“Sir, no, it wasn’t my son who stole it!” Seeing that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t get through here, Aunt Cui looked at Lin Xuanfeng hurriedly, “I confess, I confess everything, someone bribed me to frame the Liu family!”
The truth had already been revealed, and Princess Changping's help was of no use, so Aunt Cui told him everything.
Lin Xuanfeng asked people to write down everything, then waved his hand and ordered the man to be taken under guard and brought back to the government office in Jingji Prefecture.
Shen Qingqiu said: "Sir, please stay."
Lin Xuanfeng turned his head, the smile on his face had changed: "Miss Shen, is there anything else?" Now he could no longer look at this girl with the eyes of a little girl. With just a few words, she not only exonerated herself, but also pushed the crime onto others, and even used the opponent's force to fight back. This was not something a child could do.
"I want to ask Lord Lin, how do you plan to deal with this matter?" Shen Qingqiu said, and looked at Aunt Cui again, "Since she said that it was Princess Changping who did it, will Lord Lin go to Princess Changping's mansion for an interrogation like he did today when he came to my house?"
This question stumped Lin Xuanfeng. He frowned and looked at Shen Qingqiu, "According to the laws of our dynasty, as a lowly official, I have no right to interrogate the princess."
Shen Qingqiu curled his lips, "That means the so-called emperor is guilty of the same crime as common people, which is completely empty talk?"
Lin Xuanfeng vowed to enter the Dali Temple, so he naturally attached great importance to the law. "How could it be like this? Although I am only a low-ranking official and have no right to interrogate the princess, after I report to the superiors on my behalf, someone will naturally go to interrogate her."
"Master Lin, do you believe what you said?" Shen Qingqiu asked.
"What does Miss Shen mean?" Lin Xuanfeng's face turned cold.
Shen Qingqiu said: "It depends on whether you want to investigate this case fairly and impartially?"
Lin Xuanfeng frowned. Shen Qingqiu looked at Aunt Cui who was being escorted tightly. "If you are willing, I will naturally find a way to ask you to investigate this case."
Shen Qingqiu was certainly no stranger to Lin Xuanfeng. It should be said that Shen Qingqiu was no stranger to anyone who was a little famous in the whole capital. The huge intelligence network in her hands was enough for her to learn a lot of things in a short period of time. It was said that this person was the most impartial. Shen Qingqiu didn't believe it before he met him, but after meeting him, he was very impartial.
At least when it comes to investigating cases, he is much better than many senior officials.
Lin Xuanfeng didn't say anything and remained silent for a while.
——
Li, the daughter-in-law of Aunt Cui, trotted all the way from Liu's house to Princess Changping's mansion.
However, before he could enter the princess's mansion, he was stopped by someone, "Who are you?"
Li looked at the two knives flashing with cold light in front of her, feeling a little scared. "My mother-in-law is Aunt Cui. She, she asked me to come to see Princess Changping..." The guard at the door frowned and said, "What Aunt Cui? I've never heard of her. Leave quickly. If you don't leave, don't blame me for being rude!"
"Wait..." It was a person dressed as a maid who stopped the call.
The two guards quickly put down their knives when they saw the maid. This maid was Yuzhu, the personal maidservant of Princess Changping. Although she was also a servant, her status was different from that of the guards. And her appearance was exactly the same as the one that Aunt Cui saw that day.
"Come with me." Yuzhu arrived.
Li glanced at the two guards in panic, then quickly followed Yuzhu into the mansion.
When they reached an open area, Yuzhu turned around and shouted, "Didn't I tell your mother-in-law that if the matter was successful, she would find someone to go to the restaurant to inform me? Why did you come to the Princess's Mansion so brazenly?"
Li didn't know about the various ties between her mother-in-law and the Princess's Mansion, but because of fear in her heart, her face turned pale, which matched what she said, "My mother-in-law was arrested by the people from the Jingji Prefecture Yamen early this morning. My husband and I went to see the people from the Yamen but they wouldn't let us. My mother-in-law hurriedly asked me to come to the Princess's Mansion to tell her that the Princess could save her."
Yuzhu thought about it and asked, "Who is the person sent out by Jingji Prefecture this time?"
Li said, "I heard people call him Master Lin."
That was Lin Xuanfeng. He was always decisive. If she took action, then Old Lady Cui would not be able to find someone to report the incident. So it seemed that she could only look for her family. Yuzhu nodded secretly, and said to Li coldly, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today. If what the princess did succeeds, your family will naturally enjoy endless wealth and glory."
Li was worried and asked, "What about my mother-in-law?"
Yuzhu said: "She won't die, just wait patiently at home."
Having said that, he no longer cared about Li and hurried into the house to report to Princess Changping.
Changping didn't doubt it at all after hearing the letter. After all, if it was discovered, it would be the family of the champion who stole the items of the palace, and the private items of the queen, and the whole family would be executed. Even if the Liu family found out, she was just worried about the theft of the items of the palace, so what could the Liu family do? Sitting on the sedan chair, Changping went straight to the Queen Pei in the palace.
