There was really no need for Chen Xi to offend the Wang family, and he didn't want to offend the princess either, but as Chen Ji's elder brother, he seemed unable to help but seek justice for his brother's death, especially when Tao Ye insisted on seeking justice for Chen Ji.
Ever since the princess gave him the wine, Chen Xi was like a duck on a shelf, and he had no choice but to get involved! He was afraid that the news of the "Chen Mansion Fire" would spread throughout the capital as fast as the joke on the princess' wedding day. By then, the cause of Chen Ji's death would become an important topic for discussion after dinner.
In order to prove the existence of brotherhood, Chen Xi had to bring Tao Ye into the palace to ask for an audience with Emperor Si Yu.
Led by the eunuch, Chen Xi and Tao Ye went to the Hanzhang Palace to pay homage to the emperor according to the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects. The first time Tao Ye saw Si Yu, she noticed that Si Yu's face was gloomy, as if he had just been angry.
Si Yu could hear Chen Xi's greeting. Although he called him to stand up, he was absent-minded and did not even look up: "My dear, what do you want to see?"
Chen Xi could see that Si Yu was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to complain to the princess. He wanted to push the complaint to Tao Ye, so he replied, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My second brother died last night. My sister-in-law suspected that she was murdered. She begged me to bring her to see the emperor, so I had to introduce her to him."
"Chen Ji is dead?" Si Yu was surprised for a moment, then he looked up and saw a woman behind Chen Xi.
However, Si Yu soon lowered his head again: "It is no pity for an ungrateful person to die! Even if he was assassinated, why would he report it to me? If all the officials and their wives in the court come to file a complaint because someone in their family is an official, what kind of emperor would I be? I might as well be a court judge instead!"
Chen Xi knelt down again and pleaded guilty: "I am guilty! Please punish me!"
Tao Ye remembered that the last time Si Yu saw Chen Ji was probably the day when Chen Ji's status as the son-in-law of the emperor was abolished. Of course, he would not have any good impression of Chen Ji, and would not look down on Chen Ji's new wife.
However, Tao Ye immediately came up with a way to change the emperor's impression. She bowed to Si Yu again and introduced herself loudly: "I am the commoner Man, and I beg the emperor to forgive me!"
Sure enough, this self-introduction successfully attracted Si Yu's attention. He looked at Tao Ye and laughed: "It's really interesting. This is the first time I hear a woman call herself a "common woman" in this hall!"
Tao Ye knelt on the ground and told the story: "Although Chen Ji is the brother of the Grand Marshal, the government has already issued a clear order to remove him from the official register and demote him to a commoner. A commoner woman should follow her husband wherever he goes, so even if she is originally from an official family, she should consider herself a commoner."
This statement aroused Si Yu's interest even more. He stared at Tao Ye and asked in amazement, "How could Chen Ji, a criminal, marry the daughter of an official?"
Tao Ye had long guessed that the emperor lived in the palace and it would be difficult for him to hear the recent news outside. Naturally, he didn't know about Chen Ji's remarriage, and it was impossible for him to know who Chen Ji's new wife was. She felt more confident: "Don't be surprised, Your Majesty. I am the first wife of the new consort Wang Jingzhi, and her name is Mantangjiao."
"Are you Wang Jing's first wife?" Si Yu was even more curious. He was obviously incredulous about this matter: "Doesn't this mean that the two couples have swapped places? This is simply ridiculous!"
Tao Ye kowtowed again, showing a pitiful look: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I didn't want this to happen... I was forced to leave my own flesh and blood, and my heart was broken. I just wanted to visit my daughter occasionally, but I didn't expect that the Wang family would match me up because they were afraid that I would be entangled in the future..."
Having said this, Tao Ye pretended to wipe away tears.
Although Si Yu was an emperor, he was a man who was easy to be sympathetic to women. After hearing these words, he had already regarded this woman in front of him and Chen Ji separately in his heart, and he couldn't help but want to know more: "Go on, I'm listening!"
Tao Ye was very proud to see Si Yu like this, but her face still had that pitiful look: "My parents died early. I have been accustomed to obeying my parents-in-law in the Wang family for eight years, so my mother-in-law decided to marry me to the Chen family. I have never seen Chen Ji before, but now that things have come to this, I am willing to accept my fate! Unexpectedly, on the first day of the wedding, the princess gave Chen Ji wine. Soon after drinking it, he had abdominal pain and died a few hours later. I wanted to tell my brother and ask the coroner to perform an autopsy as evidence, but my house happened to catch fire at this time, and I almost died in the fire! Poor Chen Ji's body was burnt, and the coroner could not test for poison. I lost the evidence and don't know how to sue!"
