582 Scandal (1)
This cellar was originally used by Shen Yijia to hide ice. After the temperature in the capital dropped, the family stopped buying ice, so this place was empty.
Chen Duo’er was leaning against the chair and sleeping soundly when she was woken up by the commotion around her. When she opened her eyes and saw the old prince, she was so frightened that her pupils constricted.
Song Jingchen saw her expression. Chen Duo’er didn’t tell him about the old prince previously. Did she not know his identity or was she deliberately hiding it?
He thought for a moment and waved his hand to get someone to bring Chen Duo’er out first. Then, he looked at the old prince and asked, “What happened to him?”
“He should have fainted from shock.” With that, South Wind went out and brought in a basin of water. He poured it on the old prince.
The person who had fainted woke up with a shudder. “Assassin, there’s an assassin!”
The exclamation stopped when he saw Song Jingchen. He moved his hands and feet and realized that his entire body was tied up. There was nothing he didn’t understand. He said angrily, “Earl Zhongyi, how dare you kidnap me?”
Song Jingchen pulled Shen Yijia to sit down in the chair opposite him and shook his head. “I’m saving Your Highness.”
“Save me?” The old prince was stunned for a moment before sneering. “What a joke. You’d better let me go immediately. I can let bygones be bygones today. Otherwise…”
Song Jingchen didn’t answer him. He suppressed the disgust in his heart and asked, “Your Highness, do you know why Your Majesty summoned me back to the capital?”
The old prince did not know why he was asking this. He sneered. “Isn’t it because you contributed to saving Xunyang City? Don’t think that you can do whatever you want with this. Murdering a relative of the emperor is a crime punishable by nine generations.”
If not for the fact that his hands were trembling, Shen Yijia would have thought that he was as calm as he appeared.
Song Jingchen smiled. “I’m afraid only Your Highness believes this reason, right?”
The old prince was a little annoyed by his gaze, but he had no choice but to lower his head. He frowned and said, “What do you mean?”
“Someone in the royal family is secretly capturing young women in various places for the sake of building their influence. Coincidentally, I obtained a picture book in Xunyang City. The emperor summoned me back to investigate this case.”
When he said this, Song Jingchen had been paying attention to the old prince and didn’t miss the shock on his face.
It seemed that the mastermind did not tell him about this.
That was true. If the old king knew that the emperor was already investigating this case, he would definitely not let those women stay in his Fragrant Teahouse and openly patronize it.
“So what if you’re investigating a case? What has it got to do with me?” Even though he tried his best to hide it, his words were clearly worried.
“Your Highness, if there’s no evidence, where would I have the guts to treat you like this?” Song Jingchen didn’t want to beat around the bush anymore. He reminded him, “Your Highness, don’t forget where my men invited you from.”
What kind of bullsh*t “invitation” was that? It was clearly a kidnapping!
The old prince wanted to curse, but when he thought about how he had just left the Fragrant Teahouse and was tied up here, he knew that the matter of the Fragrant Teahouse had already been exposed. His expression changed and he gritted his teeth. “So what if the Fragrant Teahouse has a secret? The women inside were all bought by me. The reason why I want to hide it is because I’m thinking about the royal family’s reputation.”
He wasn’t worried that those women would betray him. It was just a brothel. Even if Song Jingchen reported this matter to the emperor, the emperor would at most ask him to close Fragrant Teahouse.
Moreover, the fact that Song Jingchen had captured him here meant that he had only found the women in Fragrant Teahouse. He didn’t have any concrete evidence. Otherwise, why didn’t he report it directly?
The more he thought about it, the more confident the old prince became. His hands stopped trembling.
Song Jingchen raised his eyebrows. “So you’re the only master of Fragrant Teahouse?”
“Hmph,” the old king said coldly. “Who in the capital doesn’t know whose property the Fragrant Teahouse is?”
Song Jingchen didn’t say anything and instructed South Wind. Soon, Chen Duo’er was brought back. “Does Your Highness know her?”
As soon as Chen Duo’er saw the old king, she kept hiding behind him, not even daring to look him in the eye. The old king only glanced at her before looking away. “I don’t know her.”
There were so many women in the Fragrant Teahouse. Even if he had seen her before, he might not remember her, let alone Chen Duo’er, who was disheveled now.
“But she came from Fragrant Teahouse. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to find out about Fragrant Teahouse.” Song Jingchen waved his hand. South Wind took out Chen Duo’er’s confession and showed it to the old prince.
“You’ve seen him?”
This question was directed at Chen Duo’er.
Chen Duo’er’s body trembled and she hurriedly nodded. “Yes, I have.”
