The people from the West Factory looked at each other with embarrassed expressions on their faces. One of them cupped his hands and said, "Master Tang, Gong Gong has ordered us to come and invite you into the palace. He is waiting for you at the gate of the palace!"
He said this politely, but it was not because the fierce Xichang Fanzi suddenly changed his personality and became docile and pure, but because these people saw Tang Fan being assigned by the palace to handle the case, and even Wang Zhi never treated him. Presiding over the arrogant, so follow the wind and turn the rudder, giving three points of courtesy.
Of course, if Tang Fan refused to go with them, and Wang Zhi's orders were there, these people would still take Tang Fan into the palace that night and leave without a word.
This is called first soft and then hard, first courtesy and then soldier.
Tang Fan naturally understood this, he could only stand up and rubbed his stomach. He didn't feel as bloated as before, so he said, "Let's go."
"Thank you, Master Tang, for your sympathy." The other party smiled and asked for his opinion. "I don't know if Master Tang wants to ride a horse or sit in a sedan chair, we are all ready!"
There was a sedan chair, so of course Tang Fan wouldn't be pretentious, and immediately got into the empty sedan chair with two sedan chairmen in front and back.
Maybe it was because he had been oppressed by a moody boss like Wang Zhi for a long time. The efficiency of the West Factory is really not a problem. As soon as Tang Fan sat in, he felt that the sedan chair suddenly rose up into the air and began to move forward rapidly. What is rare is the sedan chair. It only swayed slightly, and it didn't look much bumpy compared to the flat ground. He lifted the curtain and looked out, and he saw the left and right scene as if flying backwards, whizzing past, dizzying, and even a little dizzy after watching it for a long time. , He quickly lowered the curtain, and took advantage of this time to close his eyes in the sedan chair.
After closing his eyes, he went straight to sleep. When he woke up after being tapped twice on the shoulder, he saw someone from the West Factory lean into the sedan chair and say to him, "Sir, the palace gate is here."
Tang Fan opened his eyes and felt that his body was much better. After a short nap, the stomach pain disappeared. He stretched out and bent over to leave the sedan chair.
Wang Zhizheng was waiting there, his face full of impatience, seeing that he had finally arrived, he turned his head and walked in without saying a word.
"Let's go, we won't be able to see you later!"
"What?" Tang Fan was inexplicable when he heard these words without beginning or end.
"Yuanliang committed suicide by swallowing gold." Wang Zhi glanced at him and said.
ah? Tang Fan was really surprised now.
"What the hell did you do?"
"What I did, I didn't do anything!" Wang Zhi said angrily.
"Then what's going on? Why did I only leave for a long time, and Yuanliang just... Does the prince know about this?" Tang Fan hurriedly asked.
Wang Zhi asked him to enter the palace, and naturally he also wanted to let him understand the cause and effect, so he used the journey to Ciqing Palace to briefly talk about things.
Only then did Tang Fan know that after he and Wang Zhi parted ways, Wang Zhi entered the palace and went directly to Yuanliang to ask about the cause of Han Zao's death.
Yuanliang naturally asked three questions and did not know, and two and one assumed five.
Wang Zhi saw that he was unwilling to confess, and said in his heart that I was worried about the crown prince and wanted to cover up for you. If you still refuse to admit it, then don't blame me.
He threatened Yuanliang, saying that he already knew about his collusion with Furu. If Yuanliang refused to tell the truth, he would go and tell the imperial concubine, and Yuanliang would die even more miserably. Even the crown prince, Empress Wu and others , are likely to be implicated.
Threats are threats. In fact, Wang Zhi has not figured out what to do.
Han Hui started with Han Zao, but he had to choose it at the time when Concubine Wan just brought the soup, which inevitably requires the cooperation of both sides.
One is Yuanliang. Yuanliang was the one who sent Han Zao into the palace, and he was the only person in the palace who could interact with Han Hui.
The second is that there must be someone around Concubine Wan to calculate the time to deliver the soup, discuss it with Yuanliang in advance, and then choose to have the attack at this time.
The ins and outs of this matter, Tang Fan had already deduced to Wang Zhi before:
Concubine Wan is jealous and vengeful. She hates a person, that is, she hates her to the core, and she will never change her mind. Just like with the prince, before the prince Zhu Youji appeared, the women in the harem and the heirs would only be destroyed in front of the concubine Wan, because the emperor favored and tacitly agreed, and no one in the court dared to speak up, so that the emperor gave He didn't even have a son at his age, and he was about to die.
At this time, the prince appeared, and he was actually six years old, which means that after living under her nose for six years, Concubine Wan was kept in the dark by the palace people, unaware that this huge sense of being deceived , How can Concubine Wan, who has always dominated the harem, bear it, so even if she knows that the prince is already sensible, she may hold grudges in the future, and even kill the prince's biological mother, Ji Shi, the eunuch Zhang Min who helped conceal the existence of the prince, was so frightened that she swallowed gold directly Suicide is the fear of being revenge by Concubine Wan.
