Chai Shijing's attitude towards Lin Qingyi made Old Lady Lin feel very embarrassed. "Your Majesty, it was because I didn't take good care of Dong'er that he got into trouble. If..."
She wanted to say that if the prince was in such a difficult situation, he should not intervene. But she could not bring herself to say this. If Chai Shijing did not intervene, Lin Dong would not lose his life, but he would definitely lose his job, and the title of the marquis would probably be in jeopardy.
Chai Shijing glanced at everyone one by one, "I've repeatedly told you to do less, talk less, and behave yourself, but you all turned a deaf ear to me, right?"
Lin Zixuan didn't dare to look up. It was he who was the one who arranged for Lin Dong to accept bribes.
Lin Feng had a look of determination, "Zixuan, you better open your eyes in the future and don't be fooled by others. You..."
"Shut up!" Old Madam Lin interrupted Lin Feng. She hunched her back, feeling both resentful and exhausted.
Chai Shijing looked at Madam Lin's newly grown white hair, sighed, and said, "Let your uncle stay in the Ministry of Justice for a few days. I will take care of the rest."
Zhou Yang had already taken refuge with Chai Shijing, so Chai Shijing was relieved to let Lin Feng stay at the Ministry of Justice for a few days. Furthermore, the Lin family needed to learn a lesson; otherwise, if they really caused a disaster in the future, it would be even more difficult to deal with.
Ning was worried and asked tearfully, "How long will he stay? Will the Ministry of Justice torture the Marquis? Prince, you can't just ignore the Marquis."
Madam Lin scolded, "Are you worried now? What were you doing before?"
Just as Ning was about to speak, the housekeeper ran into the yard crying, "Madam, the Marquis committed suicide in the Ministry of Justice!"
The housekeeper ran into the house, knelt on the ground, and repeated again while crying, "Prince, Madam, the Marquis committed suicide in the Ministry of Justice!"
Old Madam Lin stood up suddenly, her mind went blank, her eyes rolled back, and she leaned back.
Chai Shijing quickly supported the fainted Madam Lin and said, "Go get the imperial physician."
He then said to Madam Lin's personal nanny, "Take good care of the old lady. I'll go to the Ministry of Justice to see what's going on. If you have any questions, come to Prince Ping's mansion to find me, or find Miss Kang."
"Yes!" Mammy bowed hurriedly.
Zhou Yang was already waiting for Chai Shijing at the Ministry of Justice. He first pleaded guilty and then told him what had happened.
"It was the Minister of Rites who accused the Marquis of Dunning of taking bribes. I asked him to assist in the investigation. With both witnesses and physical evidence in hand, I legally detained him, hoping to try to find a way around the matter later. Unexpectedly, he died within an hour of being incarcerated."
The Minister of Rites had the power to meet the emperor, so even if he was intentionally favoring Lin Dong, he couldn't make it too obvious.
Chai Shijing was angry with Lin Dong, but upon hearing the news of his death, he still felt a little sorry. "My uncle couldn't have committed suicide. Who did it?"
"It was a jailer. I investigated and they said that the jailer had recently been in contact with Bai Yi, the chief of the Ministry of Justice. I questioned Bai Yi, but he refused to admit it."
Finally, Zhou Yang added, "Bai Yi is Lei Ying's cousin-in-law."
Zhou Yang felt that Lin Dong’s death was caused by Emperor Jianning trying to make things difficult for Chai Shijing, and it had nothing to do with him in the final analysis.
Given Chai Shijing's relationship with Emperor Jianning, if it wasn't Lin Dong who died today, it would be someone else Chai Shijing cared about. Or, if Lin Dong didn't die in the prison cell of the Ministry of Justice today, he would meet his father tomorrow for something else. "Your Highness, do you want to continue investigating?"
There was actually nothing to investigate. It was the jailer who killed Lin Dong, and it was Bai Yi who gave the jailer the order, but it was Emperor Jianning who really wanted Lin Dong dead. "No need to investigate, just use the jailer to close the case."
