As for the Minister of Justice, after returning to the Ministry of Justice, he personally wrote down his confession and then went to the Ministry of Justice prison.
In the prison cell, the eldest prince, the Duke of Mao, and the Duke of Mao's heir were locked up together.
The once noble eldest prince and the arrogant brother-in-law of the emperor, after being imprisoned for a few days, have long since lost their former arrogance.
However, they weren't that afraid, since they had the Empress Dowager protecting them. The Empress Dowager was the Emperor's birth mother, and even if the Emperor was furious with her, he couldn't disregard her life and death and kill them all. At most, his property would be confiscated, and he might even be exiled.
Even though they knew their lives were not in danger, the eldest prince and the Duke of Maoguo had been filled with regret these past few days. If the Empress Dowager had listened to them and told them to give up the fight for the crown prince position, they would not have ended up in this situation.
Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets.
The heir of the Duke of Mao was bored to death. He tugged at a dry straw and said, "When is the Empress Dowager finally going to rescue us?"
This was also what the Duke of Maoguo wanted to know. He bribed the Empress Dowager with a lot of silver, only to find out that the Empress Dowager had fainted and vomited blood and gone blind because of their imprisonment.
They ignored the Empress Dowager's words. Given her temper, she wouldn't rescue them until she calmed down.
Hopefully, the Empress Dowager will calm down soon and regain her sight.
Duke Mao kept praying in his heart, and then a series of footsteps came.
Duke Maoguo glanced over and saw the Minister of Justice walking over, followed by the Vice Minister of Justice and his constables. The constables were carrying a tray with writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones on it.
Upon seeing the Minister of Justice, the Duke of Maoguo's eyes turned unfriendly. "What brings Minister Xu here?!"
The Minister of Justice said, "He has come to ask Duke Maoguo to confess and sign his confession."
The Duke of Mao's gaze shifted, and an inexplicable unease crept into his heart. "Confess and sign a confession? The Emperor has already imprisoned us all. Is there any need for us to confess and sign a confession now?!"
The Minister of Justice said, "Has the Duke of Mao forgotten that he conspired with Empress Wei to murder Consort Chen?"
Mao Guogong's heart sank to the bottom. "I don't know what you're talking about?!"
They really won't shed tears until they see the coffin. The Minister of Justice didn't waste any words, waved his hand, and the jailer opened the cell door, and the yamen runner brought in the confession.
The Minister of Justice said, "Doesn't the Duke of Mao want to know who used Empress Wei to get rid of Consort Chen back then?"
Duke Mao blurted out, "Who is it?!"
Upon hearing this, the heir of the Duke of Maoguo wished he could rush over and cover his foolish father's mouth.
The Minister of Justice was setting a trap, and Father took it!
The Minister of Justice's gaze fell on the confession on the tray. The Duke of Maoguo walked over, picked up the confession, and scanned it from beginning to end.
After only a few glances, Duke Maoguo's hand holding the confession trembled with anger.
Empress Dowager Song deposed!
The person who instigated Consort Mei to encourage Empress Wei to plot against Consort Chen was actually the deposed Empress Song!
Even Empress Wei's death was orchestrated by the deposed Empress Song!
They were kept in the dark and only found out today!
"Poisonous woman!"
The Duke of Maoguo was so angry that his lips turned purple.
The Vice Minister of Justice was speechless. The deposed Empress Song was indeed ruthless, and her plan to kill two birds with one stone was masterful. But wasn't the Duke of Mao himself ruthless? If he and Empress Wei had no intention of harming Consort Chen, how could Consort Mei have instigated it?
The Duke of Maoguo and the eldest prince were so angry they wanted to tear the deposed Empress Song to pieces.
Especially the eldest prince, even today the deposed Empress Song used his mother to kill her and then used this incident to threaten him, causing him to have a brush with death!
The Duke of Mao clenched his fists, the confession almost torn to shreds in his hands. The Minister of Justice said, "You can sign and affix your seal now."
The Duke of Mao was so enraged that he completely forgot the consequences of this exposure for himself and the entire Duke of Mao's mansion. His eyes showed panic as he said, "Slander! This is slander against me and the late Empress!"
