Chapter 954 Duke Yong Died
Qin Yuru indeed met Prince Chen’s carriage at the intersection, but she didn’t have a chance to get close to it. She took a few steps forward, but a guard whipped her heavily to the ground and injured her face. Then, more guards rushed over and took her down before she could say a word.
Two guards with swords quickly caught her, one rudely stuffing her handkerchief into her mouth and the other tying her hands up together with a thick rope.
Mei Xue was so stunned when seeing the scene that she didn’t dare to show up. She hid behind the carriage and watched the guards from Prince Chen’s Mansion drag Qin Yuru away as if they were pulling a dead dog.
They didn’t take her to Prince Chen’s Mansion. Mei Xue followed them and saw the two guards drag Qin Yuru into the Ministry of Justice!
Many pa.s.sers-by also followed Qin Yuru till they reached the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, but none of them had ever noticed Mei Xue. They gossiped about it with curiosity and guessed which family Qin Yuru came from. “Ordinary families cannot afford those clothes!”
After Qin Yuru was dragged inside, Mei Xue was deep in a panic. She dared not stay there any longer. She rushed back to Duke Yong’s Mansion to ask Old Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion for help.
When reaching the gate, she b.u.mped into a servant, and they both fell to the ground.
The servant suddenly cried loud, “Duke... Duke Yong fell into the river and died!”
The doorman was startled. “Who... Who are you talking about?”
“Duke Yong! Hurry up and report to Old Madam and Countess Yong! Duke Yong had an accident! He... he fell into a river and drowned on his way home!” The servant panicked and burst into tears.
Mei Xue became limp, sitting on the ground and staring at Duke Yong’s Mansion in front of her. She felt hopeless now as much as she was looking forward to a happy life when Qin Yuru and she came back here.
“Even Duke Yong encountered bad things. Who else could help Miss’s business now?”
Duke Yong’s Mansion was indeed in continuous disasters. Scandals about them were exposed one by one.
First, Madam Di was burned to death in Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion by her biological daughter, Qin Yuru, the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion. Second, this First Miss Qin was actually the biological daughter of Grand Prince’s fourth son instead of Ningyuan Army General. Third, Duke Yong could not bear the blow and drowned in a river.
Of course, there were different versions of Duke Yong’s drowning. Some said that Duke Yong jumped into the river because he failed to go over the shock.
Others said that he was pushed into the water.
“Another event was also happening on the bank when Duke Yong pa.s.sed by the river. Someone was catching a thief, and lots of onlookers gathered to watch the scene and accidentally pushed some pa.s.sers-by into the river, including Duke Yong. But he was the only one who died in the accident! He had been dead when he was fished out of the water!”
“General Qin raised the daughter for more than ten years, but it turns out she is not his biological daughter! How ridiculous it is! That daughter even killed her mother, which has been confirmed by Old Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion...”
“Yes! Old Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion has the evidence. Qin Yuru is indeed not Qin Huaiyong’s biological daughter. Her real father was Chu Huairan!”
“It is also true that Qin Yuru killed her mother! When the murderer escaped to Prince Chen’s Mansion and wanted to threaten Princess Chen, she was taken down and directly sent to the Ministry of Justice by Prince Chen.”
“Once it is confirmed, she must be executed even if she is a n.o.ble lady!”
The Ministry of Justice executed prisoners after the autumn harvest.
There was also hearsay among people that Qin Yuru was about to tell Princess Chen a secret at that time, but Princess Chen didn’t want to hear it and drove her out.
“Why did Qin Yuru want to tell secrets to Princess Chen, with whom she was at odds? When Qin Yuru went to Grand Prince’s Mansion, she stayed there for a long time. Didn’t she talk to her biological father and grandfather about the secret? Grand Prince recognized her without hesitation, didn’t he?”
More and more people began to suspect Grand Prince, who rarely appeared in front of the public. “Did Qin Yuru really not tell him? What is the secret about?”
Cla.s.sified reports were sent to the Emperor one after one. Informed that Duke Yong once met some of his sons before he died, the Emperor flew into a rage and scolded those princes.
Chu Liuchen was not involved. He was in the Imperial Palace at that time, and the reports said Duke Yong had never been to Prince Chen’s Mansion.
Prince Yue and Commandery Prince Qing were the most suspicious. Their faces were swollen because the Emperor threw several indictment books on them.
As a spectator, Chu Liuchen did not care about the Emperor’s anger and didn’t speak until the Emperor ran out of the indictment books. “Duke Yong had a secret, Uncle the Emperor!”
The Emperor stopped his hand holding a book and looked at Chu Liuchen. “What secret?”
“I have no idea. I heard of it from Princess Chen, who heard about it from Qin Yuru. When Qin Yuru saw me return to my mansion, she rushed over and desperately wanted to talk with me. I think she knows what Duke Yong’s secret is. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so confident in front of us!” Chu Liuchen said casually.
