青春期撞上更年期第1部

Some officials who got the news came to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about this matter one by one. She merely went there to make a statement. How could such a shocking thing happen? No one could believe it.

It was unknown whether someone had intervened in the affairs of the Ministry of Justice or Madam Jiang had really committed suicide.

After collecting the news, the minister of the Ministry of Justice went to the Palace with Wen Xichi, knelt in front of the Emperor, and asked for forgiveness in the Imperial Study.

The Emperor looked at the memorial in front of him with a livid face and was very angry. Such a small matter had caused a great disturbance. After he read the memorial, he threw it down.

“Tell me, what happened? Can’t you handle such a small matter well in the Ministry of Justice? How could such a person die?”

“Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. Please allow me to report this matter to you.” Although the face of the minister of the Ministry of Justice was pale, his words were relatively calm. “When Madam Jiang entered the Ministry of Justice, she had strangulation marks on her neck. She said that Marquis Xing had done that to her. Marquis Xing said that he didn’t know. Maybe she did it herself and deliberately wanted to frame him up. Since she managed to do that, I guess she was also capable of doing this.”

“Do you mean that Madam Jiang hit ran into the wall to take revenge on the Marquis Xing’s Mansion?” the Emperor asked coldly.

The minister of the Ministry of Justice thought for a moment and said, “I think it may be the same as what happened before. She just wanted to make some trouble on purpose, but she didn’t expect to get herself killed for real.”

“Did she do it also because of Shao Jing?”

“Well…” The minister of the Ministry of Justice hesitated for a moment and said, “The monitor said that Madam Jiang hated Princess Chen very much. He said that her daughter’s death had something to do with Princess Chen. Princess Chen had specially told Madam Jiang about Secondary Consort Shao, and the servants of the Marquis Xing’s Mansion could testify to that. I think this matter is also related to Princess Chen.”

That was what the monitor said. According to Madam Jiang’s words, she hated Princess Chen very much. When she suddenly heard the news of her daughter’s death, she could bear it. When she calmed down, she might hold a grudge against her niece. It was possible for her to have run into the wall since she was capable of making strangulation marks on her neck.

Wen Xichi kowtowed to the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty, I think it has nothing to do with Princess Chen.”

The Emperor raised his eyebrows and asked, “Why?”

Wen Xichi analyzed calmly, “I don’t think it has anything to do with Princess Chen because of a few key points. The monitor heard that Madam Jiang hated her and said that Princess Chen deliberately told her about Secondary Consort Shao’s death to drive her crazy and do something harmful to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. But it’s just a one-sided story. I heard that Princess Chen went to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion today on their instructions, not on her own initiative.

“Everyone in the capital city knows that the Marquis Xing’s Mansion doesn’t treat Princess Chen well, and they don’t treat her as a real relative. Even so, Princess Chen went to see them as soon as possible when they were in trouble. As for Madam Jiang, she had been locked up before. Princess Chen doesn’t have a good relationship with the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, so she couldn’t have visited them without a guide.”

Wen Xichi analyzed unhurriedly, “The Marquis Xing’s Mansion asked her to see them, and it was their men who led her there. After this, they put all the blame on Princess Chen, and their servants proved it. Your Majesty, do you think it’s credible?”

In this analysis, Princess Chen seemed to have fallen into someone else’s trap. The Emperor’s face darkened.

“Princess Chen is plotted against?”

“I don’t know if Princess Chen is plotted against, but later Madam Jiang shouted at the door and said that Marquis Xing had killed the former Heir of Duke Xing and Infanta Qinghua. Prince Chen happened to hear her, so she was sent to the Ministry of Justice. If this matter is really investigated, Marquis Xing will not be exonerated. If what Madam Jiang said is true, I’m afraid that the entire Marquis Xing’s Mansion will be implicated.”

Wen Xichi made a thorough analysis.

The Emperor’s heart skipped a beat and he suddenly asked with a frown, “Did Shao Jing do this to escape from the charge?” If that was the case, not only Shao Jiang, the Heir of Duke Xing, but also Infanta Qinghua had died in Shao Jing’s hands.

“I don’t know. I only know that if Madam Jiang didn’t commit suicide, someone must have deliberately destroyed the evidence. Of course, the one who destroyed the evidence is the most advantageous person for Shao Jing.”

Who would benefit the most? Was it Shao Jing?

As soon as Madam Jiang shouted those words at the gate, Shao Jing was immediately involved. Moreover, she was sent to the Ministry of Justice by Prince Chen. The Ministry of Justice would definitely investigate this matter thoroughly, even if it was unlikely to be the case.

This was also the reason why Madam Jiang was taken to the Ministry of Justice to make a statement. Otherwise, with her identity, she wouldn’t have been taken away so easily. However, since it was Prince Chen who asked the officials to take Madam Jiang away, no one dared to say anything about it.

In addition to the minister of the Ministry of Justice, there was also Prime Minister Zhang in the Imperial Study. At this time, they were also silent. According to Wen Xichi’s words, Shao Jing must have used someone’s power to secretly deal with Madam Jiang.

If it was true, it meant that Shao Jing had killed his own brother.

Prime Minister Zhang’s eyes fell on Wen Xichi. “How dare he say that? If it were me and Prime Minister Wen, we would not have said it so directly. We would have made it more euphemistically. He’s still a young man after all and always has too much ambition.” Prime Minister Zhang shook his head secretly.

