vrcanaries Chapter 357 Tang Family
Chapter 357 Tang Family
Royal study room.
"In recent days, Lin Xiaotian has been claiming to be ill and not attending the morning court, and he reported that the grief of losing his son triggered an old illness he had while suppressing bandits.
Now, the court is arguing about Lin Yuanfang's death.
This matter was also widely spread in Kyoto, and everyone in the streets and alleys knew about it. Lin Yuanfang, who had followed Lin Xiaotian to suppress bandits in the south of the Yangtze River, died tragically in my palace, and the murderer has not been caught yet.
Huo Qingyun, haven't you found out the truth yet? "
Facing the slightly angry inquiry from Emperor Tianqi, Huo Qingyun kept a calm face and took out the speech he had prepared long ago.
"Your Majesty, I have already found the murderer behind the scenes, but this person has a special identity. I dare to report it only after repeated verification."
When he heard the words "special identity", Emperor Tianqi's pupils shrank suddenly. After a long silence, he asked calmly:
"How special?"
"This person is related to the emperor by blood."
"You mean...King Qi?"
"..."
Looking at the self-deceiving Emperor Tianqi, Huo Qingyun fell into rare silence.
In Kyoto, the only ones who were related to Emperor Tianqi by blood were the Empress Dowager, Princess Qingyi and Prince Qi. If the heir in Concubine Bai's belly was counted, then he would be the fourth.
The Empress Dowager was a member of the Lin family, so it was unlikely that she would kill the next generation of the Lin family head.
As a prince of the royal family, it is possible for the Prince of Qi to place a few spies in the palace, but the chance of him abducting Lin Yuanfang to the harem and killing him is extremely slim.
The royal heir in Concubine Bai’s belly... has not been born yet.
Then, only Princess Qingyi was left. Princess Qingyi and Lin Yuanfang left the Qianqiu Festival palace banquet one after the other, and must have been seen by many people.
Before this, Luo Xiaoran asked Huo Shui to bring a message to Huo Qingyun. It was said to be a sentence, but in fact it only contained two words, "wound" and "Tang Fei".
After Luo Xiaoran's reminder, Huo Qingyun suddenly remembered that Lin Yuanfang's death was very similar to that of An Luhai who was silenced in Anru Temple.
An Luhai was killed by people sent by Princess Qingyi. Luo Xiaoran wanted to remind Huo Qingyun to pay attention to Chen Lingyi.
Following this line of inquiry, Huo Qingyun indeed found some clues, and was able to determine that the person who orchestrated this murder was Princess Qingyi, Chen Lingyi.
But for Huo Qingyun, who had often been in and out of the palace since he was a child, he understood the importance of Princess Qingyi in the heart of Emperor Tianqi. Emperor Tianqi probably would not easily touch her just to give an explanation to the Lin family.
If Emperor Tianqi insisted on protecting Princess Qingyi, then Luo Xiaoran might be convicted of murdering Lin Yuanfang, which was something Huo Qingyun did not want to see!
At this point, Huo Qingyun understood the meaning of the words "Tang Fei" conveyed by Luo Xiaoran. This is the best method at the moment.
Emperor Tianqi said the answer "King of Qi", and when he saw that Huo Qingyun stopped talking and just looked at him expressionlessly, he felt guilty at first, but then gradually became angry and embarrassed.
Just when he was about to scold Huo Qingyun for not answering, Huo Qingyun calmly uttered four words:
"Not the King of Qi."
Then, without giving Emperor Tianqi a chance to react, Huo Qingyun continued:
"I have another matter to report to Your Majesty.
At the beginning of this summer, when the military department was chasing a thief in Kyoto, the thief actually jumped into the Guangdai Lake in the inner city, intending to escape by swimming.
The soldiers from the Bingmasi who were chasing the thief also jumped into the lake. When they captured the thief, a corpse unexpectedly floated to the surface of the lake.
The soldier was an expert in swimming and found this matter very strange, so he dived to the bottom of the lake to check, and found dozens of female corpses sunk in the lake.
Because human life was involved, the case was reported to the Jingzhao Yinfu in accordance with the law, and I did not inquire further.
A few days ago, the Pacification Office reported an incident that seemed to be related to these female corpses, and involved the relatives of high-ranking officials of the imperial court.
The Pacification Office accidentally discovered that a brothel in Kyoto called Quan Ya Pavilion was a favorite haunt of many playboys.
Some of these dandy boys had unique interests and were reckless when visiting prostitutes, causing many prostitutes in Quan Ya Pavilion to die and eventually become ghosts in Guangdai Lake. "
After Huo Qingyun finished speaking, Emperor Tianqi became angry.
"Female corpses, brothels, relatives of high-ranking officials of the imperial court, Huo Qingyun, what on earth are you keeping in suspense?"
Emperor Tianqi was still thinking about Lin Yuanfang's case, so of course he would be angry after Huo Qingyun talked about something that was completely irrelevant.
“Your Majesty, I have discovered the owner of Quan Ya Pavilion—it is the wife of Minister Tang of the Ministry of Personnel!
Mrs. Tang used Quanyage to collect money and to obtain information from the sons of high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen who went to Quanyage for fun.
In addition, Mrs. Tang also allowed her servants to lend money at high interest rates, forcing many people to pawn their children to pay off their debts. Among these children who were sold, those with good looks would be brought into Quan Ya Pavilion.
During the flood a year ago, among the large number of victims who poured into Kyoto, many women were abducted to Quan Ya Pavilion and eventually died at the bottom of the lake.
These women were already displaced and homeless due to the flood. They thought they had come to the emperor's feet and were protected by his majesty, but they didn't expect to end up like this!
Your Majesty, Madam Tang has committed a grave crime by disregarding human life and amassing ill-gotten gains!"
Emperor Tianqi narrowed his eyes slightly. He already understood that Huo Qingyun wanted him to take action against the Tang family!