Chapter 289

Chapter 289: Making Excuses "Mei Shi did indeed die from a potent poison, but at the time... her body also bore wounds from various forms of abuse and torture, and she was pregnant." Wu Qingfei spoke tremblingly. "At the time, many people saw County Mistress Rongjia leading her people, charging furiously into the courtyard where Mei Shi resided. Others, standing outside the courtyard, overheard County Mistress Rongjia berating Mei Shi, calling her a seductive fox spirit." Had it stopped there, none of this would have had any impact on County Mistress Rongjia. After all, County Mistress Rongjia held an exalted status; disciplining a concubine's hidden residence seemed entirely reasonable. "Then the next morning, Mei Shi and those who served her were all found dead in the residence," Wu Qingfei said. "Then why did you hastily close the case, claiming Mei Shi took poison to end her life out of shame?" Cui Zeyu asked. "Moreover, if Mei Shi sought her own death, how could she have persuaded the others to die as well? The case was riddled with doubts, yet you closed it arbitrarily?" Wu Qingfei's scalp went numb. Brought before the Emperor today, he knew he wouldn't survive—he was only speaking plainly for the sake of his family. "I did bring people to question County Mistress Rongjia, but... it was County Mistress Rongjia who gave me money and used the Rong Prince Mansion to pressure me, so I closed the case." Cui Zeyu snorted. "Then you truly are blinded by greed!" "No, no, truly I'm not. The Du family was a prominent local clan, and County Mistress Rongjia was then a Commandery Princess. Throughout the entire city, no one dared to provoke County Mistress Rongjia—she walked around like she owned the place!" Wu Qingfei claimed he had no choice in the matter. Cui Zeyu asked again, "And after the Mei family left, why did they still need to be hunted down and wiped out?" "This..." Wu Qingfei instinctively tried to look at Prince Rong and his wife again, but his line of sight was blocked by Xie Yunting. He could only steel himself and say, "The Mei family died in a landslide. As for the specifics, I truly don't know. It's just that when I led people to investigate, I received... I received a secret letter from the Rong Prince Mansion." Over the years, Wu Qingfei had kept that letter all along. The Emperor opened the secret letter. Though it didn't explicitly instruct Wu Qingfei to drop the matter, it did mention the Mei family case, stating that the Rong Prince Mansion was keeping an eye on it, and included a bank draft for twenty thousand taels of silver. Anyone with half a brain would understand the Rong Prince Mansion's intent. The Emperor tossed the letter toward Prince Rong. The paper drifted through the air before landing very close to the Emperor. Prince Rong immediately knelt. At this moment, he could only push everything onto his daughter. "Your Majesty, please investigate clearly. Your humble brother truly knew nothing about this letter or the twenty thousand taels!" "Then have someone bring Rongjia here!" the Emperor ordered. In the great hall, Prince Rong shot Princess Consort Rong a look, signaling that there was no hope. Wu Qingfei's legs went numb, and he dared not move a muscle. Though it was winter, his back was completely soaked through. Prince Rong had just raised his head when the Emperor silenced him. "Fourth Brother, you'd best think carefully before you speak now!" Some matters, the Emperor could choose not to dig into—provided Prince Rong knew to read the room. County Mistress Rongjia alone didn't have the power to threaten a local prefect. Prince Rong immediately lowered his head and dared not speak again. When County Mistress Rongjia was finally brought in, she dropped to her knees with a thud and immediately began weeping her grievances. "Imperial Uncle, you must seek justice for Rongjia! Huang Chaoming actually locked your niece in the government office, claiming she murdered someone. But your niece is completely innocent—I absolutely never did any of those things!" "Truly not?" the Emperor asked. County Mistress Rongjia said absolutely not. "Your niece can swear to heaven—if I ever did such a thing, may I be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!" Hearing this, Xie Yunting laughed. "Then County Mistress Rongjia, you really are in for a miserable death. Have you forgotten who this is?" Xie Yunting pointed at Wu Qingfei. County Mistress Rongjia squinted at him, finding him familiar but unable to place him at first. When she finally remembered who Wu Qingfei was, a chill ran down her spine. "He... who is he?" County Mistress Rongjia muttered. "It seems the County Mistress has a poor memory for faces." Xie Yunting grabbed Wu Qingfei by the collar and tossed him in front of County Mistress Rongjia. "Then