Therefore, in this case, based on Concubine Wan's character, she would definitely prefer to re-support the sons of other concubines to become the prince rather than let Zhu Youji become the prince.
Since she didn't want to let Zhu Youji be the prince, why did she send some mung bean lily soup to please the prince? It can be seen that her original intention must not be like this. She will send soup. It must be because of the repeated persuasion of people close to her that she changed Concubine Wan's mind.
There are very few candidates who can serve closely with Concubine Wan and persuade her to move her, and Fu Ru, a maid who is deeply relied on by Concubine Wan, must be one of them.
Therefore, Tang Fan and Wang Zhi deduced that if Yuan Liang colluded with the people around Concubine Wan, then this Fu Ru must be the most likely.
But Wang Zhi couldn't go directly to Concubine Wan to explain the situation. In this way, the collusion between Yuanliang and Fu Ru was exposed. Yuanliang was the prince's valet, and Concubine Wan would inevitably think that it was the prince who wanted to frame herself. , will definitely find the prince to settle accounts, and then Wang Zhi's goal of pleasing both sides can't be achieved.
Also, Fu Ru is a palace maid by Concubine Wan's side, and she is very good. Why should she collude with Yuan Liang to make these things happen
So Wang Zhi had to think of a way to find out the murderer behind the scenes without giving Concubine Wan an excuse to cleanse the harem.
Of course, it's not that Eunuch Wang is merciful, but that he wants political speculation.
Well, no matter what the purpose is, in a word, Eunuch Wang also fought hard.
It's not that he didn't want to take Yuan Liang directly back to the West Factory for interrogation, but this way, the movement would be a big one, and Concubine Wan would also notice it, so Wang Zhi could only take the opportunity to investigate the case first and send someone to keep secrets While censoring Fu Ru, he approached Yuan Liang in private and told him that both Fu Ru and Han Hui had already recruited, so Yuan Liang had better be a little more acquainted. At that time, when all kinds of tortures are applied, you will not be able to die if you want to die.
In the face of Wang Zhi's story of the future, Yuan Liang naturally couldn't argue any more, but he acted calmly and only told Wang Zhi that he did everything alone, and hoped that no one would be implicated, he was disciplined The concubine was heavily entrusted, watching the prince grow up, let alone dragging the prince into the swamp because of this incident.
Wang Zhi said disdainfully, does this still need you to explain? If I wanted to make things bigger, I would have gone to the imperial concubine to claim the credit.
Yuan Liang got his assurance and said that he hoped to see the prince again, and he still had something to say to the prince.
Wang Zhi agreed.
Then, Wang Zhi hurried out of the palace and came to find Tang Fan.
After listening to Tang Fan, he was silent for a moment and asked, "He committed suicide after seeing the prince?"
Wang Zhi nodded: "It's swallowing gold, it won't die immediately, there will be some time in a while. It's just you and me who understand the inside story from the beginning to the end. I asked you to enter the palace because I want you to ask. One understands why Yuan Liang did this, depending on whether he was doing it for personal reasons or something else. Also, we have to discuss how to deal with Fu Ru, so as to hide from the imperial concubine."
From the time Yuanliang said he wanted to see the prince again, Wang Zhi had expected that he would do so, because if he wanted to protect the prince, only when Yuanliang died, everything would be clean. Hui's side will deal with it again, and basically there is no evidence.
While they were talking, the two had already arrived at the Ciqing Palace.
The prince came out to see them soon, his eyes were a little red, his expression was still calm, and he didn't know if he knew anything, he just said to Wang Zhi and the others: "Wang Neichen, Tang Tuiguan, Yuan Neiwei is very ill, he , he wants to see you..."
Doing the whole set of the show, Wang Zhi nodded, and said in a serious manner, "Please lead the way, Your Highness."
The prince said, "You come with me."
I have to say that the people who serve the prince in the East Palace are very loyal, because these people basically risked their lives back then, hiding from Concubine Wan, secretly helping Ji to raise the prince and watching him grow up At that time, no one knew that this child would become a prince in the future, and no one knew whether the child would die prematurely, and they also knew very well that if they were discovered by the imperial concubine, they would be greeted with disaster. . Rao is so, these people still do it.
There is no reason for it, it can only be said that no matter how dark the place is, there will be good humanity. It is precisely because of these people that the prince has not become crooked. He still yearns for the light and has a pure and kind heart. Tang Fan can see his heart from his articles and fonts, and also firmly believes that the prince has nothing to do with this matter. .
No matter what the wind and rain may be outside, the East Palace has become a small world by itself. Many people use their lives to protect the little prince. This is not something that any gold and silver treasure can impress, so even Wang Zhi’s Xichang power also failed to penetrate.
To be honest, there is such a place and such a group of people, Tang Fan is also very strange, why did Yuanliang do this.
The prince took Tang Fan and the two to an inconspicuous small room in the East Palace.
At this time, Yuan Liang was lying on the bed, his face was sallow, and he was completely different from before.
