RPAGF Chapter 399 Interrogation (2)
Chapter 399 Interrogation (2)
Shen Fuhan smiled upon hearing this.
He was wondering why no one had asked this question before, but unexpectedly, Li Zhilan took the initiative to ask him.
Li Zhixu finally remembered this matter and frowned, saying, "Yes, Minister Shen, why did you return to the capital halfway?"
“Your Majesty, I have a reason for this,” Shen Fuhan said, bowing. “On my way to Jinzhou, I encountered a woman who stopped my carriage and said she was the orphan of the Xie family in Jinzhou.”
Li Zhixu had no recollection of this.
Li Zhilan frowned, feeling that the title sounded familiar, but couldn't quite place it.
Shen Fuhan reminded them: "The Xie family of Jinzhou became famous throughout the world for their peach cakes a few years ago, but the entire clan was wiped out because of a poisoning incident."
Li Zhilan paused for a moment, then finally remembered this matter.
She still remembered that she was the one who framed the Xie family for the poisoning, and she did it with exceptional ruthlessness.
Wasn't the entire clan wiped out by then? Where did this Xie family orphan suddenly come from?
Li Zhilan broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that Shen Fuhan had secretly investigated again?
She couldn't understand what grudge she had against Shen Fuhan that would lead him to set up such a scheme to harm her!
Shen Fuhan said, "I have verified her identity and she is indeed a member of the Xie family. She said she had been wronged, so I took her back to Chang'an and temporarily placed her in my fourth brother's villa."
Li Zhilan snapped out of her daze and snorted coldly: "Lord Shen is far too trusting. You believed her just because she said she was wronged?"
“At the time, I was also in charge of hearing this case, and I naturally saw many unreasonable aspects, but I hastily closed the case,” Shen Fuhan looked directly at her. “Since the Xie family’s daughter has sought justice, I will naturally do my best.”
Li Zhilan retorted without backing down: "Is this matter more important than the Emperor's affairs, that it would trouble Lord Shen to personally escort him back to the capital?"
"The Emperor's affairs and the people's affairs are no different in my eyes," Shen Fuhan said without fear. "Besides, my guards are still in Jinzhou. I have already handed over the reins, so it doesn't matter if I'm not here."
Li Zhilan sneered, "The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, yet you say there is no difference?"
Shen Fuhan glanced at her indifferently and looked at the Emperor.
Li Zhixu waved his hand: "Stop arguing, let's not talk about the Xie family in Jinzhou for now."
He looked at the imperial physician and instructed, "Quickly take Shen Aiqing's pulse and see why he is vomiting blood."
Two imperial physicians stepped forward and began to examine the patient's body by observation, listening, questioning, and palpation.
Shen Fuhan sat there calmly.
If Li Zhilan could find the Bone-Corroding Powder, he could naturally find other ones as well, so that the imperial physician wouldn't discover why he was vomiting blood.
The two imperial physicians discussed the matter for a long time without reaching a conclusion. Finally, they said, "Perhaps Lord Shen traveled too fast and stopped abruptly. His heart rate was too fast to adapt, and he also drank alcohol, which caused him to vomit blood."
Wen Ruohuan was somewhat taken aback. Was it all a fluke?
She was filled with remorse. If she had known this would happen, why had she been so quick to admit that she had poisoned him?
Li Zhilan, however, did not believe such nonsense: "Continue the investigation! Summon all the imperial physicians; I refuse to believe that none of them can find the cause!"
Shen Fuhan asked slowly and deliberately, "Why is Your Highness getting anxious again?"
Li Zhilan calmly said, "Of course I am doing this for Lord Shen's own good, and I want to find out the cause of his illness as soon as possible."
Wen Jiayue pursed her lips. There was no place for her to speak here, so she watched the whole thing from the sidelines, secretly anxious.
Li Zhilan was truly eloquent; so far, apart from the purse which had some connection to her, she had skillfully deflected everything else.
Despite having so much physical evidence, she still cannot be convicted.
Just as things were getting tense, Eunuch Zhao entered the hall and reported, "Your Majesty, the guards from the Shen residence have brought physical evidence."
"Announce him to come in."
Before long, the guard came over carrying the bone-corroding powder.
After bowing, he explained, "Your Majesty, this was found in the courtyard of Miss Wen's guest room. Please take a look."
Wen Ruohuan glanced at it and then collapsed to the ground, her body going limp.
She hid it so well, yet it was still found out!
Li Zhixu glanced at it twice: "Put it down."
The imperial physician stepped forward to examine it and confirmed that it was indeed bone-corroding powder.
Li Zhixu felt that the case was already very clear: Wen Ruohuan had poisoned the emperor's sister, but failed, so her crime was compounded.
The reason for her poisoning is currently unknown.
He then asked, "Wen, why did you poison me?"
Li Zhilan gave Wen Ruohuan a cold look.
If anyone dares to utter her name, she will make sure they die a horrible death!
But Wen Ruohuan had already given up and quickly spoke up.
"The Princess is infatuated with Lord Shen, so she forced me to poison my sister so that she could marry Lord Shen openly and legitimately. I am innocent!"
She began to sob, but a flash of hatred crossed her eyes.
If this matter is exposed, she will definitely not survive, and Li Zhilan will not be able to escape unscathed either!
Li Zhilan gritted her teeth. This crazy woman! She should have poisoned her to make her mute back then!
She was about to step forward and slap him again, but Shen Fuhan stopped her once more.
"Please, Your Highness, restrain your temper in the main hall."
Li Zhilan angrily withdrew her hand and asked, "Since you say I forced you, why did you believe me? What did I force you to do?"
Wen Ruohuan's eyes darted around: "If I don't help you, you won't live to see tomorrow..."
As long as her sister believes she is innocent, her sister will plead with her brother-in-law, and she will definitely have a chance to survive.
Thinking of this, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Your Majesty, this Bone-Corroding Powder is not something that ordinary people can access. I am just the daughter of a minor official of the seventh rank. How could I possibly have obtained the Bone-Corroding Powder? This was given to me by the Princess. I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly!"
Li Zhixu was completely dumbfounded. His elder sister admired... Minister Shen?
He didn't want to believe it, but then a series of events from recent years suddenly popped into his mind, making him feel that it was somewhat credible.
His face tightened, and he asked, "Does Princess Yongzhen have anything to say?"
Li Zhilan was not flustered just now. In any case, in the eyes of others, these were all unfounded rumors. As long as the emperor believed her, that was enough.
If the emperor trusts her, then she has done nothing wrong.
But as soon as she heard the emperor's title change, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Does Your Majesty think I would fall for a married man?" Li Zhilan feigned composure. "What kind of man can't I find? Why would I hang myself on one tree?"
Li Zhixu didn't respond to that, but looked at Shen Fuhan.
"What do you think, Shen Aiqing?"
"I have no interest in matters between men and women," Shen Fuhan said sternly, "but I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate Princess Yongzhen!"
He said, word by word, "It's not just the poisoning incident today, but also the Xie family case in Jinzhou, and the tragic death of my second brother. Every single one of these matters is inextricably linked to Princess Yongzhen!"