Chapter 52: Hesheli
The Tong family has recently been the center of public opinion in the capital. First, one of Longkodo's concubines challenged the Fourth Prince in the street and even almost hurt Prince Honghui.

Prince Honghui might be in bad luck, otherwise why would he have so many accidents recently?
Fortunately, Tong Guowei handled the matter properly. Longkodo apologized by carrying a thorn stick on his back during the morning court session, giving the Fourth Prince enough face.

After all, that was the Tong family, Kangxi's maternal clan. People would not feel that the Fourth Prince was humiliated. Instead, they would feel that the Fourth Prince had confronted the Tong family and was even slightly better, which showed how much the emperor favored him.

Little did they know that the weights on the scale were not equal from the beginning. If it weren't for Honghui, perhaps this matter would have been forgotten without causing any ripples.

No matter what Yinzhen thought in his heart, he still put in a good effort on the surface and made peace with the Tong family.

Just when everyone thought the matter had ended there, a lady covered in blood stood alone in front of the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture beating a drum to appeal for justice.

It was when the flow of people was the heaviest. It was said that the people who came to watch the excitement surrounded the place in three layers inside and outside, and no one dared to step forward.

Upon hearing the news, the servant of the Tong family rushed over and first tried to persuade the lady to go home and rest. When she refused, he actually dragged her rudely, leaving bloodstains on the ground.

Fortunately, the princess of Prince Yu saw it and saved the lady's life.

Princess Princess of Prince Yu sympathized with the woman's situation, admired her fortitude, and her eyes were stung by the bloodstains all over her body. She kindly took her to Jingzhao Prefecture. The prefect then learned that someone was beating the drum to complain about injustice, so he had to hurriedly open the court.

When this lady revealed her name, everyone was shocked.

What was thought to be a simple case of domestic violence was cast under an ominous shadow by a surname.

She was Longkodo’s wife, Hesheli.

The Hesheli clan is a big Manchu clan. Although they don't have important officials from the previous dynasty, they are from the same clan as the late queen. For the sake of the current crown prince, the Hesheli clan still maintains its former dignity.

When Princess Princess of Prince Yu heard this, she knew something was wrong. She might have done something bad with good intentions today. She immediately sent her confidant to find Prince Yu and ask him for the decision.

The Hesheli family and the Tong family are one of Kangxi's wife's family and one of Kangxi's mother's family. If these two families quarrel, I cannot be the judge, not even Prince Yu Fuquan can do that.

Hesheli knelt on the ground, trying to keep her back straight, but the scars on her body made it extremely painful for her to move.

"Sir, I want to sue Longkodo for favoring his concubine over his wife, and for allowing his concubine Li Si'er to be arrogant and domineering. Not only did he sell all the concubines in the mansion, but he also locked me up in the yard to fend for myself."

"If I didn't have some connections, I would have starved to death in that yard."

The prefect of Jingzhao sympathized with the woman's plight: "My lady, now that Li Si'er has been executed, everyone in the world knows about it. You can go home by yourself."

"Execution?" Hesheli sneered, and she spat out a mouthful of blood foam. "If she really died, where did the injuries on my body come from?"

The Jingzhao prefect then realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately ordered the bailiffs to disperse the crowd. Princess Yu also wanted to take the opportunity to slip away, but was stopped by the Jingzhao prefect.

"Please go, Concubine. This is also the emperor's family affair, and the clan affairs office is responsible for it. You are an eyewitness, so why not listen to her testimony together? After all, this involves the crime of deceiving the emperor, and I dare not take the initiative to act on my own." The Jingzhao prefect gave a look, and the servant closed the door directly.

Princess Yu acted decisively, closed her eyes, fell backwards, and fainted.

The person following her was very smart and immediately shouted, "Fujin, what's wrong with you? Quick! There is an imperial physician at home, go back first."

"My Lord, are you plotting something bad? Can you bear the consequences if anything happens to my wife?"

Jingzhao prefect had no choice but to release him. He looked at Hesheli, who said only one sentence and then kept silent, and sighed: "You stay in the cell first. I have to see the emperor. You should prepare to plead your case in front of him."

