Yang Feng has always been trusted by the Empress Dowager Shangguan. Even when he followed the emperor out of the palace, this trust did not weaken. This is an extremely rare thing, but it is almost ignored by everyone.
One is the innocent queen mother, the other is the mysterious eunuch, it is indeed difficult to connect.
Han Ruzi didn't expect it. He clearly remembered that when he first entered the palace, Yang Feng was obviously in a situation of isolation and helplessness. Emperor Si's death hit Yang Feng very hard, so he desperately tried to train a new emperor.
Yang Feng was trusted by the empress dowager Shangguan, but not to the point of favor, at least on the surface far less than other eunuchs. But the most favored eunuchs at that time were either killed or imprisoned, and they all ended badly.
Han Ruzi did not forget that Jing Yao was one of Yang Feng's biggest enemies in the palace at the time.
Jing Yao himself knew that in order to say the word "Shangguan" to the emperor, he did a few more months of investigation, traveled everywhere, used all his strength, and did not miss any possible clues. Finally, God lived up to it. The painstaking effort allowed him to find crucial witnesses and evidence.
Yoshidao publicly threatened to oppose Chu Fuqi, but Yang Feng introduced the Meng brothers and sisters to the Empress Dowager Shangguan. It was strange for him to know people on the island, and it was even more amazing to send such people to the palace and palace.
Jing Yao decided to dig deeper. The Empress Dowager Shangguan and Meng E were still in the palace and could not be inquired. Meng Che's whereabouts were unknown and he was never found. Jing Yao went to Donghai Kingdom in person to find insiders from the periphery.
This is the way to find a needle in a haystack. Jing Yao has come into contact with a large number of old people of the palace and pirates who have surrendered. They are all very ordinary people who either did things in the palace, or were pirates when they were desperate, and now they return to their hometown to work as a pirate. good people.
There are many people who know Yang Feng, but none of them know him. As for a lot of rumors, Jing Yao knows that they are false without investigating.
Jing Yao tried to be as brief as possible. After meeting many people, he found a useful witness.
This person is a famous bookseller and owns a store in Donghai. Because of the good quality and variety of books, he is well-known in the local area. He said that all this is thanks to Yang Feng.
In the past, he was an ordinary bookseller, copying and printing some shoddy books and selling them to customers who didn't know the goods.
One day, a guest came to the door, took out a copy of the unofficial history of the former dynasty, and solemnly claimed that the book was printed incorrectly. , Open the book, turn it page by page, and point out the inconsistencies. You don't need to know too much about the past. You can judge right and wrong only based on the records in the book.
The bookseller became more and more shocked. It was just an idle book, just to provide some after-dinner talk. The guest actually read it word by word, and saw many mistakes.
In particular, the guests were very talkative, not like ordinary people. The booksellers got scared and apologized.
The guest picked for a while and pointed out that all the books were worthless. Although he didn't say anything more, his eyes were cold and full of contempt, and the bookseller would never forget them for a lifetime.
Afterwards, the bookseller found out that the person's name was Yang Feng, a eunuch in the palace.
From then on, the booksellers made great efforts to buy good books and real books from everywhere. Every time they got one, they must first send them to Yang Feng, ask him to judge, and give some small gifts along with the books.
Yang Feng first returned the books as they were, but the booksellers persisted. Yang Feng began to make some judgments, writing them on paper and clipping them in the books, instructing the booksellers where to go and who to buy what editions of the books.
The booksellers gradually became enlightened, and the books they acquired became better and better, and they gained a little reputation. The store has been in operation and is about to be inherited by his son.
After Yang Feng entered Beijing, the contact was cut off and the two never met again.
The bookseller was generous with Yang Feng. In order to show that he really knew Yang Feng, he held out a box full of notes, all written by Yang Feng himself.
Jing Yao took a general look, and there was no clue in the note. He had planned to give up the inquiry of the bookseller, but he had found nothing for many days, which made him extremely cautious and reluctant to change his direction too soon.
He has his own means. Through the tolerances in the local government, he put a little pressure on the booksellers, and then bought dozens of sets of books, and then gave the booksellers a little sweetness. The booksellers revealed more memories.
"I don't know what the master wants to ask, but I have something here, and the master may be interested."
The bookseller took out another note, which was not in the box, and the contents on it had nothing to do with books.
It was half a letter, and it was not finished. For some unknown reason, Yang Feng voided it, stuffed it into the book inadvertently, and gave it to the bookseller. He probably never knew about it.
Jing Yao brought back half of the letter, and Han Ruzi recognized at a glance that it was indeed Yang Feng's handwriting.
The letter was written to his wife, but like a child, he told her not to eat too much at each meal, not to quarrel with neighbors, and not to use punches.
It was hard for Han Ruzi to imagine how Yang Feng could have such a wife. If he hadn't understood Yang Feng as a person, he would have thought it was a joke.
The letter did not mention the child, but there was a sentence "the future is unpredictable, if there is an emergency, you can ask Concubine Xian for help", and the letter is gone here.
Jing Yao did not explain much. "Concubine Xian" was the princess of the East China Sea at that time and the current Empress Dowager Cishun.
