In the Hebi Palace.
The prince's body was moved to the back hall, and the emperor, queen of heaven, and several prime ministers in the hall all rushed to the ground. Everyone knelt on the ground, only to hear the teapot being smashed to the ground with a bang.
"What's going on?!" The emperor gasped, like an octogenarian angry lion: "What's going on—?!"
There was a loud crash, everything on the table was overturned, and all the officials on the ground shivered in unison.
"Reply, report back to the Holy Majesty, the soup was given by the Queen of Heaven, and the servants waited to deliver it to the gate of Hebi Palace, and were taken in by King Yong's servants..."
"Your Majesty," Empress Wu interrupted.
There was no sound in the hall, only Empress Wu's calm voice sounded: "Because the prince left the meeting, I specially gave soup to comfort you. I have reported this to you. If I intend to assassinate the prince, how many ways can't be used? Rewarding in my own name? Why did I report to you in advance? It is obvious that someone has framed it in a clumsy way, so please make a clear decision!"
Empress Wu's eyes were reddish and calm, staring straight at the emperor's face full of grief and indignation.
"..." The emperor gasped for a moment, then turned to the trembling palace servants: "You just said that the soup was taken in by King Yong's servants?"
With a plop, Yong Wang Li Xian knelt on the ground trembling: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I don't know anything, really everything..."
Zhao Daosheng knelt behind Li Xian without saying a word.
The emperor only felt a buzzing in his mind, and waved his hand angrily: "I will detain you all! All the people who have handled the soup, including cooks, servants, and palace people you meet along the way, will be detained by me for torture and interrogation!"
"Your Majesty!" Suddenly one of the ministers came out on his knees: "Under severe punishment, there must be unjust cases, and you can't be sent for trial!"
I saw that person's face was red and his voice was hoarse, he was the prime minister Dai Zhide who was born as a servant of the Eastern Palace and had a half teacher friendship with the crown prince.
He kowtowed loudly, his forehead was bright red, and he choked with sobs: "Even the prince dared to assassinate, it shows that this person has a big conspiracy, and he will not be an unknown person. If he is interrogated in front of His Majesty at this moment Forget it, who knows what will happen after being detained? How to ensure that the confession is accurate? How to ensure the safety of the surety? Your Majesty!"
As the military officer with the highest rank in the palace at the moment, Shan Chao, who was kneeling behind the prime minister, paused for breath, and glanced at Xie Yun from the corner of his eyes.
Xie Yun sat sideways at the queen's arm, his long hair tied up high and hanging down the skirt of his clothes, his side profile showed a smooth and cold texture like jadeite.
"...you are right," the emperor finally said slowly after a long silence.
"Come here, bring all the palace servants and cooks who have handled the soup to the palace!" The emperor roared: "And King Yong! Bring your servants up here too!"
Li Xian's complexion was snow-white, almost fainting, his eyes mixed with various complex emotions such as horror, fear, suspicion, etc. were cast behind him.
However, Zhao Daosheng was calm as usual under his gaze, stood up and strode forward, passed all the civil and military officials, and knelt heavily in front of the emperor: "Your Majesty, the villain has a secret to announce."
"..." the emperor asked suspiciously, "What do you want to say?"
An extremely strong uneasiness seized Shan Chao's heart in an instant.
The emotion was so turbulent that he instantly had the urge to desperately stop the servant from continuing to speak; but at this moment in the fortified hall, he couldn't even raise his head.
He could only kneel down stiffly, only listening to Zhao Daosheng's voice coming from the front:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the villain is an servant of King Yong's mansion. Half a year ago for some reason, he met Miss Jinxin from the Commander's Mansion of the Imperial Army. At that time Commander Xie was preparing to get married and sent the people in the mansion to Beiya, so Miss Jinxin complained a lot. .”
"The villain is greedy for her beauty, and often comforts her with gentle words, and develops an affair after coming and going. He only hides it from His Royal Highness King Yong and Commander Xie, and keeps everyone from knowing."
Li Xian was at a loss, while Xie Yun showed a bit of surprise just right: "Is this really the case?"
"It is true."
The emperor narrowed his cloudy eyes and said coldly, "What does this have to do with someone poisoning the prince?"
Zhao Daosheng calmly said, "Dare to ask Your Majesty, what kind of poison is the crown prince poisoned?"
The imperial doctor hurriedly came from the back hall with his body bowed, and stood in front of the emperor to meet the eyes of all the courtiers with different expressions, and bowed down to worship: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the remaining poison in the bowl has been tested, but it is Extremely pure, Hedinghong with cinnabar added... "
The officials looked at each other in blank dismay, and the whole hall was in an uproar.
Crane crest red is very rare, especially in a place like the harem, which is said to be the most strictly controlled place in the world. They have to be searched when entering and leaving. Even the concubine's things may be confiscated at any time, and it is absolutely impossible to be entrained. May be poisoned by this poison? !
