A group of people came at a gallop, the night wind blew across the face, and the robes squeaked.
At this hour, the gate of the palace was already locked, but the West Factory was ordered by the emperor, and no one dared to stop him. Sentence, but the man who brought Tang Fan into the palace opened and closed his mouth, and it was Eunuch Wang who said that the face of the guards changed greatly, and finally he waved his hand and hurriedly let them in.
When you enter the palace gate, you have to dismount. This is an iron law, and no one can violate it. Those cabinet elders and ministers who take care of life are at most a small sedan chair. For those special treatment, all of them have to dismount and walk, and it is naturally even more impossible for Tang Fan and the others to be an exception.
It's just that those insiders who brought Tang Fan in were very anxious, and they walked very fast. They were warriors. Tang Fan couldn't keep up after a while, panting. Holding Tang Fan's shoulders and arms on both sides, he half-lifted him, and walked forward quickly, that's it, Tang Fan himself didn't have to exert himself, only the toes of his feet followed on the bluestone slab, as if he had learned it in an instant. Like light work.
He was also happy and relaxed, and he would say nice things in his mouth: "I'm not physically strong, and it's dragging you down, but it's making you worry!"
The Forbidden City was dark, and in the distance, only faint candles were still lit in some palaces in front. In addition, there were the lanterns carried by the soldiers who occasionally passed by on duty, and the lanterns in the hands of their group. .
The emperor is rich all over the world, but if this huge palace city is bright and brightly lit, it will be a huge expense, and he can't afford it at all. Tang Fan has never seen the Forbidden City at night, anyway, he doesn't need to see it himself now. Lu, taking advantage of the distraction, he watched this majestic and vast palace city from a distance. What emerged in his heart was not worship and admiration, but under the cover of darkness, the palaces in the palace city, room after room, also appeared in his heart. I don't know how many unknown grievances and hatreds have been staged, the joys and sorrows of the world.
If it weren't for the fear of being banned, this is really good material for writing a storybook!
Under the flickering candlelight, Tang Fan's profile was unusually calm, without the panic of being summoned to the palace late at night, nor the fear of dealing with Xichang.
Although the head of the inner factory fan did not know why Wang Gong suddenly asked him to call this little official into the palace, Tang Fan's performance undoubtedly made the other party look at him differently.
Fortunately, he didn't know what Master Tang was thinking now, otherwise he would have to collapse.
In addition, this time, Tang Fan is here for the second time. The last time was more than three years ago, when he announced the ranking of the palace examination, he entered the palace with many of the same year, and in a solemn atmosphere, he followed the civil and military officials to meet. Son of Heaven.
Thinking back to the beginning, the demeanor of the Son of Heaven, it is really, cough... It is too far away to see clearly.
After all, Master Tang is not a person from a few hundred years later. It is impossible to know the layout of the Forbidden City. You must know that as the residence of the emperor, in order to prevent the prying eyes of interested people, this kind of palace map must be strictly kept secret. A high-ranking official in the six ministries, he often enters the palace to participate in the deliberation of state affairs, and he will naturally become familiar with it over time.
So now, Tang Fan didn't know where they were taking him, so he could only follow involuntarily.
The group walked for about two quarters of an hour, passing through one palace gate after another, and saw one palace wall after another. Their footsteps finally slowed down. Not far away, a palace was full of people, with bright candles and open doors. , There are still many people patrolling back and forth at the gate of the palace and even around the periphery, and the guards are very strict.
This is the destination of their trip, Tang Fan knew.
The fans finally let him down, and stepped on the slightly rough slate on the soles of his feet. Tang Fan suddenly felt a sense of down-to-earth peace of mind.
Although the sedan chair is fast, it is not something that can be enjoyed. Right now, his arms are aching.
"Let's go." Until now, the head of the inner factory fanzi finally spit out such a word.
Tang Fan couldn't help but asked in a low voice, "Dare to ask your Excellency, where is it?"
