When Prince Nan Huai returned from the palace, the noble concubine got very angry. Prince Nan Huai immediately ordered the contact person to find Lord Liang. Lord Liang was furious and said that he had checked the silver note many times when he gave it to him.
Prince Nan Huai was unable to trace the cause of Marquis Liang, and finally concluded that it was Hu Huanxi who was behind this.
However, we can't investigate Hu Huanxi. They must have destroyed all the evidence, so how could there be any evidence left
In the end, he had no choice but to swallow this loss.
But you have to pay compensation, more than 20,000 taels of silver, the noble concubine has to pay it back.
Over the years, the noble concubine has been constantly trying to win over court officials and bribe martial artists to work for her, so she doesn't have much money left.
Although King Nan Huai had made a lot of money during his years in the Southern Kingdom, the expenses for conscripting soldiers, purchasing food, fodder, cotton clothes, weapons, etc. were huge, and all the money had long been spent. How could he have any spare money
The noble concubine had no choice but to sell her jewelry and antiques to raise enough money to give to the arms dealer.
She paid the compensation to the arms dealer, and Liu Liu woke up.
She recalled what happened that day, saying that she got on the prince's carriage, then fainted when she got off.
Murong Jie did not show up for this matter, but Chen Taijun did.
She ran straight into the palace and found the Queen Mother.
After entering the palace, he said nothing, took out a packet of arsenic and placed it on the table, "Queen Mother, please sentence me to death. I can't live any longer."
The Queen Mother was startled and hurried forward to help her up. "Oh, my old lady, what are you doing? Don't scare me. What happened?"
Lady Chen said in great grief and indignation, "Your Highness the Crown Prince kidnapped my granddaughter and left her half-dead. If the court does not give me an explanation for this matter, I will die in this palace today."
The Queen Mother didn't know about this yet. After hearing what the old lady said, she almost vomited blood, "I'm so worried, so worried."
She was furious and immediately summoned the prince.
The prince was not afraid when he heard that Chen Liuliu had woken up. He said, "Grandmother, I did see Miss Chen that day, but I didn't do anything to her. She was going to find Xiao Tuo, and I just gave her a ride. When we got to the street corner of East Market, I let her get off the carriage, and then I left. What? Chen Liuliu said that I was the one who harmed her?"
"Did you do it? If you admit it, I promise not to make it public. But if you don't admit it, once I find out, your position as crown prince will be over." How could the empress dowager believe him? The old lady was an important official of the dynasty and had made contributions to the court. She couldn't hurt the feelings of these old officials.
The prince knelt heavily on the ground, pointed to the sky and swore, "Grandson swears, if it was me who hurt Chen Liuliu, I am willing to be struck by lightning."
Chen Taijun said coldly: "Since the prince said that he put Liu Liu down on the street in the East Market, how do you know that she was chopped and not beaten or something else?"
The prince was startled, then said, "I have also heard about Chen Liuliu being chopped."
He sneered, "I know. Because I am a playful person, you all blame me for all the unsolved cases. Lady Chen, I dare to ask you a question. You accuse me of hurting Chen Liuliu. Do you have any witnesses? If there is no evidence, it is false accusation against the crown prince. What crime should you be punished for?"
If it were someone else, they would be frightened by his sudden sharpness, but not Lady Chen. Although Lady Chen was furious, she also maintained a keen observation. She sneered and said, "The prince gave Liu Liu a ride, but Liu Liu fainted less than three steps away from the carriage. Even if the prince couldn't see it in the carriage, the driver should have seen it. But the prince just let it go? Your Highness, do you really think no one saw it at that time? After Liu Liu fainted, the prince's men immediately dragged her to the carriage."
The prince's face was suddenly filled with panic. How could he know that no one saw it at all? It was just that Lady Chen made a guess based on his reaction, and obviously, this guess was correct.
"That's not true! It's nonsense!" The prince tried his best to deny it, but his eyes began to avoid him. He felt guilty and the empress dowager could see it.
When the Empress Dowager saw him angry just now, she actually believed him to some extent. Now seeing that he looked panicked but still remained calm, she knew that what Lady Chen said was almost right.
However, she remained calm and said, "You go back first. I will have someone investigate this matter."
"Grandmother, please believe me. I really didn't do it. I can even swear on it." The prince became more and more panicked.
"Go, if you are innocent, I will naturally clear your name, but if you are not innocent, remember what I said, your position as crown prince is over." The Queen Mother said indifferently.
Many charges that could lead to the dethronement of the prince could have been refuted originally, but he had offended the Chen family now. Chen Liuliu was the lifeblood of Lady Chen. If this matter was not handled properly, the Chen family would become resentful towards the court and the royal family. If the Chen family was resentful, the military would also be resentful, which would be a fatal blow to the Great Zhou.
Even though the Empress Dowager lived in the harem, she knew that the Chen family was the one that could not be offended.
The prince stood up nervously, wondering whether the empress dowager could verify the matter. If someone really saw it at that time, he would not be able to escape responsibility in any way.
Moreover, if the Grand Tutor knew about this, he would be even more disappointed in him. Thinking of this, he knelt down crying, "Grandmother, this matter has nothing to do with my grandson. It's all Xia Wan'er's fault. My grandson handed Chen Liuliu over to Xia Wan'er!"
The Queen Mother felt a dull pain in her heart, and she was furious. She picked up the cup on the coffee table and smashed it over, hitting the Prince on the head. She shouted, "Stupid, stupid!"
The prince was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he kept begging for mercy, "Grandmother, please calm down. I just wanted to play a trick on her, but I didn't expect her to get hurt. It must be that Xia Wan'er."
Upon hearing this, Lady Chen bowed and said, "Empress Dowager, every wrong has its perpetrator. If it is Xia Wan'er who hurt my Liu Liu, I will go find Xia Wan'er. As for the Crown Prince, no matter how much trouble he makes, there will always be someone to take care of him. I will take my leave first."
If Lady Chen does not interfere in state affairs, the prince will not step down because of her Chen family. Otherwise, the Chen family will be the center of the vortex, and they can no longer just stand by and watch as they did before. They can intervene when they like, and ignore it when they don’t like it.
However, the sentence "No matter how much trouble you make, someone will take care of it" means that the prince will not be easily forgiven this time. In fact, it is equivalent to telling the Queen Mother that the prince is the culprit, and if you do not deal with him, the Chen family will be very upset.
The Empress Dowager naturally heard the hidden meaning of Lady Chen's words. She did not dare to offend the Chen family, the court and the royal family easily. The Chen family has been very law-abiding over the years. This is a lion that voluntarily sleeps. It is best not to anger her.
After Lady Chen left, the Empress Dowager sat on a chair, holding her forehead, looking at the incompetent prince in front of her. Endless sorrow welled up in her heart. Why did she choose such a waste
"Why don't you provoke anyone else? Why do you provoke the Chen family? Do you really think that you, a descendant of a noble family, can do anything? You are so foolish. Do you know who has made the Murong family so stable for so many years? If it weren't for these generals, our family would have been destroyed long ago."
(End of this chapter)