"Is this true, Minister Qu?" the emperor asked calmly.
"Your Majesty, I really don't know. Yesterday, I had an argument with Duke Qi outside the palace gate. After returning home, my mother told me about it. Then my mother asked me to send her to the Supreme Court to investigate the matter. After that, I hurried back to the palace. When I returned home at night, I was already asleep. When I entered the palace this morning, I was still asleep. I don't know the specific situation."
Qu Zhizhen replied respectfully.
This naturally means that he was busy with state affairs. On the other hand, it also shows his clarity of mind. The fact that he did not go to see the prisoner shows his frankness and is the biggest refutation to the saying that he favored his concubine and killed his wife.
Sensing that the Emperor's gaze was on him, Qu Zhizhen became even more cautious, his demeanor respectful yet a little apprehensive, most adapted to his current situation.
Serving the country and the people, but forgetting to take care of the family!
"What does Minister Qu have to say about this?" The emperor finally spoke again.
The sweat on Qu Zhizhen's back subsided a little. He knew that he was right to leave in a hurry yesterday. He said righteously: "Your Majesty, if Yu really did such a thing, I will never compromise. It is not tolerated by family law, and it is even more not tolerated by national law!"
"Does Minister Qu want to go to the Dali Temple to personally inquire about this matter?" the emperor asked again.
"I dare not. I have my own things to do. Besides, I am the Minister of Works. I cannot handle the affairs of the Ministry of Works, so how can I interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Justice?" Qu Zhizhen said.
Although the Dali Temple is another government office, it is also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice to a certain extent.
The emperor was quite satisfied with Qu Zhizhen's answer and waved his hand, "In that case, get up!"
"Yes!" Qu Zhizhen stood up and stepped onto the steps again. He felt a little relieved. A sinister look flashed in his lowered eyes. If he had known that Yu would ruin his own plans, he would never have let Yu enter his home. Later, he would not have been so soft-hearted as to let Yu become his principal wife for the sake of his two children.
The Yu family is really not a good person!
Now that the matter has been almost resolved, the Emperor asked the Dali Temple to investigate the matter itself. A fire suddenly broke out out of nowhere, and it happened inside the Dali Temple. The most likely culprit was an internal spy. Lord Zhang, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, was reprimanded. Fortunately, the prisoner was fine, otherwise it would not be just a reprimand.
This also caused a small matter to be brought to the attention of the emperor, who ordered the Dali Temple to investigate and no one was allowed to interfere.
The so-called "anyone" of course includes the Crown Prince and Prince Jing. This matter originally had little to do with the Crown Prince, but Prince Jing sensed some other meanings from the Emperor's words.
This matter has become a big deal. Qu Zhizhen was the first to be embarrassed, and now he will be the next. How could King Jing's face look good? Compared with the calm and composed prince, King Jing was at a disadvantage today.
The matter was settled and all the wrangling was over. The emperor ordered the court to be adjourned, and Prince Jing threw off his robe and was about to leave.
"Second brother, please wait a moment." Crown Prince Pei Luoan called Pei Yusheng gently.
"What else does Your Highness want to say?" Pei Yusheng stopped with a grim look on his face.
When several ministers walked past them, they bowed respectfully and then withdrew.
"I want to ask about what happened at Minister Qu's mansion. What exactly happened?" Pei Luoan said with concern, indicating that he was extremely innocent.
"Your Highness, this matter has little to do with you, right?" Pei Yusheng said irritably, with a hint of sarcasm in his words. He had finally sorted out the affairs of his own mansion.
Qiuyan accompanied Xiaoyi wholeheartedly, which helped to ease his previous anger. However, he did not expect that the incident with Yu's family would happen again, and he felt inexplicably irritated.
"Second brother, Xiao Yue is the wife of Minister Qu, but Dayue is the biological mother of the Crown Princess. Even though the Crown Princess is gone now, I still want to ask about this matter." Pei Luoan said with a serious face, making his attitude clear.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is truly affectionate and loyal, but you shouldn't ask me about this kind of thing. Just ask Lord Zhang from the Dali Temple." Pei Yusheng said coldly.
"This matter should indeed be asked in the Dali Temple. How about I go to the Dali Temple with my second brother?" Pei Luoan invited politely, not caring at all about Pei Yusheng's refusal.
"If Your Highness the Crown Prince wants to go, please go on your own. I have something else to do, so I will not accompany Your Highness the Crown Prince." Pei Yusheng said unhappily.
"Second brother, after all, the Yu family is your elder, and the Xiao Yue family is my elder. The two of us should go together." Pei Luoan reached out and held Pei Yusheng's hand, as if he must go with Pei Yusheng to inquire about the situation.
Pei Yusheng was so angry that he threw his sleeves vigorously and took two steps back, away from Pei Luoan: "Your Highness, my mother has something else to ask me, so I won't accompany you, my brother. The biological mother of a concubine is not worth my attention. If you are interested, go and see her yourself!"
After saying this, he gave Pei Luoan a perfunctory bow, turned around and walked away quickly, striding outward.
How could Yu be considered an elder to him? Qu Qiuyan’s importance was not that great. But when he thought about the actual relationship involved, he felt annoyed again.
