Chapter 379 The Second Daughter of the Liu Mansion
On the dim street, Wu Chengsi rode forward slowly on horseback.
After handing over the general named Yu Zhonglang to Dali Temple, he handed over the entire case to Dali Temple.
He has so many things on his plate that he really doesn't have the energy to investigate everything himself.
The three people from Piao Kingdom did not pursue the matter any longer and said goodbye and left.
After all, they came to the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute. As long as the Tang Dynasty did not bully small countries, it would have no impact on them.
Tomorrow is the winter hunt.
After this hunting is over, a woman he has never met will become his concubine. Thinking of this, Wu Chengsi felt a little complicated.
As soon as he returned to the palace, Wen Rong hurried over and said, "Your Majesty, the lady from Cheng's mansion is here. She said she has something urgent to ask you and is waiting in the lobby."
Wu Chengsi nodded and strode to the lobby.
In the room, Li Zhiying was entertaining guests. In addition to Cheng Caiyi, Xue Yujin was also sitting beside her. The two women seemed to be comforting Cheng Caiyi.
Although Cheng Caiyi was talking to the two girls, she kept staring in the direction of the door with her eyes. She noticed Wu Chengsi as soon as he arrived.
"Brother Wu, please save my brother!" She stood up quickly and knelt down to Wu Chengsi.
Wu Chengsi was startled and said: "Madam, help her up quickly." After the two women helped Cheng Caiyi up, they asked: "What happened? Don't be impatient. Speak slowly."
Cheng Caiyi opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. She covered her face with her hands and cried.
Seeing her expression, Li Zhiying thought it would be difficult for her to speak out on her own, so she said softly: "Husband, it was the eldest son of the Cheng family who committed a crime and was executed by His Majesty's order!"
Wu Chengsi asked in shock: "What did he commit?"
Li Zhi has always been kind, and Cheng Boxian is the grandson of Cheng Zhijie. If he had not committed a serious crime, Li Zhi would never be so angry.
Li Zhiying's cheeks turned red and she did not answer immediately.
Xue Yujin snorted and said, "When he went to Liu Shizhong's house as a guest, he almost insulted his daughter."
With that, he told what he heard from Su Dingjie.
Wu Chengsi was silent for a long time and said: "Didn't the people of the Liu family throw him out at that time? They must not have wanted to publicize this matter. How did your majesty know about it?"
Xue Yujin shook his head and said, "I don't know then. It is said that when His Majesty learned about it, he became furious and called Cheng Dalang over for questioning, and then ordered him to be thrown into death row."
Wu Chengsi hesitated for a moment and asked: "He...how far did he invade?"
Xue Yujin's face turned red and she shouted, "How did I know?"
Cheng Caiyi raised his head and said in a hoarse voice: "I heard my eldest brother say that he just... just threw Miss Liu... down, and was pushed away by the guards on the side."
Knocked down?
Wu Chengsi secretly imagined the scene at that time, and recalling Cheng Boxian's black face, he really didn't think he would do such a thing.
Not only that, the punishment imposed on him was too harsh, unlike Li Zhi's style.
"It shouldn't be Liu Qixian who told His Majesty about this, right?" Wu Chengsi said, touching his chin.
Li Zhiying agreed: "It is related to his daughter's reputation, and he has just been promoted to the rank of servant. If something like this happens, it will only damage his reputation. He has no reason to make this matter a big deal."
Cheng Caiyi stared at Wu Chengsi, his lips trembling slightly, as if he had something unspeakable.
"Caiyi, if you really want to save your brother, you shouldn't hide anything from the prince anymore." Li Zhiying advised.
Cheng Caiyi nodded, took a deep breath and said: "I heard from my brother that the Liu family has been trying their best to cover up this matter, and... and their family has suffered a huge loss in this incident. There is no way they could have informed His Majesty.
.”
"The loss is huge?" Xue Yujin asked curiously.
