Li Yuanda took the time to get the things done ahead of him.
The empress and the palace bureau have already coordinated the concubines, princes and princesses to leave the palace and take refuge. There are also confidants who are guarding the nine gates to check whether there are any changes in the feudal kings.
Although Caifang said that the precious concubine did not do those things, until the matter is found out, who knows whether what she said is true or false, what if she is planning to talk nonsense to fool herself and delay time!
This matter concerns the country, the country, and the country. No matter how cautious you are, you can never be too cautious.
…
In the palace, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Shang Palace Bureau jointly investigated the danger. Some of the emperor's confidants went to Huaguang Hall to put out the fire. After putting out the fire, they searched for suspicious traces inch by inch to find out whether there was something behind the fire.
Everything in the palace was going on in an orderly manner, and the queen also handled matters outside the palace in an orderly manner.
When the concubines saw the emperor ordering them to leave the palace and take refuge, they knew that there was something behind the Huaguang Hall fire. Only the Huaguang Hall was burned, but not the rest of the harem. It would be enough for the people in the Huaguang Hall to avoid it. Forget it, why were they sent out together with the queen?
I heard that the prime ministers and officials in the government offices of the three provinces were also dismissed and returned to their respective homes.
The concubines were worried and uneasy. Those who had children looked at them as if they were eyeballs and did not dare to leave for a moment. Those without children looked at each other in the temporary palace and made calculations in their hearts. Afterwards, they all felt that this was not going to work, so they all went to the Queen to pay their respects.
The queen was also confused at this time. She received the concubines step by step. After gently asking the princes and princesses whether they were okay, she looked solemn and told them to go and have a rest. Don't wait at this juncture. If they cause trouble, otherwise the news will reach the ears of the Holy Emperor, and no one will be able to save them.
The palace concubines were aware of the emperor's previous thunderous tactics and did not dare to disobey him. After saluting, they each returned to the palace garden where they lived.
They left, and the queen finally showed a look of fatigue on her face, with a hint of confusion: "What happened to Huaguang Hall? Your Majesty..."
A faint sigh.
…
Li Yuanda had no intention of visiting the harem at the moment. After confirming that he was in good health and that there was no danger in the Xuanshi Palace, he waited in the quiet room for the final report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The fire in Huaguang Hall burned ragingly for two hours before it was extinguished. In the evening of the same day, Jiang Shuo, the deputy commander of the internal guard, went to report urgently and said that he had discovered something in the back hall of Huaguang Hall.
"I asked the maidservant who served in the palace, and I know that the palace room was originally used to store sundries, and few people went there. The fire came fiercely, and everything in that room was burned to pieces. Eight, it also exposed the secret passage hidden in the room."
Li Yuanda said softly "Oh".
"I personally took people down to explore, and found that the secret passage was blocked in the middle. After I ordered people to clear the secret passage, I found that it leads directly to a certain mansion in Chongrenfang. The secret passage is probably a long time ago. It has not been used yet, and there are dense cobwebs everywhere, but someone must have passed through it recently, and there are many footprints left in the dust on the ground."
"The Shang Palace Bureau took the concubine's shoes and compared them, and determined that one of them was the concubine. However, the concubine's footprints did not appear at the beginning and middle of the secret passage, and did not appear until the end of the secret passage. There were no signs of struggle. "
Li Yuanda thought that he was probably carried away by someone, or he was knocked unconscious and taken away, and finally woke up when he walked out quickly.
"I saw that the footprints were coming and going, but two pairs were missing when they left. I thought that a thief must have taken advantage of the chaos to sneak into the forbidden palace with evil intentions, so I quietly asked people to guard the place where the secret passage was discovered. Sure enough, they were caught. I found two sneaky fake chamberlains, and I have been sent to prison. I will make sure that he vomits up completely before the end of the day!"
Li Yuanda heard that he was very organized and meticulous in his work, and he couldn't help but appreciate him a little more. He thought to himself that the original owner had a good vision, and at least his subordinates were capable.
He took off the ring on his thumb and gave it to Jiang Shuo, encouraging him: "Serve the court well and I will never treat you badly."
Jiang Shuo was quite encouraged and respectfully thanked him: "Thank you for being so favored by your Majesty, I will repay you with all my heart and soul!"
After returning to the prison, a subordinate came forward with a sad look on his face: "All kinds of punishments have been imposed. One of the two people resisted death, and the other bit his tongue when he was unprepared..."
Jiang Shuo's heart paused slightly, and his brows furrowed. Just when he had a headache, he saw the confidant who had gone to explore the origin of the mansion returned. He stopped outside the door and stopped talking.
Jiang Shuo realized something and sent his subordinates to continue interrogating the living one. He also used his eyes to signal his confidants to follow him to a remote and uninhabited place to talk.
The confidant's face was earth-colored and his voice was very low: "Sir, I took a few brothers to check that house, only to find out that no one lives there on weekdays. Then I went to the government office to check who the head of the household was, and found that I found that page of records had already been torn apart.”
