noffsinger Chapter 217 Blackmailing Money
Chapter 217 Blackmailing Money
Seeing that the other party was no longer moving forward, Chongfeng put away the sword in his hand.
Old Madam Tang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, please investigate. My daughter-in-law really did drown in the pond when she was returning to her room at night. She accidentally stepped on a stone because it was dark. It was already the next morning when we found her. Her body was soaked white. When the Li family heard about this, they immediately said that my daughter-in-law's death was suspicious. They then threatened us that if we didn't pay, they would report her to the police and put my son in jail. If this isn't extortion, what is this?"
"If the emperor doesn't believe me, you can ask the neighbors nearby. They've all heard that the Li family is extorting money, and they're trying to bring the emperor here to extort money from my family. I think you're just greedy."
As Old Madam Tang spoke, she cursed at Lord and Madam Li beside her.
Lord Li and Madam Li had been planning to extort money from the family. When they heard Madam Tang's accusation, they frantically knelt down and said, "God and God, we truly believe our daughter's death was suspicious, and we want an explanation from the Tang family. We absolutely have no intention of extorting money."
Madam Tang jumped up instantly, not looking like she was in any condition. "You didn't extort money from us to pay fifty thousand taels of silver to settle this matter. The neighbors nearby heard about it."
"What do you mean by extorting money? Don't think we don't know how you have treated my daughter since she married into your family. My daughter was killed by you. We are just seeking justice for her." Mrs. Li was not an easy person to deal with. She rolled up her sleeves and confronted Mrs. Tang.
After all, Old Madam Tang came from a poor family and lived in the market. Even though her son later became an official, she could not change her aggressive spirit in the stock market.
Madam Tang's sharp nails were about to dig into Madam Li's face. "When Li was alive, you didn't seem to care much for your daughter. Now that Li is dead, you are heartbroken instead. I think you are clearly trying to use Li's death to extort money from us so that you can give it to your useless son to marry off. He couldn't even pass the imperial examination. He is really a good-for-nothing."
Hearing Old Madam Tang scolding her son, Madam Li's face instantly turned red with anger. Before Madam Li could start to fight back, Dou Wen said helplessly, "Stop arguing. What a quarrel!"
Madam Li and Old Madam Tang glanced at each other weakly, and the emperor, with an impatient look on his brow, fell silent instantly.
Neither family is a good person. They are all trying to shirk responsibility and have not considered Li's life or death. If the dead can really turn into evil spirits and take lives, I dare not imagine how tragic the deaths of the two families would be.
Xie Ci'an's voice suddenly sounded with pressure, "Can Li's body be buried?"
Tang Rui and Old Madam Tang's hearts were beating extremely fast.
Without waiting for the two men to stammer a reply, Dou Wen had already noticed the coffin being carried to the door.
Dou Wendai replied, "Li's body should not have been buried yet."
"I remember that the Deputy Director of the Imperial Hospital, Imperial Physician Lin, lives nearby. Why not ask Imperial Physician Lin to come and help investigate the cause of Li's death?"
After getting Xie Ci'an's nod of agreement, Dou Wen quickly asked his servants to invite Doctor Lin over.
It was an incense stick later when Imperial Physician Lin arrived. He was wearing casual clothes and carrying a medicine box. The servants did not make it clear when they went to invite him, and when he arrived, he found that the Emperor and Empress were there too. It was obvious that the Empress was probably meddling in other people's affairs again.
Imperial Physician Lin stepped forward to pay his respects to the Emperor and Empress, then waited on the side awaiting their arrangements.
"Open the coffin and perform an autopsy." Xie Ci'an ordered coldly.
Tang Rui and Old Madam Tang's eyebrows twitched, and their fingers tightly grasped their clothes to relieve their inner tension.
Dou Wen came in a hurry, accompanied by a servant. He had the lowest official rank among those present. Yunhe was someone close to the queen, so he didn't dare to give orders and could only open the coffin himself.
Dou Wen was a civil servant after all. He pushed and yanked for a long time, but the coffin lid didn't budge at all. Finally, Wen Zhu couldn't stand it anymore, so he stepped forward and kicked the coffin lid, which flew off.
Dou Wen then made a gesture of invitation to Doctor Lin.
Doctor Lin looked at Dou Wen with an expression of disbelief. He originally thought that he was invited here to see a patient, but he never expected that it was to perform an autopsy. He was a doctor, but he was asked to perform an autopsy.
"Master Dou, you must have made a mistake. Just ask the coroner to perform the autopsy." Doctor Lin tried to struggle and looked at Gu Jianchu weakly.
Feeling the gaze of Doctor Lin, Gu Jianchu weakly turned his eyes away and pretended not to see it.
Dou Wen chuckled and explained, "The coroner is too far away from here, and the trip back and forth will take a long time. The Emperor and Empress probably can't wait, so they had to go and ask for Doctor Lin. I trust Doctor Lin's medical skills. It's just a matter of examining the cause of death, which shouldn't be difficult for Doctor Lin."
Doctor Lin really had the urge to strangle Dou Wen, but he finally held back. Although he still had a smile on his face, his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Doctor Lin took out a handkerchief from the medicine box and covered his face with it.
Although Li had not been dead for long, the body already had a foul smell due to the current weather.
Doctor Lin took out two more handkerchiefs from the medicine box and wrapped them around his hands. He took out a pair of tweezers and examined Li's body, not missing any details.
The autopsy process was a long wait for both families.
Tang Rui glanced towards the coffin from time to time, fearing that Doctor Lin would find some clues that would be unfavorable to him.
Doctor Lin looked at Dou Wen, who was sitting idle at the side. Thinking that he was being dragged here to be the coroner, he couldn't help but feel a little angry. He coughed lightly and said, "Sir Dou, please come and help turn the body over. I'm afraid I can't do it alone."
Dou Wen, who was watching the fun, didn't expect to eat the melon himself. He looked at Doctor Lin with a confused look on his face, "Me?"
Doctor Lin nodded repeatedly, "It's you. Is there anyone else free at the scene besides you?"
Not all of them are idle.
Doctor Lin glanced back weakly, only to find that everyone was looking straight at him, but none of them was someone he could afford to offend.
Dou Wen could only reluctantly step forward to help.
Gu Jianchu played with the beads in his hands and waited patiently.
Half an hour later, Doctor Lin and Dou Wen finally took off the scarves on their faces and came to the carriage of the emperor and empress.
Gu Jianchu leaned forward and asked with concern, "What are the results of the autopsy?"
"The Li family is right. Li's death was indeed strange."
As soon as Doctor Lin finished speaking, Madam Li jumped out and said, "I have always said that there is something wrong with my daughter's death. Now even the doctor has said so, and you still refuse to admit it."