"You'll know when you go in." The other party refused to say a word.
Tang Fan originally wanted to prepare himself mentally. Seeing that he was so serious about his affairs, he had some concerns in his heart, so he didn't ask any more questions. He followed those people up the steps and was searched and questioned by the guards at the door. was put in.
The one who brought him in was not the neichang fanzi who had just brought him into the palace, but a young eunuch with an unfamiliar face.
The other party thought that he was always on duty here. He first said "wait" to Tang Fan and went in. After a long time, he came out, and he said "follow me" again, then turned and entered again.
When he entered, he saw the various decorations in the hall. Although Tang Fan didn't show it on his face, he already had some confidence in his heart.
When he was led to the main hall of the inner hall, he saw that he was sitting or standing in the main hall, and in the middle was a middle-aged man in a yellow robe with a round collar. Pan, see Your Majesty."
"No ceremony." Emperor Chenghua said, his voice was the same laziness that has remained unchanged for thousands of years, but he was not pretending to be laziness, but really lazy.
Tang Fan got up to thank the gift, stood with solemn hands, did not look up and looked around, his expression remained stable.
Emperor Chenghua didn't care about the arrival of this little man, and he wouldn't remember that he had praised the other party's "Qing Junfengcai" three years ago. He is already very tired, but what happened today is too serious. No, even the three cabinet elders are still here and have not left the palace, so the emperor has to cheer up.
He looked at Wang Zhi: "Wang Neichen, the person you recommended to enter the palace is up to you."
"Yes." Wang Zhi replied respectfully, without the domineering flying that Tang Fan had seen when he was outside the palace.
"Tang Fan." Wang Zhi said.
"The minister is here." Tang Fan still kept his head bowed slightly. Generally speaking, if you don't get permission, your minister can't look directly at Shengyan at will, which is disrespectful, but when he first came in, he was already quickly Take everyone present into your eyes.
The emperor and the prince are all here.
Wan An, Liu Jue, Liu Ji, and the well-known old people of the three papier-mâchés are also there.
These bosses are already equal to the pinnacle-level figures who hold the power of the empire.
There are other servants, palace maids, and sergeants of the guards, not to mention.
Although there were many people, there was no sound at all.
In addition, only the candles in the hall crackled from time to time.
However, as far as Tang Fan could see, he found that there seemed to be a faint figure hidden behind the screen behind the emperor.
It seems that the identity of the hidden person is about to be revealed.
Wang Zhi had already started talking about the reason for summoning him in.
Now the Prince of the East Palace, Zhu Youji, although he grew up in the palace, he was only established as a prince three years ago, and his life experience was rough.
But since the name has been set, reading and writing, everything must be cultivated according to the specifications of the prince.
The prince's teacher team is very strong, but in addition to the teacher, there must be companions.
The prince's companions are usually selected from the eunuchs in the palace, but sometimes they are also selected from the sons and nephews of ministers. One of the current prince's companions is called Han Zao, and his father Han Fang is the emperor of Chenghua Emperor. One of the teachers of the time.
Han Fang was about to resign two years earlier because of his poor health, but the emperor Gu Nian's friendship gave Han Fang the title of Prince Young Master, and Han Fang's son Han Zao entered the palace to be the prince's companion.
This is not the kind of slave servant that the prince will punish and suffer on behalf of the prince if he does not do well in his homework, but a real companion and playmate. Han Zao and the prince are about the same age. They study together all day long and have a very harmonious relationship.
But just today, when the prince and the others were in class, Han Zao suddenly shouted that he had a stomachache. As a result, before the imperial doctor came, Han Zao suddenly fell to the ground and was out of breath.
It's worth it!
The East Palace was immediately boiling, and the imperial doctor rushed over, looking left and right, but couldn't see why Han Zao died.
Coincidentally, just before Han Zao shouted that he had a stomachache, Concubine Wan sent two bowls of mung bean and lily soup.
The prince didn't drink, but Han Zao did.
