Chapter 392: Troublemaker Cui Lin
When Mrs. Zhao fell to the ground, her face suddenly turned red and she cried uncontrollably, calling out "Yinxuan". The next moment, she began to vomit blood and her body began to twitch.
"Mrs. Zhao!"
Tang Ning was startled and hurried forward to support the man.
She took advantage of the situation to wipe the blood off her and stuffed something into Mrs. Zhao's mouth. Mrs. Zhao buried herself in her arms and swallowed it quickly.
Emperor An was startled: "Doctor Yuan!!"
When Imperial Physician Yuan stepped forward, he saw that Tang Ning's clothes were stained red with blood, and Madam Zhao's lips were also black. He said anxiously, "Oh no! Madam Zhao's body is poisoned. Your Majesty, I must detoxify her immediately, otherwise Madam Zhao's life will be in danger!"
Emperor An said with a sullen face, "Come, carry Madam Zhao away and give her proper medical treatment. We must save her life!"
After Imperial Physician Yuan received the order, Yu Yanfeng immediately ordered people to carefully carry Madam Zhao to the side hall.
The crowd was in chaos and the hustle and bustle had dispersed, leaving a huge pool of blood in the hall, which was horrifying.
Tang Ning stood in the hall with blood on his clothes, looking helpless.
Zhao Yuanlang had several deep bloody marks on his face from being scratched, but he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, ignoring the pain.
"Your Majesty, I have never met any member of the Lu family. I don't know why Mrs. Yue is talking nonsense. Everything she said is false. How could I possibly harm my own daughter?"
Madam Zhao also knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, Mrs. Yue caught a cold last night. The court physician examined her and prescribed medicine. I really don't know why she fabricated these things to frame us. Moreover, if the Zhao family wanted to kill her, how could they let her escape?"
She glared at Tang Ning angrily: "The Yue family was clearly deceived. Someone wanted to help others out and deliberately harmed our Zhao family."
"Madam Zhao's words are suggestive. Is she saying that Princess Xiangning deceived Madam Zhao?"
Cui Lin stood aside and gloated. No matter whether the Zhao family, the Lu family, or Xiao Yan were in trouble, he was happy to see it.
Tang Ning's eyes widened in shock. "Me? How could I lie to Madam Zhao? I didn't know anyone was plotting to harm the Fourth Prince's wife."
She then looked up at Emperor An with some annoyance.
"Your Majesty, since Rongsheng Academy opened, I have been attending classes there every day. The teachers there can all attest to this. Today is the day of the academy's quiz, and I went there early in the morning. After finishing the exams with the students, I chatted with Mr. Tong for a long time before leaving."
"My brother has had a poor appetite lately due to taking too many medicines. I originally wanted to go to Xijue Tower in the west of the city to buy him some snacks, but I ran into Madam Zhao at the intersection of Fengxiang Street. She was in a very bad state, so I took her to the carriage. Who knew that we wouldn't get far before we ran into the people chasing her."
"Though we weren't in a busy city when they attacked, there were still many shops nearby. They must have had someone witness what happened. Furthermore, my maid and guards risked serious injuries to protect us, forcing those people to flee. I sensed something was amiss, so I brought Madam Zhao directly to the palace."
Yu Yanfeng stood aside and said, "When I met Princess Xiangning, she was trying to enter the palace to see His Majesty with Madam Zhao in a state of embarrassment. The people around Princess Xiangning were indeed injured."
Tang Ning seemed relieved to see Yu Yanfeng was willing to tell the truth, then glared at Madam Zhao and said angrily:
"I have a grudge against the Fourth Prince's Consort, but why would I want her life? Besides, Madam Zhao and I have only met twice. The last time, she came to me and begged me to spare the Fourth Prince's Consort, but my aunt blocked her from entering the Tang Mansion."
