However, fortunately, the crown prince had nothing to do, and the emperor's grandson's position was taken advantage of by Xie Liangzhan.
He nodded: "Then, when did the princess know that Gu Yanyan had become Prince Huaizhang's concubine?"
The princess of Annan County said: "After the fall of the country, we were dispersed by the refugees, and Yan Yan's whereabouts were unknown. I kept looking for her, but never found her. Later," she paused and tears flowed unconsciously. Come down: "Later, in the second year after I married into the Prince of Annan County, one night in autumn, the Prince suddenly took me into the East Palace at night. Only then did I know that Yan Yan was taken as a concubine by Prince Huaizhang, and she was still alive. She gave birth to a son, the youngest son of Prince Huaizhang. She had already returned to her former glory at that time. She was covered in blood. The prince held her newborn daughter to her. " She closed her eyes sadly, tears coming from the corners of her eyes. Come down: "I have never seen her look like that. She was as thin and pale as a wisp of smoke, which dissipated as soon as the wind blew. Her hands were so cold, and she left without a word."
Han Changmu calculated the time when Gu Yanyan gave birth to the daughter, and it was exactly nineteen years ago. In other words, about a year after she gave birth to the daughter, Prince Huaizhang went into trouble, Xie Liangzhan was imprisoned, and Chen Yuying happened to be in At this time, I carried back a girl who had just turned one year old.
Chen Yuying regarded this girl of unknown origin as a treasure and did not hesitate to abandon her own daughter. He was even more secretive about this girl's life experience and never revealed anything to anyone.
This is very abnormal. What kind of identity can make him cautious and afraid at the same time.
If this girl is Chen Yuying's illegitimate daughter, and he insists on letting this daughter enter the family tree, then there is no need for him to be so secretive, let alone replace it with a legitimate daughter, he can just tell the truth.
Unless the girl's life experience would bring disaster to the Chen family, he would have to make such a careful plan.
Thinking about it this way, at that time, the only girl who could cause uproar was the one who slipped through the net in the witchcraft case, and the biggest fish in the witchcraft case was of course Prince Huaizhang and his relatives.
He subconsciously moved his eyes to glance at Yao Yao. Seeing that she always looked as normal, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She didn't even know that she was the daughter adopted by the Chen family. After hearing these words, it was even less likely that she would think of anything else. .
His voice was deep and somewhat obscure: "So, have you seen that child again since then?"
He looked at Annan County Princess eagerly, as if he wanted to hear a different answer.
Princess Annan gave a wry smile: "One year after Yan Yan gave birth to her daughter, something bad happened to Prince Huaizhang. I begged the prince to save the child, but it was still a step too late. The palace of Prince Huaizhang was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Finally I got the news that Prince Huaizhang's entire family had been killed, and only the youngest son Yan Yan gave birth to him was alive." She tried her best to hold back the tears in her eyes and looked back: "I thought that in such a situation, a girl who was just one year old would not be able to survive. , it is difficult to survive, but two years ago, Xie Liangzhan suddenly sent me a letter, saying that his sister was still alive and asked me to help him find her. "
Yao Yao was slightly stunned. Thinking of what Xie Liangzhan did on Longyou Road, he couldn't help but sneered: "Xie Liangzhan is also looking for that girl. He doesn't look like someone who cares about flesh and blood."
The princess of Annan County glanced at Yao Yao in surprise and asked doubtfully: "Miss A Yao, have you ever dealt with him?"
Yao Yao smiled noncommittally and did not say anything further.
Han Changmu suppressed the doubts in his heart and said coldly: "He has been running away for many years and has never thought of looking for his biological sister. Now he comes here. I also find it strange."
"The First Clan"
Princess Annan pursed her lower lip and thought for a moment before saying: "Because, to open the final level of the treasure's hiding place, you need a few drops of blood from me or the son and daughter born to Yan Yan. I Although she had nothing to show for herself, Yan Yan gave birth to a son and a daughter. The son was Xie Liangzhan. I don’t know the name of that daughter, and I couldn’t find her after two years of searching. In fact, Xie Liangzhan has been looking for her. I think it’s because he still has no clue. , will tell me the secret that the girl is still alive, and let me help."
