Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 338

The emperor's reaction was exactly what Shen Lingjun had expected.

Logically speaking, Princess Pingkang should be charged with attempted murder, but given her status, there's no way this charge could fall on her at present.

The emperor wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to protect the reputation of the royal family.

When the emperor reprimanded her, the focus was not on whether she intended to kill someone, but on how her actions had damaged the dignity of the royal family.

This is what the emperor cares about most.

He forced Princess Pingkang to apologize in an attempt to quell the matter and prevent it from escalating.

But Shen Lingjun was destined to disappoint him, because she would never truly stop there.

Shen Lingjun said to Ding Yunniang, "Today's audience with the Emperor is just a prelude; there's more to come."

Ding Yunniang looked puzzled and said worriedly, "But the Emperor said we should know when to stop..."

Shen Lingjun smiled slightly.

"It's okay, we won't be the ones to go on stage next."

......

The Office of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

After returning home, the wife of the Vice Minister of Justice remained in a state of utter despair.

The Vice Minister of Justice noticed something was wrong with her: "Madam, what's wrong?"

After hesitating for a moment, the wife of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice told her husband what had happened at the Yongning Marquis's residence.

"...I suspect that our Jin'er really was accidentally bitten to death by a poisonous spider? Could it be similar to what happened at the Yongning Marquis's residence today, and also related to the Grand Princess Pingkang?"

The Vice Minister of Justice's expression also changed slightly.

Their eldest daughter was bitten by a poisonous spider while hiking in the countryside and died from her injuries.

Although it was considered an accident, he had felt something was amiss before. His eldest daughter was bitten on the grass, and those venomous spiders prefer dark, damp environments and shouldn't be found in sunny, open areas.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice also investigated, but found nothing suspicious; there was no indication that it was a murder.

The eldest daughter was an unmarried young lady who had never made enemies with anyone. Why would anyone have a motive to kill her?

In the end, he gave up and just treated it as an accident.

But if Princess Pingkang really does kill anyone she sees, as she says, then she doesn't need any reasonable motive for killing. As long as she thinks a woman has seduced her husband, she will kill her!

The wife of the Vice Minister of Justice choked back tears, saying, "Jin'er was only fifteen years old... She was so well-behaved and sensible, and so beautiful, and she's gone just like that... If it really was just an accident, then it's our bad luck; but if there's a grievance involved, we must find out the truth! Otherwise, she won't be able to rest in peace!"

The Vice Minister of Justice felt a pang of heartache when he thought of his eldest daughter, whom he had once cherished like a precious jewel.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll investigate further in secret."

As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he naturally had advantages and convenience in investigating cases.

We couldn't find anything before, but now that we've locked onto Princess Pingkang, the target is clear and the direction is specific, so we might be able to find some clues.

The wife of the Vice Minister of Justice recalled that when she was at the Yongning Marquis's residence, she saw several other ladies who had similar reactions to her.

"I'll go visit the other ladies; perhaps I'll find something useful."

The couple then split up and began their work.

......

Ten days later.

The emperor heard that Princess Pingkang had already sent two generous gifts to the Marquis of Yongning's residence to express her apology. The Marquis of Yongning accepted them and did not pursue the matter further. There were also no negative rumors about Princess Pingkang outside.