He felt that Wen Xichi was very aggressive.

The Emperor was silent for a while and then said angrily, “Investigate this matter. Prime Minister Zhang, you’ll deal with it!”

Since the Ministry of Justice had made such a big mistake, the Emperor didn’t trust the minister’s ability, so he asked Prime Minister Zhang to deal with this matter and supervise the minister.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Prime Minister Zhang nodded and accepted the order.

He walked out of the Imperial Study with the minister of the Ministry of Justice and Wen Xichi. When they got outside, the minister of Justice breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. What had happened was too shocking.

“Thank you, Prime Minister Zhang!” The minister of the Ministry of Justice cupped his hands to Prime Minister Zhang.

“It’s all right. We both work for His Majesty. Please tell me the details about what happened at that time,” said Prime Minister Zhang with a gentle smile as he waved his hand.

“At first, Prince Chen sent his men over. Third Young Master Wen happened to be there, so I asked him to go there first. Since having Madam Jiang take a statement was what Prince Chen wanted, we were just carrying out his order. I didn’t expect that such a thing would happen!” The minister of the Ministry of Justice felt greatly troubled. Madam Jiang died in the Ministry of Justice, and this matter was really difficult to deal with.

“Then you’ll tell me more about it. Let’s talk as we walk.” Prime Minister Zhang patted Wen Xichi on the shoulder. He and Prime Minister Wen had been working together for many years. Although they had never gotten along on the surface and had different political opinions, they had a good personal relationship. In his eyes, Wen Xichi was like his nephew.

“Yes, sir!” Wen Xichi nodded, but his eyes bypassed Prime Minister Zhang and fell on a corner ahead.

At the corner, Chu Liuchen, dressed in a cyan brocade robe, came over. His handsome face showed a frivolous smile in the sun, and he looked calm, not affected by the death of Madam Jiang at all.

Prime Minister Zhang and the minister of the Ministry of Justice also saw him. When Chu Liuchen came over, they bowed to him. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Chu Liuchen stopped and asked, “Did you come here for what happened to Madam Jiang?”

“Precisely,” Prime Minister Zhang replied.

“Is Uncle the Emperor angry?” Chu Liuchen pointed in the direction of the Imperial Study.

“His Majesty is very angry!” Prime Minister Zhang nodded and sighed. “It’s really strange. Why did Madam Jiang inexplicably commit suicide?”

“Who knows! Maybe she thought that her death would benefit her son,” Chu Liuchen said indifferently. It could be seen that he didn’t take Madam Jiang’s death to heart.

Prime Minister Zhang’s eyes fell on Chu Liuchen’s face and looked at him carefully. In fact, they didn’t like Prince Chen before. The legitimate son of the deceased emperor was sick and weak, so he couldn’t do anything even if he wanted to. So what if he was favored by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager?

But now they had to face up to him. When did Prince Chen come in front of them in such an unstoppable manner? Had they misunderstood something?

Prime Minister Zhang inadvertently met Chu Liuchen’s eyes, which were as deep as two dark pools and seemed to be able to extinguish endless light. His heart skipped a beat involuntarily.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Prime Minister Zhang? You’ve been staring at me, haven’t you?” Chu Liuchen asked with a smile.

Prime Minister Zhang reacted quickly and said with a smile, “Your Highness, you seem to look much better.”

“I’ve almost recovered. How I looked before must be ridiculous,” Chu Liuchen said with a faint smile.

Prime Minister Zhang’s heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly said, “Not ridiculous at all! It’s the blessing of the entire Kingdom of Dongcang for Your Highness to recover. We shall stop disturbing you now, Your Highness!”

“You’re too courteous, Prime Minister Zhang!” Chu Liuchen narrowed his eyes and glanced at Wen Xichi, who was silent. He then went to the Imperial Study.

Prime Minister Zhang and the others turned around and walked out. Along the way, Prime Minister Zhang didn’t ask Wen Xichi anything, and Wen Xichi didn’t take the initiative to mention the matter. The minister of the Ministry of Justice looked at the two of them and found that they both looked thoughtful, so he kept silent. In fact, he was also worried about how things turned out to be like this.

Chu Liuchen entered the Imperial Study and saw the Emperor sitting behind the desk with an angry face. He was still angry.

Chu Liuchen took a step forward with a smile and bowed respectfully to the Emperor. “Greetings, Uncle the Emperor!”

Seeing that it was Chu Liuchen, the Emperor slightly restrained his anger and asked, “Why are you here at this time?”

“I heard that Madam Jiang had an accident, so I specially came to ask what happened. I’ve caused this trouble. I’m sorry that I got you annoyed!” Chu Liuchen said gently.

“It has nothing to do with you. Shao Jing… Shao Jing…” the Emperor said angrily. Since Shao Jiang went to Marquis Xing’s Mansion, the mansion had become more and more troublesome. And now such a thing had happened. “They can’t even handle their own affairs well. It’s obvious that they are useless.”

Chu Liuchen didn’t answer. He sat down on a chair, took a sip of the tea served by a young eunuch, and said slowly, “Uncle the Emperor, at the gate of Marquis Xing’s Mansion, Madam Jiang said that Marquis Xing had killed the former Heir of Duke Xing and Infanta Qinghua. I don’t know if it’s true. If it is, Shao Jing has exceeded his authority.”

“Shao Jing has a powerful backer?” The Emperor pressed his hand on the desk and immediately stopped moving.