Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

The woman who escaped from the women's prison was the daughter-in-law of a gambler on the Commoners' Street in the outer city of the imperial city. Her name was Xiao Chunniang.

Xiao Chunniang was convicted of murdering her husband, Tian Laizi. Because she confessed to the crime, she was sentenced to beheading in the autumn. Prior to this, Xiao Chunniang had been imprisoned in the prison for women awaiting execution.

One day, a jailer on patrol passed by the women's prison and suddenly found that the prison was empty, with only a human-shaped scarecrow made of dry straw.

In the Golden Throne Hall, Emperor Shenwu asked curiously, "Minister of the Dali Temple, you don't know exactly when Xiao Chunniang disappeared. She's been missing for several days now. Do you have any clues?"

The Dali Temple Minister bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am ashamed to say that I have no clues so far."

Emperor Shenwu said calmly, "She's just a woman. So many officials have been working together to capture her for several days, but there's still no clue! What a shame!"

Censor Yan said solemnly, "Your Majesty, this woman's crimes are extremely heinous. She killed her husband in an extremely cruel way. Heaven and earth cannot tolerate this! The impact on the people is extremely detrimental. She must be apprehended and brought to justice as soon as possible!"

Lin Suzhi stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, although this woman has murdered her husband, according to her longtime neighbors, Xiao Chunniang was usually a kind person and there was a hidden reason for her murder. It was because her husband had been abusing her daily for over a decade! Now that we haven't seen any trace of this woman during patrols for several days, perhaps someone is deliberately harboring her."

Emperor Shenwu pointed at Lin Suzhi and said, "Prefect of the Imperial City, this case will be handed over to you. The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple is not keeping a strict watch on the prisoners, so please assist him!"

The matter of Xiao Chunniang was originally a trivial matter. No one took this small case seriously, including Emperor Shenwu and Lin Suzhi. Emperor Shenwu asked about it, but it was just a female prisoner who disappeared out of thin air, which he found strange. He handed the matter over to Lin Suzhi. Emperor Shenwu felt that the matter was over and he could just wait for the conclusion of his ministers. Who knew that this matter would eventually develop like that!

Lin Suzhi started to get busy.

At the same time, Yu Piaolan nervously let Xiao Chunniang stay in Qingci Hospital for a few days, and then rented a small courtyard and quietly let Xiao Chunniang live in it. She also hesitated and tangled in whether to save her or not, but in the end she couldn't bear to see the figure waiting to die by the river, so she chose to save her!

Time flies, and a few days pass in a flash.

In Suowu Palace, Lan Qingwu and Nian Nian were teasing the Sixth Prince together, and laughter filled the bedroom.

Qiulan hurried into the bedroom from outside the hall: "Master."

Lan Qingwu looked up at her: "What's wrong?"

Qiulan calmed herself down and said, "Sister Piaolan has been arrested!"

Lan Qingwu extended his hand to summon the wet nurse and the others, "Take the Sixth Prince and the young lady to the side hall to play for a while."

Lan Qingwu turned to Qiulan again: "Don't be impatient, speak slowly."

"Master, a few days ago, a female prisoner escaped from the women's prison. I'm sure you've heard about this. Sister Piaolan saved that female prisoner, and now she's been taken away by Lord Lin, the prefect of the Imperial City. Is he charged with harboring a criminal?"

Lan Qingwu's eyes turned slightly: "Ruhan, go out of the palace and ask Lan Hao to find out. Leng Qujing will definitely not let it go. See how Lord Lin handles this matter."

Ruhan glanced at Qiulan and left the palace as ordered.

Qiulan's eyes were slightly red, and she lowered her head. "Master, it was Sister Piaolan who was reckless and caused trouble for you. She...she initially hid the female prisoner in Qingciyuan, and I'm afraid someone with ulterior motives saw her. Master, now everyone in the Imperial City knows that the true owner of Qingciyuan is you!"

