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Seeing that King Fu Zhu Citong was about to put all the responsibility for Zhu Hezeng's death on himself, implying that Zhu Hezeng was forced to death by Zhu Heyu, Zhu Heyu only thought for a moment and quickly made up his mind to never do it again. Show mercy and launch a tough counterattack.
"Your Majesty, this is a big fallacy! Everything in this world is inseparable from the words 'emotion' and 'reason'. If Zengdi's death was suicide by taking poison, there would be signs beforehand, and there is a high probability that a suicide note or suicide note would be left behind. Last words, but now we have not found any suicide note from Zengdi. Jinyiwei is interrogating relevant people in Prince Fu's Mansion, but we have not heard that Zengdi showed any abnormality before his death. Under such circumstances, if we insist on saying that Zengdi He died of suicide by taking poison. He was inconsistent with emotion and reason, and it was suspected that he was using strong words to make excuses and confusing right and wrong!"
On the other side, after hearing what Zhu Heyu said, King Fu Zhu Citong couldn't help but change his expression slightly.
After discovering that Zhu Hezeng died of poisoning, Zhu Citong panicked for a long time before finally regaining his composure. Linking the death of Zhu Hezeng to the prince Zhu Heyu was also his impromptu idea, without any "evidence" arranged in advance. To prove it, now hearing Zhu Heyu's rebuttal, he was speechless for a while.
After first denying the possibility of Zhu Hezeng's suicide, Zhu Heyu's eyes were bright and his counterattack became more and more tough, and he said: "In my opinion, the death of Zengdi was without warning and full of strangeness. In all likelihood, it was He died of poisoning. This was a poisoning case! At this sensitive moment, maybe someone wanted to kill someone and hide the truth!
During this period of time, Prince Fu's Mansion has been blocked and monitored by factory guards. The murderer is most likely in Prince Fu's Mansion! Moreover, the person who has the ability to silently poison and kill Zeng's younger brother must be a powerful person in Prince Fu's palace who can make the decision. Therefore, I think the interrogation must be intensified now, and we must not shy away from it because of his position. Everyone in the palace must be interrogated and investigated by factory guards. Only in this way can the truth be found out! "
Zhu Heyu's words were obviously insinuations. He was referring to "killing people to silence" and "a big shot with weight and ability to make the decision". It can be said that he pointed the finger directly at King Fu himself.
After hearing what Zhu Heyu said, Prince Fu became furious and asked, "Your Highness, what do you mean by these words? Is it possible that you still want the factory guards to interrogate me?"
Zhu Heyu's expression seemed to be serious and indifferent, but also calm and calm, and he replied directly: "Zengdi is your beloved son, Prince Fu. He has done a lot of things for Prince Fu's palace over the years, and we cannot let him die unjustly." , in order to solve the case as soon as possible and find the murderer and avenge Zengdi, King Fu should naturally deign to cooperate with the factory guard's investigation! If King Fu hinders the investigation and is unwilling to cooperate, those who don't know the truth... may just suspect you, King Fu. I feel guilty for being a thief!"
Zhu Heyu's words were obviously more serious. Fu Wang Zhu Citong never expected that he was also Zhu Heyu's elder. Zhu Heyu didn't show any mercy at this time, and he suddenly became more and more angry. Angry and angry, he stood up and said: "After all, I am also a vassal king of the imperial court, and I am also your clan uncle! How dare you humiliate me like this, with no regard for filial piety and righteousness! I will write a memorial to impeach you. you!"
Zhu Heyu's expression remained unchanged, and he said slowly: "Prince Fu, have you impeached me too few times during this period? I have long been used to it, and I have never stopped me. If you want to impeach me again, Then just impeach, why bother to scare me with such a thing?"
Listening to the fierce argument between Prince Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu, their faces were completely torn apart. Henan Governor Zhang Bozhen and Luoyang Magistrate Zheng Yicheng were both frightened. For a while, they did not even dare to express their anger. Let alone interjecting words of advice.
Zhu Citong stared at Zhu Heyu, his expression became more and more ugly, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Okay! Okay! Okay! I have long heard that His Royal Highness is gentle, kind, filial, generous and humble, but now it turns out that it is better to meet him than to be famous! I am in the palace. We are waiting inside, we can’t get out anyway, His Highness the Crown Prince can order the factory guards to interrogate me at any time, and if they have the ability, let them punish me severely!”
