Chapter 86: Everyone Goes Wrong
In Chengming Hall, the Emperor of Southern Qi sat high on the throne, waiting for the suspects and victims to arrive.
Fu Chen carried Tang Ying in and put her on the ground. Tang Ying then lay down on the blanket and said weakly, "Your Majesty, your Majesty, I kowtow to you!" She supported her shaky body and kowtowed to the Emperor of Southern Qi three times in a row. She could not get up after that. It was Fu Chen who supported her so that she did not completely lie down on the blanket.
The Emperor of Southern Qi was so overwhelmed by her three kowtows that he dared not even breathe, and he repeatedly tried to stop her: "Good child, get up quickly, you are not feeling well, come and give me a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat." Tang Ying tried to stand up by supporting herself on the carpet, but failed several times. Fu Chen then looked at the Emperor of Southern Qi for instructions.
"Mr. Fu, help Miss Tang up quickly."
Fu Chen half supported and half carried her to the chair. The palace servant was quite considerate. What they brought was not a drum stool, but an official hat chair with armrests and backrests. Tang Ying leaned on the chair with her dying breath. After taking a few deep breaths, she said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy. I... I have struggled to survive among the dead. This life... cough cough cough, this life should have followed my father and brother long ago. But I will not close my eyes in death..." Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her pale cheeks. She said sadly, "I don't know who wants to kill me. I... I will not close my eyes in death!"
After she said a few words, she began to gasp for breath. She was already thin and pale, and her little appearance as she wiped her tears with a handkerchief was so pitiful.
The little girl who was full of life and able to shoot arrows a few days ago actually went to the underworld and came back half alive. The Emperor of Southern Qi didn't know what the civil and military officials would say if this news got out.
"Don't be afraid, I'll take care of everything!"
Not long after, Yao Niang and her men brought in a middle-aged palace maid. Tang Ying looked over and saw that it was indeed the palace maid who brought her food that day. Although he was now wearing eunuch's clothes and his facial features were slightly different from now, she knew very well that good makeup skills were equivalent to head-changing skills. However, the people in the Film Department were not as good as those in later generations. And it was said that Xin Niang, who poisoned the woman, was a scientific researcher and did not bother to spend time on feminine makeup, so he was easily recognized.
Yao Niang forced her to kneel down and reported to the Southern Qi Emperor: "Your Majesty, the suspect was found in an empty cart carrying vegetables out of the palace. She tried to sneak out by disguising herself as a eunuch going out of the palace to buy groceries. Fortunately, the inspections outside the palace have not been relaxed recently, so she was able to fulfill her mission!"
Emperor of Southern Qi: "Have you found out the identity of the suspect?"
Yao Niang seemed to be in a dilemma: "This——"
"Why not?"
Yao Niang quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the suspect is...Xin Niang, who is by the side of the Grand Princess, and is good at making medicine and poison."
The Southern Qi Emperor showed no emotion, he just asked Tang Ying: "Little girl, do you recognize her?"
Tang Ying leaned back in her chair and glanced at Xin Niang, her voice as light as a mosquito: "Your Majesty, it was this aunt who brought me the meal that day. She said at the time..." She coughed twice before continuing: "She said she would collect the dishes after I finished eating. She was originally waiting for me to finish eating, but Lord Fu invited me to have barbecue with his colleagues in the department. I only ate half of it, and I was lucky enough to escape with my life. I don't know how much hatred I have with this aunt that made her want to kill me?"
What she asked was exactly what the Emperor of Southern Qi wanted to know.
"Xin Niang, let me ask you, why did you poison Tang Ying?"
Xin Niang has served the Grand Princess for many years and obeyed her master's orders, but at this moment she knelt on the ground and said nothing.
The Southern Qi Emperor did not expect that the Grand Princess would send someone to poison Tang Ying: "Someone, go and call the Grand Princess over."
Since the eldest princess sent someone to tell the second prince a message, the other party also sent people to deliver messages from time to time, and soon they discussed a way to send Xin Niang out. As soon as she sent her out, the eunuch came to summon . She hurriedly packed up and stepped into Chengming Hall, where she saw Xin Niang kneeling below and Tang Ying sitting on a chair with a pale face.
——The little bitch is not dead? !
The eldest princess' eyes were almost filled with anger. What a tough girl!
She suppressed her emotions and went forward to pay her respects to the emperor. After the Southern Qi emperor gave her a seat, he pointed at the kneeling Xin Niang and said, "Sister, do you know that Tang Yao's daughter was almost poisoned to death? The suspect was someone close to you, so I summoned you to ask about it."
The eldest princess immediately thought of a countermeasure: "The one kneeling is indeed someone close to me, Xin Niang. But I didn't ask her to poison Tang Yao's daughter. I asked her to investigate Yao Niang's treason. I don't know how this happened."
Yao Niang raised her head slowly. The guillotine that had been hanging over her head for a long time finally fell. Perhaps it was because the torment lasted too long that she did not feel it was difficult or shocking at the moment. "The Grand Princess is investigating my treason. I wonder if she has found any results?"
"You have to ask yourself that." The Grand Princess threw the question to her easily.
Yao Niang smiled bitterly and said, "I have worked diligently in the Imperial Cavalry Department and have been loyal to Your Majesty and Southern Qi. I wonder how the Grand Princess can be accused of treason?"
The eldest princess took out a round object from her sleeve and threw it at her feet: "Can you see for yourself?"
The Southern Qi Emperor's eyes followed the rolling object, and there was a thunderous look in his eyes, and he was intimidating without being angry: "Yao Niang, can you tell me what this is?"
