Zong Cong didn't deal with it before, because he was afraid of the person behind him, and wanted to find out who it was, and then determine the future regulations. So the Dali Temple has been delayed, and Chen Cai is also locked in the prison of the Dali Temple, and no one is allowed to visit.
Now that I know it's a coincidence, I don't have any worries.
No matter how embarrassing this matter is to the royal family, it should have a result that has been made public.
But how to interrogate and how to make it public is worth considering.
However, out of caution, Zong Cong asked someone to check it out, and then passed the message to Dali Temple.
The second wife was invited from the Chen family to Dali Temple, saying that she was invited to leave, but in fact it was Shu Ping, the minister of the temple, who came to pick her up in person.
He greeted Chen Pingwen in the front yard, and asked his men to go to the back yard. Out of respect for the female family members, especially the noble ladies, he has not been convicted yet, and he does not know what the outcome will be. Therefore, the people of Dali Temple are still polite, respectfully He waited outside the courtyard gate without breaking in, waiting for the second lady to come out by herself.
But even so, it is enough to make the second lady lose face, especially now that there is such a commotion outside, needless to say, her reputation is also completely ruined.
She still wanted to make a final struggle, as if she wanted to prove herself, she kept arguing in the yard, saying that she was wronged, a lowly servant sued her master, and she actually asked her majestic Yipin to order his wife to go to Dali Temple for a while. trip.
He also clamored to enter the palace and ask the empress to make the decision.
It wasn't until Shu Pinglai finally finished his courteous conversation with Chen Pingwen that when he heard that the matter here was still pending, Chen Pingwen went there in person and asked some wives to invite the second wife out of the house.
Lost face!
At that time, the second lady was flustered and anxious, and felt ashamed to look at others. When she saw the uncle's eyes inadvertently, she realized that there was a bone-chilling chill hidden in it.
It seems that the Chen family has understood the truth of the matter, and her struggle and complaints are all jokes in the eyes of others? !
What exactly did Chen Cai say to Dali Temple, and what did the Minister of Dali Temple say to Chen Pingwen? When the incident happened before, the Chen family was puzzled, but they didn't believe the rumors outside under the forceful words of the second wife.
After all, Chen Cai was a fugitive servant and stole a lot of things from Chen Pingwu's study. Maybe he was forced to bite the second lady because he was in a hurry, or someone took advantage of him.
But a word from Shu Ping made Chen Pingwen completely dispel the idea of protecting his younger siblings.
"I know why Shu has only come here so far? Naturally, this kind of thing can't be hidden from Sheng Ting. His Majesty has ordered someone to investigate it. Then what Chen Cai said is true. At least it is true about the second wife of your mansion who killed her husband. As for why? The specific reasons will have to be verified after investigation.”
So now it is not at all that Chen Pingwen can protect as long as he says he can. Besides, he also wants to find out the truth of the matter. He and Chen Pingwu were born of the same mother. The relationship between brothers has always been very good. Chen Pingwu's tragic death also made him very sad. If the murderer is really Liu Shi, he will definitely not let her go.
"I want to see my mother, I want to see my son, you can't take me away..." The second wife was hysterical, struggling in the mother-in-law's restraint regardless of dignity.
At this time, the crowd parted, and the old lady walked in with someone from outside.
Her face was frosty, and she obviously knew the whole story.
"Go ahead, if you are really wronged, my Chen family will not let the person who wronged you go. If this is true, no matter what the reason is for you to do such a thing that is not as good as a pig, my Chen family will not forgive you you!"
Chen Qingping and Chen Qingting, the two sons of the second room, stood behind their grandmother, hesitating, watching their mother being taken away with complicated expressions.
After the second lady was taken away, the old lady immediately fell on Mama Yu's body as if her bones had been taken out.
Chen Qingping and Chen Qingting hurriedly stepped forward to call grandma.
"You are all good. You know the general situation and know how to measure. If your mother is really wronged, don't worry, she will definitely come back."
But is his mother really wronged
Probably because of their knowledge of their mother, even Chen Qingping and Chen Qingting were not sure about this matter.
After the second wife was taken to Dali Temple, she was locked in a separate cell.
The environment of this cell is not bad, there are... tables, chairs and beds, it can be seen that it is for people with unusual status.
After she was locked here, no one came again, and there was no interrogation, confrontation or anything like the Second Madam imagined.
There was no daylight in the cell, only lit by candles, so quiet that one could not feel the passage of time.
After an unknown amount of time, someone came to deliver food to her. The small window at the lower end of the iron door was opened from the outside, and a tray was stuffed in.
There is a bowl of rice and a bowl of vegetables on it. Although it is not very good, it can be regarded as a good meal in this kind of place.
The hole was closed again, and the second lady ran over to call for someone, but the people outside ignored her at all, as if she was the only one here.
In this situation, it is fine to stay for a while, but if you stay for a long time, people will fall into anxiety and despair. The second lady has experienced this situation, so she only insisted on it for one night, and then she started to make a lot of noise.
But no one paid any attention to her except someone came to deliver the food.
Based on the number of meals delivered, she judged that she had been locked up for three days, during which time no one came. And she herself went from hysterical to numb and tired.
The weather was already hot, and being stuffed here, there was not even a place to wash and wash. There was only a toilet placed behind a screen in the corner. After only two days, the second lady became unkempt, and her body exuded a strong sour smell. smell.
When Fu Chun came in, he didn't notice it, and almost passed out after standing still.
She also looked at the person in front of her in disbelief, and almost didn't recognize that this was the usually graceful and luxurious Second Lady.
"lady!"
"You are...you are Fuchun, does the empress know that I am locked up?" The originally dull second lady suddenly cheered up as if she had been beaten with chicken blood, and her eyes revealed an unusual light.