At this time, the prince was having dinner with Empress Pei. When she saw Changping asking for an audience, Empress Pei waved her hand and asked the eunuch to invite her in.
The prince stood up and said, "My mother wants to see the lady, and I cannot stay here, so I will take my leave first." He bowed lightly and was about to leave.
Empress Pei's beautiful eyes fixed slightly, and she put down her chopsticks heavily, "Is it inconvenient to be here, or do you not want to see Changping?"
Then the prince's face, which was always full of charm and unrestrainedness, showed a bit of annoyance. If all girls were gentle and affectionate, he would like them, but Changping was a cold and poisonous snake with a soft voice. How could he smile at her? "Mother knows that you don't like Changping, but I didn't ask you to marry her." Queen Pei said, "She is just a little girl, but she has countless wealth in her hands. It's fine if you don't marry her, but if you push her into someone else's hands, I wonder what will happen to you in the future."
The prince's brows were uneasy, and at this time Changping had already walked in with the palace maids.
She was walking very fast at first, but when she saw the dark red robe corners in the room, she slowed down her pace and looked more graceful. After entering the inner hall, she first paid her respects to Empress Pei, and then to the Crown Prince who was sitting next to her.
"Cousin, get up quickly."
The prince was a famous handsome man in the capital, and he was very gentle and polite to her. Changping's face instantly turned red.
"Thank you, cousin."
Empress Pei had a light smile on her face and asked her to sit down. But the prince stood up at this moment, with an apologetic look on his face, "My cousin finally came to the palace, and I should have shown my hospitality, but now my father has something to discuss with me, so I have to ignore my cousin."
Princess Changping said hurriedly: "Of course it's business that's important, cousin, go quickly."
She vowed to be the prince's good wife and naturally would not hold him back on such matters. She just looked at his back with some reluctance.
It was not until Empress Pei coughed lightly that she came to her senses.
"You came to the palace without informing us in advance. You wouldn't be so rash in the past, but is there anything urgent?" asked Queen Pei.
Princess Changping replied: "Of course it's something important. Aunt, do you still remember the blood jade you gave me?"
Queen Pei asked suspiciously, "What happened to the blood jade?"
"The blood jade should be in the Liu family's warehouse now - no, it should be in the court of the Jingji Prefecture Government." As she said this, Princess Changping explained all her plans to Queen Pei.
But Empress Pei showed dissatisfaction. It was not because of the Liu family, but she felt unhappy that Changping used the things she rewarded her to make trouble.
"Aunt, I think this is a good opportunity," Changping said, "Others may not understand the emperor's temper, but you do. A few days ago, because of some rumors in Yuelu Academy and the court, he was forced to appoint Yang Zhengwen as the top scholar. How could he not be angry at all?"
"I plotted against the number one scholar, not just for myself," Changping slightly lowered his lips, "The number one scholar and Gu Yong are together. The emperor has long been dissatisfied with Gu Yong, but what happened a few days ago made it impossible for him to control Gu Yong. Now, aunt, you have given him a handle on Gu Yong, how can the emperor not be very happy?"
When Empress Pei heard this, she was filled with mixed feelings.
She was a stunning beauty who could give birth to a man as elegant and charming as the prince. But she didn't like to judge people by their looks. Changping's words had another meaning in her ears. Her belongings were lost. If Yang Zhengwen had stolen them, and Gu Yong wanted to protect him, at least she and Gu Yong would be in open opposition.
The emperor no longer had to be wary of her and the prince. Instead, she and the emperor temporarily stood on the same side.
"Yes, that's a good point."
——
Liu and Shen Qingqiu set out from two different directions and met at the palace gate.
When Liu saw her daughter, she hurried over and looked her up and down. "Your uncle has been busy with housework these past two days and didn't pay attention to you. Have you eaten well?" Shen Qingqiu agreed obediently.
Ah Xiu and Chen's mother followed slowly over.
Shen Qingqiu called her aunt sweetly again.
Ah Xiu's face turned red. She had just gotten married and was wearing light-colored red clothes. Her face was now flushed red, making her look even more beautiful than a flower.
"Go in quickly, this is not the place for you to chat!" the guard at the palace gate shouted coldly.
Shen Qingqiu glanced at them lightly. Ah Xiu was a little timid, having never seen such a scene before. She followed obediently into the palace with Liu, Jin Cai and other female relatives.
It was still morning time, and in the main hall, the emperor was furious about the theft in the palace.
The newly crowned number one scholar was kneeling on the ground, enduring the king's wrath.
"Your Majesty, there is no evidence in this case, and the Jingji Prefecture Office has not yet closed the case. If we draw a conclusion so early, it will inevitably lead to a miscarriage of justice." The speaker was Taifu Lin. He originally disliked the fact that Yang Zhengwen was a member of Gu Yong's party, but since Yang Zhengwen entered the Imperial Academy to study, he has come into contact with this young man.
It's rare to be so down-to-earth.
"Teacher Lin, this case was reported to you by your grandson Lin Xuanfeng!" The emperor threw the memorial to the eunuch next to him. "Do you think your grandson made the wrong judgment?"
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