It is true that disaster may come from the sky when you are at home.
Red blood and white brain matter flowed all over the floor. Concubine Quan died instantly!
She was a beauty of all ages, with noble character, extremely intelligent, calm and easy-going, not interested in worldly affairs, kind and gentle. She was born to be a concubine, but she died unjustly in Changchun Palace.
Emperor Yongle acted mad and looked like he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. At first, people in the palace thought that someone was secretly using witchcraft to curse the emperor.
After all, in the palace, with so many strict checks, it was very difficult to bring in anything poisonous or similar. Witchcraft was the most common crime.
Acting Palace Lady Shen Qionglian was a female official who served three dynasties. She personally witnessed the great changes in the Xiaoling Mausoleum, the death of Prince Luhuang, the sudden death of Prince Yiwen, the death of Emperor Gaozu, and even the imperial decree for the collective burial of concubines in the harem was drafted by her. Palace Lady Fan was secretly executed by Emperor Jianwen, Palace Lady Hu entered the palace for revenge and subverted the imperial power, and many other shocking palace coups.
Shen Qionglian was well-informed. She knew that there was no such thing as ghosts and gods. It was all caused by human beings. The theories of witchcraft and sorcery were not credible. She ordered the palace maids to remain calm and block the news. Anyone who secretly talked about ghosts and gods would be thrown to the Palace Administration Office and beaten to death. She ordered the female doctor to give acupuncture to calm Emperor Yongle down, and then carried him to the Qianqing Palace for an emergency consultation with the imperial physicians.
At the same time, he secretly informed the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince's Palace that the two crown princes, the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince's grandson, were a double insurance to ensure the stability of the Ming regime. The emperor could die, but the country could not be in chaos.
Shen Qionglian remained calm in the face of danger, handled the crisis in an orderly manner, and used thundering means. She even invited Concubine Zhang, who was imprisoned in the Yanxi Palace, to take charge of the overall situation when the harem was without a master and Emperor Yongle was crazy.
When Concubine Zhang learned of the crisis, she immediately wrote a secret letter to recall Hu Shanwei from Yunnan and said to Shen Qionglian: "No matter what, you are the palace attendant who assisted Concubine Quan Xian. Now that Concubine Quan Xian died tragically and the emperor is critically ill, you are responsible. You will be demoted at the least and executed at the worst. Even I can't protect you. However, when Hu Shanwei comes back, she will definitely plead for you. Her words are more effective than mine, and you can save your life."
Shen Qionglian didn't want to die. She hadn't experienced enough of the joys of life. At this point, she could only try her best to make up for the loss. "The imperial physician has confirmed that the emperor was poisoned. I have sent all the palace servants around the emperor and Concubine Quan to the Palace Administration Department and asked them to recall what the emperor had eaten today. The emperor fell ill after returning from the banquet at Qianqiu Pavilion. This banquet was held for the thirty-seven Korean concubines from the five east and west residences to meet the emperor. I have closed all the palace gates of the five east and west residences and detained everyone separately to prevent collusion. I will interrogate them one by one."
Shen Qionglian was not a person who was detached from the mundane world. Every year, the palace poems and beautiful words praising the emperor's merits were almost all written by her. She was born as a female champion, had a high degree of education, served as a female official for three dynasties, had rich work experience, and did not show off her power at ordinary times, but was able to control the situation at critical moments.
Concubine Zhang went to see Concubine Quan first. Concubine Quan was already dead. The horrific wound on her head was covered with a wig. Due to excessive blood loss, even her lips were white. She looked like a person on paper, snow-white and quiet, so unreal.
In a trance, it seemed like yesterday that Concubine Quan undressed for a body examination and advised her not to fall in love with the emperor, to do her job well as a concubine, and to love her job and be dedicated to it.
She has always regarded Concubine Quan as her rival and disliked her anyway, thinking she was hypocritical and pretentious, like a big white lotus.
