Fan Mingyue was gagged and escorted by a troop of soldiers to the Zhenguo Prince's mansion, not even sparing her attending maids.
Huangfu Xian was so enraged his head felt like it would explode, his face turning from green to red. Just a few days ago, the Grand Imperial Consort had apprehended her without explanation, and now she was seized again.
Even if the concubine was not up to par, she was still a person of his mansion, his reputation as Huangfu Xian. He absolutely could not swallow this insult.
He stormed off, heading straight to the palace to seek redress from the Emperor.
Meanwhile, back at the prince's mansion.
Fan Zehao personally presided over the interrogation. Xiao Ce questioned her, not even needing to draw his whip. Fan Mingyue was so terrified she was already unraveling, stammering incoherently.
"I didn't... I didn't kill the Princess Consort. I'm not an idiot, why would I... would I do something like that? Besides, if I did, wouldn't it be too obvious? Please, my Lord, investigate thoroughly and clear my name!"
Fan Zehao refused to look at her again, giving Xiao Ce a meaningful glance: "Beat her until she tells the truth!"
Xiao Ce's face twitched. He truly disdained beating women. He tossed the whip to his subordinates: "Beat them!"
The dungeon had not been used since they moved into this mansion. This time, to uncover the mastermind, Fan Zehao had broken precedent.
Screams of agony continuously echoed from the dungeon. No matter how much these maids and servants were beaten or interrogated, their answers were always the same.
That Fan Mingyue had not dispatched assassins, but she had harbored murderous intent towards Zhao Jiaqi.
While the interrogation was underway, the Emperor was also having a headache over Huangfu Xian's matter, earnestly trying to persuade him.
"Prince Xian, it is a fact that your concubine had a verbal altercation with the Princess Consort and the princess in the camp. It is only reasonable for Your Highness to invite the concubine over for investigation. If the concubine is innocent, the Zhenguo Prince will naturally send her back. Why are you so anxious? Could it be that the concubine in your mansion truly sent someone to kill the Princess Consort?"
A single sentence made Huangfu Xian's face change drastically: "She wouldn't dare, even with a hundred times her courage! Even the Princess Consort only has a few guards by her side, let alone a concubine who has no guards, at most a few servants!"
Huangfu Xian now dared not confront the monstrous Fan Zehao.
He had no power, no troops, and could only rely on his maternal grandmother's family. However, they were all civil officials and did not have the guts to contend with a military general.
Especially during the two days the Princess Consort was missing, the monstrous Fan Zehao had directly mobilized twenty thousand elite soldiers to search for her. He had completely disregarded the Emperor, not even glancing at him, yet who dared to say a word to him!
Fan Xudong had barged into the mansion and apprehended the concubine, but the Emperor had framed it as being 'invited' away. This also showed he dared not provoke Fan Zehao!
Huangfu Xian understood this point. It was useless to say more. He could only blame himself for being incompetent, for not achieving a resounding victory on the battlefield. Otherwise, his father would not have entrusted military power to Fan Zehao.
Zhao Jiaqi learned from Pingtang that her husband had apprehended Fan Mingyue and was interrogating her. She was initially stunned, then shook her head: "It won't be her."
Pingtang also suspected Fan Mingyue, but upon hearing her elder sister-in-law say this, she was confused: "Why are you so sure it wasn't her, elder sister-in-law?"
"Fan Mingyue is quite intelligent. She wouldn't send someone to kill us right after arguing with us. Moreover, she doesn't have the capital for it!"
Training an assassin not only took time but also cost a considerable amount of money.
A concubine's monthly allowance was limited. Fan Shurong, though the son-in-law of the Minister of Revenue, might not be living a particularly extravagant life.
"Then who could it be?"
If it wasn't Fan Mingyue, then who? Pingtang couldn't fathom it, and after thinking it over, she came up with nothing.
Zhao Jiaqi was also pondering this question. The assassin didn't want money or official positions. In their eyes, these things didn't seem to pique their interest.
She truly couldn't guess, but the mastermind was definitely among the autumn hunt participants. They also knew that she and Fan Mingyue had quarreled. This person was very clever, employing a 'borrowed knife to kill' strategy, successfully drawing their attention to the Zhenguo Prince's concubine.
Thinking this way, the mastermind wanted to set the Zhenguo Prince's mansion and the Prince's mansion against each other. Regardless of the outcome for these two residences, they would reap the benefits!
What a vicious scheme!
"Qiufen, tell my husband to release her. Let the matter of the assassins end here. Tell him not to investigate further!"
"Your servant will go now!" Qiufen left with a head full of confusion.
It was almost noon. Pingtang, seizing the opportunity while Fan Zehao was not back for lunch, hurried away: "Sister-in-law, I'm returning to my mansion. I'll come back this afternoon after elder brother goes out!"
"Why the hurry? Stay for lunch before you go."
She shook her head rapidly. It was already good enough that she could come to see her elder sister-in-law. How could she dare to eat here?
With her elder brother's jealous nature, he'd likely skin her alive.
With no results from the interrogation, Fan Xudong threw them onto the main road outside the mansion, letting them find their own way back, saving the trouble of escorting them.
In the afternoon, the Prince shut himself in his study. No one knew what was troubling him.
The Princess Consort had returned safely, yet he was acting so unusually.
The next day, at the morning court, Fan Zehao directly impeached the Minister of Revenue, accusing him of embezzling grain and provisions. This left Liao Zheng stunned. The Emperor finally realized that what the Zhenguo Prince was referring to was the matter of the cotton-padded clothes from the previous year.
The Ministry of Revenue managed Yun Country's finances. If he hadn't allocated insufficient funds, would the people making the cotton-padded clothes have added straw?
"Nonsense! I have never failed to allocate the full amount!" Liao Zheng's face contorted with anger!
Fan Zehao cast a disdainful glance at him, raising his dark, thick eyebrows: "Whether that's true or not can be found out by investigating how much silver is in your mansion. Wouldn't it be clear then?"
Even a pure official for ten years would have a hundred thousand taels of silver. He couldn't believe that Liao Zheng, the Minister of Revenue, was so clean that he couldn't be cleaner!
"If my Lord intends to say that the silver in your mansion was earned through business, then by all means. My wife has many capable accountants under her employ, and they can investigate thoroughly. If the accounts don't match, it would be a crime of deceiving the Emperor, punishable by the extermination of nine generations. Think carefully before you reply to His Majesty!"
The Zhenguo Prince had completely blocked Liao Zheng's subsequent words.
He wanted to stubbornly claim it was earned through business, but if the account books didn't match, the crime of deceiving the Emperor...
"Sister-in-law, I have good news for you. The Minister of Revenue, Liao Zheng, has confessed! He was dismissed for embezzling grain and provisions!"
Her voice arrived before she did, a characteristic of Pingtang. As soon as she spoke, she entered the warm chamber.
Zhao Jiaqi found it strange. This woman was three months pregnant, where did she get so much energy to go around gathering news!
"Liao Zheng was dismissed, so be it. Why are you so excited? Be careful of your belly, there's one inside there!"
Fan Lao Er was also something else; couldn't he manage this flighty person?
Pingtang touched her still barely visible belly and waved dismissively: "It's fine, my son is very healthy."
"Sister-in-law, it was elder brother. Elder brother impeached Liao Zheng as soon as the morning court began, pushing Liao Zheng into a corner. He was then forced to confess!"
Her husband impeached the Minister of Revenue?