Lan Qingwu's face turned slightly cold: "It's too late to talk about this now. Since the problem has occurred, just deal with it! With Yu Piaolan's temper, I should have guessed that this day would come."

Things seemed to be going smoothly. Leng Qujing came forward to bail out Yu Piaolan, and the female prisoner Xiao Chunniang also claimed that she did not tell Yu Piaolan who she was. She took advantage of Yu Piaolan's sympathy and lied that she came to the imperial city to find her relatives, and deceived Yu Piaolan.

After repeated verification, Lord Lin Suzhi was also ready to release Yu Piaolan. He also did not think that a woman like Yu Piaolan had the courage to risk her life to save Xiao Chunniang even though she knew she was a criminal.

Lan Qingwu knew very well in his heart that Yu Piaolan definitely knew who Xiao Chunniang was. She was just overwhelmed with sympathy and thought that Xiao Chunniang was a victim and a pitiful person, so she risked her life to save Xiao Chunniang.

But no matter what, Lan Qingwu still wanted to rescue Yu Piaolan. Just when everyone thought that things would go smoothly, Ji Chen, the deputy minister of the Dali Temple, led his men to block the door of the cell. He bowed slightly with a bit of arrogance: "Lord Lin, General Leng, I'm afraid you can't take this woman away yet."

Leng Qujing said coldly: "What do you mean?"

Ji Chen put on a fake smile and said, "General Leng, please don't misunderstand. I was entrusted by the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple to assist Lord Lin. This was originally a minor case, involving just a convicted woman. I had originally planned to lead the investigation with Lord Lin, but I accidentally discovered that this Yu was also a female prisoner who escaped from the women's prison!"

Ji Chen's words rang in the ears of several people like thunder.

Leng Qujing, Lin Suzhi, and Lan Hao almost said in unison: "What!"

Leng Qujing couldn't believe it: "Master Ji, please don't talk nonsense! Yu is my concubine! How can I tolerate your nonsense!"

Ji Chen glanced at the dazed Yu Piaolan with disdain. "Whether you're talking nonsense or not, General Leng and Lord Lin will understand everything after reading this file. And now, I have reason to suspect that Yu deliberately rescued Xiao Chunniang, another female prisoner in the women's prison! Knowingly harboring a criminal is an even greater crime! Yu even hid Xiao Chunniang in Qingciyuan for several days. I wonder if Concubine Yi knew about this!"

Yu Piaolan immediately came to her senses: "Don't even think about accusing Concubine Yi of this. This was done by me alone and has nothing to do with anyone else. I didn't know that Xiao Chunniang was an escaped prisoner, and Concubine Yi was in the deep palace, so she didn't know either!"

Lan Hao's heart also tightened. He didn't expect the situation to take such a sudden turn for the worse. He had to go back quickly to inform his master.

Leng Qujing's chest heaved. A place like the women's prison—as a man who had mingled with the court and the common people—how could he not know what a dirty, dark place it was? He looked up at Yu Piaolan, but she avoided his gaze, not daring to look up at him. Leng Qujing's heart suddenly sank to the bottom.

Lord Lin looked around at the others and said, "Um..."

Ji Chen interrupted Lin Suzhi directly: "I think Lord Lin's cell is not very secure. Why don't I take Xiao Chunniang and Yu Shi back to the women's prison in the Dali Temple?"

Lin Suzhi hurriedly said: "No!"

Leng Qujing said angrily: “You dare!”

Lin Suzhi cleared his throat and said, "Master Ji, this is a case that His Majesty personally ordered me to supervise. Xiao Chunniang disappeared from the women's prison in the Dali Temple. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate for me to go back now! I just went through a lot of trouble to arrest Xiao Chunniang. As for Yu Shi, I will temporarily detain her here. The files and other evidence you brought must be tried in court to determine their authenticity!"

Ji Chen was about to say something more, but Lin Suzhi quickly put on a serious face and ordered his men, "Alright, why don't you take Yu into custody temporarily? We'll try her another day..."

Ji Chen looked at the busy people, snorted coldly, turned around and left.