Peach Blossom.

"What? Dead?" Meng widened her eyes in shock again.

Zhou sensed the coming of crisis and quickly questioned Zhou Ziyan: "How come the person died before the case was solved?"

Zhou Ziyan leaned forward and replied, "Grand Empress Dowager, Queen Mother, this just happened. I was summoned to the palace by chance and have not had time to find out the reason."

Wang Min glanced at Zhou Ziyan, his eyes full of doubt: "I have often heard that the court of the Supreme Court has many tortures. Could it be that Lord Zhou tortured them too harshly during the interrogation, and they couldn't bear it and hanged themselves?"

Zhou Ziyan was very angry when he heard this. "How dare I torture the people sent by Lord Wang? What's more, the Supreme Court is not as idle as the Censorate. I handle countless cases every day, and the interrogations have to be arranged on a first-come, first-served basis. The murder case of the Censorate has just been filed, and there has been no interrogation at all. How could they be tortured? I think most of them committed suicide out of fear of punishment!"

Wang Min smiled coldly, his attitude was even more disdainful than before: "Mr. Zhou's speculation is unreasonable. If he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, why didn't he commit suicide in the Censorate? Why didn't he commit suicide when he was first sent to the Supreme Court? Why did he commit suicide today?"

"I haven't even seen them, how do I know why they committed suicide today? They are your subordinates, you naturally know it best!" Zhou Ziyan barely suppressed his anger, and soon his face turned red. If he hadn't been in front of the two Empress Dowagers, he would probably have gone up to report Wang Min.

Wang Min didn't say anything else and was too lazy to look at Zhou Ziyan again.

Seeing that Zhou Ziyan was still so easily angered despite having been an official for many years, Zhou felt even more uneasy.

Mrs. Meng acted like a peacemaker. She smiled and gently advised Zhou Ziyan: "Everyone in the court knows that Wang Zhongcheng always speaks directly, but he actually has no ill intentions. Why should Lord Zhou take it to heart? Since this person has just died, whether he was tortured or not, wouldn't it be clear if we bring him over to have a look?"

Zhou Ziyan hurriedly bowed and said, "I will follow the orders of the Empress Dowager."

Meng sent several eunuchs to the Supreme Court to carry the corpse. Zhou was afraid that someone would take advantage of the opportunity to do something, so she also sent two of her trusted followers to follow.

Not long after, the palace servants who were sent out returned and placed two racks covered with white cloth outside the palace, accompanied by the prison historian who was in charge of the Tingwei Prison.

Meng and Zhou both stood up with the help of the palace maids and slowly walked out of Hanzhang Hall. Zhou Ziyan and Wang Min followed behind and walked to the corpse together.

When the white cloth was lifted, Zhou Ziyan was shocked to see that the two bodies had torn clothes and were covered with scars.

"This...what's going on?" Zhou Ziyan was horrified and scolded the prison historian of the Supreme Court who was accompanying him.

The jailer replied, "I don't know. I just followed your instructions, opened the cell door, untied the body from the beam and brought it over directly."

Zhou Ziyan stepped forward and personally opened the torn clothes on the body. He saw many wounds, some of which had healed slightly, and some were still bleeding. There were some new and some old wounds... He almost fainted on the spot...

Wang Min was on the side, and hurriedly supported Zhou Ziyan with his shoulders: "Master Zhou, are you okay?"

“I…I…” Zhou Ziyan seemed to have no way to defend himself. He fell to his knees and shouted to the two Empress Dowagers: “Grand Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, please understand that I have never tried this case, let alone tortured anyone!”

Zhou frowned and asked worriedly, "Did your Zuojian or Zoujianyuan interrogate you first?"

"No... Without my permission, they never dare to act on their own..." Zhou Ziyan looked flustered, as if he was completely puzzled.

Mrs. Meng smiled faintly and said softly, "Whether it was Lord Zhou who personally tried the case or the subordinates who tried it on his behalf, how can I trust you when you see all these scars all over your body? I really can't imagine how many unjust imprisonments and wrong cases you have seen in the years you have been in charge of the Court of Justice?"

