"Really?!" Su Gui was completely shocked.
"Yes. Xie Wu just told me this personally. I'm going to meet Wu Meiniang later. She should be able to find the remaining knockout drugs of her two good - for - nothing brothers." Li Jingyun looked at him with a smile.
However, Su Gui had a rather playful look on his face. "Then the lives of the ten people in the Liu family have become tools for the Yang and Zheng families to obstruct the sale of coal. Princess, you've changed."
Li Jingyun's hand holding the chopsticks and bowl froze instantly. With a slip of her hand, the chopsticks and bowl fell directly, and the broken porcelain pieces scattered all over the floor.
She stood there in a daze, recalling every detail after she learned about this incident.
There was anger, helplessness, and panic, but all of them were about whether the coal could still be sold and how to break the current situation.
Had she felt any sympathy or compassion for the tragic deaths of the ten people in the Liu family? She had, but only a little.
"Princess, please be careful. Don't cut your hands." Manjing quickly bent down to pick up the broken porcelain pieces on the floor.
Li Jingyun sat down dejectedly. Facing the delicious dishes on the table, she had no appetite at all.
At this time, Imperial Servant Feng led Wu Meiniang in. As soon as Wu Meiniang came in, she knelt down without hesitation. "The guilty Wu Meiniang pays homage to Princess Chengyang. I'm willing to serve the princess like a dog or a horse to make up for the crimes committed by my two brothers."
"Feng has told you everything? Then I'll have to trouble you to look around at home and see if you can find the remaining knockout drugs of your brothers." Li Jingyun came to her senses and said to Wu Meiniang.
"Yes, Meiniang obeys your order." Wu Meiniang replied crisply. Then, seeing that Li Jingyun didn't look well, she asked, "Princess, now that there's progress in the coal matter, why do you still look so worried?"
"No matter if there's progress in the coal matter or not, the lives of the ten people in the Liu family will never come back. You can go and do your work." Li Jingyun wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and waved Wu Meiniang away.
It turned out that Su Gui was right. She had indeed changed, and she hadn't even noticed it herself.
In the private room, only Li Jingyun and her confidants were left.
Imperial Servant Feng served Li Jingyun a bowl of longevity porridge and put two extra red dates in it deliberately. This was Li Jingyun's favorite food usually. He said gently, "Princess, since you feel guilty, why not give the ten people in the Liu family a grand burial to give them posthumous glory. For Liu San, the one who's still alive, we can find him a job so that he won't go hungry. It'll be a blessing for him."
"I understand what you're saying. I'm just a bit surprised. If Su Gui hadn't reminded me, I really wouldn't have noticed." Li Jingyun said dejectedly.
In the end, she couldn't resist the temptation of the longevity porridge and drank it mouthful by mouthful.
The thick and smooth porridge gradually calmed her heart.
"Su Gui, did you hear someone talking about Lord Wei Zheng's straightforward admonition to His Majesty? Do you want to try it on our princess?" Duan Jia asked tentatively.
No matter how intelligent Su Gui was, he was actually still a playful, straightforward, and even somewhat school - averse child.
He was still a child!
Among this group of people, the oldest were Duan Jia, who was fifteen years old, and Imperial Servant Feng, who was thirteen. Their minds were more mature compared to Li Jingyun and the other two.
Su Gui's eyes suddenly lit up. "Captain Duan! How do you know! I really couldn't hold it back today and had to say it."
"Then I should thank Su Gui in the same way my father thanked Lord Wei Zheng." Li Jingyun put down the longevity porridge, stood up, straightened her clothes, and bowed respectfully to Su Gui.
"Li Jingyun thanks Mr. Su for his advice."
"Please rise, Princess."
Su Gui's vanity was greatly satisfied. She called me Mr. Su! Mr. Su!
Suddenly, he had the thought of "For the lord's grace on the Gold Terrace, I'll wield my jade sword and die for him."
Before, his parents and his elder sister Su Rui had all said that it was a blessing for him to meet the little princess, like a fine horse meeting its伯乐. He hadn't felt that way before, but now he did!
Now he was as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood!
He even wished he could bring the merchants from Silla and Baekje again to negotiate another round of business for the little princess.
Their actions were so serious that it stunned Duan Jia and the other two. It was such a serious matter, but it seemed a bit like children playing house when it came to them.
However, this matter was finally over. Li Jingyun gave the order to arrange for the Liu family according to Imperial Servant Feng's suggestion.
After this matter was completely settled, they would think about how to arrange Liu San.
Whether he would come to the Princess Chengyang's Mansion to sweep the yard or go to a villa to learn a craft and become a craftsman, it would be a good place for him.
Li Jingyun finally ate her meal in peace, and Duan Jia and the others heaved a sigh of relief. Actually, Duan Jia had a guess in her heart. Wu Zetian would surely be able to find the remaining knockout drugs used by the brothers Wu Yuanqing.
Otherwise, would they let the princess and the Prince of Wu worry themselves to death over this matter? Unable to eat or sleep?
Neither His Majesty nor the Empress would like to see such a scene.
So the knockout drugs must exist, the case would surely be closed smoothly, and then the gossips outside would subside. The coal would continue to be sold.
After this meal, Wu Meiniang came back with the knockout drugs. She first found Li Jingyun and then went to the yamen with Li Jingyun and the others.
The brothers Wu Yuanqing were still sleeping soundly, dreaming of counting silver. They were pulled out of bed and taken in front of the county magistrate. Beside them knelt the dirty and foolish Liu San.
Looking around, they saw Princess Chengyang, the Prince of Wu, and Constable Xie. Were they going to retry the case?
A sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in their hearts.
"Wu Yuanqing, Wu Yuanshuang, take a look at this packet of knockout drugs. Do you recognize it?" Wang Zhihe slowly took out the packet of knockout drugs that Wu Meiniang had given him.
A yamen runner held it and waved it in front of the Wu brothers. Their faces suddenly changed.
Wasn't this stuff thrown away?
How did it grow legs and come back into their hands?
"How did you murder the ten people in the Liu family? Why don't you confess truthfully!" Wang Zhihe slapped the gavel, and the two of them broke out in a cold sweat.
With Constable Xie adding pressure, "You two were instigated by the Yang brothers Yang Yuzhi to obstruct the sale of coal. How much money did you receive from them? Or did they give you a share of the charcoal business?"
"Tell the truth. Otherwise, you'll just be scapegoats for the two Yang brothers. Think it over carefully." Wang Zhihe said again.
One trick after another confused the not - so - smart Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang.
Under the gaze of the siblings Li Ke and Li Jingyun, Wu Yuanshuang's legs were trembling. He couldn't figure out until his death how this matter, which was supposed to be so secret, had been discovered within just a few days.
They spilled the beans and told everything in detail.
They also told how Yang Shuzhi had come up with the idea and they had carried it out, and how Yang Yuzhi had promised to give them one - tenth of the profits from the charcoal business.
The clerk taking notes was writing so fast that his hand was flying just to write down this matter completely.
"Come on, take them to the prison! As for the matter of the Yang brothers, I'll report it to His Majesty and then make a decision."
At Wang Zhihe's order, the Wu brothers were sent to prison.