After saying that, King Fu no longer wanted to discuss the truth about Zhu Hezeng's death with everyone, and left angrily.
Seeing King Fu throw away his hands and leave, both Zhang Bozhen and Zheng Yicheng looked embarrassed. However, Zhu Heyu remained calm and ignored King Fu's departure. He just continued to say to everyone present: "Everyone, my attitude is very clear. At this sensitive moment, Zengdi is a key figure. His poisoning was widely implicated, and must be scrutinized and investigated strictly. No one suspected can be let go, no matter how noble the person's status is. Factory Guard We must not be merciful!
Therefore, from this moment on, I will personally sit in Prince Fu's Mansion and investigate and interrogate the case together with the factory guards. The factory guards will just investigate the case boldly, and I will support you in everything! At the same time, the Luoyang government must fully cooperate with this investigation and must not slack off! "
Zhu Heyu's words can be said to be loud and clear, leaving no room for error.
After hearing Zhu Heyu's instructions, the several factory guard leaders in the room did not dare to neglect, and they all accepted the order in a deep voice, while Zhang Bozhen and Zheng Yicheng agreed with some reluctance - Prince Zhu Heyu and the feudal clan forces There is no way to see a winner in this fight. The two of them really don't want to offend Prince Fu's palace by being too harsh, but because Zhu and Yu didn't leave them any room, they had no choice but to accept their orders.
After seeing that everyone had accepted the order, Zhu Heyu said no more and just stood up with a serious expression. He also left the room quickly, but walked directly towards the west side of Prince Fu's Mansion.
The west side of Prince Fu's Mansion is composed of more than ten small courtyards and two small gardens, and is very close to the death scene of Zhu Hezeng. It was originally the residence of the descendants of Prince Fu's Mansion, but now it has been requisitioned by the factory guards and used. to investigate cases and interrogate suspects.
Zhu Heyu kept his word and went directly there to sit in and support the factory guards.
With Zhu Heyu's support, and the fact that the factory guards are now eager to make meritorious deeds or escape responsibility, they might actually dare to interrogate King Fu himself.
On the other side, seeing Zhu Heyu leaving, Zhang Bozhen and Zheng Yicheng looked at each other again and left the room one after another.
After walking out of the room and seeing no one around, Zheng Yicheng immediately asked in a low voice, "Mr. Governor, do you think the death of Prince Fu's eldest son committed suicide by taking poison or was poisoned?"
Zhang Bozhen shook his head gently with a solemn expression and said: "This eldest son of Prince Fu has been responsible for handling various matters for Prince Fu's Mansion for many years. We have all had contact with him, so naturally we know his character. He is definitely a If a person with a scheming and forbearing character and a resolute personality said that he could not bear to commit suicide just because he was interrogated several times... Do you believe it? And just like what His Highness the Crown Prince said, if the eldest son of the king committed suicide, how could he not leave any trace behind? There was no sign of any last words beforehand?"
Zheng Yicheng asked again cautiously: "You mean... Wang's eldest son was secretly poisoned and killed?"
Zhang Bozhen shook his head directly and said: "I just said that the eldest son of Wang is less likely to commit suicide. How can we dare to make a final conclusion on this matter before the evidence is conclusive?"
Zheng Yicheng nodded in understanding, understanding that Zhang Bozhen's statement was just because he did not dare to take responsibility, but in fact, Zhang Bozhen had already determined in his heart that Zhu Hezeng's death was caused by poisoning and assassination.
So, Zheng Yicheng also asked in an ambiguous tone: "In your opinion, if the eldest son of the king is really poisoned and assassinated... Of course, I am just talking about the worst case scenario... Then who is the murderer?" Where are you from?"
This time, Zhang Bozhen pondered and did not speak, but silently led Zheng Yicheng out of Prince Fu's Mansion.
When they walked outside the gate of Prince Fu's Mansion, Zhang Bozhen finally said: "If by any chance the eldest son of Wang is poisoned and assassinated, no matter who is behind the scenes, his purpose is undoubtedly to further muddy the muddy waters. , further complicating the contest between the prince and the vassal! Maybe it was to kill people and silence them, or maybe it was deliberately letting the world think that this matter was to kill people and silence them..."
