"Prince Qi, I have already inquired about it. A few months ago, a dog did inadvertently break into the Gewu Palace. I heard that it even knocked something over. After that, the dog died. It became weaker and weaker day by day, until finally, it was all over the body. All the hair has fallen out..."
In the main hall, Shen Polu reported in detail.
On the side, Gu Ling'er frowned, her pretty face full of confusion.
After her husband came back, he asked the people below to investigate this matter. He also asked people to investigate Tianli Academy and Zhou Yingkui. This really made her a little curious and unexpected.
Of course, out of curiosity, she didn't say anything, but listened very carefully, because he knew that her husband would not do this for nothing, there must be a reason.
Just hearing this, hearing the symptoms of the dog in Shen Polu's mouth, her pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly.
Lin Bai asked: "It's just a dog, how can it know so clearly?"
The talented man was indeed a little surprised. He was afraid that he would not be able to find anything after a long time, so he never thought...
Shen Polu said: "Back to your lord, that dog is the dog of a cook from Tianli Academy. The cook was alone, so he kept a dog as a companion. After the dog died, he made trouble with Tianli Academy, so people who know Quite a few.”
I see!
Lin Bai nodded, "What about Zhou Yingkui?"
Shen Polu said: "Master Zhou is not only the supervisor of Tianli Academy, but also a bachelor of Hanlin Academy. He is also the teacher of the tenth prince. He is deeply trusted by your majesty and it is very convenient to enter and exit the palace."
Gu Ling'er didn't understand it very well before, but after hearing this, she finally couldn't help it, "Husband..."
She looked at Lin Bai, her face full of doubts.
Lin Bai waved his hand and asked Shen Polu to retreat before saying, "The late emperor was poisoned, not once, but twice..."
Immediately, Lin Bai carefully explained what he had learned.
Gu Ling'er's face suddenly turned ugly, with anger in her eyes, but she endured it in the end.
Asked: "So my husband suspects Master Zhou did it?"
Lin Bai didn't answer. Judging from the current situation, it seemed obvious. However, based on his understanding of Zhou Yingkui, it shouldn't be right.
This was a great scholar from the Wu Dynasty, a typical old scholar with no problem with his character.
You know, when the great talent came to Wu Dynasty for the first time, he turned away after being made difficult by Wu Dynasty officials. It was Zhou Yingkui who went to greet him on foot. For such a man, Lin Bai always couldn't believe it that he poisoned the late emperor.
First, he has access to thallium, and with his knowledge, he is definitely no stranger to this stuff. The science and engineering lady also trusts him quite a lot. When there is a new discovery, he will definitely be one of the first people to know about it.
Second, it was easy for him to enter the palace, and he was deeply trusted by the late emperor, so he had the conditions to poison.
The third point is that his reaction today was extremely abnormal. He stopped talking about the dog immediately and covered it up with dysentery. Moreover, when Lin Bai thanked him, he asked about it, but he was concerned about the science and engineering girl.
As a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, outsiders may not know what happened, but he obviously knew that the person being detained was his mother and concubine, not the science and engineering mother.
Logically speaking, if he wanted to ask, he would also ask his mother and concubine, but in fact, except for the science and engineering concubine, he did not mention anyone else.
This is a guilty reaction, for fear that the science lady will be implicated because of this incident.
Taking all of this into account, even if Lin Bai wanted to deny it and say it wasn't the other party's fault, he didn't know how to refute it.
Gu Ling'er also looked livid, because according to what her husband said, it seemed to be the case, but...
"What's the motive? Why did Master Zhou want to kill my father?"
Lin Bai shook his head, "From what I learned from Shen Polu, I really can't see Master Zhou's motive for taking action. What about you? How much do you know about him? Have you thought of any possibilities?"
Gu Ling'er frowned, then shook his head, "Ling'er doesn't know that Mr. Zhou is a master who devotes himself to learning. If you want to say that he killed someone, and the person he killed was his father..."
From the look on her face, she was obviously very doubtful and unbelievable.
However, everything seemed to point to this point, and she couldn't help but not believe it.
Lin Bai said: "Do you know his past? Who do you usually have grudges with?"
Gu Ling'er thought for a while, "Probably not!"
"Although Mr. Zhou is meticulous in his studies and even a bit strict, he is actually kind to others. At least Ling'er has never heard of anyone he has a beef with."
"On the contrary, he has good friendships with many people. For example, he has a good relationship with Divine Doctor Sun. He also has a good relationship with his mother-in-law and Prince Gong."
"Furthermore, he was focused on learning and had no interest in court factionalism. How could he poison his father? What was his purpose?"
Gu Ling'er had a look of confusion on her face, very puzzled.
But in the end, Lin Bai told her that the biggest suspect was Zhou Yingkui, a person she had never thought of in her dreams.
Lin Bai was also very confused, because based on his own understanding of Zhou Yingkui, the other party was not such a person.
You always need a motive to kill, right? What is his motivation?
Seems like a complete mismatch.
What went wrong? It's not Zhou Yingkui at all, or is there some motive that the two of them don't know about?
Lin Bai was not convinced, and said: "Even if it's not him, he must know something. His reaction today is so abnormal, which is enough to explain the problem."
"Check his movements during this period to see if there is anything unusual. Maybe you will find something."
Gu Ling'er nodded, "Okay!"
Lin Bai said: "One more thing. Just now you said that the mother and concubine were very familiar with him. Have you ever thought that the reason why the mother and concubine hurriedly returned to Beijing when she left the court was because the late emperor was ill."
"If it is an ordinary disease and it is not serious at all, the mother-in-law may have discovered the abnormality and rushed back. And he and the mother-in-law are familiar with each other. Did the mother-in-law discover his abnormality?"
"Or is it that Divine Doctor Sun discovered something unusual about him and informed his mother and concubine?"
"Currently, it seems that Doctor Sun, Concubine Mother, and Master Zhou must all know something about this matter."
"Divine Doctor Sun is unconscious, his mother and concubine are detained in the palace, and she doesn't speak out, probably because she is afraid of being imprisoned. Master Zhou is the only one who is not affected, so his suspicion is indeed very high."
"The only thing I'm not sure about is, what is his motive?"
Gu Ling'er's face became even more ugly, because everything indeed pointed to Zhou Yingkui.
Lin Bai added: "This is just the first case of poisoning, there is a second case, and the strange thing is that it is also related to Divine Doctor Sun. Is this just a coincidence or some kind of deliberate intention?"
"Is there any connection between these two poisonings?"
"The biggest suspect in the first poisoning has been revealed, but what about the second one? Who is the biggest suspect?"
…
