Chapter 298 You Don’t Want It, Neither Do I
No one expected that Shen Qingchi would suddenly jump out and admit that it was he and Mo who drugged Marquis Qingyuan, and no one expected that Marquis Qingyuan would be so angry that he would strangle his own daughter to death in public.
After killing Shen Qingchi, Qingyuan Hou still felt unsatisfied. He picked up the sword nailed to the pillar and attacked Shen Qingyue and Shen Qingyu again: "Bitch, they and their mother are bitches, and you two are also bitches, die!"
Marquis Qingyuan looked insane and completely mad.
The guests were all frightened and fled in all directions. The officials from Jingzhao Prefecture were intimidated by his aura and did not dare to step forward for a while.
Shen Qingyu had already had difficulty moving due to a neck injury, and now he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he fell to the ground after running a few steps.
"The old man has gone crazy, second brother, save me!"
Shen Qingyu screamed, but Shen Qingyue had already run out of the hall. Seeing Qingyuan Hou coming towards him, Shen Qingyu was so scared that he wet his pants and fainted.
Fortunately, Shen Qingyuan took action in time and knocked Qingyuan Hou unconscious.
Seeing Li Mingde also hiding behind the crowd, Shen Qingyuan said unhappily: "Master Li, why don't you come to help? Are you waiting for him to wake up and continue killing people?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming right away."
In response, Li Mingde called the police, who first tied up Qingyuan Hou with ropes to prevent him from hurting anyone else, and then had Shen Qingyu carried away for treatment. Shen Qingchi's body was also carried away.
When the hall returned to silence, Li Mingde cautiously asked Shen Qingyuan, "Miss Shen has admitted that she and the late Madam drugged the Marquis. Can I close the case just like that?"
Shen Qingyuan said nothing and gave him a sharp look.
Li Mingde shrank his neck and quickly changed his words: "There is something fishy about this case. I will send someone to investigate right away."
Everything was caused by Yao Niang's poisoning and miscarriage, and the most obvious clue was the box of pastries.
Xing'er was already scared silly, and Li Mingde only asked her a few questions, and she confessed the truth, saying that she was the one who secretly poisoned the cakes.
Shen Qingyu gave her money and promised to marry her as his second wife. She was tempted and agreed to help frame Chunxi today.
With Xing'er's confession, Li Mingde directly ordered Shen Qingyu to be brought back to Jingzhao Prefecture for trial.
The doctor has confirmed that Marquis Qingyuan is infertile, and the identity of the child in Yaoniang's belly must be determined. However, it has been many years since Marquis Qingyuan was drugged, so it may not be easy to find out.
Li Mingde didn't know what to do, and Shen Qingyuan directly brought all the witnesses and evidence to him.
The poison was put in by Mrs. Mo. Although it was indeed in the dumplings made by Shen Qingchi, Shen Qingchi was only five years old at that time. Even if he knew that Mrs. Mo had put medicine in the dumplings, he might not understand what it was.
After hearing this, Li Mingde sighed, "It's a pity that Miss Shen is dead. It's meaningless to pursue these things now."
"Your Excellency is mistaken. Although Sister Chi'er is dead, she still has a daughter who is only one month old. If this case is not resolved clearly, what if this child takes after her mother? When she grows up, she is instigated by others and blames us. Wouldn't that cause a lot of trouble?"
Chunxi spoke in disapproval. As soon as she finished, Zhao Shi couldn't help but stand up and said, "Cao Chunxi, please explain clearly. This child is going to be raised in the Taifu Mansion. Who would instigate her to resent you?"
Chunxi said innocently, "Don't misunderstand, Auntie. I'm not talking about you. It's just that so many people saw what happened today, and it's inevitable that it will spread out. Word of mouth will distort the story as it spreads. What if someone whispers to this child in the future, saying that my husband and I forced her mother to death? Then my husband and I won't be able to explain ourselves, right?"
Chunxi spoke sincerely and did not bring up the Grand Tutor's Mansion. His concerns were reasonable.
Li Mingde immediately asked: "Then according to Mrs. Shen, how should this matter be resolved?"
Li Mingde dared to ask, and Chunxi dared to think. She thought carefully for a moment before speaking, "Although Sister Chi'er was young and ignorant back then, she concealed the truth for so many years, which led to today's tragedy. Even if she wasn't the mastermind behind poisoning my father-in-law, she is still guilty of shielding him, right?"