Cheng Caiyi gritted his teeth and said: "When your Majesty called your brother, you made it clear to him that you originally planned to marry the two ladies from the Liu family to the prince and brother Wu as concubines!"
Wu Chengsi suddenly understood.
No wonder Li Zhi was so angry. It turned out that the candidate he had finally selected was ruined by Cheng Bo.
When something like this happened, he naturally could no longer let the daughter of the Liu family marry him or the prince, so he had to make a new choice.
This will inevitably affect his future arrangements for the government.
Xue Yujin glanced at Wu Chengsi and thought to herself: "The woman Cheng Boxian insulted might be Brother Wu's future concubine. No wonder Caiyi hesitated."
After Cheng Caiyi finished speaking, he lowered his head.
She was both disappointed and embarrassed by Cheng Boxian's behavior.
But after all, blood is thicker than water, and she couldn't just sit back and ignore it, so she tried her best.
Wu Chengsi remained silent.
Recalling the scene when Cheng Boxian killed the tiger with everyone, I still don't believe that he would do such a thing.
And he has another level of consideration.
This incident not only involves the emperor, Liu Qixian, and the prince, but also affects the future structure of the court.
Such things are often likely to be manipulated by someone behind the scenes!
Thinking of this, Wu Chengsi said: "Sister Caiyi, please be at ease. I'll go to the prison first to see Dalang. This matter may not be that simple."
After saying that, he turned around and went out.
"Husband, you haven't eaten yet, so bring this with you." Li Zhiying chased after him from behind and handed over a brocade bag.
Wu Chengsi reached out and took it, spread it out and saw that there were some cakes inside.
He tied the brocade belt around his waist and walked quickly to the door.
It's getting late now, and tomorrow is the winter hunt, so time is very tight.
After Wu Chengsi left, Cheng Caiyi came to Li Zhiying and said with a frown: "Zhiying, Brother Wu just said that this matter is not that simple, what do you mean by that?"
Li Zhiying thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty may have noticed something that we have ignored. Since he said so, there may be another hidden reason behind this matter!"
"Yes, I also think it is impossible for your brother to do such a thing!" Xue Yujin followed.
Cheng Caiyi was greatly excited.
She originally didn't believe that her brother would do such a thing, but she felt that because she was a relative, she thought so.
Now that I heard my friend say the same thing, I felt a little hopeful.
Li Zhiying suddenly said: "Ah! Caiyi, your brother had a bad relationship with the prince before. He didn't know that the prince was going to help him, and he might have a conflict with the prince!"
She said it tactfully. Cheng Boxian and Wu Chengsi used to be sworn enemies, but later they stopped tit-for-tat because of their different status.
However, the two never eased their relationship.
Cheng Caiyi's face changed drastically and she said anxiously: "My brother is just a stubborn ass sometimes and can't tell the difference between good and evil! No, I have to follow him and have a look!"
After saying that, he quickly ran out of the palace.
When he came outside the door, he remembered that Wu Chengsi was riding a horse. When he was about to return to the palace to ask Li Zhiying to borrow a horse, a servant came out from a side door leading a black horse.
"Mr. Cheng, my Royal Highness the Princess has asked me to send you a horse."
Cheng Caiyi was not polite, got on his horse and headed towards the imperial city.
…
The moon rises above the branches, and the lanterns begin to light up.
On the street, Feng Wu looked at the bag that Wu Chengsi stretched out. He hesitated for less than a breath, then reached for two pastries. After taking a bite, he puffed his mouth and praised: "It's delicious!"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said, "Is there anything you don't think tastes good?"
Feng Wu ignored his teasing, tilted her head to one side, and ate the cakes one bite at a time, with a satisfied expression on her face.
Wu Chengsi distributed the cakes to other guards, who followed him all the time and did not even eat dinner.
He was really embarrassed to let them run around on their own with an empty stomach.
Although Li Zhiying packed a lot of cakes, there were about ten personal guards and it was not enough. Wu Chengsi ordered the two of them to buy some Hu cakes.
