In fact, Lu Xingzhou had long known that the person behind Shenhong was Master Zhou, and the person behind Master Zhou was Chen Lijiao.
Zhen'er left the house late that night and went to Prince Yi's Mansion to find Chen Liyue and told her everything they had been doing behind her back.
Before, Chen Lijiao had an affair with Master Zhou and threatened Zhen'er not to tell anyone, otherwise the lives of Zhen'er's family would be in danger. For the sake of her family, Zhen'er had been hiding their affair from her and dared not tell anyone.
But Chen Lijiao had the intention to kill someone, and Zhen'er was really scared. If this matter was exposed, Chen Lijiao and the maids around her would be in danger.
Zhen'er did nothing, but had to bear such consequences. Zhen'er was shocked and scared, so she had to sneak out to find Chen Liyue, tell her all about Chen Lijiao's plan, and cry and beg Chen Liyue to save her family.
So Shen Hong's poisoning was so smooth yesterday because Chen Liyue knew about it in advance. Chen Liyue got the news, so she deliberately left a loophole for Shen Hong so that she would have the opportunity to poison.
Since they want to do it, they have to make it a fact. Otherwise, without evidence, Chen Lijiao will have plenty of opportunities to quibble.
Yesterday, Shenhong left the mansion, thinking she had done everything perfectly, but she didn't know that a servant from the palace was following her all the way. After Shenhong got the Shenxi Powder, Lu Xingzhou sent someone to capture Master Zhou. Master Zhou couldn't stand the torture, and this was also Shen Lijiao's idea. He was at best an accomplice, so why should he take the blame for Shen Lijiao? So Master Zhou confessed everything.
When Lu Xingzhou heard Master Zhou say that Shen Lijiao was planning to poison his mother-in-law, he was even more shocked. How could a woman be so cruel and ruthless? But in order not to alert the enemy, Lu Xingzhou still asked someone to send the medicine to Shen Lijiao. However, it was not the real Shenxi Powder, but flour instead.
Therefore, Lu Xingzhou and Shen Liyue were not worried that Shen Lijiao would really drug Zhen. Even if she did, it would only be some flour, which would not harm anyone at all.
Since yesterday, Lu Xingzhou and Shen Liyue have been waiting for Shen Hong to drug her, then pretend to be poisoned, catch Shen Hong, and make Shen Hong confess who is behind it, Master Zhou. Naturally, Master Zhou also confessed Shen Lijiao. Shen Lijiao has no chance of escaping this matter.
But this is related to the Shen family's affairs after all, so Lu Xingzhou still thinks it is better to greet his father-in-law in advance.
Lu Xingzhou showed Shen Hong and Mr. Zhou's two confessions to Shen Wangqiu, who was shocked after reading them.
"Your Highness, are you saying that the mastermind behind this is actually Chen Lijiao?" Chen Wangqiu asked in disbelief.
Lu Xingzhou nodded and said, “Shen Hong and Master Zhou have both confessed, and Master Zhou has also confessed. Chen Lijiao still owes him 10,000 taels of silver, and now it’s 70,000 taels including principal and interest.”
Shen Wangqiu couldn't believe it at all. He couldn't figure out what Shen Lijiao's motive was.
He couldn't understand why Chen Lijiao owed so much money to Mr. Zhou, nor could he understand why Chen Lijiao wanted to kill Chen Liyue.
And according to the confession, Shen Lijiao not only wanted to kill Shen Liyue, but also wanted to poison her mother-in-law.
"How does the prince plan to deal with this matter?" Shen Wangqiu calmed himself down and asked.
Lu Xingzhou said, "I want to report to the police."
Chen Wangqiu nodded. Ever since the news of the princess' poisoning spread widely in Prince Yi's Mansion, he had guessed Lu Xingzhou's intention.
Shen Hong and Master Zhou are both easy to deal with, but Chen Lijiao is the daughter of the Shen family. In addition, her father and father-in-law are watching in the court. If Prince Yi's Mansion resorts to lynching, it may arouse the dissatisfaction of officials in the court.
