Chapter 44 Jin Ling 44
Li Yi finally agreed to meet Sun Jiabi.
That night, the emperor, the empress dowager and Jin Ling met the embarrassed Sun in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The virtuous concubine who had been imprisoned nearby could not hold back her tears and was about to throw herself into her mother's arms.
"Xianfei, today we are going to hear the case of your mother practicing the art of evil in the palace. You'd better be quiet."
The Empress Dowager felt irritated by their affectionate mother-daughter relationship. That vicious woman had nearly killed her own daughter-in-law and grandson, and now, relying on her family's influence, she was crying and making a scene in the Dali Temple. She looked utterly miserable, but in reality, she wasn't even hurt.
"Sun Jiabi, do you know that practicing such evil in the palace is a heinous crime?" Li Yi sat at the head of the table, his face expressionless, as he said calmly, "According to the law, he should be executed."
Sun Jiabi quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I have truly done nothing wrong. Your Majesty also said that the art of warding off evil is a capital offense. How dare I, a subject, knowingly break the law?"
"Because you were jealous of the Imperial Concubine's pregnancy, you feared it would affect the virtuous Concubine's status in the palace. You cast an evil spell and injected her with acupuncture needles for your daughter. Fortunately, the Imperial Concubine is blessed by the gods and Buddhas, and has amulets to protect her from disasters."
Upon hearing the Queen Mother's accusations, Concubine Xian couldn't help but laugh bitterly: "Don't you find this ridiculous, Queen Mother? How can I, a concubine, have any status in this palace? Besides, the Imperial Concubine is already above me in rank, and is favored by the Emperor and the Queen Mother. Even if I don't have a dragon fetus, I can't compare to them."
Her self-deprecating confession stunned everyone present, and what she said made sense.
Jin Ling sighed upon seeing this: "What the Concubine said is indeed reasonable. Although a doll with my birth date and horoscope was found in the Wan Mansion, there's no guarantee that someone might have framed me..."
"Why not find that Taoist priest and let them confront each other in court?"
Jin Ling was satisfied to see the two men's expressions change. She then slowly took a sip of tea and smiled gently at the virtuous concubine who was kneeling below her.
Although she wanted to save their lives, it didn't mean she would let them go. The crimes these two people committed were real, and if they wanted to continue pretending, it would depend on whether Yao Jinling agreed.
Li Yi and the Queen Mother had no objections, and soon the Taoist priest was carried into the main hall.
Compared to Sun Jiabi, whose clothes were just a little messy, this Taoist priest was in a much worse state.
It was obvious that his hands and feet had been tortured, and he fell to the ground without even the strength to kneel up.
"Are you the evil one who performed the ritual for Sun Jiabi that day?"
"It's, it's just me."
"You are lying. When did I ever ask you to help me perform rituals and sorcery?" Seeing his half-dead appearance, Sun Jiabi became even more frightened and made up her mind not to admit it.
The Taoist priest had not expected that at this moment, she would still throw all the blame on him. He could not help but secretly resent her in his heart, but when he saw the other woman in palace dress kneeling beside him, he seemed to remember something and stopped talking.
"I'm asking you, was it really she who ordered you to perform sorcery and harm others that day?"
"I...I'm not sure either..."
"Not sure? Then why did you admit that you accepted bribes from Sun and used her magic to harm people?"
"I, a humble commoner, cannot bear the torture... I will agree to whatever the officials say..."
"So you were falsely accusing Madam Wan that day?" Jin Ling saw him kneeling there, not daring to answer, and chuckled, "Oh, falsely accusing a woman of the imperial court is a capital crime!"
Sun Jiabi, who was also kneeling, didn't know why this Taoist priest was willing to take the blame for her, but she certainly wouldn't refuse such a good thing. She stood up with a happy face:
"Your Highness is right. It was this untouchable who slandered me. Execute him immediately."
Jin Ling ignored her and turned to look at Concubine Xian, revealing a hint of resentment at the right moment: "Concubine Xian, do you think so too?"
Wan Baoxian was just delighted that his mother had escaped punishment when he heard the imperial concubine sitting at the top ask a question. He looked up and saw the resentment and resentment that she hadn't yet managed to suppress, and he couldn't help but feel happy.
"No, it's more than that."
"This lowly person falsely accused a court lady and implicated the Crown Prince. Even if he were to be torn into pieces by five horses, his death would be worthy of my death. However, my mother has been humiliated in vain. Your Majesty, please give her justice."