"The Fourth Prince's Consort wanted to harm me, but it was me who exposed her scheme and put her in jail. Madam Zhao is not crazy. Why would she help the Fourth Prince's Consort's enemies to harm you, the Zhao family?"
"You don't want to think about what you did to make her so frightened and uneasy, but you want to frame me instead. It's totally incomprehensible!"
Tang Ning looked like a little girl who had been wronged. Her face turned red with anger as she spoke, and her eyes were filled with rage.
Seeing her jumping with anger, Cao Dejiang's eyes flickered slightly and he said:
"Your Majesty, what Princess Xiangning said can be verified. Whether Madam Zhao was being hunted and when she was rescued by the Princess can all be found out. However, the old ministers on the Zhao family side are a little confused."
"From what Madam Zhao said, after the Fourth Prince's Consort's accident, no one in the Zhao family except her intervened. I think they were all afraid of being implicated by her bad reputation. But Madam Zhao suddenly came to the palace this morning to beg for mercy. After His Majesty mercifully allowed the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to intervene, the Fourth Prince's Consort suddenly died. This is too much of a coincidence."
The Minister of Justice He Cheng and the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple Lu Haifeng both knelt down in unison.
"Your Majesty, I am only here to go to the Privy Council Prison by order."
"The same goes for this humble servant. I have never met anyone from the Zhao family before. When I followed Minister He to the prison, something had already happened to the Fourth Prince's wife."
They didn't dare to be accused of colluding with the Zhao family, or even the Lu family, to kill the prince's wife.
Lu Haifeng was filled with injustice and just wanted to distance himself from the matter. Thinking of what happened in prison before, he quickly said:
"By the way, Minister He and I were both shocked when we saw the Fourth Prince's Consort's death. At first, we just thought she committed suicide, after all, she left a confession in blood."
"It was Madam Zhao. Madam Zhao cried and said that the Fourth Prince's Consort would not commit suicide. She held her body tightly and refused to let go. I accidentally discovered that the scars on the Fourth Prince's Consort's neck were unusual. It must have been murdered."
Cao Dejiang: "Oh, this is really a coincidence, Madam Zhao is so kind."
Madam Zhao: “…”
She was pale and extremely panicked.
At that time, she only wanted people to find out that there was something unusual about the death of the Fourth Prince's wife. She wanted people to know that she was "silenced" and that she could put the blame on Xiao Yan. But who knew that after being exposed and pulled out, it seemed particularly abnormal, even deliberate.
She suppressed her panic: "I... your humble servant, your humble servant was just sad at the time. I just thought Yinxuan was so strong that she would never commit suicide. Moreover, your humble servant became ill from anger after the incident at Lingyun Temple. I was only able to barely hold on and enter the palace this morning..."
Cao Dejiang sarcastically said, "What a coincidence! The Fourth Prince's wife was imprisoned for half a month and was fine. But as soon as you entered the palace, she died."
It was rare for Cui Lin to stand on Cao Dejiang's side. He was like a troublemaker, wanting to kick anyone who was at a disadvantage.
"I see that Madam Zhao is in good health. She kowtowed outside Shou'an Palace until her head was bleeding, and she can still go to the Privy Council to make a scene."
Cui Lin glanced at Zhao Yuanlang and the other members of the Zhao family with a half-smile, "But Lord Cao, please don't make things difficult for them. It's normal for Old Madam Zhao to be sick in her old age. Perhaps it's just that the Zhao family has a history of frailty."
"Although General Zhao appears to be in good health, he might be as delicate as the old lady on the inside. Otherwise, why would only Madam Zhao be seen running around when the Fourth Prince's wife was locked up for the better part of a month, and no one else from the Zhao family is around?"
"The Zhao family's illness is probably serious. Lord Cao, please don't be so aggressive, or else General Zhao and the others will get sick again."
Cui Lin's face was full of concern: "General Zhao, please take good care of yourself."
Feng Qiuli: "..."
Tang Ning: “…”
Cui Lin is really rude.
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