Chapter 197 Lao Qian finally woke up
The next day, morning had just ended.
Jian Shangshu wrote a letter of impeachment.
The Marquis of Huaiyuan allowed his daughter to commit murder, kidnapped Sun Ma, a servant of the Shangshu Mansion, and tortured her to extract a confession in order to frame the future Princess Pingxi.
The emperor ordered someone to summon Huaiyuan Hou and Xie Wan'er to the palace for interrogation.
When Xie Wan'er confronted Jian Shuyan in the main hall, she naturally could not produce any conclusive evidence to prove her accusation against Jian Shuyan.
The emperor sat on the dragon chair, looking down at the two people who were arguing and refusing to give in to each other. His eyes were dim and unclear, and his face was uncertain. No one could figure out his thoughts.
Jian Shuyan calmly dealt with Xie Wan'er's doubts and rebutted with reasonable evidence. Especially when the coachman Lao Qian was poisoned and killed by Yu Shu, she successfully transferred the suspicion to Liang Jiang.
In the end, Xie Wan'er was defeated by Jian Shuyan's impassioned speech.
Anger was already sweeping and suppressed in the emperor's eyes. Marquis Huaiyuan knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head, waiting for the emperor's thunderous wrath.
"Here comes someone!"
The guards outside the palace responded and entered.
"Xie Wan'er, Princess of Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion, framed her without any basis and evidence, and intended to beat her into submission. This behavior is bad and cannot be forgiven.
Marquis Huaiyuan allowed his daughter to commit the crime, so he should be guilty of the same crime. He dragged the two of them down and ordered..."
"Brother Royal!"
Gu Xizhi, who had been silent on the side, suddenly said, "Brother Chen, I have something to report."
The emperor was displeased: "You want to plead for Xie Wan'er?"
Gu Xizhi pursed his thin lips and took two steps forward.
He went to the palace today specifically for Xie Wan'er's matter. As he expected, he could not suppress the development of the matter.
Seeing that the two of them were about to be punished by the emperor, once the imperial edict came out, there was no way to reverse it, and now they could only burn everything.
"Brother, the coachman, Lao Qian, is not actually dead. He is now hidden in a safe place by Princess Heya to recover from his injuries. As long as Lao Qian wakes up, he can prove whether Xie Wan'er and Miss Jian are real or fake. ”
The emperor frowned: "Why didn't you tell me just now?"
"Lao Qian's condition is not very good. I don't know if he can wake up. Moreover, Lao Qian has been hunted down many times and the other party will use any means. My brother dare not reveal the matter easily."
The emperor had long since lost his patience and waved his hand and ordered: "Then we will put the two of them into prison first, and they will not be released for the time being. I will only give you two days. If Lao Qian still doesn't wake up, he will be released according to Chang'an regulations."
This is already mercy.
The imperial guards immediately swarmed up and dragged Xie Wan'er away.
Marquis Huaiyuan said nothing and was led down with his head downcast.
The emperor angrily rolled his sleeves and said, "Let's all disperse."
As soon as he stood up, he saw a member of the Royal Forest Army rushing in and whispered something back to Eunuch Lin.
Eunuch Lin hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head, walked to Emperor Long An, and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, Princess Heya is requesting an audience. She is outside the palace."
The emperor raised his eyes: "Herself?"
"There is another person following. Princess Heya said he is a witness in the assassination of Concubine Xie and the coachman of Concubine Xie."
Lao Qian finally woke up!
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall had different expressions.
Jian Shuyan and Jian Shang were obviously flustered on paper, but Xie Wan'er was shocked and immediately held her head high, excited and excited.
The emperor glanced at Jian Shuyan calmly and waved: "Xuan."
Eunuch Lin sent the order. After a while, Liang Jiang supported a thin man with a sick face and walked slowly inside.
The two of them knelt down in the main hall together and kowtowed to the emperor.
The emperor's last patience was almost exhausted, and he asked in a deep voice: "Are you the coachman who survived the catastrophe?"