Ever since Duke Lu said that Lin Dong had harmed Nie Qiu'er, Chai Shijing went to the Dunning Marquis's residence and warned everyone to be careful. He also emphasized Lin Dong and asked Madam Lin to keep an eye on the Lin family.
Unexpectedly, Lin Dong couldn't resist the temptation and made a mistake. This mistake directly cost him his life!
Lin Dong's death could be used as a lesson to teach the Dunning Marquisate a lesson. It is better for Lin Dong to die than for the entire Lin family to be in trouble.
Although Lin Dong was stupid, his status was there after all. Zhou Yang felt a little uneasy, "Your Highness, should we take Bai Yi with us?"
"No need, just close the case normally!" He didn't want to cause any trouble. No matter who or what happened, no one could disturb his marriage with Kang Yueran.
A jailer who had no grudges against Lin Dong in the past and no worries in recent days. Everyone knew that he was a scapegoat.
Mrs. Lin fell ill after this blow. When Chai Shijing came to visit Mrs. Lin, he also brought a steward with him. In front of everyone in the Lin family, he ordered the steward to bury Lin Dong within five days.
Even for ordinary people, if conditions permit, the body must be kept for seven days. For kings, princes, generals and ministers, the rest period would be even longer.
The Ministry of Justice closed the case of Lin Dong's death without further investigation. Old Madam Lin was already dissatisfied with this. When she heard Chai Shijing's words, she blurted out impulsively, "Logically speaking, Dong'er is not a legitimate uncle, so he can't hinder the prince's marriage."
According to the relationship between legitimate and illegitimate children, Chai Shijing's legal uncle should be Duke Lu.
Mrs. Lin's words were filled with resentment, and Chai Shijing felt aggrieved as well. "Mrs. Lin is right. The Marquis of Dunning is not my uncle, so he certainly can't get in my way. I'm getting married soon, and I don't want bad luck. Let's each handle our own affairs and not disturb each other." With that, he stood up and left.
Lin Feng reacted and chased after him, "Prince, Prince..."
He stopped Lin Feng with a bow and said, "Your Highness has something else to do, there is no need to see you off, Second Master Lin!" He waved to the steward brought by Chai Shijing and left with the steward.
Old Madam Lin covered her face with a handkerchief and cried sadly. What she had been worried about finally happened. Chai Shijing was disgusted with the Marquis' Mansion.
Lin Qingyi grabbed the handkerchief fiercely, "It must be Kang Yueran who is interfering."
While paying attention to Madam Lin's reaction, Ning pretended to scold Lin Qingyi, "Don't talk nonsense, this has nothing to do with Miss Kang."
"Why is it okay? My father is gone, and Kang Yueran didn't even show up. She must be feeling guilty and afraid to face Grandmother. She's getting married to my cousin soon, so naturally she doesn't want to coax our family anymore. Wouldn't that reveal her true colors?"
After Lin Dong died, the title of Marquis of Dunning was naturally inherited by Lin Zixuan. He and Lin Qingyi were siblings from the same mother. Compared to Kang Yueran, the sister was naturally more reliable.
"Grandmother, I think we should listen to Prince Ping. Let's go along with Prince Ping today, and then after a while, we can ask him to marry Qing Yi. With this favor, Prince Ping won't be able to refuse, right?"
Mrs. Lin wiped her tears and regretted in her heart that she had been too impulsive and said something she didn't want to say. She knew in her heart that Lin Dong had brought his own death upon himself and couldn't blame anyone else.
But Lin Dong is her biological son after all. Only she knows the pain of seeing a young person die.
Ning looked at Madam Lin and said carefully, "I think Zixuan is right, Mother. We must always plan for the future."
Old Lady Lin looked at Lin Qingyi. Lin Qingyi was no match for Kang Yueran at all. Letting Prince Ping marry Lin Qingyi would not only bring no benefits, but would also make Prince Ping even more annoyed with the Marquis' Mansion.
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