readytorunbook Chapter 221 Complaint in the Palace
Chapter 221 Complaint in the Palace
Zhao Fangyu has always been frail and now he is lying in the quilt with a sickly look on his face. Anyone would be worried, let alone Zhou Qinghe.
A group of killers whose origin cannot be traced but whose power is comparable to that of military weapons. They are not very capable but have a large number of people, and can obtain information about Zhao Fangyu's whereabouts quietly.
In fact, it is not difficult to guess who is behind the scenes.
Zhou Qinghe watched Zhao Fangyu by the window all night.
He was afraid that if he missed a moment, Zhao Fangyu would completely disappear from his life. The imperial physician said that it was just a fever and the wound on his head looked serious, but it was actually nothing serious and he just needed to rest for a few days.
But Zhou Qinghe was still afraid. In the past, Zhao Fangyu was full of life, and after a little bit of recuperation, he looked almost the same as an ordinary person. But this time, many things were happening at once, and he caught a cold as well. Even if it was not a terminal illness, it was likely that he would not feel much better.
Zhao Fangyu was half asleep and half awake, and he struggled to open his lips to a gap, but no sound was heard.
Zhou Qinghe noticed Zhao Fangyu's actions in an instant, moved closer and heard that he wanted water, so he quickly fed him a little bit of thin rice soup.
She fell asleep at the eldest lady's place and probably had not had dinner. As she was injured and could not eat irritating foods, she was fed a little bit of thin rice soup.
After feeding him half a bowl of soup, Zhao Fangyu stopped drinking. Zhou Qinghe sent the bowl of soup down again and asked someone to continue smelling the porridge pot in the corridor.
Zhao Fangyu's fever subsided in the second half of the night. Zhou Qinghe changed the towel on her forehead from time to time. She loved cleanliness, so when she found her palms were sweating, he would wring them clean with a towel filled with warm water and wipe her arms and legs bit by bit.
Zhao Fangyu did not wake up until dawn, but he was able to sleep soundly from the second half of the night onwards.
Zhou Qinghe changed his clothes without changing his expression and went to court. Xuanbi was watching at home and felt that his back was murderous as he left.
Zhou Qinghe really had a lot of anger that he had no place to vent.
He felt he was wrong.
He has always been naive and ridiculous. Why does he think that these people will let her go if he and Zhao Fangyu are not husband and wife?
These people are all beasts. No matter whether Zhao Fangyu is his legitimate wife, his weakness or a waste, as long as her dowry is there, these people will not let Zhao Fangyu go.
If that's the case, why should he make things difficult for himself and deliberately pretend that he doesn't like Zhao Fangyu?
As long as he is strong enough, no one would dare to touch him even if everyone knew that Zhao Fangyu is his sweetheart and his Achilles' heel.
After all, he was not strong enough.
Zhou Qinghe hated himself before yesterday. If he hadn't been so soft-hearted and indecisive, how could Zhao Fangyu have been hurt?
If it weren't for the maids who protected him yesterday, it would have been Zhao Fangyu who was pierced by the broken porcelain pieces!
Zhou Qinghe stood in front of the Wende Hall. Several officials who used to get along well with him kept their distance from him. Only Zhao Zhihuai came over and asked him, "Your Highness, how is Fang Yu? Is there any serious problem?"
Zhou Qinghe naturally knew that this matter had nothing to do with the Zhao family, but he couldn't help but reveal a trace of anger in his heart: "He hit his head and hurt his maids. The carriage was kicked over several times..."
Then he remembered that the person in front of him was his elder brother-in-law, and fearing that his mother-in-law would worry, he comforted him, "He has been settled now, and he needs to rest."
This means that there is no serious problem.
But it was not difficult to hear the danger of last night from Zhou Qinghe's words.
The people in the Ministry of Justice all subconsciously straightened their chests when they saw Zhou Qinghe. Regardless of anything else, everyone in the capital knew how Zhou Qinghe had coerced the Ministry of Revenue to give him grain and grass.
Since it concerns the ancestral graves, we have to be cautious.
The Ministry of Justice's main responsibility in this matter was to arrest the culprit behind the incident, but the ones who actually failed in their duty were the three military offices and the inspectors of the wing areas.
A princess was assassinated right under the emperor's feet. The guards did not arrive for a long time, and in the end it was the Jinyiwei who took action!
It's simply a horror of slipping the world!
When Zhao Zhihuai got the news, he stood aside. He was a member of Iron Crane King's party, and besides, it was his sister who was in trouble, so there was nothing wrong with standing closer and talking.
Soon, the bell rang and officials filed into the Wende Hall.
The emperor was sitting in the palace, and Zhou Qinghe had been waiting. When Qian Jiangping shouted that if there was anything to report, the court should be dismissed, then he finally walked out of the line of officials, knelt down and kowtowed in the court in full view of all the officials!
"I have a petition to make. My princess was assassinated last night while passing by the north of the city. She is still unconscious at home. Please, father! Please help me!"
All the officials lowered their heads and said nothing, but they kept glancing at Zhou Qinghe from the corner of their eyes.
Hearing this, I felt relieved, as if my wish had finally come true.
The emperor said "Oh?" and then asked who the inspector of the north city was.
The North City Inspector was not worthy to enter the palace, but today's matter involved him, so he was waiting outside the Wende Palace early.
As soon as he came in, he knelt behind Zhou Qinghe and said, "Your Majesty, a quarter of an hour before Princess He was assassinated yesterday, all the patrol officers and soldiers on the road she was walking on... were killed, and their bodies are hidden in the dark alleys nearby."
"All the wounds were from behind, and the throat was cut by a sword, so the officers and soldiers did not issue any warning orders."
The North City Inspectors are not high-ranking officials. They are only in charge of patrolling the city on weekdays. They are just small fry. Even the knives they use are inferior ones exchanged from the three yamen. They can't even make any money on weekdays.
Obviously, he is also a victim affected by the incident.
Patrols during the day are still relatively safe. Those who are forced to patrol at night are mostly unlucky people with no connections. Even if there are a few capable ones, they cannot escape the hidden swords of the gangsters behind the scenes.
Zhou Qinghe was still kneeling, obviously trying to force the emperor to give him an answer.
Don't you like to flatter him? Since you show that you love and respect him so much, you should at least listen to his demands.
Anything can be glossed over, but not the case of Zhao Fangyu. Even if he had to kneel outside the imperial study until his legs were broken, he would force the emperor to give him an explanation.
The emperor hesitated, Zhao Zhihuai stood at the very back, he could only see Zhou Qinghe's straight back.
Soon, people from the three yamen came out to confess their crimes. It was just a case of one level pushing the blame onto another. The senior officials first said that they were derelict in their duty and failed to manage their subordinates well. The subordinates then came out to say that they had failed to supervise them and then pushed the blame onto the people below them.
In the end, the blame fell on the north city inspector, who said he was not diligent enough in his daily inspections, so that people on that road died without anyone noticing.
Four or five people from the three yamen came out and they were all blaming each other. Zhou Qinghe listened with a blank expression.
The inspectors were not careful and failed to notice that many people were missing.
The soldiers at the city gate were careless and let in many assassins.
Some people even blamed Princess He for going out so late at night. If it was in broad daylight, the killer would not find an opportunity. A gentleman does not stand under a wall. Even if Zhao Fangyu was a victim, he was equally responsible.
Zhou Qinghe moved. He turned around and saw the man who was talking so eloquently in the crowd. Without warning, he stood up, walked up to the man, and slapped him in the face.