As a result, the next thing happened.
Everyone knows that Concubine Wan also had a son at the beginning, the eldest son of the emperor, but died not long after she was born. Later, Concubine Bai gave birth to another and was established as the prince, but she died after two years. Since then After that, no imperial heir was born in the harem. Everyone said it was because Concubine Wan did not allow other harem women to give birth to heirs.
With Wan's majesty, now the crown prince can see the sun again, and the twists and turns he has experienced are even more sad for those who hear it, and tears for those who see it.
Well, here, why Han Zao died seems to be very clear, and there is no need for a trial.
As the emperor's most beloved woman, let alone the prince is not dead, even if he is dead, Concubine Wan will probably not be affected. The smartest way is to quickly turn the big things into small ones, find any excuse to cover up the past, and continue to maintain the superficial appearance. Peace.
But the problem came. After knowing this, Concubine Wan was extremely shocked, crying and screaming, and immediately ran to the emperor to make trouble, swearing that it was not her own doing, and insisted on the emperor to investigate thoroughly. In the end, find out the truth and make yourself innocent!
Because of this, the matter involved the crown prince, Concubine Wan and others, including the son of the teacher of Emperor Chenghua. In addition to having a headache, Emperor Chenghua had to summon the chief ministers to the palace to discuss countermeasures.
Saisuke's duty is to govern the country. Although the three cabinet elders headed by the cabinet are now messing around, and the country's governance is very bad, it doesn't mean that they should solve the case.
From the perspective of politics and the overall situation, the first assistant, Wan An, suggested that the emperor should leave the matter lightly. Anyway, His Royal Highness is lucky to have nothing to do. As for Han Zao, the imperial court can decree that the Han family will be generously sympathized, so everyone is happy.
But Concubine Wan quit, whether people believe it or not, she insisted again and again that she was completely innocent in this matter.
She understands very well that everyone knows that she hates the prince and wants to get rid of it quickly, so she is the biggest suspect in this matter. If the emperor really obscures this matter, then she will really jump into the Yellow River and wash it. Not clear.
Under the insistence of his beloved woman, Emperor Chenghua had no choice but to ask the elders to enter the palace, and to inform the Han family.
Two bowls of mung bean and lily soup, the prince did not drink, he gave Han Zao the bowl, and the remaining bowl was given to a small servant next to him.
The servant was fine, but Han Zao died.
Before Tang Fan entered the palace, someone had already checked it. There was no more sugar water left in the pot, and it was impossible to find out if there was anything in it, but the bowl and spoon themselves were not poisoned.
If there is something wrong with the mung bean and lily soup, why did the attendant drink it but nothing happened
Could it be that only the bowl that Han Zao drank was in trouble
The one who brought the soup was the maid in the palace of Concubine Wan, who did not admit that she had poisoned herself anyway.
Besides, Han Zao is only a young child, so how could there be any enemies? Even if they are critical, it is the prince who hurts him. Who would dislike the prince
Up and down the palace, it is just that person.
However, these things are hard to say, and can't be said clearly, so after the proposal of the first assistant Wan'an was rejected by Concubine Wan, he simply did not speak, so as not to offend Concubine Wan.
Wan Shoufu and Concubine Wan are both surnamed Wan, but they are not related by a penny, but he knows that Concubine Wan is deeply favored by Emperor Chenghua, so using everyone's surname Wan, he did everything possible to become relatives with Concubine Wan, so Shoufu The seat is very stable.
This is very shameless for other people. Everyone nicknamed him in private, called Long live the old man. In addition, there are all kinds of funny nicknames for the ministers of the cabinet, such as Liu Ji, the third assistant. He was called Liu Mian, because he was very thick-skinned and not afraid of playing, so everyone called people behind their backs, and directly called Liu Mian how.
Closer to home, there is no problem with the soup and the bowl. It is impossible for the imperial doctor to give the pulse of the dead, and it cannot prove whether Han Zao was originally sick. However, according to the inner eunuch and the prince, Han Zao was originally in good health, and his body did not appear in the past. What went wrong.