Yao Niang picked up something from the ground. After all these years, she could still remember the patterns on it. She had already foreseen her own ending. She could neither be completely loyal to the emperor nor get rid of the control of the Grand Princess and gain her freedom.
"Isn't this the devilish ball that the Prince of Nanyue lost?" Since the Grand Princess is not afraid of falling out, all she has at stake is her life.
"Many years ago, the Grand Princess sent me to Nanyue to carry out a mission. It was because the then King of Nanyue, Zhao Dechang, was ambitious and had the intention of becoming an enemy of our Southern Qi. He even stationed 100,000 troops on the border. At that time, the war in the north of our Southern Qi was in full swing, so the Grand Princess sent me to Nanyue to alienate the relationship between Zhao Dechang and his ministers, and it would be best if she could pick someone who was pro-Southern Qi. I went through a lot of trouble to pick Zhao Jiang, Zhao Dechang's most trusted brother, who is now the King of Nanyue. I used all my tricks to enter Zhao Jiang's mansion and married Zhao Jiang, which made Zhao Jiang rebellious and alienated Zhao Dechang. After completing the mission, I returned to Southern Qi."
When everyone in the palace heard her talk about the past, they knew how difficult it was at the time. A war was stopped by a woman. Even the Emperor of Southern Qi still remembered it: "At the time, the treasury was empty and the north was constantly at war. Southern Qi could not bear the attack from both sides , so it was forced to do so."
Yao Niang said sarcastically, "This matter can be regarded as a great achievement of my half-life in the Imperial Cavalry Department, which led to my promotion to the position of Chief of the Imperial Cavalry Department. How could the Grand Princess be so forgetful? It was you who sent the mission in the beginning, and it was you who later promoted me to the position of Chief. It hasn't been long since you left the Imperial Cavalry Department, how could you forget so quickly?"
The eldest princess said coldly: "I haven't forgotten, but I'm afraid you, Yao Niang, can't forget it either." She turned to the Southern Qi Emperor and said: "Your Majesty, you don't know that Yao Niang had a son with Zhao Jiang, who is now the Crown Prince Zhao Ji. This is a different time. She was determined and loyal to Your Majesty and Southern Qi at the beginning, but now her husband is enjoying the glory in Nanyue, and it is hard to guarantee that she will not be tempted."
Yao Niang: "So the Grand Princess is charging me with treason based on speculation?"
The shadow guard was his confidant. The Emperor of Southern Qi really didn't know that Yao Niang actually had a son in Nanyue who would inherit the title of king in the future. His eyes couldn't help but glance at Yao Niang.
Yao Niang smiled bitterly.
She had expected this day to come ever since the Ghost Ball was stolen.
She knelt straight and said, "Your Majesty, do you also suspect that I have treasonous intentions?"
Emperor of Southern Qi: "You are overthinking, Yao Qing. You have been in the Imperial Cavalry Division for many years and have performed your duties conscientiously. How could I doubt you?"
The Nanyue people were different from the vassal kings in various places of the Southern Qi Dynasty. They were all of royal bloodline, and two Yuan characters could not be written with one stroke.
Nanyue was originally an independent small country. During the previous dynasty, the two countries fought each other. Nanyue was defeated by the famous generals of the previous dynasty and was almost destroyed. After that, it surrendered and paid tribute every year. Later, the founding emperor of the Southern Qi Dynasty suppressed the chaos at the end of the previous dynasty and unified the world. Nanyue then became a vassal state of the Southern Qi Dynasty.
After the establishment of the Southern Qi Dynasty, there were also unusual movements in Nanyue. The Southern Qi Dynasty sent troops to suppress them. Then it was the turn of the previous King of Nanyue, Zhao Dechang. This man was ambitious and had a rebellious heart. This is why Yao Niang was tasked with going to Nanyue.
Yao Niang said: "Since the day I left Nanyue, I voluntarily severed ties with Zhao Jiang and his son, and have not had any contact for many years. The Grand Princess not only had people steal Prince Zhao's personal belongings, but also intended to frame me for treason. I ask Your Majesty to take charge and clear my name!" She knelt on the ground and refused to get up.
"So the stolen Ghost Ball by Prince Zhao is in the hands of the Grand Princess? This incident has caused unrest in the Jingzhao Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Cavalry Department, and it's still an unsolved case. A woman even died because of it. Your Highness, who works in the Ministry of Justice, must have been involved in this case, right?" Fu Chen asked the Fourth Prince casually.
Yuan Jian is an honest man!
His second brother had said that he was an honest man, and honest people speak very sincerely: "Father, this is just as Lord Fu said. The theft of the ghost ball caused a woman to die in the inner prison. Since the ball is in the hands of the Grand Princess, is the woman's death also related to the Grand Princess?"
Emperor of Southern Qi: "Imperial sister——"
The eldest princess said proudly, "That was to investigate Yao Niang. I was afraid that she had connections with the King of Nanyue, so I had to take action. As for that woman, she had nothing to do with me. Who knows how she died in the inner prison? Maybe she couldn't stand the torture, so she put the blame on me. Your Majesty must understand this clearly!"
It was really like the husband saying that he was right, and the wife saying that she was right. The two sides were about to quarrel, and the Emperor of Southern Qi could not help but frowned: "Shut up!"
The palace was completely quiet, but a weak voice was heard: "May I ask the Grand Princess, why did you send someone to kill me when you investigated Aunt Yao for treason?"
Aren’t we going to interrogate the suspect who poisoned her today?
Dear friends, you are getting off topic!
