Chapter 15: Wearing Flowers as Your Wife 3
"They both want to kill Concubine Qing and frame the other? All today? How could it be such a coincidence?"
Meng Fan shook his head: "Who knows, alas... His Majesty's four princesses are either dead or crazy, and the remaining two princes are now suspected of murdering the concubine. I don't know what happened this year?"
Zhou Zhenzhen frowned, and seeing that Cheng Jue hadn't said anything, she stopped talking and just stayed with him quietly.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Cheng Jue lifted the curtain and jumped out. He walked very quickly, but his back looked extremely sad.
"Where are Doctor Yan and Brother Huo?"
"The one who came to deliver His Majesty's order was Chief Steward Liang Duoshi. The order was given to the Detective Department. Yan An and Huo Chi have already entered the palace."
Zhou Zhenzhen understood that since His Majesty's decree was given to the Detective Department, it meant that His Majesty wanted to block the news and ordered people to find out the truth as soon as possible.
There were less than ten days until Concubine Qing's birthday, and the royal relatives and princes who were far away were already on their way back to Chang'an. If they were asked to turn back halfway at this time, it might cause unrest. Only by finding out the truth and the real culprit before September 23 could the chaos be quelled.
The autopsy results from Yan An were exactly the same as what Wang Zhen said. The concubine died of poison caused by taking phoenix gall orally. The candied fruit did contain the poison of phoenix gall. "If the phoenix gall was taken too heavily, it would kill the person instantly. But judging from the amount of poison in the candied fruit, it would take the concubine about half an hour for the poison to take effect after taking it."
The little palace maid nodded continuously: "The Empress Dowager was poisoned about half an hour later."
There was nothing to check in Ciqing Palace, so Cheng Jue went to the Imperial Garden after hearing the situation. Wangshan Pavilion was empty at the moment, and it was hard to imagine that there was laughter and joy here two hours ago. Cheng Jue felt a tightness in his chest and was a little breathless.
He had clearly told the Concubine before that he wanted to bring Zhenzhen over for her to see next time...but now, he no longer has the chance.
"Sir, are you okay?" Zhou Zhenzhen opened her innocent eyes and looked at him worriedly.
She didn't know the relationship between the Concubine Dowager and his mother, she was just simply worried about him.
Cheng Jue took a deep breath and shook his head: "Nothing, go in!"
Cheng Jue asked someone to bring a few plates and placed them on the stone table according to the positions of the candied fruits and medicine bowls. Zhou Zhenzhen, Yan An and Huo Chi corresponded to the positions where Concubine Qing, Prince Min and Prince Xin were sitting respectively.
The candied fruit was placed between Prince Min and Prince Xin, with no particular preference given to it.
The two of them persuaded the concubine to take medicine. In other words, anyone could have taken action.
The two servants who betrayed their masters could not endure the torture in the Ministry of Punishment, and the imperial guards found a small amount of phoenix gall powder in their respective rooms, which indirectly confirmed their words.
Now both princes have been imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment, and there is no way to defend themselves or investigate them.
Cheng Jue sat down, frowning from time to time. He didn't speak, and the others didn't dare to speak either. After a while, Meng Fan came over and saw this silent scene.
Yan An held it in for a long time, and finally found a way to speak, and asked, "Where have you been?"
"Getting information is the only thing I can do in the Dali Temple, so I have to work hard." There were no more stools nearby, so Meng Fan leaned against the mahogany lacquered pillar and said, "It's rumored in the palace that His Majesty will announce the candidate for the crown prince at this birthday party of Concubine Qing. Now that the four princesses are unable to be crown princes, the position of crown prince will be chosen between Prince Min Song Huaishi and Prince Xin Song Ji. Prince Min's mother is of noble birth, and he has military merits, so he is the first choice. But before, Wei Wuji's brother Wei Youya was involved in the case of Duke Qing, and His Majesty once suspected whether Prince Min was involved in the matter. As for Prince Xin, he has a poor background and has always been mediocre, but because of this, he has no hostility from the upper and lower courts, and no mistakes. His Majesty has been hesitant, so he has not made up his mind."
