Although many important ministers and wives felt that it was too much to treat everyone in the palace as suspects - if all the civil and military officials in the dynasty were planning to kill the king, would the Chu family still be able to sit on the imperial throne? !
In particular, the Second Empress also required men and women to go to the side hall or behind the screen to take off their clothes for inspection. This is simply an insult to the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, okay
But after Empress Dowager Gu and Empress Jiang took the lead in asking several highly respected ladies to go to the side hall to watch the palace officials undressing and undressing them and checking whether there were any traces of poison, everyone was silent: neither their biological mother nor their first wife. Special treatment, not to mention you ministers
… The reason for doing this is naturally because of the mutual distrust between the Queen Mother Party and the Queen Party.
The Queen's Party suspected that this was arranged by the Queen Mother's Party, and the Queen Mother's Party also suspected that this had been planned by the Queen's Party for a long time!
Not only were they afraid that the other party had done it, but they were also afraid of being called "catch the thief" by the other party. At the same time, they also wanted to catch the real thief - so the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Queen Mother Gu and Queen Jiang, could only check together to prove their innocence while keeping their eyes open. Keep an eye on the other person to avoid being fooled!
Neither Empress Dowager Gu nor Empress Jiang was found suspect, and the entourage of the Second Empress was also proven innocent. So the ministers who went to the banquet were behind the screen of the main hall, and the female relatives went to the side hall. Everyone, including the servants and the ignorant children, all underwent a rigorous inspection in full view of the public.
The inspection was not over yet—the Second Empress personally presided over the inspection of everyone's whereabouts since they stepped into the palace gate. They even sent people to check which railings, pillars and seats they had passed!
It's okay that the second empress didn't mention the railing. When she mentioned the railing, Qiu Yilan's heart suddenly "thumped": "Just now, I was joking with cousin Xin by the railing outside, and I heard someone around the corner throwing something under the flower tree outside the railing... At that time Cousin Xin thinks it’s the snow that illuminates the lights, is it related to the assassination of Sheng Jia?”
Doesn't that mean that she and Xin Fubing were tricked? !
At this moment, Qiu Yilan's city couldn't help but feel dizzy!
Even if the emperor is a puppet, even his own mother, Queen Mother Gu, cannot bear the crime of regicide, okay? Even if the emperor is not dead yet, if something wrong is really found under the flower tree, and Qiu Yilan and Xin Fuling fail to explain it clearly - they will definitely be doomed!
Not only them, but also the relatives and friends behind them, and even the prominent Jiang family may not be able to survive it!
"What should I do?!" Qiu Yilan forced herself to calm down and quickly thought of countermeasures, "We can't tell Cousin Xin yet. Firstly, there is no chance of safety at the moment; secondly, we are really trying to frame the Queen's Party for regicide. If she didn't know anything, her reaction would be more natural - and she couldn't tell in advance that there might be something related to the murder of the Holy Driver under the flower tree. The flower tree is too close to where we are joking, almost within reach of the Queen Mother's Party! They would say it was us who confessed without any pressure!"
The only option is to refuse to admit it until the matter is discovered and questioned!
"Why didn't you be more alert just now? You clearly saw the corner of the clothes and heard the footsteps and the sound of throwing things. Why didn't you catch up?!" Qiu Yilan regretted at this moment, "Even I was thinking He was already talking to Cousin Xin about his suspicions, but was interrupted by the little chamberlain who urged him to go to the palace. Now it seems that something is wrong with the little chamberlain! Although he did hear that shortly after entering the palace, Emperor Fengji arrived, but …Who knows if he was there watching the wind and diverting our attention in time to avoid our suspicion?”
It's just that it's too late to regret it now - the palace people are already walking towards the door of the palace, searching for the railing.
According to the practice of Empress Dowager Gu and Empress Jiang not trusting each other and wanting to prove each other's innocence at this moment, naturally there were palace officials from both sides. Qiu Yilan estimated that in order to appear more natural, the Queen Mother's party would pretend to have accidentally discovered something under the flower tree, so their search would probably take a longer time.
But what surprised her was that it didn't take long for the palace officials to come back and report: "The railing has been searched and the outside of the railing has been checked. There is nothing wrong."
This reply did not make the Second Empress think there was anything wrong, because the Second Empress was not suspicious of the two juniors, Qiu Yilan and Xin Fubing. However, Qiu Yilan didn't know that the Second Empress was completely confused about the real culprit. She was stunned for a while: "How come that scene has nothing to do with the poisoning of the Holy Driver? Or was it not done by the Empress Dowager?"
If she is not the Queen Mother, she is the Queen as usual - Qiu Yilan knew that her husband's family had Xue Chang's promise, but did not know the specific progress, so she could not help but speculate: "Could it be that the Queen's Party decided to take action in advance, and the reason why they chose me and Xin Fubing to be here?" Are you throwing things near flowers and trees to use the sound of our laughter as a cover?”
Thinking about this, I still felt very uneasy, "What did that person throw away? I didn't find it this time. It might be difficult to find it. But, it must have thrown something, right? I will never mishear that strange noise in the snow. ! "It's hard not to feel sad about this situation, "Just now I complained that Cousin Xin was thinking too much, but now I think about it, she is the one who understands: Even if she wants to use our joking voices to cover up the noise, even if it is difficult to detect, But what if we are discovered? Then Cousin Xin and I will be ready-made scapegoats, right?"
She knew that Queen Jiang and Mrs. Tao had a grudge against her, so she naturally became suspicious, "So when sacrifice is needed, I will be the first to be pushed out, right?"
As she was thinking more and more angrily, she suddenly felt her sleeves being pulled hard several times. Qiu Yilan was startled and came back to her senses, only to hear Su He whisper behind her: "The old lady just turned around and called you twice. !”
