Li Rong waited in the Princess Mansion for ten days out of boredom after she received information from Li Ming about the Supervisory Department.
However, she didn't stay idle during these ten days. She looked around for manpower and thought about who she should transfer in after the Supervisory Department was established. At the same time, she secretly trained a group of opera troupes to perform a palace play about the Qin Clan case.
Most of these things were done by other people for her. She was in charge of the general direction. When she had nothing to do, she would visit Shangguan Ya occasionally to play Leaf cards. Her days were quite interesting.
Ten days later, the Qin Family's verdict came down. The evidence was conclusive, and they would be executed after an autumn trial. The news of the Qin Family's verdict quickly spread throughout Huajing. Li Rong hurriedly arranged for the opera troupe to set up a stage and perform on the day the Qin Family's case was filed.
The Qin Family's case had just been settled, but they performed a play about the Qin Clan being framed. For a while, rumors spread everywhere.
On the second day, Li Rong arranged for Qin Zhenzhen to kneel in front of the Princess Mansion.
Early in the morning, people came and went. Everyone saw a girl kneeling motionlessly in front of the Princess Mansion.
More and more people came to watch the show. Li Rong finished putting on her makeup in her room. Jing Lan came in and said, "Your Highness, it's almost time."
Li Rong stood up and said happily, "Let's go."
Li Rong led her people out of the door. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Qin Zhenzhen kneeling in front of the door and shouting, "Your Highness!"
Li Rong was surprised to see Qin Zhenzhen. "You are …"
"I am Qin Zhenzhen, the second daughter of the Qin Prefecture's eldest son."
Qin Zhenzhen reported her name according to the book they had checked before. Li Rong pretended to be surprised. "Oh, why are you here?"
As she spoke, she hurriedly asked someone to help her up. She hurriedly said, "Get up first. Why are you kneeling at my door?"
"My family has been wronged." Qin Zhenzhen raised a letter written in blood and slammed it on the ground. He shouted, "Your Highness, please uphold justice for my family!"
Li Rong took a step back and said in a panic, "You … What do you want me to do?"
"Your Highness," Qin Zhenzhen raised his head with tears in his eyes, "Rong State invaded, and my uncles and brothers fought on the battlefield. Now that we have won at the border, the aristocratic families in the imperial court have framed my father and brother for colluding with the Yang family and betraying the country! Your Highness, please uphold justice for this humble girl! "
"Why are you looking for me?" Li Rong asked hesitantly. "I'm just a princess …"
"Your Highness, you have the blood of the Li family. You are the legitimate daughter of the Empress." Qin Zhenzhen interrupted her and said agitatedly, "Now that the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice have colluded with each other to frame my family, no one dares to accept this letter. No one dares to do anything about it. If Your Highness does not accept this letter today, this humble girl will kill herself in front of the Princess Residence and follow the Qin Clan to the afterlife! "
"Miss Qin, don't …"
Before he could finish, Qin Zhenzhen stood up abruptly. As Li Rong screamed, he bumped into the stone lion at the door!
Qin Zhenzhen had already prepared a blood bag in his sleeve. The moment he stood up, the blood bag slipped into his palm. Before he bumped into the stone lion, he blocked it with his hand. After the blood bag burst, he quickly touched his forehead and went over to the stone lion.
When Qin Zhenzhen bumped into the stone lion, Li Rong rushed over with her people and blocked the view of the people. After Qin Zhenzhen fell down, she quickly turned Qin Zhenzhen over and said agitatedly, "Miss Qin!"
"Your Highness …" Qin Zhenzhen gasped and handed the letter to Li Rong with trembling hands, "Your Highness … please help me … help me …"
Qin Zhenzhen said, then closed his eyes and tilted his head.
Li Rong raised her hand to check if he was breathing. Then, her expression changed. Her hand trembled and she did not speak.
The crowd whispered.
"Is he dead?"
"He's probably dead."
"This Qin Family is so pitiful. If it weren't for the injustice, would this girl have killed herself in front of the Princess's residence?"
"Why didn't she ask the Crown Prince?"
"The Crown Prince is in cahoots with those aristocratic families in the imperial court. Why would he care?"
"Then will His Highness Ping L E care?"
"Who knows?"
Everyone was talking in low voices, waiting for Li Rong's decision.
After a long time, Li Rong took the letter from Qin Zhenzhen's hand and slowly stood up.
"Send Miss Qin's body in and find a place to bury it."
Li Rong's voice was trembling. Then, she looked up and said through gritted teeth, "Prepare the carriage. I want to enter the palace!"