After saying this, Tao Ye started crying again.
Si Yu's blood boiled when he heard this: "Is it true? The princess gave him wine, which led to Chen Ji's death?"
"I dare not lie. The princess's personal maid brought the wine personally, and I saw Chen Ji drink it with my own eyes. The Grand Marshal was also watching from the side!" Tao Ye said, glancing at Chen Xi.
When in Chen's house, many servants saw this incident, so Chen Xi could only answer truthfully: "Your Majesty, yesterday afternoon, the princess did send a maid to serve wine. Although I saw my second brother drinking, I did not see him die. Now that I cannot perform an autopsy, I dare not speak rashly about the cause of his death."
Si Yu nodded and ordered his attendants: "Send Princess Si Yao to the palace."
While Chen Xi and Tao Ye were waiting quietly, Si Yu continued to read the memorials.
Tao Ye silently calculated in her heart: "When Princess Si Yao is questioned about the poisoned wine, she will definitely say that the wine only contained laxatives. The emperor will probably interrogate the details of that day. I will find an opportunity to pretend to accidentally mention that Chen Xi sent someone to deliver lunch before the princess gave the wine. When the time comes, the princess will definitely say that there is something wrong with the lunch sent by Chen Xi, and Chen Xi will of course think that there is something wrong with the wine given by the princess. Then I can just watch the dog-eat-dog drama!"
Tao Ye was immersed in her fantasy of a dog-eat-dog drama, and when she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a message from outside: "The Queen Mother has arrived!"
At this moment, Tao Ye felt something was wrong.
She initially fought for the opportunity to see the emperor because she knew that Emperor Si Yu was a reasonable man, not partial or biased, and had even spoken up for Man Tang Jiao in front of Si Yao, so she thought she had a chance of winning.
But once the old woman the Queen Mother got involved, things became completely different. She was a fool who only cared about protecting her daughter!
Before they had time to think too much, Emperor Si Yu had already stood up and walked out to greet the Queen Mother. Chen Xi and Tao Ye also knelt upright. Then they saw Queen Mother Meng walking into Hanzhang Palace with the support of Si Yao.
Tao Ye saw Si Yao and counted on her fingers. It hadn't been that long since Si Yu sent someone to summon Si Yao, not enough time for the eunuchs to go back and forth from the palace to the Wang family. This meant that Si Yao had already entered the palace, and she didn't know how much trouble he had poured out to the Queen Mother before coming here!
Si Yu looked very filial. After he helped the empress dowager sit down, he stood aside.
Without the Queen Mother's order, no one kneeling in the room dared to stand up.
After Queen Mother Meng sat down, she stared at Tao Ye with an unfriendly look: "Are you Mantangjiao?"
Tao Ye had no choice but to respond: "Yes."
The Queen Mother immediately issued an order: "Come here! Drag her out and give her twenty strokes of the cane!"
Tao Ye was shocked. This queen mother was too unreasonable. How could she just come in and start fighting without asking any questions? Wasn't this considered an abuse of power?
Fortunately, Si Yu stopped him: "Wait a minute!"
Si Yu turned to Queen Mother Meng and bowed: "Mother, why did Mantang Jiao have to be caned? You should give a reason, right?"
Every inch of fat on the Queen Mother's face showed her arrogance: "Humph! Everyone in the capital knows that she is a troublemaker, but my son is the only one who still thinks she is a pitiful person!"
Si Yu also continued his stubbornness: "Then please tell me, mother, what kind of "troublesome" is this "troublesome citizen"? "
The Queen Mother really began to enumerate the charges in an orderly manner: "First, on the princess's wedding day, Mantangjiao slandered the princess and her husband's reputation in the street, causing officials and people to laugh at her; second, last night there was a fire at Chen's house, and it was thanks to the princess who sent people to put out the fire that Mantangjiao survived. Not only was Manshi ungrateful, but she also wrongly accused the princess of giving her poisoned wine; third, she dared to file a complaint with the emperor for a lowly murder case, she is really bold!"
