The Queen Mother questioned Longtai, but Longtai was calm. He bowed to the Queen Mother and said, "Does the Queen Mother already know? I am about to go back and tell the Queen Mother."
"You...!" The Queen Mother's face changed slightly.
Although Longtai was not born by the Queen Mother, she still had the status of mother and son. Although Longtai was dissatisfied with the Queen Mother before, he was quite respectful on the face. Today, his tone was obviously much colder, and he called himself "I", which the Queen Mother naturally understood. , there was already a slightly angry look on his eyebrows.
"Where is Lord Zhen Guo now?" The Queen Mother stared at Longtai: "Is there any evidence that the Sima family is plotting rebellion?"
Qi Ning thought that the Queen Mother did not know that Sima Lan had been given poisoned wine. Even if someone in the palace knew about it, no one dared to tell the Queen Mother that Sima Lan had passed away.
Longtai said: "My mother wants to see the evidence. I will send someone to send it back. There are hundreds of documents from the civil and military officials of the dynasty that accuse Sima of treason." After a pause, he continued: "Among these ministers, there are Huangfu Zheng and Chen Lanting. Among them."
The Queen Mother was even more shocked.
Although she was in the harem, she was naturally very aware of the situation of the Sima family. Huangfu Zheng and Chen Lanting were Sima Lan's right-hand men. She also knew it very well. She was not surprised when she heard Longtai's words.
"Your Majesty, Duke Zhen is loyal to the country, but those ministers are slandering him." The Queen Mother raised her neck slightly: "Where is he now?"
Longtai said lightly: "What does the Queen Mother mean to say that the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, including those two, are full of lies and cannot be believed? The Queen Mother must not forget that in these years, those two people have been single-handedly promoted by the Duke of Zhen. Why would the Duke of Zhen promote someone who talks nonsense?"
The Queen Mother was at a loss for words. Seeing that the Queen Mother looked ugly, Longtai spoke slowly: "Mother, please return to the palace first. After I finish my work, I will naturally come to see you."
"What are you going to do with Duke Zhen and the Sima family?" How could the Queen Mother be willing to leave like this? She asked forcefully, "I want to see him."
Longtai stared at the Queen Mother, and after a moment, he said: "The Queen Mother can't see him anymore. I have given him poisonous wine."
The Queen Mother's face changed greatly, her body swayed, and she was stunned for a moment. She suddenly raised her hand, pointed at Longtai and said sternly: "You... you killed Duke Zhen?"
"How can I explain to all the people in the world if I don't die for trying to usurp the throne?" Long Tai's voice turned cold.
The Queen Mother clenched her silver teeth, with a look of resentment in her eyes. She staggered to the edge of the chair, sat down, and said bitterly: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten who put you on the throne? There is no Duke Zhenguo. , can you keep the throne?"
Longtai's face darkened, he squinted at the Queen Mother, and asked: "Mother, if I don't sit on this throne, is there someone more suitable?"
"You...!" The Queen Mother was extremely angry, raised her finger and pointed at Longtai, and said angrily: "I want you to issue an order now to clear the name of Duke Zhen. Those traitorous ministers who slandered Duke Zhen must be severely punished, and also There are...and Huangfu Zheng and Chen Lanting, they must be executed."
Longtai put his hands behind his back and said nothing. Qining stood aside and sighed in his heart, thinking that the reason why Longtai was afraid of you, the Queen Mother, was simply because Sima Lan was alive and the power of the Sima family was strong. Longtai did not dare to act rashly. Now the Sima family has been completely defeated. , Sima Lan is dead, and you, the empress dowager, are already in a precarious situation, but you still don’t know the situation, and you still have to boss around the emperor here, which will definitely bring no benefits.
"Why doesn't the emperor speak?" The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and said loudly: "Didn't you hear my instructions? You quickly drafted the order."
"The Queen Mother wants me to kill all the civil and military officials in the court?" Longtai smiled calmly: "The Queen Mother may not know that Sima Lan was sentenced to death, and I also ordered the confiscation of Sima Lan. Do you want me to take back my life?"
"You... you want to confiscate the Sima Mansion?" The Queen Mother said in shock: "You... you...!" For a moment, she was so angry that she could not speak.
"It has been really hard for my mother to lead the harem these years. Fortunately, I am already married and the queen is capable of taking charge of the harem." Longtai said calmly: "I was assassinated in Pinglin. Since the assassin can go to Pinglin, he will naturally be able to sneak into the palace. For the safety of the queen, I ask the queen to stay in her palace and not leave the palace easily. I will also send people to take care of everything about the queen, so the queen does not have to worry about this."
Why didn't the Queen Mother understand what Longtai meant? She came to her senses and sneered: "Is your Majesty going to ground me?"
"This is for the mother's benefit." Longtai said: "If the mother feels lonely in the palace, I can let Concubine Sima live with you, so that you can have someone to talk to."
The Queen Mother's chest rose and fell sharply, and she gasped: "Without me and Duke Zhen, how could you be where you are today? Now... Now you have repaid your kindness with hatred, not only harming Duke Zhen, but also secluded me. Under the nine springs, I will understand on my own. Report to the late emperor!"
Longtai stared at the Queen Mother's eyes and said coldly: "Mother, do you know what your father told me when he left?" He took two steps forward and said word by word: "My father told me, if you don't know what to do, To be a good emperor, there is a way to make sure you do nothing wrong. Anyone who is harmful to the country, no matter who it is, must be eradicated. As long as I remember this, even if I cannot become a good person, I can become a good emperor."
The Queen Mother stood up suddenly, but she felt dizzy. Her feet gave way, and her body was about to collapse. Qining was not far away, and with quick eyes and quick hands, she reached out to hold her.
Longtai said in a deep voice: "Here comes someone!"