Hearing Li Rong's order, the crowd immediately became excited.
Someone seemed to be very happy and shouted, "His Highness accepted the letter! His Highness wants to care about this matter! "
To the people, Li Rong accepting the letter was meaningless. It was like a ray of light in Huajing, where the aristocratic families were entrenched.
No one expected Li Rong to accept the letter. Therefore, after Li Rong got into the carriage, more and more people gathered around her. They followed behind Li Rong's carriage and shouted, "Your Highness, we support you!"
Li Rong held the letter in her hand and didn't say anything. She sat in the carriage with dignity while the people followed her carriage. The carriage was tightly shut and no one could see the people inside. Occasionally, when the curtain was raised, the people inside could vaguely see the people inside. They looked solemn and dignified, and it was awe-inspiring.
Li Rong's carriage went straight to the palace. When she arrived at the palace, the morning court hadn't ended yet. She had someone announce her arrival.
A eunuch ran into the main hall and passed the news of Li Rong's arrival to Li Ming's ears. Li Ming had been waiting for her for a long time. He raised his hand and said, "Summon her."
Li Rong held the letter in her hand and stood at the door of the main hall. She heard the eunuch's loud and clear voice calling her, "Summon, Princess Ping L, enter the hall — —"
Li Rong heard the summons and walked into the main hall with the letter in her hand. Then, she knelt in the middle of the main hall and said loudly, "Son greets Imperial Father. Long live Imperial Father."
"We're in the morning court now." Li Ming sat on the high seat and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Reporting to Imperial Father, son came to redress injustice."
"Redress injustice for whom?"
"The Qin Clan of Liangzhou."
"What injustice?"
"The Qin Clan is full of loyal members. They were falsely accused of colluding with the Yang Clan. The Ministry of Justice of the Censorate and the Minister of Justice of the Ministry of Censorate bent the law and extorted a confession through torture. They wrongly handled the case. Today, the daughter of the Qin Clan killed herself in front of my door. Son couldn't bear it. Even though I know the road ahead is difficult, I still want to seek justice for the Qin Clan!"
Hearing this, the entire court fell silent. Shangguan Xu looked over and said with a smile, "What are you saying, Princess? This case was investigated by three departments. There won't be any mistakes. If Princess doesn't understand the truth, I'm afraid you've been misled by a villain."
"Shangguan," Li Rong looked up at Shangguan Xu. "Would anyone risk their own life to make me misunderstand?"
Shangguan Xu didn't say anything.
Qin Zhenzhen was dead. This was the most difficult thing to refute.
Logically speaking, Qin Zhenzhen's death meant that the Qin Clan had a natural advantage in this case.
Seeing that Shangguan Xu didn't say anything, Li Rong turned around and held up the bloodstained letter in his hand. He said respectfully, "Imperial Father, this is the bloodstained letter that the daughter of the Qin Clan gave to me. If this case was really framed by others, I'm afraid it would be an unforgivable injustice. Imperial Father's reputation can't be ruined by an ant's nest. "
As Li Rong spoke, the bloodstained letter was delivered to Li Ming. Li Ming opened it and read it for a while. Then, Li Ming slammed the table and said angrily, "Outrageous!"
As he spoke, Li Ming looked at Shangguan Xu. "Beloved Official Shangguan, you must investigate this matter thoroughly. The Qin Clan case needs to be retried. The previous official who was in charge of the case also needs to be investigated thoroughly to see if there was any intentional framing."
"Yes," Shangguan Xu replied calmly. However, Li Rong raised his voice and said, "You can't do that."
Everyone turned to look at Li Rong. Li Rong said seriously, "Imperial Father, this case involves too many people. Many of them are descendants of aristocratic families, and the aristocratic families are closely related by marriage. I can't trust Lord Shangguan to handle this case."
"Then I …"
Su Yongqing suddenly spoke up. Li Rong looked coldly at Su Yongqing and immediately said, "I can't trust you either!"
"You can't trust this and you can't trust that." Li Ming seemed to be annoyed. "What do you want?"
"Imperial Father, the daughter of the Qin Clan died in my arms. I promised her that I would definitely investigate this case. Imperial Father, please allow me to personally investigate this case!"
"How can you do that?" Shangguan Xu immediately said anxiously, "The Princess is a woman of the imperial harem. The matters of the imperial court …"
"Didn't I interfere?"
Li Rong looked up at him and said seriously, "In Da Xia, there is no such thing as a Princess being unable to participate in politics. The Yang Clan's case was originally investigated by me. Now that the Qin Clan's case is implicated by the Yang Clan's case, why can't I investigate it?!"