"What about the saint? When did the saint know about this?" Han Changmu asked.
Annan County Princess felt ashamed when she thought about the past, her face was particularly ugly, and she refused to even address her with an honorific title: "He learned the method of opening the last mechanism of the treasure place twenty years ago, so he, he," she Unable to speak any more, the voice suddenly stopped.
Han Changmu did not ask any more questions. He had already figured out the cause and effect of the matter. Emperor Yong'an obviously knew these secrets, but did not know that Gu Yanyan was still alive and had biological flesh and blood, so he turned his attention to the person closest to him. The princess of Annan County who is the easiest to control.
Hearing these words, Yao Yao curled his lips and laughed happily. Emperor Yong'an obviously did not expect that the person who seemed to be the easiest to control and the easiest thing to do would waste twenty years of his time. It was all in vain.
Anyone would be so angry that they would vomit three liters of blood.
When Han Changmu heard Yao Yao's laughter, he turned to look at her. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Yao Yao's life experience was doubtful, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was full of loopholes.
He has never met Gu Yanyan and doesn't know what she looks like, but she and Annan County Princess are sisters from the same mother. They must have similar looks, so as Gu Yanyan's daughter, she should also look similar to her. The right place.
If this was really the case, then Annan County Princess would have become suspicious when she saw Yao Yao, and then tried to find out. However, during the past few days when they were lingering in Annan County Prince's Mansion, he did not see any clues from Annan County Princess.
In this case, either the princess of Annan County is too good at covering up, or he is thinking too much.
But there were some questions that he didn't want to ask in front of Yao Yao, but secretly he still wanted to leave a leeway.
He thought deeply: "What is the mystery of this painting?"
The princess of Annan County only hesitated for a moment, then ordered someone to bring a bowl of rice water and explained: "Back then, I was afraid that other things would be too difficult to find, so I decided to use rice water."
Hearing this, Yao Yao became curious. She knew many things that could develop images, but she didn't know that rice water could also develop images.
While he was talking, a maid came in with a bowl full of rice water, placed it gently on the desk, then bowed and walked out.
During this movement, the maid never said a word, and she was so quiet that she didn't look like a living person.
Yao Yao was curious and couldn't help but take another look at the maid's back.
Princess Annan said calmly: "The people on this island are all mute servants."
Yao Yao was stunned for a moment, remembering that there was also a plot of raising a mute servant in martial arts. It turned out that raising a mute servant was not a fabrication, but a real thing. He just didn't know whether the mute servant was born mute or was caused by man-made things.
The princess of Annan County seemed to have seen what Yao Yao was thinking, and looked at her deeply: "Miss A Yao is kind-hearted, yes, although some of these mute servants are born mute, there are still many who were raped when they were young. The beauties were kidnapped and then mute, and were sold to rich families. Even though these people are mute, they are actually 10% more expensive to buy than ordinary servants."
"Did you pull out your tongue?" Yao Yao was stunned. He became mute. He was artificially mute. How could he do this?
"Pour down a bowl of mute medicine and pull out your tongue, which may hurt your life." Han Changmu said calmly.
Yao Yao pursed his lips. If he couldn't speak since he was born, being a mute servant would be a way to make a living. But if he was a normal child at first, he was given dumb drugs by traffickers because the mute servant could be sold at a higher price. , how cruel this is.
It is said that if there is no business, there will be no harm. If wealthy people did not have this habit of raising dumb servants, these people would not have to suffer this kind of torture.
This topic is a bit heavy, and the princess of Annan County and Han Changmu both hold high positions and are used to being superiors. They have long considered the strict hierarchy and the fate of the common people as ordinary. Yao Yao pursed his lips and stopped talking about these things. .
The princess of Annan County took a half-used brush. The hair on the brush was extremely soft.
