12dz Chapter 84 The former Vice Minister's residence is now a rat in the gutter.
Chapter 84 The former Vice Minister's residence is now a rat in the gutter.
This is what it means to actually get caught up in the drama yourself.
Qin Yizhen was so shocked that she almost bit her own tongue.
Everyone present turned their attention to this.
Some found it hard to believe, some were skeptical, and some were even filled with anger.
Just like Fang Shixin.
"Fine! I knew it was you! It really was you!" Fang Shixin was so angry she jumped up and down.
"I knew you were no good. No matter how good-looking you are, you have a filthy and vicious heart. How could you be worthy of Cheng Yan? He must be blind to like you!"
"Shut up!" Qin Yizhen glanced at him coldly and rebuked him, "How I am with the Marquis is none of your business. Even if I am not worthy of the Marquis, it is still none of your business to judge me."
"You deceived me, calling me your sister while secretly coveting the Marquis, causing trouble between me and the Marquis, and trying to break us up. What kind of good person are you!"
Qin Yizhen's tone was cold and stern, and every sentence pointed directly to Fang Shixin's most shameful secrets. Fang Shixin's face turned red, and everyone around her turned to look at her.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Fang Shixin gasped for breath, trying her best to defend herself, "I'm doing this all for his own good! If it weren't for you, his life would be much better!"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think you married the Marquis of Chengen and became his stepmother. Why are you meddling in things like this?" Qin Yizhen almost laughed. "The Marquis knows exactly what kind of life he wants to live. Why does he need an outsider like you to plan for him?"
If that's the case, then the world is a good thing too. Why don't you conquer it and give it to him?
ridiculous!
"You!" Fang Shixin's face turned pale with anger. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Don't bring that up. We're talking about the fire at Fanghua Pavilion. You said I had no evidence before, but now the witnesses are right here. What else do you have to say?"
"Of course I have something to say." Qin Yizhen lowered her eyes, then looked up at the people kneeling in the hall.
"Zhang Hui, is it? You say I ordered you to do this? Then tell me how I ordered you, what benefits I promised you, what I asked you to do, and when I saw you?"
Zhang Hui scoffed, "Princess, you jest. You didn't instruct me. It's all nonsense. Besides, I've never admitted to starting the fire!"
His tone was dismissive, full of contempt and sarcasm, as if he had just made a harmless joke to make everyone laugh, and it shouldn't be taken seriously.
Fang Shixin frowned: "You just said..."
"What did you say?" Zhang Hui lowered his eyes, concealing the sinister look in them. "I only asked if you wanted me to confess that I set the fire and then confess who ordered it. I didn't say that I set the fire, much less that Princess Yizhen ordered it!"
His words confused everyone present.
So he didn't admit to anything, and it's just others making wild guesses, right?
"Zhang Hui!" Lord Zeng slammed his gavel again. "Quickly confess the truth."
"I confess, I confess!" Zhang Hui laughed again. "I set the fire, hahaha! And who ordered me to do it? It was Princess Yizhen, hahaha!"
Has this person gone mad?
Lord Zeng frowned, about to say something, when he suddenly saw Zhang Hui, who was kneeling in the hall, suddenly jump up and smash his head against a pillar.
His previous rogue behavior was speechless, but it also made people lower their guard against him. No one expected that he would suddenly lash out and commit suicide by hitting his head against a pillar.
Those who realized what was happening screamed in fright and covered their eyes, too scared to look.
However, the scenario they feared did not occur.
Just as Zhang Hui was about to crash into the pillar and splatter blood everywhere, a person suddenly appeared beside the pillar. Seeing Zhang Hui rushing over, the person kicked him in the shoulder, sending him flying.
As Zhang Hui crashed to the ground with a thud, the man stepped forward, twisted Zhang Hui's hands behind his back, and with a forceful twist of his rough knuckles, dislocated Zhang Hui's jaw.
The person who made the move was none other than Qin Yizhen's personal guard.
As a princess of the dynasty, she held a noble status. Moreover, given the chaos of war among the four kingdoms at the time, the Qin capital was not an impregnable fortress. Therefore, when she traveled, she would naturally have one or two highly skilled guards by her side.
Zhang Hui let out a painful groan, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He tried to struggle, but was pinned to the ground and unable to move.
Those present were so frightened by this sudden turn of events that their faces turned pale.
Qin Yizhen patted her sleeves, her gaze sweeping over the silent crowd, her tone cold and brooking no argument:
"This man speaks unclearly and intends to frame me and then commit suicide. I believe he is malicious and has ulterior motives. He should be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review for questioning. What does Lord Zeng think?"
Lord Zeng was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.
If Zhang Hui really died so mysteriously, leaving no way to verify the truth, then the clues to the Fanghua Pavilion arson case would be cut off here, and Princess Yizhen would probably be unable to explain herself even if she had a hundred mouths.
With such a thing happening under his jurisdiction, he's no longer fit to be the Prefect of the Capital!
“The princess is right. The case should be handed over to the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice for interrogation.”
"Zhang Hui should be the third son of the Zhang family and the nephew of the Lady of Chengen Marquis."
Suddenly a voice came, and everyone looked up to see that Cheng Yan had brought Song Nian to the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture.
He wore a purple official robe and a turban, which made him look less cold and dignified than when he wore armor. Instead, he had the air of a noble young master and a scholar.
As precious as gold and jade, magnificent and splendid.
"Marquis of Pingxi".
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone quickly bowed in greeting.
Cheng Yan walked over slowly, greeted Lord Zeng, and then said, "Lord Zeng, Zhang Hui has a grudge against me, so his words cannot be used as testimony."
"So you're from the Zhang family." Lord Zeng suddenly realized.
If you were to ask which family this Zhang family actually belongs to, it would naturally be the former residence of a high-ranking official, now reduced to rats in the gutter.
Marquis Chengen was a scholar who passed the imperial examinations. He passed with flying colors and became involved with the daughter of Vice Minister Zhang. Later, Marquis Chengen divorced his wife and married another woman, Zhang.
Zhang was incredibly vicious. Empress Dowager Cheng and Cheng Yan suffered countless hardships at her hands. Even Empress Dowager Cheng and Cheng Yan's mother, Lady Mingguo, were harmed by Zhang.
When Empress Dowager Cheng ascended to power, she crippled Marquis Chengen. Although Lady Zhang was spared, she was left to linger in a state of misery, worse than death.
And the Zhang family, who were once accomplices of the Zhang family, naturally did not fare well either.
Once knocked down and reduced to dust, the great tree collapses, wives and children are torn apart, and everyone shouts to kill him.
The fact that Zhang Hui, the once-noble grandson of a high-ranking official, has now fallen to the point of working as a shop assistant carrying goods speaks volumes.
The Zhang family harbored deep hatred for Empress Dowager Cheng, Cheng Yan, and others.
Therefore, Zhang Hui's testimony against Qin Yizhen is obviously invalid.