Jiang Shuo's eyes flashed with sternness: "Is the clue broken?"
The confidant swallowed hard and said in a lower voice: "My subordinate originally thought that this clue had come to an end. When he was about to go out, he suddenly remembered another thing. It was not just the head of the household who was recorded. The name of the real estate is still there, as well as the account books from when Chongrenfang was first built. I went to a few yamen and found that this property had gone through several turnovers and finally fell into the hands of the Liang family..."
Jiang Shuo was obviously thinking of something, and he couldn't help but change his color, his eyes becoming sharper: "Which Liang family is it?!"
The confidant said in a trembling voice: "I am from the Liang family, the eldest son of King Yong, my lord!"
Jiang Shuo's face looked uncertain, gloomy and hard to describe.
The confidants urged: "Sir, this case can't be investigated any further! King Yong is the younger brother of the Holy Lord and the supreme prince, and what he lost was the Holy Lord's most beloved concubine. A man and a woman were married to each other. If we are thrown together, what can happen? Is this something we can get involved with?!"
He raised his sleeves and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and then continued: "Even if there is nothing between them, King Yong actually has a secret passage that can enter the palace at any time. What does this mean? The secrets of the palace, etc. It doesn’t matter if my uncle and my sister-in-law are having an affair, how can pebbles like us dare to move forward if they are kicked away with just one kick?"
With ten thousand cautions, he warned in a low and low voice: "Sir, even if the truth really comes to light, and we know this kind of royal scandal, can His Majesty still tolerate us?! I'm not a subordinate. We are afraid of death because we have to consider the whole family!"
Jiang Shuo felt all kinds of emotions in his heart and was speechless for a moment.
After a long time, he finally said: "I want to think about it, you should go back first."
The subordinate responded and left feeling uneasy.
Jiang Shuo was left standing alone.
A gust of cold wind blew, and he suddenly came back to his senses. He felt a coldness on his forehead and a chill on his back. When he raised his hand to wipe away the sweat, he suddenly saw the bright-colored ring on his thumb.
Breathtaking, deep green.
He suddenly shivered and came to his senses.
…
Late at night, Li Yuanda had already rested, but an attendant cautiously reported back that it was Jiang Shuo, the deputy commander of the inner guard, who wanted to see him.
Li Yuanda put on his clothes and stood up, went to the side hall and took a seat: "Send him to come in."
After Jiang Shuo entered the palace, he saluted the emperor as usual, and immediately reported the conclusion reached after the investigation: "The matter of the precious concubine may be inextricably related to Prince Yong's palace."
He then told the emperor what he had found out in detail: "The mansion where the secret passage is located was found to be under the name of the head of the Yongwang Palace. After several twists and turns, it is indeed true that it cannot be faked. "
"Those two fake chamberlains entered the imperial edict. One sought an opportunity to commit suicide, and the other refused to open his mouth. Seeing that he could not open his mouth, I boldly deduced from Prince Yong's Mansion. Sure enough, I found that there were two people in Prince Yong's Mansion. The retainer who is good at shrinking his bones and changing his appearance closely matches the characteristics of those two people..."
Li Yuanda listened silently.
At this time, it was even more exposed, the night bugs were humming outside the window, and a gust of cold wind blew in from the half-open window, freezing to the bone.
Jiang Shuo knelt on the ground and waited and waited, but never heard the emperor's words. He carefully raised his head and looked, but saw a scene that shocked him.
The emperor sat alone on the throne with a sad expression. A tear quickly fell down his resolute cheek and disappeared quickly after entering the thick and luxurious carpet.
"I and King Yong are brothers, and we have the same mother and father, so why are we here!"
Jiang Shuo's heart suddenly surged with extremely complex emotions.
The emperor quickly calmed down: "I remember that you are the deputy commander of the internal guard?"
Jiang Shuo said: "Yes."
The emperor said: "You do things properly, and I like them very much. From now on, you should do the right thing."
Jiang Shuo's heart trembled suddenly, and a joy suddenly arose.
He restrained himself with all his strength, did not show any abnormality, and responded respectfully: "Yes."
Seeing that the emperor had no further instructions, Jiang Shuo stood up, lowered his head and walked out quickly.
Jiang Shuo left, but Li Yuanda was not in a hurry to rest. Instead, he walked to the small table in front of the bed.
There is a thin piece of paper on top, stamped with the seal of the Jingzhao Yin Mansion. If Jiang Shuo's confidants were here, they would probably recognize that this is the page that was torn out. Documentation.
Don't be suspicious when you employ people, don't use people when you are suspicious.
But while he is at the top, he is destined to be surrounded by doubts for the rest of his life.
Li Yuanda stood up and took off the lid of the lampshade, twisted up a thin page of paper and burned it. He watched it gradually turn into fly ash, and finally laughed.
"The so-called emperor."
