Chapter 764 Putting on a Show in Front of the People
Upon hearing this, everyone in the Jingzhao Prefecture started discussing it again, "How could it be that the Fourth Prince killed Madam Li?"
One minister asked in confusion, "It was the Fourth Princess who killed the person, but now the Fourth Prince has come forward to confess. What exactly is going on?"
"There are also rumors that the Fourth Prince has rebelled. What happened in the palace?"
"I heard that His Majesty has issued an imperial edict to block news from the palace." The official whispered again, "Consort Chang has been imprisoned. Could it be that the Fourth Prince and Consort Chang's rebellion failed?"
Everyone was confused. If the Fourth Prince really rebelled, why didn't the Emperor imprison him?
In his previous life, Xie Yang did indeed rebel, but ultimately failed. Xie Shang did not kill him, but simply imprisoned him. In this life, before he rebelled, he exposed the affair between Consort Chang and Shu Lang, which led to his failure to rebel due to unforeseen circumstances.
Xie Yang knew that if anyone else came forward to confess, they wouldn't believe him. At that time, people would still doubt the relationship between the Emperor and Zhang Yurou. The reputation of the royal family could not be ruined, and he was willing to bear all the consequences.
"What's all this noise about?" Xie Shang slammed his gavel on the table with a deafening roar, instantly silencing the surrounding commotion.
The emperor sat upright, exuding an aura of thunderous power. He was furious. "You all know how to judge cases. I'm giving this position to you. Let you be the ones to preside over the trials."
The officials all stood up one after another, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "Xie Yang, what are you up to?" The royal family's scandals must not be made public, otherwise where would the royal family's dignity be? He left the palace today to put on this show in order to save face for the royal family.
Xie Yang knelt on the ground. "That night, when I woke up drunk, I saw Shu Xue barging into my bedroom. She deliberately took off her clothes to seduce me. I accidentally killed her. Later, Minister Shu came to the Fourth Prince's mansion. He came looking for Shu Xue. I was also frightened. Minister Shu told me not to worry and to return Shu Xue's body to him. He would handle it. After that, I don't know anything."
"You mean Shu Lang went to the Fourth Prince's residence to find Shu Xue on the night of the Lantern Festival? Why would he go to see her?" Xie Shang asked.
Xie Yang nodded. "It is Minister Shu. I have also received news that Minister Shu has long been dissatisfied with the royal family and the Jiang family. He has been contacting ministers everywhere to deal with the Jiang family. He even tried to win me over, but I refused."
They were prepared to pin the blame on Shulang.
Zhang Anyu asked, "Since it was the Fourth Prince who killed Shu Xue, why did the Fourth Princess Consort take the initiative to admit that she was the killer, and even claim that the young princess was the real person?" He dared not mention the Emperor's name.
Xie Yang said, "Because the princess wanted to take the blame for me, I knew that the emperor would find out about me sooner or later. So we came up with a way to protect Yi'er by turning her into a princess. In this way, the emperor might let the princess and Yi'er off out of consideration for their blood ties. We also took a chance and thought we could get away with it."
The Fourth Prince's testimony was barely acceptable, but it could still connect the facts that Zhang Anyu had investigated earlier. It was true that Shu Xue's body was transported out by Shu Lang from the Fourth Princess, and the fact that she was abused after her death could also be attributed to Shu Lang.
Jiang Fenghua watched coldly from the sidelines, not uttering a single word, quietly observing Xie Shang and Xie Yang trying to salvage the royal family's reputation in front of the people.
She thought: Only those with immense power have the right to arbitrarily distort the truth; even if they commit capital crimes, they can do whatever they want and find scapegoats to cover it up.
If it were an ordinary person, they would surely die.
There is no such thing as fairness or unfairness in the world; only those with power and influence have the right to talk about fairness.
The idea that "the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners" is just a slogan. For the sake of the royal family's reputation, Jiang Fenghua had no choice but to go against her conscience and play along with Xie Shang.
At this moment, Zhang Yurou was also brought in, and she naturally gave a heartfelt confession to the Fourth Prince.
"Rou'er, I'm sorry, it was my cowardice that caused you so much suffering."
"As long as it's for Your Highness's good, I'm willing to do anything."
Jiang Fenghua felt disgusted by their appearance. However, Xie Shang wrote the script. After weighing the pros and cons, he made all the plans and arrangements. The only way to break the deadlock was to make Xie Yang and Zhang Yurou deeply in love. How could such a loving couple betray each other? Their daughter was their biological daughter.
Next, the most important person appeared: Shu Lang was brought to the courtroom bound hand and foot.
Xie Shang said coldly, "Shu Lang, what did you do to your niece's corpse? You'd better tell us the truth."
Shu Lang's face turned deathly pale. He knew he was finished. If his death could save the Shu family, he was willing to die.
Shu Lang said, "I had Xue'er's body destroyed by someone else. I also framed Jin Ji to implicate him and the Jiang family in public opinion and make it difficult for Minister Jiang Jinyan to hold his position."
Xie Shang asked, "Why did you do this?"
Shu Lang continued, "Because I was unwilling to accept that Jiang Jinyan had taken the position of Minister that should have belonged to me, I wanted to take revenge on the Jiang family, so I thought of starting with the Jiang family's son-in-law."
"Do you have any other help?"
Shu Lang added, "Yes."
Shu Lang began reciting the script that had been prepared for him. He said, "The plot against Jin Ji was also a last-minute idea. I know the Jiang family is not to be trifled with, and a minor charge wouldn't be enough to kill Jin Ji. So I had some beggars and vagrants defile Shu Xue's body and frame Jin Ji to create a sensation." He was telling the truth, which is why Shu Xue's body showed signs of desecration after death. As for the rest, he didn't go into too much detail. If Shu Lang could do such a thing, he could do other things too.
Someone pointed at his nose and insulted him: "You are her own uncle, how could you bear to do such a thing, using your niece's corpse to frame the Jiang family? You are simply inhuman."
Shu Lang lowered his head slightly, "I was blinded by jealousy. I deserve to die. I confess my guilt."
Xie Shang asked again, "How did you know Shu Xue would go to the Fourth Prince's residence on the Lantern Festival? What a coincidence!"
"It was I who sent Xue'er to the Fourth Prince's residence. She was close to the Fourth Princess, and I wanted her to persuade the Fourth Princess and the Fourth Prince to help me deal with the Jiang family. I instigated Xue'er to seduce the Fourth Prince, hoping to make them consummate their relationship. The Fourth Prince is timid and weak. If he did something wrong and I had something on him, I would ask him for help, and he would definitely help. I never expected the Fourth Prince to resist and even accidentally strangle Xue'er to death."
Now everyone understood that it was all Shu Shilang's doing behind the scenes.
Zhang Anyu asked, "Why would Li Cheng be willing to help you frame Jin Ji?"
Shu Lang glanced at Xie Shang, "He doesn't like Xue'er, and he was forced to marry her. Naturally, he's only willing to help because of his own interests. Li Cheng also has a grudge against the Jiang family. He's grateful to me for helping him get revenge."
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