Chapter 43 Yun Jiaoyue gets beaten and returns to her parents' home in grievance.
The Duke of Wei was the Empress's brother, and Wei Bao was her nephew. When her nephew committed murder and was brought before the Emperor, she had no choice but to intervene.
"Your Majesty, I (your humble servant) pay my respects."
Your Majesty, "No need for formalities."
The Duke of Wei dared not rise and continued kneeling, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister has something to report."
"Granted."
"Your Majesty, my son Wei Bao was acting erratically after returning to the mansion from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. He was tearing at his clothes and complaining of being hot. He then took off his clothes and jumped into the lake to bathe. The imperial physician discovered that he had been given Five Stone Powder. My son was poisoned, which is why he accidentally killed Qin Hu."
Those who take Wushi Powder possess boundless strength.
"Even if Wei Bao took the Five-Stone Powder, he cannot escape being the murderer who harmed my son. I beg Your Majesty to allow Wei Bao to pay with his life to comfort my son's spirit in heaven." Prime Minister Qin kowtowed heavily.
The Empress advised him, "Prime Minister Qin, please accept my condolences. Wei Bao is not the real murderer. The murderer is someone else. If you want to avenge your son, you should find the mastermind behind it and let your son rest in peace."
After a moment of contemplation, the Emperor said, "Imprison Wei Bao first, and order the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate who is behind him before making a final decision."
The Duke of Wei had only one legitimate son, whom he intended to pass on the title to. Unable to bear seeing his son imprisoned, he pleaded again, "Your Majesty, my son is indeed a bit spoiled, but he is cowardly. He wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken normally, and he faints at the sight of blood. How could he dare to kill someone? According to his attendants, after pushing the person down the stairs, my son laughed maniacally, which is exactly the symptom of being poisoned by Five-Stone Powder. The imperial physicians can also testify to this..."
That spoiled brat, he's probably going to die once he's in jail.
Your Majesty, "Duke of Wei, you also have a son, so please understand the grief of Prime Minister Qin in losing his son."
The Duke of Wei was a relative of the emperor's wife, and the Great Zhou Dynasty was worried that relatives of the emperor's wife would interfere in politics, so the Wei family only held official positions but had no real power.
Prime Minister Qin was the emperor's right-hand man. He was perceptive and capable, and the emperor could understand seven or eight parts of his thoughts with just a glance.
Prime Minister Qin was satisfied with the result. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
He will investigate himself, and if there is no mastermind behind it, then it was Wei Bao who killed him.
The prison was rudimentary and equipped with various forms of torture, making it incredibly easy to kill a spoiled brat.
Not everyone is Xiao Xuance, who is wanted dead by several forces, including the imperial court and enemy states, yet he seems to be able to survive, like a cunning fox with nine lives.
The Empress and the Duke of Zhenguo still wanted to plead with the Emperor.
The Emperor waved his hand and said, "It's getting late, I'm tired, you may all return."
...
The third prince was kicked and was arranged to spend the night in the palace.
When I left the palace to return home in the morning, the gate was wide open and there were no guards. A bad feeling welled up in my heart. Could something have happened?
As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he bumped into several guards who were on their way to the palace to look for him. They saw him and shouted excitedly, "Your Highness, Your Highness is back!"
A maid rushed into the courtyard and told Yun Jiaoyue the good news, "Your Highness, His Highness has returned."
Yun Jiaoyue went to the front yard to greet him, "Your Highness, you're finally back. I was worried about you all night."
At this moment, the steward rushed over and said urgently, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Prince's mansion has been emptied by thieves."
"Empty-out? What does that mean?"
"The storerooms and your private treasury are empty, and the food from the wedding banquet is also gone."
The Third Prince was gloating when he learned that the Prime Minister Qin's residence had been emptied, but he never expected that it would happen to him.
The Third Prince cursed angrily, "Damn it! Who did this? Once I find the culprit, I will tear him apart by five horses and chop his bones to feed the dogs!"
His sharp gaze swept over Yun Jiaoyue.
Yun Jiaoyue shook her head in fright, "...I don't know either."
Zhao Xuan's temples throbbed with anger. He glared at her fiercely and questioned, "When I entered the palace, I told you to guard the palace well. The mansion has been emptied out, and you know nothing about it. Is this your guarantee to me?"
"Your Highness..."
Yun Jiaoyue had never seen him so angry with her before; his face was contorted with rage, as if he wanted to kill her.
The third prince raised his hand and slapped it across the face. "Smack!"
"Ah!" Yun Jiaoyue's face was slapped to the side, and she covered her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Your Highness, I...I was worried about you last night, so I prayed for you before Consort Xian's memorial tablet. None of the guards patrolling the manor noticed, so how could I have known? Waaah..."
She felt wronged after being slapped for no reason, and looked at the man with teary eyes, wanting his comfort.
As long as he coaxes her, she will not hold a grudge against the slap.
The Third Prince had no interest in paying him any attention and ordered his strategist to summon the retainers of the mansion to the study for a meeting.
Yun Jiaoyue, "..."
Why?
Why is this happening?
In their past life, they were newlyweds, and he doted on her, never daring to say a harsh word to her, let alone lay a finger on her.
In this life, he hit her on the second day after their marriage and ran back to the Marquis of Yunyang's mansion in a fit of anger.
In the study, the Third Prince learned from the strategist that the food from the wedding banquet had been thrown into a dilapidated temple in the south of the city.
They sent men to arrest the two beggars and question them.
On the street, the beggars vividly described to passersby what they had seen and heard the previous night when Lord Guan brought them "food".
Speaking of the highlights...
The fascinated crowd cheered loudly and put silver into the beggar's broken bowl. In no time, the chipped bowl was filled with copper coins and silver scraps.
"Great!! That was wonderful! Tell us more, what happened next?"
At that moment, it was as if they were no longer beggars, but storytellers.
The beggar described the figure's shape, clothing, and spear to everyone...
Suddenly someone exclaimed, "No, no, Lord Guan uses the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, the Prince of Zhenbei uses a spear, and the Xiao family spear is famous throughout the world, so the person you're talking about is—the Prince of Zhenbei!"
"Huh? It's the Prince of Zhenbei? Wasn't the Prince of Zhenbei dead?"
"It's the Prince of Zhenbei. His ghost has returned. He's come back to avenge himself. Those ministers whose homes were emptied were the murderers who killed him?"
Prime Minister Qin, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Liu, Minister of Justice Li, and Censor Chen... were all the presiding judges in the interrogation of Prince Xiao.
At this moment, several guards came over and rudely pushed aside the crowd of onlookers, shouting, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
When the crowd saw that they were wearing official robes, they thought they had said something they shouldn't have and were about to be arrested, so they scattered in all directions.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
The beggar sensed that the visitor was hostile and seemed to be after him. He tried to escape in the chaos, but then remembered that he hadn't taken the silver. He went back to get it, but before he could run away, a sword was held to his neck.
"Run, let's see where you can run to."
The guard snatched the silver from the beggar's pocket and threw it to the ground with a "bang!"
Copper coins and broken silver were scattered all over the ground.
"Money, my money..." The beggar jumped up and down in a panic, bending down to pick it up.
"Our master wants to see you. Come with us." Two guards each grabbed one of his arms and dragged him away.
The beggar turned back, staring at the money on the ground, crying and shouting, "Let me pick up the money first! It's money I worked so hard to earn..."
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