If someone really poisoned, then no one would believe that it was just for Han Zao, a little companion, everyone would like to believe that this was a case of deliberate murder and poisoning, and the target was the current Crown Prince.
If a thorough investigation is carried out, the inner palace will not know how many storms will be caused and how many people will be unjustly killed. It is not that Emperor Chenghua does not love the prince, but this kind of love is limited. The prince never grew up by his side. Now For the sake of the country, Emperor Chenghua was not stingy with what he should give him, but he was unwilling to make waves for this matter, not to mention that in his heart, he also felt that this matter might have something to do with his beloved woman, Concubine Wan.
The prince himself is also very sensible. Although he was saddened by the death of companion reading, he did not cry and shout to avenge his little companion reading. When the emperor asked him, he just said to obey his father's wishes.
Everyone hopes that big things will be made small, but only Concubine Wan is not willing.
His Majesty the Emperor was very helpless, and he didn't want to disobey the meaning of his beloved woman. The matter was deadlocked there. Before Tang Fan came, he had already put his two most trusted eunuchs, Shang Ming from the East Factory and Wang Zhidu from the West Factory. found it.
In order to gain merit, Shang Ming immediately took the initiative to petition and hand it over to Dongchang to investigate, but Wang Zhi understood the emperor's meaning very well. They wanted to know the truth, but they didn't want to make a big statement. In the emperor's opinion, they went to investigate secretly. Once it is found that it is related to Concubine Wan, it is easy to cover up.
So he recommended a person to the emperor, Tang Fan.
The reason why Wang Zhi recommended Tang Fan is: Tang Fan is very smart. He is currently working as a push officer in Shuntian Mansion, and his occupation is quite right.
The emperor agreed, so Tang Fan entered the palace.
Others wondered when Tang Fan got on the line with Eunuch Wang. After Tang Fan listened to the ins and outs, he just wanted to smile bitterly: Wang Zhi is pushing himself into the fire pit, who wants to be involved in such tricky things!
This eunuch Wang is really young, vigorous, and extremely willful. It doesn't matter if he wants to come out, but he drags Tang Fan into the water.
"Tang Fan, now that you know the matter, what do you think about this case?" Wang Zhi asked.
Tang Fan was quite disgusted by Wang Zhi's behavior that he likes to make his own decisions in a high position and doesn't take himself seriously.
But he is not a person who can complain. Now, since he has been put on the fire, and in front of the emperor's cabinet, he has no right to refuse. Tang Fan's anger just disappeared for a moment, and then He was crushed to the bottom of his heart, and he began to think about a solution.
He thought about it and said: "The lower official has limited ability, and in front of His Majesty and all the Zaifu, he dare not talk nonsense. Now he has only heard a general idea. He has neither seen Han Zao's body nor asked any questions about it. There are people involved in the case, so there is nothing to say at the moment."
Emperor Chenghua was a little disappointed when he heard the words. He didn't plan on letting Tang Fan reveal the truth as soon as he came up. If he really has this ability, he is even more powerful than a god.
But after hearing what he said, Emperor Chenghua still couldn't help complaining to Wang Zhi: "Wang Neichen, you just said how powerful this person is, in my opinion, it is just like those officials and censors outside. Kung Fu is invincible in the world!"
Tang Fan looked at his nose and nose at his heart, pretending to be dead, as if the emperor said it wasn't him.
Wang Zhi secretly felt that Tang Fan didn't know how to lift up, so he didn't hurry to show his loyalty, and he was still sticking to the side like a wooden man, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, many things are like a mess these days, and it's really hard to find anything right away, why don't you? Please give your majesty some grace so that Tang Fan can investigate slowly. To teach your majesty to know that in the eleventh year of Chenghua's Golden Hall nomination, Tang Fan won the first place in the top two middle school, and he was even praised by your majesty at that time!"