Fan Dehai immediately came in from the door. When he saw the scene in the house, he naturally did not dare to ask any more questions. Longtai ordered: "Send the Queen Mother back to the palace. From today on, in order to ensure the safety of the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother must not move around without my permission. Immediately send a message According to the decree, Sima Lan committed a serious crime of rebellion and deprived Sima Wanqiong of her title of concubine and sent her to the Queen Mother's palace."
The Queen Mother was still somewhat conscious, but after hearing Longtai's order, she couldn't bear it anymore, her vision turned black, and she fainted.
Fan Dehai immediately called several palace ladies and carried the Queen Mother down.
Longtai looked at Qining and asked, "Do you think I am too ruthless?"
Qi Ning immediately shook his head and said: "The emperor has his own reasons for doing this."
"There are many things in the palace that you can't imagine." Longtai sighed: "It's not a coincidence that my father only has one son. In fact, before me, two royal brothers died shortly after they were born. There are rumors that these are all It has something to do with the Queen Mother, but no one can find any evidence." He seemed to feel that he shouldn't say this, and shook his head and said: "I won't talk about this anymore. You are in charge of the Criminal Department, and the matters behind the Sima family will be handled by the Criminal Department. You can seize the time yourself. Let’s get this thing done quickly and neatly. After Duke Yiguo’s funeral and your wedding are completed, we will discuss sending troops.”
Seeing the tired look on Long Tai's face, Qi Ning knew that Long Tai's spirit had been tense these days and he must be very tired both physically and mentally. He immediately resigned, left the palace, and went back home.
As soon as they entered the Hou Mansion, the chief steward Han Shou came over and said with a worried look on his face: "Mr. Hou, the three old masters went to the Shenhou to discuss things before. When they came back, they said that the Shenhou seemed to be ill and could not see him. above."
"Are you feeling sick?"
"The third old lady said that Miss Ximen looked very sad. The third old lady asked a few questions, but Miss Ximen couldn't say much." Han Shou said in a low voice: "The third old lady wanted to invite the doctor to come over and have a look, but Miss Ximen refused to invite the doctor. If the god has given instructions, the doctor will never be allowed to enter."
Qi Ning remembered that before going to the East China Sea, he said goodbye there. At that time, he heard Ximen Zhanying mention that something was wrong with Ximen Wuhen's body.
According to Ximen Zhanying, Ximen Wuhen would often fall to the ground suddenly, and his whole body would be as hot as fire. Sometimes he would even wander into space, looking foolish.
Ximen Wuhen behaves in a low-key manner. Although he is a very important figure in Da Chu, people sometimes forget his existence.
A powerful Imperial Marquis can make people forget about him from time to time. This has to be said to be a skill.
"Master Marquis, would you... come over and take a look?" Han Shou couldn't help but remind him in a low voice when he saw Qining thinking deeply.
Qi Ning knew that Han Shou had good intentions. After all, the Jinyi Qi family and the Ximen family had already made a marriage arrangement and were about to get married. In a while, Ximen Wuhen would be his father-in-law. Now that he knew that Ximen Wuhen was unwell, Feel free to go visit.
"Prepare some gifts. I'll go visit now." Qi Ning ordered, and Han Shou hurriedly turned around to buy them. Qin Ning thought of something and asked, "Is Miss Tang in the house?"
Han Shou said: "Miss Tang has not gone out in the past two days. She has been in the house."
Qi Ning nodded, signaled Han Shou to step aside, and walked directly to Tang Nuo's courtyard.
The courtyard was as quiet as ever. Qining saw the door of the house open, walked in lightly, and turned to the door of Tang Nuo's room. However, his mind was thinking of the scene when he detoxified Tang Nuo on the Qinhuai River.
Although Duan Qingchen, the sex envoy of the Black Lotus Sect, was eliminated that day, Tang Nuo was also poisoned by Duan Qingchen's tears. If he could not be treated in time, his life would be in danger. At that time, Qining had no choice but to detoxify Tang Nuo.
Although there was no sexual pleasure between men and women on the detoxification day, it was still quite ambiguous. Since then, Qi Ning always felt a little embarrassed to see Tang Nuo, but Tang Nuo seemed calm and calm, as if what happened that night never happened.
He knocked lightly, and soon the door was opened. When Tang Nuo saw it was Qi Ning, he smiled slightly and said calmly, "Master Marquis, please come in and sit down."
She was born in Miao territory and studied medicine with the medical envoy Li Xigong since she was a child. She really didn't care much about the protection between men and women.
Qi Ning entered the room and placed a stack of manuscript papers on the desk. There were all kinds of medicinal materials on the table. This was a feature of Tang Nuo's room. He asked curiously: "Miss Tang, what are you busy with?"
"I'm just preparing some new medicines." Tang Nuo raised his hand and said, "Master Marquis, please sit down."
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "Miss Tang, please don't sit down yet. I have something to ask you for help, but...!"
Tang Nuo didn't wait for him to finish, and already said: "I'll pack up and leave."
Qi Ning was startled and said in astonishment: "Does Miss Tang know that she is going out?"
"I have no other talents, I just know some medical skills. The Marquis asked me to help. Someone should be sick and asked me to go and take a look." Tang Nuo said as he went over to pack his small medicine box.
Hearing this, Qi Ning felt a little guilty.
After Tang Nuo entered the house, Qi Ning had many things to do, so he really didn't come to visit often. Tang Nuo was taciturn by nature, preferring to be quiet and not active. Although Gu Qinghan took good care of her in life, everyone in the house was afraid that Few people would talk to Tang Nuo here.
Tang Nolisuo packed up the medicine box and saw that Qining seemed to be thinking about something, so he asked, "Is the Marquis unhappy?"
"No, no." Qining came back to his senses and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help, Aunt Tang!"