After saying this, the three of them looked at him.
Zhou Zhenzhen was shocked: "Where did you hear this news?"
"The palace maids, the eunuchs... if such a strong wind blows, everyone will have to think about their own way out and try to please the future emperor in various ways. Even a small trick can get big news."
Huo Chi praised sincerely: "This time I really admire you."
"Master Cheng, are you going to the Ministry of Punishment to interrogate Prince Min and Prince Xin?"
"Just follow your husband."
Meng Fan: …
Huo Chi: ...
Zhou Zhenzhen was about to bury his face in the ground. Didn't they agree not to tell anyone? Why did Cheng Jue tell the news to anyone he caught "inadvertently"? He was not a person who kept his mouth shut normally.
Meng Fan bit the bullet and asked, "Master Cheng, is 'husband' what I meant by that?"
Cheng Jue nodded calmly: "You can prepare the money for the gift. All right, you guys go back first. I will go to the Ministry of Punishment with my wife."
Yan An: "...Although I guessed right, I still can't bear the impact."
Meng Fan and Huo Chi looked at the couple's backs as they left and nodded in agreement: "Me too."
The Ministry of Punishment was a place in the palace where palace maids who had committed crimes were detained. This time, Emperor Xuanhe directly detained Song Huaishi and Song Ji here to avoid attracting attention and leaking the news.
The environment of the Shenxingsi was even worse than that of the Dali Temple's Tianlao. One could smell a strong musty smell as soon as one entered. Cheng Jue had a smooth journey with the gold medal in hand, and soon met Song Huaishi in the innermost row of torture rooms of the Shenxingsi. Song Ji was imprisoned in the other side.
It gets extremely cold here in autumn. Song Huaishi can still bear it by practicing martial arts, but his face inevitably turns pale with coldness.
"Weiqing, you are here."
"This happened suddenly. Your Majesty ordered me to investigate this matter thoroughly."
"This matter has nothing to do with me. Weiqing, are you willing to believe me?"
"I know your Highness's character very well. There must be something strange going on here. But there is one thing I don't understand." Cheng Jue stood with his hands behind his back and asked in a deep voice, "The servant beside your Highness went to the Imperial Hospital to get the phoenix gallbladder on your Highness's orders. What does your Highness want this thing for?"
Song Huaishi looked at Zhou Zhenzhen beside Cheng Jue and said in embarrassment: "Sir Zhou, can you please step aside for a moment?"
Zhou Zhenzhen nodded, stood on tiptoe and whispered to Cheng Jue: "Then I will go see Prince Xin first."
After Zhou Zhenzhen left, Song Huaishi stood up and took off his clothes. His back was covered with crisscross red marks. Although they were much lighter now, one could still imagine how mottled they were before. "About half a month ago, I started to get some red rashes intermittently. Because I was often injured during the march, I didn't take it seriously at first, but later the rashes became more and more, and they connected together on my back, so I went to see a doctor. Doctor Zhang from the Foreign Posthouse in the south of the city is good at treating skin. He told me that I was poisoned by the forest, which caused the epidermis to ulcerate. I needed to use a small amount of poison to fight the poison, and then use acupuncture to expel the toxins from the body. The best medicine is the phoenix gallbladder, which is only available in the Imperial Hospital of the Palace. So, I asked Liu Yu to get the medicine from the Imperial Hospital. Who knew that such a thing would happen."
"After the genius doctor Zhang treated Your Highness, where is the remaining phoenix gallbladder?"
"I didn't know. I only asked Liu Yu to take the amount that Dr. Zhang needed. I thought it was all used up and didn't know there was any left."
Cheng Jue frowned and asked the palace servants who were in charge of the Ministry of Punishment to take care of Prince Min. The people here were all very smart and immediately responded with a smile: "How dare we neglect the prince here? We have done our best, so don't worry, Master Cheng."
"Your Highness, I will be leaving now."
"Wei Qing..." Song Huaishi's eyes were clear and his expression was firm, just like before. "If you can save me this time, that would be great. If not, you don't have to blame yourself. I have fought bloody battles on the battlefield and I have no resentment or regrets."
