Chapter 337: Concealment
"Mother, it is your son who is the minister."
Xiao Zhian's panting voice could be heard, and soon he rushed to the Queen, "Mother, I just woke up and heard that the Marquis of Zhenbei slandered my sister-in-law.
How could my sister-in-law be such a good person, she would harm the old lady of Zhenbei Marquis? You must stand up for my sister-in-law and deal with the Zhenbei Marquis.
His face was slightly flushed and his hair was casually tied up. He must have woken up and heard the news and rushed over.
"Xiao An," the Queen said helplessly, "How can your mother arbitrarily punish the Marquis of Zhenbei just because you are close to your sister-in-law?"
"My sister-in-law is not that kind of person at all. He has no good intentions in wrongly accusing her."
Xiao Zhian was furious, "From what I can see, he is not a good person. He is a military commander who pretends to be elegant and righteous all day long.
Besides, if he really wanted to be filial, he would not have let the old Zhenbei Marquis and his wife live outside the city for so many years. Now, just because his sister-in-law visited the old lady, he accused her of harming others. How could this be justified?
The queen glanced outside the door and saw a eunuch shaking his head slightly at her. The queen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Xiao An had just arrived and didn't hear anything.
She held her son's hand and led him to sit on the dragon throne. "Then Xiao An, please help me think about what pretext I should use to punish him. Xiao An, do you have any evidence that he framed your sister-in-law?"
Xiao Zhian paused.
Then she said coquettishly, "Mother, my wise and powerful mother, please help my sister-in-law."
"Of course, mother will help her." The queen was used to her son's pampering and enjoyed his dependence. She sighed, "The difficulty lies in the fact that your sister-in-law went to the manor and is suspected of this. But her excuse is that she was entrusted by a deceased person. How can this be convincing?
Zhian, you have been in Dawei for quite some time. Can your sister-in-law really see ghosts?
"Didn't my sister-in-law say there were ghosts?"
Xiao Zhian looked a little bewildered, "Isn't it a dream? My sister-in-law once said that if a person has obsessions after death, they may turn into resentment. My sister-in-law said that resentment is just a breath of energy. It only remembers one's obsessions. Once resolved, it will dissipate. It is not a ghost.
My sister-in-law is proficient in occult arts and can occasionally sense this kind of resentment. She is kind-hearted and will fulfill the obsessions of the dead. She would go to see the old lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei. It must be because Liang Fuzhu was worried about her relatives before her death, and my sister-in-law went to help her fulfill this obsession.
Since you are doing this for Liang Fuzhu out of kindness, how could you harm the old lady? Mother, is there someone who doesn't like my sister-in-law and wants to harm her on purpose?
He remembered that his brother, the prince, had once said that his sister-in-law’s ability in the mysterious arts should not be told to others casually, lest others know his sister-in-law’s secret and harm her.
Although the Queen Mother was not someone else, she could not help but vent her anger on her sister-in-law because Shi Dehou stole the Crown Prince away.
He said that he didn't reveal too much, nor did he lie to his mother. He was just hiding something. However, he had never hidden anything from his mother before. This was the first time. He still felt guilty, so he put his head on the queen's shoulder and didn't dare to look her in the eye.
"Mother, my sister-in-law saved Xiao An's life. Please help Xiao An repay my sister-in-law for saving his life."
The queen raised her hand and stroked her son's head, her brows slightly furrowed.
resentment?
It was consistent with what she had heard. She just didn't know what Liang Fuzhu said to Wei Qingyan to express her resentment. Would Wei Qingyan and Shi Yu know the truth and become wary of her?
"If you put it that way, isn't resentment the same as a ghost?"
Xiao Zhian shook his head, "No, it was the breath of obsession before he died, just like the Lin family's young grandfather. Before he died, he wanted to return to his roots in Fengzhao. My sister-in-law helped him make this happen, and his breath of obsession disappeared.
But the ghosts in the storybooks have consciousness just like humans. If resentment also has consciousness, my sister-in-law wouldn't have had to guess so hard to help the Lin family's young grandfather resolve the resentment.
I actually hope there is a ghost, so that Liang Fuzhu can show up and tell the Marquis of Zhenbei that my sister-in-law was clearly doing good deeds, but was wronged by him.