She was wrong.
Concubine Zhang's eyes were stern, and she ordered Shen Qionglian, "Tell the Palace Administration to use all means, and ask Lord Ji to bring the Jinyiwei prison equipment to use. We must find out the real culprit of the poisoning before the emperor wakes up, and give the emperor an explanation. Kunming is a long way from the capital, and before Hu Shanwei comes back to plead for you, I guess the snow on your grave will be waist-deep."
With Concubine Zhang's order, Shen Qionglian became more determined to do it.
The Jinyiwei's methods are such that even a piece of stone can speak.
Ji Gang served as the commander and continued the working methods of his predecessor Mao Xiang, which was to investigate cases not by relying on brains but basically by beating and scolding.
Under the severe punishment, not only did Concubine Lü, an important suspect, confess, but even other people who were unaware of the situation began to accuse each other, and there were even confessions that someone was a spy from the Mongolian Wala tribe, waiting for an opportunity to murder the emperor and subvert the Ming Dynasty.
Ji Gang looked at the pile of confessions on his desk, and first took the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate the Lu family's pharmacy and put all the Lu family members in jail.
The medicinal effect of mushroom powder was terrible. The imperial doctors made the emperor vomit and prescribed antidote drugs at the same time. After all, Emperor Yongle was almost fifty years old and his health was not as good as before. He was given strong drugs this time and occasionally convulsed and foamed at the mouth while he was in a coma. It was terrible.
The Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji stayed beside Emperor Yongle without taking off his clothes.
The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace blocked the news and suspended state affairs for three days on the grounds that the emperor had caught a cold and was unwell. The Prince of Han felt something was wrong and wanted to enter the palace to visit Emperor Yongle and take care of his father, but the Crown Prince refused to let the Prince of Han into the palace on the grounds that his father needed to rest.
The imperial physician said that some people will be fine after taking poisonous mushrooms, but some will die. It depends on their individual constitution. Young people will party for three days and three nights after taking them, and then sleep for three days and three nights and be fine.
Elderly or weak people who eat it cannot stand the stimulation and will dance constantly or indulge in excessive sexual activities until they die suddenly.
Now that Emperor Yongle's life or death is uncertain, how dare the Crown Prince let the King of Han in
The more the prince acted like this, the more suspicious the King of Han became, because his spies in the palace did not pass on any information, which was too abnormal.
As a vassal king, the King of Han's forced entry into the palace was tantamount to treason.
The King of Han came up with a plan. He thought that the Crown Prince was wary of him and would not let him go to the palace to see my father, but there were some people that the Crown Prince could not refuse - such as our sisters.
You can't let a son who commands a large army see his father, but you can't refuse a married princess from visiting her sick father.
The King of Han called his two younger sisters, Princess Yongping and Princess Ancheng, to come. He did not know how ill Emperor Yongle was, so he deliberately exaggerated the matter, saying that their father might be critically ill, that the crown prince had sealed off the palace and repeatedly refused his visits, and that he was very worried about their father's health, and so on. He tricked his two sisters into planning to send the princesses' carriages into the palace immediately.
Especially the youngest Princess Ancheng, who was spoiled by her father and brother, was very angry, "I wonder who dares to stop me and my sister!"
The King of Han deliberately advised: "My dear sister, don't be impulsive. The prince is the heir to the throne, and we are all his subjects. Don't lose the prince's face."
Princess An Cheng sneered, "Before, when our father was on the Northern Expedition, the crown prince was the regent, and we all listened to him. Now that our father is back, the crown prince no longer has the power to oversee the country. Everything is decided by our father. The crown prince still wants us to listen to him, but that's not possible!"
After that, Princess Ancheng rushed into the palace, and Princess Yongping followed with a frown. Last time, the two sisters stood up for the King of Han and wrote a letter to depose the Crown Prince because of his lame leg, asking him to have a good rest. They were scolded by their father and punished by copying their mother's "Inner Training" in Rouyi Hall. Concubine Zhang was responsible for checking their homework.
