Yang Hua covered her mouth and lowered her voice, "It's now confirmed that Kong Feng'er and Kong Yan'er are dead."
I've already given the old woman a thousand strings of cash. She admitted to Master Gu that she had wronged you. The constables will release you soon. Remember to help Shuxiang and Chenjing.
------
Hongyu followed Yanghua out of the prison cell and saw Gu Erlang walking hurriedly towards them.
"Madam Yu, the Emperor is investigating the poisoning of the well water in Prime Minister Kong's residence. He has summoned you to the inner hall for questioning."
Hongyu nodded and followed Gu Erlang to the back hall. Before they even entered the room, they heard a deafening admonition:
"Your Majesty, Bao Qianxun is the daughter of Master Bao. Master Bao is upright and kind, and has lived a life of integrity. All the children of the Bao family are kind and benevolent. Your Majesty's marriage to Bao Qianxun is a blessing for the people."
"Yes! Your Majesty must not associate with Lady Yu. She is involved in many cases, although she has been acquitted in all of them. Your Majesty should not forget that flies do not land on eggs without cracks."
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"..."
The Emperor was frowning. He had come to interrogate Qiu Xue'er, but learned that in the case of the poisoning of the well water in the Kong family mansion, 125 people had died, including Kong Feng'er and Kong Yan'er, and 25 people were still unconscious, including Kong Xiang and Kong Que'er.
To save lives, he has ordered all the imperial physicians to go to the Kong family residence.
At this moment, an old imperial physician hurriedly passed by Hongyu, ran into the hall, and knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, the poison that Prime Minister Kong and Miss Que'er have been afflicted with is a rare poison from the north, the same kind that killed Prince Lu and Prince Hong. There is no cure!"
No solution?
Hongyu stood outside the door, secretly delighted. If Kong Xiang and Kong Que'er were dead, no one would know that she had orchestrated Songhua's usurpation of the throne.
The Emperor panicked. A series of murders had recently occurred in the capital, all victims of a rare poison. He, the Emperor, was supposed to save his people; how could he stand idly by and watch them perish?
Bang! He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing at the group of senior officials, saying, "Go and think of a solution! Post notices! Are there any folk healers? Go find them now!"
"have!"
"Oh? Old Imperial Physician, please get up and answer."
"Your Majesty, when Prince Hong was murdered last year, Mu Chenyu said she would develop an antidote for the rare poison in the north. But I don't know where she is now. This old minister has not seen her for more than half a year!"
The Emperor immediately issued an order, "Gu Erlang, Gu Erlang, convey my decree, ordering Mu Chenyu to come to the capital immediately."
Gu Erlang rushed into the hall and replied, "Yes, sir," before hurriedly leaving.
Seeing the solemn expressions on the faces of the assembled senior officials, the old imperial physician quickly withdrew.
Hongyu was led into the hall by the yamen runners. She lowered her head and secretly looked at them. More than a dozen old officials in the hall retreated to both sides, all glaring at her angrily.
She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her displeasure. She had already thought things through before coming in. The emperor had just ascended the throne, and his power base was unstable. He was inevitably constrained by the old ministers, and there were many things he couldn't do freely.
If it weren't for the old minister's protest, the emperor would probably have already brought her into the palace.
Before the Emperor even interrogated her, the old ministers started pointing at her and gossiping:
“She couldn’t stand seeing Kong Feng’er and Kong Yan’er gain favor; she must be the one who did it.”
"That was too insidious; it killed more than a hundred people."
"We beg Your Majesty to do justice for the Kong family!"
"..."
The veteran officials knelt down and begged the emperor to severely punish Hongyu.
The Emperor gripped the gavel, his brow furrowed and his face contorted with difficulty. He wanted to suppress the old minister, yet he feared the old minister would accuse him of being bewitched by Hongyu.
Seeing this, Hongyu was furious and pointed at the group of old ministers, reprimanding them:
"You, as high-ranking officials of the court, how could you frame a woman without even asking what happened? I was arrested and taken to the yamen as soon as I left the palace last night. How could I have had time to commit a crime?"
"This old minister has a question."
Hongyu looked in the direction of the sound and saw the adult standing up and walking towards her.
Lord He is He Yuan's father and Chen Yu's uncle.
After the Emperor left the Kong residence yesterday, he ordered Kong to assist the government in continuing to investigate the murderer who assassinated Prince Lu.
When the Prince of Lu was assassinated, Hongyu was imprisoned because of the passenger ship fire.
The passenger ship fire case also implicated Steward Liao and Ginkgo from the Lu Prince's mansion. He suspected that the Lu Prince's death was related to Hongyu. Therefore, he ordered people to secretly monitor Hongyu.
It's just a mystery how Hongyu escaped from the Prince of Xiang's residence. She actually managed to enter the palace and even had contact with Prince Yan.
As soon as Prince Yan returned to the capital, Zhiya chased after Qiu Xue'er and Kang'er to avenge Qiu Shuang'er.
Even more suspiciously, Qiu Xue'er did not die from poisoning; instead, she was captured by King Li.
These cases must be connected, and Yan Wang and Hong Yu must be involved.
He scrutinized Hongyu and asked, "Madam Yu, you went to the Prince of Xiang's residence yesterday. When did you leave the Prince of Xiang's residence? Can anyone testify that you went directly to the palace after leaving the Prince of Xiang's residence, and not somewhere else?"
Hongyu was terrified; her flushed face, which had been burning with indignation, instantly turned pale. It seemed that Lord He had been secretly watching her all along.
This is terrible!
It should be noted that although Lord He is the Minister of Works, his judgment in cases surpasses that of Judge Bao. If Lord He sets his sights on her, her crimes may be exposed.
In order to clear her name, she had no choice but to confess the truth:
“I have a witness. Yesterday, Princess Yanghua asked me to bring Shuxiang and Mu Chenjing into the palace. These two women have been following me.”
Upon arriving at the gate of the Kong family mansion, I alighted from my sedan chair alone. While talking with Kong Que'er, I was falsely accused by an old woman and forced into the yamen (government office).
Why did you alight from your sedan chair at the gate of the Kong family residence?
“At the palace gate, I met Prince Yan. Prince Yan told me that Kang’er’s jade pendant had fallen into the hall of Prime Minister Kong’s residence, and he asked me to take it back as a keepsake.”
Although Lord He nodded, he suspected that the poisoning of the well water in Prime Minister Kong's residence was related to Prince Yan. However, it was not advisable to alert the enemy at this time.
He nodded, feigning agreement, and said, "This old minister has no further questions. I request Your Majesty to continue the trial of Lady Yu."
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