The guards rode slowly with him and ate pancakes.
Before it was time for a cup of tea, Wu Chengsi finished three Hu cakes. When he looked back, he saw that except Feng Wu, who was still eating, everyone else had stopped eating.
Just as he was about to wave his hand for everyone to move forward at full speed, he suddenly heard someone shouting from behind him.
Turning around, I saw that Cheng Caiyi was finally chasing her.
"Girl in Caiyi, why are you here?"
Cheng Caiyi said: "I'm afraid that my brother won't cooperate with you later, so I'd better go with you."
Wu Chengsi thought so and asked her to go with him.
Two-quarters of an hour later, the group arrived at the Heavenly Prison in the Imperial City. There were three floors in the Heavenly Prison, with the death row prisoners on the bottom floor.
Following the jailer, Wu Chengsi came to the door of Cheng Boxian's cell and said with a smile: "Brother Cheng, you are fine."
Cheng Boxian raised his head and glanced at him, and was about to reply when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Cheng Caiyi next to him and stood up immediately.
"Little sister, you, you are here too."
After his eyes met Cheng Caiyi's bright eyes, he felt ashamed and lowered his head.
Cheng Caiyi's eyes were slightly red and she said softly: "Brother Wu is here to help you. No matter what he asks, you should answer honestly, do you understand?"
Cheng Boxian said dullly: "I understand. Your Highness, King Zhou, if you want to ask anything, just ask."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said in a deep voice: "Brother Cheng, although I have heard others tell you about the situation at that time, I still want to hear it from you yourself."
Cheng Boxian remained silent.
"Speak quickly!" Cheng Caiyi held the cell door railing with both hands, his face full of anxiety.
Cheng Boxian lowered his head and whispered:
"I...I drank too much and wanted to go to Dongcheng. On the way, I suddenly met the second young lady of the Liu family.
I...I don't know what happened, my mind became a little dazed, and my body seemed to be out of control. When I came back to my senses, I had already done...that kind of thing."
Wu Chengsi frowned and said, "Did you notice anything weird at that time? Or something wrong?"
Cheng Boxian thought for a while and whispered: "It seems... it seems that my body is a little hot after drinking."
Cheng Caiyi asked anxiously: "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"
"I, I thought it was because of the alcohol and that I was drunk. But when I think about it carefully, the feeling at that time was different from the usual feeling of being drunk."
Cheng Caiyi turned to look at Wu Chengsi and said, "Brother Wu, could my brother be poisoned?"
Wu Chengsi frowned and said: "As far as I know, even the most powerful traditional Chinese medicine cannot make people completely lose their minds and do such a thing."
Cheng Caiyi's cheeks were slightly red and she said, "Could it be that my brother has been possessed by evil spirits?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head, stared at Cheng Boxian, and said, "Besides the hot body, is there anything special?"
Cheng Boxian thought for a long time and then said: "When I saw the second lady of the Liu family, I seemed to smell a special fragrance."
Cheng Caiyi said angrily: "What's there to say about this kind of thing?"
Wu Chengsi raised his hand to signal Cheng Caiyi to stop talking and asked: "You said you fell into a trance as soon as you saw the second lady of the Liu family, why do you still remember this incident?"
Cheng Boxian thought for a moment and said, "I seemed to be in a trance after smelling that fragrance."
Wu Chengsi's eyes lit up, showing a thoughtful expression.
After a long while, he said: "I'm going to the Liu Mansion. Brother Cheng, think carefully about whether there is anything special to do. I will come back later."
After saying that, he led the people away. Cheng Caiyi said: "Brother, I will also go to the Liu Mansion to have a look. You listen to His Highness King Zhou and recall it carefully!"
He actually felt that his behavior at that time was abnormal, but he really had no way to explain it.
Now Wu Chengsi also had doubts about this matter, and his desire to survive suddenly increased.
Soon, Cheng Caiyi followed Wu Chengsi to the door of Liu Mansion.
