Kong Xiang's heart tightened, and he quickly took the portrait. After examining it closely, he suddenly realized, "Could this be Qiu Shuang'er's sister, Qiu Xue'er? The maid who disappeared in the case of the fire in the Xue family's storeroom?"
"Exactly!"
At this moment, Master Gu hurriedly walked up to Prime Minister Kong and said, "Prime Minister Kong, Jade was murdered. I found a shoe print at the crime scene, which matches the shoe print in Zhang Manguan's case. The murderer killed the witness, clearly trying to frame Mu Chenyu."
Kong Xiang did not agree with Master Gu's statement and retorted, "Jade saw the appearance of the villain, and the beggar did too, so what? It only proves that the villain who kidnapped Kang'er was not Mu Chenyu. Then who is the villain who kidnapped Chihe'er? Mu Chenyu is still a suspect."
"You're senile!"
Shen Yu was furious. She had been wronged, and Master Gu's words confirmed that Qiu Xue'er had killed Emerald.
What does this mean? Hongyu wants to eliminate the witness and put her to death.
Enraged, she grabbed the lame man's arm, stood up, and pointed at Prime Minister Kong, launching into a tirade of abuse:
“You’re so foolish and brainless. Go to the head steward’s house and look at the footprints. You’ll find that the same person kidnapped He’er and Kang’er.”
Having said that, she kicked one of her shoes onto the long table in front of Kong Xiang. Seeing Kong Xiang's face turn red, she glanced at him and turned to leave.
"Mu Chenyu! You... have shown contempt for the truth... the footprints have not been verified, your suspicion has not been cleared, you cannot leave!"
"I'll leave the shoes for you to compare; I'll go to the back room to rest first."
------
The hour of You (5-7 PM).
Master Gu announced that Shen Yu and her two servants were innocent and released. At the same time, the yamen issued an arrest warrant for the murderer Qiu Xue'er and decided to retry Zhang Manguan's case.
Supported by Rong Momo and Jiu'er, Shen Yu waited outside the prison cell. Shen Lan and Chi Yan slowly walked out, both of them with pale faces, colorless lips, and trembling arms.
Shen Yu looked closely and saw that Shen Lan and Chi Yan's fingertips were dripping blood. She quickly went over to check and found that both Shen Lan and Chi Yan's fingers were covered in bloodstains. It seemed that Kong Xiang had tortured them.
She was furious and decided to take Shen Lan and Chi Yan to the palace to see the emperor and demand justice for them.
She limped out of the yamen, with the cripple following beside her, while Rong Mama and Jiu'er supported Shen Lan and Chi Yan.
A huge crowd gathered outside the yamen. When they saw Chen Yu emerge, they praised her, saying, "I knew it! Miss Chen Yu is a kind-hearted healer and would never harm anyone."
"Yes! If it weren't for this case, Zhang Manguan's case wouldn't have been retried."
"This Qiu Xue'er is really something. Even the authorities can't catch her. What's most hateful is that she actually framed Miss Chen Yu."
"..."
Shen Yu nodded to the crowd in greeting and took a small step down the steps. Suddenly, a woman in red rushed over and knelt in front of her.
"Sister Yu, Hongyu has misunderstood you. I hope you won't hold a grudge against me. It's just that the woman looks so much like you, and those two men, with their faces covered, are the same size as Shen Lan Chiyan..."
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Before Hongyu could finish speaking, Chenyu, enraged, slapped Hongyu three times in succession.
Chen Yu lowered her eyelids and glanced at Hong Yu. She bit her lip and her hands trembled. Even after hitting Hong Yu, she still couldn't feel relieved.
Because Hongyu had indiscriminately killed innocent people, including an infant less than two months old, she had to sever all ties with this ruthless woman.
She walked around Hongyu, but unexpectedly, Hongyu grabbed her long skirt. She felt her wound being rubbed and quickly turned around to pull her skirt back.
Seeing this, Hongyu hugged one of her legs and cried out, "Sister, Kang'er's fate is unknown. Please help me find Kang'er's whereabouts..."
Chen Yu was shaken off balance by Hong Yu and staggered about, about to fall to the ground.
At this moment, the lame man rushed forward, stretched out his arms to catch Chen Yu, and helped him up.
Shen Yu raised her hand and pulled out the hairpin from her head. She grabbed a corner of her outer robe with her left hand and used her right hand to forcefully stab the hairpin down. Then, she gripped the hairpin and slashed it hard. With a tearing sound, a piece of cloth fell off.
She grabbed the cloth, turned to look at Hongyu, and threw it at her.
“I admire Chenyu and Zhang Hongyu and we have severed ties and will never see each other again.”
After saying that, she turned and left.
At this moment, King Jing returned. He squeezed into the crowd and saw the lame man following Chen Yu, which saddened him.
He knew exactly who the cripple was, but he was afraid that once the cripple returned, Shen Yu would no longer be able to tolerate him!
Seeing Shen Yu looking over, he forced a smile and went to greet her, "Shen Yu, the Emperor has summoned Prime Minister Kong to the palace and punished him by deducting two years' salary to compensate Shen Lan and Chi Yan. Let's just drop this matter."
Shen Yu nodded, and was about to speak when Eunuch Cai arrived.
"The Emperor has decreed that Mu Chenyu, Prince Jing, and Zhang Hongyu be summoned to the palace to be awarded titles and honors."
Song Hua entered the palace and ascended the throne, becoming emperor. He then bestowed rewards upon those who went to Jiangnan to provide disaster relief.
This disaster caused the four major families in Jiangnan to be completely robbed by bandits. Prince Jing, with a hundred guards, outwitted a thousand bandits, captured their stronghold, and helped the four families recover their wealth. Prince Jing was specially appointed as General Jing, a second-rank official, and was granted the Hundred Herbs Garden as a reward.
Although Mu Chenyu is a woman, she is incredibly selfless, using all her money and even jewelry to treat disaster victims. I greatly admire her and hereby bestow upon her ten thousand taels of gold, two residences, and reinstate her as a female imperial physician.
The Prince of Jin led his troops to evacuate the flooded people, even personally carrying the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled to safety. He was rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold and a thousand acres of farmland for his hard work and great achievements.
Red jade?
The emperor knew that his ascension to the throne was entirely due to Hongyu's secret machinations, but he dared not openly repay her kindness, so he devised a reason that satisfied both sides:
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