Chapter 176 Why didn’t Jiang Jie come?

The Dali Temple again interrogated several important criminals, this time they were Pei Chong and He Zhen.

Earlier, it was Pei Chong who went to Linjiang County to pick up the bride, and today was the perfect opportunity for him to confront He Zhen.

When He Zhen first heard that it was Pei Chong who was being tried with him, he felt somewhat reassured. Pei Chong was loyal to Prince Chen and would not talk nonsense.

But when he saw Pei Chong, covered in blood, being dragged into the courtroom, he was immediately frightened.

How much torture did it take to turn a person into this state of being neither human nor ghost?

Ji Lingchuan came to join in the fun and listen in. Seeing that Jiang Jie did not come today, he felt a little puzzled.

The Dali Temple official looked at He'an and saw that he had no intention of speaking, so he had to judge the case: "Who is kneeling in the hall?"

He Zhen was so frightened that he stuttered: "I am He Zhen, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue."

"Pei Chong." Pei Chong was kneeling, his eyes dull and his voice weak.

The Dali Temple Minister continued to ask: "Pei Chong, do you recognize this person?"

When Pei Chong came in, he saw He Zhen and gasped for breath. After a while, he said, "Mr. He is a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue."

"Do you know if he has any connection with the He family?"

He Zhen wanted to distance himself from the matter: "My Lord, please investigate clearly. I had no idea what my clansmen had done. I am wrongly accused."

He'an's gaze fell on Pei Chong, as if he didn't hear what He Zhen said.

Pei Chong was powerless to close his eyes: "Mr. He is indeed the son of the third branch of the He family, and he has a lot of secret contacts with Princess Chen. As for the rest, I don't know."

He Zhen was shocked. How could such a tough guy confess his crime so easily and even reveal his affair with Princess Chen?

He Zhen's mind raced, "My Lord, please investigate. Pei Chong is deliberately framing me."

I thought He An and the others were going to continue interrogating other people, but they suddenly adjourned the court session. This made He Zhen confused and increasingly uneasy.

What does Hean want to do?

**

After leaving the yamen, He'an looked at the sky. Dark clouds covered the sun and the wind was humid. He thought it was going to rain soon.

"Have you arranged for the people to protect He Nianqing?"

"I'm afraid they won't do anything." Ji Lingchuan wondered, "Why didn't Jiang Jie come to the trial today?"

"Something happened in the Jiang Mansion."

"Ah? What happened?" Ji Lingchuan suddenly perked up. He really couldn't imagine what would happen to someone like Jiang Jie.

But He'an obviously didn't want to say more. He had already mounted his horse and went to the palace.

Ever since the incident at Prince Chen's mansion, the Crown Princess has gone to Taoyuan in Beijing to seek quiet time under the pretext of recuperating from illness. After all, since it concerns Prince Chen, she does not want to enter the palace during this time.

In this way, he could avoid dealing with Concubine Qi.

Ruan Qinghuan sat with her in the garden and talked.

The Crown Princess sighed, "I remember that not long after you and He'an got married, Prince Chen staged that Liu Yueru trick here. At that time, I was really worried that it would harm me and the Crown Prince, and I was afraid that He'an would really be plotted against."

As time passed, Liu Yueru eventually died an untimely death, ruined by her own calculations, and also tarnished her brother's reputation of loyalty to the emperor and the country.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, the Crown Princess asked again, "Weren't you worried at that time?"

Ruan Qinghuan thought for a moment and shook his head: "He'an knows how to act. I trust him."

This was actually a double-talk. At that time, Ruan Qinghuan was still secretly planning to divorce. The two of them were not in a relationship that could constrain or depend on each other.

On the contrary, it was Liu Yueru's plan in conjunction with King Chen that brought their relationship closer.

As they were talking, they heard the sound of horse hooves.

The Crown Princess shook her head: "I know without even looking, it must be Li'er who is here."