Immersed in the joy of turning the tables, Concubine Xian did not notice the Taoist priest kneeling on the ground looking at her with an incredulous look.
Jin Ling smiled and gave a final, strong dose of medicine: "Since Madam Wan is innocent, Your Majesty will naturally clear her name."
"However... falsely accusing a court lady, and involving the art of warding off evil, I'm afraid the law will only result in death by lingchi. Sigh..."
As he spoke, he revealed an expression of reluctance: "If it were as before, you were just an accomplice, I'm afraid you might still have a chance of survival, but now it's really..."
The Taoist priest was just a charlatan wandering around the world. How could he know anything about the law? He only thought that the virtuous concubine was the emperor's woman and that she would definitely be able to save him. Now that he found himself about to be executed, he immediately grasped at the more magnificent life-saving straw in front of him:
"My dear, please save me. I didn't make any false accusations. It was she, it was she who asked me to stab the Imperial Concubine with a small doll. I don't want to die!"
"You are slandering me! Your Majesty, this pariah is fickle and his words cannot be trusted!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, he is the one who is lying. Execute this pariah!"
"This... I am also confused." The Queen Mother saw that the two of them were so confident and had some doubts. Moreover, this Taoist priest said yes and then said no, which was really hard to trust.
"You don't have the final say on right and wrong." Jin Ling looked at the Taoist priest seriously.
"What evidence do you have to prove that Madam Wan was responsible for this? The crime of deceiving the emperor is an even greater crime. You'd better confess the truth!"
The Taoist priest bowed his head repeatedly, no longer caring about anything else, and confessed everything he knew: "I am just a charlatan. Back then, it was a maidservant beside the virtuous concubine who came to me. She said she knew I had a great skill and asked if I was willing to serve her."
"Oh, yes, he gave me a hundred taels of silver. The purse that contained the silver was well-made, so I couldn't bear to throw it away. I still have it hidden under the straw mat in the guest room of the Taoist temple."
"You're talking nonsense! When did I ever send a maid to look for you? I don't even know you!"
Seeing that she still refused to admit it, the Taoist priest became anxious and pointed at the palace maid behind her: "It's her. When she explained how to deceive Consort Xian's mother the other day, she also added a sea lantern to pray for herself. On it was written her name, Wanhua."
"What does it mean to lie to her mother?" The Queen Mother realized that the matter seemed to involve the virtuous concubine, and hurriedly asked the Taoist priest.
"She herself wanted to kill the Imperial Concubine's child, but she was afraid her mother was too timid to do it, so she gave me five hundred taels and taught me how to persuade her mother to stab the Imperial Concubine's figurine."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room erupted in noise.
"Do you understand the implications of your words? If you lie even a little bit, do you know the consequences?"
"I dare not lie, I dare not lie." The Taoist kowtowed until his head was broken, but he did not dare to stop. "Although I don't know the law, I know that these things are serious sins. So before the ritual, I said I needed an item used by the virtuous concubine, so that we can switch our fortunes."
As he said this, he took out a handkerchief from his arms.
Unfortunately, everyone realized at first glance that this was just the work of the Shanggong Bureau and could not be used as evidence at all.
Seeing the three people sitting in the upper seats shaking their heads, the Taoist priest became more and more panicked and began to think frantically in his mind.
"This Taoist priest is a madman. I think we should kill him..."
"I remember now, I remember now!" The Taoist priest suddenly spoke, looking at the virtuous concubine frantically: "They were looking for that kind of sex medicine everywhere before, and I saved a Hu merchant who happened to have this medicine, and they bought it at a high price."
"This medicine is incredibly effective, and it's the secret recipe of that Hu merchant, the only one of its kind. I couldn't resist saving half a packet, and even if I used the rest every day, I wouldn't be able to finish it now. They must have more!"
The Taoist priest was delighted to have found evidence to accuse them, but he had no idea how big a bomb he had created.
Who should use Chinese medicine for sex?
Jin Ling glanced at Sun Jiabi's old face.
It can't be used as a mother. That would be a big deal. The emperor was drugged by the virtuous concubine and treated like a prostitute.
She glanced at Li Yi's livid face and gently soothed the agitated Queen Mother. Seeing the two of them kneeling in the same place again, they hid their achievements and fame.
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