Royal study room.
The emperor looked at the secret letter and frowned:
“Are there drug dealers in both Binzhou and Xiangzhou purchasing snow kite grass?”
Yan Zongqi: "Exactly. Snow Kite grass is extremely rare. It is not only an essential herb for detoxification, but also used to make top spices. Pingnan's incense making skills are world-famous. Most of the Snow Kite grass on the market were sold a few months ago. It was bought by a spice merchant in Pingnan.”
Emperor: "Is there anyone in Tai'an who can buy it?"
Yan Zongqi: "Nothing has been found yet. Counting from the time when General Jin arrived in Jizhou, there are only ten days left before the one-month deadline for the poisoning. If there are people who have been poisoned who have already shown symptoms, it is probably not the people sent by Kyoto. "
Emperor: "Don't take it lightly. In ten days, find a way to find out if there are any missing persons in each prefecture and report them to me."
Yan Zongqi agreed and then retired. The emperor pressed the secret letter under his hand and murmured thoughtfully:
"Pingnan buys snow kite grass to make incense, so what are Binzhou and Xiangzhou doing for it... Xiangzhou should not do it. Binzhou...Binzhou is under the jurisdiction of Cui Qizhi and Yue Jianlin, who could it be?"
Thinking of this, the emperor suddenly felt frightened:
"Cui Qizhi is Concubine Rou's brother... Zheng Cheng! Where is Cheng Yao?"
Zheng Cheng: "The hidden guards following His Highness the Second Highness have just reported back and forth that His Highness met Miss Lin from the Tutor's family by chance on the street and had a conversation."
Emperor: "Meet by chance? What a coincidence. A few days ago, he assisted in the trial of the salt tax case. He did not take the opportunity to involve the prince's confidants, nor was he afraid of the prince's power. I also feel that he has been neglected for several years and has changed. Temperament, now it seems that his ambition has not diminished."
Zheng Cheng: "The hidden guard said that His Highness has an ambiguous attitude towards Miss Lin's cousin and often has private meetings at Taihe Restaurant."
The emperor looked surprised and said, "Isn't he interested in that girl from the Lin family?"
Zheng Cheng: "I don't know."
The emperor was puzzled: "Everyone knows how much the Gu family loves that girl. How could he give up such a good help? Could it be a chance encounter... What else has he done recently?"
Zheng Cheng: "Yinwei said that His Highness, the Second Highness, has been quite close to Yang Hongzhen, Yang Yushi's son, Yang Qi, and a businessman named Li Siyu. The three of them will go to a private house every once in a while. During the small gathering, the private residence was as heavily guarded as the second prince’s residence, and the hidden guards could not get too close, so I don’t know what was discussed.”
After hearing this, the emperor felt even more confused:
"Yang Hongzhen's son? Who is that businessman?"
Zheng Cheng: "It's a coincidence that the businessman named Li Siyu is the eldest son of the former prefect of Binzhou. At that time, Prefect Li was exposed for embezzling tax money. The criminals were derelict in their duties and were exiled. The descendants of the Li family were not allowed to enter the officialdom. The trial of Prefect Li was It’s Yang Yushi.”
Emperor: "I have the impression that he was sentenced to beheading, but it was Liu Yong's plea that changed the sentence to exile."
Zheng Cheng: "That's right."
Emperor: "With the past of Yang Hongzhen's judgment on his biological father, how can Li Siyu still be on good terms with Yang Qi and be so broad-minded? I'm afraid there is something hidden... Send someone to check it out personally."
Zheng Cheng: "Yes. Speaking of Miss Lin just now, I still have something to report."
Zheng Cheng sent plaques to the people and told what happened at the entrance of Jimin Hall.
The emperor's expression softened slightly: "This girl is rare. She is still as kind to the people as she was when she was a child. She is bold and does not like to take credit. She is in line with the Gu and Lin family, so she must be well rewarded."
Yan Yuxuan.
After Lin Jinyan returned to the house and talked to the old lady, Zheng Cheng came to Lin's house with the imperial guards as soon as he sat down in the study.
(End of chapter)