After hearing these words, Zheng Yicheng was also thoughtful.
"Perhaps it was to kill people and silence them, or maybe it was deliberately to make the world think that this was a murder and silence." This sentence was a convoluted statement, but Zheng Yicheng quickly understood Zhang Bozhen's hint.
The so-called "maybe to kill people to silence" is an allusion that the mastermind behind the poisoning of Zhu Hezeng was Prince Fu himself. After all, in this contest between the prince Zhu Heyu and the feudal clan, Zhu Hezeng was the key witness. Once it was Zhu Hezeng. With signs of letting go of the evidence, it is very possible for King Fu Zhu Citong to ruthlessly kill his son in order to preserve King Fu's lineage and win the overall victory - among wealthy families, it has never been the case for father and son to turn against each other and kill siblings for profit. Nothing new.
As for the sentence "Maybe it was to deliberately make the world think that this incident was a murder and silence", it implies that the mastermind behind the poisoning of Zhu Hezeng was Prince Zhu Heyu! After all, if Zhu Heyu was unable to collect conclusive evidence of the feudal clan's crimes, his contest with the feudal clan's power would inevitably end in a disastrous defeat. At this time, he deliberately assassinated the key witness Zhu Hezeng. Zhu Heyu Afterwards, you can mess up the situation and pour dirty water on King Fu, saying that King Fu poisoned Zhu He Zengnai to kill people and silence him, so he did not falsely accuse King Fu and others.
In short, as a marginalized person in the contest between Prince Zhu Heyu and the feudal clan forces, Zhang Bozhen did not have access to the core secrets, so he did not know that Zhu Hezeng had secretly decided to stand up and expose King Fu and other clan clans. Regarding the crime of power, at this time, Prince Fu Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu were also listed as suspects.
It is precisely because of this idea that Zhang Bozhen has always been shy and did not dare to express any attitude easily.
Zheng Yicheng is a smart man, and he obviously understood the deep meaning of Zhang Bozhen's words.
In fact, Zheng Yicheng was also inclined to Zhang Bozhen's judgment, believing that Prince Zhu Heyu and Prince Fu Zhu Citong were both suspects in the poisoning case. They both had the motive to poison Zhu Hezeng and had the ability to do so. .
However, thinking about the previous performances of Prince Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu, Zheng Yicheng had a vague feeling that this matter was not that simple. There might be someone else behind the scenes. This person was not only It was hidden deeper, and its intentions were more sinister, secretly leading the situation into further chaos, causing both Prince Zhu Citong and Prince Zhu Heyu to suffer losses. In this chaos, everyone was just a pawn to be exploited. , being involuntarily controlled by the person behind the scenes.
Of course, this feeling was just a vague intuition. Zheng Yicheng didn't dare to be sure, and he didn't dare to directly deny Zhang Bozhen's judgment, so he just pondered for a moment and said quickly: "Governor Zhang's eyes are like a torch, I admire you! After listening to the governor’s teachings, I’m finally not as confused as before.”
Zhang Bozhen looked at Zheng Yicheng meaningfully and said: "But no matter what, for you and me, this is a fight between gods and we are not qualified to participate in it, even if we want to protect ourselves in this storm , If you don’t get implicated by innocent people, I’m afraid you need to have your own backers to help! Therefore, the most urgent task now is to inform the big shots in the capital about this matter as soon as possible, and let the Gonggun princes at the center of the imperial court make the decision!”
Zhang Bozhen's words still meant something.
Zhang Bozhen is a disciple of Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister. After he became the governor of Henan, he has been trying to recruit cronies and cronies, working tirelessly to expand the power of the "Zhou Party". If he can recruit most of Henan officials into the "Zhou Party" Among them, such merits are enough for him to become a core figure of the "Zhou Party" in the future. Not to mention joining the cabinet to assist the government, but with the support of the "Zhou Party", he will also have a good chance to serve as the six ministers.
At the same time, Zheng Yicheng, the prefect of Luoyang, was once a disciple of the former chief minister Shen Changmao, but now with the downfall of Shen Changmao, Zheng Yicheng has lost his most important backer. Once something goes wrong, there will be no big shot in the court willing to help him. support.
