At this moment, the inner courtyard of the deep palace was calm.
Feng Xingzhi had just placed a game piece when the grand eunuch hurriedly walked in.
"Your Majesty, Qi Yan, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, requests an audience."
This man was pot - bellied, but he was a good hand at solving cases. He was upright and even Feng Jiangming gave him some leeway.
"Your Majesty, in the case of the former prime minister, both the Qiao family and Ji Yuyan have been brought back to the Ministry of Justice."
Feng Jiangming raised his eyebrows. This old fellow was hinting at something!
They could just interrogate them after bringing them back. Why did he come all the way here to tell him about it?
A bit puzzled, he turned his head and saw Feng Xingzhi sitting right opposite him.
Ah, he understood. This was out of consideration for Feng Xingzhi, so he came to test his attitude!
Slightly curving his lips, Feng Jiangming picked up a game piece, seized Feng Xingzhi's flaw, and quickly gained the upper - hand.
"Interrogate them strictly. No favoritism!"
"Yes!"
After the man left, Feng Xingzhi looked confused. Why were the Qiao family and Ji Yuyan arrested?
He did know about the feud between Ji Yunxi and them, but there had been no sign of an attack before!
Feng Jiangming glanced at him. "So you don't know yet. This morning, your fiancée sent your contracted spirit beast straight to their door, forcing the Qiao family to admit that she was responsible for the death of the prime minister's wife back then."
I see. Feng Xingzhi had entered the palace early this morning. Those two had kept their mouths so tight that they didn't reveal a single word, so naturally he was unaware.
Regarding this matter, Feng Jiangming was actually quite surprised.
Back then, he was not yet the emperor. The prime minister's wife was a first - class noblewoman, and her death was widely known.
However, the prime minister's mansion had deliberately concealed the matter. As soon as she died, the Qiao family was sent to a villa outside the city and strictly guarded, with quite a few servants and guards.
Everyone naturally knew about these dirty things in the inner house. They knew that the wife's death was related to the Qiao family. But since the prime minister's mansion didn't pursue the matter, no one mentioned it and they just let it go.
It wasn't until some time ago that Ji Qilin died.
Feng Jiangming had never believed that Ji Qilin really died of illness. He just didn't expect that the murderer would be his own daughter!
So the human heart was really a terrifying thing.
"Your future princess is really something."
As Feng Jiangming said this, he looked at Feng Xingzhi, trying to read something from his face.
Unexpectedly, Feng Xingzhi nodded without hesitation. "Of course Xi Xi is amazing!"
Feng Jiangming caught his breath and then exhaled deeply. His younger brother was going to be tied to Ji Yunxi for the rest of his life!
"You! Usually you're so calm, cautious, and low - key. How come you become like this when it comes to that girl from the Ji family?"
Feng Jiangming's tone was full of disdain.
Feng Xingzhi didn't mind. Instead, he said, "To have Xi Xi is the greatest blessing of my life."
These words made his elder brother, who had always doted on him, feel a bit sour.
He shook his head helplessly. After all, Feng Xingzhi's problem was his own fault.
Feng Xingzhi had been in poor health since childhood, so he had always indulged him in everything. Because he liked the prime minister's mansion, he had also shown a lot of favor to it. Just like today, Ji Yuchen had rushed in with a dark face, knelt down without saying a word, and almost burst into tears while pleading.
Only then did he know that the concubine had killed the mistress, and now the illegitimate daughter had even attacked her own father.
Normally, such a thing should have been reported to the magistrate of the capital by themselves and dealt with there. But unexpectedly, Ji Yuchen had requested that the Ministry of Justice take charge of the trial.
In the end, he didn't think much and just agreed.
It was all Feng Xingzhi's fault!
As if feeling his elder brother's slightly resentful look, Feng Xingzhi turned his head in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Feng Jiangming suddenly said, "If you were in better health, you should practice martial arts."
This remark seemed out of context. Feng Xingzhi was completely bewildered, with a look of confusion in his eyes. Did his brother notice that he was about to lose after his last move and was now taking revenge by saying he was weak?
Then Feng Jiangming slowly said, "If the reputation of being hen - pecked spreads about you in the future, I won't help you!"
In the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
The Qiao family had her hands raised and was hanging in mid - air, with her toes barely touching the ground.
Her once - luxurious clothes were now in tatters, with faint bloodstains on them.
Not far away on a bench, Ji Yuyan was unconscious, sweating profusely. Apparently, she had been flogged.
Qi Yan picked up the teacup beside him and pushed aside the tea leaves on the surface. "You've slept long enough."
The soldier beside him immediately understood and turned to walk out.
Qi Yan took a sip of tea, but he couldn't hide his anger. He and Prime Minister Ji were friends despite the age difference. If he hadn't been afraid that too close a relationship would make the emperor worry about forming a clique, he would have liked to go to the prime minister's mansion every day.
He had been very sad when Ji Qilin died before, but it was just a sigh about the impermanence of life.
Who would have thought that today he would learn that there was more to Ji Qilin's death, and the murderer was actually his own daughter?!
So since Ji Yuyan had been brought in and her first words were that she was wronged, Qi Yan had been extremely angry and directly ordered his subordinates to give her twenty lashes.
The soldier quickly walked in, carrying a bucket of cold water and pouring it on Ji Yuyan's head.
The Qiao family saw this from afar. She was anxious but helpless, and could only let out sobs.
Ji Yuyan was suddenly awakened by the cold water.
When she opened her eyes and found herself still in this pitch - black place, despair began to well up in her heart.
Qi Yan got up and came in front of her. "Will you talk?"
His voice at this moment was very much like Ji Qilin's when he was angry. Ji Yuyan shrank her neck in fear.
"Since you still refuse to talk, it's meaningless to beat you to death. Then... since a son's fault is the father's responsibility, let your mother take your punishment."
After saying that, the soldier immediately whipped the Qiao family hard.
Ji Yuyan watched as her mother's clothes were stained red with blood. All her perseverance immediately crumbled.
"Stop, stop!" Ji Yuyan said hoarsely. "I'll talk. I'll tell you everything... Stop! I'll tell you everything!"
In the evening, Ji Yuyan's confession was presented on Feng Jiangming's desk.
There was almost no doubt about the matter of the prime minister's wife back then. But the fact that she had poisoned Ji Qilin was really regrettable.
According to Ji Yuyan, as daughters of the prime minister's mansion, Ji Yunxi was showered with love and served delicious food and fine drinks every day. Although she was also a young lady, her treatment was very different.
Over time, resentment had been planted in her heart. One was her partial father, and the other was her elder sister who always outshone her. In the end, she went astray and was instructed by someone to poison these two people.
Originally, the poison was slowly added to their food and drinks. But during the trip to Xirong, she completely collapsed because of Su Ningyuan's rejection. So while Ji Yunxi, a highly - skilled person, was not in the mansion, she directly killed Ji Qilin.
When Feng Jiangming read to the end, his face suddenly darkened. He picked up a pen, made a red - ink comment, and directly threw it on the ground, ordering someone to take it back.
On the last line of the confession.
Ji Yuyan had written tremblingly, "I've never regretted it!"