Chapter 316: Silencing
Magistrate Yang, Madam Yang, and all the servants in the mansion were thrown into jail.
Xiao Zhian took full charge of the case, with Lin Lanting's assistance, and transferred several envoys and a team of officers and soldiers from the post station to help.
Among the envoys happened to be Song Qian, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. Xiao Zhian appointed him as the chief judge, and the trial was conducted openly in the Wutong County government office.
Let’s start with Wang Peng, because among the forty-nine girls, there is his unfavored concubine’s daughter.
Wang Peng had been tortured before and had already confessed everything he needed to. When he arrived in the lobby, he just had to confess again in public.
Censor Li and Lord Chu from the diplomatic mission were responsible for recording the entire process.
At the same time, Xiao Zhian ordered people to make the truth about the smallpox that year public, but the people were frightened by the events of the extinct families and were afraid of divine punishment, so no one dared to say anything.
Yang Hezhi was dragged to the court like a dead dog, but he still refused to admit that he was the one who caused the smallpox.
Until the guards of Prince Rong's mansion caught the Taoist priest and brought him to court, and fed him the same poison that was used that year.
The Taoist priest soon developed rashes and sores right under everyone's noses, and everyone then believed that there was no such thing as divine punishment and that it was all a conspiracy.
Several families who were forced to sacrifice their daughters were about to rush forward to beat Yang Hezhi, but were stopped in time by the police.
Yang Hezhi will receive his share of punishment.
Everyone then started to talk about what happened that year, and Yang Hezhi's guilt was completely confirmed. Up to this moment, he was still holding on to a lucky mentality.
Because although Xiao Zhian was a prince, he was not a local official, nor was he an imperial envoy of the court. Serious criminals like him would be escorted back to the imperial city for retrial.
As long as he doesn't die on the spot, he still has a chance.
He had been with Princess Qingwu and knew how much she hated the Queen. The Second Prince was the Queen's son.
His father's position as county governor was obtained by him asking Princess Qingwu for help, which meant that his father was Princess Qingwu's man. In order to help the queen, the second prince deliberately framed their Yang family in order to suppress Princess Qingwu.
It doesn't matter what the truth is, as long as Princess Qingwu believes it. He knows Princess Qingwu well and she will not miss any opportunity to go against the Queen.
But he didn't expect that Xiao Zhian would order an immediate execution, and all those involved in the murder would be executed on the spot.
"It's unfair. This is all your conspiracy. I've been wronged. I belong to Princess Qingwu. You're deliberately framing me to smear Princess Qingwu. The princess will never give up once she finds out..."
This time Yang Hezhi finally panicked and shouted desperately.
"Princess Qingwu has arrived."
At this moment, a singing voice came into Yang Hezhi's ears like the sound of nature.
Xiao Zhian looked at the carriage approaching from afar and said sternly, "Execute."
What was the purpose of making the cave coffin like that? Was there anyone else behind this? Yang Hezhi was stubborn and all criminal laws were used but nothing was found out. He shouldn't have been killed so soon.
But his uncle told him that it was Aunt Qingwu who transferred County Magistrate Yang to Wutong.
Aunt Qingwu is the emperor's half-sister and has a very good relationship with him, but she does not like the queen mother. Especially after the emperor's death, Aunt Qingwu is dissatisfied with the queen mother's management of the government and often does things that give the queen mother a headache.
Before his death, my father asked my mother to take good care of Aunt Qingwu in front of all the ministers.
For this reason, the Queen Mother repeatedly tolerated Aunt Qingwu, which caused Aunt Qingwu to become more arrogant and willful, and often even ignored the Queen Mother.
If she intervened in this matter, Yang Hezhi might not die. Aunt Qingwu has always been unreasonable.
But killing someone means paying with one's life, which is a natural law. Someone as vicious as Yang Hezhi should be sent to hell early. As for the others, we can only investigate slowly, and we will find out eventually.
But the knife that was about to chop Yang Hezhi was knocked down by a silver fork, followed by Princess Qingwu's lazy voice, "What's the hurry? I've just arrived and blood is being seen. It's really unlucky. I don't like it."
There was disappointment, anger, and a hint of helplessness in Xiao Zhian's eyes. He stood up and walked to the front of the car, "Zhian greets Aunt Qingwu."
The curtain of the carriage was opened, and Princess Qingwu was seen wearing a green dress with half her breasts exposed. She was leaning lazily on a man, and a man next to her was holding a plate of cut fruits.
Qing Wu didn't even look at Xiao Zhian. Her eyes fell on the fruit and she said to the man beside her, "I haven't even taken a bite yet and you threw the silver fork away."
The man smiled and said, "How about Rongyu feeding the princess?"