Previously, my sister-in-law asked Yang Linger to show up, but this time she didn't let Liang Fuzhu show up to prove her innocence. There must be a reason. Maybe there is some big conspiracy behind it, which must not be said.
"Mother, please promise me to help my sister-in-law." He sat up straight.
The Queen looked at her son's innocent expression, her eyes full of love. "Okay, I promise you, your sister-in-law has just arrived in Fengzhao and has never had any grudges with anyone. I think there must be some misunderstanding. I will have someone investigate it. Don't worry."
"Okay, then I'll go out of the palace and see them."
Xiao Zhian hurriedly stood up, worried that if he stayed any longer, he would lose his sister-in-law's secret in front of his mother. "Mother, I will be staying in the Prince's Mansion for the next few days. I can't let my sister-in-law and her family be bullied anymore."
After he said this, he ran quickly to his bedroom, and while running he ordered the eunuchs to prepare a change of clothes.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I just spoke too much and I really deserve to die."
After Xiao Zhian ran away, Lady Xia became panicked and knelt down to beg for mercy.
The Queen looked at her son's departing back and said, "Xiao An really cares about Shi Yu and the others."
Lady Xia didn't dare to respond, and then she heard the Queen say, "I hope Shi Yu won't let Xiao An down."
When Xiao Zhian hurried to the Prince's Mansion, he saw Shi Yu had just dismounted from his horse. He quickly dismounted and chased his brother into the mansion.
Wei Qingyan, who was worried about him, was drinking tea quietly by himself.
She had just sent Qingwu away.
After Liang Yongan was brought into the palace by Shi Yu, the Dali Temple Minister reappeared with his men. Although he accepted the case, he did not dare to take Wei Qingyan to the Dali Temple. He only asked some questions, said he would go to investigate the situation, and left.
The excitement died down, and the rest of the people dispersed. Only Qingwu followed into the Prince's Mansion. After making Cao Yizhao cry in his sleep, she went to Wei Qingyan's yard.
By then, it was almost dawn and Wei Qingyan was no longer sleepy, so he went to the study to read and wait for Shi Yu to come back.
Qing Wu lazily sat across from her and said, "You're quite calm. You're suspected of murder, yet you still have the mind to read."
"I have a clear conscience." Wei Qingyan said these four short words without raising his eyebrows.
"But some things cannot be safe just because you have no guilt." Qingwu spoke in a rare serious tone.
Wei Qingyan looked at her and smiled, "So, please, aunt, keep an eye on the Jingzhao prefect and solve Liang Fuzhu's case as soon as possible. This will clear your niece's name."
"Do you trust me so much?" Qingwu suddenly reached out and lifted her chin, and the two looked at each other.
Wei Qingyan said, "My husband and I are stupid and don't see that Auntie has any intention of harming us. My husband has few blood relatives, and we cherish them very much."
It's true that she didn't want to harm them, but it's also true that she couldn't trust them completely. She and Shi Yu were both sensitive people, and they had long noticed Qing Wu's intention to test them.
Is it because Qingwu, who is at odds with the queen, is unable to be honest with Shi Yu because he is the son of the queen?
Or is there another reason?
Wei Qingyan couldn't guess it for a moment, and just hoped to get more clues from Qingwu.
But Qing Wu was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "You are so good at talking. Why didn't you say a few more words to that old pheasant just now? You still need others to support you."
Wei Qingyan recalled the appearance of the Marquis of Zhenbei and felt that the nickname Old Pheasant was quite appropriate.
Then he smiled and replied with the same four words as before, "I have a clear conscience."
Qing Wu rolled her eyes and didn't dare to say too much. She was worried that Wei Qingyan would be able to guess Shi Yu's background, and she was also worried that her inappropriate words would make them misunderstand that she was trying to sow discord between them, and instead push Shi Yu towards the Queen.
After a long silence, she asked again, "Did Liang Fuzhu tell you in a dream how to investigate this case?"
In three days, the Jingzhao prefect may not be able to find out.
Wei Qingyan decided to take a small step forward himself, pointing to the porcelain vase standing quietly there and saying, "Auntie, perhaps you can check its previous owner."
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