latelenovela Chapter 480 Sharing the Responsibility
Chapter 480 Sharing the Responsibility
"What?" Lady Pingxi looked at Cao Li in shock.
When they came out of the palace, it happened to be snowing heavily. The carriage of their Pingxibo Mansion accidentally hit a girl, and that girl was Hongqiao. Kong Lin was there at the time. After seeing Hongqiao in trouble, he felt that their Pingxibo Mansion was deliberately taking revenge. He even spoke ill of Mu Yao under Hongqiao's instigation. She was really mad at that time, and she proposed a divorce directly on the street. She even sent someone to invite the wife of the Shangshu, but she didn't expect the old lady to be an unreasonable character. In the end, the matter had to end unpleasantly. She waited for Xie Qingzhi to deal with the matter, but she didn't expect that it was the queen who came.
Gu Jianchu already knew the truth, so he was not surprised by this incident.
But it's quite interesting to watch the two of them fighting each other.
Seeing Mrs. Pingxibo's surprise, Cao Li sneered and said, "I'm afraid Mrs. Pingxibo doesn't know yet."
"That bitch came to me and said that Kong Lin didn't really want to divorce Mu Yao, even though there was no love left between them. She wanted to give me a strong dose of medicine to catalyze the relationship."
"She must have heard from the Shangshu Mansion that Mu Yao and Lady Pingxibo were going to enter the palace, so she specifically asked me to find out which way Lady Pingxibo would take to leave the palace, and even what time they would leave."
"It's easier to find out which route to take. It's cheaper to spend some money to find some acquaintances and ask the coachman of Pingxibo Mansion. But the time of the palace banquet is uncertain. After all, there are many uncertainties in the palace. So she encouraged Kong Lin to go to the teahouse near Changjie for tea early. Then I sent someone to keep an eye on the carriage of Pingxibo Mansion. When I saw the carriage coming out, I quickly went to the teahouse where they were having tea and informed Hongqiao of the news."
"Hong Qiao came out of the teahouse almost on time, spotted the carriage of the Pingxi Marquis's mansion and rammed it. Then, when Mu Yao came out, she could naturally put the blame on Mu Yao. This way, Kong Lin's reluctance to part with Mu Yao would be completely forgotten."
"Your Majesty, these things can be checked. If you don't believe me, you can ask the two maids serving Hong Qiao. They should know that Hong Qiao inquired about the banquet at the Pingxi Marquis's Mansion. Or you can ask the coachman at the Pingxi Marquis's Mansion whether he has leaked the whereabouts of the Madam and the Young Miss. These things can be found out by asking."
Hearing this, Hong Qiao kept shaking her head, "I didn't do it. They deliberately framed me. The Queen deliberately framed me in order to get away with it. After all, if she wanted me to take the throne, she had to make Mu Yao and Kong Lin divorce. He only went out to do these things. Even if they asked, there was no direct evidence to prove that it was him or me, so they could easily frame me."
These two people are both cunning people. There is indeed no direct evidence to prove them, so no matter how much they blame each other, they may not find any actual evidence.
Gu Jianchu thought for a moment and said, "What Hong Qiao said is not unreasonable. This matter is a bit difficult to handle."
Seeing Gu Jianchu rubbing his brow in a state of considerable headache, Pingxibo immediately asked, "Your Majesty, can you use torture?"
"This matter is different. I'm afraid torture won't get the desired result. After all, it involves their own lives and property, and they will all blame each other. They have no idea who is right and who is wrong, so torture doesn't make much sense." What Gu Jianchu said was of course the truth. This matter was like a confusing account, and both sides would blame each other.
Minister Kong then asked, "What should we do if the Queen is just like this? We can't just leave it alone."
"Let's put these things aside for now. After all, they are the two of them. If we really can't find the real culprit, let's just share the responsibility. I think neither of them is innocent. It's just the responsibility of the mastermind and the second-in-command, or maybe it's a conspiracy, but neither of them wants to admit it and wants to push the blame onto the other." Gu Jianchu tapped the table with his fingers, his tone revealing a barely detectable coldness.
Pingxibo and Kong Shangshu looked at each other. They had never seen things handled in this way. After all, the responsibilities and penalties borne by the mastermind and the non-mastermind were different.
It seems that what the Queen said is not completely unreasonable. If nothing can be found out during the interrogation, these two people will have to bear the responsibility together.
Before anyone else could speak, Gu Jianchu's voice rang out again, "Let's put aside the question of who was the mastermind and who wasn't. We should now try Cao Li for kidnapping and deceiving the brothel girl, using her to help him steal money. This is a case I've never seen before, and this is of paramount importance."
Pingxi Bo and Kong Shangshu were only concerned with their own interests and Hong Qiao's desire to get promoted, but they forgot that there was such a serious case waiting to be dealt with.
If it was true, not to mention the Queen, they had never seen such a case.
I have seen some human traffickers kidnap children, cripple them, and leave them on the streets to beg or rob money, but I have never seen anyone control prostitutes in brothels to cheat the major families. Not to mention how horrifying such a case is, if this matter were to be spread, it would be enough to embarrass the major families. It is not just a matter of being cheated of money.
But we should sympathize more with the women's experiences.
They were already forced into brothels by their parents or relatives against their will, which was already a harm to them. But they were exploited by Cao Li and suffered a second harm. According to Hong Qiao, Cao Li did not just take advantage of them, but might have even endangered their lives.
"Since we are here today, we don't have to travel all the way. We can hold the trial together at Minister Kong's house. Yunhe, Chongfeng, you go inform the emperor separately, and also inform the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, and ask them to send people to supervise the trial. This matter concerns social stability and is of great importance. They need to send people to be present." Gu Jianchu said as his expression became serious.
This is no longer just a matter of the inner chambers, but a very serious social case of kidnapping, fraud and robbery, which may also involve a murder case, so both the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple must be present. As for whether the emperor will come, it depends on whether the emperor is busy. If he does not come, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple will naturally investigate the matter and send it to the emperor's desk.
Before the two groups sent people over, Gu Jianchu did not interrogate anyone, but ate snacks and drank boiled tea.
Minister Kong didn't expect that such a big thing would be involved. After all, Hong Qiao was taken into the mansion by them as a concubine. If the emperor wanted to hold them accountable, they would not be able to escape.