Chapter 155 The True or False Master (12)
12
The man's voice rang out outside the hall and reached everyone's ears.
Master Yi turned his head suddenly and looked outside the hall.
I saw Lu Que, the eldest son of Wenyuan Marquis's mansion, walking up the stairs slowly, leaning on a wooden cane.
He lowered his head, his expression calm and indifferent, looking seriously at the steps under his feet, as if the words just now were not spoken by him.
Why is he here? Hasn't he been recuperating in another courtyard because of his leg disease?
For no apparent reason, Master Yi's eyebrows twitched suddenly.
He turned to look at the woman, suspecting that she had leaked the news.
The woman was held down by several eunuchs because of her indecent words and deeds. When she heard someone talking, she struggled to turn her head back.
But when she saw Lu Que, the woman looked confused again.
It doesn't look like it's her.
Master Yi felt a little relieved and consoled himself that he had done those things secretly, and even if this woman was stupid enough to tell everything, he would not be able to produce any evidence.
The same goes for Lu Que. He had a leg disease and couldn't even leave the house. Even if he discovered something, he had no evidence.
A cripple is nothing to worry about.
As long as he refuses to give in, no one can do anything to him.
Thinking of this, Lu Que stepped over the threshold and walked into the palace.
He stood still in the hall, supported by his cane, and bowed slightly: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
The emperor nodded slightly and said to the eunuch beside him: "Mr. Lu has difficulty walking, please take a seat."
"Yes." The eunuch brought a chair and placed it next to Zhu Qingchen.
Lu Que thanked him, moved to sit next to Zhu Qingchen, and couldn't help clearing his throat.
But both of them sat upright, as if neither of them knew the other.
At this time, the emperor asked: "Master Lu just said that this matter is related to the Wenyuan Marquis's Mansion. Why did you say that?"
Lu Que put his crutches aside, clasped his fists, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the Earl of Changping just said that after this woman swapped the children, she fled to a family in the capital to be a wet nurse. It was not until a while ago, when she was seriously ill and dying, that she felt guilty and went to the Earl's mansion to tell him everything. Before that, I had never met this woman -"
"It's a lie."
"This woman is not a wet nurse in a certain family. Instead, she was entrusted to Marquis Wenyuan by the Earl of Changping, asking him to help take care of her. For the past fourteen years, she has been working as a needlework woman in the Marquis's mansion and lives in a small courtyard to the north of the Marquis's mansion."
"In the garden of the Marquis's Mansion, there is a small wooden door leading to this woman's yard. The Earl of Changping visits the Marquis's Mansion from time to time, under the pretext of discussing poetry with the Marquis Wenyuan, but in fact he goes to this woman's yard and hangs out with her..."
He actually knew what this woman did? He even knew where the passage to the yard was?
Master Yi couldn't help but widen his eyes. How could he know so clearly?
He quickly interrupted Lu Que and said, "Lu Que, don't slander me! Don't forget that you are the eldest son of the Marquis' Mansion. How can you bring dirty water to the Marquis' Mansion?"
There was a hidden threat in his words.
Shut up! If the emperor sends people to search the marquis' mansion and the entire mansion collapses, what benefit can you gain as the eldest son of the mansion?
But he didn't expect that Lu Que didn't care at all.
Lu Que said righteously, "It is because I am the eldest son of the Marquisate that I can be aware of these dirty things; it is because I am the eldest son of the Marquisate that I cannot allow the Marquis and the Earl to make the same mistakes again and again, and I cannot let the Earl drag our Marquisate down with him."
Zhu Qingchen couldn't help laughing. Li was willing to sacrifice his own relatives for the sake of justice!
Lu Que looked at the emperor again and said, "I originally thought that I should wait a little longer and wait for an opportunity to send someone to tell the Countess about the fact that the Earl had hidden someone in the Marquis's mansion."
"But I never thought that just a few days later, my younger brother Lu Jiming went to Linjia Village and met Lin Jingzhe under the pretext of sending me to a separate courtyard in the south for recuperation."
