In my previous life, I killed my whole family. In my next life, I killed the royal family.

Lord Xiao was a little confused after hearing what the man said. He didn't expect that Qi Fu was really murdered, and the killer was so bold that he dared to come directly to the court to confess his crime.

He was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and asked hurriedly, "Ah, who are you? How dare you come to my court to confess yourself! Tell me, who are you?"

The man bowed to Lord Xiao and said slowly, "Sir, my name is Shi Qing." Then he continued to explain, "I was ordered by my master to assassinate Qi Fu. At that time, his family was on the boat. When they saw us, they started to attack. Qi Fu was afraid of death, so he first threw his wife into the river, and then threw his son into the river. At this time, my men jumped out and killed Qi Fu on the spot."

When everyone heard these words, they were stunned and speechless.

They originally thought that this case was complicated enough, but now they found that there were even more bizarre plots.

Ding Jinxiu was so frightened that her soul was about to fly out of her body. She raised her head tremblingly, and when she saw the man's face clearly, she couldn't help but screamed: "Ah, why is it you..."

Shi Qing smiled, "It seems you can still recognize me."

"You you..." Ding Jinxiu was so scared that her whole body was shaking and she couldn't speak.

"Tell everyone here who I belong to." Shi Qing sneered at Ding Jinxiu.

"I, I..." Ding Jinxiu seemed to be frightened. She couldn't say another word except you, you, me, me.

Everyone was confused. Looking at the expressions of the two men, Ding Jinxiu recognized the person in front of her and knew who killed her father.

"Who is your master?" Lord Xiao asked quickly.

Shi Qing said nothing and looked at the officials from the Zongzheng Temple.

Wang Zongzheng stood up and whispered in front of Lord Xiao, "He is the guard of the Third Prince."

"Ah!" Lord Xiao was stunned.

Should we speak out about matters involving the royal family or not?

Lord Xiao simply announced: "Take a break before the trial."

"Sir." He walked over and invited Lord Jiang to one side, whispering, "This man is a subordinate of the Third Prince Wang Yigui. The Third Prince sent someone to kill Qi Fu. Sir, what should we do now?"

Lord Jiang looked worried. "Why do so many inexplicable things happen? What should we do?"

The official came over and suggested, "Sir, why don't we send two people, one to report to the queen and hear her opinion."

"One person reports to the Prime Minister and hears what he says."

"Okay." Lord Jiang nodded and waved to the two of them, "Go to the palace and report what happened here to the queen and the prime minister. Come back quickly."

"Yes, sir." A guard with a sword left quickly.

Lu Fengyun and Hu Dingmin, who were watching outside, cursed inwardly: Ding is too incompetent, he messed up such a small thing.

It was impossible to just sit and wait while the case was being tried in the government office, so Lord Xiao continued to sit in front of the desk to try the case.

He asked: "Shi Qing, why did your master want to kill Qi Fu?"

Shi Qing made all the affairs of Qi Fu and his son public. "Qi Fu wanted to seize the wealth of the eldest house and ally with my master. He borrowed tens of thousands of taels of silver from my master to pay off his gambling debts. You can go to the casino to check and find out the situation."

"He didn't do a single thing he promised, and he lied to my master, and he even ran away to Yangzhou to be an official. That's why my master wants to kill him."

Ding Jinxiu was so panicked that she didn't hear a word the other party said.

"This man and another person raped me and sold me to be a skinny girl. They also threatened me, saying, 'You should be content with your life. If you don't want to be a prostitute, just do as I say.'"

Now, can Ding Jinxiu tell the story of how she was insulted in the hall?

"Why is he not afraid of death and wants to come out to testify?" Ding Jinxiu was very confused. Murder is a serious crime.

Of course, she didn't know why Shi Qing dared to come out and testify after committing murder.

When Qi Wan set up the trap, he sent Wu Yi to "find a guard of the Third Prince who was hiding from the emperor, give him a reward, save his life, and make him come out to testify."

Shi Qing was bribed by Wu Yi with a high price, "You go and testify truthfully, I will send you to a place to start a new life, keep you safe, and give you a sum of money."

Shi Qingcai stood in the hall and testified for Ding Jinxiu. He said loudly, "Only Qi Fu was killed by our people. Qi Fu's wife and son were thrown into the river by himself. There are many people present who can testify to this."

