Chapter 374 An's betrayal
"presumptuous."
The Queen shouted, "The facts of Lin Lanting's injury have not yet been fully investigated. The claim that Chi Lie wrote this is simply one-sided and without any evidence. How dare you question me like this? And how dare you spread alarmist rhetoric and confuse the people?"
She was still thinking about Shi Dehou, but she was entangled by these people and couldn't get away. She was really annoyed. As a respected person, she had other power, but no one in the court knew about it except Butcher's Dao, not even Lady Xia.
How could she make Lady Xia understand her thoughts and make timely arrangements with just a glance?
Therefore, she could only leave here first, or if Tu Dao and the others were still alive, show up in time to obey orders.
But the butcher knife has not appeared yet, and his two children have not appeared either.
Qing Wu was not annoyed, but laughed, "It's because there is no evidence that we want the Queen to investigate, right?
However, Your Majesty does not need to worry about the matter of the concubine's son being replaced. The emperor's brother gave half of the national seal to Qingwu, so Qingwu cannot do nothing.
The one who swapped the concubine's son was the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple. As for the reason, I ask the Queen to conduct a public trial. I'm sure all the ministers would also like to know."
As soon as he finished speaking, Rong Yu and his men came in, escorting the Junior Official of the Dali Temple and the criminal who had disguised himself as a concubine.
Qing Wu lifted the criminal's chin with a round fan in her hand and chuckled, "The disguise is so realistic. If it weren't for someone from this palace seeing it with their own eyes, I'm afraid it would be hard to doubt his identity."
Liang Yongan's concubine is a notorious playboy, and many civil and military officials recognize his face. If he really disguised himself, he would look exactly the same.
Just when someone started to suspect whether this man was really a concubine, Rongyu tore off the human skin mask on the criminal's face with a snap. It was a face completely different from that of a concubine.
Everyone was shocked.
Qing Wu continued, "If no one suspects anything, then those who deserve to die will be able to escape. This is the result of the Queen's rule. Qing Wu couldn't help but feel anxious. The Queen has been in power for more than 20 years. Could other criminals also escape punishment in this way?
Has something like this happened before?"
The queen stood in front of everyone with her back straight, but she was a little panicked in her heart. She had set up a trap for Shi Yu and Wei Qingyan, and thought they were already in the game, but she didn't expect that they had already noticed it and counterattacked.
They can also let Qingwu, a madwoman, stand up for them. Every word Qingwu says is condemning her for not being able to govern properly. Her intention is too obvious. These are not what she is most worried about.
What she was most worried about was Qingwu’s last sentence. What did it mean?
Did Shi Yu and Wei Qingyan already know something? And how much did they know?
But she had been through many ups and downs, so even if she was panicking, she could handle it calmly. Her expression remained unchanged as she looked at Lady Xia and said, "Go ask the imperial physician if the Crown Princess is feeling any better."
Her calmness made Qingwu seem aggressive.
Lady Xia returned quickly, accompanied by Wei Qingyan, who had just woken up.
Wei Qingyan leaned forward and bowed, "Qingyan thanks the queen for her concern."
"You are my daughter-in-law, and it is only natural for me to care about you."
Her voice was gentle, as if she was not the one being forced by Qing Wu and the others. She smiled and said, "Now that you have woken up, I am relieved."
Then, she looked at Qingwu and the others and said, "Since you want to conduct a trial, then let's go back to the palace and conduct a thorough trial."
Qing Wu refused to agree, "The suspects have been brought here, why can't they be tried here?
This matter also involves General Lin, who is currently seriously injured. It would be inappropriate to carry him to the palace for questioning later."
She didn't know why the queen was in such a hurry to leave, but she knew it must not be a good thing, and it was good that it didn't go as she wished.
The Queen knew what Qingwu was planning when she saw her eyes, but she was still the one in power. Her brows darkened and her dignity suddenly increased. "Qingwu, the late Emperor personally entrusted me with the task of governing the country. Since you have so many questions, why not return to the palace and investigate them one by one?"
If you dare to act recklessly again, you will be defying the late emperor's majesty. I will punish you on his behalf. Do you understand?"
"Qingwu understands, but Chilie is involved, and the stability of Fengzhao is at stake. Qingwu just wants a quick resolution."
Qing Wu still stood in front of the Queen, "Your Majesty, you forgot that Qing Wu was also entrusted by the late Emperor with half of the national seal, but Qing Wu knew that she did not have the ability to govern the country, so now, she has returned that half of the national seal to the Prince.
In other words, from now on, the prince will also have the power to govern the country. The queen came here today to improve the relationship between mother and son and to show her love for the prince and the princess.
Wouldn't it be better to let the Crown Prince and the Queen handle the case here without having to rush to the palace?"
