Free Web NovelChapter 1140: Chapter 1131: Accident (16)
The Prince’s baggage had already been packed, ready for departure, but then news came from the nun at Ciyun Temple saying that something had happened with Xie Jinyu and the Third Young Master of the Ministry of Personnel Mansion.
The nun did not speak clearly, but her face was written with words that were difficult to utter.
At that moment, the Prince’s face turned gloomy.
Mrs. Wang felt her intestines turn blue with regret, having already given a lot of incense money to Ciyun Temple’s nun to take good care of the young lady, yet something went wrong.
If she had known the young lady would cause such disgrace to the Prince Mansion at the Ciyun Temple, even if the young lady was prone to creating trouble and burning down the mansion, she would have kept her inside the estate.
The Prince hated Princess Nanzhang, who also reaped what she sowed, dying of illness in the Ministry of Justice Prison, not meeting a good end.
Xie Jinyu was still his daughter, and with her causing trouble at the Ciyun Temple, the Prince could not pretend to be unaware.
Even if he left earlier, the Old Prince would have to take care of his granddaughter.
The Prince, along with an entourage, went to Ciyun Temple, and Mrs. Wang followed.
Inside the house, Xie Jinyu, clutching a blanket, cried her heart out with disheveled hair, and the floor was littered with torn clothes, making it evident what had occurred.
The veins on the Prince’s forehead throbbed.
The Prince had just arrived when the Chief of Staff and his wife arrived shortly afterward.
The Third Young Master of the Minister of Rites Mansion was the legitimate second son of the Chief of the Ministry of Personnel and his wife.
Seeing the mess inside the house, the Chief of Staff feared the Prince’s anger and his wife turned to ask the nun, "Where is my son?!"
"The Third Young Master is in the room next door," the nun hurriedly replied.
The Chief of Staff looked at the Prince and said, "It is we, as parents, who failed to teach our son properly, allowing the young lady of your mansion to be wronged."
"I do not know how my son got involved with the young lady, but I will find out and give the Prince an explanation."
Saying this, the Chief of Staff went next door to interrogate his son. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
The Chief of Staff’s wife also followed out.
The nun watched the Chief of Staff’s wife walk afar, her knitted brows unable to relax.
This matter required investigation by both the Chief of Staff and the Prince.
Such a scandal unfolding at Ciyun Temple brought immense disgrace to the Prince Zhenbei Mansion.
From Xie Jingchuan betraying the nation to Princess Nanzhang poisoning the Little Princess, and now with Xie Jinyu causing trouble...
The mother and children have covered the face of the Prince Zhenbei Mansion with layer upon layer of shame.
The Prince’s expression was as oppressive as the sky in June, ready to unleash a storm at any moment.
He sat there with a cloudy face, while the servants went to interrogate Xie Jinyu’s maid and the nun.
The maid insisted she knew nothing, saying she accompanied Xie Jinyu to the Buddhist Hall to recite scriptures, and on their way back, the Third Young Master Zhu from the Ministry of Personnel Mansion, with a flushed face, dashed over, grabbed Xie Jinyu’s hand, pushed her against the wall, and kissed her...
She tried to stop him, but the blood-red eyes of the Third Young Master Zhu were terrifying.
When the Third Young Master Zhu’s hand flipped, she fell to the ground, her head hitting a stone, causing her to faint.
The swelling on her forehead confirmed her words were true.
The nun knew even less, for she was delivering vegetarian cakes to Xie Jinyu, and upon hearing the commotion inside, pushed the door open only to realize something had occurred.
Mrs. Wang didn’t believe the maid nor the nun’s words.
The Princess Consort had donated so much incense money to Ciyun Temple for them to keep a close eye on the young lady, and even if they weren’t neglectful, they should have monitored her closely, ensuring she neither ran away nor committed acts that would disgrace the Prince Zhenbei Mansion.
The young lady was taken advantage of, the maid was knocked out, and only after the incident did the nun come out; such neglect meant that if the young lady escaped, the Ciyun Temple would likely remain oblivious.