Chu Li handed the horse to the servant and ran forward with a strange look on his face. He was obviously anxious and a little out of breath: "Cousin, sister-in-law, do you know that something big happened in the Jiang Mansion?"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess and Ruan Qinghuan raised their heads.

What big thing could happen in Jiang Jie's house?

Seeing that they didn't believe him, Chu Li directly told them the whole story: "I heard that Madam Jiang was seriously injured and her life was hanging by a thread. Today, I went to the palace with my father to pay my respects, and I happened to see several imperial doctors leaving the palace and heading to the Jiang Mansion."

"Lord Jiang was not present at today's hearing."

The Crown Princess was puzzled: "Why did Qi Siwei get injured for no reason?"

Chu Li shook his head.

Ruan Qinghuan also wondered whether Jiang Jie was as simple as he seemed. He gave people a gloomy and scary feeling. She wondered whether Qi Siwei's injury was related to him.

The Crown Princess thought for a moment and said, "I have seen several doctors, and they can tell that the condition is serious. If that's the case, I will go to the palace in two days to check it out."

Chu Li: "Why should I go see her? I won't go."

The Crown Princess shook her head: "After all, she is Madam Jiang, and Ji Lingjun is investigating the case of Prince Chen with him. You are a married woman, you should know the principle of putting the overall situation first."

"Who said I'm getting married? Isn't it good for me to go to the Prince's Mansion every day to accompany my cousin?"

The Crown Princess rolled her eyes at her, not showing any mercy: "No, if that's the case, I'll be in trouble to death."

Seeing that Ruan Qinghuan didn't say anything, the Crown Princess called her, "Qinghuan, what are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing. I just wonder, Madam Jiang personally sent Father Qi out of the city a few days ago. How could he become so seriously ill in just a few days?"

"Yes, I am also puzzled."

**

Late at night, Jiang Qi, who was guarding a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city, suddenly saw a figure leaping in. He immediately attacked, but was blocked by the other party. Then he heard a familiar voice: "It's me."

"Master Jiang?"

The other party did not speak again, but hid in the darkness, like a ghost from the underworld, exuding a murderous aura.

Jiang Qi was puzzled. The Lord did not say that Lord Jiang would also participate in tonight's operation?

But since the person had arrived, he didn't want to make a sound and quickly hid himself.

The lights in the room went out, and the yard was in darkness. It was almost past midnight, and still there was no movement.

This courtyard was arranged by the Madam for the mother and daughter of the He family. All the officials presiding over the case knew about it, and the news must have been leaked long ago.

If he wanted to save Princess Chen and the baby in her belly, he had to confirm her identity.

In this case, the real He Nianqing naturally cannot be kept.

Suddenly, a group of extremely light footsteps approached slowly. Judging from the sound, there were at least a dozen people, and all of them were experts.

Jiang Qi, who was hiding in the dark, breathed a sigh of relief. Now that people had arrived, their plan was not in vain.

Men in black rushed into the yard and surveyed the surroundings cautiously. Then a few of them jumped up and went to the back of the house, while the rest broke open the door and rushed in directly.

At the same time, the whole yard was engulfed in flames, and Jiang Qi jumped down from a tree outside the yard.

Seeing the situation was not good, the man in black wanted to retreat, but it was too late.

Jiang Qi's original intention today was to take them alive, so his men left some room for them. However, Jiang Jie suddenly emerged from the corner, and his moves were extremely brutal. Soon, four or five corpses fell to the ground.

"Master Jiang, our master must be alive." Jiang Qi was anxious.

Jiang Jie acted as if he didn't hear anything and used his killing move. In the blink of an eye, only two men in black were left.

These two men were mortal warriors. Knowing that they would be in vain if they escaped, they thought of committing suicide by drinking poison, which was better than being tortured in the Dali Temple.

But just as he was about to bite through the poison, he was punched in the face by someone, which directly dislocated his jaw, making suicide impossible.

Seeing that the two men were not dead, Jiang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and bowed: "Thank you for your help tonight, Lord Jiang."