"Grandma, my granddaughter-in-law was a little distracted just now. I hope you can forgive me!" Qiu Yilan hurriedly apologized to Mrs. Tao in a low voice after hearing this.
Mrs. Tao said calmly: "You have never seen such a situation, so it's not surprising that you were frightened... Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with us. Stay calm and don't lose our family's face!"
Although the tone of these words was calm, the meaning was very serious.
Qiu Yilan felt panicked in her heart, but she had to lower her head and accept the instruction: "My granddaughter-in-law understands!"
However, even though Mrs. Tao, who was sitting in front of her, noticed her abnormality, it did not arouse any suspicion. Because many young wives and ladies, their expressions are not much better than hers.
After all, this matter is too big. Even if they all have a clear conscience, they don't need to worry about being burned like Qiu Yilan. However, just thinking about the consequences of tonight's matter, they still feel shuddering!
What's surprising is that until dawn, everyone checked and investigated, but no doubts were found!
Even if Empress Dowager Gu and Empress Jiang took the lead in conducting inspections and explaining what they had done in the places they had stayed in since entering the palace, these two people, who call the palace their home, cannot be regarded as role models. , all stay in the palace until the murderer is found, right
So in the early morning of the first day of the first lunar month, the palace gate that had been suddenly closed and heavily guarded since midnight was finally opened.
The people queuing up to leave the palace were really exhausted physically and mentally, but they couldn't rest immediately after returning home.
Because people who have been waiting all night and have not come back are also anxious, so they have to explain and comfort them. Mrs. Tao especially praised Sheng Shishui for her good work on this point: "Your eighth sister-in-law is pregnant. It's really not appropriate to tell her about this."
Last night, when the time came for the banquet at the Jiang family, no one responded or even said a word. Even the servants sent to inquire about the news were blocked from the palace gate. With the current situation in the court, Sheng Sishui almost thought that the Queen Mother's party was planning a plot. Qiong Jiandagger, all the Jiang family members who entered the palace were kept in the palace and could not come back!
But she still maintained her nonchalance in front of little Tao: "Grandma and the others were all tired. They said hello before entering the door and said they would settle down when they came back. There was no need to ask for permission! Myna especially drank too much and vomited so badly that he was afraid of making noise when he came back. I want you, so my grandfather asked him to stay in the front parlor for one night, so feel free to put him there!"
At this moment, little Tao is probably still sleeping soundly.
Mrs. Tao has always valued little Tao, and is of course very satisfied with the method of filling the water.
However, she didn't have time to boast too much. Then she had to arrange for people to reprimand the juniors and servants. They were not allowed to talk nonsense about the poisoning of the holy driver at the New Year's Eve banquet, so as not to cause trouble. If she wanted to take advantage of this, she had to wait for Qin Guogong to tell her. Bring out the charter!
But Qiu Yilan is not in the mood to listen to this now. She is now focused on: "Where is Nineteen? Grandma, Nineteen left the palace last night to confront Dai Cong and others, but later His Majesty was poisoned, and the palace The door is closed and no one can enter the palace, but I don’t know if he has come back?”
Mrs. Tao was also very concerned about the answer to this question and immediately sent someone to find out.
Fortunately, we got accurate information soon: "After the 19th Young Master and the eldest Young Master confronted the witness mentioned by Dai Cong last night, they wanted to return to the palace. However, the palace door was closed at that time, and the two queens' decrees prohibited everyone from entering or exiting. , I went to rest in the other courtyard near the palace gate. I have come back now and am being summoned by the old man to offer sacrifices! "
Mrs. Tao and Qiu Yilan breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The former looked around and said, "That's it for now. You all can go down and catch up on your sleep... After they finish paying homage to their ancestors, they will still be busy!"
On the way back to Qiu Yilan's fourth room, Sheng Shuishui caught up with her and asked her a few words. When she heard her tell the story, her face turned pale: "How could such a thing happen? This is in full view of everyone!"
"What's even more bizarre is that the Queen Mother and Fourth Aunt almost turned over everyone and everything in the palace!" The voice lowered, "Even if it was a first-grade imperial edict, they would strip off only their obscene clothes during the inspection! That's it, tell me slowly. The person who did it didn’t even find the poison. Do you think this is weird?”
Sheng Shishui said in surprise: "No poison was found? Did your Majesty poison him out of thin air?"
"Only the wine your Majesty drank was poisonous, but a little chambermaid tasted it just a dozen breaths before His Majesty's entrance." Qiu Yilan sighed, "Nothing happened to that little chamberlain! "
Sheng Sishui frowned. He looked up and saw that he had arrived at Qiu Yilan's yard. He stopped and said, "You should go back and rest first. Oh, it's a good day..."
"Grandma said this matter has nothing to do with our family, sister-in-law, don't worry too much." Qiu Yilan comforted her with a few words - although Sheng Shishui stayed at home and did not experience the scene of the emperor's poisoning, she was even more frightened. After all, Qiu Yilan and others at the banquet knew what happened, but Sheng Shishui knew nothing - how many terrible possibilities had she thought about that night
However, as the stormy sea was approaching, the two of them did not have time to talk much. After a few words, Qiu Yilan went back to the house to settle down.
To say she was tired, she was really tired, but she couldn't fall asleep even after she was put on the couch. I was afraid that I would continue to be busy later, so I had to sleep reluctantly... Half asleep, I suddenly felt that the tent was rolled up by the strong wind, and a person strode in - this person came in with a strong momentum, but when he reached the bedside, he suddenly stopped, as if he was gone. Hold your nerve.
Qiu Yilan was first surprised and then surprised. She opened her eyes and saw Jiang Yashuang bending down and reaching out to touch her face.
"What's wrong?" Qiu Yilan was confused after seeing the excitement in his eyes.