kvmb Chapter 174 Commander Pei, arrest them!
Chapter 174 Commander Pei, arrest them!
Pei Ji walked up to Abbess Bilian with his sword, leaned forward slightly, and slapped her across the face.
Master Bilian covered her face, looking at the expressionless Pei Ji in disbelief, and then at the Crown Prince.
The prince's slightly light-colored pupils were cold and unwavering, like snow-covered mountains, causing one's heart to tremble involuntarily.
Master Bilian looked at the Princess again, but the Princess turned her head away, pressed her hand to her temple, and looked like she had a headache, not giving her a second glance.
Pei Ji held a long sword in his other hand, which stood right in front of her. The cold glint of the sword stung her eyes.
At this moment, Abbess Bilian finally realized that the Crown Prince was indeed as the legends said, a man of his word.
They won't care about anyone's feelings. Even if the Empress Dowager herself were here, it might not be of any use, let alone if the people sent by her were here.
She felt as if all her strength had been drained in an instant. Looking at Han Dong, who was begging for mercy in a pitiful state, she seemed to see herself about to be reborn.
The burning pain on her face seemed to pull her back to reality.
For more than twenty years, since coming to Qinglian Temple and gradually becoming sought after and valued, she has become arrogant and complacent, completely forgetting the humble and subservient life she once had in the palace.
She thought she was the aloof and revered Abbess Qinglian, someone whom even high-ranking officials and nobles would give some face to.
So much so that she even dared to think that she could easily handle and control even His Highness the Crown Prince.
Master Bilian's angry face gradually fell. She lowered her head and said weakly, "Your Highness, please understand that I am so engrossed in elixirs that I have no energy to deal with such trivial matters. I have never assigned anyone to do such a thing. If Your Highness does not believe me, please search for me."
Master Bilian's resigned demeanor didn't seem like she was lying.
Eunuch Qi was in a hurry to return and report to the Empress Dowager, fearing that the Crown Prince might actually make a move and injure Abbess Qinglian, making it impossible to report back. He had no choice but to step forward and try to plead in a low voice: "Your Highness, what the abbess said is not without reason. Perhaps, perhaps you should send someone to search first. If there is no evidence to prove that the abbess did it, then perhaps, perhaps it is just this little nun's one-sided story. No, we cannot believe it entirely..."
Eunuch Qi was covered in cold sweat, and his voice trembled as he spoke while secretly observing the Crown Prince's expression.
Meanwhile, the people sent to search returned one after another to report: "Your Highness, nothing unusual was found at Abbess Bilian's residence, except for an alchemy room filled with various bottles and jars of medicine."
Upon hearing this, Abbess Qinglian instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
Eunuch Qi calmed down a bit and continued to smile obsequiously at the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, since there is no evidence, it's probably just slander. Otherwise, this servant will take Abbess Qinglian back to the palace first..."
"What's the rush?" The Crown Prince tapped his fingertips lightly on the table beside him and said in a calm and unhurried voice, "I want to search the entire Qinglian Temple, not just one or two places. Before the entire Qinglian Temple is searched, Eunuch Qi, you'd better not be in such a hurry. Someone, bring Eunuch Qi some tea."
The old eunuch Qi, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly waved his hand and said, "This servant dares not, this servant dares not."
I had no choice but to stand aside again, steeling myself.
"Since their testimonies are inconsistent, one of them must be lying. Pei Ji, drag them out and beat them until they tell the truth." The Crown Prince's gaze fell on Han Dong and Abbess Qinglian as he calmly gave the order.
Pei Ji immediately raised his hand, and the guards stepped forward, dragged the two of them away, and walked outside.
Even though Abbess Qinglian had regained her senses and realized that the Crown Prince was not someone to be trifled with, she never imagined that he would actually drag her out and beat her in public. Forgetting everything else, she cried out, "Your Highness, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"
"Your Highness, Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me!" Han Dong cried out pitifully.
However, no one paid attention to their cries. Pei Ji simply ordered someone to place a bench next to the incense burner outside the main hall, put the two of them on it, and lashed them with a whip.
"Ah—" The two screamed in pain.
The hundreds of people in the Qinglian Temple below couldn't help but tremble with fear at the sight.
When had Abbess Qinglian ever suffered such humiliation? The breath she had just released rose again, and she shouted sharply, "Your Highness, as the heir apparent of the nation, is this how you extract confessions through torture and disregard human life? You have no evidence; this is slander, this is slander—"
Inside the hall, Eunuch Qi was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Your Highness, Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has specifically requested that Abbess Qinglian be brought to the palace. Please, please be merciful and don't let her get hurt..."
After much hesitation, the eldest princess finally spoke up: "A-Que, there are too many people outside and too much gossip. Why don't we wait until we find evidence before we speak, so as not to give others a reason to criticize us..."
The crown prince did not answer, and the hall was silent except for the sounds of whipping and screams of anger coming from outside.
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from the crowd: "Who says there's no evidence! The evidence is right here!"
The eldest princess looked outside in surprise.
The crown prince sat in the main hall, looking down at the familiar figure through the crowd, but it was too far away, and he could only see a messy head.
Lu Yangyang was not only a mess, but also covered in dust and looked extremely disheveled.
It wasn't just her; Princess Li Duan next to her wasn't much better off either, covered in blood and looking somewhat dazed. Sheng Yunjiao looked even worse, her eyes dull and lifeless. The two of them were holding each other's hands tightly, unusually friendly.
Lin Feng and Lü Yao followed behind.
Lu Yangyang was also holding a child who was about two years old in her arms.
The group marched through the crowd towards the main hall. When they reached Han Dong and Abbess Qinglian, who had been beaten, Lu Yangyang stopped and asked Lü Yao, "Is it her?"
Luyao stared at Handong for a moment, but before she could speak, a look of panic appeared on Handong's face.
Lu Yangyang carried the unconscious child to Han Dong and said, "Look carefully, this is the child you bought. It was the Fairy of Supreme Goodness who instructed you to do so, right?"
"No, no, I, I don't know..." Han Dong subconsciously opened her mouth to deny it, her fingers gripping the stool tightly.
Lü Yao nodded: "It's her. I remember her voice. She had an affair with A Liang, which refers to Shang Shan Xiangu. She even had A Liang replace Uncle Liang and swindle money from Shang Shan Xiangu so they could run away together."
"I didn't!" Han Dong denied vehemently. "It wasn't me who said it, it wasn't me who said it! I didn't cheat the fairy out of her money. The fairy said Uncle Cheng was becoming more and more useless and told me to take down A Liang..."
Lu Yangyang stood up, holding the child, and turned her head to lock onto the location of Shangshan Fairy in the crowd. "Of course it wasn't you who said it. I was just bluffing you."
"The mastermind behind the child trafficking is that all-powerful, omnipotent swindler who is famous throughout the capital, the Shangshan Fairy of Qinglian Temple."
"Commander Pei, arrest them!"