Shen Yu was even more furious, thinking: Master Shen was just a distant cousin of Zhang Manguan. Zhang Manguan was dead, and he had a whole bunch of daughters-in-law, concubines, and granddaughters. Why should the Shen family have a say?
This was clearly instigated by King Yan.
She quickly changed and washed up, then rushed to Dali Temple in a fierce manner.
Before the sedan chair had even stopped, indignant murmurs could be heard:
"Insatiable greed!"
"Those who reap what they sow will not live!"
"What a tragedy! His daughters-in-law, concubines, and granddaughters all lost their lives at such a young age."
"..."
Shen Yu was shocked; it turned out that the Zhang family had been wiped out.
Indeed, she gave Zhang Manguan 50,000 strings of cash yesterday, and that very night the Zhang family was wiped out. It's understandable that some people suspect her.
Fearing attack, she put on a face mask, got out of the sedan chair, and hurriedly walked towards the entrance of Dali Temple.
Several men in veils pointed at her and shouted from the crowd, "Mu Chenyu is here! Murderer!"
"She gave them the money, then stole it back, and even killed them to cover it up. What a vicious woman!"
"So vicious, beat her!"
"..."
Instantly, the crowd surged forward, surrounding Chen Yu. Some even grabbed vegetables, eggs, and buns from their baskets and threw them at her.
She walked with her head down and her face covered by her hands, struggling forward. Suddenly, a figure rushed over, pulled her into an embrace, and shouted, "Stop! Your commotion here is obstructing the government's investigation! Get out of the way!"
"It is King Jing."
"Don't listen to him, he's just protecting Mu Chenyu!"
"Yes! I heard that Prince Jing broke off his engagement with Shen Jing for Mu Chenyu. The two must have something to hide."
"..."
The people continued to throw vegetables and eggs at King Jing and Chen Yu.
Chen Yu hid in Prince Jing's arms, brushed the vegetable leaf off her forehead and looked up. Bang! Bang! Two eggs were smashed into Prince Jing's face one after another.
Prince Jing still held her in his arms, protecting her, letting vegetable leaves and eggs hit her head and face.
Seeing the egg yolk dripping down Prince Jing's cheeks, Shen Yu felt a surge of warmth in her heart and choked out, "Prince Jing, you don't need to protect Shen Yu, go quickly!"
King Jing shook his head and led Chen Yu forward, but several men in veils blocked their way.
At this moment, a group of soldiers rushed over and surrounded King Jing and Chen Yu, then spread outwards, forcing back the rioting people.
A stout man with angry eyebrows and phoenix eyes hurriedly walked to Prince Jing's side, pointed at the man in the veiled hat and said, "Arrest those troublemakers! Let Master Gu interrogate them properly to see if they are part of the criminal gang, deliberately inciting the people to create chaos."
This stout man was none other than the seventh prince, Prince Jin.
Prince Jin quelled the commotion at the entrance of the Dali Temple and then escorted Chen Yu into the temple.
------
Bao Qianshan was already seated in the hall. To his right sat the historian appointed by the emperor, and to his left stood his attendant, Master Bai.
In the center of the hall knelt Master Shen, while Prince Yan sat upright to the side.
What brings King Yan here?
With a look of disdain, Shen Yu walked to Master Shen's side. Before she could kneel down, two old women quickly came over and led her away.
A short while later.
Shen Yu stormed back to the center of the hall and demanded of Bao Qianshan, "Sir, why did you search me?"
The body search was ordered by King Yan, who has already quietly withdrawn.
Bao Qianshan didn't know how to answer Shen Yu, so he slammed his gavel and said, "Plaintiff Shen Mantang, do you have any evidence to accuse Mu Chenyu of murdering Zhang Manguan's family?"
Master Shen glared at Chen Yu and said angrily, "Mu Chen Yu! Last night you disguised yourself as a dancer from the Peony Pavilion and sneaked into the Zhang residence, killing more than fifty people in the Zhang household and taking away fifty thousand strings of silver. Your crimes are heinous and unforgivable!"
Shen Yu couldn't help but glance at Master Shen, then turned to Bao Qianshan and asked, "Lord Bao, when was Zhang Manguan murdered? Why do you suspect me of being the murderer? Do you have any evidence?"
Bao Qianshan looked at Master Bai beside him.
Master Bai then said, "Present the evidence." A moment later, his attendant, Master Bai the Third, came to Chen Yu with a wooden tray.
A goldfish hairpin? The Mu family's dagger? The dagger was covered in blood, quite gruesome.
Shen Yu was shocked. She had lost her gold hairpin at the Kong family polo match that day. And the dagger, it was indeed from the Mu family, but she had never worn it.
She looked at Bao Qianshan with suspicion and explained, "Sir, Shen Yu's hairpin was lost four days ago. The dagger is indeed from the Mu family, but it doesn't belong to Shen Yu. The culprit must have planned this in advance, stealing the hairpin and dagger to frame Shen Yu."
Before Chen Yu could finish speaking, Master Shen pointed at her and shouted angrily, "Bullshit! Last night at 7 PM, I saw you enter the Zhang residence with my own eyes. I was wondering at the time, how could a dancer wear such an expensive gold hairpin?"
If Lord Zhang hadn't been so eager to consummate his relationship with the songstress... and had you all leave, I would have definitely recognized you. Alas, it's all my fault for being careless back then; I should have had all the ladies remove their veils and verified their identities one by one.
You thought you had done everything perfectly, leaving no room for error, but you left behind a gold hairpin and a dagger. Heaven truly has eyes!
Shen Yu was innocent, and seeing Master Shen pointing his finger at her and beating her, she wasn't going to back down. She suddenly stood up and retorted to Master Shen:
"You're spewing profanities and spouting nonsense. You scum who indulge in nighttime pleasures and have no respect for your elders, have you gone blind? I was in the yamen all night last night, how could I be the dancer of the Peony Pavilion that you claim to be? Open your dog eyes and see clearly, is this me?"
Master Shen was so angry that he was speechless, staring blankly at Chen Yu.
At this moment, Gu Erlang came to the door and handed a certificate to Master Bai.
Master Bai then presented it to Bao Qianshan.
It turned out to be a testimony sent by the yamen (government office). Six yamen runners testified that Chen Yu stayed in the yamen at 7 PM last night until 9 PM last night, when she left for the dock.
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