Chapter 141: Shouldn’t she die for murdering her husband’s family?

In the Dali Temple prison, Lin Qiutang, who had been caned, lay weakly on the straw mat. Moonlight shone in through a small window high up, reflecting bloodstains on the dirty prisoner's uniform.

She was in despair, not knowing if she could survive this.

She used to regard Pei Chong as her only support, but now even the last support is gone. Not only does she have to face the severe interrogation of the Dali Temple, but she also worries every day that Pei Chong will secretly take action against her.

She felt like she couldn't hold on any longer, both physically and mentally.

At this moment, she really regretted it. If she had known this would happen, she should not have been involved with him.

Amid the sound of heavy breathing, Lin Qiutang slowly closed her eyes.

"Qiutang...Qiutang..."

Just when she was feeling a little sleepy, she heard a familiar voice. She slowly opened her eyes and found that the firelight around her had dimmed a lot. She could vaguely see three shadows standing in the direction of the prison door.

Two men and one woman, unclear.

"Who are you?" After the experience of the assassin last time, Lin Qiutang subconsciously hid inside.

"Qiutang, you have such a cruel heart."

"Qiutang, how could you harm Zhan'er? She is your husband."

This voice is clearly my mother-in-law...

How is that possible?

She passed away due to illness not long after Lin Qiutang got married. Could it be that... she turned into a ghost and came to claim her life for Pei Zhan and her father-in-law?

“Cough cough… cough cough cough…”

This cough...

Every spring and autumn, my father-in-law would suffer from a cough, which would take ten days or half a month to get better...

Although she tried to remain calm, her voice was trembling: "You...you...are you human or ghost?"

Her gaze turned to the silent man. The man was skinny and had his head lowered. He looked like a walking corpse and did not react at all.

The moonlight shone on the person, and Lin Qiutang recognized the clothes. It was the same clothes that Pei Zhan was wearing on the night he died.

Suddenly, the motionless man slowly raised his head, and as his body moved, a crackling sound of bones was heard.

Lin Qiutang's face turned pale as paper. She pinched herself subconsciously. The pain brought her back a bit of rationality, but at the same time, she fell into endless fear.

She can feel the pain, which means that all this is real?

"Someone come, there's a ghost, someone come quickly!"

Her shouts echoed in the prison, but there was no response. The prison guard sitting not far away seemed not to hear her and fell asleep on the tattered table.

Lin Qiutang had no choice but to calm herself down, staring at the man in Pei Zhan's clothes and shouting, "Don't play tricks here, I'm not afraid of you."

This time, the man seemed to be touched, and the voice he made seemed to come from hell: "Qiu Tang, are you really not afraid?"

In the blink of an eye, the man crossed the cell bars and appeared in front of Lin Qiutang.

Now, she could no longer remain calm and moved to a corner without caring about the injuries on her body.

She was really scared. She tried to speak but her teeth were chattering: "You, you, you...it was Pei Chong who killed you. If you want to take your life, go find him."

"What about you? You colluded with your uncle and murdered your husband's family. Don't you deserve to die?"

Seeing him approaching little by little, Lin Qiutang was frightened and lost her mind. She subconsciously explained: "I was forced to do it. Pei Chong forced me to do it. It's all your fault that you knew things you shouldn't know. This was all Pei Chong's idea. If I didn't do it, I would die..."

Lin Qiutang covered her head with her hands and dared not look up. After a while, she suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Pei Zhan, for the sake of our marriage and the fact that I gave birth to a child for you, please let me go."

Pei Zhan, who was approaching, paused when he heard this: "What did you say?"

"When you got into trouble, I was already pregnant. In order to keep the child, I lied to Pei Chong and said the child was his. In order to conceal our relationship, he sent the child to Lucheng. I don't know who he was given to for adoption."

Pei Zhan suppressed his excitement and said, "At this time, you actually made up such a lie to save your life?"

"No, everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, you can go and check with the midwife who delivered me."

Pei Zhan was so excited that he couldn't even feel the heat in his palms: "No matter what, it's a fact that you killed me and my father. It's time to pay with your life."

“No, no, no, no…” Lin Laitang had nowhere to retreat and could only kowtow: “I don’t want to die. I still have a child. Please save you and let me go. I will tell you everything I know. Go find Pei Chong. He should pay for what happened back then.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the shadow in front of him finally stopped moving.

Lin Qiutang, who was shaking like a sieve, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

**

Outside the cell, He An, who had learned everything, saw the distraught Pei Zhan and stepped forward to pat him on the shoulder: "Now that the matter is clear, I will give justice to the eldest wife of the Pei family, but..."

Pei Zhan staggered and knelt on the ground: "Pei Chong is suspected of treason. Pei Zhan does not dare to hope to save his life. I only ask the Prime Minister to help me find out whether what Lin Qiutang said is true."

He An knew that he was talking about the child. He glanced at Jiang Qi and Jiang Qi left.

"Don't worry, if this is true, I will do my best to help you find the baby."

Ji Lingchuan helped the man up and said, "Now that Lin Qiutang has confessed, I'm afraid the news will soon reach the palace."

He An nodded and glanced at the sky: "Let's go to the palace now."

We have put in a lot of effort and we must not lose the opportunity.

He An's eyes were solemn: "Would you like to go with us?"

Once Pei Zhan is gone, life and death will all depend on the emperor's decision.

But if he doesn't go, all the evidence will be greatly discounted.

Pei Zhan nodded resolutely. Having ended up in such a situation in his life, he had already put life and death aside and only asked for justice.

**

Jiang Qi found the midwife who delivered Lin Qiutang and brought her back to the Prime Minister's Mansion.

After learning the truth, Ruan Qinghuan felt lucky for Pei Zhan, but at the same time, he was skeptical about what Lin Qiutang said, so he asked more detailed questions.

The midwife answered her questions one by one, and her answers were indeed consistent with what Lin Qiutang said.

When Lin Qiutang gave birth, she bribed the midwife to say that the baby was premature and was born less than eight months ago.

In fact, the child was full-term. So, it can be inferred that nothing had happened to the eldest wife of the Pei family when she was pregnant.

Ruan Qinghuan was shocked.

Pei Zhan is an upright person. If he can really leave a trace of blood, it can be regarded as God's favor to him: "Jiang Qi, send someone to Lucheng immediately to investigate this matter thoroughly."

"yes."

After asking these questions, it was almost dawn, but He'an had not returned yet. Ruan Qinghuan became more and more uneasy.

Since it concerns Prince Chen, she is worried that the emperor will cover up for him like he did last time.

While I was daydreaming, there was a hurried knock on the door. It was Jiang Ming.

Xia Lian hurriedly pulled the person in.

Ruan Qinghuan looked solemn: "Is everything going well in the palace?"

"My Lord has asked me to tell Madam that he will hold the morning court in the palace this morning, so Madam need not worry."

As soon as Jiang Ming left, Ruan Qinghuan breathed a sigh of relief. Since he was able to send someone back to deliver the letter, the situation shouldn't be too bad.