OBS Chapter 660 The Man Behind Lao Tian
Chapter 660 The Man Behind Lao Tian
As for why... Shen Zhinian didn't make the matter clear and let the emperor investigate, but ordered Xiao Zhouzi to act quietly.
Of course, it was because she couldn't possibly reveal her cards in front of so many enemies.
And although Shen Zhinian has the power to assist in managing the six palaces, the palace is the emperor's palace after all. If he knew that her control over the palace was beyond the imagination of ordinary people, this man might not think too much.
Seeing that Lao Tian was still throwing dirty water on him, Shen Zhinian felt that he was really hateful, pitiful and sad.
"...Xiao Zhouzi heard from the people in the manufacturing department that when you were young, your wife died of complications during childbirth, leaving behind only a daughter. Over the years, you raised your daughter alone and brought her up, always treating her as your lifeblood."
"Last month, your daughter got married in a hurry. Some colleagues were curious about which family your daughter was betrothed to, but you kept silent and seemed a little dazed."
"Old Tian, you have no father or mother, and no relatives except a daughter. Since you framed me on someone else's orders, it must be for money or for my daughter."
"You're not telling the truth yet. Do you want His Majesty to send someone to investigate your daughter?!"
"You have become a sinner, and your daughter still wants to live a good life?!"
Old Tian suddenly raised his head. He didn't expect that the virtuous concubine even knew all these things!
Thinking of what Shen Zhinian had just said, a glimmer of hope appeared in his cloudy eyes.
Maybe... if he tells the whole truth, can the virtuous concubine really save his daughter?
Among the crowd, there was one person who seemed to know that the situation was hopeless. He closed his eyes to hide the coldness in his eyes.
The virtuous concubine is indeed more difficult to deal with than imagined!
"Mrs. Xianfei..."
Old Tian knelt on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes: "I deserve to die. I was indeed following someone else's orders to frame you..."
When these words were spoken, some were surprised, some were puzzled, and some were skeptical.
Is Concubine Xian really wronged?
Or... did she deliberately bring up Lao Tian's daughter to threaten him?
Nangong Xuanyu stared down at Lao Tian and said, "Who instructed you to slander Concubine Xian?!"
Feeling the pressure emanating from the emperor, Lao Tian's body trembled, and he said truthfully: "Your Majesty, last month, the son of Lord Xia, the councilor of the Ministry of Public Administration, met my daughter on the street for some reason and insisted on taking her as his sixteenth concubine."
"Although I am of low status, I also want my daughter to marry a man of equal status as my principal wife. Even if we have to live in poverty, it is better than being a concubine of a lustful man and being bullied by him."
"But how can an arm twist a thigh? In order to save my life, the little girl finally nodded and agreed, and was carried into the Xia family in a sedan chair."
"I thought that Master Xia was determined to get my daughter, and he was at least a little interested in her. Who knew... since my daughter entered the Xia family, she has been suffering from old wounds and new ones..."
"Master Xia said that if I don't follow his orders and use the Nine Linked Rings to frame the Concubine Xian, he will beat me to death..."
At this point, Old Tian was already in tears, kneeling on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "I know that I have slandered the Concubine Xian, and my crime is unforgivable. Your Majesty and the Concubine Xian can punish me however you want. I beg the Concubine Xian to have mercy and save my daughter from the hell of the Xia family!"
Xiao Zhouzi had no sympathy for Lao Tian at all, and said coldly: "The queen just gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it."
So what if Lao Tian has excusable circumstances?
If the Queen had not been cautious enough and had not known their details long ago, she would not be able to clear herself of the guilt even if she jumped into the Yellow River today.
What will become of Her Majesty, who is charged with murdering the Third Prince?
Without Nangong Xuanyu's instructions, Su Quanye had already ordered people to leave the palace and rush to verify the matter.
Princess Yun'an asked in surprise, "What hatred do the Xia family have with Concubine Xian? Why did they go to such lengths to frame her?"
Lao Tian knelt on the ground and shook his head: "This is not something that only a servant can know..."
Someone remembered: "The daughter of the councilor of the Ministry of Public Administration, Mr. Xia's sister, is the former noble lady Xia!"
"Last year at the New Year's Eve palace banquet, she ordered people to mix spoiled milk with fresh milk in an attempt to frame the virtuous concubine for failing to do her job well. After the incident was exposed, Xia was demoted to a commoner by His Majesty and sent to the cold palace."
"The Xia family must have held a grudge against us because of this, so they set up this trap to frame the virtuous concubine!"
Princess Yun'an frowned slightly: "Even if this matter has nothing to do with Concubine Xian, the wild cat that almost hurt the Third Prince did run away from the cold palace."
"How does Concubine Xian explain this matter?"
Before Shen Zhinian could say anything, the manager of the cold palace and Chu Xiyan came over with their men, escorting a woman.
After the ceremony, Chu Xiyan said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, when I got up last night, I saw Xia's sneaky behavior, so I followed her to take a look."
"Xia said she couldn't sleep and was just wandering around the yard. I vaguely heard a few cat calls at the time, but there were always wild cats in the cold palace, so I didn't think much of it."
"It was not until Eunuch Zhou sent someone to the cold palace to inquire whether there was anything unusual in the cold palace recently that I suddenly remembered this matter."
Concubine Sun looked at Xia and said with disgust, "Everything makes sense now!"
"The Xia family used Lao Tian's daughter as a threat, and asked Lao Tian to make the snow on the Nine Links to miss his son, and framed the virtuous concubine."
"Xia bribed Zi'er and asked her to release the cat to harm the Third Prince. No matter who is ultimately blamed, as long as it is found that the cat that hurt the Third Prince escaped from the cold palace, Concubine Xian will be to blame."
"Xia's tactics are really good!"
Nangong Xuanyu didn't remember anyone named Xia at all. Even though she was kneeling in front of him, he didn't recognize her.
But after listening to everyone's story, he finally remembered who Xia was.
At this moment, he looked at Xia coldly: "Are you the one who did all these things?!"
Xia cast a veiled glance at the crowd, and finally lowered her head in resignation: "The spoiled milk at the New Year's Eve banquet was not put there by me! Your Majesty, in order to exonerate the virtuous concubine, you forcibly banished me to the cold palace. How can I not hate you?!"
"If it wasn't because of Concubine Xian, how could I have ended up like this?! I hate it! I really hate it!! So I want her to die a miserable death!!!"
Although the people Su Quanye sent to investigate the Xia family have not returned yet, the Xia family has admitted everything, and the truth is clear.
The emperor's eyes were burning with anger: "The evidence is irrefutable regarding the milk issue, and you're still trying to argue?!"
"Because you had served me before, I only banished you to the cold palace. I did not sentence you to death, nor did I punish your family."
"I never thought that not only would you not repent, but you would even become worse!"