Zhou Zhenzhen came out a little late. When Cheng Jue entered the torture room where Prince Xin was imprisoned, she had already hypnotized Prince Xin.
Although Song Ji was kind, the contempt of his mother by those around him since he was a child had always been what made him most sad. Zhou Zhenzhen used this as a breakthrough point and quickly grasped his emotional context.
What Song Ji said was no different from what Song Huaishi said. He also had red spots on his body. Doctor Zhang asked him to go to the Imperial Hospital to get phoenix gall to treat his illness, which led to what happened today.
Song Huaishi and Song Ji fell ill at the same time, so they must have been poisoned at the same time. Because of the Zheng family siblings' case, the two of them had to avoid going out because they were both present. The only time they were together was at Kuailu Villa the night before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
At the end of his words, Song Ji curled up and buried his head between his knees, looking like he was protecting himself.
Cheng Jue had seen him like this once when he was a child. He had learned to protect himself since he was young, at an age when others were still being protected.
Zhou Zhenzhen rubbed her sore eyes and turned around. Cheng Jue led her out. It was already dark outside. After leaving the Ministry of Punishment, she was finally able to let out the foul air that was stuck in her heart.
"This place is really uncomfortable to stay in, not to mention that some people have to be tortured here."
"What are your thoughts on this case?"
In almost every case, Cheng Jue would first listen carefully to Zhou Zhenzhen's inner thoughts. She was used to it. "I don't know whether I should try to figure out the motive for this case or work backwards to make an assumption. I'll just say whatever I want. My husband can't say anything about me."
She said this in a cheeky way, and Cheng was determined to be happy with the name that came out of her mouth, and he would agree to whatever she said.
"The story can be traced back to Kuailv Villa. Prince Min and Prince Xin were both there. The murderer secretly put drugs in their food and drink at that time. After the drugs took effect, he asked them to go to the Imperial Hospital to get phoenix gallbladders. The two servants were obviously bribed. They said they were following the orders of their masters, but in fact they took a large amount of phoenix gallbladders and hid the rest in their rooms. When the concubine died suddenly, Prince Min and Prince Xin were the two most suspected people. The servants in their families served as witnesses, but later died of "unable to endure the torture". Even if they had insisted on their confession, it would be impossible to change it. The phoenix gallbladders are physical evidence, and there are records in the Imperial Hospital. This is the real ironclad evidence that cannot be changed."
Zhou Zhenzhen paused for a moment and continued, "If this case ends like this, then your Majesty will no longer have a child who can inherit the throne. Many royal relatives and princes are on their way to Chang'an City. When the time comes, blood ties and power positions will be combined to create a catastrophe that is unprecedented in Dayu to seize the throne."
"The murderer planned every step, and everything was linked together. He easily caused chaos in Chang'an City. He is definitely not an ordinary person." Cheng Jue said, his expression relaxed.
It is almost the fifteenth day of the month, and the moon is almost full, hanging far away in the sky.
The trees beside the Ministry of Punishment were gloomy and the scenery was not very good, but Cheng Jue was thinking of appreciating the moon.
Perhaps it is because families are reuniting this year, so this ordinary place seems to be full of beautiful scenery.
"Master Cheng..."
"Hmm? What did you call me?"
Zhou Zhenzhen blushed slightly, and changed her address in a tender voice: "Husband, how should we investigate this case further?"
"Use stillness to overcome movement. They have blocked all the roads. If you force your way through, won't that just play into their hands and make others laugh at you?" Cheng Jue rubbed the back of her head, smiled, and said, "Call Meng Fan and the others, and go have a drink together!"
Zhou Zhenzhen had a bitter face, feeling that it was not appropriate. Seeing that Cheng Jue did not show any sadness, she just let him do whatever he wanted.
Cheng Jue turned his head and squinted at the Ministry of Punishment in the moonlight.
The execution rooms where Prince Min and Prince Xin were respectively located were one in the shadows and the other in the moonlight.