Lao Qian had been in a coma for such a long time. As soon as he woke up, Liang Jiang carried him all the way into the palace.
At this time, his whole body was weak and he had no strength. Even his voice was hoarse and it was very difficult to speak: "Long live the reply, that's right."
"Then what exactly do you know? Tell the truth about what happened when Mrs. Xie returned to Beijing that day."
Lao Qian lowered his head, not daring to raise his face, and recounted word by word what happened on his way back to Beijing that day.
"As the day approached the capital, Princess Wan'er was so excited to return home that she snatched the guard's horse and returned to the capital first.
The Queen Mother was afraid that something might happen to her, so she ordered her guards to catch up and protect her. Only the servants and six or seven guards were left to escort the concubine slowly.
Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, they were suddenly hit by a cold arrow. Everyone was caught off guard and had nowhere to hide. Most of them were killed or injured, and the old slave was also hit by an arrow. The princess was frightened by the horse, hit her head, and fainted on the spot.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Princess Heya arrived in time and blocked the pursuing Tsing Yi assassins for the old slave, allowing the old slave to drive the carriage and leave first. "
After saying so much in one breath, the coachman was a little out of breath and took a short rest before continuing:
"The old slave fled the scene in a carriage, but who knew he would be chased by those Tsing Yi assassins again. He was hit by another sword accidentally and fainted immediately.
When I was in a daze, I heard a woman scolding the men in green clothes for not doing their job well, saying that her young lady had been waiting in front for a long time, why couldn't a few small guards deal with it.
Then the Tsing Yi assassin briefly explained what happened and asked for instructions. The concubine fainted. What should I do next?
The woman said: "The lady is waiting at the intersection ahead. After I leave, you will pretend to be a frightened horse. After the lady rescues the concubine, you will just bluff around for a while and then retreat immediately." . ’”
"Nonsense!" Jian Shuyan turned pale and immediately retorted: "Did Liang Jiang tell you to say this? You were in a coma at the time, how could you hear others talking?"
Lao Qian swallowed his saliva with difficulty: "Although Lao Nu was hit by two arrows at that time, he lost a lot of blood and his brain was dizzy, but the vital parts were not injured. He was also thinking about the safety of the concubine, so his mind was clear.
When I heard that they were going to frighten the horse, I immediately started struggling, trying to stop it beyond my own control.
Who knows, before he could get up, the other woman saw him and slapped the old slave hard on the head. I really don’t know what happened next.
Perhaps the old slave had held his breath at that time and the other party thought I was dead, or perhaps he was lucky enough to be approached by a passerby, so he luckily escaped and was rescued by Princess Heya who came later. "
As soon as the words came out, the facts were obvious.
It was clear that Jian Shuyan had planned ahead, sent someone to assassinate the concubine, and then pretended to take the credit.
No wonder Lao Qian was in danger again and again. He had met Sun Ma and heard her plans. How could he be spared his life?
Jian Shuyan still tried to make a last ditch effort.
"Your Majesty is aware that this old man was clearly instigated by others to conspire with Princess Heya to frame me. I am already the Emperor's designated candidate for Princess Pingxi, and there is absolutely no reason to do such a thing."
Gu Xizhi said calmly: "Whether Lao Qian is lying or not, we only need to call Sun Ma in and identify her on the spot."
Sun Ma was waiting outside the palace, ready to be summoned to testify for Jian Shuyan at any time.
When Liang Jiang entered the palace with Lao Qian, she knew that the matter might not be hidden.
He was summoned into the main hall anxiously, and stood with several other nuns of similar stature, and was identified by Lao Qian.
Lao Qian only glanced at it, and immediately raised his hand and pointed at her without thinking: "That's her!"
It's become obvious.
Jian Shuyan's face suddenly turned white, like a frightened bird, and her voice trembled as she tried to defend: "Your Majesty, your servant..."
(End of chapter)