"I saw that he was acting strangely, and I felt something was wrong, so I took the opportunity when he returned to the capital to visit Master Zhu. Master Zhu was frank and told me everything about the child exchange in the Earl's mansion."
"I had some suspicions, so I sent someone to investigate, and that's how I connected the two events together."
Master Yi wanted to interrupt, but before he could open his mouth, the eunuch covered his mouth.
"Fourteen years ago, the Lord went south on business and had an affair with this woman. Not long after, the Lord returned to Beijing, and the woman realized that she was pregnant, so she escaped from Linjia Village and went to Beijing to demand an explanation."
The eunuchs blocked Mr. Yi's mouth, but failed to block the woman's mouth.
She shouted loudly: "What do you mean by illicit sex? You don't understand. I have traveled thousands of miles to find my husband! My uncle and I love each other! It's not illicit sex... it's not..."
The eunuchs reacted quickly and immediately covered her mouth again.
Lu Que thought he had been very tactful and only said "I want an explanation", but who knew the woman would react so strongly.
Lu Que ignored her and continued, "Later, two children were born at the same time. The uncle took the opportunity to swap the two children and instructed the woman to send Lin Jingzhe back to Linjia Village. He then returned to the capital again."
"The Lord was not able to bring her back to the mansion, fearing that his wife would become suspicious, so he entrusted her to a close friend. The Lord arranged for her to be a needlework maid in the mansion. She did not have to work on weekdays, but just counted the days to meet the Lord privately."
"The Marquis's Mansion acted as an accomplice to the evil, providing cover for the Earl of Changping. This is why Lu Jiming ran around for this matter, but the Marquis remained unmoved and let him go."
"Because this matter was originally the work of the Marquisate, the Marquisate also wants to help and suppress this scandal as soon as possible."
Finally, Lu Que said solemnly, "Every word I said is true. I was recuperating in the other courtyard a while ago. The Marquis' Mansion didn't know about my return to the capital this time. Your Majesty can immediately send people to search the Marquis' Mansion and arrest everyone in the Marquis' Mansion to interrogate them to find out whether this woman has lived in the Marquis' Mansion in the past fourteen years and whether the Earl has met her often."
The emperor did not comment, but nodded to the eunuch beside him, and the eunuch immediately took his men away.
The emperor turned around and looked at the group of people kneeling on the ground.
The Earl of Changping looked pale. He had never expected that the information Lu Que had was so detailed that he had no room for rebuttal.
How should he argue? What should he say?
The emperor asked symbolically: "Do you have anything to refute?"
Master Yi said quickly, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent! I don't even know this woman, she is slandering me! And Lu Que, Master Lu, it was Master Lu who framed my Earl's Mansion..."
"Yes! This woman is from the Marquis's Mansion. She must have been arranged by the Marquis's Mansion to frame me! I am innocent! I have never exchanged children, nor have I ever kept a mistress in my mansion. My wife and I have a very good relationship..."
He had no idea what he was saying. He just kept talking nonsense, as if as long as he said enough and loud enough, he would be wronged.
But when the woman heard him say this, she immediately became unwilling.
She broke free from the eunuch's control, and rushed forward, grabbing Master Yi's clothes: "Master... Master... You can't be so heartless! I have known you and accompanied you for fourteen years, and I am sincere to you. How can you say this? How can you leave me behind?"
"Even if these things are true, so what? My uncle and I truly love each other. The world is so big, is there no place for our family of three?"
Master Yi was almost mad at her. He rushed forward and covered her mouth.
"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense and throwing dirty water on me!"
He tried his best to clear himself of the matter, but this stupid woman kept admitting it and trying to confirm their relationship.
How can he not be anxious?
"Shut up!"
For a moment, the two men started wrestling in front of the emperor.
The woman broke free from Master Yi's control and shouted, "Master, Master, there is a red birthmark on your back!"
At this moment, Master Yi wanted to cover her mouth, but it was too late.
Everyone heard it.
Master Yi still tried to struggle: "There is nothing on my back..."
The next second, the eunuch stepped forward, grabbed his collar and pulled his clothes off.
A small red birthmark was clearly exposed.