In fact, she had summoned up the courage to come here once before, wanting to beg the Liu family to forgive Cheng Boxian and to plead with the emperor.
But Liu Mansion didn't let her in at all.
This time Wu Chengsi opened the way, and even though Liu Qixian was the prime minister, he did not dare to turn them away.
Led by Liu's housekeeper, Cheng Caiyi came to the lobby and saw Liu Qixian sitting on a chair with a golden sword, his face extremely ugly.
"His Royal Highness King Zhou, I wonder what you mean by bringing the people from the Cheng family to the prime minister's residence?" Liu Qixian asked in a stiff tone.
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "Master Liu, how many years have you known Cheng Boxian?"
Liu Qixian was stunned and hummed: "I got to know him the year he entered the official position due to his family background. It must have been more than eight years ago. Duke Lu Guogong is a generation of heroes. I never expected that he would have such an unworthy descendant!"
Wu Chengsi said: "Then you should know him very well. Do you think that under normal circumstances, Cheng Boxian would do such a beastly behavior to your wife when they met for the first time?"
Liu Qixian said angrily: "This matter is absolutely true. There were more than a dozen servants and guards who witnessed it with their own eyes. The facts are all there. Why should I believe it or not?"
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "Before the trip to Mount Tai, may I ask Prime Minister Liu whether he believes that a stone monument will rise in the lake overnight?"
Liu Qixian sneered: "That's just relying on the agency. Can the agency still allow people to become more animalistic and do things worse than animals?"
Wu Chengsi raised his eyebrows and said: "Before I told the truth about the stone tablet, could you have thought that it was an agency? Have you ever seen such an agency again?"
Liu Qixian thought for a long time, frowned and said: "Your Highness is saying that Cheng Boxian did such a thing, what else is hidden in it?"
Wu Chengsi said: "It's not impossible."
"What is it?"
"I don't know yet."
Liu Qixian hummed: "Then the prince can go investigate."
"I came to your mansion just to investigate!"
"How do you want to check?"
"Ask a few words to the second lady."
Liu Qixian frowned and said:
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This incident has been a huge blow to my daughter. She has not recovered emotionally until now. She doesn't want to see anyone except her sister, even me."
Wu Chengsi said nothing.
Liu Qixian stepped aside and said, "How about you come back in a few days and ask me questions after my daughter's condition is more stable?"
"No, it must be tonight."
Liu Qixian's face turned cold and he said: "His Royal Highness King Zhou, are you following His Majesty's order to investigate this matter?"
"no."
"Is that based on Her Royal Highness the Queen's order?"
"No."
"In this case, I apologize for not being able to cooperate with you."
Wu Chengsi suddenly sighed and said: "Master Liu, if this thing hadn't happened, I might have called you father-in-law."
Liu Qixian smiled bitterly and said, "It's true that I am not so lucky."
Wu Chengsi's eyes became sharp and he said in a serious voice: "If there is another hidden secret in this matter, then maybe there is a turning point."
Liu Qixian was stunned and said: "But His Majesty has re-elected two women from the Dong family, and tomorrow during the winter hunting, His Majesty will announce the marriage between you and His Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Don't we still have a whole night?" Wu Chengsi said calmly.
Liu Qixian took a deep breath and said, "I understand, please wait a moment while I go to persuade Li'er."
Wu Chengsi finished three cups of tea, but Liu Qixian was still missing.
Cheng Caiyi felt a little anxious and said, "Brother Wu, why hasn't Mr. Liu returned yet? Is he hiding?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head. It related to the future of the Liu family, and he believed that Liu Qixian could handle the situation clearly.
But the waiting time has indeed been long enough. What he lacks most now is time.
Just as he was about to get up and go to the servants of the Liu family to inquire, the housekeeper of the Liu family suddenly entered the lobby and said: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, my master invites you to come over."
"Second Miss, are you willing to cooperate?"
The butler replied: "Yes, please come with me."
Following the housekeeper, I walked through the back house of Liu Mansion for a while, and Liu Qixian's figure appeared in front of the corridor.