The emperor trembled: "But...but really?"
The imperial doctor stuck his head on the ground and did not dare to lift it up: "It is absolutely true, I dare not talk nonsense, please learn from your Majesty!"
"The villain knows where the red crane crest comes from."
Everyone looked at him in unison, only to see that Zhao Daosheng had no fear on his face, and even turned his head to take a deep look at Xie Yun: "Commander Xie Bowen has memorized that the mixture of cinnabar and crane crimson is not only poisonous, but also poisonous." Besides people, what other effect does it have?"
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly changed subtly, and everyone had the same thought in their minds:—there are people kneeling all over the ground, why only ask Xie Yun
Xie Yun changed his sitting position, leaning forward slightly, his eyes fell on Zhao Daosheng's scorched and plain face, and he suddenly smiled: "Mr. Zhao?"
"yes."
"Where is the servant from?"
"... Shaozhou."
"Chang'an's official language is quite standard."
Zhao Daosheng choked up, and was about to tell the difference, but Xie Yun earnestly interrupted: "Your voice sounds like an old friend of mine back then, so I asked a few more questions, please don't be offended by the servant."
"Don't dare. It's just the villain's problem..."
"The old man died in Shaozhou," Xie Yun said leisurely.
Zhao Daosheng: "..."
"Commander Xie, please don't gossip about him!" Zhao Daosheng said angrily, "Cinnabar Hedinghong may have other effects besides poisoning people? Why didn't Commander Xie dare to speak out in front of the Holy One?! "
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xie Yun shook his head and asked with a smile: "How do I know this? Is Zhao's servant very familiar with me? How do you know that I have memorized my knowledge?"
Zhao Daosheng stared at Xie Yun coldly. If you observe carefully, you will find that the resentment in his eyes is like a poisonous snake. However, Xie Yun's smiling face did not change, and he even showed a very dignified expression of searching.
"...The red cinnabar crane top was found in the Wang's palace after the abolition. It is one of the tokens of overcoming the curse. Use it to grind powder, fill it in a peach wood statue, and bury the statue in the soil. The effect of murdering someone's life... His Royal Highness has been bedridden with illness all year round, and in recent years he has even suffered from hemoptysis, which is why he was born."
Zhao Daosheng paused, and said in the astonished eyes of his surroundings: "And all of this was told to the villain by the maid Jin Xin who was expelled from the mansion by Commander Xie."
The buzzing sound spread through all the officials like an electric current. Dai Zhide and the others were stunned, and when they came back to their senses, they roared in grief and indignation: "Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, please investigate this matter strictly!"
"The prince is leaving with a grievance, Your Majesty!"
Shan Chao gritted his teeth tightly, but it was impossible to stop the turbulent situation, and his handsome face even showed extreme stiffness.
He watched Xie Yun get up, walked two steps in front of the panting emperor, knelt down on one knee and saluted, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the matter of winning is not trivial, please ask the servant girl Jin Xin to come and confront her." , can you?"
The emperor opened his mouth, but couldn't speak at all. It was Empress Wu who made a decisive decision: "Go!"
"Chuan Jinxin to the palace!" Xie Yun turned his head and shouted sharply: "Don't let her commit suicide in fear of crime, tie me up, now!"
·
The eunuch almost scrambled and ran out of the Hebi Palace. After a while, two guards took Jin Xin with his hands bound behind him, pushed her forward, knelt on the ground to meet the empress with a bang.
The emperor was sitting in the chair, his fingers were trembling violently and he was clutching the armrest tightly, his face was flushed red. Seeing this, Empress Wu coughed, raised her head and asked coldly, "Jin Xin?"
Jin Xin seemed to be extremely frightened, if it wasn't for her shoulders being pressed by the guards from left to right, she would have almost collapsed on the spot: "Yes... yes, I will see Your Majesty the Empress..."
Empress Wu pointed at Zhao Daosheng and asked, "Do you know this man?"
Jin Xin's eyes met Zhao Daosheng's, and after a while, she timidly said: "Yes, this person... This person is a servant of Prince Yong's residence."
As if the hammer had been finalized, anger and uproar swept the hall at the same time, and several prime ministers were about to shout at the same time.
However, Empress Wu interrupted them with the next sentence: "Do you have an affair with him?"
"No!" Jin Xin trembled and said sharply: "Tian Hou Ming Jian, Zhao Daosheng has come to look for slaves many times, but he was strictly rejected, and there is no personal affair!"
Discussions were heard in the hall, Zhao Daosheng took a step forward on his knees, and said loudly: "Since ancient times, women are ruthless and timid, so it is not normal to deny it? It would be a ghost if she confessed it outright! The villain has already expected On this day, I brought the token of love close to me!"