please, County Mistress, open your eyes wide and take a good look—who exactly is this?" "County Mistress, I..." Wu Qingfei had barely begun when County Mistress Rongjia scrambled backward. Still kneeling, she shuffled over to her father's side and grabbed his sleeve. "Father, why aren't you saying anything? I... I'll be fine, right?" Prince Rong yanked his sleeve away and rebuked her with righteous indignation, "You've disappointed me greatly. How could you commit murder to silence someone?" "I didn't, Father—I truly didn't!" Even now, County Mistress Rongjia still refused to admit it. "The case was closed years ago. Mei Shi poisoned herself—how can that be blamed on me? As for the Mei family's deaths, those were all accidents!" Cui Zeyu stepped forward. "If it were truly an accident, why would the Rong Prince Mansion need to pay Wu Qingfei hush money? County Mistress Rongjia, you truly are obstinate and unrepentant—even now, you refuse to confess!" "Cui Zeyu, I didn't do it, so I didn't do it! What exactly do you want? Why must you keep hounding me?" County Mistress Rongjia pointed at Cui Zeyu, all dignity lost. "Heh." Cui Zeyu let out two cold laughs. The Emperor slammed the table heavily, and the entire hall fell silent. "Rongjia, you say you didn't do it—so you mean they're all lying to frame you? Would Wu Qingfei risk having his entire family executed to frame you?" The Emperor took a deep breath. "You have truly disappointed me!" "No, Imperial Uncle, it's really not like that!" County Princess Rongjia still didn't think she had done anything wrong. "It was Du Shibei and Lady Mei who were having an affair and betrayed me. They deserved to die. It's not my fault, they—" "Rongjia!" Seeing that his daughter was about to say something wrong, Prince Rong spoke up to warn her. "At a time like this, are you still refusing to see the truth?" "Father, please save me. I really don't want to die!" County Princess Rongjia was afraid—afraid that she would end up like her second brother, locked in a dark, sunless prison and then dragged to the execution ground at Caishikou. County Princess Rongjia didn't want to die. She hadn't yet lived life to the fullest. Besides, Lady Mei deserved to die. How could Lady Mei be allowed to carry Du Shibei's child? Why could a contemptible woman like Lady Mei obtain so easily what she herself could never have? She wanted Lady Mei to die along with her unborn child! As for the Mei family—they had raised a daughter like Lady Mei to steal her man, and even planned to raise a child to fight over the Du family's inheritance. How could she allow that? So the Mei family deserved to die too. Only when they were all dead could County Princess Rongjia feel at ease. At this moment, watching her father shake her off with such finality, County Princess Rongjia's heart sank heavily. "Father, are you planning to abandon your daughter?" County Princess Rongjia then turned to her mother. "Mother, I am your most beloved daughter!" Princess Consort Rong's heart ached terribly watching her daughter sob until she choked. She wiped her daughter's tears. "Rongjia, Mother knows you are innocent. Don't cry. Don't be afraid." "But Mother—" "I'm here." Princess Consort Rong's breath trembled. She knew that Cui Zeyu and the others were all accusing her daughter at this moment. As a mother, Princess Consort Rong felt she had failed her daughter. If she had given her daughter a sound body, none of this business with Lady Mei would have happened. And later, when her daughter remarried, it was still because she couldn't bear children that so many conflicts arose, ultimately losing to Cui Lingrong. Princess Consort Rong had burned incense and prayed to Buddha all along, begging the gods to open their eyes and give her daughter a sound body. But they never did. The greater the guilt, the greater the indulgence. From the time Rongjia was very young, Princess Consort Rong had given her everything she wanted. And later, when she learned that her daughter was born with an incompleteness and could not bear children, Princess Consort Rong had spent all her time cleaning up her daughter's messes. Princess Consort Rong made up her mind. She kowtowed to the Emperor. "I report to Your Majesty—these matters truly have nothing to do with Rongjia. I am the one who did them all." At these words, even Prince Rong whipped his head around in shock. Cui Zeyu had never imagined that Princess Consort Rong would step forward to take the blame. He had gone to great lengths to have County Princess Rongjia killed, and immediately challenged her. "Princess Consort Rong is far away in Bianjing. How could you have managed to poison Lady Mei on the very night County Princess Rongjia went to find her? If you're trying to exonerate County Princess Rongjia, at least make your story logical!"