Li Mingde had no talent for solving cases. For the past ten years, he had relied on Shen Qingyuan to keep his position as prefect. Now that Shen Qingyuan had entered the Censorate, he was afraid that Shen Qingyuan would bring up old scores with him. After receiving the report, all he could think about was not to offend Shen Qingyuan.
Chunxi said that Shen Qingchi was guilty of harboring a criminal, so he naturally did not dare to refute and quickly agreed: "Madam is right."
Chunxi continued, "Since that's the case, please issue a notice to the entire city, explaining why Sister Chi'er died and what crime she committed. Also, please ask the Imperial Tutor's Mansion to write a letter of severance, stating that this child no longer has any connection with the Qingyuan Marquisate. In case this child is instigated by someone, we can produce it to prove her innocence."
Chunxi's concerns were justified, but upon hearing the words "severance letter," Zhao was furious: "This child also has the blood of the Marquisate flowing in her veins. Her mother just died, and not only are you posting notices throughout the city to ruin her mother's reputation, you're also severing ties with this child. Cao Chunxi, are you still human?"
Zhao was so excited that her saliva sprayed on Chunxi's face. She could not maintain the dignity and decorum of the eldest lady of the Taifu Mansion.
Chunxi silently took a step back and sighed, "Aunt, you just saw it. My father-in-law was furious about the extinction of his family line. He even wanted to kill my second and third brothers. I'm afraid he hates this child to the core. I asked for this letter of severance to protect this child."
Chunxi said this with good intentions. Zhao choked and suddenly felt a little scared when she thought of how Qingyuan Hou had just gone crazy and killed people.
What if one day the Marquis of Qingyuan goes crazy and breaks into the Taifu Mansion to kill people?
Moreover, the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion doesn’t even recognize this dead girl, so why does the Taifu Mansion still want to keep this child?
Although Shen Qingchi is dead, he was charged with the crime of poisoning his own father. Even if the Taifu Mansion gave her food to eat and raised this dead girl, she would be implicated and would not have a good marriage. She would not even be worthy of being a stepping stone for her future grandson.
If what Cao Chunxi said was right, this dead girl is an ungrateful wolf who can never be tamed. If she is instigated by others in the future, not only will she not be grateful for the Taifu Mansion's upbringing, but she will also turn the tables. Isn't that even more unfair?
The more Zhao thought about it, the more unlucky she felt. She couldn't help but shout, "Shen Qingchi plotted to murder her own father. Her heart is damnable. Our Taifu Mansion won't recognize such a daughter-in-law. Now that she's brought the child back to her parents' home, she has nothing to do with the Taifu Mansion anymore!"
Chunxi was just about to break off the engagement letter, and Zhao scolded her as a beast. Now that the Taifu Mansion wants to break off the engagement, Zhao speaks with confidence.
Yun Wantang couldn't help but persuade her, "Sister-in-law, too many things happened today. Let's go back home and discuss it with Mother before making a decision."
Chunxi followed up with her advice: "Yes, Auntie, this child is your own granddaughter. If you leave her in the Marquis' Mansion and something happens to her, won't you be heartbroken?"
Chunxi's expression and tone showed that she was eager to get rid of this hot potato. Zhao was even more afraid of getting into trouble. She glared at Yun Wantang angrily and said firmly, "Don't say anything. Unless I die, I will not let this child enter the Taifu Mansion again!"
With Li Mingde as witness, Zhao wrote a letter of severance on the spot.
After leaving the mansion and getting in the carriage, Yun Wantang said disapprovingly, "Sister-in-law, you were too impulsive today. Cao Chunxi actually cares about this child very much. She said those words on purpose to provoke you."
Zhao rolled her eyes at Yun Wantang in anger. "Fifth sister-in-law, you're so easy to talk about. If you hadn't insisted on helping with the plan, would the Taifu Mansion have been embarrassed along with Shen Qingchi? Moreover, at the age of five, Shen Qingchi helped her mother give her own father a potion that would kill him. If she hadn't been in trouble today, who knows if she would have done the same to Xian'er in the future?"
Yun Wantang: “…”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