Suicide by swallowing gold is a more difficult and painful way to die than hanging and taking poison. However, in the palace, it is not very easy to hang yourself. You must have tools, and it is easy to be found. Poison is even harder to find. Relatively speaking, swallowing gold It is much more convenient. With a position like Yuanliang, there must be a lot of private houses accumulated over the years. As long as some broken gold are cut into small pieces and served with alcohol, the purpose of suicide can be achieved. This is also a common method used by the people in the palace. When it was discovered that he concealed the birth of the prince, the eunuch Zhang Min was worried that he would be retaliated by Wan Guifei, so he committed suicide like this.
Having said that, Concubine Wan has a bad temper, and she often beats and scolds the servants and servants around her. If it is said that Fu Ru has a heart of revenge because she can't stand Concubine Wan's actions, Tang Fan believes it, but she doesn't know why she doesn't. Poisoning the imperial concubine directly, but using such a roundabout method, this is another doubt to be solved.
But he said that although Yuanliang was dying step by step, his face remained calm. When he saw the two coming, he asked the prince to go out first, and before Tang Fan and the others could ask any questions, he took the initiative to say, "I know what you want to ask, I I will say it, but I beg you one thing, this matter has nothing to do with His Highness from beginning to end, and after I die, please don't implicate His Highness, okay?"
Wang Zhi was expressionless: "Don't talk nonsense, just say it, why did you do this?"
Yuan Liang sighed and looked sad: "When I first entered the palace, I was assigned to help clean up the library in the inner palace. At that time, I was young and ignorant. I often offended people and was beaten. Thanks to the library in the library. My sister Ji came back to protect me from time to time, taught me to read and write, and when I was punished without food, she gave me her share of the day, and I will never forget her kindness in this lifetime.”
"It wasn't until one day that I found out that Sister Ji was a little weird. She couldn't eat and vomited often. I was worried that she was sick, so I kept asking, and Sister Ji told me that she might be pregnant."
"After knowing that the child belongs to His Majesty, I am both happy and worried for her. I am happy that there were no children born in the harem at that time. If Sister Ji can give birth to a boy, she will definitely be a concubine. The crown prince. The worry is that Concubine Wan has the final say in the harem, and even the queen was dismissed because she offended her. Now that Concubine Wan has no children, can she tolerate her sister to give birth to the child? "
"Sure enough, after a while, Concubine Wan heard the news that Sister Ji was pregnant, and sent a maid to force her to have an abortion. Sister Ji is a good person, and there are not a few people who have received her favor like me. After taking the abortion pill, it was nothing but our pleading, and instead of embarrassing her, she went directly to the imperial concubine to report that she had taken the medicine, and Sister Ji did not respond, so she should be sick, not pregnant."
"Fortunately, the medicine didn't have much effect, and His Highness was finally born. You can see that the hair on the top of His Highness's head is sparse now, because of the fetal poison left by the drug attack at that time."
Recalling the past, Yuan Liang's eyes became distant, and his eyes became moist.
"After His Highness was born, Sister Ji took him to hide in Tibet every day. Sister Ji was in poor health, and she had no case. The food and food of His Highness depended on us to search around, and we had to hide from the eyes and ears of the imperial concubine. Frightened."
"It was like this until His Highness was six years old. Zhang Min confessed His Highness's existence in front of His Majesty. His Highness was established as the Crown Prince. We all rejoiced and were happy for Sister Ji, thinking that her good day was finally coming. Who knows, Sister Ji died a few months after His Highness was established as the crown prince."
He shed tears and wept blood every word: "It is said that good people will have good rewards, but I don't understand why there is no good ending for such a good person as Sister Ji?"
For this question, let alone Yuan Liang, even Tang Fan couldn't answer it.
In this world, there are always many people who do things that harm the interests of others or even their lives for the sake of self-interest.
You said that Concubine Wan can't give birth to a son, the crown prince has also been established, and she still persecutes the Ji family, is it good for her
From Concubine Wan's standpoint, of course she would say yes, because she hated Ji's ability to have a son, but she couldn't, because she hated Ji's concealment of her son's existence for so many years, and hated herself being treated as a fool, because she was afraid that the prince would ascend the throne in the future , the Ji family is the empress dowager, and she is just a concubine...
All of the above, if Wan Guifei needs it, you can naturally come up with a bunch of reasons.
In her heart, there is no forgiveness, no tolerance, and no concessions.
Now the officials of the Manchu Dynasty, including the high-ranking Zaifu in the cabinet, they do nothing all day long, just get by, but they are full of children and grandchildren and enjoy wealth and glory.
Back then, when Concubine Wan killed all the women in the harem and the emperor's heirs, they were in vain as the pillars of the country, but they didn't dare to say a word, for fear that Concubine Wan would blow the pillow wind and lose her black gauze hat, so she let her do whatever she wanted.
On the contrary, those palace ladies and eunuchs who were looked down on by the civil servants on weekdays fought their lives to save the prince, but in the end there was no good end.
Could it really be that loyalty and justice have been slandered since ancient times, and that traitorous gangsters can achieve prosperity