She first turned the four beautiful pictures over, then gently dipped some rice water into them and brushed them carefully on the back of the pictures.
I don’t know what kind of trick was done to this painting. The rice water was painted all over the back of the painting, but it always floated on the surface of the paper and did not penetrate into it.
The princess of Annan County brought a lamp over, and the light fell on the painting, making the water stains shine brightly.
Yao Yao thought that Annan Princess was going to use lamps and candles to dry the paintings, but she put the lamp aside, brought a celadon incense burner, and burned a stick of incense in the incense burner.
After a moment, a wisp of green smoke curled out from the gap in the incense burner and drifted away in the wind, but there was no aroma at all.
She placed the incense burner next to the four beautiful pictures, and the green smoke rushed straight towards the four beautiful pictures as if guided.
"This is the Tibetan incense passed down from Tubo. Using this incense and rice water, you can make the machine diagram in the painting appear." The Princess of Annan County was a little proud, staring at the curls of green smoke that spread across the painting, as if The mountains and rivers are like mist.
Tibetan incense and rice water are both rare, but when put together they have miraculous effects.
Han Changmu and Yao Yao looked at this jaw-dropping scene with a good glance. They didn't even dare to take a breath for fear that the thin smoke would be blown away.
In just a moment, the incense burnt out, the thin smoke was blown away by the wind, and the rice water on the painting had completely dried.
A picture appears out of thin air on the supporting paper. The brush is like iron painting with a silver hook. Each stroke has a sharp turn and is penetrating.
This picture is so densely drawn that the viewer is dizzy and unable to make out any clue at all, but fortunately the white supporting paper makes the black pen and ink appear particularly clear and detailed.
Han Changmu looked at the huge and complicated picture and said, "Princess, I wonder how long this painting will last after it is developed like this?"
The Princess of Annan County considered her words: "This is my first time to manifest myself. I heard from my father that it can exist for half a day."
Han Changmu was stunned for a moment: "Have you never developed this painting before?"
The princess of Annan County shook her head: "I have no desire for that treasure. In other words, it has been more than 20 years since the country was destroyed. I have no hope of restoring the country. Since there is no hope, why should I worry about the treasure that does not belong to me? I still understand the principle that holding a treasure is a crime. In the past twenty years, I have always regarded this painting as an ordinary painting. If not, if he had not known the secret of this painting this time, I would not design it like this if I only focus on seizing it, let alone allow such a mechanism diagram to be developed that would cause chaos."
Han Changmu was stunned. He didn't expect Annan County Princess to be so clear-headed.
Yao Yao was even more amazed. No wonder the princess of Annan County and the concubine of Prince Huaizhang are both sisters, but their lives and endings are completely different. Characters really change fate. Such a clear mind and such neat choices, I think You can't live this life well.
"It can exist for half a day." Han Changmu turned his head, looked at Yao Yao and said, "Can you trace this picture in half a day?"
Yao Yao rubbed the picture with his hand, staring at the picture with a good look, his eyes shining with surprise, and nodded without raising his head: "Yes."
Han Changmu praised it and said: "Okay, you stay here to draw the map, and I will go to the palace to meet the saint."
Hearing this, Yao Yao suddenly raised his head: "I met the saint. The saint did not summon you to the palace." She didn't finish her words, and she didn't mean it clearly, but the unfinished meaning was very obvious. Since there was no summons, The saint may not know what happened last night, so why would he expose his shortcomings?
Han Changmu shook his head and smiled: "The saint is not unaware of what happened last night. He has not announced the call yet. He should be waiting for me to clarify the matter myself."
He knew Emperor Yong'an very well. The reason why Emperor Yong'an still stood still was because the situation was unclear. He was waiting for him to explain, to express his feelings, to find flaws and loopholes in his words, and then hit the target with one strike.
He knew clearly that Emperor Yong'an was waiting for him to throw himself into a trap, but he still had to throw himself into this net.