Zhou Ziyan bowed deeply to the two Empress Dowagers and pleaded, "Please give me three days, Empress Dowager, I will definitely find out the truth. Although I have used torture in the past, it was only to assist in obtaining evidence. I have never abused torture, and I will never torture people to death!"

"Lord Zhou wants to prove his innocence?" Meng nodded with a smile: "Logically, I should give you a chance. However... in order to prevent another unjust case or wrongful death, you should be suspended from your post and reflect on yourself while you search for evidence. I will temporarily take back your official seal as the Chief Justice. How do you think?"

Zhou Ziyan was helpless and had to take out the seal, hold it in his palms, and raise both hands above his head.

Meng ordered her personal maid to put it away.

Zhou just watched. She couldn't express her opinion at the moment, otherwise she would be known as a shelterer.

Meng and Zhou left the body and returned to Hanzhang Palace.

Wang Min and Zhou Ziyan followed behind. When they passed by Chen Ji, Chen Ji grinned at Wang Min.

Wang Min knew that Chen Jixiao had no good intentions and must be going to argue about the murders of those Chen clan members.

Without waiting for Chen Ji to speak, Wang Min bowed and said to the two Empress Dowagers: "Grand Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, the suspect of the Censorate was poisoned to death before being convicted. I cannot shirk my responsibility. Now the poisoner is dead, so there is no way to investigate the case. Here is the transcript of his confession before he died, which I obtained from the interrogation before sending him to the Supreme Court. Because the mastermind behind the confession he made is of noble status, I dare not make any decision on my own. I respectfully ask the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager to make the decision."

After saying this, Wang Min presented his confession.

Nanny Zheng, who was beside Meng, took the confession and presented it to Meng. Meng read it from beginning to end and saw that it recorded how the jailer of the Censorate poisoned the prison food and killed the Chen family members. The jailer also confessed that the mastermind behind the incident was Grand Marshal Chen Xi. There were also fingerprints and signatures of two jailers at the end.

Meng then had the fingerprints on the confession compared with the corpse outside the hall to confirm that they were his fingerprints. She also asked Nanny Zheng to present the confession to Zhou for review.

Zhou was shocked when she saw the words "Grand Marshal Chen Xi" on the confession, but she didn't show it. She just glanced at it casually and returned it.

Meng smiled and asked, "What do you think Queen Mother Zhou should do about this matter?"

Zhou smiled slightly and replied softly, "My daughter-in-law has never witnessed the trial of these two jailers, nor does she know the circumstances under which the confessions were obtained, so I dare not make any conclusions."

The implication of this statement is that the jailers may have been tortured or threatened when recording confessions, and what they say may not be true.

"Empress Dowager Zhou is right. How can the confessions of the two jailers be counted? What if they were bribed by the Grand Marshal's enemies?" Meng smiled and nodded, but glanced at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji understood and immediately knelt down and bowed to the two Empress Dowagers: "I beg the Grand Empress Dowager and the relatives of the Empress Dowager who died for me to make the decision. Although the confession is not ironclad evidence, it is still suspicious. If we detain and interrogate them, we may be able to obtain more definite evidence in due time."

Meng smiled and shook her head, saying slowly: "The Grand Marshal is in a high position, how can he be detained at will? It won't be too late to arrest him when there is solid evidence."

"What the Empress Dowager said is wrong. No matter whether they are officials or civilians, high-ranking or low-ranking, they are all citizens of Qi. If they are suspected of violating the law, they should be treated equally." Chen Ji looked pious and kowtowed deeply to the two Empress Dowagers again.

Zhou felt uncomfortable listening to this. Meng and Chen Ji's singing the same tune was clearly a replay of the words she had just used in the argument with Meng, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, which made her feel even more uneasy.

"That... seems to make sense." Mrs. Meng smiled and looked at Mrs. Zhou: "What do you think, Queen Mother Zhou? There is insufficient evidence and he is suspected. Should we arrest him? Or not?"

