Chapter 45: Frame-up
Everyone remembered how Mingjiu had treated the pearl flower as a treasure just now. It was obviously a gift from Lingling County Lady. But now they heard that it was a relic of Princess Gaoguo. They were all suspicious and shocked, and no one spoke.
Mingjiu was both angry and anxious. He picked up the pearl flower and walked quickly out of the polo field.
Everyone followed him and saw him walk straight to the gate of Xingqing Palace. The maids from the princess's mansion were waiting outside. When they saw a group of people coming, they were puzzled. Mingjiu raised the broken pearl flower in his hand and asked, "Has anyone seen this thing?"
When the maids saw it, they were all surprised: "This is our princess's pearl flower!"
As a female historian, Su Wan was naturally more familiar with the details. She stepped forward to examine it carefully and said, "This is indeed the eldest princess's. In fact, she was wearing this very pearl flower on the day of the incident at Qujiang Lake. The jewelry fell apart when she fell into the water, and we never recovered it. How did it end up in the prince's hands?"
Seeing that the thing was indeed there, Mingjiu became furious. He clenched the pearl flower tightly in his hand and was about to leave without saying a word.
Xiao Fuyu refused to give up and demanded in a hoarse voice, "Don't go! Why would the Princess of Lingling give you my mother's relics? How did she get this thing?!"
"How do I know where it came from!" Mingjiu roared angrily and threw the bunch of pearl flowers at her.
The beaded flower was thin and ridged, and when it fell, it caught on her skirt. Xiao Fuyu raised her hand and ripped it off, tearing several threads from her plain silk dress, nearly leaving a small hole.
"It's really a ghost!" Ming Jiu cursed and turned to leave. Xiao Fuyu grabbed the prince, his eyes red: "Your Highness, please make a decision for the princess's mansion and my mother!"
The Crown Prince naturally couldn't sit idly by when such a major incident happened in public. He signaled the guards to stop Mingjiu and said, "Prince, please stay."
"Why keep it? My eyebrows are already distorted!" When Ming Jiu thought about the fact that he had treasured this dead person's thing and still had it stuck on his cheek, he wanted to go back and wash his face and hands a hundred times.
The Crown Prince saw the inquiring looks on the faces of the other kings and dignitaries nearby. If this pearl flower was truly a gift from Qian Deng, this matter would be extremely inappropriate. Therefore, he instructed, "Don't worry, Prince. You are a distinguished guest of the Tang Dynasty, and we will treat you with courtesy. Changyi and I are going to the Changhua Palace. Would you like to come with us?"
"Go back if you want! I'm going to see who uses this broken thing to hurt me!"
This time when the prince went to Changhua Palace, he not only brought Xiao Fuyu with him, but also ordered someone to inform the Dali Temple. Therefore, as soon as Qiandeng received the prince's carriage, Cui Fufeng had also rushed back.
As for the pearl flower, everyone in the Changhua Palace said that there had never been a pearl flower of this style in the palace.
"Then where did this thing come from?" Ming Jiu roared in despair, "Last night, I only hugged the county lady and didn't touch any other woman!"
When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.
Not to mention the maids in the palace and the guards of the Eastern Palace, even the prince couldn't believe it. He stared at Mingjiu and turned his gaze to Qiandeng. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Qian Deng was completely speechless. Glancing at Xiao Fuyu's grief-stricken expression, which was tinged with gloating, he spoke to Mingjiu word by word, "Stop talking nonsense! Tell me everything that happened last night in detail. Don't leave out a single detail!"
Seeing her angry, Mingjiu felt a little frightened, but also knew the seriousness of the situation, so he said, "Last night, I returned to the palace and heard a loud noise as soon as I entered. I went over to see a maid, being supported by someone and limping..."
No one bothered to correct him that it was called a limp, and they just waited eagerly for his next words.
"Cui Fufeng left first with an umbrella. We asked her what happened and found out that Xianzhu was trapped in the backyard by the heavy rain. When we heard her say that, we all ran to the backyard to pick her up. Unexpectedly, she fell asleep. I saw that Xianzhu's rice porridge was so soft that she almost slipped, so I carried her and sent her back..."
Everyone else knew about this incident, so they were all fine. Only the crown prince had a dark face and remained silent.
Cui Fufeng asked calmly, "So, you think this pearl flower was worn by the county lady, and when you were rude to her, the golden flower got caught on you, right?"
