Xue Hengzhao told Eunuch Zhang not to worry, but he was still sweating profusely, not just because of the hot weather.
"Miss Xue, thanks to your power, I was lucky enough to be favored by Your Majesty.
After the Spring Banquet, the Emperor asked me to take charge of Longlin Pavilion. "Eunuch Zhang couldn't help sighing when he spoke.
Dragon Scale Pavilion is a turret in Yangze Palace. It is specially used to store treasures. It is also a very important place. It is impossible to assign it unless you are a capable person.
“Of course I am extremely careful and don’t dare to slack off.
Just this morning, I went inside to check as usual and found that there seemed to be rats inside, and there were signs of rats gnawing on the outside of one box.
I hurriedly asked the people following me to look for mice everywhere. You should also know that cats are not allowed there. I am afraid that cats will jump around and damage things. After all, the objects there are priceless.
As for me, I took the box off the shelf. Firstly, I wanted to see if the box was badly damaged and whether it should be repaired or replaced with a new one. Secondly, I wanted to see if mice had gotten in, in case there were any. If the nest is wet, that's bad.
Who would have thought that as soon as I opened the box, my three souls and six souls were almost lost.
What is in that box is the Blue Sky Crown, which is rarely used normally and is only used when offering sacrifices to the sky.
The reason why it is called Qingtian Crown is because it has a piece of lapis lazuli embedded in it.
It was during the reign of Emperor Shizu that envoys from Persia paid tribute.
At first, it was placed in a glass cover for worship. Later, His Majesty came to the throne. Because he admired Taoism, he ordered the palace craftsmen to make a crown and set the gem on it. "Eunuch Zhang said, wiping sweat twice with his sleeves.
This is the first time Xue Hengzhao has heard about this Qingtian Crown.
Lapis lazuli has always been a sacred object in Taoism. It is highly regarded because of its color like the blue sky.
The current emperor is obsessed with Taoism, so he naturally regards this thing as extremely important.
What is good at the top will be worse at the bottom. Now the value of lapis lazuli among the people has more than tripled compared with the previous dynasty.
And the best-quality lapis lazuli is priceless.
"I saw that the tiara was still there in the box, but the lapis lazuli stone on it was gone. I thought I was dazzled before, so I rubbed it again and again, and blinked it again, but when I looked again, it still wasn't there." Eunuch Zhang was about to cry. Wu Lai said, "Isn't this going to kill me?! This matter is not trivial, and I didn't dare to say anything, so I had to close the box again.
After thinking about it, I have no clue. Miss Xue, I can only think of you. Please help me! "
Eunuch Zhang discovered that the lapis lazuli stone on the Qingtian crown was missing. He was the person who looked after it, so naturally he couldn't escape his involvement.
Such a valuable thing was stolen, and if he couldn't get it back, he wouldn't be able to save his head.
"Eunuch Zhang, who else knows about this besides you?" Xue Hengzhao asked him after listening.
"There is no one else," said Eunuch Zhang. "I don't know who is a human or a ghost among those people now. Maybe he sold me as soon as I said that.
What's more, the stakes are so high that most people can't afford to be involved in this, and they will probably tell the story in order to protect themselves. "
Eunuch Zhang's worry is not without reason. He has been promoted very quickly in the past six months, which will inevitably arouse the jealousy of many people.
And this matter is too easy to add insult to injury, and it is almost a hit.
Even if others didn't mean to harm him, once they knew about it, they would inevitably be afraid of being implicated. How could they keep it a secret for him?
The reason why he told Xue Hengzhao was that he knew that Xue Hengzhao was smart enough and might be able to help him solve this deadlock.
However, Xue Hengzhao had no conflict with him in terms of interests. If she could help him, he would certainly repay her.
If she is helpless, at least she won't betray herself.
"Eunuch Zhang, how often do you go there to check? Who else can go inside besides you?" Xue Hengzhao needed to know more.
"To be honest, I go in and take a look every day. But I only check the contents one by one on the first and fifteenth day of every month. On weekdays, I just check to see if there is anything abnormal.
Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I took everyone to count everything one by one, and there was no problem.
There are always guards guarding the outside of the pavilion. In addition to me taking a few people in to check every day, my apprentice will watch a few eunuchs clean it every day.
But they will be searched when entering and exiting, which can be considered strict.
In addition, Shang Gonggong has the key, but I think this matter has nothing to do with him, because if something happens, he will also be implicated. "
"Eunuch Zhang, was only the box containing the Blue Sky Crown gnawed by mice?" Xue Hengzhao asked.
"Oddly enough, only the box was chewed. Later, a mouse was also caught, a little mouse." Eunuch Zhang said.
"Is there anything different about that box? Is it placed high or low?"
“That box was all made by Ouchi, and there were more than twenty boxes of the same material and similar size in that room.
It was placed neither high nor low. I don't know why it attracted rats. "
"Did anything unusual happen there from the first day of the new year to the day before yesterday?" Xue Hengzhao asked.
"Abnormal?" Eunuch Zhang murmured, "I haven't noticed anything abnormal yet, so I have a headache."
"Eunuch Zhang," Xue Hengzhao couldn't come to a conclusion, "The lapis lazuli inlaid on the crown should be difficult to remove, right?"
"It's said to be set on top, but actually it's better to say it's caged on top." Eunuch Zhang explained, "Because this lapis lazuli is occasionally used for other purposes, so it's made into a trap, and it's not set on top like ordinary gems. Can't move.
I looked carefully at that time, picked up the tiara, and touched it again and again in the box, but there was no sign of lapis lazuli. "
"Eunuch Zhang, are you going to use the Qingtian Guan recently?" Xue Hengzhao asked.
Eunuch Zhang clapped his hands and said sadly: "Don't you need to use it? Not a drop of rain has fallen since the middle of April. People say that the drought will not last until May 13th, and it is coming soon."
The memorials from the courtiers were like snowflakes, and news of drought was everywhere.
His Majesty then decided to ask Master Wuliang to open an altar to pray for rain, and also said that the Blue Sky Crown would be used at that time. "
Wuliang Zhenren is the emperor's personally appointed national master. He usually accompanies the emperor in refining elixirs and practicing Taoism. When he needs to pray for blessings and sacrifices, he will open an altar to perform rituals.
"Eunuch Zhang, do you think this lapis lazuli may be taken away by someone from other palaces?" Xue Hengzhao asked.
Eunuch Zhang shook his head vigorously and said, "Absolutely impossible, this is Yangze Palace!"
"That must have been done by someone from Yangze Palace. Do you have any doubts in your heart?" Xue Hengzhao had gradually sorted out his features at this time.
"I also thought about it carefully. It can't be me and the people I brought, and the guards can't go in. That means those cleaning people are the most suspicious." Eunuch Zhang said, "But there are also five or six people cleaning. I can’t arrest them all and torture them severely, can I?”
