newbobooks Chapter 482 Fooled
Chapter 482 Fooled
Cao Li's eyes rolled around.
Now it's just Hong Qiao's confession. The Queen doesn't have actual evidence that he kidnapped the brothel girl, so she can't convict him. As long as he denies it, it will be fine as long as he has nothing to do with this matter.
Cao Li knocked his head to the ground and said in a sorrowful voice, "Your Majesty, please be wise. I have never done anything like this. Since I came to the capital, I have always abided by the law and devoted myself to reading the classics, hoping to pass the imperial examinations. Your Majesty, you must be trying to get away with it by throwing such dirty water on me."
"It was only recently that I ran out of money that I took on Hong Qiao's job, helping to look after the maids and inquiring about things outside. I never thought that she would wrongly accuse me like this, framing everything she did on me. Your Majesty, I am innocent."
Hong Qiao's eyes immediately turned red when she heard Cao Li's refusal to admit it. Her hand trembled as she pointed at Cao Li. "You're talking nonsense! It's obvious that you tricked me and many other brothel girls into coming here, using them to extort money from high-ranking officials. You also gave us addictive drugs to keep us in check. Your Majesty, everything I say is true. If I tell a lie, I'll be struck by lightning."
Hong Qiao knew clearly that if Cao Li escaped from this matter, all the blame would be placed on her as the mastermind, and she would die.
Besides, half of her experiences were caused by Cao Li, and even if she died, she would drag this devil with her.
Hong Qiao knelt on the ground and continued, "Your Majesty, I have evidence. You can ask Imperial Physician Lin to take my pulse and see if I'm under the control of drugs. I also know where the women controlled by Cao Li are imprisoned. I also know where the women killed by Cao Li were thrown. I also know some of the origins of those women."
"I am willing to tell Her Majesty the Queen everything, and I only ask Her Majesty for one favor." Hong Qiao knelt on the ground with a pious look on her face.
However, the face that was hit by Kong Lin is now completely swollen, which looks a bit shocking.
Gu Jianchu didn't expect Hong Qiao to negotiate with him, and was very surprised. "What do you want?"
"I want the Queen to spare my life. I did not do these things voluntarily. I was forced by Cao Li." Hong Qiao knew that negotiating such conditions with the Queen was like courting disaster. With the Queen's power, as long as she wanted to investigate, what Cao Li did would be revealed. It was only a matter of time.
But she wanted to live more, so she had to negotiate this condition with the Queen.
Gu Jianchu took the hot water bottle handed to her by Zhuxi and looked at Hongqiao with a strong cold look. She had a system and she only needed to check to know where those women were being held.
But what Hong Qiao did was not a big crime, it was just a moral and ethical issue. Even if Mu Yao was wrongly accused, she would not be executed. In fact, what Hong Qiao wanted was not the promise of not executing her, she just said that she wanted her to live, so that she would not be afraid of revenge from Pingxibo Mansion and Shangshu Mansion.
After all, what she did offended two mansions.
Although Hong Qiao is hateful, everything she has experienced is the best punishment, and some things are not what she wants. As for Mu Yao and Kong Lin, the mistake is ultimately made by Kong Lin, not Hong Qiao. Kong Lin is a bad person, and even if there is no Hong Qiao, there will be other women.
"Okay, I promise you, just say it." Gu Jianchu's tone was soft, and even the look he gave Hong Qiao was a little more gentle.
When Hong Qiao heard Gu Jianchu's words, her heart relaxed a little. However, Cao Li's heart was in his throat. He wanted to stop Hong Qiao, but was suppressed by Wen Zhu who reminded him sternly, "You'd better behave yourself."
Cao Li didn't dare to move anymore and could only stare at Hong Qiao with a sinister look.
Using these women with no background and no one to rely on is a double-edged sword. They can be used to seduce men and defraud money. Also, because they have no father or mother, there is no need to worry about being discovered by the government. But at the same time, if the matter is exposed, there is nothing that can be done to control them. After all, the medicine given to them can only control them to be obedient and help them do things. But after the emperor and empress found out, there was no way to continue to control them.
Now that the Queen had discovered it, Hong Qiao was no longer afraid of being controlled by Cao Li. She said bluntly, "Cao Li built a courtyard outside the city, far away from densely populated areas. He was afraid that the women would escape and seek help from the people, so he deliberately chose a remote place, leaving us with no way to escape or seek help."
"The courtyard is located in the east of the city, less than five miles away from the City God Temple. It's very close to the mountains and fields. The City God Temple is rather dilapidated, so no one usually goes there. All the sisters who were deceived were locked up there. As for the sisters who were killed by Cao Li because they were disobedient or had no use, he buried them under a jujube tree in the back mountain. He didn't just throw the bodies away, but chose to bury them because he was afraid that the bodies would be discovered by nearby residents and reported to the police."
"But those sisters may not be in good health anymore. Even the dead Cao Li was using them to control us and make us obey. He would personally cut off their hands and feet to intimidate us. He did succeed in scaring off a group of sisters who wanted to escape, and they could only be used by him."
"Most of these sisters are prostitutes, some are skinny girls sent from Yangzhou, and some are specially trained as entertainers in red houses. They sell their art but not their bodies."
"Most of the women were swindled by Cao Li. As far as I know, some were bought by Cao Li from other people. Cao Li would have private dealings with people. As long as they could swindle a prostitute or a skinny horse from Yangzhou for him, he would give that person 200 taels of silver. As a result, many scholars flocked to him. After all, all he had to do was use some tricks to trick those women, then use some knockout drugs to make them unconscious and send them to Cao Li, and he could get 200 taels of silver, without having to do anything. This kind of business is something everyone is willing to do."
"I only found out about this when I accidentally overheard a conversation between Cao Li and someone else. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known about these things. They seem to trade on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of every month, only three times a month because they're afraid of being discovered by the government if they trade too frequently."
"Your Majesty, it seems today is the tenth day of the lunar month. According to what this young lady said, it is the day for transactions." The Minister of Justice reminded her.
Cao Li struggled in Wen Zhu's grip, "Your Majesty, please don't listen to his nonsense. He is deliberately framing me. I have never done such a thing. If you believe what he says, you will be fooled."