When Lu Heng heard that Empress Fang took Concubine Cao Duan away and arrested Wang Ning's concubine, she had a premonition that Empress Fang would avenge her private revenge. But Jin Yiwei's task was to protect the emperor. After the emperor woke up, Lu Heng relayed the matter, and the emperor made up his mind.
The emperor asked Lu Heng to go to Kunning Palace to detain Concubine Cao Duan, but he was actually keeping Concubine Duan's life in disguise. Jin Yiwei is a pro-military of the foreign dynasty, and has nothing to do with the harem, but the Silijian and the Shanggong Bureau have infiltrated the forces of various palace concubines, and those eunuchs can do whatever they want, which is enough to make Duanfei suffer.
Although the emperor has not yet found out why the palace servants killed him, in his opinion, it will not be the concubine Cao Duan who did it.
Cao Duanfei's father was an official in the court, and he was very favored, and he also had a daughter who was only eight months old. If Concubine Cao Duan really had different intentions, she would have had so many opportunities to eat and sleep with the emperor over the years, why would she have the palace maid strangle the emperor with a rope on the night of serving her bed
Regardless of success or failure, Concubine Cao Duan will definitely be implicated. She really had no reason to do such a thing.
Lu Heng went to Kunning Palace to bring people. At first, Queen Fang refused to talk. She talked for a long time. Lu Heng took out the token and showed a tough attitude. Then Queen Fang let go and said that the traitor should be locked in a secluded place. local interrogation.
According to Queen Fang's words, Jin Yiwei came to the most remote palace complex behind the Imperial Garden, and finally found Concubine Cao Duan in the cold palace. As soon as Lu Heng pushed the door in, he frowned fiercely.
Lu Heng still underestimated Empress Fang's cruelty. Empress Fang not only used lynching, but even used the cruelest death penalty.
Ling Chi used a knife to cut the flesh piece by piece, often with a few hundred knives. This is the most cruel punishment. Usually, only those who treason and rebel will be divided by Lingchi. Concubine Cao Duan was the first and probably the only concubine who was executed by Ling Chi.
The imperial prison is known as the purgatory on earth. When Jin Yiwei interrogates prisoners, he will also use irons, whips, and sticks. Guo Tao admits that he is used to seeing bloody scenes, and he almost vomited when he first entered the cold palace. Concubine Chong, who was lively and laughing not long ago, has now become a piece of debris on the ground. A head is attached to a body that is no longer complete. Lying on the ground coldly, her eyes are wide open, and she is no longer as charming and soft as she used to be.
Many Jinyiwei were uncomfortable, and the younger ones had already run to the corner to retching. Lu Heng walked around Concubine Duan's body with a cold face, and searched around the palace, but found no useful clues. The eunuch who executed the execution was stuck on the wall. They were a little panicked, but they said confidently: "The emperor was murdered by a traitor in Yikun Palace, but Concubine Duan happened to be not there, so she must know about it. Ling Chi is cheap for such treacherous people. took them."
"They." Lu Heng repeated the word slowly, turning around and instructing Jin Yiwei, "Search all the surrounding palaces, Wang Ning's concubine is also here."
The eunuch was flustered. He didn't expect Lu Heng to be so sensitive. The eunuch was caught by Lu Heng with just a few words. But the eunuch thought that he had been ordered by the queen, and raised his head fearlessly.
After Lu Heng gave the order, Jin Yiwei ran back and reported that he had found Concubine Wang Ning in a secluded corner of the palace wall, but they went too late and Concubine Ning had already been hanged.
Lu Heng sighed silently.
After all, she is a palace concubine, and it is not a problem that the corpse lies in the wild. Lu Heng ordered someone to collect the corpse for Concubine Cao Duan and Concubine Wang Ning. Concubine Wang Ning could say that Concubine Cao Duan's body was cut into pieces, and it was not easy to collect the body. When Jin Yiwei was struggling to gather the broken arm and stump, a man in Jinyiwei's school captain's uniform came running quickly and whispered in Lu Heng's ear, "Sir, the queen has gone to Yikun Palace."
Lu Heng rushed back to the Yikun Palace, where Empress Fang was already inside. Empress Fang held the handkerchief in both hands, still so dignified and dignified, and said: "The fact that such a big thing happened in the harem is because the concubine's body is not strict in governing the palace. The concubine deeply feels guilty and dare not ask the emperor for forgiveness. The concubine ordered the inner prisoner to arrest the palace staff for interrogation. Some palace staff heard that Yang Jinying was conspiring with others. It turned out that Wang Ning's concubine had not been favored for a long time, and she was resentful, so she instructed Yang Jinying to do wicked things. Although Concubine Cao Duan did not participate , but she also knew about Yang Jinying's conspiracy and deliberately left for a long time, which caused the emperor to suffer."