Chu Liuchen was the only prince who wasn’t rebuked by the Emperor. Even Chu Liuzhou and Chu Liuxin couldn’t escape.
“Uncle the Emperor, Qin Yuru has rarely come back to Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion since she married into Duke Yong’s Mansion three years ago. If she knows some secrets, they must have something to do with Duke Yong’s Mansion. What kind of secret she thought could make me think highly of her?”
“What Qin Yuru thought would interest Chu Liuchen?” The Emperor couldn’t figure it out, but he knew it couldn’t be anything trivial. His cold eyes fell on Chu Liuyue and Chu Qing. “The two once met Duke Yong in secret, didn’t they?”
One was his son, and the other was his nephew!
“Qin Yuru didn’t get along well with Princess Chen in the past. She tried to kill Princess Chen several times and intended to s.h.i.+ft all her scandals to my princess. In such cases as these, I don’t think Qin Yuru would ask Princess Chen for help unless the secret she used to trade is something really serious!”
Chu Liuchen blinked his eyes and smiled slightly, calm and elegant.
However, Chu Liuyue’s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked down. It was the secret between him and Duke Yong! The secret was the reason why Duke Yong died.
“I cannot let Father know about this secret. Otherwise, I will be the next one who dies!” Chu Liuyue thought.
He clenched his fists and didn’t dare to speak. He just kept silent and lowered his head as if he had just been punished. No one knew how scared and worried he was at the moment. “How much does Qin Yuru know? Will she give me away?
“I should have sent someone to kill Qin Yuru at that time, so this s.l.u.t will never have a chance to ruin my plan!
“Has the invalid Chu Liuchen already known something?”
“Why not question Qin Yuru?” the Emperor thought for a moment and said coldly.
“I’m afraid it’s too late, Uncle the Emperor.” Chu Liuchen shook his head.
“How could it be too late?” The Emperor frowned.
“Uncle the Emperor, I am afraid that when she was making a scene in front of my mansion, lots of people, including the person behind, have heard something. She is now in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, but outside people still get access to her. You can no longer get anything from Qin Yuru!” Chu Liuchen shook his head with a smile.
The Ministry of Justice had strict rules, but criminals like Qin Yuru were allowed to meet families. What’s more, she didn’t commit any political crime. Anyone could meet her as long as they gave some money!
Qin Yuru must have been told to keep the secret! She was at such a dead end that it was useless to threaten her with even her life.
“Then what should we do?” The Emperor nodded and thought what Chu Liuchen said made sense. “I have never thought about such a situation.”
“Why not investigate Duke Yong’s Mansion directly, Uncle the Emperor? Since Qin Yuru could find it out there, you can too!” Chu Liuchen smiled.
Chu Liuyue was alarmed.
“Ransack Duke Yong’s Mansion!” The Emperor thought it was reasonable, so he slammed his hand on the table and gave the order at once. “I don’t believe that Duke Yong’s Mansion can keep the secret forever!”
People said Duke Yong’s death was either an accident or a suicide because he couldn’t bear the suffering. However, the Emperor didn’t buy such hearsay. It was so coincidental that he couldn’t help suspecting it.
The head of the Minister of Justice took the order and left. He was going to deal with the cases of Duke Yong’s Mansion.
“Your Majesty, Zhaoyi Di is kneeling outside!” Derong came in and whispered in the Emperor’s ear.
“Leave her alone!” The Emperor waved his hand coldly.
Derong didn’t dare to say anything more. He walked out of the Imperial Study, outside of whose door knelt a woman in thin clothes. She lowered her head and said nothing with a palace maid kneeling beside her. As soon as the palace maid saw Derong, she called in a pleading voice, “Mr. Derong!”
“You’d better go, Zhaoyi Di. I can’t ask His Majesty to do anything for you! I’m just a servant,” said Derong. The Emperor was in a bad mood so that no one could cry for mercy in front of him now.
“I’ll keep kneeling!” Zhaoyi Di raised her head and said with a haggard look. “How can I leave now after such things happened to my family?”
“It has nothing to do with you, Zhaoyi Di. It is all about the Eldest Young Madam of your mansion!” Derong also thought Qin Yuru was the main cause of everything bad. “She is simply a jinx. When she was in Qin’s Mansion, she brought misfortune to the Qin family and made people detest them! Now she was in Duke Yong’s Mansion and just did the same to the Di family.
“If His Majesty figures out something in Duke Yong’s Mansion, the entire Duke family might be over.”
Zhaoyi Di looked at Derong tearfully and said, “Derong, someone must plot against my brother. Please report to His Majesty that I need to talk with him!”
Derong hesitated for a moment and replied, “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, Zhaoyi Di. No one can help you in this!”
“It won’t put you in a difficult situation, Derong. I want to talk with him about Duke Yong’s Mansion. When my brother came to visit me the last time, he gave something to me. It may be useful for His Majesty,” Zhaoyi Di pled again.