He tore his confession to shreds.
It's as if the crime has disappeared because the confession is gone.
The Minister of Justice had seen plenty of cases where defendants refused to admit their guilt.
His expression remained unchanged as he said, "The Emperor heard the confession of the deposed Empress Song with his own ears. I didn't send the confession to you, Duke Mao, because I really wanted you to plead guilty and sign it. It's just that Prince Ling wanted you to die knowing why."
The Duke of Maoguo's face turned deathly pale. He took two steps back, his voice trembling as he said, "No! The Empress Dowager will not allow the Emperor to execute me!"
The Minister of Justice said nothing.
Whether the Empress Dowager could save him, Duke Mao, was self-evident.
Even if the Empress Dowager threatens suicide, and the Emperor spares the Duke of Mao's life, there's still Prince Ling.
The hatred for killing one's mother is irreconcilable.
Could Prince Ling allow the Duke of Mao to live on in this world?
When Consort Chen had her accident, Prince Ling was demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum. He nearly died of illness there and then fell off a cliff, injuring both legs. He suffered greatly. The Emperor already felt guilty towards Prince Ling. Would he really disappoint Prince Ling again because of the Empress Dowager's biased and protective nature?
The crimes of Empress Wei and Duke Mao were made public at the morning court session the next day.
The entire court was in uproar.
Although Empress Wei was dead, the Emperor did not forgive her for being instigated to murder Consort Chen. He deposed Empress Wei, who had been dead for almost seven years, and removed her from the imperial mausoleum for a separate burial.
As for the entire Duke Maoguo's mansion, they were all executed three days later.
Furthermore, the family of Consort Mei, the Marquis of Suchang, was also implicated and exterminated.
Well, the Su Chang Marquis's family cannot be considered exterminated.
Xie Jingyan is a man who always repays kindness. Although the third young master of the Suchang Marquis's Mansion had the intention to perish together with the Suchang Marquis's Mansion, the clues provided by the third young master of the Suchang Marquis's Mansion were crucial to the fact that the case could be solved in one day. Without that deadly short needle, Xie Jingyan did not know when he would have been able to connect all the clues.
When the Emperor issued an edict to execute the entire family of the Marquis of Suchang, Xie Jingyan stood up and pleaded for mercy for the third young master of the Marquis of Suchang, Mei.
Xie Jingyan asked the Emperor to spare Young Master Mei's life, how could the Emperor refuse?
The Emperor assigned the task of searching and confiscating the Su Chang Earl's residence to the Prince of Yanping and his men.
The Earl of Suchang was detained in the Hall of State Affairs. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice led people to the Earl of Suchang's residence to arrest him, while the Prince of Yanping and Tang Ze went to confiscate his property.
The Su Chang Marquis's residence was in complete chaos.
Young Master Mei stood there, watching the constables come and go, and the servants in the mansion flee for their lives, but no one paid any attention to him.
Everyone else in the Suchang Marquis's household was arrested, but no one arrested him.
Young Master Mei, who was waiting to be arrested, looked at the Prince of Yanping and asked, "Can't you see me?"
Prince Yanping, “…”
Upon seeing Young Master Mei, the Prince of Yanping felt that making a wish with Princess Ling was quite effective.
Just the other day, Young Master Mei wished for the extermination of his entire clan, and today his wish has come true.
The Prince of Yanping said, "Prince Ling pleaded for you, and the Emperor has spared your life. You may leave."
Young Master Mei looked completely bewildered.
Although he had no feelings for the Suchang Marquis's Mansion, he was still of Suchang Marquis's blood. The Suchang Marquis's Mansion was involved in the plot to murder Consort Chen, yet Prince Ling spared his life.
Tears welled up in Young Master Mei's eyes.
He lifted his foot and walked away.
The Crown Prince of Yanping was in a headache. He had never seen anyone so clueless. Didn't they know they were Prince Ling's men?
The Prince of Ling gave him a way out, but he didn't know how to make his own life better?
The Prince of Yanping said, "You can take all your things with you."
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