He unbuttoned his coat on the spot, pulled out a sweat towel from his waist, and saw that there were mandarin ducks embroidered with autumn fragrance in crimson silk, with Jin Xin's name and part of her birth date impressively embroidered on one corner.
"How important is the horoscope of birthday. If it wasn't for the love, why is the horoscope even embroidered on this sweat scarf? Please take a look at it, Your Majesty!"
This is so hard evidence that even Empress Wu was dumbfounded for a moment.
Xie Yun got up and looked at Jin Xin, and slowly asked: "Is this really your horoscope?"
"Yes, it's the maidservant's birthday." Jin Xin seemed to be overly excited, but calmed down instead, but her tone was unavoidably sharp: "But the maidservant once served in the palace for a few days, and the birthdate and birthplace are recorded in the palace. It is not difficult to know, how can we be sure that this sweat scarf belongs to a servant? Even if it belongs to a servant, how do you know how it got into Zhao Daosheng's hands?"
"The villain's framing always starts from the details, whether it is true or false, or false or true, making it impossible to distinguish the false from the real, so as to achieve the effect of deceiving people. Zhao Daosheng's move is sinister, and there must be a bigger plan. Please don't be deceived by saints and queens!" After saying that, Jin Xin began to kowtow, and shocking blood oozes out of her forehead within two strokes.
Boom!
Everyone was startled, only to see the emperor slam the teacup in front of Empress Wu. He gasped for a while, then gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, shut up!"
"—You," he pointed tremblingly at Zhao Daosheng, and shouted, "Just now you said that the maid of the Xie Mansion told you the art of hating victory, what happened?!"
When Zhao Daosheng heard what Jin Xin said just now, although he was excited, but in a clear and orderly manner, he knew that it was meaningless to continue entanglement here, and he might be at a disadvantage.
Therefore, the emperor's words hit his chest, and he touched the pillow as soon as he fell asleep, and immediately said loudly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the affair is difficult to argue, but there is real evidence for the curse of disgust, and the villain saw it with his own eyes."
He paused, and said loudly in front of everyone: "The mahogany man sealed with cinnabar and crimson crest is buried in the side hall of Tianhou's bedroom right now!"
—As soon as he said a word, everyone in the audience was shocked.
Empress Wu suddenly got up: "Bold slave, what nonsense are you talking about?!"
"The villain has seen it with his own eyes, can it be fake? The Shouchang Palace where the Queen of Heaven lived in the Luoyang Palace, the side hall is where Xie Yun, the commander of the Forbidden Army, stayed when he was on duty; The mahogany man who passed by was Jin Xin who was instructed by Commander Xie to bury him, and Jin Xin did not hide the villain at that time!"
Zhao Daosheng pointed at Xie Yun, and said with a sneer, "Commander Xie, do you dare to have someone dig it up, and come to testify on the spot?"
Everyone had different expressions, breathing fear and anxiety one after another.
Empress Wu said coldly: "Xie Yun."
Xie Yun nodded, and turned his head to make people say: "Take Zhao's servant to dig three feet in the backyard of my side hall, and bring whatever is buried in the soil, go."
·
No one spoke or moved, the two guards led Zhao Daosheng straight out of Hebi Palace, leaving only the ministers looking at each other.
After waiting for about half a meal, Empress Wu took the soothing soup and said politely: "Your Majesty, take a few sips."
The emperor's complexion was red and purple, his chest heaved rapidly, and he looked very bad. Hearing this, he glanced at the slightly swaying soup in Empress Wu's hand.
At this moment, the guards rushed to the hall, held up something in their hands, and said in a trembling voice: "Report, report! A wooden figure has been dug out of the soil, please take a look at it, Your Majesty!"
—There really is a witchcraft technique!
Immediately, all the important ministers couldn't help but stood up one after another, the emperor couldn't get up in one breath, and knocked the soup bowl from the queen's hand to the ground with a bang!
"You poisonous woman!" The emperor roared furiously: "You want to poison me to death too?!"
Shan Chao's slightly trembling hand finally lifted up, and pressed it on Long Yuan.
—The moment his palm touched the cold sword hilt, his fingers suddenly became very steady, as steady as a thousand weights.
That was the dignified and determined attitude after finally making up his mind to go all out.
At the same moment, however, another voice snapped and sternly said: "—Stop!"
Everyone looked back, only to see Xie Yun striding forward, holding down the guard who was rushing forward.
The situation was extremely tense at the moment, and everyone's heart was hanging in their throats instantly due to the change of the commander of the imperial army; the emperor subconsciously shrugged his whole body back, and the guards in the hall immediately drew their weapons and were about to rush forward!
Immediately afterwards, Xie Yun grabbed the mahogany figure in the guard's hand and took a look, a cold and mocking smile appeared on the corner of his lips.