Chapter 385: The palace summoned him, and the fact that the governor was not in the capital could no longer be concealed
Without waiting for Xue Ru to hand in her paper, Tang Ning hurriedly took Yue Jian back to Jiyun Lane by car after asking Hua Wu and Hang Li to stay in the academy to wait for others.
Walking through the backyard of Tang Mansion and entering the Heli Hall next door, Tianqing and another person had already been waiting inside. That person was one of the leaders of the Black Armor Guard, named Wu Kui. Tang Ning had seen him twice by Canglang's side in the past. He was Xiao Yan's confidant.
Seeing Tang Ning come in, both of them hurriedly saluted.
"Girl."
Tang Ning walked quickly towards the inner room. When Yue Jian closed the door, she asked anxiously, "What happened? How could the Fourth Prince's wife die?"
Wu Kui's face was grim. "After the incident at Lingyun Temple, the Fourth Prince's wife and the Fourth Prince were both imprisoned and guarded by the Privy Council. The Zhao family went to the palace several times to plead for the Fourth Prince's wife to be brought back to the palace, but His Majesty refused."
"We followed the young lady's instructions and dragged out the matter, but who knew that early this morning the old lady of the Zhao family would go to the Queen Mother and kneel in front of Shou'an Palace, knocking her head and crying out for justice for the Fourth Prince's wife. She also said that she dreamed last night that the Fourth Prince's wife hugged her and cried, saying that she was wronged and that she was being murdered."
The old lady of the Zhao family was of very noble status. She was the daughter of Emperor Taizu's younger brother. She was once very much loved by Emperor Taizu and was also granted the title of Princess.
She knelt in front of Shou'an Palace and kowtowed until her head was bleeding, and the empress dowager could not ignore it.
The empress dowager was reluctant to interfere in state affairs, so she ordered someone to call Emperor An over. Emperor An had been extremely upset recently because of the events at Lingyun Temple.
The old lady of the Zhao family cried and said that the Fourth Prince's wife was wronged, and that she was being framed. She also said that Governor Xiao was seriously injured and no one in the Privy Council was in charge, which turned the small case into a big one, letting the whole world know that the royal children were fighting against each other, and the royal daughter-in-law had her innocence ruined, bringing disgrace to the royal family.
Wu Kui's expression was extremely grim as he spoke. "Then Madam Zhao changed her previous request. She no longer asked to take the Fourth Prince's wife away. She only asked His Majesty to have the case concluded as soon as possible to avoid bringing shame to the royal family."
"Your Majesty also knows that the Governor is seriously injured. He believes that the lack of leadership in the Privy Council has led to the case being delayed until now. He has requested that the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court assist the Privy Council in concluding the case as quickly as possible."
"Commander Cang originally wanted to stop them and send someone to inform the girl first, but Madam Zhao couldn't wait a moment and insisted that His Majesty order the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to immediately go to the prison for interrogation. But who knew that when they arrived, they found that the Fourth Prince's wife had strangled herself to death by tying her belt to the prison door."
All the guards in the prison were dumbfounded at the time, and Old Madam Zhao was crying so hard that she almost fainted.
The Fourth Prince's Concubine died not early nor late, but just when Emperor An ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to intervene in the case. Moreover, after the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple investigated, they found that the Fourth Prince's Concubine seemed to have hanged herself because she could not bear the humiliation, and she also left a letter in blood to confess her actions, but in fact her cervical vertebrae were broken. She was strangled to death with great force and then hung on the prison door to pretend to be hanging.
Now the people in the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple all looked at each other strangely, and the people in the Privy Council could not clear themselves of their sins even if they jumped into the Lancang River.
The blood letter became a joke, and the death of the Fourth Prince's wife seemed to be because someone was afraid that she would say something and killed her in advance. At this time, news came that the Second Lady Bai who had been released back to the mansion had fallen from the corridor, was covered in wounds and was unconscious.
Wu Kui's face was filled with anxiety. "They are all related to the Lingyun Temple case. Now it seems that they have been silenced. The Zhao family is accusing the Privy Council of deliberately delaying the trial. They say that the Governor is using the excuse of being seriously injured to ignore the case in order to disrupt the court. Their words are all hinting that the Lingyun Temple incident is related to the Governor."
"The Zhao family members made a big fuss in front of the government office. Later, people from the palace came and took them and Commander Cang into the palace. The Second Prince's wife also came into the palace..."
Tian Qing couldn't help but say, "Girl, things have become so serious, the palace will definitely summon the governor. Even if the governor is seriously injured, he probably won't be able to escape."
When he disguised himself as the Governor, he did look about 60% similar if you didn't look closely. In addition, his body shape was the same as the Governor. If it was darker or the distance was farther, he was confident that he could deceive those people. However, if he disguised himself as the Governor and entered the palace directly, he would stand face to face with Emperor An and even other people.
Tianqing had no confidence that he could deceive those people, especially Emperor An. The Governor had served him closely for a long time, and Emperor An was very familiar with the Governor.
He is so suspicious that even the slightest mistake can lead to a terrible disaster.
If you deceive the emperor in front of the saint, everyone will die once it is exposed.
Tang Ning naturally understood what Tianqing meant. She had seen Tianqing disguised as Xiao Yan with her own eyes, and knew that he could not hide it from Emperor An, and would be exposed once summoned.
Her face turned pale, and she was extremely panicked because of the sudden accident, but she tried her best to keep a steady expression, took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She can't mess around.
If she gets into trouble, my brother will be in even more trouble.
The most important thing right now is how to deal with it.
It was extremely quiet in Heli Hall. Everyone knew that something was wrong. When Tang Ning walked back and forth with his eyes lowered, Yue Jian and the other two didn't dare to say a word.
Tang Ning stroked the bell on his wrist and quickly sorted out today's events.
"Has the Zhao family made any unusual moves before?"
"No."
"What about Madam Zhao? Did she show up after the Fourth Prince's wife got into trouble?"
“No.”
Seeing Tang Ning looking up, Tian Qing said with certainty:
"After the Fourth Prince's Consort was imprisoned, the Zhao family went to the palace to beg for her release, claiming she was innocent. However, only her mother, Madam Zhao, came forward. No one else in the Zhao family ever entered the palace or visited the Fourth Prince's Consort."
Madam Zhao is the second wife of the Zhao family. Her first wife already had children, but after she married into the family, she only gave birth to a daughter, the Fourth Prince's Consort, who was treated like a treasure.
The Fourth Prince's wife was imprisoned for more than half a month, and she was the only one who visited him with tears in her eyes every time, and then came out crying. Lord Zhao cared more about the reputation of the Zhao family, and the other children of the Zhao family were also afraid of being contaminated by the "bad reputation" of the Fourth Prince's wife.
Although the Zhao family was disgusted and angry because the Fourth Prince took advantage of the Fourth Prince's wife, and kept attacking him, and the Second Prince who was involved was also somewhat unlucky, they did not have much sympathy for the Fourth Prince's wife who had lost her innocence and had a disgraced reputation.
What they were angry about was the Zhao family's loss of reputation, not the murder of the Fourth Prince's wife.
Tang Ning quickly understood the Zhao family's attitude after hearing this: "In other words, this old lady Zhao doesn't love the Fourth Prince's wife very much."
Wu Kui said, "Anyway, I haven't seen anyone from the Zhao family these days."
Tang Ning narrowed her eyes slightly. If that was the case, then why would Old Madam Zhao go to the palace and beg the Queen Mother, kowtow until her head was broken and bleeding just to seek justice for the Fourth Prince's wife?
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