Chapter 190 Success and Failure Are All Due to Xiao He
Old Madam Shen looked at the unrepentant Marquis Cheng'en with her tearful eyes. Her heart, which was already full of holes and bleeding, felt as if it was being torn apart by an invisible hand.
"I would rather you weren't my biological son. I wouldn't have to see two children die, and I wouldn't have to face a lawsuit against my biological son in my old age."
Madam Shen said word by word: "Xuan'er and his wife would not have died early. They would still be alive and well. Like his father, they would be good officials serving the country and the people, nurturing their children to become talents and making the Marquis' Mansion prosperous."
"You finally told the truth. Whether in the past or now, you all regretted giving birth to me. I'm not as knowledgeable as my elder brother, nor as sensible as a concubine's child."
Marquis Cheng'en did not admit that he had done anything wrong, but instead found a reason for killing his brother and sister-in-law.
"If you hadn't been partial to Big Brother and hadn't been so harsh on me, you wouldn't have given Big Brother the opportunity to act nice in front of me."
"He's been acting like a brother, giving in to me in everything. So why should he just give in? Why is he clinging to the title so stubbornly?"
"He's just doing me a small favor and asking me to work for him for the rest of my life... How could such a good thing happen in this world?"
"I didn't kill him. It was his hypocrisy that harmed himself."
At this point, Marquis Cheng'en seemed to suddenly understand, and said with sudden realization, "I know. I was responsible for transporting Qingzhou's grain to Guanzhou. All the grain sank to the bottom of the river, and I was thrown into prison."
He stopped crying and begging, his eyes were a little cunning: "You are afraid that my dereliction of duty will implicate my eldest brother's son, so you simply frame me and then inform on me, so that you can gain credit and get you two out of this?"
Although Mrs. Shen was extremely disappointed in him, she still felt chilled when she heard what he said.
At the same time, she realized that her son had already lost all conscience and was beyond redemption.
"I'm right, you have nothing to say?" Seeing that Old Madam Shen remained silent, Marquis Cheng'en turned to look at Emperor Jing'an: "Your Majesty, you heard it, I was wronged. Please see clearly."
Emperor Jing'an was not surprised by Madam Shen's accusation, because all these charges were written in the lawsuit.
He looked calmly at the Cheng'en Marquis who was pretending to be crazy and stupid: "I will not wrongly accuse any loyal minister or general, and I will not let a single fish slip through the net."
Marquis Cheng'en's heart was pounding.
The next moment, Madam Shen said, "Your Majesty, Shen Wenxian embezzled money from selling grain. After the Guanzhou incident, the governor and councilor involved in the case, Lord Cao, used the money he had embezzled and accepted bribes to buy grain for Shen Wenxian to fill his granary."
"Counselor Cao was executed for his crime, and he thought he could rest easy."
"It's a pity that Councillor Cao had a backup plan. He gave a copy of the evidence of his collusion with Shen Wenxian to his concubine and illegitimate son. He asked them to use these to ask Shen Wenxian to return the money for buying grain."
"Counselor Cao's mistress came to the Marquis' residence, acting suspiciously. I caught them and ordered them to be taken away, which is how I uncovered this shocking secret."
"Your Majesty, even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. As a human being, I would never falsely accuse my own son. If his crimes weren't so heinous, I wouldn't have reported him."
Old Madam Shen took out a booklet from her sleeve and held it up to Eunuch Cao with both hands.
"This is the evidence I obtained from Councillor Cao's mistress. Your Majesty, please review it."
Eunuch Cao handed the booklet to Emperor Jing'an.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Cheng'en immediately understood.
The silver donated by Shen Shaoheng was actually dug out from the stables in the Liu family's ancestral home.
Councillor Cao used the embezzled money to buy grain, and then asked his concubine and illegitimate son to ask him for the money. In this way, he laundered the embezzled money by using the purchase of grain.
No wonder Councillor Cao didn't dig out the silver from the stables, nor did he come to ask for it. If he had asked for the silver, his property would have been confiscated and he would have been executed, and all the money would have gone into the national treasury.
Councillor Cao plotted against his concubine and illegitimate son, but ended up getting himself into trouble.
He relied on sending a concubine to Councillor Cao, who gave birth to an illegitimate child, to force Councillor Cao to take the blame for him.
Until the end, he was defeated by the concubine who was given to Councillor Cao.
It is true that success and failure are both due to Xiao He.
The fear of dying rushed towards him, stimulating his strong will to survive.
Every crime listed by his biological mother was enough to make him be cut into pieces.
The more they hoped for his death, the more he wanted to live well.
Marquis Cheng'en looked up at the gloomy face of Emperor Jing'an, his lips trembling as he wanted to say something, but an inkstone flew towards him.
There was a muffled "bang" sound.
Marquis Cheng'en felt a sharp pain on his forehead, and blood mixed with the ink on his face flowed down.
He didn't dare cry out in pain, nor did he dare cover the wound.
"Your Majesty, this humble servant..."
"Shen Wenxian, you, seeking power, even murdered your own brother and sister-in-law. Such a heartless and ruthless person, what else could he not do?" Emperor Jing'an raged. "For your own selfish ends, you brought disaster upon the people, embezzling relief food and causing widespread starvation. A greedy person like you, I will never appease my hatred unless I execute you by slicing you to pieces."
Marquis Cheng'en's face turned pale as he finally realized that there was nothing he could do.
His eyes were empty, as if all life had been drained away, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Cao Chunxiang, go and convey my order. Send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search the Marquis of Cheng'en's mansion." Emperor Jing'an ordered: "If any evidence related to the Qingzhou case is found, the Marquis of Cheng'en's mansion will be raided immediately and everyone in it will be imprisoned. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot!"
Eunuch Cao accepted the order and left.
Madam Shen knelt on the ground, shaking like a sieve, her summer clothes soaked with cold sweat.
With just a few words, Emperor Jing'an expressed his determination to severely punish the Cheng'en Marquisate.
She took out all the evidence and handed it to Prince Yu, and there was nothing else in the secret compartment.
Emperor Jing'an couldn't find any evidence of the crime, right?
The feeling of waiting is particularly unbearable.
Mrs. Shen's heart was frying in the frying pan, and she placed all her hopes on Shen Shaohuai.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, footsteps were finally heard outside the hall.
Mrs. Shen turned her head and looked over. After seeing who was coming, she seemed to see something horrible and her eyes were filled with fear.
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