Lu Heng stood in front of the door and listened, he lowered his eyes and shook his head secretly. Queen Fang's testimony was full of loopholes, and Wang Ningbi resented that she was not favored, so she would not kill the emperor. Even if it was Wang Ning's concubine's mastermind, she would kill the monarch because she was not favored, so why would she unite with the most favored Concubine Cao Duan
It doesn't make sense anywhere. After the empress finished speaking, the emperor was silent for a long time without expressing his position. Lu Heng answered in a timely manner: "The empress is dedicated to escorting her, and her heart can be learned from. But people's hearts are unpredictable. "
Empress Fang was displeased when she saw Lu Heng demolishing her stage, and said with a stern face, "Could it be that Master Lu is doubting this palace?"
"Don't dare." Lu Heng said, "I'm just worried that the empress will be deceived. Especially the palace maid, since she heard that Yang Jinying was conspiring to commit a crime, why didn't she report it?"
After speaking, Lu Heng did not give Empress Fang a chance to refute, but turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the people in the palace are in a panic now, and it is necessary to guard against it. These palace people may be lying, and this minister asks for orders to re-investigate this case."
·
Wang Yanqing was sitting in the side hall. It was already dark outside. As usual, she had already slept at this hour. Wang Yanqing picked up the tea cup again and refreshed himself by drinking water. She took a few sips when there was a knock on the door of the palace, and someone said from outside, "Madam, Master Lu has a request."
Finally came, Wang Yanqing put down the tea cup, secretly checked his clothes before walking outside the hall. The way from the side hall to the main hall was covered with Jin Yiwei. The messenger sent her to the door, stopped outside the door and said, "Report to the emperor and queen, Mrs. Lu is here."
After a while, the door curtain was lifted, and Lu Heng came out in person and brought Wang Yanqing into the hall. Except for the momentary look at each other when the two opened the curtain, the rest of the time did not communicate. Wang Yanqing followed behind Lu Heng with her eyes down. Lu Heng stopped and she also saluted: "See the emperor and the queen."
The emperor's throat was uncomfortable, and he half leaned on the bed without speaking. The eunuch beside him spoke on his behalf: "No ceremony."
Wang Yanqing stood up straight, and out of the corner of his eye quickly scanned the surroundings. The yellow curtain hangs down in front of the bed, surrounded by many servants in front of the bed, Queen Fang moved an armchair and sat beside the bed, clasped her hands on her knees, and the long armors overlapped, looking elegant and dignified.
There was a palace maid kneeling below Queen Fang, her head bowed, her hands on the ground, her body trembling slightly.
Jin Yiwei briefly told Wang Yanqing on the road that a palace maid confessed that she had heard Yang Jinying's conspiracy, and Empress Fang killed Concubine Cao Duan and concubine Wang Ning according to the palace maid's identification. Now that Yang Jinying and the others, as well as Cao and Wang Erfei, have all died, Lu Heng felt that the palace maid might be lying, so he advocated a retrial.
The emperor agreed, and everyone was brought before the Holy Land, which became the situation Wang Yanqing saw now.
Wang Yanqing retracted his gaze and looked at the ground quietly. When Empress Fang saw Wang Yanqing, she frowned slightly and asked, "Master Lu, the murder just happened in the palace, but you brought strangers into the palace. What do you mean?"
"My wife is good at knowing lies. In order to prevent this palace maid from playing tricks, the minister took the courage to bring his wife into the palace and interrogated her in court. The minister makes his own decision and asks the emperor to convict her."
The emperor shook his head and motioned for Lu Heng to continue. If it was in the past, how could the emperor have the patience to hear the trial, he would directly see the result. But today involves the emperor's own life, the emperor is also willing to find out.
What is really important now is to find out the truth, not Lu Heng to bring someone into the palace without authorization. Lu Heng rescued the driver twice. If he wanted to be detrimental to the emperor, he would have already done it. There is no need to wait until now.
Empress Fang did not expect that the emperor would trust Lu Heng so much, and she became angry for a while. It was clear that Empress Fang was the first to arrive at the scene, but now it seems that the emperor clearly attributed most of the credit to Lu Heng.
After all, when Empress Fang arrived, the emperor had already been strangled into a coma, and did not see Empress Fang untie the rope. When the emperor opened his eyes again, what he saw was that Lu Heng was standing in front of the dragon couch. The guards, the poison test, and the message were all controlled by Jin Yiwei. It was self-evident which one was more realistic.
Empress Fang gritted her teeth unwillingly, but the other party was Jin Yiwei who commanded the same knowledge, and the person the emperor trusted most, even the empress would not dare to confront Lu Heng head-on. Queen Fang had to swallow her anger and let this inexplicable woman lead the interrogation.
