thump!
Hongyu knelt down and burst into tears, “Prince Yan has been demoted to the western frontier, and Kang’er will be staying at Prince Lu’s residence tomorrow. Hongyu is all alone and came to Prince Xiang’s residence only to find a place to stay, but… Consort Kong wants to raise Kang’er in the palace. Hongyu refused, and Consort Kong became unhappy…”
The Sixth Prince panicked. Without Kang'er, how would he control Hongyu?
He glared at Consort Kong and questioned her, "It was the Emperor's will to raise Kang'er in my Prince Lu's residence. Does Your Highness intend to disobey the imperial decree?"
Consort Kong remained silent, then rose angrily and left. Upon returning to the palace, she tearfully complained to the Emperor, saying that since she had no children, wouldn't it be reasonable to raise a grandson for amusement and relaxation?
The Emperor pondered deeply. If Kang'er were raised in the Prince of Lu's residence, Hongyu would surely visit him every few days. Hongyu was too cunning; she had actually managed to bring down the Prince of Yan. If she were to raise Kang'er, wouldn't she raise a rebellious child?
If Kang'er were raised in Consort Kong's palace, Consort Kong might refuse to be buried with her after her death, citing the fact that she was raising Kang'er as an excuse.
The Emperor ultimately decided to remove the mother and keep the son, with the Sixth Prince raising Kang'er.
How should we get rid of Hongyu now? In the case of the passenger ship fire, Butler Liao has committed suicide, and only Hongyu is the survivor. It is clear that there must be something hidden about this matter.
Therefore, the Emperor ordered Master Gu and Bao Qianshan to jointly investigate the case. If Hongyu is suspected of murder, she must be dealt with according to the law!
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Hongyu stayed at the inn for one night and hid at the entrance of Yanwang Mansion to peek early in the morning.
The Sixth Prince came out first, followed by Wang Baochai carrying Kang'er. Maids and servants followed, trying to take Kang'er away, but Wang Baochai refused and carried Kang'er herself into the sedan chair.
In her blurred vision, the carriage gradually drove away into the distance before Hongyu dared to show herself and followed from a distance. After only a few steps, she was arrested by the constables and taken to the yamen.
Master Gu sat up straight, slammed his gavel, and said sternly, "In the case of the passenger ship fire, Zhang Han's wife accused Zhang Hongyu of murdering Zhang Han and others. Zhang Hongyu, what is your explanation?"
Hongyu knelt down and handed it over, turning to look at the woman beside her.
The woman, heavily pregnant and filled with anger, suddenly grabbed Hongyu's arm with one hand and began pounding Hongyu's back with the other like a hammer. The force gradually lessened and soon stopped, followed by the woman's wailing.
"Give me back my husband! You offered him a high price to leave his ship just to kill those few people? Do you know that you've caused my three children to lose their father..."
Hongyu felt a pang of sorrow, but remained unmoved. That day, the Sixth Prince told her to leave by boat, saying that Steward Liao would bring a woman with a similar build to her to help her escape.
Little did anyone know, Steward Liao used a sleeping potion, which cost Dongqiao and the boatman their lives!
She felt guilty and found it difficult to refute Zhang Han's wife.
Zhang Han's wife cried until she was exhausted and collapsed to the ground. She asked Master Gu, "Master, Zhang Hongyu has killed three people. I beg you to punish her according to the law and have her beheaded."
"Beheading?" Hongyu scoffed, turning to Master Gu and saying:
“Master, Hongyu is also a victim. That night, Dongqiao and I boarded the passenger ship first, and later a man and a woman boarded. The man said that he was Steward Liao from the Lu Prince’s Mansion, and he was taking his maid back to Jiangnan to bring his elderly mother to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury.”
However, not long after they came up, I felt dizzy and collapsed onto Dongqiao.
I don't know how much time passed, but I vaguely saw a man walk out of the cabin, and then I saw a raging fire at the cabin door, making it impossible to escape.
I crawled towards the back of the cabin. At that moment, Dongqiao woke up. I saw a small hole and crawled out first, but I couldn't see Dongqiao emerge. When other ships approached, I jumped into the water and escaped.
"I ask you, why did you flee?"
"I'm afraid the people who come will try to silence me."
"You mean a man committed arson and murder?"
Hongyu suspects that it was Steward Liao who did it.
"Words are not enough. Only by finding evidence that Butler Liao committed murder can you be exonerated."
Hongyu was stunned. Butler Liao was dead. Where could she find evidence?
*Bang!* Master Gu slammed his gavel and ordered sternly, “In the case of the passenger ship fire, Zhang Hongyu is the only survivor and is highly suspected of committing the crime. She shall be immediately imprisoned and retried at a later date.”
Hongyu was locked in a cell. She sat down, leaning against the iron bars, and after racking her brains for a long time, she finally came up with a way to escape and clear her name:
Steward Liao is from the Prince Lu's mansion; only the Sixth Prince can save her.
However, the Sixth Prince colluded with her to defeat the Yan Prince's Mansion. To cover up his despicable act of fighting with his brothers, the Sixth Prince wished for her death.
Even so, she dared not expose the Sixth Prince's plot to murder Wang Baozhu, since Kang'er was in the Sixth Prince's hands.
Swish, swish, swish...
Hearing the hurried footsteps, Hongyu was delighted. She pursed her lips and looked over, and sure enough, it was Consort Kong.
Consort Kong came because she still harbored feelings for Songhua and was also trying to save herself. However, she didn't know how to help Songhua seize the throne, so she could only work together with Hongyu to assist Songhua.
Seeing Hongyu sitting with her back against the iron bars, Consort Kong ordered her maid to stuff food and bedding into the cage, and then waved for the maid to stand guard to the side.
After carefully inspecting the nearby cells and finding them empty, she leaned close to the bars and whispered, "Tell me, how can I get you out of here?"
Hongyu stood up slowly and turned around, still smiling.
She leaned over the iron railing and whispered in Consort Kong's ear, "Go find the boatman Zhang Jing and try to spread rumors that Steward Liao and the maid were arguing and fighting in the cabin."
Consort Kong asked in confusion, "Why fabricate something out of nothing?"
"The fact that Steward Liao and the maid were at odds is the only reason he would have a motive to kill, and that's how I might be able to clear myself of suspicion."
"His Majesty has arrived!"
Upon hearing this, Consort Kong and Hongyu hurriedly knelt down and bowed their heads deeply.
The Emperor hurriedly approached Consort Kong. In his mind, Consort Kong was as pure as paper and simple-minded. He feared that if she came into contact with a treacherous and cunning woman like Hongyu, she would learn to be wicked.
The Emperor personally helped Consort Kong up, embraced her, and glared angrily at Hongyu in the cage.
"Speak! What does Consort Kong want with you?"
Hongyu's heart leaped into her throat. She secretly glanced at Consort Kong, but could only see the hem of her skirt.
Oh no! The Emperor suspects her and Consort Kong. In order not to implicate Consort Kong, she could only use Kang'er as a shield and tearfully said, "Consort Kong asked about Kang'er's preferences and wanted to take Kang'er to her palace to raise him."
The Emperor was deeply suspicious and naturally did not believe it. He glanced at Consort Kong's somewhat restrained expression, then looked at Hongyu, who remained calm and composed.
He said nothing more, and left with Consort Kong in his arms.
After a long while, Hongyu heard the Emperor's order: "From this moment forward, no one is allowed to visit Zhang Hongyu. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
Hongyu's body went limp, and she collapsed into the grass. It was over; the Emperor was trying to kill her!
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