The emperor frowned and said, "Earl Changping, do you have anything else to say?"
"I have close ties with the Marquis's Mansion, and this woman is also a maid of the Marquis's Mansion. It's not surprising that she knows the birthmark on my back!"
He is good at making excuses and can even get away with such a private matter.
Master Yi adjusted his expression and said, "I still say the same thing. I have never known this woman, never had a secret meeting with her, and certainly never did anything to swap children! Your Majesty, please understand!"
"Okay, okay." The emperor nodded. "Since the Earl of Changping refuses to admit it, we can only wait for the people from the Marquis's Mansion to come."
"I have a clear conscience!"
These words were powerful, but they seemed a little strange when accompanied by the woman's miserable cries of "Uncle".
Master Yi knelt in the middle, looking calm and composed, as if he had really been wronged.
After an unknown amount of time, the eunuch came to report that the people sent to search the Marquis's mansion had returned.
There is indeed a secret door in the garden of the Marquis's Mansion, leading to the backyard.
They also brought back everyone from the Marquis's Mansion, including the Marquis, his wife, his son, and the housekeepers.
Zhu Qingchen glanced at Liu An, who immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, to avoid collusion between the two parties, I propose that the Earl of Changping and others be allowed to retreat temporarily."
"Master, what you said is absolutely right." The emperor nodded slightly and waved his hand to the eunuchs, "Take these people away first, cover their mouths, and let them listen from behind."
"yes."
Just in case, the eunuchs asked the emperor and directly took out cow tendon ropes and tied up the two most troublesome people, Earl Changping and the wet nurse, tightly.
Mrs. Yi fell to the ground from head to toe, and her whole body seemed to have lost its life. She was like a piece of wood, motionless. So they didn't tie her up, but just took her behind the screen.
Lu Que stood up with the help of his cane and went behind the screen to take shelter.
The hall was cleaned up again and it didn't look like it had just been in chaos.
Afterwards, several eunuchs invited Marquis Wenyuan and his wife, as well as Lu Jiming, to come up.
The group saluted: "Your Majesty."
The emperor asked directly: "Marquis Wenyuan, what is the secret door in the backyard of the mansion used for?"
"This..." Wenyuan Hou seemed a little embarrassed, "This is my family affair..."
Liu An deliberately asked, "Does the Marquis have a mistress in his house? My wife is here, are you afraid that she will find out?"
"No..." Wen Yuanhou paused, and actually responded, "Yes."
Yes, Marquis Wenyuan knows what is important.
If he was the one hiding the person, at most it was because of his poor personal ethics.
But if he said that he was the one hiding the person for the Earl of Changping, it would involve a lot of things and it would be endless.
It’s better to just say it’s yours.
Marquis Wenyuan bowed and saluted, becoming more respectful: "She is my confidante. I fell in love with her at first sight, but it is not convenient to bring her into the mansion, so I keep her in the backyard. Your Majesty, are you...going to take care of my household affairs?"
Liu An sneered, "My Lord, your confidante seems to be the same as the confidante of the Earl of Changping."
Wenyuan Hou hurriedly said: "I wonder where Master Liu heard this rumor from? My..."
Liu An raised his voice and said in a clear voice: "The one you kept in the mansion was just here. He had a deep affection for the Earl of Changping and wanted to die for him right there!"
"And the Earl of Changping refused to admit that he knew her. Instead, he said that she was sent by the Marquisate to frame him, and that it was you, Marquis Wenyuan, who sent her to frame him!"
What?
Wenyuan Hou raised his head in surprise.
The Marquis's Mansion and the Earl's Mansion are old friends, and he and the Earl of Changping are also close friends.
When he took on the responsibility for the Earl of Changping, the Earl of Changping slandered him in front of the emperor? Put all the blame on him?
No!
Behind the screen, the bound Earl of Changping struggled hard.
It would be fine if Wenyuan Hou admitted it. As long as he admitted it, he would be cleared!
Okay, we can end here!
Things happened as he wished. Lu Que used his crutch to gently push away the eunuch's hand, and then removed the rag from Master Yi's mouth, allowing him to break free.
