Rebirth of the Merchant Woman's Revenge

When Li Junze looked at Gu Qiongsi, he found that something was wrong with her today. She was staring helplessly at the teacup on the table.

He was completely different from the Qingzhu who was energetic and clear-minded whom I saw yesterday.

"Qingzhu?" He interrupted Gu Qiongsi's trance and asked, "How should we deal with this matter?"

Gu Qiongsi raised her eyelids and glanced at Li Junze. Then she saw the looks the other three were giving her. She then said softly, "Don't worry about this matter. There are only three people who have had contact with me, but none of them know who I am, let alone that I am Young Master Qingzhu."

Wen Jiaxiang nodded in understanding, "Now that Master Qingzhu has said this, we can put all those people in the prison aside. Master Qingzhu is indeed very thoughtful."

His words were a compliment to Gu Qiongsi, who had just started working under Prince An, and should have been very grateful for it. However, Gu Qiongsi just gave a forced smile and fixed his gaze on the teacup again.

"But did something happen at home?" Seeing that she was so out of shape, Li Junze had to ask about his guess.

"Yes," Gu Qiongsi nodded, but she quickly adjusted her state and said to Li Junze apologetically, "It's just some trivial matters, Your Highness, don't worry, it won't affect our business."

Wen Jiaxiang and the others looked at each other, and felt a little unhappy in their hearts. The woman was really unreliable. She even affected the trivial matters at home to this extent. This was not the way to run a business.

At the same time, in the prison of the Dali Temple, Yan Nangui straightened his court robes and looked through the memorial in his hand again. After seeing that there was no problem, he said to Deputy General Niu,

"I will go to the palace to report now. You must be alert here. Understand?"

Deputy General Niu nodded repeatedly, "I understand, sir, just go ahead."

Yan Nangui nodded. Nanny Li’s death still bothered him, but fortunately they had other clues, otherwise he would not be able to give an explanation to the emperor.

I'm afraid I will have to give up my position as Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.

This was something he could not accept no matter what, so he worked non-stop for three days. Finally, he followed the clues and found the person behind it.

That's why he ignored all the consequences and took those people's confessions and memorials with him and waited at the palace gate early in the morning to wait for an interview.

He had been living and eating in the prison for the past few days, so it was inevitable that he had a slight odor on his body. Fortunately, his court clothes were all scented with the cold plum fragrance that Madam Xie had given him.

Just when he was drowsy and almost snoring while standing, a young eunuch ran out panting and loudly announced the emperor's decree, asking him to come to the imperial study immediately to see the emperor.

From the palace gate to the imperial study, the two of them didn't say a word, because the emperor's face became more and more ugly in the past two days, there was no news from Yan Nangui, and the empress dowager's health was getting worse day by day, which made all the ministers and attendants serve him in fear.

"Your Majesty, I, Yan Nangui, pay my respects to His Majesty." As soon as Yan Nangui entered the hall, he saluted the emperor loudly.

"No need to be so polite. You have asked for leave for the morning court sessions these days, but have you come up with any results from the interrogation?" The emperor looked unhappy and his tone was a little stiff.

After saying this, he angrily threw aside the memorial he was reading, and then looked up at Yan Nangui.

"Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your mission." After Yan Nangui stood up, he handed all the memorials and the confessions of the prisoners to Eunuch Chengping, who passed them on to the emperor.

"Well, is that so?" The emperor immediately perked up and reached out to pick up the thick memorial. After flipping through it a few times, his irritable mood calmed down.

"How come, after tracing it to the end, they actually traced it back to the housekeeper in Mr. Wang's mansion?" The emperor raised his eyebrows.

Yan Nangui nodded, "Your Majesty, that's right. I have been working non-stop these past few days and have interrogated no less than twenty people. I have also picked out those who were instigated to rebel in the Dali Temple. In the end, the person they pointed to was Butler Zhuo from the Scholar's Mansion."

"Hmph, how could he, a mere steward, have the guts to do something like murdering the empress dowager?" The emperor did not believe the result and threw the memorial on the desk in front of him.

Yan Nangui was waiting for these words, "Your Majesty, I came to the palace today to ask for your instructions. Do you want to continue investigating this case? If so, I will arrest the housekeeper Zhuo from the scholar's mansion."

The emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at Yan Nangui twice. With Yan Nangui's means, it was not impossible for him to ask more questions, but...

Before he could think about it, Eunuch Chengping came in from outside and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, Scholar Wang and his housekeeper request to enter the palace to see the emperor."

"Hmm?" The emperor raised his eyes. This old guy reacted really quickly. Is he coming here to apologize?

Yan Nangui also felt uneasy. Wang Zhuo was indeed a man of courage, resourcefulness and ability, yet he got the news so quickly.

"Announce." The emperor said in a loud voice.

Soon, the door of the hall was opened from the outside, and Bachelor Wang Zhuo walked in with a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man's hands were handcuffed behind his back and tied tightly with ropes.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. Please punish me." As soon as Wang Zhuo entered the palace, he cried and begged the emperor to punish him without even having time to salute the emperor.

The emperor frowned and pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Master Wang, what are you doing? What crime have you committed? Why do you say this?"

Wang Zhuo was heard kneeling on the ground with tears in his eyes, saying loudly, "It is all because of my failure to discipline my subordinates that this ignorant fellow took advantage of the situation and committed such a treasonous act. Please punish him, Your Majesty."

The emperor and Yan Nangui looked at each other and both admired Wang Zhuo's ability to judge the situation. When he saw that Butler Zhuo could not escape the blame, he changed his strategy in time.

Yan Nangui then helped Wang Zhuo to tell the story of what Zhuo's housekeeper had done. "Your Majesty, when I was trying Sun Wanqing's case of colliding with the imperial edict, several people's testimonies were surprisingly consistent. They all pointed to Wang Xueshi's housekeeper, saying that they were all instructed by him, and also said,"

Yan Nangui paused for a moment, and seeing that the emperor had no intention of stopping him, he continued, "And he also said that the Tan Lang that Nanny Li mentioned was Butler Zhuo."

Wang Zhuo raised his head, a little confused, and asked Butler Zhuo with a bit of sadness, "Mantis? What mantis? Who is Nanny Li? Zhuo Lang, how many things have you hidden from me?"