Since Yang Feng asked his wife to seek help from Concubine Xian, it showed that the Empress Dowager Shangguan probably knew about Yang Feng's family affairs.
"What else?" Han Ruzi asked. This is indeed a clue, but it is difficult to advance. Jing Yao has no right to ask the empress dowager of Shangguan. The emperor has power, but he would rather not use it.
Jing Yao was silent for a moment, "Old slave dare not speak."
"No matter what you say, I will forgive you and not guilty, can you say it?"
Jing Yao kowtowed, "What the old slave said next is true, but there is no evidence, only His Majesty decides."
"Um."
Jing Yao kowtowed again, and kowtowed several times, "The late emperor was... poisoned to death."
"Which ancestor?"
Generally speaking, the first emperor refers to Emperor Huan, the father of Han Ruzi, but if the matter was serious, he had to ask him clearly.
"Emperor Huan."
It was Han Ruzi's turn to be silent. He had already heard rumors that Emperor Huan was murdered by the Empress Dowager Shangguan, but no one could show any real evidence. "Since there is no evidence, it is useless to say more."
For Han Ruzi, finding out the truth is not good, but embarrassing the royal family.
Jing Yao kowtowed again and again. He has endured it so far. Once it starts, he cannot retreat. "But the poison is probably still in the palace, and Your Majesty has to guard against it."
"What does this have to do with Yang Feng?" Han Ruzi's previous order only asked Jing Yao to find Yang Feng's family.
"The Empress Dowager Shangguan came from a well-known family. After entering the palace, she had little contact with the outside world. Where did she get the poison? Why did she trust Yang Feng so much? Why did Yang Feng ask his wife to ask the Empress Dowager Shangguan for help when necessary? Everything is connected, Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager Shangguan is suspicious and jealous by nature. Seeing that His Majesty is getting better every day and has many descendants, how long can she endure it? Even if His Majesty is always on guard, there are Empress Dowager Cining, the Empress, the Prince and the Princess, they all live in the palace …”
"Stop talking." Han Ruzi interrupted sternly, this was not what he wanted to hear.
Jing Yao kept kowtow.
"Go back, don't say these words to anyone again."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Jing Yao knelt down and stepped back, stood up at the door, and said, "The sword is not intended to hurt anyone, I'm just afraid it will fall into the hands of traitors."
The sword is Yang Feng, and the traitor is the empress dowager Shangguan. Jing Yao can only say this, exit the room, close the door gently, and turn around and go downstairs.
There were several noble servants sitting downstairs chatting, and when they saw Jing Yao appear, no one greeted him. This old eunuch had already lost his power, so he didn't need to please.
Jing Yao plummeted, and after being pardoned, he was unable to restore his previous status. He blamed the empress dowager Shangguan for his tragic situation.
The King of the East Sea was also there, and he glanced at Jing Yao more than others, showing a hint of inquiry.
At first, Mrs. Ping'en Hou contacted Jing Yao, Jing Yaoxu and Wei She didn't take this woman very seriously. It was not until the East Sea King personally came forward that Jing Yao was sure that he had found an ally.
Going to the East Sea Kingdom and linking the search for Yang Feng's family with the prosecution of the Empress Dowager Shangguan, this is the idea of the East Sea King.
Jing Yao nodded slightly and left in a hurry.
He doesn't need to hear what the emperor has to say, just send a thought to the emperor.
After being a eunuch for many years, Jing Yao understood that there is no one in the world more suspicious than the emperor.
He wanted to expose the Empress Dowager Shangguan for a long time, but he always felt that the timing was not right, so he had to perform the task with all his heart, just to make the emperor trust him a little more.
Upstairs, Han Ruzi sat alone for a long time. He saw through Jing Yao's little "trick", but he could not deny that what Jing Yao said was the truth.
"Please put your hands away." Han Ruzi remembered these four words, maybe this was not for the emperor to see, but to make other people stop.
Han Ruzi got up, walked to the door, went to the window again, pushed the window and looked out.
It was snowing outside, the ground was covered with a thick layer, the entire palace was covered in silver, and there was no trace of people around.
Han Ruzi watched for a while, then closed the window and went downstairs to let the servants out of the palace. He had to rest early today.
There were no concubines in the palace. When the eunuchs and palace maids who were with him retired and Meng E was alone, he asked, "Do you still meet the queen mother?"
In the palace, "the empress dowager" had already referred to the empress dowager Cining alone, but Han Ruzi was referring to another person this time.
Meng E understood at once, "Well, we meet occasionally."
"The piece of paper in the scabbard, you told her?"
"Said."
Han Ruzi sighed, "Why? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because I don't know what that means."
Han Ruzi couldn't find anything to refute, and after a while he said, "Can you go see her again?"
"can."
"Tell her—" Han Ruzi paused, "I see."
"that's it?"
"that's it."
After the meal, Han Ruzi went to bed early and did some breathing and breathing exercises habitually, and never slept.
The door squeaked slightly. This was Meng E's return. Now she would deliberately make some noise when she entered the room.
"The queen mother said that she is not Chunyu Xiao."
"Um."
"The Queen Mother also said that since His Majesty wants to know the truth, she will give His Majesty the truth, but if His Majesty go there in person, she will not pass it on through anyone."