The whole audience was shocked.
During today's trial, they thought of many possibilities, but they never thought that Gao Zhenzhen would plead guilty so easily.
Nangong Yu suspected that he had heard wrongly: "Zhenzhen, what are you talking about?"
"Interesting." Xuanyuan Qi suddenly became interested.
Gao Zhenzhen tried hard to hold back the tears in her eyes, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the tears began to fall.
"Your Highness, thank you so much for taking care of me over the past six months. Zhenzhen has no way of repaying you. I wish you and Miss Ling happiness, and I also wish the eldest princess all her wishes come true."
She wiped away her tears, looked at Yuan Zhengqing, and spoke clearly word by word:
"Master Yuan, it was me who hinted to Zhang that as long as she could control Ling Xiang with poison, she could reap countless benefits from her. It was also because I was worried that Zhang would betray me that I sent my maid Xiaohong to silence her."
"As far as I know, Xiaohong has not been with you for long. Why did you choose to send Xiaohong to do such an important thing? Aren't you afraid that she will betray you?" Yuan Zhengqing questioned.
Only by clarifying every doubt can he avoid wrongly accusing a good person and letting a bad person go. This is his principle in handling cases.
Gao Zhenzhen smiled and said, "The reason I chose Xiaohong is because she was sent by the eldest princess. She has been with me for a short time. Even if she is exposed, I can blame everything on others. This is all my fault. Zhenzhen only asks for death. Please grant my wish!"
"That sounds reasonable, but it doesn't actually make sense." Ling Xiang didn't understand. "Miss Gao, aren't you worried that Xiaohong might not agree with you? Let me tell you, all the maids in my room were Zhang Qian's spies before, and I was bullied by them a lot back then."
"You're right. We do have to be careful of people given by others." Xuanyuan Qi agreed.
Gao Zhenzhen said, "Miss Ling, I'm not you. You're just an orphan, and no one in the mansion cares about you. But I have the prince's full care."
Ling Xiang was silent, with an expression that said, "I'm speaking for you, but you're hurting my heart."
Nangong Yu couldn't accept this result: "Zhenzhen, why are you doing this?"
Gao Zhenzhen looked at Nangong Yu greedily: "For the prince, it's worth it."
"Gao Zhenzhen murdered Ling Xiang, the evidence is irrefutable..."
Yuan Zhengqing slammed the gavel and was about to close the case when his accomplice Zhang Qian suddenly interrupted him:
"Wait a minute! Master Yuan, Gao Zhenzhen is lying! She's shielding the mastermind behind this!"
No one expected that Zhang would go back on her word again.
Yuan Zhengqing slammed the gavel again: "Zhang Qian! In this court, how can you keep going back on your word and treating this court as if it were nothing! If you dare to make false confessions again, this government will not let you off lightly!"
Nangong Yu saw a turning point and immediately said, "Zhang! Tell us everything you know!"
"Before, I was stupid and let others scheme against me. Today, even if I die, I will never tell lies again!" Zhang Qian stroked her belly and said firmly,
"Master Yuan, poisoning Ling Xiang was my own idea, not anyone else's! The reason I suddenly attacked Gao Zhenzhen earlier was because I was under the instructions of the eldest princess to frame her. The eldest princess promised me that if I succeeded in framing Gao Zhenzhen, she would ensure my safe departure from Shuntian Prefecture."
Yuan Zhengqing sternly said, "How dare you! Do you know that slandering the emperor's relatives is not only a capital offense, but also a serious crime that will bring disaster to your entire family!"
Zhang Qian was also determined: "I swear to heaven, every word I just said is true! If not, may the heavens strike me with lightning and I die a miserable death!"
Nangong Yu slammed the table and said, "How dare you! You actually slandered my Queen Mother!"
When the matter involves members of the royal family, it's not so simple. Even someone as righteous as Yuan Zhengqing would have to think twice. "Your Highness, Prince Qin, calm down. Since Zhang dares to swear, let's hear what evidence she has."
Zhang Qian pointed to the maid Xiaohong who was kneeling beside her:
"She's the evidence! She's the eldest princess's woman! Before she poisoned me, she had already given me the antidote. My poison looks scary, but it didn't actually hurt me at all. Otherwise, the child in my belly would never be safe and sound."
Xiaohong hadn't expected Zhang Qian to actually betray the princess. She panicked for a moment and quickly said, "Nonsense! Gao Zhenzhen clearly ordered me to do this! The princess has nothing to do with it!"
"You're lying!" Zhang Qian cried out. "Master Yuan, I have evidence! I once asked Xiaohong why she risked her life so much. Isn't she afraid of losing her life? Xiaohong told me that the safety of her family rests in the hands of the princess, and she has no choice! As long as you find Xiaohong's family, the truth will be revealed!"
As luck would have it, just last night, Yuan Zhengqing received news from Xiaohong's family, which came from the Dali Temple.
Yuan Zhengqing looked at Xiaohong and said, "I received news yesterday that your family members are gone."
Xiao Hong was as if struck by lightning: "Sir, what did you say?"
"Yesterday, a gangster attacked and killed everyone in your family."
"How could this happen?" Xiaohong couldn't accept it.
At this moment, a man covered in wounds walked in from outside, rushing into Shuntian Mansion regardless of everything. "I am the witness's elder brother! I have something important to tell you, sir!"
"Let him in!" Yuan Zhengqing ordered, and the man was brought in.
The man's face was pale and the injuries on his body were shocking.
He knelt down in front of Yuan Zhengqing with difficulty and kowtowed hard:
"Please, Lord Yuan, help me!"
"Who are you? What is your grievance? Please tell me in detail."
"I'm Yang Xiaogang, Yang Xiaohong's eldest brother. About half a month ago, a group of mysterious people took us away, saying it was arranged by my eldest sister. They were all armed with knives, and we didn't dare to resist, so we had no choice but to follow them.
"At the beginning, they were really nice to us, except for not letting us leave, they satisfied us with everything.
But just yesterday, they suddenly brought us back home. We were quite happy at first, but as soon as we got home, they raised their knives and chopped us down!"
"My parents are dead, my brother and sister-in-law are dead too. I was lucky. I was stabbed several times, but luckily I survived." Yang Xiaogang asked Xiaohong with a painful expression, "Sister, who did you offend? Why did he want to kill us all?"
At this moment, facing the questioning of her elder brother, Xiaohong was so surprised that she didn't react.
"Big sister! If the person behind this knew I was still alive, he wouldn't let me go! Are you still going to protect him? Do you want to watch your brother get killed?" Yang Xiaogang struggled to get to Xiaohong and shook her hard, "Big sister, wake up! He's not worth your life! Our parents can't die in vain! We have to avenge them!"
At this moment, Xiaohong's faith collapsed...
"Why? Why did you lie to me? Ah!"
"Who lied to you?" Yuan Zhengqing asked immediately.
Xiaohong screamed in agony for a long time, venting her grief. She looked at Yang Xiaogang in despair, "Brother, were your parents and your sister-in-law really killed by the people who took you away?"
Yang Xiaogang gritted his teeth: "It's them!"
"Haha, hahaha!" Xiaohong was extremely desperate. "Princess! I even gave up my life for you, but you went back on your word and wanted to kill my whole family! You really have a cruel heart!"
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