Chapter 288

Chapter 288: Extermination of the Nine Clans Song Shulan's mind raced. Based on his understanding of County Princess Rongjia, he believed she was quite capable of such a deed. But Prince Rong and his consort refused to acknowledge it. If he were to say that County Princess Rongjia might have done such a thing, how could he face the Rong Prince Mansion? Yet he was also unclear about how much evidence the Emperor currently held. If he blindly defended County Princess Rongjia and she ended up being convicted, wouldn't that drag him and the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion into the mess as well? Song Shulan found himself in a dilemma. "What's the matter, Minister Song? Can't you speak?" The Emperor lowered his voice slightly, revealing his impatience. Song Shulan hurriedly said, "County Princess Rongjia... the County Mistress is my wife. After she married into the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion..." Song Shulan stumbled slightly, but fearing the Emperor's urging, he could only steel himself and continue, "After she married into the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, she has not done such things. As for the Du family, I truly do not know much about them." He neither said it was possible nor impossible. Hearing the Emperor let out an extremely faint snort, Song Shulan's heart leaped to his throat, fearing the Emperor had already grown impatient. Prince Rong also glanced at Song Shulan. Though self-preservation was not wrong, Song Shulan's actions showed no regard for the marital bond with his daughter, which disappointed him greatly. No matter what, one should at least speak up in defense. Prince Rong took a deep breath. At this point, the Emperor wanted a resolution. "Your Majesty, I am Rongjia's father. From a father's perspective, I do not believe my daughter would commit such a heinous act. Let me conduct the investigation myself. If it truly happened, I will not plead for mercy!" With matters having reached this point, Prince Rong had no choice but to step into the situation himself to investigate. Otherwise, with Cui Zeyu handling everything, right and wrong would be entirely dictated by Cui Zeyu. This matter concerned the reputation of the imperial clan. Though all the existing evidence and witnesses pointed to Rongjia, the Rong Prince Mansion claimed the evidence was forged, and the Emperor was willing to give them a chance. "Minister Cui, what do you think?" "Your Majesty, as a father, Prince Rong would indeed believe in County Princess Rongjia's character. However, if the investigation reveals that County Princess Rongjia is truly involved—if a child is not taught properly, the father bears the fault—what would Prince Rong do then?" Cui Zeyu was not merely seeking to bring down County Princess Rongjia; he did not believe the Rong Prince Mansion had no hand in the Mei family's affair. These words were tantamount to placing Prince Rong over a fire to roast. It was Prince Rong himself who said that as a father, he chose to believe in County Princess Rongjia's character. But as a father, he also had the duty to properly teach his children. Prince Rong had not expected Cui Zeyu to be so difficult to deal with, and he resented Song Shulan for remaining silent. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Cui Zeyu, if I have failed to teach my daughter properly, how I should be dealt with is for His Majesty to decide. Why must you be so aggressive? You have repeatedly targeted the people of the Rong Prince Mansion—is it personal vendetta, or is it truly for the justice you speak of?" "You are mistaken, Prince. It is not that I repeatedly target the Rong Prince Mansion, but that the people of your mansion repeatedly commit offenses and break the law. If you were completely innocent, how could I find evidence of your crimes?" Cui Zeyu paused, then continued, "Everything I do is for the country and the people. If you continue to pin baseless accusations on me, then I fail to understand why the Rong Prince Mansion keeps targeting me." "You!" Prince Rong could not out-argue Cui Zeyu, so he simply stopped speaking and waited for the Emperor's decision. Likewise, Cui Zeyu had no intention of letting Song Shulan off. "But Marquis Song, your words just now were biased. You said that after County Princess Rongjia married you, she did not do such things. Then let me ask you—what happened to the concubines in your household before? Why are they all gone?" "Cui Zeyu, you... don't bring up irrelevant matters." Song Shulan grew anxious. "It's not that I want to expose your family's secrets. By saying these things today, I am also severing ties for the sake of justice." Cui Zeyu kowtowed to the Emperor once more. "I believe Your Majesty will surely return justice to the Mei family and to the people of this realm." The Emperor felt somewhat helpless but had no choice. He allowed Cui Zeyu to continue the investigation, with Prince Rong assisting from the side. Hearing this, Prince Rong breathed a slight sigh of relief. As long as he could get involved, there would