Chapter 717 Long Time No See
Jiang Fenghua found Zhang Yurou and saw that the Third Princess was still by her side. She asked, "Were you together the whole time?"
"Yes, the Fourth Princess Consort is not feeling well, and I have been staying by her side." The Third Princess Consort then asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
"Where were you when the fire broke out?" Jiang Fenghua asked.
"We've been resting in the pavilion. We didn't dare go any closer when we saw the thick smoke." Zhang Yurou continued, "I'm so useless. I'm still in deep sorrow and can't accept that Shuxue is dead. I never imagined that her maid would set fire to her body. It's so pitiful."
Jiang Fenghua looked in the direction of the Third Princess, who said, "We were indeed resting in the pavilion."
Who gave the maids the order to set fire? In such a short time, Zhang Yurou had been at the Jiang residence all morning. Although they rode in separate carriages, her guards had been monitoring her the whole time. When she arrived at the Li family, Zhang Yurou did not have any contact with anyone suspicious.
She suddenly thought of these ladies; they might have had the opportunity to interact with Zhang Yurou, even if it was just a glance or a gesture.
Could it be Lady Helan? She wants revenge because of her daughter's death.
The body has been sitting in the Li residence for a day and a night since yesterday. If the Li family wanted to burn the body, they could have easily started a fire under any pretext and burned it long ago, instead of waiting until today.
Perhaps it was because the case was handed over to Zhang Anyu, but instead was handed over to the Ministry of Justice as desired, that the other party came up with the idea of burning the body, in order to destroy the evidence before Zhang Anyu came to collect the body.
If that's the case, the body is currently well-preserved, but there's a possibility that another accident could occur while the body is being transported to Jingzhao Prefecture or while it's stopped there.
She instructed Xiao Liu to lead a group of men to secretly follow the body, and to capture anyone who dared to damage it alive.
Xiao Liu and his men had gone to great lengths to save the coffin, so naturally they would take good care of it.
At this moment, Zhang Anyu walked over and said, "Your Majesty, I am about to take my men back to the yamen. His Majesty has ordered me to investigate this case thoroughly. Minister Tang and His Highness Prince Qi are also involved in the investigation."
Jiang Fenghua said, "You should go back first. There's another person who's also very suspicious; his name is Jing Yun."
"Jing Yun?" Zhang Anyu exclaimed in surprise.
"Does Lord Zhang know him?"
Zhang Anyu respectfully said, "He's a petty hoodlum from the east of the city. He does nothing all day. He has no biological parents and is an orphan. He grew up with the knife maker Jing Mazi, and the two depend on each other for survival."
"Why does Lord Zhang know him so well?" Jiang Fenghua asked, puzzled.
“Street thugs like them are regulars at the yamen. They haven’t committed any major crimes, just petty theft. I’ve dealt with one of them before. He’s not a bad person, and he’s filial to Jing Mazi. The person he fears most is Jing Mazi.”
Jiang Fenghua continued, "Someone gave him fifty taels of silver to bring Madam Helan to the Li family to cause trouble. He said he didn't know that person. Do you think his words are credible?"
Zhang Anyu said, "I will take him back for questioning first, and then I will send someone to report to Your Majesty once the results are in."
“Alright.” Jiang Fenghua said, “You contact Hongxiu directly. I need to return to the palace first. I will hand the case over to Lord Zhang.”
Zhang Anyu looked at the female official in red sleeves next to Jiang Fenghua and gave her a slight bow. "This humble official greets the female official in red sleeves."
Hongxiu paused for a moment, then said, "Lord Zhang, please don't stand on ceremony. You can just call me Hongxiu from now on."
Zhang Anyu's cheeks flushed slightly. "Yes, Hongxiu."
Hongxiu was stunned, and stood obediently to the side without saying anything more.
Once Zhang Anyu led his men away from the Li family, everyone else left as well, since the bodies had been taken away by the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Li family could no longer hold a funeral.
Lu Xuefei walked to Jiang Fenghua's side and smiled slightly, "Just now, I heard from Lord Zhang that Prince Qi is also going to be involved in this case."
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "Yes! Miss Xuefei is quite interested in corpses too!"
Lu Xuefei knew that the Empress was referring to her peeping at the corpse. She said, "I heard about this yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to come. Today I came with my mother. She told me to stay home and learn needlework and not to go to the Court of Justice."
“The Court of Justice has no connection with the corpse!” Jiang Fenghua said.
Lu Xuefei glanced around and whispered, "I heard that someone from the Jiang family committed the murder. I know they must have been framed, so I came to see if I could help Your Highness. I found..." She stopped when she saw the Fourth Princess and the Third Princess present.
Jiang Fenghua was stunned. "Because of the Jiang family?"
Lu Xuefei affectionately took Jiang Fenghua's arm, "Given the character of Your Highness and the Jiang family, how could the Jiang family do such a beastly thing? They must have been wronged."
Jiang Fenghua felt a warm glow in her heart. She had only heard about the case and yet she unconditionally believed that Jin Ji was innocent.
Lu Xuefei then said, "Xuefei would like to ask Your Majesty for another favor."
She smiled and said, "What is it? Tell me!"
"Xuefei wants to return to Her Majesty's side as a palace maid. Only if Her Majesty speaks up will my mother not interfere," she said.
"You still want to go to the palace to be a maid? Aren't you going to get married? Go back and listen to your mother. Learn needlework and embroidery. Your mother is making you learn these things because she has your best interests at heart."
"I don't want to get married. I want to be a female lawyer, the kind who stands up for women everywhere." The person she likes doesn't seem to like her back. Xie Qi is a blockhead and has always treated her as a friend.
When Madam Lu saw that her daughter had not come out, she came to see her in person again. "This humble woman greets Your Majesty the Empress."
Jiang Fenghua said, "Madam Lu, you may dispense with the formalities."
Seeing that her mother hadn't left yet, Lu Xuefei knew that her mother must have come to take her home. She pouted, her eyes full of pleading.
Jiang Fenghua then said, "Madam Lu is here to see Miss Lu, isn't she?"
Madam Lu said, "Yes, my daughter has been spoiled by her father, and now she's bothering Your Majesty the Empress again. I'm so sorry I can't control my daughter..."
“Xuefei is doing well. I haven’t seen her for a long time, and I’ve missed her. It’s just in time to meet her today. I would like to bring her into the palace to stay for a while. I hope Madam Lu will be accommodating,” Jiang Fenghua added.
Madam Lu quickly replied, "I think Xuefei is getting on in years, and it's not proper for her to keep coming to the palace. I won't hide it from Your Majesty, but I've been busy helping her with her marriage arrangements. She doesn't care at all. What girl is eighteen or nineteen and still not married?"
She meant she was politely declining, because she had to take her daughter home to learn the three obediences and four virtues, as well as needlework and embroidery, otherwise she really wouldn't be able to marry into a good family.
Lu Xuefei's face turned bright red when she heard this. "I'm not getting married. I've said that before."
At this moment, Xie Qi also arrived at the Li residence. He bowed to Jiang Fenghua and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty the Empress."
He hadn't seen Lu Xuefei for a long time, so he came.
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