She had originally planned to find a scholar to marry in the capital. But if all scholars were so boring, she thought it might be better not to marry at all.
"That's because he's not interested in you," Yi Qing quipped directly.
Xue Miao'er rolled her eyes at Yi Qing and sat down on a chair nearby, holding her whip.
"I heard that Lord Xu summoned me regarding a murder case?" Yi Qing casually took a seat on another chair.
"Yes," Xu Maozhi stood up. "The concubine of the Marquis of Yi'an was humiliated at the gate of the First - Rank General's Mansion. After returning home, she was so ashamed and angry that she hit a pillar and died."
"Really?" Yi Qing's eyes lit up a bit. "She got off too easily. Since she was so enraged, why didn't she just kill herself right at my mansion's gate? I would've liked to see that."
Yi Qing felt a bit disappointed that the Lady Sima had died before she could carry out her plan.
"Most likely it's false," Xu Maozhi said seriously. "Since the Marquis of Yi'an has filed a lawsuit, we have to go through the motions."
Xu Maozhi was a very rigid person. Even if he knew the real situation, he still had to follow the proper procedures.
"Are you asking me to go to the Supreme Court?" Yi Qing said in a flippant tone.
"Yes."
"Are there crowds of people at the gate of the Supreme Court?" Yi Qing guessed.
Xu Maozhi's eyes flickered. "Yes."
"Then does Lord Xu think this is just a simple case?" Someone was clearly trying to use this incident to cause trouble for her.
"Since a life has been lost, there must be an explanation. Both the Marquis of Yi'an and you, Lady, have titles."
Yi Qing found all these things really troublesome. "Fine. For Ranran's sake, I'll go with you."
Xu Maozhi let out a sigh of relief. If Yi Qing had insisted on not going, he would have been at a loss. "Please."
The area outside the Supreme Court was crowded with people. In this era, the news of a daughter - in - law causing her mother - in - law's death was a real sensation. But when Yi Qing saw the number of people, she thought it was a bit too much of a sensation.
"That's her! That's her..."
"I heard she once refused to recognize her own father."
"A person like her can be the wife of a First - Rank General. In our place, she would have been drowned in a pig cage long ago."
...
When the crowd saw Yi Qing get out of the carriage, they started to chatter.
Hearing their comments, Xue Miao'er turned and glared at them. Angrily, she lashed out with her whip, scaring the people into taking a step back.
"The wife of the First - Rank General has ordered her servant to beat people!" someone shouted in the crowd.
Seeing this situation, Xu Maozhi ordered the yamen runners to separate the crowd and maintain order.
"I didn't expect to be so popular," Yi Qing said with a hint of self - mockery, her eyes cold.
Yesterday, when she heard Xiao Jinghan talk about the situation in the Great Jin Dynasty, she knew that it was not stable. No wonder he had faked his death before. It seemed that the reality was much more cruel than she had thought.
She really had a trouble - avoiding personality.
"I've already arranged people around," Xu Maozhi whispered.
The Marquis of Yi'an was sitting below the dais. Since Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Jingyuan had no titles or official degrees, they had to kneel.
"You murderer!" Xiao Jingyuan looked at Yi Qing with hatred in her eyes.
"I'd like to be a murderer, but unfortunately someone didn't give me the chance," Yi Qing said as she walked over and sat down on a chair. "Let's start."
"Why doesn't she kneel?" Xiao Jinghong said as he tried to stand up.
A yamen runner on the side immediately hit him with a warning rod, causing Xiao Jinghong to let out a painful scream.
"Lady Xiao is a First - Rank Imperial Ennobled Lady personally conferred by the emperor. With her title, she doesn't need to kneel," Xu Maozhi said seriously.
Hearing Xu Maozhi's words, the hatred in Xiao Jingyuan's eyes grew stronger. "She killed my mother!"
Yi Qing stared at Xiao Jingyuan with a half - smile, making her feel a bit uneasy.
"Where is Lady Sima's body?" Yi Qing said with a smile. She didn't believe that Lady Sima had really died by hitting a pillar.
"You venomous woman! After you've enraged your mother - in - law to death, do you still want to desecrate her body?" the Marquis of Yi'an scolded.
"No, you're wrong. I'm not just going to desecrate her body. I'll make sure the rest of you won't have a good life either," Yi Qing said as she looked around at them.
The Marquis of Yi'an was so angry that his chest heaved. It seemed that he was having trouble breathing.
Yi Qing's eyes tightened. "Hold him down!"
The yamen runners on both sides were slow to react. Xu Maozhi himself ran over to hold down the Marquis of Yi'an. Yi Qing went over and gave him a few acupuncture needles, and the marquis's breathing gradually became smoother.
Yi Qing examined the marquis's pulse and eyelids. "Poisoned."
"Poisoned?" Xu Maozhi was surprised. If the Marquis of Yi'an were to die during his interrogation, he would be held responsible.
Yi Qing didn't explain in detail. "This kind of poison, when taken in small amounts, will make people mentally excited. But if taken in excess and then stimulated, with extreme emotional fluctuations, it will cause difficulty in breathing and even shatter the heart veins."
In simple terms, it was sudden death.
In fact, it was a kind of medicine that accelerated blood flow.
It was a kind of poison she had seen when she went to Licheng, but it was used as a medicine. She found that it had great side effects when used in excess, but in the border areas where there was a shortage of doctors and medicine, it was something that could save lives.
"Interesting!" Yi Qing sized up the marquis and his two sons, then paced back and forth in the hall.
During this time, Xu Maozhi also figured out the key point.
He had known from the start that the Marquis of Yi'an was just causing trouble. But since it involved the First - Rank General's Mansion, he had gone to fetch Yi Qing.
"What should we do next?" Xu Maozhi saw Yi Qing deep in thought with a smile on her lips.
"Just ask them directly," Yi Qing shrugged.
"They definitely won't admit it in this kind of situation."
"Then beat them until they do," Yi Qing knew that the Marquis of Yi'an and the others were all cowards. After a few blows, they would probably even remember things from when they were in diapers.
"Don't we need a reason?"
"Do we need a reason for torture to extract a confession?"
"Only Deng Xiao doesn't need a reason," Xu Maozhi said, indicating that he was a good official who abided by the law and cared for the people.
Yi Qing just thought he was pedantic. "You won't beat them, right? Go and get some honey."
"What do we need honey for?"
"For a more severe method, smear honey on their bodies, and soon ants will come. This is called 'being bitten by ten thousand ants'. For a gentler method, let them eat it. Keep feeding them, and they'll be so thirsty that they'll even tell things from before they were born," Yi Qing said casually.
Xu Maozhi thought about it seriously. He would tell the general later not to let the general's wife get too close to Deng Xiao. But this method was actually quite good.
"Someone, go get honey!" Xu Maozhi ordered.
"Xu Maozhi, I have a title!" the Marquis of Yi'an panicked.
"That's why you're here at the Supreme Court instead of the Prefectural Magistrate's Office. As you should know, at the Prefectural Magistrate's Office, anyone who files a lawsuit has to be beaten first. You, Marquis of Yi'an, who has lived a pampered life, probably couldn't bear it," Xu Maozhi explained seriously.
At this moment, Aunt Qingyue arrived with an oral edict from the Empress Dowager. The Marquis of Yi'an was like a drowning man who had found a life - saving straw. He had been reluctant to trouble the Empress Dowager before, but now that Lady Sima was dead, the Empress Dowager would surely give him an explanation.
Yi Qing and Xu Maozhi exchanged a look. They didn't expect the Empress Dowager to get involved in this matter. It was getting more and more interesting.