"Yes, I just carried the county lady on my back when you all tried to stop me. Xianzhu also struggled and ran away. I went back to Xiliuwu to sleep and found this flower hanging on my shoulder. It must be the flower Xianzhu was wearing that got hooked on me. What a coincidence, it must be the token of love the county lady gave me. That's why I carried it. Who would have thought it was that damn... I'm so angry!"
Xiao Fuyu looked at the expression of "dead woman" that was about to appear on his face and gritted her teeth. "Okay, so, since Prince Mingjiu has only had contact with the Princess of Lingling County, who else could this thing belong to?"
Cui Fufeng said, "This jewelry is too extravagant and unsuitable for a girl of the County Princess's age. Moreover, since the death of Lady Qi, the County Princess has been in mourning for her mother and only wears the Duisha White House Flower on a daily basis. Everyone in the mansion and all the gentlemen in our backyard can attest that she has never worn any gold or jade jewelry at home."
"If she didn't wear it, couldn't she have taken it?"
"What? Princess Changyi is trying to link me to the princess's death again?" Qian Deng naturally wouldn't let her slander him without any evidence. "Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to commit the crime, I've never been alone, and I don't have any ambiguous feelings for the princess. Princess, please think carefully before you speak."
"It's not you, it's someone from your family! He must have killed my mother to get her pearl flower!" Xiao Fuyu was refuted to her face. Seeing the prince frowning, his voice became sharp in anger and resentment. "Haven't you always refused to marry into the Huihe family? Isn't this an opportunity to frame the Huihe prince and avoid the marriage?"
"This matter has nothing to do with the case. Why is the princess making such a fuss?" Qian Deng said, signaling Aunt Xuanji to send everyone away, and explained to Mingjiu that it was a misunderstanding and asked him to go back to the backyard first.
Mingjiu noticed that she looked a little unnatural, and knew that everything Xiao Fuyu said was wrong, but he was right about Qiandeng not wanting to marry.
But of course he didn't believe that Qian Deng would put the blame on him. He glared at Xiao Fu Yu with a sneer and said, "You are so filial. I wish you and your mother will be reunited soon!" before walking away.
The so-called "early reunion" naturally means "early reunion".
Xiao Fuyu stared at him with a gaze like a poisoned knife, wishing he could gouge two holes in his back.
Cui Fufeng calmly brought the subject back to the topic: "I think there must be a reason for this. We need to thoroughly investigate where this gold foil bead flower came from."
Zhang Huoshan, the summoned Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, observed Xiao Fuyu's expression and hesitated, saying, "Your Highness, I believe the Huihe prince's words are highly suspicious. His feud with the Grand Princess is well known to everyone, and he even publicly threatened to have the Princess killed. These barbarians are capable of anything, yet they, self-righteously, commit crimes. I'm afraid he obtained this pearl flower after killing the Princess, and because we discovered it, he lied and said he mistook it for the Lingling County Lady's. Who knew that this would only expose his true identity?"
Cui Fufeng retorted, "But if Prince Mingjiu wanted to lie, he could have just said the pearl flower was a gift from a girl he didn't know. Why did he have to use the county lady as a cover-up? He also wanted to marry the county lady. If the county lady was involved in Princess Gao's death, wouldn't that put an end to his chances of marriage?"
"I'm afraid it's because he wants Princess Lingling to marry a foreign prince that he's doing this!" Zhang Huoshan argued confidently. "With so many men in Princess Lingling's backyard, even if he's a Huihe prince, how can he be sure of victory? But if something happens to the Princess, and she's suspected of committing a serious crime like murdering the Grand Princess, then the best way for her to protect herself and the Changhua Palace is probably..."
"To marry a princess to the Uighurs on behalf of the imperial court." Xiao Fuyu's words were inevitably sarcastic and harsh.
"Don't worry, Minister Zhang and the princess," Qian Deng said coldly. "If that day ever comes, I will do my utmost to clear my name. I will never flee far away and live in disgrace."
Seeing her calm and composed, the Crown Prince felt relieved that the pearl flower had nothing to do with her. He tried to smooth things over, saying, "This case is of grave importance and cannot be hastily decided. The Grand Princess and Prince Mingjiu are both of significant status. Improper handling could damage diplomatic relations between the two countries. As the Tang Dynasty and the Uighurs are discussing border issues and negotiating a marriage alliance, I urge Junior Minister Cui and Minister Xing to continue their detailed investigation and ensure the proper arrangements. Do not disappoint the court."
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