Now because of the poisoning of Prince Fu's eldest son Zhu Hezeng, all the officials in Luoyang are panicking. They might be implicated or even take the blame. In this case, Zheng Yicheng is naturally helpless and has a bleak future.
Therefore, Zhang Bozhen's words are a reminder to Zheng Yicheng, implying that he has surrendered to him, climbed up the big tree of "Zhou Party", and obtained the protection of "Zhou Party", Zheng Yicheng will naturally be safe and sound in the future.
After Zheng Yicheng's eyes flickered for a moment, he followed the trend and immediately said: "It's a pity that Xianguan has no supporter in the capital. Now he only feels helpless and panicked. However, unlike you, the governor, you are Zhou Shoufu's confidant." , even in the stormy waves, you can still sit on the Diaoyutai and remain motionless... But I still hope that, for the sake of being with my colleagues, you can mention Xianguan a little bit when reporting the situation to Zhou Shoufu. With such admiration, as long as the lower official can escape today's disaster, he will definitely obey the governor's orders in the future!"
After hearing Zheng Yicheng's declaration of submission, Zhang Bozhen nodded with satisfaction.
Especially when I heard that Zheng Yicheng expressed his support for himself instead of directly serving for the first assistant Zhou Shangjing, I thought Zheng Yicheng was very sensible.
After all, the "Zhou Party" has been standing in the temple for many years. It can be said that it is deep-rooted and hierarchical. However, unlike the "Zhao Party", which is always mixed and eclectic because of its shallow foundation, the direct members of the "Zhou Party" are all from the Hanlin Academy. , all of them were secretly inspected and promoted by Zhou Shangjing. Many of them were even students of Zhou Shangjing. Only these direct members of the "Zhou Party" were qualified to directly serve Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister, and Zheng Yicheng was not from the Imperial Academy. He was once a member of the "Shen Party", so it was absolutely impossible for him to become a direct descendant of the "Zhou Party", and he was not qualified to directly join Zhou Shangjing. He could only join Zhang Bozhen and become a peripheral member of the "Zhou Party".
So, Zhang Bozhen smiled and agreed: "Since Mr. Zheng has this intention, I will naturally put in a few good words for you to Mr. Chief Assistant, don't worry!"
After saying that, Zhang Bozhen walked to his sedan chair, bid farewell to Zheng Yicheng, and quickly rushed back to his Yamen in the sedan chair.
At this sensitive moment, the sudden death of Zhu Hezeng, the eldest son of King Fu, was of great concern. Zhang Bozhen must report the situation to the chief minister Zhou Shangjing as soon as possible and ask Zhou Shangjing to decide on future countermeasures.
On the other side, after Zheng Yicheng sent Zhang Bozhen off respectfully, he stood there and thought for a moment, and then quickly rushed to his sedan chair.
There, his long follower Zheng Jialun was waiting with his hands down.
Zheng Jialun was Zheng Yicheng's distant nephew. He had also studied for several years, but had no success in the imperial examination, so he stayed with Zheng Yicheng as a long-term follower. Because this blood relationship has always been trusted and valued by Zheng Yicheng, many Important matters will be left to Zheng Jialun, and some secrets will not be kept from Zheng Jialun.
After meeting Zheng Jialun, Zheng Yicheng immediately asked: "Are the two people I had a secret meeting with the day before still staying in Luoyang?"
Zheng Jialun immediately replied: "They are still staying in the Sangjia Restaurant in the west of the city. Because you haven't given them a clear answer yet, they have not left and have been waiting patiently."
Zheng Yicheng immediately bent down and entered the sedan, and ordered: "Go to Sang's Restaurant immediately, I want to see them."
Zheng Jialun was stunned for a moment, because Zheng Yicheng had always kept away from the two mysterious figures in Sang's Restaurant, but now he couldn't wait to meet them. It seemed that his attitude had changed fundamentally.
Zheng Jialun didn't know the real reason for Zheng Yicheng's change of mind, but he naturally did not dare to disobey Zheng Yicheng's instructions and quickly ordered the bearers to head towards the west of the city.
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On the other side, in Prince Fu's Mansion, after Prince Zhu Heyu personally took charge, the factory guards became more and more aggressive in interrogating relevant persons in Prince Fu's Mansion.