Everyone started to discuss, "I didn't expect the truth behind Qi Fu's family's death to be like this. Qi Fu is so cruel."

Minister Jiang of the Ministry of Justice sent two of his men, one of whom was to find the prime minister and report the interrogation of the case.

Another person entered the palace and told Empress Dowager Lu about the case being investigated, "Your Majesty, Minister Jiang asked me to report the case to you."

Empress Dowager Lu raised her lips and asked with a smile: "Was it the eldest branch of Qi who killed the third branch?"

The man reported, "Your Majesty, you would never have thought that after investigating the case till now, it turned out that it was the Third Prince who sent people to kill Qi Fu's family. What do you think we should do?"

Empress Dowager Lu suppressed her smile. She had originally hoped that the brothers of the Qi family would kill each other, but after the interrogation, she found out that it was the third prince Wang Yigui who ordered his men to do it.

When she thought about how she had been framed by Wang Yigui twice and almost lost her position as Crown Princess, hatred welled up in her heart.

When Wang Yigui was alive, she couldn't do anything to her. Now that Wang Yigui is dead, she is extremely powerful and she always wants to get revenge for the past.

Later, Empress Dowager Lu thought that since it was decided that Wang Yigui's men were responsible for killing Qi Fu, she would let the people of Qi Mansion go. She wanted to get the money houses of Qi Mansion very much, and she hesitated a little.

After listening to the report from the Ministry of Justice officials, the Prime Minister hurried into the palace and said to Empress Dowager Lu: "Your Majesty, the case currently under trial in the government office may be a case within a case. If it is not investigated thoroughly, it may damage the reputation of the royal family."

Empress Dowager Lu thought to herself: Prime Minister Pei is probably here to protect the Qi residence. I want to take this opportunity to make a deal with the Prime Minister. She rolled her eyes and thought of a way to exchange.

Empress Dowager Lu said politely, "Prime Minister, please sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Prime Minister bowed and sat down.

Empress Dowager Lu said to Prime Minister Pei, "The case is easy to discuss. I have something important to discuss with you, Prime Minister."

The Prime Minister said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please speak."

Empress Dowager Lu smiled and said, "The emperor is still young, and there are still ten years before his wedding. The court cannot be without a crown prince."

The prime minister was shocked. The emperor hadn't even grown up and married yet, so how could he have a son to be made the crown prince?

He asked, "What does the lady mean?"

"I think we should make the third prince the crown prince first. What do you think, Prime Minister?" asked Empress Dowager Lu.

The prime minister gasped. He didn't expect Queen Mother Lu to do this.

He thought to himself, "Isn't the Queen afraid that the Emperor will resent her when he comes of age? She made her brother the Crown Prince, and her own son can't take the throne."

Empress Dowager Lu smiled and said, "The emperor agreed himself, and it was also recorded by the historian." She waved her hand.

The historian stepped forward and saluted, handing over the notebook with both hands.

Prime Minister Pei flipped through the history book in his hand, and saw a clear record of the scene at that time: the Queen Mother asked, "Is it okay for the Emperor to make me the Crown Prince?" The Emperor responded, "Yes!"

He thought to himself that this was, after all, a family affair between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and they could make whatever decision they wanted. After all, when the Emperor came of age, he wouldn't be able to blame him.

Since Empress Dowager Lu wanted to use this matter as a bargaining chip, the Prime Minister would naturally go along with it. "Your Majesty has already agreed, and I will do it."

When Empress Dowager Lu heard this, she was very satisfied and smiled happily. She said, "Haha, let's announce the imperial decree of appointing a crown prince at the morning court tomorrow. Then let the third prince enjoy the treatment of a crown prince and receive the education that a crown prince deserves."

Prime Minister Pei asked cautiously, "Madam, who are you going to arrange to be the Prince's tutor?"

Empress Dowager Lü thought for a moment and replied, "Let Duke Hui be the Prince's tutor. He is both talented and loyal."

Prime Minister Pei remained silent. Since the Queen Mother had made the decision, he could not change it.

She turned to the official from the Ministry of Justice and said, "Wang Yigui was originally sentenced to death for his crimes. His case should be tried truthfully without considering the reputation of the royal family."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The official bowed and left.