Chapter 41 Chapter 41 How could Benbo be so cruel!
No one expected that Dong Yu would take all the blame on himself in the end.
Nan Xu was the first to react. Regardless of the pain in her left foot, she rushed forward to ask Dong Yu to explain clearly, but was forcibly pulled away by Mrs. Hou.
He recanted his confession at the last minute, and this was still official language used during the interrogation. Yin Wu recalled how Duan Wenpei had forced the truth out of her in just a few words when he handed these people and things over to her. She felt so resentful in her heart... He was so incompetent in his work, wouldn't this make her lose face in front of her mother?
She wanted to ask more, but was interrupted by Mrs. Hou.
“That’s enough!”
"Looking at her frantic state, I don't think we can get anything out of her. I've already determined whether she did it or not, and who did it. There's no need for her to say anything more. Take her away."
Because of Madam Hou's words, Nan Yi's heart, which had just calmed down, became heavier again.
He was about to speak, but Li Wan held him back tightly, "Third Master, think about the children."
It was not easy for the third house to gain Madam Hou's favor. Nan Yun, the sister-in-law, was not close to them. She could understand Nan Yi's desire to protect his sister, but she could not ignore their small family.
There is still a long way to go, and who can predict what will happen in the future?
She glanced at Aunt Zhou and whispered to him, "No matter what, Aunt Zhou won't ignore the Third Miss. Since Aunt Zhou is so patient, she must know what's going on."
What do you mean by knowing it? She has been disliked by her father for a long time, and she can only show off her verbal skills in front of him, her son, and can't help at all!
"Mother, I want to see Ayun."
"Third Master!"
"Oh, I'm sorry I came at a bad time."
Princess Jingyi appeared outside Jiahui Hall in a palace dress, standing next to her was Marquis Yong'an, who had returned at some unknown time.
The sunlight cast a golden glow on her gorgeous palace dress, making the people next to her look even duller.
The marquis's wife hurriedly led everyone in paying their respects and said, "The younger generation in the family is ignorant. I was just talking to them. I didn't know the princess was coming. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you." Although the marquis's wife said this, anyone could hear the dissatisfaction in her words.
After all, there is no relationship between the Yong'an Marquis Mansion and Princess Jingyi.
The princess smiled faintly twice, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry. She strode into the flower hall, and the hem of her luxurious and complicated skirt drew a graceful arc on the brick surface. It was not until the arc stopped in front of her that Nan Xu realized that someone was standing in front of her.
"My husband was very sad to hear that your maidservant was buried alive and nearly died. I couldn't bear to see him so sad, so I found two thoughtful ones to reward you." She said, pointing outside, "Why don't you come in and let Madam Bo see you."
Only then did Nan Xu notice that there was someone behind her - Li Zhan.
Li Zhan also looked over, and the two of them looked at each other briefly before looking away.
Sure enough, two pretty girls came in, bowed to Nan Xuying and called her "Madam".
Nan Xu had no idea what she was up to, so she naturally wouldn't accept it lightly. She leaned forward with gratitude and said, "Thank you so much for your kindness, Princess. Although Yu Ming is ill, I have no shortage of maids to serve her, so I won't bother the maids around you."
Seeing her politely decline, Jingyi didn't force it. She turned around and poked Li Zhan's forehead with a smile, "You see, your kindness is not appreciated by the Lady Bo."
Li Zhan didn't say anything, and the place where Jingyi poked him turned red.
Such a seemingly intimate action naturally attracted everyone's attention. Then, looking at Li Zhan, who should have been a family member in the past, Yin Wu and other female relatives had the same thought in their minds.
The princess's sudden visit might be a bad omen!
*
For fear of polluting the princess's ears and of exposing the family scandal, the marquis' wife had the two knights kneeling in the hall taken away, and invited the princess to go and enjoy the flowers in the garden on the pretext that they were in full bloom.
Jingyi was not willing to leave. She waved for Li Zhan to sit next to her and pointed to a bowl of grapes on the table and asked him to peel them and feed them to her.
Li Zhan paused, hesitated for a moment, then slowly sat down beside her, washed his hands, peeled the fruit and fed it to her. There was no expression on his face, as if he was a puppet without a soul.
Nan Xu sat obediently beside the Marquis' wife. She lowered her head and touched the jade bracelet on her wrist, trying her best not to listen or look at the two people at the top.
Princess Jingyi, feeling satisfied after being served, propped up her head with a satisfied look and said to the Marquis' wife with a smile, "Madam, please don't worry about me. Let's continue where we were just now. I'll also enjoy the fun and help you make a decision."
Calling other people's family affairs exciting, Jingyi really doesn't take the Yong'an Marquis Mansion seriously.
After all, the Yong'an Marquis and his wife have been in charge of the family for so many years, and they are still able to keep it stable, but the younger generations below may not be able to do so.
Nan Yiling immediately slammed the table and was about to stand up to speak. He might be afraid of the current Emperor Xuanwu, but he was not afraid of this crappy princess who grew up in the cold palace.
Fortunately, Nan Yicheng quickly caught him. Nan Yiling was stronger and could not be restrained. Yong'an Hou angrily scolded him, "You evil creature, you are drunk in broad daylight." He glared at Zhao Yuqin and said, "Why don't you help him down?"
Zhao Yuqin felt aggrieved, but she also knew her own responsibility, so she hurriedly helped Nan Yicheng to support her husband.