He had been coaxed pretty well by Qu Qiuyan these past few days. He felt that Qu Qiuyan was also wronged and pitiful. But now that the prince had messed things up, he felt that it was a disaster to let Qu Qiuyan enter the house first.
Pei Luoan did not chase him this time. He watched Pei Yusheng leave angrily with a frown, with a smug look in his eyes.
"The Crown Prince is going to the Dali Temple to see this Yu who killed his wife?" A lazy voice came from behind. Pei Luoan's heart skipped a beat. He quickly restrained the smugness in his eyes, turned around and saluted Pei Yuanjun who was walking slowly: "Uncle Wang!"
"Prince is going now?" Pei Yuanjun raised his eyebrows and asked with interest.
Pei Luoan straightened his face and said, "If I go with my second brother, I would of course go and ask, but if I go alone, it would be against etiquette."
"Prince doesn't want to know?" Pei Yuanjun's handsome sleepy eyes raised slightly, looking elegant and noble, without a trace of sharpness.
Pei Luoan didn't dare to really take this as an invitation to go, and smiled bitterly: "I still want to know, after all, she is the Crown Princess's relative."
"The Crown Princess is now the Lady of Jingyu County." Pei Yuanjun said with a smile.
"I know, but in my heart, even though the Crown Princess is no longer here, she will always be in my heart." Pei Luoan lowered his head, as if he wanted to laugh, but the smile looked sad no matter how he looked at it.
The beauty is gone, her fragrance has disappeared, leaving only the longing and the heart.
"The prince is truly affectionate and loyal." Pei Yuanjun praised.
"Not really, it's just that the Crown Princess and I have had a friendship since childhood, how could it be the same as with others? Even in the future... she will always be the only one in my heart. I'm sorry for her. Originally, I wanted her to marry into the Eastern Palace so that I could take care of her earlier. I didn't expect that she would do this for me... I have let her down in this life." Pei Luoan became more and more sad.
Seeing that my eyes were slightly red, I knew that my country was too
As a son, it was impossible for him to let others see him being so weak. He turned aside, calmed down, and then turned back, "Uncle Wang, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first!"
After saying this, he bowed to Pei Yuanjun, seemed unwilling to continue, and turned and left.
Anyone who saw this would have to praise him, saying that the prince is indeed a man of friendship.
Pei Yuanjun was not in a hurry to leave. He curled the corners of his thin lips and looked at Pei Luoan with a smile. He raised his eyes and looked at the eunuch standing beside the pillar.
The ministers left the hall one by one, but a few eunuchs stayed behind and did not dare to look up. They stood beside the pillars, as if no one was there.
These are the eunuchs who serve the emperor in the hall and will be the last to leave.
The corners of his thin lips still had a hint of a smile, but it had become somewhat bloodthirsty. The nobleness that originally emanated from his bones suddenly seemed to turn into a cold and vicious look. At this moment, he was the real Prince of Yun...
A loyal and devoted first wife? That's great!
Qu Moying was sitting in the Madam's Kangmingzhai.
The one accompanying the lady was Luo. Luo didn't look very well either. The incident with Qu Xuexin had just happened and she had been sick before that. She was forcing herself to come and accompany the lady to comfort her.
"Mother, now that the Dali Temple has intervened in this matter, there is no time for us to be anxious. We have to let them handle the matter thoroughly before we make it public." Luo comforted the lady.
"Yu Shi... has a dark heart. How dare she... How dare she do such a thing?" The lady was furious. "Why did I let her in at that time? She is... Even..."
The lady started coughing, and my nanny hurried forward to pat her back to help her calm down.
"Mother, it's not your fault. Ying will understand. It's not up to you to make the decision at that time." Luo sighed and advised again.
She still remembers clearly what the situation was at that time. Yu was already pregnant. The Qu family would never let Qu's children have no status at all. They gave her the status of a noble concubine. On the one hand, it was because Yu's status was not low, and on the other hand, it was also because of the child in her belly.
The Luo family in the East Palace has always had an average relationship with the West Palace, whether it was the Yu family or the former Xiao Yue family. The Yu family was greedy, and the Xiao Yue family was introverted and didn't dare to speak much, both of them had incompatible personalities with the Luo family. Whether before or now, there was not much communication between the two palaces.
There were some things that she couldn't say much about, especially since Qu Moying was sitting beside her. Now she could only try to cheer the lady up.
The Madam finally recovered and drank the tea brought by Wu Mama. Just as she was about to speak, a maid respectfully reported from the corridor: "Madam, the Prince Jing's Mansion has sent someone over."
"Why send someone here at this time!" the old lady said unhappily. Needless to say, this matter must be related to Qu Qiuyan.
"Mother, since they are here, we have to let them in!" Luo advised. If not for Qu Qiuyan's sake, she had to consider King Jing's face.
The current Qu Qiuyan is no longer the third Miss Qu.
"Please invite the people from Prince Jing's Mansion in." The lady also knew this, and gave the order after she let out a deep breath.
Wu Ma Ma walked to the corridor to give instructions. After a while, she heard some noise outside. The curtain was lifted. Qu Moying looked outside. When she saw the person outside clearly, her watery eyes narrowed slightly, and her eyes were cold...
I can't sit still anymore...