Chapter 676: Chapter 676. Instigating Troubles

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

When Su Qing arrived, she found a group of commoners blocking the entrance of the women’s hospital early in the morning. The guards were guarding the door and were not allowed to approach. These commoners seemed very excited.

“You killed a pregnant woman.”

“I’ve long said that this is an evil technique. How can you not die after cutting open a good person’s stomach? Look, is she not dead?”

“I heard that they’re using a pregnant woman’s body to refine pills so that the Empress can maintain her youth forever.”

“This is too scary. Isn’t this cannibalism?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you know what crime it is to slander the royal family?”

Zhang Jinglin was wearing an official uniform and looked at the commoners who were blocking the entrance of the medical hall with a dignified expression. It was impossible to say that there was no instigation. Last night, the Empress had ordered people to surround the medical hall, and no bird was allowed to leave. Commoners were blocking the door early this morning. Who leaked the news?

“We are relatives of the Yan family. We are here to seek justice. We sent a living person here, and you killed her.”

Someone in the crowd shouted, and someone immediately echoed,

“Give us justice.”

“Surround them.”

Su Qing ordered the guards to surround the troublemakers. Her cold voice gave an unquestionable order,

“Arrest all these troublemakers.”

“We want to see the Emperor.”

“The Empress has harmed someone’s life.”

Seeing that guards surrounded them, these people were afraid and started to make a ruckus. Su Qing ordered people to pull out a short man hiding in the crowd.

This short man was only one meter tall, but he looked like he was forty years old. When he saw the guards coming to catch him, he turned around and ran in fear. His short legs were relatively fast but too short to run fast. Guard Li kicked him down and ordered people to tie him up.

The Yan clansmen were afraid because the guards had captured them. An old man came out to beg for mercy.

“Sir, we just want an explanation. We have no intention of slandering the royal family.”

Su Qing was dressed as a man, wearing the official uniform of a civil servant and an official hat on her head. Although she was thin, she had a daunting dignity. She looked at the old man coldly and allowed him to speak.

“Who asked you to come?”

“It’s our sister-in-law, the mother-in-law of the deceased pregnant woman.”

The old man felt this lord was not to be trifled with, so he did not dare hide the truth.

Su Qing raised her head and looked at Bodyguard Li coldly. Bodyguard Li hurried over to report,

“Reporting…Sir, when I arrived last night, the pregnant woman and her mother-in-law had already left with the child. Their whereabouts are unknown.”

Su Qing looked at the old man. The pressure in his eyes was so intense that the old man was so scared that he knelt on the ground and said shakily,

“Sir, what I said is true. My sister-in-law came back to ask for help. She said that her daughter-in-law was killed in this clinic. She asked us to seek justice for her. We came to help her. After all, we can’t be ignorant of the cause of her death, right?”

“She asked you to come? Did she ask you to say those slanderous words about the royal family?”

Su Qing snorted coldly. The words these people shouted just now were all directed at her, and now they were pushing it all onto the old woman.

The old man was so scared that he sat on the ground with a pale face. Slandering the royal family was a crime that could cause the entire family to be executed. He did not dare to say it, even if he was beaten to death. He wanted to stop Lu Lao’er when he heard those words just now. Just as he wanted to leave with his family, he was surrounded by the soldiers. He pointed at the short man and said to Su Qing,

“I swear to God this old man did not say those words. My sister-in-law’s brother-in-law shouted it. It was the Second Lu who the officials caught.”

Bodyguard Li grabbed Shortie by the collar and threw him to the ground. Shortie fell and rolled his eyes, pretending to be dead.

“Hit him until he wakes up.”

Su Qing saw Shortie pretending to be dead and ordered Bodyguard Li coldly. When Shortie heard that he was going to hit him, he hurriedly got up from the ground and said,

“Lord, spare my life. You can’t beat you. I can’t accept it!”

Su Qing glanced at Bodyguard Li. Bodyguard Li had been trying his best to teach this kid a lesson. When he saw the Empress’ signal, he pulled out his whip and lashed at the little dwarf fiercely, causing the kid to roll on the ground. This time, he didn’t dare to be mischievous and begged for mercy at the top of his voice.

“Sir, please spare my life. My sister-in-law forced me to come. She made me say those words.”

“Where is your sister-in-law?”

Su Qing asked coldly. This old woman was the key. Perhaps she was the one who killed the pregnant woman.

“She said she’ll come after she gets the child home… Oh, I know. She sent us to our deaths and ran away on her own. Damn it, she’s too inhumane.”

Shortie seemed to have figured it out all of a sudden. He was so angry that he cursed. When he saw the soldiers staring at him with knives, Second Brother Lu was so scared that he took out the two taels of silver that his sister-in-law had given him and cried to Su Qing,

“Your Excellency, I deserve to die. I only said those treacherous words because I wanted the silver she gave me. Please, I beg for your mercy!”

“Lord Zhang, have you found anything?”

Su Qing ignored the crying Second Lu and asked Zhang Jinglin.

He came early, so he must have already started investigating.

“I just asked the female doctor on duty. After the operation yesterday, it was the pregnant woman’s mother-in-law who took care of the pregnant woman. When she went for a check-up, she was still fine. Later, the pregnant woman’s mother-in-law went out for a trip. Not long after she came back, the pregnant woman died.”

Zhang Jinglin told Su Qing about his investigation. Yesterday, the pregnant woman returned to the ward after her surgery. Only her mother-in-law took care of her and the child. The female doctor went to check on her and went back on duty.

During this period, the mother-in-law left with the child for a while, saying she was looking for milk. She left for an hour before returning. Not long after she returned, she complained that the pregnant woman had died. When the doctor went to check on the pregnant woman, her mother-in-law left with the child and never returned.

“Find this woman, whether she’s alive or dead, and find out where she went after leaving the clinic. Who did she come into contact with?”

Su Qing was sure that there was something wrong with this mother-in-law, but she would not kill her daughter-in-law for no reason. She also could not ask the clan to help her get an explanation. Someone must be behind this.

“I’ve already ordered people to look for her.”

Zhang Jinglin and Su Qing had the same thoughts. After he asked the doctor, he sent someone to look for the pregnant woman’s mother-in-law. Before the person he sent out returned, these people came to cause trouble.

“Alright, let’s go in and take a look.”

Su Qing nodded and walked into the clinic. She wanted to see the pregnant woman’s body and find out how she died.

Zhang Jinglin followed behind Su Qing and reported as he walked,

“The coroner is already inside investigating the cause of death of the pregnant woman.”

He had arrived early, and all the work he had to do was carried out orderly.

This coroner was from the Supreme Court, and he was pretty capable. He had a lot of experience in autopsy.

“Alright.”

Su Qing was delighted. Zhang Jinglin was a steady person, and she was the one who sent him to the group.

The layout of the women’s hospital was based on modern hospitals. Each ward had three beds, and a curtain was hung in the middle. When a pregnant woman changed her dressing, the curtain was drawn.

When Su Qing entered the room, she saw the pregnant woman being carried to the ground by the coroner..