Chapter 70
The fire in Huaguang Palace burned all the concubines and princes and princesses out of the palace. The life and death of the precious concubine who was favored by the emperor was unknown, and her whereabouts were unknown.
At the same time, the internal guards discovered a secret passage in the back hall of Huaguang Hall where the precious concubine lived. The exit at the other end of the secret passage was located in a mansion in Chongrenfang, Chang'an, and the owner of the mansion was none other than , it is Liang Wenmin, the chief historian of Prince Yong's Mansion.
The internal guards also captured two sneaky fake internal servants in the palace. After inspection and torture, they found that these two people were the Jianghu disciples recruited by the Yongwang Palace.
Both clues point to the emperor's younger brother, King Yong, but what happens next depends entirely on the emperor's wishes.
Should Shi Liang Wenmin, the head of Prince Yong's palace, be directly arrested, tortured, and questioned about the whereabouts of the noble concubine? Or should the emperor issue an order to reprimand Prince Yong and order Zongzheng and Dali Temple to jointly investigate this shocking case?
Or maybe the emperor was kind-hearted, and for the sake of the late empress dowager, let the past go and directly announced that the precious concubine had died due to the fire in Huaguang Palace, and gently turned the page?
Li Yuanda didn't want to choose any of them, so he quietly asked Liu Taifu, who had taught the original owner and was always known for his uprightness in both the government and the public, to come to the palace to discuss matters. After dismissing the attendants, he informed everything about the affairs in the palace.
He shed tears sadly and said: "Prince Yong and I are brothers, and we are the closest. Before her death, my mother repeatedly told me to be kind to my brother and not to doubt him, and I agreed." As soon as he came of age, I named him King Yong. I was so kind to him. All the kings went to their fiefdoms to join vassals, but he was the only one left in the capital. I almost gave him my heart and soul..."
While Li Yuanda was crying, he scolded the original owner as a fool in his heart. Wasn't he trying to plant mines around him?
It’s not like you don’t have a son. Why would you leave your brother, who is so closely related by blood, in Chang’an?
Someday there will be a coup, so that he can wear a yellow robe?
Even if you had a deep brotherly relationship with him when you were still here, can you ensure that your son won't find this imperial uncle irritating after he takes over?
That’s not how deep brotherhood works, my friend!
When he knew where the secret passage in the palace led, Li Yuanda sentenced King Yong to death in his heart. He didn't care whether he and the precious concubine were innocent or not, and whether they had deep brotherhood with the original owner. Gotta die!
As a vassal king, you have a secret passage in your hand that the emperor himself doesn't know about and can enter the forbidden palace at any time without telling everyone. What the hell do you want to do? !
It doesn't matter whether King Yong has this idea or not. What's important is that he has this way. Once he gets his mind on it, the consequences will be disastrous!
How can you allow others to sleep on the side of the couch?
Li Yuanda had murderous intentions, but the expression on his face became more and more sad: "If he was interested in the imperial concubine, why didn't he bring her into the palace earlier? Why did he do such a thing after I welcomed her into the palace? Treat him as a brother of flesh and blood, fearing that there is something wrong with him, but I don't know where he will put the face of my brother?"
As the emperor's master and a leader among scholars at that time, Taifu Liu had a reputation for being upright and loyal, but at the same time he also had the disadvantages of the times - he was a straight man.
He had only one opinion about a woman like Gui Guifei, who was born in a brothel but was favored by the emperor and caused the emperor to neglect his political affairs - beauty is a disaster and should be killed!
What, a slap can't make a sound, a fly can't bite a seamless egg, and the emperor himself isn't a good person?
How could a scholar-bureaucrat who was loyal to the emperor and his country have such disrespectful thoughts? The emperor must be a sage. If one day he did something unsage...
It must be a witch who is charming and deceives the Sacred Heart!
When the emperor insisted on welcoming the precious concubine into the palace, Taifu Liu was extremely opposed to it. The people in the court bluntly remonstrated with him. However, the emperor was obsessed with the imperial concubine and took advantage of the harem's private affairs. This was the emperor's family affairs. Under the encouragement of several sycophants in the court, the concubine was brought into the palace. In the end, the matter ended with Taifu Liu and Yan Guan scolding each other in the court hall for several days.
At that time, Taifu Liu regarded the woman as the Daji of Shang Dynasty and the concubine of Zhou Dynasty. She was the source of disaster for the country and the people, and the bane of charming the monarch.
Now that he found out that this woman was actually closely related to King Yong, he immediately frowned angrily, and the gas tank of anger that had been accumulated for a long time in his heart was unscrewed: the valve:
"My old minister has long said that this girl was born in a prostitute. She has not been taught by the Holy Spirit, and she must not be welcomed into the palace. She is a woman who has been ordered to worship, which will disturb the foundation of our palace. Now she has colluded with the feudal prince, had an affair outside the palace, and committed such debauchery. Shameless thing..."