Since the Empress Dowager had fallen, and after Prince Qi and Duke Chong’s treachery, Xie Jinyu’s marriage had become a heartache for Princess Nanzhang, or perhaps even earlier, after the Prince sought the decree to confer the title of Princess Consort, no one dared to praise Xie Jinyu or express intentions to wed in front of Princess Nanzhang.
Xie Jinyu was the Prince’s daughter; he wouldn’t ignore her, but even if he intervened, Xie Jinyu would never marry into the Ministry of Personnel Mansion.
Now that the rice had been cooked into porridge, marriage was inevitable.
With only a maid serving her, if Xie Jinyu plotted against the Third Young Master Zhu, she must have had the nun’s assistance.
Mrs. Wang intended to search the nunnery, implicitly allowed by the silent Prince.
Upon investigation, they found several pieces of jewelry in the nun’s room.
Mrs. Wang recognized them immediately; they all belonged to Xie Jinyu.
Whenever Xie Jinyu got new headpieces, she liked to show them off, which prompted Xie Jinxiu to coquettishly ask the Old Madam to buy her some.
Now these headpieces were found in the nun’s room, which was truly intriguing.
Faced with Mrs. Wang’s questioning, the nun became indignant.
"As a nun, having severed ties with worldly matters, what use do I have for such opulent headpieces?"
It was Xie Jinyu who persistently clamored to descend the mountain for this and that, threatening with a golden hairpin against her life, so she confiscated these headpieces, intending to return them all when someone from the mansion came to fetch Xie Jinyu.
The nun’s words were flawless, and Xie Jinyu threatening suicide was no rare occurrence.
"What use is it for the nun to collect a few headpieces if the young lady still wears a golden hairpin?" Mrs. Wang punctured the assertion with a word.
The nun’s eyes flickered, and she stammered, clueless about what to answer.
When Xie Jinyu was sent to Ciyun Temple by the Prince Zhenbei Mansion, the only instruction was to keep a close watch on her, ensuring she stayed at the nunnery to recite scriptures and pray, there were no other orders.
Ill-treating Xie Jinyu, forcing her to bribe with headpieces, was suicide.
Unable to find a suitable excuse, the nun began to panic.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff was interrogating the people, with the Third Young Master Zhu having delivered scriptures for the Old Madam Zhu, only drinking a cup of tea at Ciyun Temple.
The Chief of Staff interrogated the young nun who served tea to the Third Young Master Zhu.
If the drugging happened elsewhere, it wouldn’t have taken until Ciyun Temple for the poison to take effect; it must have happened at Ciyun Temple.
Apart from that cup of tea, there was no other possibility.
The young nun insisted that she knew nothing.
The Chief of Staff couldn’t administer punishment at Ciyun Temple, disturbing its serene grounds.
However, the Chief of Staff’s wife had no intention of letting the nun off easily; interrogation did not only involve flogging; she had other bloodless ways to extract confessions.
The young nun was taken behind a screen, strapped to a chair, and tickled with a chicken feather under her feet.
It was not long before the young nun could not endure it and confessed.
The nun had given her a packet of drugs to put into the Third Young Master Zhu’s tea, and she was merely following orders, knowing nothing else.
The maid hadn’t stopped, and the young nun made additional confessions, "A few days ago, the young lady from the Prince Zhenbei Mansion gave the nun a Jade Bracelet..."
Upon hearing this, the Chief of Staff’s wife quickly said, "Stop, release that young nun."
With the investigation reaching this point, what wasn’t clear?
Further interrogations would only disgrace the Prince Zhenbei Mansion.
Turning a blind eye, this was merely an accident.
Both the Third Young Master Zhu and the young lady of the Prince Zhenbei Mansion were victims.
The Chief of Staff looked at his wife, not understanding her motive, should they not get to the bottom of this? Otherwise, his son would have to marry the young lady from the Prince Zhenbei Mansion as a legitimate wife.
Marrying an unworthy wife brings misfortune for three generations.
The Chief of Staff’s wife pressed his hand and said, "This is simply an accident."
