The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

Jingxue guessed that there would be a court hearing today, so she rode in a carriage and stopped not far from the Dali Temple, where she could see the entire hearing process clearly.

Unexpectedly, the man in black outside the War King's residence managed to take all the blame, allowing the old scoundrel Prime Minister Zou to escape unscathed. Her thoughts coincided with Ye Muchen's, and the shadow guards in the shop also spread the news that Prime Minister Zou's house had a secret room.

Let's be honest, what respectable family would build a secret room in their home for no reason? Does that mean they have rebellious intentions just like Jing Zhiyuan?

Within just one day, rumors about Prime Minister Zou began to circulate in the capital.

The people were talking about it, and in short, they had nothing good to say!

"Hey! You mean these officials, they have so much money they bury it underground?"

"There must be plenty of people who want money! Otherwise, why would all those students study so hard to take the imperial examinations? Isn't it all for the sake of becoming an official? Three years as a county magistrate can earn you 100,000 taels of silver!"

"That Prime Minister Zou is quite something! He doesn't even spare his own brother-in-law's family. How interesting!"

"Heh, we couldn't have imagined it was him who ordered it, and then his subordinates took the blame when things went wrong. That's ruthless!"

"Sigh! It's so much simpler for us ordinary folks. What are those officials thinking about?"

"He's thinking about getting promoted, making a fortune, and losing his wife!"

……

When Prime Minister Zou heard these rumors, he was furious. This incident not only caused him to lose a master, but also made him the focus of public opinion.

But he was secretly glad that after the gold and silver jewelry was stolen last time, he had dispersed the remaining antique jade pieces to several courtyards. Otherwise, if those things had been discovered on the spot, it would have taken a lot of talking to explain them.

That evening, Prime Minister Zou summoned Zhang Lin to his courtyard and instructed him to do some things.

On the third day, a fire broke out on the south street of the capital, killing one person. This person was none other than Mafulu Sihai, the only witness in the Jingzhiyuan case.

Lu Sihai didn't die in an accident; he was gagged, tied up in a house, and burned to death.

The neighbor who helped put out the fire reported it to the authorities, and the Jingzhao Prefecture began investigating the case.

Public opinion now points directly to Princess Jingxue, who is considered the most likely motive for the crime. This trending topic also helped to overshadow the matter of Prime Minister Zou.

The Jingzhao Prefecture cannot rely on public opinion to handle cases. You can't just interrogate people without evidence; that would be asking for trouble.

The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture is a third-rank official. If he were in a lower prefecture, he would be a high-ranking official. But in the capital, there are too many people with higher positions than him. He dares not offend these powerful figures easily.

Prefect Xia Xun of the Capital Prefecture was well aware of Jing Xue's abilities; he would investigate slowly. There were many unsolved cases every year, and besides, Lu Sihai had no family to speak up for him. That's how the common people are; they would discuss it for a few days and then it would all die down.

Shadow A immediately reported to Jingxue that Lu Sihai had been burned to death.

“Young Miss, I just returned from the estate the day before yesterday. I went to observe Lu Sihai. His life was normal, and he hadn’t come into contact with any strangers. I didn’t expect that he was still killed! I suspect that someone will point the finger at you.”

"So what? Is there any evidence? Someone is trying to use this to cover up what happened a few days ago!"

Shadow A blurted out, "Young Miss, you mean... you did it?"

"Who else? Alright, I know about this. You don't need to worry about it. Just make sure the estate and shops are safe!"

"Yes, Miss, I understand!"

"Okay! You can go back now!"

Shadow A left, and Jingxue crossed her arms and paced slowly around the room. Dealing with Prime Minister Zou could not be done for the time being.

Today is the tenth of the month, and in a few days it will be time to visit Jingzhiyuan again. Li is already seven months pregnant and will give birth in a little over two months. Her due date is in the first month of the lunar calendar, and she still needs to prepare some things for them.

Jingze's wet nurse has been making thick cotton-padded clothes and shoes for the people in Lengyan Palace these past two days. Xiaoman also misses her parents, so she helps out with the work.

I heard that another delegation is coming, so we can't afford to cause any trouble. This time we just wanted to play a trick on these old guys, but we can see that Prime Minister Zou is meticulous and quick to retaliate. He's not easy to deal with!

Next time, I'll make sure he can't recover. If all else fails, I'll just kill him. But now's not the time, though it won't be long.

When the retired emperor heard about this, he was furious. How could the capital city be in such a mess? And Cangbei was about to send a delegation. How could things continue like this?

We should at least live in peace and contentment, and have a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere!

Jingxue, that brat, has turned the capital into a complete mess, and she just walks away like nothing happened?

No! We can't let her be too comfortable.

So the retired emperor sent someone to inform the emperor that he wanted to leave the palace to stay at the Prince of Zhan's residence for a few days.

When Eunuch Xi arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance with a young eunuch, the emperor had already finished his court session.

Upon seeing Eunuch Xi approaching, the gatekeeper eunuchs at the palace entrance hurriedly bowed.

The eunuch stopped and said, "The Emperor Emeritus has something to say and has specially sent me to speak with the Emperor. Go in and report to him."

The young eunuch nodded and said, "Your Excellency, the Emperor is currently meeting with Prime Minister Zou. It's cold outside, so please come inside and wait a moment. I will report back to you shortly."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Xi didn't say anything and followed the little eunuch inside to wait.

Inside the Hall of Diligent Governance, Prime Minister Zou knelt in the center of the hall. The Emperor had just finished venting his anger and smashed a teacup.

The Emperor glared at him angrily, "The Jingzhiyuan incident has just subsided, and now a secret room has appeared in your residence. Although there's nothing there, I'd like to know what you're up to. What are you all trying to do? Explain yourself to me today, or don't blame me for taking your official hat off!"

"Your Majesty, as you know, I have two concubines and four sons and three daughters, both legitimate and illegitimate. These children all covet my wealth. To prevent them from taking it, my wife and I decided to hide some of our belongings for a rainy day. That's why we had a few guards build a basement."

"But the harvest has been bad these past two years, and we haven't been able to save any money. Besides, when Consort Li entered the palace, this old minister also gave her a lot of dowry. So, there are only some things that the Emperor bestowed upon us in the basement, and no other valuables."

“That basement is never opened normally. The guard knew this, which is why he put the stolen goods in there. It was my oversight. However, this basement is different from the secret room in Jingzhiyuan’s mansion. Please, Your Majesty, understand!” Prime Minister Zou finished speaking and kowtowed to the Emperor.

The Emperor did not believe Prime Minister Zou's words at all, but he did not find anything that should not be there in the secret room.

"Hmph! Are you all bored? Why are you digging secret chambers in the mansion? Go back and fill them in for me right away. You, you're to reflect on your actions in confinement for five days. If you cause any more trouble, you'll either have to retire to your hometown or lose your head! Get out!" the Emperor roared.

"Yes! Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty! This old minister takes his leave." Prime Minister Zou kowtowed again, then sheepishly got up and left.