Zhou swallowed hard and forced a smile: "With the Queen Mother here, how can a daughter-in-law make the decision?"

Meng was very satisfied with Zhou's answer, so she smiled and said to everyone, "Empress Dowager Zhou is so filial, I will make the decision. Since there is insufficient evidence, it is better not to arrest them for now. Lord Wang, please unlock the locks for Chen Ji and his servant and release them back to the posthouse. When the Censorate and the Supreme Court have collected more evidence, we can investigate the case separately."

Wang Min and Zhou Ziyan received the order.

Chen Ji and Mada finally regained their freedom and walked out of the palace like a swan out of a cage. Chen Ji had been so hungry that he and Mada bought some food on the street and found every piece of it delicious.

After a hearty meal, Chen Ji was in a good mood and returned to the inn leisurely with his motor.

As soon as he entered the inn, he saw Prince Si Xiu, Xu Mu and others standing in the courtyard from afar. Si Xiu was looking at him with a smile.

Chen Ji hurried to Si Xiu and bowed, "I was detained for some reason and was unable to stay at the posthouse to protect the prince. Please forgive me, prince."

"I'm glad you're okay. Someone has been waiting for you in your room for a long time." Si Xiu's voice was very gentle, without any sense of blaming Chen Ji.

"I wonder who the prince is talking about?" Chen Ji was a little confused. Someone actually entered his room without his permission?

Si Xiu smiled kindly, still speaking softly: "My grandmother."

After hearing these three words, Chen Ji almost spilled the food he had just eaten.

How could Si Xiu have a grandmother? Of course it was the Empress Dowager Meng!

Chen Ji quickly straightened his clothes and followed Si Xiu into the room, with Xu Mu following behind.

Mada was guarding outside the door.

Sure enough, Meng was dressed in casual clothes, wearing a veil hat and a cloak, sitting upright on a chair in the room, with two trusted maids standing behind her.

Si Xiu bowed to Meng and said, "Grandmother, General Chen is back."

Chen Ji and Xu Mu followed suit and saluted.

Mrs. Meng looked at Chen Ji with a smile on her face. "Finally, it's quiet now. Their minds are all on the matter at the Supreme Court, so we can talk about personal matters here in peace."

Chen Ji hurriedly complimented, "The Empress Dowager is very smart."

Meng also responded: "That's because you cooperated well."

Chen Ji nodded and tried to get close to Meng again: "After all, I have been your son-in-law for several years, so it is natural that we have some tacit understanding."

"Actually, in my heart, you are better than Wang Jing. It's a pity that Yao'er is too willful..." Meng lowered her eyes and couldn't help but sigh.

Chen Ji, however, acted nonchalant: "I have already let it go, and the Empress Dowager need not take it to heart. Whether I am your son-in-law or not, I will remain loyal to the Empress Dowager."

"Very good." Meng nodded with a smile, and looked around at Si Xiu, Chen Ji, and Xu Mu in the room, and finally her eyes fell on her two personal maids: "Now that everyone is here, let's pass on my imperial decree!"

When Si Xiu, Chen Ji and Xu Mu heard this, they knelt down and listened to the order.

A maid took out the imperial edict and read it out, "When Emperor Xiaozong passed away, he left an oral order. Because his only son Si De was too young to inherit the throne, he passed the throne to his elder brother, Prince Yongchang Si Yuan. However, the evil concubine Zhou obstructed and contacted the Grand Marshal Chen Xi to force the ministers to support Si De to ascend the throne, which was against the will of Emperor Xiaozong. Now Si De is stubborn and unfilial, and his mother Zhou is in power and indulges the Zhou family to take human lives lightly, which is intolerable. Therefore, Si De's throne is abolished, and Si Yuan is established as the new emperor in accordance with Emperor Xiaozong's will. Si Yuan is allowed to lead troops into the capital to eliminate the treacherous minister Chen Xi and Zhou's followers and rebuild the country of Da Qi."