always be a chance to free his daughter. Besides, so many years had passed—no matter how hard Cui Zeyu investigated, it would be difficult to uncover the full truth. As Prince Rong and his consort rose, they exchanged a glance. Princess Consort Rong followed behind Prince Rong, unable to voice her thoughts at this moment. The two walked out together in tacit understanding. Just then, Xie Yunting's voice came from outside the hall. "Oh, since everyone is here, wait a moment and hear what Lord Wu has to say." Xie Yunting set down a thin, small man like one would carry a chick. Prince Rong looked down and felt a foreboding sense—wasn't this Wu Qingfeng, the one who had handled the Mei family case back then? Arriving alongside them was also Huang Chaoming, the Prefect of the Capital. The group reached the entrance of the great hall, and the Emperor bade them enter to speak. Princess Consort Rong instinctively grabbed Prince Rong's hand. He shook his head at her—if Wu Qingfeng had betrayed them, then regarding Rongjia's matter, they could only cut ties and not let it further implicate the Rong Prince Mansion. Princess Consort Rong whispered, "But Prince, Rongjia is... she is our only daughter." "So what?" Prince Rong could barely contain his emotions. If he hadn't had only one daughter among his children, with the rest being sons, why would Prince Rong dote on her so much? The two walked at the rear. When they stopped, they saw Xie Yunting kick Wu Qingfei. "Your Majesty, this official has had nothing to do these past days, so I happened to visit a nearby estate for leisure. By chance, I encountered Lord Wu, who is in charge of the Mei family case. Initially, I was merely curious and asked a question or two, but he hemmed and hawed. Seeing that something was off, I pressed him with a few more questions, and the old man confessed without being pressed further, even begging me to let him go. But how could that be? I cannot tolerate even a speck of sand in my eyes!" With that, Xie Yunting kicked Wu Qingfei again. "You tell them yourself!" Wu Qingfei instinctively trembled. That was not what had happened at all! That night, Wu Qingfei had been in the throes of passion with his concubine when Xie Yunting suddenly climbed in through the window, directly pointing a sword at him, scaring him so badly that he wet himself on the spot. Xie Yunting ordered him to confess what County Princess Rongjia had done back then. Wu Qingfei did not want to offend the Rong Prince Mansion, so he could only bite his tongue and refuse to admit anything. But that bastard Xie Yunting took a dagger and stabbed his leg, then sprinkled salt into the wound. The pain sent him rolling on the ground howling, and after two hours of torment, he had no choice but to confess to County Princess Rongjia's crimes. Now brought before the Emperor, Xie Yunting was again forcing him to sign and affix his seal. Wu Qingfei turned his head pitifully and said, "Your Highness, I..." Before Prince Rong could speak, Xie Yunting kicked him again. "I told you to speak for yourself. Why are you looking at Prince Rong? Don't tell me Prince Rong forced you to do this?" "No, no." Wu Qingfei shook his head vigorously, then said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, back then Lady Mei did indeed die of a potent poison, and it was two lives lost in one." The hall fell silent instantly, leaving only Wu Qingfei's panting breaths. But the conclusion Wu Qingfei had reported back then was that Lady Mei had taken poison to commit suicide, which had nothing to do with County Princess Rongjia. "Keep talking!" Xie Yunting said impatiently. "You're before the Emperor now, and you still won't be honest. Do I need to kick you again before you'll say more?" Wu Qingfei's heart was full of bitterness he could not voice. At that moment, Prince Rong spoke up. "Xie Yunting, what are you trying to do—extort a confession through torture right in front of the Emperor?" He stepped forward two paces, both a hint and a threat. "Lord Wu, don't be afraid. The Emperor and I are both here. Whatever the truth is, just say it directly." Xie Yunting chuckled twice. "Yes, Lord Wu, just say it directly. I have your confession here, and as for the things you did back then, I've already sent people to investigate." Xie Yunting raised an eyebrow at Prince Rong in provocation, then had the eunuch present Wu Qingfei's written confession to the Emperor. Prince Rong stepped forward to reach for it, but Xie Yunting blocked him. "Your Highness, what are you doing? The Emperor is watching!" Prince Rong nearly ground his teeth to dust. Cui Zeyu had already been difficult enough to deal with, and now here came Xie Yunting, who was even more unreasonable. Was today truly the day they wanted his daughter dead? The confession was presented before the Emperor, but the Emperor was suppressing his fury at that moment. He wanted Wu Qingfei to say it himself. "If you utter a single lie, I will exterminate your entire clan!" Wu Qingfei instinctively shuddered, inwardly cursing his rotten luck, but he could only begin from the start.