Princess Annan pursed her lips and said with some disapproval: "Then, what if he wants this picture?" She suddenly became anxious: "In order to keep this picture, I even killed someone. , If," a trace of determination flashed in her eyes: "If, I would rather die together than let this picture fall into his hands."
Hearing the word "killed", Yao Yao's heart skipped a beat. After these few days, they had already concluded that Xia Yuanji was killed by Princess Annan. Of course she wouldn't have done it herself, but she must have ordered it. Yes, it was done by her confidants, but from what Princess Annan said, it seemed that Xia Yuanji was not the only person she killed for these four beauties. In other words, the person who coveted this picture knew about the legacy of Emperor Ming. The saint and Xie Liangzhan were not the only ones responsible for this matter, so who else could it be?
She turned her head and glanced at Han Changmu.
Han Changmu understood the deep meaning in Yao Yao's eyes, nodded slightly, and said calmly: "The matter has not reached the point of irreversibility, I will deal with it myself. Princess, please don't worry. I will go to the palace first, and Yao Canjun will stay here." Trace here.”
Princess Annan nodded. Since there was no solution to the matter, this could only be done for the time being.
It was early summer, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter towards noon. The white sunlight streamed down on the undulating green tiled golden tops of the mountains, casting a clear golden light.
Walking along the corridor, the hissing chirping of cicadas could be heard from the treetops, adding some freshness to the silent palace.
Han Changmu had never felt that the red wall was so formidable and the corridor was so long. It seemed that no matter how he walked, he could never reach the end.
He walked into the palace, lifted his robe and knelt down to salute. His calm and indifferent features were reflected on the bright and clear golden brick floor.
Emperor Yong'an lowered his eyes and looked at Han Changmu quietly for a long time before he uttered an obscure sentence, "Get up."
Han Changmu stood up neatly, bowing slightly, with a respectful expression on his face as usual.
Emperor Yong'an's heart froze, and he felt depressed. He grabbed the purple-gold copper paperweight on the desk and smashed it to Han Changmu's side, only an inch away from his feet.
The muffled sound of "bang" was so loud that Gao Fuguo almost jumped up in fright, but Han Changmu remained motionless, his feet seemed to be stuck in the cracks of the bricks, and his body was so stable that he didn't even sway.
"Jiuzhao, are you familiar with the Prince of Annan County?" Emperor Yong'an asked sadly.
Han Changmu simply said: "To answer your Majesty's question, I am not familiar with the Prince of Annan County."
"Unfamiliar? If you're not familiar, you're going to check for me!" Emperor Yong'an was obviously furious, and he cursed angrily: "If you're not familiar, you went to hang out at the widow's door. Don't you think you don't have enough right and wrong on your body? !”
Han Changmu was really stunned. He had never expected that Emperor Yong'an would say such words. He looked at Emperor Yong'an in astonishment, completely forgetting that it was a sin of disrespect to look directly at a saint.
Emperor Yong'an also realized that he had gone too far, coughed slightly in embarrassment, and said in a very serious tone: "Jiu Chao, the Princess of Annan County is a widow, so you have to avoid suspicion to some extent!"
Han Changmu didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
This style of painting is wrong. Shouldn't the saint ask what he did when he went to Annan County Prince's Mansion, what he found, and why he deliberately concealed it?
Why are you asking these unimportant things?
Han Changmu felt that Emperor Yong'an was digging a hole for him, but he couldn't figure out where the mystery was or where the trap was, so he had to bite the bullet and say, "Wei Chen was careless, and Wei Chen knew his mistake."
Emperor Yong'an nodded and changed the topic: "Are you going to Annan County Prince's Mansion just to visit the sick?"
Han Changmu's heart, which was originally high because of the specious words of Emperor Yong'an, suddenly fell back to where it was before. He said calmly and calmly: "Wei Chen is here to investigate the case."
"Investigation, what case?" Emperor Yong'an stared at Han Changmu with a half-smile.