With a bang, Master Yi knocked over the screen and rushed out: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Marquis Wenyuan has admitted that the woman is his, not mine! I am innocent!"
Wen Yuanhou looked at him in disbelief, unable to believe that his best friend would throw dirty water on his head without hesitation.
Master Yi also reacted, fell to the ground, looked at Marquis Wen Yuan, and winked at him vigorously.
This is just a temporary solution. Please help me and take the blame for this crime!
Unfortunately, Marquis Wenyuan didn't understand what he meant at all.
He shouted out in haste: "Your Majesty! I was wrong. I shouldn't have lied to you! The woman who originally lived in the backyard belonged to the Earl of Changping, not to me! She is definitely not mine! I have nothing to do with that woman, and we have never had any affair!"
At this time, Lu Que used his crutch to push away the hands of the other eunuchs, and the woman also rushed out.
"Uncle! Uncle, I am yours in life and your ghost in death. You can't abandon me!"
The emperor ordered them to shut their mouths and questioned Marquis Wenyuan in detail.
Wenyuanhou's statement is similar to Lu Que's.
It was said that one day, the Earl of Changping brought a woman and said that he could not take her back to his house, so he asked if he could keep her in his house.
Marquis Wenyuan did not refuse and simply cleaned up a room in the backyard for the woman to stay in. Earl Changping came to see her from time to time and stayed overnight at the woman's place, saying that he was discussing poetry with Marquis Wenyuan.
Marquis Wenyuan bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I was bewildered for a moment and helped the Earl of Changping hide someone. I know nothing else."
Liu An said: "If you didn't know about the baby swap, how could you allow Lu Jiming to run around for this matter?"
"Your Majesty..." Wenyuan Hou was unable to finish his words, "Your Majesty and the Earl of Changping are old friends, so..."
Liu An said with a smile: "Marquis Wenyuan is really a good person. He will help you no matter if it is good or bad."
Now, everything is clear.
The Earl of Changping had known the woman for a long time and had planned the child swap.
There were witnesses and evidence, and even the parties involved admitted it. No matter how much Mr. Yi argued, he just kept saying "I am innocent".
"It's just..." the emperor asked, "I don't understand. You guys are doing well in the replacement. As long as you keep replacing, Yi Zizhen will be able to inherit the Earl's Mansion. Why do you want to make a fuss about it again?"
The Earl of Changping lay on the ground and refused to speak. Marquis Wenyuan said, "A while ago, this woman went to find Yi Zizhen..."
The woman said confidently, "Zizhen is my biological son. I have been separated from him for fourteen years. I miss him. I originally just wanted to go see him and just take a look at him from a distance, but I didn't want to be discovered by the lady. I had no choice but to tell her the truth..."
"No way?" Master Yi finally moved and raised his head suddenly.
Because his hands were tied, he could only move to stand up: "No way?! You are doing this on purpose! I told you a long time ago that after a few years, when Zizhen grows up and Madam dies, it won't be too late for you to come back! But what about you?"
"You are greedy and you want to be a countess now. You go and make up a lie and want to be Zizhen's mother and stay in the earl's mansion!"
Master Yi's face flushed, and his neck thickened more than a circle: "Because of your lie, I have become like this, and you are happy now? You stupid woman! Stupid woman! I should have strangled you to death a long time ago!"
The woman was almost in tears after he yelled at her.
She looked at Yi Zizhen and smiled flatteringly: "Zizhen, mother planned everything for you, mother did everything for you..."
Unfortunately, Yi Zizheng didn't appreciate her kindness at all.
"You're not doing this for me, you're doing this for yourself!"
"No, mother did this for you. Only mother can take better care of you. Don't you like staying with mother? Besides, this is just a family affair of the Earl's Mansion. You can still inherit the Earl's Mansion. You are a noble son. Lin Jingzhe can't even read, but you can definitely..."
"Shut up! Are you mentally ill?" Yi Zizhen roared, "How can I inherit the Earl's Mansion? I am a bastard now, how can I inherit the Earl's Mansion? Don't you understand yet? Who inherits the Earl's Mansion is not decided by me or my father, but by His Majesty! Do you think the Earl's Mansion is a small landlord in your village?!"