If the emperor is really seriously ill this time, they should be fine. If the emperor is not ill and everything is just the subjective conjecture of the brother King Han, then...
Alas, if you don't venture into the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger cub. No matter what, we have to go to the palace to visit our father. The prince won't do anything to us anyway. Our father... won't do anything to us either. The worst that can happen is that we will be scolded and have to copy the "Internal Training" ten times.
The two princesses entered the palace in a hurry. As expected, the prince did not shut them out of the palace. He also asked the Crown Princess Zhang and the Concubine Guo to welcome them.
At this time, Emperor Yongle was sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. The toxins in the mushroom powder paralyzed his nerves. He spoke slurred words, his sentences were incoherent, his fingers were trembling, and he could not write. He looked like an old man who had suffered a stroke.
Even when awake, he could only shake his head or nod in response.
When the two princesses saw their father like this, they were horrified. After asking the imperial doctors about his condition, the two princesses burst into tears and stayed in the palace to take turns feeding him medicine and meals.
When Emperor Yongle was occasionally lucid, he vaguely saw his two daughters accompanying him in their clothes, and he felt a little relieved. When he saw the Crown Prince sitting in the Qianqing Palace, he was immediately relieved. This eldest grandson was more reliable than the Crown Prince. When he personally led the army to war, it was always the eldest grandson who was in charge of Beijing. With him around, there had never been any chaos in Beijing. Now the Ming Dynasty would not be in chaos.
Three days passed like this, and Emperor Yongle was able to say simple words, such as yes and no. His speech was still not flexible, but his mind was clear.
Ji Gang, commander of the Imperial Guard, Concubine Zhang, and acting palace lady Shen Qionglian read the confessions and letters of guilt to Emperor Yongle, asking him to decide how to deal with the case.
When Emperor Yongle heard that Concubine Lü put mushroom powder in her tea in order to emulate the success of Empress Ki of the Yuan Dynasty, he was so angry that he almost couldn't breathe!
It turns out that the thirty-seven concubines in the five east and west chambers are all people with "great ambitions"! My harem only needs obedient vases, and these ambitious women will only bring unstable variables.
Ji Gang read out other confessions extracted by the Jinyiwei through torture. They were all kinds of things, including adultery with eunuchs and spies from the Wala tribe waiting to assassinate the emperor. They were all blaming each other to get rid of the guilt, and he gave full play to his imagination. His imaginations were even better than those of the writers on Jinjiang Original Network.
The result is that everyone in the entire East and West No. 5 Institute is a suspect, and not a single snowflake is innocent.
Concubine Zhang asked: "Your Majesty, this is what happened. How should we deal with these people?"
Ji Gang said: "Currently, the only ones who have solid evidence are Concubine Lv and Eunuch Yu. The others have no evidence, only confessions."
Emperor Yongle used up all his strength, straightened his tongue, and uttered one word, "Kill!"
The crown prince Zhu Zhanji, who had accompanied Emperor Yongle the longest, asked, "There are 1,079 concubines and palace maids in the five east and west palaces. Are they all going to be killed?"
Brother Xiaoji is a mature politician, but he still retains some human kindness. Most of these people are innocent, and the methods used by the Jinyiwei are too cruel.
Emperor Yongle had never been so scared and helpless. He didn't know when he would recover. He was like a baby in swaddling clothes, completely unable to protect himself. He even needed to be fed. The so-called dignity of a king seemed so ridiculous now.
It’s all these people’s fault!
Emperor Yongle's eyes were filled with murderous intent: "Kill... Kill them all!"
Killing, only killing, will make Emperor Yongle feel safe.
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, but Ji Gang remained calm: "Your Majesty, don't worry. No bird from the five east and west cells will be able to fly out alive tonight."