According to the investigation, Zhu Hezeng died around midnight last night. The cause of death was the poisoning of Hedinghong. Because Hedinghong is a rapidly acting poison, the factory guards began to investigate the murderer and collected all the information at midnight last night. All the people who had the opportunity to enter Zhu Hezeng's room to poison were controlled, and everyone was strictly interrogated. If any details were unclear, they would be tortured without any regard for their background in Prince Fu's Mansion.
After Zhu Heyu personally took charge, in order to investigate the truth as soon as possible, he turned a blind eye to the factory guards' actions that seemed to implicate the innocent. He just watched the interrogation of the factory guards with a cold face, and occasionally asked some details personally. .
However, even with such a large-scale and rigorous interrogation, there was still no progress in the poisoning case. All the suspects who were interrogated were unable to give any clues.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Heyu couldn't help but frowning more and more tightly, and there was a hint of urgency and impatience deep in his heart.
"If I can't find clues from the stewards and servants of Prince Fu's Mansion, then I will have no choice but to interrogate Prince Fu and Prince Fu himself! This will definitely cause an uproar, but no matter what, , before the new imperial envoy arrives in Luoyang, we must find out the real culprit of this murder case! Otherwise, the situation will be completely out of control! "
While Zhu Heyu was thinking secretly, the factory guards had already begun to interrogate another suspect involved in the case.
This person's name was Zhao Lei, and he was a seemingly inconspicuous steward in Prince Fu's Mansion. Originally, this person was not among the suspects, and the factory guards had no intention of interrogating him.
But not long ago, when the factory guards were interrogating one of Zhu Hezeng's personal maids, they got an unexpected clue. It was said that this Zhao Lei seemed to be just an inconspicuous steward of Prince Fu's Mansion, but in fact he was related to Zhu Hezeng. I had a lot of connections and often contacted Zhu Hezeng privately, so the factory guards immediately controlled Zhao Lei and interrogated him.
However, after Zhao Lei was escorted into the interrogation room by the factory guards, he saw at a glance that Prince Zhu Heyu was sitting there in person.
However, after seeing Zhu Heyu personally taking charge, Zhao Lei not only showed no awe or panic, but his originally hesitant expression suddenly turned into one of joy and relief, as if he had seen a savior!
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your Highness the Crown Prince! The villain has important information here! On the surface, the villain has an estranged relationship with the eldest son, but in fact he has become a confidant of the eldest son. However, the eldest son deliberately concealed it out of some considerations. This relationship allows the villain to help him in secret, but in fact the villain is the most trusted person in Prince Fu’s palace! The villain has a key piece of information here, which must be submitted to you personally! "
Like a barrage of firecrackers, Zhao Lei shouted quickly to Prince Zhu Heyu.
Hearing Zhao Lei's call, Zhu Heyu's eyes suddenly lit up, he quickly stood up and asked: "Do you really mean what you said? What key information is it?"
Zhao Lei was a quick talker, but he shook his head and replied: "I don't know the specific content, but since Your Highness the Crown Prince arrived in Luoyang to investigate Prince Fu's Mansion, the eldest son of the king will hand over some books and letters to the villain for secret keeping from time to time. , but the villain is only responsible for keeping them, but has never looked through them! The eldest son Wang once said that if he has an accident in the future, the villain will hand over all these books and letters to His Highness the Crown Prince for review, but he must do so with his own hands. Leave it to His Highness the Crown Prince and must not handle it by others! The villain was still hesitating just now whether to hand these things over to His Highness the Crown Prince through the factory guard, but now that His Highness the Crown Prince is here, it is naturally the best!
There are more than twenty copies of these books and letters in total. They have been locked in boxes by the villain and buried under the closet in his room. If His Highness the Crown Prince wants to know the contents, please arrange it immediately. Just dig it out by hand! "
The clues provided by Zhao Lei were so crucial that everyone in the room, including Crown Prince Zhu Heyu and the factory guards, were all excited for a moment.
Everyone has a hunch that the books and letters that Zhu Hezeng gave to Zhao Lei for safekeeping must be the key to breaking the current situation!
However, maybe everyone was just excited, or maybe Zhao Lei's positive performance reduced the suspicion on him, so no one noticed that Zhao Lei's eyes kept flickering when he said these words.
Perhaps, Zhao Lei also concealed some key information.
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