Chapter 359 Tang Ning takes action
Liu Zhi glanced at Mrs. Qian and Qian Qiyue, her face pale.
"On the night of Qixi Festival, the girl suddenly left the house, saying she was going to look for the Yiyang County Lady. I told Steward Luo the news, but the girl fell into the water the next moment, and even the County Lady nearly lost her life."
"I panicked and sought out Steward Luo, wanting to return the silver. But Steward Luo refused to take it and threatened me, saying that if the girl and the mistress knew about this, they would never forgive me. I was terrified, but I didn't dare do anything. Two days later, when the mistress said she wanted to go to Lingyun Temple with the girl, Steward Luo came to me again."
"Manager Luo gave me five hundred taels of silver and asked me to do something for him after I went to Lingyun Temple. Once I succeeded, he would give me another thousand taels of silver and even find a way to release my indenture. I was greedy for a moment, so I agreed..."
Qian Qiyue was extremely angry when she heard this and opened her mouth to curse, but was held down by Qian Qingran.
Tang Ning said in a deep voice: "Then how do you know that it was the Princess's Mansion that asked you to do this?"
Liu Zhi glanced at Princess Leyang, who was glaring at her, her face pale. "I didn't know that at all. Steward Luo only said that after I went up the mountain, someone would come looking for me. That person would then come looking for me with a matching card. I only had to do what he said."
She had been tortured, and her hands were shaking when she reached into her arms to take something.
"This is the pair of cards. I have half of them, and the other half is on that person. She was wearing a cloak when she came to see me, but I was timid and afraid of being silenced, so I quietly followed her and watched her enter Princess Leyang's courtyard."
"Moreover, I personally saw this eunuch. He came out of the Princess's courtyard before nightfall. The maids and nannies serving in the Princess's courtyard, as well as the two guards standing in front of the courtyard, must have seen him."
The people in the Princess's Mansion all changed their expressions.
Tang Ning asked her, "Do you still remember the people in the courtyard at that time?"
Liu Zhi shook her head. "I didn't dare get closer. I could only vaguely see the faces of two maids returning from the dining hall to get food, and the two guards at the door."
"But among these people?"
Liu Zhi raised her head and looked towards the people in the Princess's Mansion. After a moment's identification, she nodded, "Here."
She pointed out the four men, and the black-armored guards immediately stepped forward and escorted them out. As the four men knelt on the ground, one of the maids suddenly shouted, "She's talking nonsense! We serve the princess and have never seen any male prostitutes, let alone anyone wearing a cloak!"
The two guards also denied it flatly, insisting that they had never seen the eunuch.
Tang Ning glanced at the smug Princess Leyang. He remained calm, looking down at the four people. "You are servants of the Princess's Mansion, so naturally you will side with your master. But you must understand that what happened tonight is not just about my innocence, but also about the reputation of the Fourth Prince's Mansion and the entire imperial family."
"The Fourth Prince's wife was publicly insulted, and now someone has died. The Privy Council has accepted the case. Regardless of whether you confess or not, this matter will definitely be brought before the Emperor."
"You must have heard of the reputation of the Criminal Department since you live in the capital. If you tell the truth now, this matter has nothing to do with you. But if the Black Armor Guards capture you and bring you back to the capital, no one will be as gentle as me."
"Princess Leyang and I both hold imperial decrees, so the Privy Council might not torture us. However, you are merely servants in the Princess's residence, and Liu Zhi is suspected of having testified against you. You will definitely have to go to the Criminal Court. Do you think you can withstand their torture, or come out unharmed?"
The four people in the Princess's Mansion all changed their expressions, especially the two maids, whose faces turned pale and their lips trembled.
The name of the Criminal Department is known to everyone in the capital. It is said that no matter how tough a person is, he will not be able to hold back and speak once he goes there.
The people in the Criminal Department are ruthless and never hesitate to use torture to seek the truth.
If they go in, they might not come out alive...
Tang Ning lowered his eyes and looked at the four people: "What are the crimes of murdering the prince's wife, framing court officials, and slandering the Privy Council? I don't think I need to explain it in detail."
"If you knew about what happened tonight, you would only be punished if you were not involved. Even if you were involved but not the instigator, only one person would be held responsible. However, if you helped her conceal it, you would be guilty of the same crime. If you attempted to murder the royal family, you would be punished by the death of all nine generations of your clan. Please consider this."
The four of them looked pale and hesitant.
Princess Leyang was moaning, and everyone in the hall was looking at the four people.
Seeing that they remained silent for a long time, Tang Ning's face turned cold. "It seems that you are determined to go to the Criminal Court. Commander Cang, since they are unwilling to confess, then we should set off directly back to the capital. Bring back the princess and all those involved in tonight's case for strict interrogation. Someone will definitely confess."
"It's so far from Jinglai Temple. If we interrogate them one by one, I don't believe that none of these thirty or so people have seen this eunuch's face!"
Upon hearing this, Canglang said calmly, "The county lady is right. I was too lenient in my duties, which led some people to believe that the Privy Council has no more power. Come, take the Princess and the others away!"
The black-armored guards outside came forward together, and the people who were escorting Princess Leyang and the nanny also pushed them out.
Just as Princess Ji was about to open her mouth to speak, Old Madam Fu suddenly pulled her back and yelled, "Shut up!" Seeing Princess Ji looking up angrily, Old Madam Fu said coldly, "If you want to involve the Ji Palace in this, you can speak up."
The people in the Princess's Mansion saw that the black-armored guards actually took their master away, and the black-armored guards who came in also put knives on their necks. The servants in the Princess's Mansion were all panicked, and suddenly someone knelt on the ground with a "thump".
"I, I said, I've seen that man!"
"Qiuqin?"
Another maid among the four people suddenly looked at the person who spoke: "Are you crazy? How dare you betray the eldest princess?!"
"I, I didn't. I just don't want to go to the Criminal Division. No one can come out alive from there. Besides, my brother is still young. If you plot to murder the royal family, you will be executed along with all nine generations of the family. I can't let them get into trouble..."
"You bitch, you..."
Bang!
The maid reached out to hit the maid named Qiuqin, but Yuejian quickly stepped forward and kicked her away.
The other two guards were pinned down by the Black Armor Guards. Tang Ning and Cang Lang turned back and stood before Qiu Qin. "You just said you've seen this eunuch?"
Qiuqin's face turned pale. "Your servant, I have seen him. His name is Tan Yan, and he is the top performer in Chun'en Tower."
"The princess originally just wanted to find a random man to bring to Lingyun Temple and tarnish the county lady's innocence, but two days ago, she accidentally ran into Tan Yan, who had made a mistake and escaped from Chun'en Tower and was being pursued."
"Since he was good-looking and understood the affairs of men and women, and thinking that if the affair were to be discovered, they could accuse the county lady of having been having an affair with a male prostitute and bringing people up the mountain for an affair, they found an excuse to redeem him, and later kept him in the mansion for two days..."
"Qiuqin, shut up!!"
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