When Fu Chun witnessed this scene, even though she had experienced it for a long time, she couldn't help but feel chills. Resisting the uncomfortable feeling in his heart, he quietly pulled the second lady's hand that was holding him tightly, and pulled it away a little.
It's a pity that the second lady tried too hard and she failed.
"Ma'am, please calm down first, this servant has brought you some food. This is what the Empress specifically told me, I'm afraid you won't be able to eat enough and wear warm here."
Fu Chun put down the food box and took things out from inside.
"I don't feel like eating right now, I just wonder if I can still go out?"
"This..." Fu Chun hesitated for a moment, without raising his eyebrows, he said: "Madam, you should eat something first."
The second lady stared at her, her cheeks twitched uncontrollably, she suddenly sneered, and quickly retracted, her whole expression was very strange.
"You definitely didn't want me to eat. Tell me the purpose of your coming."
"Slaves..."
"Tell me quickly, I've been locked up for a long time, and I'm a little confused. Maybe I won't want to listen to you later."
Fuchun had no choice but to reveal his purpose.
Naturally, she wouldn't say it directly, she only talked about some of the current situation that Empress Chen knew, such as that His Majesty had already found out the ins and outs of the matter, and also found people from the Liu family.
The Liu family, who is also the elder brother of the second wife, has already revealed that he helped his sister coerce the nursing home, including sending the family away afterwards.
The second lady was talking about sending them away, but men do things differently from women. They pay attention to cutting grass and roots, so they killed the whole family.
That's why not only Chen Cai couldn't find that family, but Zong Cong's people couldn't find it either.
In other words, there is no need for any witness testimony now. The confession of the second wife's own brother alone is enough to convict the second wife.
but-
Speaking of this, Fu Chun changed his tone: "After all, His Majesty still cares about the relationship between husband and wife, and he also pities the Eldest Prince, who was weak since childhood, and now he will be involved again, so..."
"So what?" The second lady paused and sneered: "So Your Majesty means that I can handle the whole thing alone? Or does the queen think so?"
The last sentence hit Fu Chun's mind and made her look at the second lady in surprise.
Yes, in fact, these are not what Zong Cong meant, and he didn't need to do them so meticulously. Of course there is some pity for the eldest prince, and he doesn't want to implicate him... There is also some, he just went back to the Forbidden City, met Empress Chen, and didn't even say a word to her, but Fu Lu gave a general overview of the current situation outside , Empress Chen understood.
She also had to understand that Zong Cong would make such a gesture because he was concerned about the eldest prince, and it was definitely not because of her. No matter how she feels, no matter how annoyed she is, how much she hates and regrets, after all, what she most wants to preserve is the eldest prince.
Therefore, this matter can only be carried down by the second wife, try to downplay or even erase the entanglements, especially the entanglement between Pan'er and the Chen family, and blame the whole thing on the husband and wife conflict between the second wife and Chen Pingwu. Tone down everything.
It is not enough to let the people in the capital keep talking about the royal affairs and people talking about the royal family, but to divert everyone's attention to the conflict between husband and wife.
Although Zong Cong didn't say it clearly, Empress Chen understood what he meant, and this was the exchange condition.
Not only to protect Zong Duo, but also to protect Pan'er from being discussed. From the very beginning when he arranged for the Su family to come to Beijing, Zong Cong's intentions were already obvious. Concubine Su Gui was from the Su family.
It has nothing to do with the Chen family.
Empress Chen laughed at herself, at being stupid, at being stupid. Now she finally understands what Pan'er said in Kunning Palace that day.
"My surname is Su, not Chen. What you risk your life for is actually not worth mentioning to others."
It's really not worth mentioning, because someone has already arranged everything for her! She really doesn't need a rich family background, not even those family members who will only hinder her.
Because she has the emperor's favor!
But it's too late even if she understands, now she can only do what Zong Cong wants, and maybe she can still save herself.
It's just maybe.
Therefore, there will be the arrival of Fuchun.
"... Madam, even if you don't want to think about others, you must always think about the uncle, the second master, and the third master of the Liu family. You don't want them to be implicated. Only if you do this, the matter will end for the best, and your majesty will If you don’t vent your anger, others will not be implicated.”
The queen won't be implicated, right
The second lady suddenly remembered that the queen persuaded her in the same way back then, asking her to help her even for the sake of her children and grandchildren.
"The empress is very thoughtful. It is really not suitable to involve other people in this matter. One person is responsible for the other. This matter will be arranged by the concubine."
The second lady smiled, but she didn't know whether she was laughing at others or herself.
She licked her messy sideburns, and only then did she look like the once mighty Mrs. Hou.
"My daughter, follow me in everything, follow my strength, follow my arrogance, follow my refusal to admit defeat, even if you are in a desperate situation, you still have to fight for a way out."
She glanced at Fuchun, and said: "Go back and talk to your empress, just tell me what your empress means, I understand, so let your empress rest assured."
"My concubine is here to wish my mother prosperity and prosperity, and my wishes come true."
Saying that, the second lady stood up, lifted her skirt slightly, knelt down, and made a three-kneeling and nine-kowtow salute.
Fuchun didn't know what to say when the second lady was like this, she was flustered and confused, and left in a hurry since the lady knew that she was fine.
That night, Mrs. Cheng Enhou committed suicide in Dali Temple.
Before she died, she left a handwritten letter, which explained the more than 30 years of grievances and entanglements between her and Chen Pingwu and his wife.
Regarding Chen Pingwu's death, she did not complain in detail, but Dali Temple must help her make proper arrangements.
Sure enough, after the incident, the minister of Dali Temple mourned in silence, and then the whole case ended with the wives and concubines competing for favor.