng put down the teacup in his hand, leaned forward slightly to look at Chef Cui who was kneeling in the hall, and said word by word, "Do you admit your guilt?"
The only response he got was silence.
Seeing this, Qin Yanheng chuckled: "If you don't admit it, do you know the punishment methods of the Dali Temple?"
"I plead guilty," Chef Cui looked up at the young man in gorgeous clothes in the hall. He calmly admitted his crime. "Prince Rong'an, please punish me alone. As for my wife and daughter... I..."
"It's none of your business to interfere with how I solve the case." Qin Yanheng interrupted coldly.
"Chef Cui stole treasures from the Sun Mansion, deliberately killed a fellow villager, and dumped his body on a boat in the river. The facts are clear, the reasons are obvious. He will be executed in three days," Qin Yanheng said slowly but clearly. "Cui Lihua and her mother, Sun Zhenbao's wet nurse, colluded with Chef Cui to commit this crime. They will be imprisoned and sentenced on a later date after I have investigated the facts."
"As for the other three, since they knew about the situation but didn't report it, they will be punished with twenty lashes of the cane and exiled to the frontier. They will never be allowed to enter the capital again."
The iron chains dragged across the ground as the officers and soldiers walked straight toward the kneeling men, ordering them to be taken to the dungeon. Just as Qin Yanheng and the others were about to get up and leave, they heard someone crying softly near the door, a child's voice ringing.
It’s Xiang’er!
Luo Qingling hurriedly got up and went outside, only to see Xiang'er standing in the corridor, with his head lowered and wiping his tears with his hands. His shoulders were shaking and he couldn't utter a word - it was obvious that he had already heard the whole truth.
"Xiang'er..." Luo Qingling half-knelt down, placed his hand on Xiang'er's shoulder, patted her gently and soothed her, "Your mother——"
"Mother is wrong, Xiang'er knows it. Xiang'er will leave now and will not cause trouble to Sister Luo and Brother Qin!" Xiang'er stopped crying, looked at Luo Qingling with red eyes, and had a stubborn expression.
Seeing Xiang'er's sensible appearance, Luo Qingling felt heartbroken. She sighed and was about to say a few words of comfort, but she caught a glimpse of Qin Yanheng's figure out of the corner of her eye. The latter had quietly stood behind her at some point, and was now looking down at her and Xiang'er.
"Xiang'er, no one is black and white. It's true that your mother is wrong to steal money, but that doesn't mean she is a completely bad person. She will always be the mother in your heart." Qin Yanheng stopped there. He didn't want such a young child to live under the shadow of his thief mother from now on.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Golden Dragon Sword in his sleeve trembled slightly. Luo Qingling was about to take it out to examine it carefully, but the moment the tip of the sword left his sleeve, a wisp of soul flew out from the sword and floated straight towards Xiang'er.
"It's mother!" Xiang'er said in surprise with tears in her eyes.
Cui Susu's soul stretched out her arms to hug Xiang'er, and the mother and son stood and squatted, silently expressing the words in their hearts that had not yet been said.
After a moment, Cui Susu let go of Xiang'er, turned around and knelt down to salute Luo Qingling, and then her soul gradually faded away and disappeared from the sight of the three people.
*
Three days later, in Luofu, Beijing.
"Madam, madam—" Aunt Zhao stepped into the courtyard and walked straight towards Luo Qingling, who was sitting under a tree drinking tea. She was holding a brocade box in her hand. Aunt Zhao said mysteriously, "Madam, guess what's in this brocade box?"
Luo Qingling took the brocade box and looked around. The box was black and gold in color, and it was embroidered with a peony pattern in gold thread. She knew at first glance that it must be an extraordinary item. She had a guess in her mind, but she didn't dare to say it directly.
Could it be... that Qin Yanheng gave it to her? No, no, they hadn't met since that day, so how could Qin Yanheng have any reason to give her something? Besides, their relationship now was not so blatant that he could openly send a brocade box into the mansion.
"Could it be..." Luo Qingling raised her eyes slightly and looked at Aunt Zhao, carefully observing her expression. Although the latter was excited and excited while speaking, there was no hint of gossip in her eyes - this brocade box was definitely not given by Qin Yanheng! Otherwise, Aunt Zhao would definitely ask what her relationship with him was.
"Could it be..." Luo Qingling stretched out his tone.
She couldn't guess.
In Beijing, apart from Qin Yanheng, who else would take the initiative to come to her?
"It's Li Qingqing from Hua Manlou, Madam Li!" Aunt Zhao gestured to Luo Qingling to open the brocade box.
Li Qingqing?
Luo Qingling looked surprised. She couldn't wait to open the brocade box, only to find a box of lipstick inside. The color was bright and not vulgar, which matched her skin tone very well. It was a color that suited her very well!
Seeing Luo Qingling spread a little lipstick on her lips with her pinky finger, Aunt Zhao hurriedly handed the bronze mirror to Luo Qingling and said with a smile, "My lady is naturally beautiful. If you put on some lipstick, I wonder how many young men in the capital will be charmed by you!"
"Aunt Zhao, please stop talking nonsense." Luo Qingling closed the brocade box and saw the words "Li Niang Zhi Pu" on the box. She understood and stood up and walked out of the house. "Aunt Zhao, please prepare the car quickly. I want to go see Li Niang's shop!"
After an incense stick of time, the carriage stopped in front of the shop. Before getting off, a clear child's voice came through the curtain.
"Sister Luo——"
Xiang'er ran out of the store. Li Qingqing, who was entertaining customers behind her, stuck her head out to look outside, whispered something to the customer, and quickly came over to greet her.
"Madam Luo." Li Qingqing stood by the door, looking at Luo Qingling talking to Xiang'er, and smiled silently.
"Congratulations, Madam Li, on your new life!" Luo Qingling responded with a smile without asking any further questions.
Li Qingqing didn't say much. After bringing Xiang'er to welcome Luo Qingling into the store, she poured her a cup of tea herself, and then sat at the table with her and told her everything.
"After Susu died, the Sun Mansion disbanded the backyard, so I set up a small shop here and started a small business with Xiang'er. It can be said that Susu and I had a dream back then." Li Qingqing did not have a trace of resentment towards Cui Susu. She looked at Xiang'er who was happily standing beside her with a gentle expression. "I rescued Susu. Now that Susu is gone, Xiang'er has no one to take care of her, so I took her in."
Xiang'er was also very happy to see Luo Qingling. After greeting the guests skillfully, she ran to Luo Qingling and thanked her in a baby voice.
Seeing this, Li Qingqing stood up and bowed solemnly to Luo Qingling. She said seriously, "If it weren't for Madam Luo buying this shop for me, Xiang'er and I would probably still be worried about our livelihood."
When did she buy a shop for Li Qingqing?
Luo Qingling didn't ask her question. Seeing that a customer had come into the store, she didn't want to waste too much of Li Qingqing's time, so she hurriedly stood up and said goodbye.
On the way back home, Luo Qingling suddenly came to her senses - it must have been Qin Yanheng who bought the shop for Li Qingqing in her name.
Your Highness, you are indeed a little cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
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