Han Changmu tensed up and said: "A few days ago, Xia Yuanji, a tribute scholar from Jinke, was killed. Zhang Yan was accused of murder and was locked up and imprisoned by the Wannian County Office. These two people are related to a case being investigated by the Internal Security Department. Wei Chen then brought Xia Yuanji's body, relevant files and Zhang Yan back to the Department of Internal Security. Xia Yuanji was from the Prince's Palace of Annan County, and the cause of his death was doubtful. Wei Chen went there precisely to find out more details. Investigate this case." He paused slightly, then acted like a deputy official and said: "That Zhang Yan is a tribute scholar of Jinke. Seeing that the palace examination is about to happen, if he misses the palace examination because he has suffered an unfair injustice, he is a member of the imperial court. Because of the loss, Wei Chen became anxious and rashly entered the Annan County Prince's Mansion."
Emperor Yong'an squinted his eyes, made a soft sound, and asked with interest: "Then what did you find out?"
His attitude was extremely gentle, just like an ordinary person asking about something he was interested in.
But Han Changmu didn't dare to relax at all. He knew very well what kind of person Emperor Yong'an was. The more peaceful he was, the more there was a cold arrow hidden behind him, ready to explode.
Han Changmu replied respectfully: "Wei Chen found out that a painting was missing from the Annan County Prince's Palace a few days before Xia Yuanji's death."
"A painting?" Emperor Yong'an pretended not to know, with a surprised look on his face.
Han Changmu also nodded in agreement: "It's a painting." He unhurriedly told everything about the four beautiful pictures that he found in the Annan County Prince's Mansion, and only concealed the matter about Gu Yanyan. After that, he felt guilty. Lowered his head.
This was a sign of weakness. In Emperor Yong'an's eyes, Han Changmu looked like this because he knew a secret that he shouldn't know. This is not a guilty conscience, but a sign of weakness.
Emperor Yong'an was proud of the intimidation of his imperial authority. Even the crown prince of Han, who had made great achievements in war, was in awe. He smiled thinly: "The treasure of Emperor Ming, there is such a big secret in that painting. No wonder the dignified Jin Kegong Scholars are willing to take risks, and would rather destroy their reputation than steal the painting." He raised his eyelids and looked at Han Changmu: "So, do you know the whereabouts of that painting?"
This is the side hall of Yanying Hall. The back window faces the Taiye Pond in the distance. The window is half open. White sunlight and clear water vapor blow in with the wind. The side hall is filled with cold and solemn sounds. The atmosphere dimmed.
Han Changmu said calmly: "We already have a clue. Wei Chen has identified a few suspicious areas. The results will be available tomorrow."
Emperor Yong'an's eyes lit up. He didn't seem to have any doubt that Han Changmu was actually looking for the four beauties before he entered the Prince's Mansion of Annan County. He felt ecstatic. He had been looking for the four beauties for so long, and he didn't hesitate to go there. The four beautiful pictures of Annan County Princess were found by Han Changmu even after torturing her to death.
And Han Changmu didn't have any thoughts of hiding it, so he handed it over so easily.
The more he looked at Han Changmu, the more he liked it. He nodded and said, "Jiuchao, you are very kind and loyal. Once this case is over, I will reward you heavily."
Han Changmu remained calm and without any ups and downs: "It is the duty of a minister to be loyal to the king and share his worries. A minor minister dare not take credit."
Emperor Yong'an smiled happily, patted the armrest heavily, and stood up.
Upon seeing this, Gao Fuguo hurriedly stepped forward to support Emperor Yong'an.
Emperor Yong'an slowly walked up to Han Changmu and looked at Han Changmu with burning eyes, feeling both happy and fearful. His expression was a bit deep: "Jiu Chao, it's been almost a year since you came to Beijing. I'm particularly fond of you." I have taken a fancy to you, and you have indeed not disappointed me." He raised his hand, patted Han Changmu's shoulder twice, and said sincerely: "You are not the only son in Prince Han's palace, and there are more than one son in the Han family's army who is good at fighting and can be a general. You alone, King Han doesn’t have to rely on you."
