Rebirth of the Merchant Woman's Revenge

Wang Zhuo's performance, from his expression to his tone, was so perfect that Yan Nangui almost clapped his hands in approval. This old fox was really good at putting the blame on others. It would be difficult for him to get away with it.

"Your Excellency Wang, you may not know that more than 20 years ago, a woman named Jiang Muyu, who was a master of illusion, was arranged to enter the palace and even to be by the Queen Mother's side. I'm afraid that this is something that a housekeeper like Zhuo cannot do."

"Besides, he is just a butler who was less than 20 years old 20 years ago. What kind of deep hatred does he have that requires him to do such a thing?"

Yan Nangui asked his question without any hesitation.

After hearing this, Wang Zhuo's face was even more horrified. His face turned pale and cold sweat broke out from his forehead. "Twenty years ago? Jiang Muyu?"

As if he suddenly remembered something, he turned around and questioned Butler Zhuo, "Zhuo Lang, the woman you asked me to help you arrange to enter the palace was named Jiang Muyu?"

Butler Zhuo was obviously frightened. When he heard Wang Zhuo's question, although he did not nod to confirm, his silence was considered as acceptance.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, many years ago, this Butler Zhuo was an orphan I picked up on the road. He was only about ten years old at the time and was already starving to death. It seemed that I was about to die. I brought him back to the palace and cultivated him with great care. Only then did I become the butler of the palace. I never thought that he…”

Wang Zhuo turned and kowtowed to the emperor, then said, "I didn't expect that he would set traps for me everywhere. He said that woman was his sister, and his family was too poor to support her, so he asked me to help see if I could let her enter the palace to earn a living."

"I didn't think much about it at the time. The woman looked peaceful, so I found someone to bring her into the palace. However, I really don't know the woman's true identity."

The emperor snorted in his heart when he heard what Wang Zhuo said, but he did not show it on his face. He signaled Yan Nangui to continue asking.

Yan Nangui continued, "In Li Ma's third year in the palace, she worked as a cleaner in the cold palace for more than a year. During that time, she gave birth to a baby girl named Xiao Cui. I wonder if Butler Zhuo knows about this?"

Li Junhao had told the emperor about this matter before, but when the emperor heard it now, he still felt upset. How could someone dare to do such a bold thing under his nose? It was really abominable.

Yan Nangui was asking Butler Zhuo, so Wang Zhuo didn't say anything this time. He knelt on the ground with a ferocious expression on his face. This Yan Nangui was really hateful. He was pressing him step by step.

After hearing Yan Nangui's question, Butler Zhuo raised his head vigorously and said, "Haha, that's right, I did it all. I am the only survivor of the Zhaoyang Jiang family that was exterminated by the emperor. So, my life exists for revenge."

Zhaoyang Jiang family?

The emperor and Yan Nangui were both shocked. That had been the emperor's taboo for many years and he never allowed anyone in the palace to mention it. Unexpectedly, after such a long time, someone would mention the Jiang family again.

That was more than 30 years ago, when the emperor had not yet ascended the throne. Jiang Yongsi, the head of the Zhaoyang Jiang family, was the prince's tutor, but he openly opposed the emperor, who was the prince at the time. Therefore, after the emperor ascended the throne, the first family he took action to eliminate was the Zhaoyang Jiang family.

As for the crime, it was "failure to distinguish right from wrong and conspiracy to commit treason", and the entire family was sentenced to be executed as a warning to others.

Therefore, perhaps only the emperor and Jiang Yongsi understood the right and wrong of this matter. But now, when it was brought up again after more than 30 years, the emperor's mood fell to the bottom.

"Oh, the Jiang family. I didn't expect that among the entire family that was executed, there was actually a fish that escaped the net." The emperor mocked. No matter whether what they said was true or not, he didn't believe it.

There were a total of 86 people in the Jiang family back then, and he checked them all one by one. How could there be anyone who slipped through the net?

"Yes, I am the child born to the concubine of the Crown Prince's tutor Jiang Yongsi. Why, Your Majesty doesn't believe it?" Zhuo Lang raised his head with a miserable smile on his face.

"It's ridiculous, full of nonsense, it's pure nonsense. Come, drag him out." The emperor became furious when he heard it, and without saying anything, he ordered people to drag Zhuo Lang away.

"Haha, haha, what father said is indeed right. Your Majesty, you have always claimed to be a gentleman, but in fact, you are just a bastard who is not worthy of being in public..." After hearing what the emperor said, Zhuo Lang no longer felt timid, but laughed out loud.

"Bastard, bastard, drag him out, drag him out..." The emperor waved his hand, and the mountain of memorials on the desk in front of him fell to the ground with a crash.

Several guards immediately came in from outside the door, covered Zhuolang's mouth and tried to drag him out.

But after taking just two steps, he felt that there seemed to be something strange about Zhuolang. When he looked down, he saw that Zhuolang was vomiting blood and had died of poisoning.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this man has been poisoned to death." The guard was shocked when he saw this and hurried over to report to the emperor.

After hearing this, the emperor stood up with a bang, paused for a moment, and then sat down on the dragon chair again, muttering, "It's better to die, it's better to die, humph, he deserves to die."

Yan Nangui also felt that something was wrong with the emperor today, but he couldn't let the results of his three days of sleepless nights go to waste, so he hurried over and felt Zhuo Lang's breath and pulse with his hand, then shook his head as if to confirm.

"Your Majesty, Zhuolang is dead. He took the poison before entering the palace. It seems that he was determined to die." Yan Nangui had to admit that this time, Master Wang had cleared himself again.

Even though they have already determined in their hearts that this matter is definitely related to him, all the evidence is now impossible to verify, and it is all cut off when it comes to Zhuolang.

Moreover, once Zhuolang died, there was no need to explain those things that could not be explained anymore, and everything was in vain.

Wang Zhuo was still kneeling on the ground and refused to raise his head. After hearing Yan Nangui's words, he finally felt relieved.

"Your Majesty, I have not been strict with my subordinates and have committed such a serious crime. I hope Your Majesty will consider that I have worked diligently over the years and have not made any serious mistakes. I hope Your Majesty will approve my resignation and allow me to retire in peace."

As he spoke, his shoulders began to tremble violently, as if he was extremely sad and cried uncontrollably.

He knew in his heart that he had escaped this time, but it was impossible for him to continue to be a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. This was a crime for which he could escape death but could not escape punishment while alive.