In order to prove that he had a good vision, he brought out the old past events. Emperor Chenghua lifted his eyelids, vaguely remembering that it was indeed the case, and his impression of Tang Fan was slightly improved.
"That's the case, Tang Fan, you'll be responsible for this case, but..." The emperor gave Wang Zhi a look.
Wang Zhi understood, and immediately said: "This case is of great importance, and you must not talk about it to the outside world, otherwise you should be severely punished."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tang Fan finally spoke up, but when he opened his mouth, he was shocked: "I dare not obey orders."
What? !
Is this guy crazy? !
Does he know what he said? !
In this case, can you play your temper too
Everyone, including the palace maids and guards who acted as the background, couldn't help but widen their eyes and stared at Tang Fan.
The first assistant, Wan An, shouted loudly in front of everyone: "Bold Tang Fan, how dare you disrespect the holy will and have no respect!"
Wang Zhi was even more annoyed in his heart. He knew that Tang Fan was probably grumbling about this errand, but Wang Zhi also had his own plans. Even if Tang Fan was unhappy, he could only obey orders at the moment. A small promotion from the sixth rank really regarded himself as a green onion. Emperor Jinkouyu said, he even said, "I dare not obey orders", is this going to hit the emperor in the face
"Tang Fan, are you out of your mind? What kind of occasion is this, so you can be presumptuous here! If you dare to say anything else, Xiang Zhong and Shang Xun are your lessons!"
Xiang Zhong and Shang Xun, one was the former Minister of the Ministry of War, and the other was the former Shoufu. Both of them stepped down because of their opposition to Eunuch Wang, one was dismissed for the people, and the other resigned and ran away. Wang Zhi took them out, obviously to Threatening Tang Fan, if you dare to say anything, then they will be your fate.
Wan An shook his head secretly, thinking that Eunuch Wang was also angry, and he didn't want to say anything. You must know that Tang Fan is now only a rank-6 push officer. If you take Xiang Zhong and the others as an example, it will not be flattering Tang Fan. Pan
Emperor Chenghua frowned and stared at Tang Fan with a displeased expression.
He is not an emperor who likes to kill people, which is his good side, but if he doesn't like a person, he waved his small hand and either dismissed the person from office, or demoted him to assignment, which is enough for the other person to drink a pot .
Prince Zhu Youji also didn't say a word, just looked at Tang Fan curiously.
It has been more than half a day since the incident of the case, and it should be the time to go to bed now, but because the matter is related to him, he still can't go to rest, but the prince does not show an impatient look, although he is a little tired, he still stands. Be respectful as always by my father's side.
When the hurricane-like scolding came to an end, Tang Fan just bowed his hands and said slowly, "Your Majesty Rong Yi. As a push officer, I push the dead, but not the living. A rough look at this case, I am afraid that the complexity is far beyond imagination, so if Your Majesty entrusts this heavy burden to the minister, the minister will not dare not to accept it, but there are some things that must be asked clearly in advance, please forgive the minister."
Emperor Chenghua said, "Just ask, and forgive me."
Tang Fan nodded: "That minister dared to ask. Can Your Majesty guarantee that this case has nothing to do with Concubine Wan?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was even more surprised than before.
Everyone felt that Tang Fan was not only out of his mind, but also a stupefied young man.
It’s enough to keep this kind of question in your mind, so can you say it directly
Even the chief assistant Wan An was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help shaking his head secretly, but what he thought was different from others: It's incredible, it's incredible, Tang Fan knew the presence of that person, so he deliberately asked this question in order to get a head start. The case is spread out, so as not to be plotted against in the future.
Wan An naturally also remembered that three years ago, it was his own words that made the young man who should have won the top spot turned into a boiled duck and flew away.
Sure enough, just when Wan An thought so, a figure behind the screen couldn't hold back, and turned around angrily.
"If this was what I did, I would be struck by thunder and I would not be able to die. If it wasn't for me, you would be struck by thunder and kill your whole family!"