Therefore, the best way is to spread the news of Chen Liyue's poisoning, and then hand it over to Jingzhao Prefecture for handling. Jingzhao Prefecture will handle the case impartially, and they will come forward to capture Chen Lijiao, which will make people more convinced.
"In that case, Your Highness, please do it. There is no need to consider the face of the Shen family. The Shen family has already split up, and the affairs of the second branch have nothing to do with me anymore. Shen Lijiao is so cruel and ruthless that she actually killed my Yue'er. I don't need to protect her for the sake of the family's reputation."
Lu Xingzhou had already thought about what to do, but he just wanted to ask Chen Wangqiu's attitude. After hearing his father-in-law's words, Lu Xingzhou sent Shenhong and Master Zhou to Jingzhao Prefecture as planned, and also sent their confessions.
The people in the palace were also furious when they learned that Shen Liyue was poisoned. Lu Xingzhou had just married the princess with great difficulty, and not long after that, someone wanted to harm her. So the emperor personally issued an order, ordering Jingzhao Prefecture to thoroughly investigate the matter. If there were any related personnel, they must all be arrested and no leniency would be shown.
The emperor also sent the imperial guard Du Ruoheng to assist Jingzhao Prefecture in investigating the case.
After receiving the imperial edict, Jingzhao Prefecture went to the He family to arrest people.
Chen Lijiao was still immersed in the dream that Shen Liyue was poisoned. She even prayed in her heart that Shen Liyue would never wake up and die.
The He family members were panicked when they saw a group of officials suddenly break into their home. They didn't know what was going on.
"We are here on the orders of His Majesty to capture the culprit who poisoned Princess Yi. We are sorry for the offense. We hope Lord He will cooperate." Du Ruoheng said.
He Min and Zhen Shi didn't know what was going on, but after hearing what the officer said, they had no choice but to step aside.
A group of officials rushed directly into Shen Lijiao's main courtyard.
"Catch her!" Du Ruoheng gave an order, and the officials from Jingzhao Prefecture went up and arrested Chen Lijiao.
Shen Lijiao was caught off guard, and while struggling, the half bag of powder hidden in her waist fell to the ground.
Du Ruoheng guessed what it was at a glance and picked up the paper bag herself, "Let's take it back together!"
Hearing that Chen Lijiao was taken away from the He family by Jingzhao Prefecture, Xu Qier was also sweating in the Shangshu Mansion.
What did Shen Lijiao do? Xu Qier had no idea, but she was also afraid that Shen Lijiao's affairs would implicate herself.
Although I haven't seen Chen Lijiao many times, who knows if Chen Lijiao will bite randomly?
If Chen Lijiao bites him, will the Second Prince protect himself?
Xu Qier was very panicked, but she couldn't find any information.
Jingzhao Prefecture was very efficient, and with the assistance of the imperial guard Du Ruoheng, they quickly convicted Chen Lijiao.
Chen Lijiao still denied it, but the witnesses and evidence were all there, and even if Chen Lijiao refused to admit it, she had no excuse.
The He family sent someone to Jingzhao Prefecture to ask. After all, Chen Lijiao was now the daughter-in-law of the He family. Even if Zhen Shi didn't like her, she wanted to spare her life, wondering if there was any misunderstanding.
But the people in Jingzhao Prefecture kept their mouths shut and told them nothing.
Three days later, Jingzhao Prefecture posted a notice announcing the case.
Chen Lijiao, together with Master Zhou and Shen Hong, poisoned Princess Yi. Their crime is unforgivable and they should be executed according to the law.
The main culprit, Shen Lijiao, not only murdered her cousin, but also attempted to murder her mother-in-law. Her crime was aggravated and she was sentenced to death immediately.
Zhen Shi didn't believe that Chen Lijiao had the courage to poison Princess Yi, but when she saw the second sentence, she fainted.
What hatred or grudge did she have with Chen Lijiao? Even if she didn't like Chen Lijiao, Zhen Shi thought she had never treated her unfairly. How could Chen Lijiao have the intention to harm her?
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