"Where is the snake?" asked Jingzhao Yin.
"I was a little tired after coming down the mountain, so I sat down by the stream to rest. Unexpectedly, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, the snake was nowhere to be found." Li Erlang said while crying.
What he said was sincere and reasonable, and even explained the origin of the snake that disturbed Shen Xihe and the others.
The person that Madam Rong is looking for is not a fool.
"Princess, this..." Jingzhao Yin looked at Shen Xihe with some embarrassment.
"Mr. Zhang, why don't we wait for the second lady of the Rong family to come before we interrogate her?" Because Shen Xihe was injured, a chair was specially arranged for her to sit on.
Fortunately, Mrs. Rong Mizhen, the second wife of the Rong family, was invited soon, and her father, the second master Rong, Rong Changxun, also came with her.
Jingzhao Yin Zhang Pengzhan explained the whole story and asked Rong Mizhen, "Mrs. Rong, do you know this man?"
Rong Mizhen took a look and whispered, "To reply to the prefect, I have met him. Today at the foot of the mountain, I saw that Princess Zhaoning seemed to have had some conflicts with this man."
Rong Mizhen's generous admission made it difficult for Jingzhao Yin to continue questioning. He thought for a moment and said, "The princess said that this person was instigated by you to release the snake to hurt people."
Rong Mizhen had a horrified look on her face, full of innocence: "I have no grudges against the princess. The princess is of noble status. I could only look at her from afar during the banquets and never said a word to her. Why would I harm the princess?"
"How can you be sure that it was my daughter who instigated this?" Rongchang asked.
Jingzhao Yin was somewhat embarrassed. According to Shen Xihe's reasoning, it did make sense, but it was also too far-fetched. However, he was the chief judge and could not cover up or be partial, so he told Shen Xihe everything he said.
"Ridiculous, the princess is a girl, so I won't care." Rong Changxun sneered after hearing this, staring at Shen Yun'an, "The prince is an official appointed by the court after all, but he didn't stop the princess. Does the prince in the northwest also judge right and wrong in this way?"
"Whether it's ridiculous or not, let's not talk about it." Shen Xihe spoke first, "I have my own way to make this person testify. I wonder how Master Rong will explain to me if there is irrefutable evidence?"
Shen Xihe was at least 80% sure that it was the Rong family's doing. As for the reason... maybe it had something to do with Lie Wang Xiao Changying.
The second lady of the Rong family is in love with Xiao Changying. Not many people know about it, but not too few either, and Gu Qingzhi is one of them.
"Is the princess determined to throw dirty water on the Rong family?" Rong Changxun's face turned pale. "What if the princess can't produce evidence?"
"If I can't produce evidence, if my evidence can't convince Second Master Rong, I will personally go to the gate of the Rong Mansion and kneel down three times and kowtow nine times to confess my crime." Shen Xihe smiled coldly, "If Second Master Rong can prove that it was the Rong family who did it, what will the Rong family do?"
Shen Xihe spoke so confidently that Rong Changxun was a little scared. He really didn't know what his daughter had done, but at this point, he couldn't go back on his word and lose his momentum: "What do you want, Princess?"
"I almost fell off the cliff. I don't know if I will live or die. It's not good to shout about killing someone." Shen Xihe smiled faintly, "I don't know what I would do if this poisonous snake bit me. I am never aggressive. If I can produce evidence, your daughter will let the poisonous snake bite her and jump from the place where I almost fell. Whether she lives or dies depends on her luck."
Rong Changxun glanced at his calm daughter and agreed immediately: "Okay!"