bayedsolid Chapter 115 The Empress is Furious
Chapter 115 The Empress is Furious
Following Emperor Wen's order, the atmosphere in the Prime Minister's Mansion instantly became solemn. Everyone held their breath and didn't dare to make a sound. The Third Prince lowered his head, secretly complaining in his heart. It was obvious that someone was setting a trap to harm him!
The Minister of Justice Zhang Liu said in a panic, "Your Majesty! Ever since the Eighth Princess married into our house, our humble family has been very polite and caring to her, and we dare not neglect her in the slightest! Now that the Eighth Princess has unfortunately contracted this hysterical disease, I am extremely worried, but I am afraid of disturbing the princess's body, so I have to arrange for her to recuperate in peace in the house. I can swear to heaven that our Zhang family has no intention of harming the princess, please understand your majesty!"
The prince retorted angrily: "Humph! How can you, the Zhang family, make up whether Caiwei suffers from hysteria? This matter must be thoroughly investigated!" His eyes were full of anger and unwillingness.
Emperor Wen frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then ordered: "Well, in this case, let the wise prince lead the imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital to go together, and make sure to get to the bottom of this matter." After saying that, Emperor Wen glanced at the fourth prince and the fifth prince who were standing aside, only to see them watching the dispute between the crown prince and the third prince with expressionless faces, as if they were indifferent to it.
Everyone had their own plans, and the Minister of Justice Zhang Liu was extremely nervous, his hands hidden in his sleeves kept shaking. You know, the Eighth Princess and her two maids had been under house arrest in the backyard of Zhang's mansion, and there were many maids and guards guarding them.
Now these two maids broke into the Prime Minister's Mansion with wounds all over their bodies. It was obvious that someone was behind all this. Who could it be? If you think about it carefully, the biggest beneficiary of this matter is the prince! Could it be that the prince really set up this trap?
It must be said that the prince's move was extremely clever! He had ignored the Eighth Princess before, but now he chose to interfere with the coming-of-age ceremony of his future Crown Princess, and in front of the Emperor, Empress, and many ministers, he directly pointed the finger at the Third Prince!
In this way, not only can the Third Prince be put in a passive situation, but he can also show his wisdom and decisiveness. It seems that this palace struggle is becoming more and more complicated...
Not long after, the virtuous king hurried back with his guards and the imperial physician. The eighth princess was carefully carried into the palace on a soft chair. Behind them, a group of escorted maids and guards followed closely.
The soft chair fell gently to the ground, and everyone's eyes were focused on the eighth princess - Chu Caiwei's breath was weak and her face was frighteningly pale.
Upon seeing this, the Queen Mother rushed towards the Eighth Princess with a sad face, crying, "My child! Zhang Liu, how dare you treat His Majesty and my precious daughter like this! You deserve to die!" Her voice was full of grief and pain, which was very moving.
Her face was covered with tears. She looked at Emperor Wen in grief and said in a choked voice, "Your Majesty! Caiwei is our daughter! She is the child you hold in your hands, cherish and treat as a treasure! Now she has been killed by such a vicious hand and has been harmed so miserably! Your Majesty! Are you just going to ignore it?"
Emperor Wen's face became increasingly gloomy. He clenched his fists tightly, and stared at Zhang Liu, who was kneeling on the ground, with eyes as sharp as knives. Zhang Liu was already shaking with fear at this time. He kowtowed in fear and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please understand! My family is loyal to the Eighth Princess and has no intention of harming her! There must be a misunderstanding... I am really wronged! I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly and clear my name!"
"Framed? Zhang Liu! Open your dog eyes and see!" The virtuous king was furious, his eyes wide open, as if he was about to spit fire, his voice was deafening, echoing throughout the palace. Everyone was shocked, and they all looked at the virtuous king and Zhang Liu beside him.
The virtuous king took a deep breath and tried to calm his anger, but his hands were still shaking slightly. He carefully lifted up the sleeve of the eighth princess Chu Caiwei, fearing that he would hurt her.
Everyone present gasped when they saw the scene. Chu Caiwei's fair and tender arms were covered with hideous whip marks, some of which had healed and scarred, while others were still bleeding, obviously from being whipped. The new and old scars intertwined, shocking.
After Zhang Liu saw this horrific scene, his face turned pale as paper, and his body collapsed to the ground as if he had lost support. He looked at the emperor in horror, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty! I swear to heaven that I have never whipped the Eighth Princess! Your Majesty is wise! Someone must have deliberately framed us, please make the decision!"
His voice was full of despair and pleading, tears rolled down his cheeks, and he looked very pitiful. However, at this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense, and no one dared to believe his words easily.
Emperor Wen's face was extremely gloomy, and his eyes were flashing with rage. He roared, "Immediately arrest everyone in the Zhang Mansion and escort them to the Dali Temple! Strictly investigate! At the same time, place the third prince Chu Chengyan under house arrest and do not allow him to step out of the palace!"
The Queen Mother burst into tears, hugged the Eighth Princess tightly in her arms, and said with great sorrow: "It's all my fault! It was my fault that I didn't protect you well! Your Majesty, please punish the person who gave Caiwei the aphrodisiac!"
Emperor Wen frowned, his face still full of anger. He said sternly, "Wise King! I order you to lead the Imperial Guards to fully assist the Dali Temple and thoroughly investigate what happened on the birthday banquet! You must get to the bottom of it and give justice to the Eighth Princess!"
All the officials present were silent and the atmosphere was extremely heavy and depressing. Things had developed to such a point, how could the Queen and the Crown Prince easily let go of this great opportunity! It was foreseeable that Zhang Liu, the Minister of Justice, would find it difficult to keep his position. Once he was accused of the serious crime of murdering the heir to the throne, the entire Zhang family would probably face a catastrophe!
The third prince's capable general was killed by the crown prince so easily!
Li Jingshu's coming-of-age ceremony had to be hastily concluded. The Fourth Prince sneered and said to the Fifth Prince beside him, "The Crown Prince is really smart! In order to eradicate the Zhang family, he can even abandon his own sister!"
The fifth prince was dismissive and snorted with contempt: "Who set up this game is still unknown! We have watched enough of this show, Brother Four! How about we go and watch the singing and dancing together?"
When the Fourth Prince heard this, the images of the Fifth Prince's male favorites making coquettish gestures immediately emerged in his mind. He immediately got goose bumps all over his body and quickly waved his hand to refuse, saying, "I have something important to attend to, so I'll take my leave first!" After saying this, he turned and left.