The general manager of Hanyuan Hall is Zhang Chaoen, who is also one of the people who serves Fu Guang closely.
Although Li Wei is nominally Fu Guang's adoptive mother, she did not raise him by herself. As the prince, Fu Guang has been surrounded by people who have served him since he was born, including wet nurses in the early years, nannies later, and countless eunuchs and maids. When she was still in Zhaoyang Palace, Fu Guang did not live with her in Zhaoyang Palace, but grew up in Baoling Palace, which was the Prince's East Palace.
Zhang Chaoen has been serving Fu Guang since Baoling Palace, and has been by Fu Guang's side for seven years. Fu Guang trusted him and even relied on him a little, and Li Wei also felt that Zhang Chaoen was a loyal person. Although he is the general manager of Hanyuan Palace, he has never been known to bully others.
The first person Li Wei summoned was Zhang Chaoen.
"Zhang Banban, you have been wronged these days."
Zhang Chaoen kowtowed and said, "I am serving you for no good. I deserve death. How can I dare to say a word of grievance?"
"Get up and talk." Li Wei respected Zhang Chaoen so much that he had an embroidery pier brought to him.
Zhang Chaoen sat sideways, and Li Wei asked someone to bring him tea. Such courtesy made Zhang Chaoen more and more uneasy.
"I invited you to come here just to ask a few questions. After all, the emperor left so suddenly. I don't know much about the details of what happened before. You don't need to be too nervous. You can just answer whatever I ask."
Zhang Chaoen responded with a yes.
Li Wei asked: "Has the emperor been out of Hanyuan Hall on the afternoon of the eighth day of the lunar month?"
Zhang Chaoen said: "I walked out once, went to the study, stayed alone for less than half an hour, picked up a book, and then came back. I haven't gone out since."
"When was that?"
Zhang Chaoen replied: "Don't go to Shen Zheng."
"Do you still remember who you met after that, and who went in and out of the emperor's room?"
However, Zhang Chaoen tried his best to tell everything he knew about what happened a few days ago. Zhang Chaoen was not always by the emperor's side from that afternoon to the time when the emperor suddenly passed away. He left the palace when it was time to light the lamps.
Li Wei listened patiently to Zhang Chaoen's words and found nothing unusual in his words. After he finished telling what he knew about the situation, Li Wei nodded and said, "Thank you for your cooperation on this trip. I'm afraid I'll return the favor." Please forgive me for having to restrict my companion’s freedom for a few days.”
"This servant will be loyal to the palace until death. The Queen Mother, please dispatch me as you please."
Not much was asked here, and Li Wei called the eldest maid, nun, and other eunuchs in front of him. She was still responsible for questioning, and Caizhi helped her record what these people said. She was afraid that if there were too many people involved, she would eventually lose track of her memory.
She spent two full days interrogating the people in Hanyuan Hall, and the records of Zhizhi collection were piled high.
After two days, no clues were found. Could it be that Fu Guang's death was really a sudden illness as the imperial doctor said, and the situation took a turn for the worse from complaining of stomachache to finally passing away, but only half an hour passed. All signs point to something fishy.
Who wanted to harm Fu Guang, Li Wei once again wondered from the bottom of his heart.
Concubine Jinggui and others came to salute Li Wei. Concubine Jinggui saw that Li Wei could not lose weight and looked very haggard, so she couldn't help but said: "Please take good care of your health, otherwise the emperor will not feel at ease when he leaves. "
Li Wei said bluntly: "There are doubts everywhere and something fishy everywhere. How can the emperor leave with peace of mind? What has he done wrong? He is just a child."
Her words made the people at the moment dare not say anything else.
After a while, Princess Dun said: "It is said that a country cannot be without a king for a day. It is better to decide the throne earlier, which can be regarded as an explanation for the people of the world."
As soon as Princess Dun finished speaking, Li Wei yelled: "What's the hurry! Fu Guang just died, are you busy fighting for the throne? His bones are not yet cold, and he left inexplicably, I must pay him back." It’s fair. No one can mention the throne until the matter is clear!”
In everyone's impression, Li Wei has always been kind-hearted, soft-tempered, and polite to everyone. This time she really got angry when she saw her, and Princess Dun quickly knelt down and kowtowed to apologize.
Li Wei later walked away.
After Fu Guang's death, he had two elder brothers. Fu, the second son of the emperor, was the king of Ping. The fourth son of the emperor is King Fu Shenxiu.
But Fu Shen is not very old either, he is only ten years old this year. There is a younger and weaker Fukang below. No matter how convenient it is to consider, King Ping is the most suitable candidate.
But before he figured out the truth about Fu Guang's death, Li Wei didn't want to make a decision early.
In addition to the concubines and concubines who were anxious about their status, the ministers in the court were also very anxious and wrote many times to request an heir to be determined as soon as possible. Zhao Qian understood Li Wei's intention, so he told the ministers that the Queen Mother's intention would be decided after all the princes came to Beijing to discuss it.
The veteran ministers in the cabinet were always aware of the changes in the court. They had obtained Emperor Chengzong's will to assist the emperor, and they had great power. No one could say whether the new emperor would seize the power of the cabinet after he took office. Now it seems that the one with the best chance of winning is King Ping. King Ping is an adult prince and does not need to assist the government.
Zhao Qian went back to see Li Wei. The two exchanged views on the matter. Li Wei insisted: "This is not a good time to talk about this. There is nothing uneasy about having you in charge of the court."
"That's what I say, but if it can be decided earlier, it can also appease the people."
Li Wei thought about it carefully and then said: "Give me another half month, no, twenty days, I don't believe that nothing can be found."
Seeing Li Wei's persistence, Zhao Qian couldn't say much.
Li Wei continued to investigate the cause of Fu Guang's death with all her strength, but nothing could be found about the pulse or prescription. She started with the items and expenditures received by Hanyuan Palace from the Twelve Yamen, and never missed any detail.
Just when everyone was paying attention to the candidate for the throne, Mr. Wan Lao, whom Zhao Qian invited from Saga Mountain, sincerely gave Li Wei advice: "Your Majesty, instead of letting others take the throne, it is better for you to take the throne yourself. I won't be mistaken. , It is an honor for the whole Daqi that the prince has become the ruler of all people.”
Zhao Qian raised his eyebrows after hearing this, and then said: "I don't want to be the emperor."
After hearing this, Mr. Wan Lao smiled and said: "This is a coveted position. Isn't it possible that the prince is not interested?"
"Tempted? What's so tempting? What's the point of staying in that position? It's hard to even leave the palace. I'm not suitable to be an emperor."
When Mr. Wan Lao saw that Zhao Qianzhi was not here, he couldn't persuade him any more.
Zhao Qian loves freedom and does not want to be an emperor. On the other hand, he has his own selfishness. If he becomes a leader, he will never have a chance to meet Li Wei in his lifetime. At that time, even if we can see each other every day, what's the point of not being able to be together forever? It will be a kind of torture.
(End of chapter)