He was standing outside a room, and beside him stood a woman in palace clothes.
The woman's skin was white and rosy, and she had no makeup on her face. She was a pure natural beauty, and she had a calm temperament all over her body.
Wu Chengsi cupped his hands and said, "Second Miss, I'm sorry to bother you."
The woman in palace clothes only looked at him quietly, with a hint of exploration in her deep eyes, and did not answer Wu Chengsi's words.
Liu Qixian on the side said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, this is my eldest daughter Liu Lanshuang."
He turned to the woman in palace attire and lectured: "Shuang'er, why don't you come and present a gift to His Highness King Zhou!"
The woman in palace attire finally looked away and bowed to Wu Chengsi.
Wu Chengsi felt slightly strange and said, "Mr. Liu, where are the two women in your family?"
Liu Qixian smiled bitterly and said: "She is in the room. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. She really doesn't want to come out to see people. She only agreed to let you ask questions through the door."
Wu Chengsi nodded, approached the door, and said to the room: "Second Miss, I would like to ask about what happened yesterday, and I hope you can cooperate."
There was no sound coming from the house.
Wu Chengsi continued: "Second Miss, where did you meet Cheng Boxian yesterday?"
Still no sound came out.
Liu Qixian shouted: "Li'er, His Royal Highness King Zhou is asking you something, answer it quickly!"
There was silence in the house.
Liu Qixian had no choice but to say to the eldest daughter: "Shuang'er, look..."
The eldest lady silently took a few steps towards the door and said coldly: "Second sister, answer me!"
Wu Chengsi thought to himself: "It's strange that your sister is willing to listen to your persuasion!"
Unexpectedly, before I stopped thinking, I heard an intermittent sound coming from the house.
"Okay, it seems to be in the corridor between...the study and the dining room..."
When the young lady spoke just now, her voice was like a splashing spring, quiet and cold.
When the second young lady spoke, she spoke softly, delicately and gently. Just by listening to their voices, you can roughly imagine their personalities.
Wu Chengsi thought to himself: "If nothing unexpected happens, one of these two people will become his concubine." His heart became hot and he couldn't help but glance at the eldest lady again.
Coincidentally, Miss Liu was also looking at him, and their eyes met.
Wu Chengsi was startled, immediately looked away, coughed, and asked: "Second Miss, when you saw Cheng Boxian, did you notice something was wrong with his state?"
There was silence in the room for a moment, and then the second lady's incoherent voice came out.
"He...he...he seemed to be drunk...his face was very red, and his eyes...his eyes were very rude. I thought at the time that he would...do something...I didn't expect..."
Wu Chengsi suddenly said: "Why did you appear in the corridor at that time? Where were you going?"
"I...I originally wanted to see...Master Wei."
"Which Lord Wei County?"
Liu Qixian explained: "It's Miss Wei from Duke Xu's mansion."
Wu Chengsi's eyes flashed, and he asked again towards the door: "Second Miss, did County Master Wei send someone to invite you over?"
"Yes, it is."
Wu Chengsi sneered and said nothing. If Cheng Boxian was set up, then he must ensure that he can meet the second lady of the Liu family.
He has already seen the virtues of the Wei family. They even dare to steal the treasury, let alone plan such a thing?
Liu Qixian is no fool to be a servant. Seeing Wu Chengsi's expression, he said in a deep voice: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, do you suspect that this matter has something to do with the Wei family?"
Wu Chengsi did not answer and asked instead: "Have you heard about the prince's selection of concubines today?"
Liu Qixian was startled, and said in a low voice: "Of course I have heard of it. I heard that the third young lady of the Wei Mansion was favored by the prince and became his concubine."
Wu Chengsi asked again: "I wonder what the relationship between the Dong family and the Wei family is?"
Liu Qixian exhaled a breath and said in a deep voice: "It has nothing to do with the Wei family, but they are related to the Xiao family by marriage."
Inside and outside the house, everything fell into silence for a moment.