I have been investigating the assassination of Prince Ning for over a month, but there is still no definite information.
Over at Prince Ning's Mansion, they carefully investigated the maid and her parents, and finally discovered that the maid had followed her parents and returned to her hometown for a period of time to visit relatives. After returning, her parents passed away soon after.
Because she was born into a royal family, and she was stable and decent, so even though she was an orphan, she was valued and trusted by the royal family, so she was arranged to serve in the front hall during the prince's wedding.
Thinking about it now, it was most likely that the maid came into contact with outsiders at that time. It was also possible that the maid was replaced by someone with a similar appearance, so her parents passed away one after another.
Prince Ning reported the results of the investigation to the emperor, and was scolded again as expected.
But at least the suspicion of Prince Ning's Mansion was cleared.
Of course, the emperor did not really doubt Prince Ning. It was just that the incident happened in Prince Ning's mansion, so Prince Ning had to take responsibility.
Princess Ning was still very unwilling to find the mastermind behind the scenes.
Although I had explained it to the emperor, I was still unwilling to put this matter down and continued to investigate in secret.
As for the emperor, although many people were dispatched to investigate, there was no clear result.
At this time, news came from Dali Temple that an assassin had been recruited!
"Invite the minister of Dali Temple to see you."
Eunuch Hong quickly invited Pei Xiurong, the minister of Dali Temple, who was waiting outside the palace. Even though it was already night, Pei Xiurong did not dare to delay. As soon as there was news, he came over quickly.
The emperor's face turned cold and he said, "Tell me about it."
"yes!"
Pei Xiurong calmed down his thoughts for a while and reported: "When the prince handed over the assassin, he had already been tortured. The assassin was in poor physical condition. After he came to Dali Temple, he was tortured severely again, combined with the method that can make people unconscious. Datura flower, the assassin confessed, saying that her owner’s surname was Peng, and before Prince Ning’s wedding, his owner sent her a message that if he had a chance, he would kill the prince. She didn’t know anything else.”
The emperor looked at the Minister of Dali Temple with arrow-like eyes.
The Minister of Dali Temple only lowered his head and kept his eyebrows motionless.
The emperor then asked: "How is the assassin doing now?"
Pei Xiurong carefully replied: "The last severe punishment was used up, and he died shortly after."
In fact, in the end, Pei Xiurong was not there when he asked about the person behind the scenes. After staying up for several days, he went to take a nap, but unexpectedly, Dali Shaoqing asked the murderer.
He didn't want to get into trouble at the moment. It was important to report the results to the emperor, otherwise he would be stared at by the emperor every day, which would be too much pressure!
After listening to the words of the Minister of Dali Temple, the emperor was silent for a while.
Then he heard Eunuch Hong coming over and saying in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Yushi Zhang is asking for an audience outside the palace, saying that he has a script that he wants to report."
The emperor nodded: "Let him come in."
Zhang Yushi was famous in the court for being fearless and fearless. The minister of Dali Temple looked at Zhang Yushi and wondered what had caught his eye.
As soon as Zhang Yushi came in, he knelt down and kowtowed on the ground, and said angrily: "Your Majesty, I want to report to Peng Shangshu that as a veteran of the two dynasties and a role model for students, he is not strict in educating his children, does not cultivate personal ethics, and is indulgent. The son beat and abused his wife and raised boys and girls in the house to satisfy his own lust."
The emperor's expression turned even worse after hearing this.
He replied: "In that case, order the Imperial Army to search Peng Shangshu's mansion immediately."
After Zhang Yushi heard this, he didn't react for a while. He looked at the emperor with wide eyes. He hadn't yet produced the letter and evidence Mrs. Andinghou had given her, so why did he go to search Peng Shangshu's mansion in the first place?
He thought that he had to recruit Peng Shangshu no matter what, and have a quarrel with Peng Shangshu and his supporters, but he was afraid that there might not be any results!
Suddenly, Zhang Yushi had a new understanding of his position in the emperor's heart!
The new leader of the imperial army was appointed by the prince. Deng Zhijie, the legitimate son of the Marquis of Jining, was also the prince's companion like Shu Yuyang.
As soon as he heard the emperor's order, he immediately ordered people and rushed to Peng Mansion.
A large number of imperial troops were dispatched.
Everyone in the capital quickly got the news and paid attention to the movements of the Forbidden Army, and finally found out that they were going to Peng's Mansion.
When the imperial army surrounded Peng's mansion, Mr. Peng was returning to the mansion and wanted to pull An Shaoyan to the bed. There were two young children trembling beside him.
When they first arrived at the front yard, the steward hurriedly came over and knocked on the door. Mr. Peng anxiously ordered the two children to be sent back to the cellar. After warning An Shaoyan, he got dressed and went to the front yard.
Peng Shangshu also hurriedly ordered the two little girls who were warming the bed to retreat, straightened their clothes, and hurried to the front yard while listening to the butler's report.
"Master, the imperial army came suddenly. Except for the people that the second master has taken into the house, there is nothing unsafe for the time being."
As Peng Shangshu walked away, he said: "It's too late to send him away now. Go and have a look at Lao Er's side. The entrance to the cellar is hidden."
"yes!"
The butler hurried away.
Peng Shangshu had just arrived at the front hall, and Deng Zhijie had already led others to the front hall.
Peng Shangshu said unhappily: "I wonder what I have committed? Leader Deng went on such a rampage and broke into the house!"
Deng Zhijie ignored him at all and took over commanding his imperial troops to continue searching inside.
After the arrangements were made, he said calmly: "Master Peng, I don't know what you have committed, but without the emperor's order, it is impossible for me to privately transfer the imperial army, and searching the Shangshu Mansion is not possible."
Peng Shangshu was disappointed. Although he was panicking in his heart, his face remained calm.
"I am a man who has purged himself, so I will let you search and see what you can find!"
The rest of the Peng family also arrived one after another. Uncle Peng glanced at the second master Peng without leaving any trace. The second master Peng nodded lightly, and Peng Da felt relieved.
The cellar is extremely hidden and difficult to discover as long as there are no thieves.
However, after a while, the guards appeared in the front hall with a group of young boys and girls. All of these children had good faces, some were twelve or thirteen years old, some were only six or seven years old, many had injuries on their bodies, and some He even looked like he was dying.
The expressions of everyone in the Peng family changed instantly!
Peng Shangshu's face turned gray and he almost fainted for a moment.
Deng Zhijie dragged the person back with quick hands and eyes, and said with a smile: "Master Peng, don't faint! You are a noble person who will be pure himself."
After saying that, he pushed the person to his subordinates and ordered: "Everyone in the Peng Mansion, take them all away!"