"My mother is the dignified Lady of the Earl's Mansion, not you! Why did you come back? Can't you keep the secret and stay outside quietly? Why did you have to come back? You killed me!"
Yi Zizhen rushed forward and tried to hit her. The smile on her face slowly disappeared after being told this by her closest lover and son.
She thought that so much time had passed, and Yi Zizhen and Lin Jingzhe were so different that it must be Yi Zizhen who inherited the Earl's Mansion, so she had nothing to worry about.
Anyway, Yi Zizheng is the only capable nobleman in the Earl's Mansion. If he is not allowed to inherit, who else can inherit?
So even if she was captured and brought to the palace, she didn't care, because she would be a countess soon.
But now...
That doesn't seem to be the case.
For a moment, she felt dizzy.
How come it isn't like this?
She instantly went limp and fell to the ground: "I did nothing wrong, I did nothing wrong, I am the Countess..."
At this point, everything is clear.
Fourteen years ago, Earl Changping exchanged his child.
Fourteen years later, the woman wanted to exchange the child's mother again.
This is how this farce came about.
The emperor discussed the matter with several teachers and asked Lin Jingzhe for his opinion before making a final decision.
"This matter is truly appalling. I will make it public, clarify Lin Jingzhe's identity, and enthrone Lin Jingzhe as the crown prince of the Earl of Changping to prevent rumors from spreading again."
Master Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He was just a prince, which meant that His Majesty still wanted to keep his title.
But the next second, he heard the emperor say: "The mastermind, Earl Changping, and Lin, secretly exchanged their own children. This is intolerable. The Earl's title is stripped and he is expelled back to Linjia Village. His descendants are not allowed to engage in business or officialdom, and are not allowed to return to the capital."
What?
Master Yi raised his head in disbelief. That title...
"Lin Jingzhe is already the crown prince, so he will naturally inherit the Earl's Mansion. He opened another mansion, so he is not considered a descendant of the Yi family."
"Yi Zizhen, you have enjoyed more than ten years of wealth and glory. It is time to get it back. Go back to Linjia Village with your biological parents."
Yi Zizhen shook his head repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I am innocent. My biological parents did such a shameful thing. I want to stay with the Countess to fulfill my filial duty and atone for my sins..."
That’s a nice thought.
The emperor said nothing and just looked at him steadily.
Yi Zizhen was frightened by what he saw and could only kowtow: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
No matter how wishful thinking he had, he couldn't even leave the capital, let alone Linjia Village. It would be better for the family of three to reunite in the underworld.
"In addition, Marquis Wenyuan, who failed to distinguish right from wrong and acted as an accomplice to the evil, will be stripped of his salary for three years and his fiefdom will be reduced by half."
Wenyuan Hou and Lu Jiming both breathed a sigh of relief and quickly knelt down to thank the emperor for his grace.
This result is already very fair.
Lin Jingzhe sighed and bowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Hmm." The emperor rubbed his brows. "You've been making so much noise all morning. It's giving me a headache. I won't attend Master Liu's class today..."
Liu An frowned slightly: "Your Majesty?"
"Everyone, go down. My order must be carried out immediately without any mistakes."
"yes."
Lin Jingzhe finally got the justice he wanted. He walked out of the palace, feeling relaxed.
Mr. Yi and his family of three were escorted out by the guards.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past Lin Jingzhe.
The next second, a dark shadow rushed out from beside him, rushed to Master Yi, and suddenly pressed him to the ground.
The black shadow held an extremely sharp hairpin in his hand. The hairpin swept across the proud cheek of the woman beside Master Yi, leaving two deep bloody marks, and then stabbed Master Yi's neck fiercely.
It’s Mrs. Yi!
She was the one who pulled that hairpin off the wet nurse's head!
"Why? Why did you replace my child? He is my child! You lied to me! You replaced him! If it weren't for you...if it weren't for you...I would have no child, and my child would never forgive me! Give me back my child! Give it back to me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