Qingwu raised her chin and snorted.
The man took a bite of the fruit and moved closer to Qingwu.
Qingwu opened her red lips slightly, took a bite, and chewed it carefully.
Such bold behavior without paying attention to others made Xiao Zhian's ears blush. After not seeing Aunt Qingwu for two years, she was still the same.
After swallowing the fruit in his mouth, Qing Wu looked at Xiao Zhian and asked, "I heard that you were almost eaten by someone?"
"Aunt!" Xiao Zhian's tone was slightly annoyed.
No matter how badly Qingwu treated him before, he would not hold it against her for the sake of his father, but now was a serious matter, not the time for him to act frivolously.
Qing Wu smiled and said, "I underestimated you before, but I didn't expect you to be able to endure this hardship and find your brother.
It is worthy of the bloodline of the Xiao family in you, and is better than your mother."
Taking the plate from the man named Rong Yu and placing it in Xiao Zhian's hand, Qing Wu said, "Here, don't blame your aunt for not loving you. It's freshly cut. Eat it."
"Thank you, Auntie..."
Qing Wu rarely had a good face towards him. Xiao Zhian's reaction was subconscious. Before he could finish his words, he realized that he was trying a case, so he quickly restrained his expression. Before he could speak, Qing Wu spoke first.
"Doesn't this case involve me?"
Qing Wu straightened her body slightly, looked at Yang Hezhi lying on the ground, and smiled charmingly, "I came here in person."
Yang Hezhi always felt that he was a person favored by God, otherwise how could he be chosen by the Venerable and how could he win the favor of Princess Qingwu? Today he felt even more lucky.
Princess Qingwu appeared at such a timely moment.
God must have sent her to save him, and he hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please save me. I am wronged."
Qing Wu uttered an "oh" and said calmly, "When you fell at my feet that day, I asked you what reward you wanted, and you said you wanted to pray for a better future for your father.
Seeing that you are well-behaved and filial to your father, I mentioned it to the Queen. Today, you said that you are my person.
Then I ask you, you poisoned the people and deceived them into thinking it was smallpox, but did I instruct you to do this?"
Yang Hezhi felt a little embarrassed after his past was exposed so bluntly by Princess Qingwu, but since he was counting on her to save him, he quickly said in a flattering tone, "No."
"Did I ask you to kill those forty-nine girls?"
"No, it's not." Yang Hezhi shook his head quickly, feeling that something seemed wrong.
But before he could think about it, he heard Qing Wu ask, "What are you doing with those corpses?"
Yang Hezhi hesitated. This was something he absolutely couldn't say, but Princess Qingwu had asked, and if he didn't answer, she would definitely get angry. So he said, "Your Highness, I'm innocent."
"Unfair?" Qing Wu leaned back and fell into the man's arms, squinting at Yang Hezhi. "You mean you didn't do those things? I did it?"
Yang Hezhi couldn't guess what Princess Qingwu meant, so he tentatively said, "It wasn't Princess who did it, but the Second Prince knew that the student was yours, so he deliberately targeted her to implicate her..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard Qing Wu laughingly say to the man next to him, "Rong Yu, look, it turns out that I am such a fool in his eyes."
Rong Yu hurriedly coaxed, "The princess is the smartest in the world, and he is the stupid one."
Immediately, his smiling face turned cold, and he said to Yang Hezhi in a sinister tone, "Tell the truth."
Yang Hezhi could see Qingwu was angry, so he could only say, "Yes, it was the students who did it, but when students do this..."
Princess Qingwu had a fickle temperament. He thought of going along with her first and then finding a way to get her to save him, but a dagger shot out from the carriage and pierced his heart straight.
It was so fast that Yang Hezhi didn't even have time to react before he fell to the ground. "Princess..."
Didn’t the princess come to save him? Why…why did she kill him?
Qing Wu lazily stretched out her hand in front of Rong Yu, who understood and began to massage her. "You just said something, why do you have to do it yourself?"
"This is so disgusting. I can't wait. You're so stupid and self-righteous. You're really tarnishing my reputation."
Wei Qingyan looked deeply at the dagger that was completely embedded in his flesh.
Previously, I only knew that Princess Qingwu was nearly forty years old, still unmarried, behaved in an absurd manner, kept one concubine after another in the palace, and was an arrogant and foolish person.
Now it seems that the rumors are not true, at least Qingwu’s martial arts skills are not low.
But, why did she suddenly appear here today? Was it to kill Yang Hezhi to silence him, or did she have some other purpose?
Could she be the Venerable?
"Now that the prince has returned, won't he come forward to greet his aunt?" Qingwu's words brought Wei Qingyan back to his senses.
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