Anyone could hear the dissatisfaction in the prince's casual question.
Shen Zhixiu bowed to the Crown Prince and said, "If Your Highness feels that I have acted in a biased manner, you may report this to the Emperor. I have sufficient reason to say that the He family bears the primary responsibility."
The prince's anger was rising in his heart, but a smile still appeared on his face.
Su Qingyu glanced at the prince and muttered in her heart: A smiling tiger.
Even though she was not familiar with state affairs, she could see what the prince was thinking, let alone Shen Zhixiu.
The Crown Prince said with a forced smile, "Then please tell me, Lord Shen. I'd also like to hear if this reason is reasonable."
Shen Zhixiu nodded at the prince, then looked at He Guangfu.
"Manager He, the disaster relief was a plan agreed upon by His Majesty and all officials in Ganyang Palace. The He family is participating in the disaster relief efforts as an imperial merchant."
"If you didn't have the ability or were short-staffed, you should have told me at the time."
"But the He family didn't say anything. They promised to complete the disaster relief work."
"But they secretly handed over the disaster relief to the Su family. Now that something has happened, they still want the Su family to bear all the responsibility. That doesn't make sense."
He picked up the document presented by He Guangfu and weighed it in his hands. "This document was signed by you and the Su family, but the court does not recognize it. What the court recognizes is your He family's guarantee to the court."
"How you hold the Su family responsible is a matter between you two. Now the court must first hold your He family responsible."
"During the disaster relief process, it's true that people were poisoned, medicinal materials became moldy, and counterfeit medicines were discovered."
"The He family needs to take full responsibility for all of this."
"As for the final decision, we will have to go to court tomorrow. I will present a memorial to the Emperor and see what he decides."
After he finished speaking, he looked at the prince again, "Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?"
The implication is that if there is nothing else, we can disperse today.
Su Chengyan and his wife, as well as Su Xiangling and her brother, breathed a sigh of relief. With Shen Zhixiu's words, even if the Su family couldn't completely escape, they wouldn't be severely punished.
The prince drooped his eyelashes, not knowing what he was thinking, and did not speak for a long time.
After a long while, he suddenly spoke.
"Even if the victims' vomiting and diarrhea were caused by fake medicine, that doesn't prove Mrs. Shen's innocence. It's true that croton powder was found in the dough for making steamed buns. How does Mrs. Shen explain it?"
Su Qingyu was just thinking about how to settle the score with Su Yuanqing when the prince brought up this matter. He was really sleepy, and someone brought him a pillow.
She stood up and walked to the middle of the hall.
"Your Highness, there is croton powder in our basin because we were framed."
"Since Your Highness has asked, please make the decision for me."
The prince was stunned. "Framed? Who framed you?"
Su Qingyu shouted, "Bring the people up here."
Su Yuanqing glanced at the door, not knowing what Su Qingyu meant.
Thinking of the wash basins placed in a secret place, Su Yuanqing felt a panic in his heart.
A moment later, Feicui brought Desheng into the hall, and Su Yuanqing's hands that were holding the armrests of the chair suddenly clenched hard.
Desheng came in and knelt in the middle of the hall, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
Su Qingyu's beautiful face was filled with coldness. "Desheng, tell me the truth in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. What were you doing in the small kitchen making steamed buns today?"
Feicui had already knocked Desheng outside to confirm that he would tell the truth before bringing him in.
When Su Qingyu asked, Desheng said without hesitation, "I put croton powder in the basin, and then I saw the eldest and fourth young ladies there. I was afraid of being discovered, so I pretended to be stealing steamed buns."
"Who sent you there?"
"It was the Second Young Master who ordered me to go. Please spare my life, Miss. I will never dare to do it again."
Afterwards, Desheng told Su Yuanqing exactly what he had instructed, where he had bought the croton powder, how much silver he had taken, and how much was left.
Su Qingyu glanced at Su Yuanqing and Su Xiangling indifferently. The brother and sister grew up in Qianzhou, and were not very familiar with the intricacies of the inner houses of wealthy families in Beijing.
Many of the things they thought they were doing were secret and unknown to others, but they had no idea that many people had seen them.
Just like what happened today, Su Yuanqing actually asked the servant beside him to poison the people. It would be strange if he was not discovered.
If it were her, she would have found a clever person among the disaster victims. She wouldn't have put the poison in the pre-fermented dough, but would have mixed it directly into the flour. She would have used a poison that would react immediately upon consumption, so the problem would have occurred during the disaster relief operation. The victims would have eaten the steamed buns and fallen to the ground foaming in the face, which would have been the most powerful evidence.
Su Yuanqing's face was ashen, and he looked at his sister Su Xiangling for help.
Even though he seems full of energy when doing bad things, he actually becomes very timid once something happens and has no idea what to do.
Su Xiangling looked at his pleading eyes and felt furious. He was like a hopeless case again. It was just like this back in Qianzhou. Whenever he got into trouble, he would run home and she would have to go out and clean up the mess for him.
But he is his younger brother after all, and the second branch of the Su family still relies on him. Su Xiangling cannot just stand by and watch.
She thought for a moment, then lowered her head and whispered in the prince's ear, "Your Highness, this is my brother's first offense. Can you please forgive him this time?"
Su Xiangling stood behind the prince and did not notice that his face had darkened because of her words.
Because of the Su family's stupidity, the He family was liquidated by Shen Zhixiu. And because of Su Yuanqing, the prince's questioning of Su Qingyu became a joke.
He now hated these people in the Su family very much. Su Xiangling's plea at this time was equivalent to directly stabbing the prince's lungs.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