When Tao Ye heard this, she really wanted to roll her eyes at them! How could the princess send anyone to put out the fire? She wished everyone in the house would die of despair. Even if she sent anyone, it would definitely be a show!
After hearing what the Queen Mother said, Si Yu asked Tao Ye: "Do you agree with what the Queen Mother said?"
Tao Ye had no better strategy at the moment and could only continue to show weakness. Her face showed a sense of grievance and fear, and she answered timidly: "The Queen Mother... The Queen Mother taught me..."
In this way, Si Yu really stood on Mantangjiao's side again: "Yes, if the Queen Mother says it is, who dares to say it is not!"
The Queen Mother was immediately furious. She slammed the table and pointed at Tao Ye: "How dare you! You vixen, what are you doing in front of me?"
Before Tao Ye could respond, Si Yu had already taken over the conversation: "I would like to ask, is it true that the princess gave wine?"
Si Yao pouted and reluctantly admitted: "I did give him wine, but there was only a little laxative in the wine..."
"I have roughly understood the whole story of this matter." Si Yu smiled helplessly and shook his head, then walked to the side of the Queen Mother: "The Imperial Sister stole someone's husband first, which was a forced sale. Even if he intended to sabotage the wedding, it was completely reasonable. How could he be considered a "troublemaker"? It is true that the Imperial Sister gave the wine, and it is true that Chen Ji drank the wine. Now Chen Ji is dead and his body has been destroyed. Neither I nor my mother witnessed the death with our own eyes. How can my mother dare to be sure that the wine is not poisonous?"
The Queen Mother stared at Si Yu angrily, as if questioning or reprimanding him: "According to what you said, Mantang Jiao was the only person who witnessed Chen Ji's death. Does that mean whatever she said is true?"
Si Yu smiled coldly: "Of course she is a witness. Even if what she said is not completely true, at least the emperor's sister is also suspected of poisoning! If the princess of the current dynasty is suspected, which government office dares to try her? Mantangjiao can only file a complaint with the emperor, which is not too much!"
At this point in the argument, the empress dowager was eager to protect her daughter, so she no longer cared about the emperor's face and directly exposed his shortcomings: "Do you think I don't know what you are thinking? It's because your sister failed to send the maid you liked to the palace, but you can't convict her with good reason! Now someone has reported her, which just gives you an excuse!"
Si Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this: "Mother, you are really good at making up stories. What does this have to do with that maid?"
The Queen Mother was still confident and became more aggressive: "If you would not vent your anger on innocent people, why did you scold the Queen so harshly today when the Queen just defended Zhang Cairen? Isn't it because in your eyes, Zhang Cairen is a fake sent into the palace by Yao Er?"
Tao Ye was completely confused.
When Si Yu heard the Queen Mother say this in front of the ministers and palace maids, he was really humiliated and didn't want to continue arguing with the Queen Mother, so he said, "Forget it! As long as it has something to do with your precious daughter, I can't get involved! I won't care about this matter anymore!"
After saying that, Si Yu went out angrily.
Tao Ye was even more confused. This Hanzhang Palace originally belonged to Si Yu, but he just left in anger. What was going on?
The Queen Mother walked up to Chen Xi and asked with a half-smile, "Does the Grand Marshal have anything else to do?"
"No...no, I'll take my leave!" Chen Xi quickly winked at Tao Ye, and the two walked out of Hanzhang Palace together.
As he stepped out of the palace, Tao Ye always felt that something was wrong. He thought to himself, since the princess had offended the emperor, she should not dare to enter the palace easily in the near future. How could it be such a coincidence that she entered the palace at the same time as him?
Thinking further, Tao Ye seemed to understand. She suddenly turned her eyes to Chen Xi who was walking beside her: "It was you? When you brought me into the palace, you immediately sent someone to inform Princess Si Yao, right?"
Chen Xi smiled faintly, not looking at Tao Ye: "Sister-in-law, there are many eyes and ears in the palace, you can't say anything careless."
Tao Ye looked back and saw the Queen Mother holding Si Yao's hand, followed by a group of palace maids, and they had just walked out of Hanzhang Palace.
An idea suddenly occurred to her, and she immediately turned around and ran to Queen Mother Meng, knelt down on the side of the road, and shouted, "I beg you to see the Queen Mother alone!"