Prince Yu Fuquan hurried over after receiving the message from his wife, and their carriages bumped into each other.

Princess Yu was naturally awake in the carriage. After listening to her, Prince Yu thought for a long time and suddenly asked an irrelevant question: "Why did you leave from the Jingzhao prefectural governor today?" Princess Yu looked confused and said, "I heard that a jewelry store has just opened on this street. The styles are very novel. Our daughter likes it very much, so I wanted to come and see it myself."

"Then how did you choose today?"

"This shop is very good at doing business. They have new products on the first day of every month. I think I can have a wider range of choices if I come on this day."

"You've never been here, but you're talking about the merchants' methods in great detail. Who told you all this?"

"It's Wei Yu. Her mother is seriously ill today, so she asked for leave and went home."

"Ah!" Princess Yu suddenly realized what was going on and her face turned pale. "Master, I..."

Prince Yu shook his head: "It's okay, the person behind the scenes wants to make sure you can be there today, otherwise Hesheli will be taken away by the Tong family, and there will be no good show to watch today!"

Princess Yu became even more panicked: "How did the person behind this know that I would definitely rescue people?"

Prince Yu smiled bitterly: "Everyone knows that the princess is a kind person."

Yes, Princess Princess of Prince Yu is a philanthropist in the capital. She regularly gives porridge to poor beggars and sponsors needy scholars. In short, her reputation for benevolence and charity has spread throughout the capital.

"Nothing, but the Tong family might be seriously injured this time."

Princess Yu's eyes suddenly lit up: "Could it be that this person has made a move?"

She made the number four with her hand and asked tentatively.

"Not necessarily. If it's too obvious, it might make him a scapegoat." Prince Yu said, "You can claim to be ill when you go back. I have to go to the palace."

As soon as Prince Yu entered the palace, the Prefect of Jingzhao also hurriedly submitted a memorial. The two looked at each other and understood each other tacitly.

After listening to the report from the Jingzhao prefect, Kangxi was instantly furious, but he did not flare up immediately. He put the memorial on the table, looked at Prince Yu and the Jingzhao prefect, and then Xuanlong Kodo and Hesheli came to see him.

Longkodo arrived first. He had heard the rumors outside and was obviously in a hurry. He hadn't even put on his clothes properly. "I, Longkodo, pay my respects to the emperor."

"Your Majesty, that bitch..." Longkodo saw Kangxi's eyes sweeping over him and immediately changed the subject: "Where is Hesheli?"

"Why has your wife come to me to ask for it now?" Kangxi saw that Longkodo was in good spirits and not as dispirited as he was in the past few days, and some guesses emerged in his heart.

Because Hesheli wanted to see the emperor, she was put on an outer coat to cover the bloodstains. She was brought in by the eunuch and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, Hesheli pays respects to Your Majesty. Please forgive me for my impoliteness in front of you." Hesheli put away her thorn-covered appearance and lay on the ground without looking up. "My tendons were cut by Li Si'er. Longkodo can testify to this."

"Really?" Kangxi looked at Longkodo with his eyes slanted.

Longkodo felt a little guilty. He avoided Kangxi's gaze for a long time and didn't say a word.

"Your Majesty, I was imprisoned in an abandoned garden of the Tong family. Although life was hard, I was still alive." Hesheli continued, "But a few days ago, Li Si'er suddenly grabbed me and whipped me every day, and he would not stop until he had whipped me a hundred times. In order to prevent me from escaping, he even deliberately cut my tendons."

"When that crazy woman Li Si'er beat me, Longkodo was watching. Did he have any intention of protecting me?" Hesheli sobbed as she spoke of her sorrow. "Fortunately, I still have a few loyal servants. They risked their lives to rescue me and sent me to Jingzhao Prefecture at my request."

"Now, I think they are all dead." Hesheli said self-deprecatingly, "If the Princess of Yu hadn't passed by today, I would have been hard-pressed to escape their clutches."

“Your Majesty, do you know when all this happened?” Hesheli saw Longkodo’s desperate look from the corner of her eye, and immediately found courage and said loudly, “It was after Li Si’er was executed, Your Majesty!”