Shi Yu held the national seal in his hand and knelt on one knee before the empress. "This son is not talented, but I am trusted by my aunt. She entrusted this half of the national seal to me. My aunt said that this was also my father's last wish, asking me to protect Fengzhao and its people.
General Lin is not a man who makes groundless accusations. Since he suspects that Chi Lie is eyeing me, Feng Zhao, and has the intention to plunder me, I think we must be on guard.
The man in black who took away the concubine's daughter and the assassin who assassinated General Lin were mixed together, which made it hard not to suspect the connection between the two.
Therefore, I, your son, boldly implore Your Majesty to immediately investigate this case and not delay, thereby giving the Chilie spy a chance to escape."
It was his secret guard who took the concubine out of the city. Since the Queen could secretly send people to arrest Xiao Yan, he could also put the blame of taking the concubine away on the Queen's men and muddy the waters.
After all, it was the queen who swapped the concubine's son, so she was not wronged.
The queen pinched her palm hard with her nails. She didn't expect that Qingwu would hand over half of the national seal so easily.
Shi Yu is not as brainless as Qing Wu. With the national seal, he is even more powerful and has enough reasons to stop her here.
The more he tried to stop her, the more she felt that they already knew, that she was the Venerable.
Even if they knew the purpose of the living burial array, they would definitely not let Shi Dehou return to her hands. The array still needed Shi Dehou, and the resentment in the capital also needed Shi Dehou.
She was too conceited. She thought she could definitely catch Wei Qingyan this time and make him her secret dog from then on. She shouldn't have abandoned Shi Dehou so early.
Looking outside the yard again, there was still no sign of Tudao or his men.
Closing her eyes, the Queen pushed Qingwu away and ordered sternly, "Return to the palace."
"Mother."
Without waiting for the others to react, Xiao Zhian appeared from nowhere and knelt before the Queen. "Mother, I want to ask you, if Chi Lie really intends to offend Feng Zhao, do you have any plan to deal with him?"
The queen was stunned. She didn't know why Xiao Zhian also wanted to get involved, and she felt inexplicably uneasy.
"Zhi'an, this is a matter of state. You are still a child and don't understand these things. Your uncle is seriously injured. Go see him."
Xiao Zhian remained motionless. "Mother, Zhian will soon be an adult. He is not a child. Please answer Zhian's question."
The queen frowned and said in a heavier voice, "Zhi'an, stop messing around. Get out of the way."
She had gone back in time twice, so how could she not know Chi Lie's evil ambitions? But she had already made a plan to deal with it. There was no need to worry about Chi Lie, a mere figure. It was just that there were some things she couldn't say.
But Xiao Zhian said, "My mother has always known that the intelligence presented by my uncle is true. Prince Chilie has indeed started preparations several years ago, and he is only waiting to ascend the throne to lead his troops to Fengzhao and seize our Fengzhao mountains and rivers.
The Queen Mother is not panicking because..."
This was because the Queen Mother had sent spies to infiltrate Chilie. On the day when the Crown Prince of Chilie ascended the throne, viruses were injected into many water sources in Chilie, causing the plague to spread rampantly in Chilie, devastating the people and almost destroying the country.
But these cannot be said in public, so as not to spread to Chi Lie.
That day, he was beaten with a stick and fell into unconsciousness, and then he fell into a dream. In the dream, Chilie was in mourning everywhere, and some people fled to the border of Fengzhao. As a result, the plague also spread to Fengzhao and destroyed the two cities of Fengzhao.
In the dream, the Queen Mother showed no remorse. She said, "Zhi'an, those who do great things don't care about small details. This is all for you. If I can use the people of those two cities to exchange for your throne, why not?"
His back was bent by the lives of the innocent people in Chilie and the people in Fengzhao City. He crawled on the ground and was unable to stand up for a long time.
"Mother, Crown Prince Chilie is warlike. Our Fengzhao soldiers are brave enough to repel him, but the people are innocent."
He knelt before the queen and looked at her intently. When he saw the queen's expression change drastically, he realized that it was not a dream and that his mother really intended to use the plague as a method.
He said this in his dream. His mother did not take it seriously at the time and ordered people to lock him up.
Or maybe, his mother had already done that. Xiao Zhian couldn't tell whether it was a dream or a past life.
But in this life, he absolutely did not want to bear the responsibility of so many lives again. He kowtowed, "Mother, the Crown Prince has returned to the court, and Aunt Qingwu has also returned the half of the national seal to the Crown Prince.
Zhi'an also pleads with his mother to return the imperial seal, choose a date for the crown prince to ascend the throne, and ask the new emperor to restore order, clean up the Fengzhao court as soon as possible, and protect the peace of Fengzhao."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