Ji Gang, like Mao Xiang of the Hongwu Dynasty, was the sharpest and most loyal knife in the hands of Emperor Yongle. He would hit wherever the Emperor pointed and execute any order in cold blood. If he said he would kill the whole family, he would kill the whole family, even the watchdog would not be spared.
The Jinyiwei killed people without having to go through the death penalty trial. One thousand and seventy-nine lives were just a string of numbers to them.
It’s as easy as checking the “Select All” and “Delete” keys with your mouse.
One thousand and seventy-nine bodies were all transported to the suburbs for cremation, just like "emptying the trash can" with one click.
Back in the Qianqing Palace, the two princesses who were serving their sick father became panicked when they saw that their father was still unable to speak. They remembered the instructions given by their brother, the Prince of Han, outside the palace. After a discussion, Princess Yongping stayed in the palace to accompany her father, while Princess Ancheng left the palace to report to the Prince of Han.
Princess Ancheng met Cao Siyan as soon as she left the Qianqing Palace.
Cao Siyan and a group of palace officials blocked the road, "Your Highness, please ask Princess Cheng to come over and talk."
Princess Ancheng hates Concubine Zhang who checks homework the most!
Princess Ancheng sneered, "Hasn't the imperial concubine been imprisoned in the Yanxi Palace by our father? How did you get out? You are so bold that you dare to disobey the emperor's order."
Cao Siyan said, "Princess, don't believe the rumors. The emperor has never issued an order to confine the imperial concubine. It was because the imperial concubine was ill last year and needed to rest, so he asked Concubine Quan Xian to temporarily take charge of the harem."
This was also an accident. Because Emperor Yongle had to take into account the reputation of the Yingguogong Zhang family, he could not openly discredit Concubine Zhang, so he did not even issue an imperial edict, but only verbally said "recuperation". The official never speaks in human terms, and people have to experience it for themselves.
Princess Ancheng said, "I won't go. If the imperial concubine has anything to say, she should come and talk to me herself."
Princess Ancheng left despite Cao Siyan's attempts to stop her. The people in the harem did not dare to stop her and could only watch her leave.
Cao Siyan was very calm. After all, the real Buddha was still ahead and she was just delaying for time.
Princess Ancheng was walking halfway when she met a group of people coming towards her. Like her, they were all carrying the princess's ceremonial guards and walking in the heavy snow in a grand procession.
And the other party is an elder.
Princess Ancheng gave way according to royal etiquette and let her aunt go first.
Princess Huaiqing entered the palace.
Princess Huaiqing was the most prestigious princess among all the sisters of Emperor Yongle because of her merits in following the emperor. Moreover, Princess Huaiqing's husband Wang Ning was executed by Emperor Jianwen for supporting Emperor Yongle and taking the blame for the princess. In addition, when Emperor Yongle's younger brother, Prince Zhou Zhu Su, was framed for treason, it was Princess Huaiqing who ran around to protect the lives of Prince Zhou and his family.
Therefore, after Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, he especially respected Princess Huaiqing, and so did the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and others.
Princess Huaiqing stopped and said, "Ancheng, I heard that the emperor was ill, so I went to the palace to see him."
Princess An Cheng's eyes turned red, "Aunt, father's health... is not very good."
Princess Huaiqing said, "If you are not well, why don't you stay with the emperor and leave the palace instead? What is more important than the emperor's recovery? Come on, come back with me. Your father loves you children the most. When he sees you by his side, his illness will be mostly healed."
After saying this, Princess Huaiqing took her niece away without giving Princess Ancheng a chance to resist.
Cao Siyan reported this to Concubine Zhang, who smiled and said to Hu Shanwei, "It's a pity that Concubine Hu has a big reputation and seniority, and invited Princess Huaiqing to the palace to take charge. The words of this concubine mother are useless."
The author has something to say: Good night, everyone, go to bed early, because tomorrow I have a very important lunch box to send out. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
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