There was a sudden noise in the hall, and everyone walked away. There was also a few men's low growls. Nan Xu pricked up her ears and tried to distinguish, it seemed to be "I don't believe she can kill me."
Well, the timid Princess Jingyi might not have dared to do that before, but this one will show no mercy.
Sure enough, Jingyi watched this little episode with a smile, as if she was really watching a play, and even found it a bit interesting. From time to time, she whispered to the female official beside her, with a hint of criticism.
The female official was not polite and urged Madam Hou, "Madam, the princess asked you to continue, didn't you hear?"
Madam Hou pursed her lips and glanced at Yong'an Hou, whose expression was gradually turning colder. She wanted to ease the atmosphere again, "Princess, Yi Ling is indeed ignorant, and household affairs are not easy to deal with..."
"Madam." Jingyi interrupted with a bad tone, "I want to see it."
These few short words are like a heavy stone that makes people breathless.
Madam Hou sneered inwardly, but kept it hidden from her face. She said with a smile, "The princess actually has such a refined taste. If I refuse again, it would seem that I am ungrateful." She turned her back to Jingyi and winked at Nan Yihuai calmly. "It's not a big deal. Yihuai recently had an argument with his third sister, and the two siblings almost came to blows. Just in case, I detained the third girl. Unexpectedly, Yihuai understood after a few words of our persuasion and wanted to see his third sister to make things clear. Yihuai, what do you say, yes or no?"
Nan Yihuai understood Mrs. Hou's hint. After a moment's thought, he happily replied "yes".
I thought Princess Jingyi would be fine now, but unexpectedly, Jingyi turned her gaze and said quietly to the insignificant Concubine Zhou standing aside, "But judging from the expression on this lady's face, it seems there's something else going on."
Aunt Zhou's face trembled slightly, visibly. She subconsciously looked at Marquis Yong'an, but only received a warning from the man who once doted on her infinitely.
The female official beside Jingyi took the opportunity to interject, "Madam, please think carefully. If you really have any grievances, it's a good opportunity to take advantage of the princess's presence so that she can help you. If you wait until the princess leaves, you won't be able to appeal even if you have ten mouths."
What kind of talk is this? Is the Yong'an Marquisate a place where people bully others and eat people without leaving any bones?
Yong'an Hou was a coward in the court, but he couldn't stand such humiliation. He stroked his beard, glared at the female official, and scolded her solemnly: "This is Yong'an Hou's residence, please be careful with your words."
After saying this, he didn't care about the reaction of the maid and the princess. He asked someone to help Concubine Zhou down first. The maid was not a pushover and asked, "My Lord, aren't you being too presumptuous? Our princess hasn't even finished her question, and you asked this lady to leave in front of so many people. Are you guilty?"
The Marquis of Yong'an wanted to curse in his heart. What a bullshit! Just as he was about to argue, his wife hurriedly said with a smile, "How dare we fool the princess? It's because this 'madam' is a concubine in the mansion. The Marquis is afraid that she will disturb the princess. Besides, the third girl has been detained by me for so long, I'm afraid she will miss her mother." She smiled warmly at Concubine Zhou, "Mother Lu, take Concubine Zhou to see the third girl."
Mother Lu hurried over to help Aunt Zhou.
Madam Hou had already said this, and the female official had nothing more to refute. Both sides stopped arguing, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned to stare at Aunt Zhou, who remained silent.
Nan Xu wondered why Jingyi came here today, and glanced at Aunt Zhou inadvertently. This glance reminded her of the terrible night ten years ago.
Nan Xu sniffed, as if she could smell the burnt smell of hot oil rolling over human skin.
*
"Princess, they wrongly accused the third girl of murder. I am alone and powerless. Please, Princess, help me and the third girl!"
When Aunt Zhou knelt in front of Jingyi, Nan Xu recalled an old incident that happened many years ago.
At that time, she had just learned to recite the Thousand Character Classic, and Nan Yun also clamored to go to school to learn to read and write with the teacher. Her mother rejected her father on the grounds that she was too young. Unexpectedly, that night, in order to satisfy Nan Yun, Aunt Zhou knelt on the bed and sang southern songs to her father all night. According to Mama Lu's report, even the little girls in the yard who were half a person's height were so excited that they were half numb, not to mention her father who doted on Aunt Zhou.
Since that night, my father not only hired a special tutor for Nan Yun in the mansion, but also secretly gave many of his personal belongings to Aunt Zhou.
At that time, no one would have thought that in just half a year, Aunt Zhou would take an extreme approach and ruin another person who, like her, relied on men's favor to make a living.
The matter that was almost covered up was exposed by Aunt Zhou, and the matter was out of Madam Hou's control.
Jingyi smiled and asked someone to re-interrogate the two gangsters and Dong Yu. One was extremely cunning, and the other was foolish and stupid, and they could hardly agree on any of their words.
Jingyi looked at the several confessions in her hand and handed them to Li Zhan beside her with joy. She laughed so hard that she almost rolled into Li Zhan's arms.
"Madam Hou, the government has to go through a first and second trial. You are a woman after all. How can you rely on such a flawed testimony to prove that the third young lady coveted her brother-in-law and murdered him?"
She emphasized the word "covet" and even gave Nan Xu a provocative smile, "Besides, Duan Wenpei is such a murderous man, no one else can handle him except Ah Xu!"
"Really? Princess, please tell me how Benbo has killed so many people!"
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