Li Rong's words were firm. Shangguan Xu had never thought that Li Rong would speak to him in such a manner. He was so angry that his face turned pale. He fumed and said, "Your Highness, according to seniority, I can be considered your elder. Please listen to my advice … "
"Then according to rank, Your Highness is His Majesty's eldest daughter. Lord Shangguan still has to salute Your Highness when he sees you. Lord Shangguan should listen to Your Highness's advice."
Pei Wenxuan, who was standing in the distance, suddenly spoke up coldly. Shangguan Xu flew into a rage and shouted, "You don't know your place! You have no right to speak!"
"What does Lord Shangguan mean?" When Pei Wenxuan heard Shangguan Xu's words, he ignored the expressions of the people around him. He held his ceremonial tablet and looked indifferent. "Could it be that in the imperial court, even the people from the Censorate can't speak in front of Lord Shangguan?"
Shangguan Xu didn't dare to answer this question. No matter how low the rank of the Censorate was, it still monitored the officials. The Censorate could even criticize the Emperor. Although Pei Wenxuan was only a Censorate, Shangguan Xu was only an official. There was nothing that he couldn't say about his mistakes.
Shangguan Xu didn't speak. He stared at Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan treated him as if he didn't exist and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, if this case is really as Your Highness said, then it's equivalent to implicating all the investigation agencies in the imperial court. Indeed, a third party should be involved in the investigation."
"What you said is indeed correct."
Li Ming knocked on the table and slowly said, "How about this, Ping L E, you handle this case first. The Qin Clan's case will be reopened. The officials who previously investigated the Qin Clan's case will also be investigated again. Previously, the Yang Clan's case was handled by you. Zhen knows your ability. If you can handle it well this time, then in the future, the matter of supervising the officials will be handed over to you. "
As he spoke, Li Ming smiled. "You can see Zhen at any time, and you're Zhen's daughter. You can do things more freely. If there's something you can't handle, it's also convenient for you to report it. The Censorate monitors the officials. There has to be someone to monitor the Censorate. "As Li Ming spoke, he looked jokingly at the Censorate, Shangguan Min Zhi." Don't you think so, Shangguan? "
Shangguan Min Zhi bowed and didn't say anything.
Everyone didn't show it on their faces, but their hearts were already in a perilous situation. Everyone understood Li Ming's words. A princess who was in charge of supervising the officials had more freedom to do things. She could directly report things to the Emperor without going through the three provinces. What a terrifying organization that would be.
"Your Highness," Right Prime Minister Su Min Zhi said hesitantly, "The Censorate is already capable of supervising the officials. If we let the princess supervise …"
"Why can't we?"
Li Rong turned his head and stared at Su Min Zhi. "Does Lord Su feel that it's not necessary, or does he feel that I'm not capable?"
When Su Min Zhi heard Li Rong's question, he didn't dare to answer. Just as he was considering his words, he heard Li Rong say, "If today, the Censorate can directly handle things for me, that would be the best. But now, the Censorate is also involved. What does Lord Su want to do?"
Su Min Zhi didn't say anything. Li Rong's question was indeed a problem. Currently, there was no interrogation organization in the imperial court that wasn't involved in this case. It was reasonable to set up a temporary organization.
"As for whether you feel that I'm not capable," Li Rong laughed. "Whether I'm capable or not, shouldn't I try? Could it be that Lord Su can find someone with a higher rank than me, who doesn't belong to the three departments, and who has investigated this case before? "
"That's … true."
Su Min Zhi said hesitantly. Li Ming sat at the top and said happily, "Let's do it this way. Ping L E has grown up and wants to share Imperial Father's burden. Let's give her this opportunity."
Li Ming smiled and said, "You can choose 500 people from the military camp in the city to help you. If you do a good job in this case, you will be rewarded. Do it well."
"Thank you, Imperial Father."
Li Rong hurriedly responded. Li Ming propped himself up and seemed a little tired. "Okay, that's it. You can leave the court."
After saying that, Li Ming walked out under the respectful farewell of everyone.
Pei Wenxuan walked against the crowd to Li Rong's side. He pursed his lips and said, "Let's go back together?"
"Okay."
Li Rong walked out with him. He lowered his voice and whispered, "My performance today was good, right?"
"Excellent." Pei Wenxuan gave him a thumbs up.
The two of them were happily talking when they heard Shangguan Xu's voice from behind them. "Your Highness, please wait!"
Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan stopped. Pei Wenxuan inched towards Li Rong and whispered, "Trouble is coming."
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