Zi An pretended to know nothing and asked, "Master Liang, what can I do for you?"
Lord Liang hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's like this. I came here to ask the princess something."
"Okay, please sit down!" Zi'an said frankly.
As soon as Lord Liang sat down, he heard Murong Jie cough. He stood up hastily and said with a wry smile, "I've been sitting for too long, and my waist is a little sore. I'll just stand."
It's not easy to be the Jingzhao Yin. His stance is not clear and he previously cooperated with the Prince Taifu to do some things that were not good for the princess. He knows that he is disliked and dares not act rashly. He didn't want to come in person this time, but he was afraid that sending an official would offend the princess, so he had to come in person.
Anyway, you're bound to get angry.
Zi'an glared at Murong Jie, but Murong Jie pretended not to see and drank his tea calmly.
"My lord, do you have anything to ask me?" Zi'an asked politely.
Lord Liang straightened his expression and said, "It's like this. Madam Xiao died last night. I wonder if the princess knows about this?"
Zi'an said in surprise, "Dead? How could he be dead?"
"The princess doesn't know?" asked Lord Liang.
"knew."
"ah?"
Zi'an smiled and said, "My Lord just said that she is dead, so I know."
Lord Liang was stunned for a moment, a little embarrassed, "Oh, yes, according to the servants of the General's Mansion, the princess went to see Madam Xiao last night, I wonder if this happened?"
Zi'an admitted: "Yes, I went to see her. I stayed in her room for about a quarter of an hour, talked to her for a few words, and then left."
Lord Liang breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Xia Zian would not admit it.
Lord Liang continued, "It's like this. We saw a hairpin at the crime scene. After identification, we found that this hairpin belonged to the royal family. After searching the inner palace, we found out that it was a reward from the palace when the princess got married. So we wanted to ask the princess if she had lost it."
Zi'an reached out and touched his hair, "Oh, it must have been lost when I went to look for Han Qingqiu last night."
"Princess, are you so careless?" Lord Liang looked at Zi'an. "Logically speaking, if this hairpin is worn on your head, it shouldn't fall off unless it's pulled."
"Pull?" Zi'an thought for a moment, "When I was leaving, Madam Xiao asked me to stay. Does that count as pull?"
Lord Liang didn't say anything, just smiled awkwardly. After a pause, he continued, "By the way, a divorce letter was found at the scene. It was written by General Xiao Xiao. I wonder if the princess has read it?"
Zi'an was surprised and said, "Divorce letter? I've never seen it before."
She was really surprised. According to Xiaodao, after the woman poisoned Han Qingqiu to death last night, she only left behind a hairpin and no divorce letter.
Murong Jie was also attracted and took the initiative to sit over and asked, "What divorce letter?"
Lord Liang ordered Captain Gao to take it out and hand it to Murong Jie. Murong Jie took it and opened it, and it was indeed a letter of divorce.
"The date is the first year of Hongbao?" Zi'an asked in surprise.
"That's right. It was written in the year when the emperor ascended the throne. If this divorce letter is true, then I have to present it to the Empress Dowager, and she will convict General Xiao." Lord Liang said.
Zi'an folded the divorce letter and handed it to Lord Liang, "Go to the palace immediately and ask the Queen Mother to question Xiao Xiao. He divorced his wife without reason and will be severely punished."
Murong Jie took it again and carefully identified the handwriting. It was indeed Xiao Xiao's. This kid divorced his wife when he got married? I haven't heard him say that.
"I have some more details..."
"You go into the palace first, and then I will go to the yamen tomorrow and talk to you in person." Zi'an said.
When Lord Liang heard this, he stood up and said, "Well, I will take my leave first."
"I will go in with you!" Murong Jie pulled Zi'an, "You go too."
Zi'an knew what he wanted to do, so he said, "Alright, let's talk to the Empress Dowager about what happened last night."
Lord Liang was somewhat puzzled by the attitudes of the two. He originally thought that they would withhold the divorce letter. After all, it concerned Xiao Xiao's face. If the world knew that Xiao Xiao divorced his wife when they were married, he would be guilty and his reputation would be bad. He did not expect that they would take the initiative to let him go to the palace to find the Empress Dowager, and instead did not take the case seriously.
Lord Liang didn't dare to get involved too much since the last time. He just wanted to do his job as Jingzhao Yin. He was almost dismissed from office last time, and he didn't want to cause any trouble this time.
The three of them entered the palace. The Queen Mother looked at the divorce letter handed over by Lord Liang, glanced at it, and asked Murong Jie, "Are you sure it was written by Xiao Xiao?"
"It's Xiao Xiao's handwriting." Murong Jie said.
"November 26th, isn't that the day he gets married?" asked the Queen Mother.
"should be."
The Queen Mother sighed slightly, "Lord Liang, please go out first. I will have a few words with the prince."
"Yes!" Lord Liang responded and went out. Having been in the officialdom for a long time, he knew that the more he knew about some things, the more dangerous it would be for himself, so he didn't want to know.
After Lord Liang left, the Empress Dowager said, "He gave her a divorce letter on the day of the wedding. This was his protest to the Emperor. However, this divorce letter only divorced her as Xiao Xiao, and also promised that Han Qingqiu could continue to live in the Marquis' Mansion. Han Qingqiu was determined not to make this divorce letter public, and she still had to be her glorious wife. Therefore, no one knew that he divorced her. But in his heart, he knew clearly that he had no wife."
"Will your Majesty Queen make this divorce letter public?" Zi'an asked.
The Queen Mother hesitated. "It's not impossible to make it public, but the Marquis must acknowledge the divorce letter. Once the Marquis's Mansion acknowledges it, Xiao Xiao will be held accountable."
Disobeying an imperial order is a serious crime, and it cannot be solved by just beating him with a few sticks.
"Mother, merits and demerits offset each other. Xiao Xiao has made meritorious contributions in guarding the border over the years, so his guilt can be appropriately reduced." Murong Jie reminded.
"That's reasonable to say, but his life or death is uncertain now. What crime should we hold him for?" The Empress Dowager was worried.
"We can discuss this later, but I suggest that this divorce letter be made public," said Murong Jie.
"Ah Jie, the Marquis' Mansion may not agree to this, because once the divorce letter is made public, it means that the Xiao family will be charged with disobeying the emperor's order. The emperor is still alive, so the Xiao family will definitely be afraid."
Zi'an thought for a moment, "What if it's because Han Qingqiu is suspected of murder?"
"Suspect of murder?" The Queen Mother was startled. "What do you mean?"
Zi'an said, "Han Qingqiu once killed Yaozhi, the princess's maid. If Xiao Xiao gave her a divorce letter because he suspected that she had killed Yaozhi, then she must have committed murder."
"But if he suspected Han Qingqiu of killing Yaozhi, why didn't he report it to the authorities? If so, Xiao Xiao is also guilty of shielding someone," said the Empress Dowager.
Zi'an said, "That's why I said it was suspicion, suspicion, but not confirmation, because there has been no evidence. Although divorcing his wife because of suspicion is a bit rash, but, if you really think about it, it is understandable, the guilt can be lighter, and the Marquis's Mansion will not be implicated."
The Queen Mother nodded, "Well, this is a good idea. It depends on what the Marquis says."
(End of this chapter)