Wang Yanqing raised her eyebrows secretly, gaining a more intuitive understanding of Lu Heng's power. Lu Heng was so arrogant that even the queen didn't dare to offend him. After dealing with this palace change, Lu Heng was afraid that he would be promoted again.
The emperor acquiesced, Empress Fang died, and Lu Heng squeezed Wang Yanqing's hand, indicating that she could start. Wang Yanqing stabilized his mind, lowered his eyes and wished for a thousand blessings, and said calmly: "The emperor and the queen forgive their sins, and the concubine must see the expression when asking questions.
After she finished speaking, she walked to the side and stood in a position where she could see the expressions of the palace maid, Queen Fang and the maid at the same time. The expressions of Empress Fang, Zhang Zuo and other eunuchs became subtle in an instant. Wang Yanqing ignored them, looked at the palace maid on the ground, and asked, "What's your name?"
The palace maid raised her eyes and looked around quietly. She probably didn't expect why Wang Yanqing didn't follow the routine when asking: "Xu Xiyue."
"Nation."
"Anren, Hengzhou Prefecture."
"Birth year."
Empress Fang couldn't listen any longer, and frowned, "Hurry up and ask Concubine Duan and Ning Concubine, what are you asking about?"
Xu Xiyue was lying on the ground, although she lowered her head and didn't look at Queen Fang's angle, but when Queen Fang spoke, Xu Xiyue bit her lip and her fingers were unconsciously clenched. Wang Yanqing had a panoramic view of everything, Xu Xiyue was nervous, and there was some fear in it.
It means that Queen Fang's words have put pressure on her.
Wang Yanqing ignored Queen Fang, still looked at Xu Xiyue and said, "Birthday."
Empress Fang's face was gloomy, revealing the displeasure of being offended. Lu Heng came out in time and said, "Empress Empress, these questions seem simple, but they are already clichéd. Please don't interrupt."
Empress Fang was stunned for a moment, with a look of surprise on her face, Xu Xiyue swallowed silently, her fingers clenched even tighter. Wang Yanqing was not disturbed by the outside world at all, her voice was still calm and calm, and asked for the third time, "date of birth."
Xu Xiyue lowered her eyes, her eyes trembled quickly, and said cautiously, "Sixteen years of Zhengde."
In the sixteenth year of Zhengde, she is only fifteen years old this year. Wang Yanqing continued to ask emotionlessly, "Father's name."
"Xu Tai."
Wang Yanqing asked her mother, brother, and even the village head Lizheng one after another. Xu Xiyue's answer was getting slower and slower. With a simple name of Lizheng, she would stop and think for a long time. Wang Yanqing noticed that Xu Xiyue's cheeks were pale and cold sweat was oozing faintly from the corner of her forehead. Wang Yanqing felt that it was almost the same, and asked, "What is your relationship with Yang Jinying?"
When she finally heard Yang Jinying's name, Xu Xiyue was secretly relieved, she said, "We are in the same room."
"Since you are in the same room, why didn't you find out that she intended to kill her?"
"Empress Sheng Shang Mingjian." Xu Xiyue hurriedly said, "We have eight people living in one room, and I am not familiar with her."
"How did you hear they were plotting?"
Xu Xiyue lowered her eyelashes, her voice was smooth and smooth, and she said without the slightest hesitation: "On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, the servant came back from the outside and saw that the doors and windows of the house were closed, and someone was talking vaguely inside. The servant approached and heard Yang Jinying talking about Wang and Cao's servants inside. Urged them and ordered them to act quickly. The slaves didn't know what they were talking about at the time. The slaves pushed the door and went in. They saw Yang Jinying, Zhang Jinlian and other 16 people in the room, with very nervous expressions on their faces. When they saw the slaves coming back, they warned the slaves. Don't talk nonsense, and then it's gone."
Wang Yanqing nodded and asked, "When did you hear that?"
When Xu Xiyue recalled it, she didn't bother at all, and said without blinking: "The 24th day of the first lunar month is the united hour."
"What are Yang Jinying's original words?"
"Yang Jinying's original words were that the emperor did not go to Ning Concubine's Palace for a long time, and Ning Concubine felt resentful. Concubine Cao Duan had promised Ning Concubine that she would take all the palace members away that day. Ning Concubine felt that everything was ready, so she urged Yang Jinying to act as soon as possible. ."
Wang Yanqing stared at Xu Xiyue calmly and asked, "What did the others say?"
"Others said yes, they will not disappoint Ning Concubine and Concubine Duan."
When Empress Fang heard this, she turned her head and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, this woman has no stumbling blocks or stutters, and there are no contradictions in her confession. According to Yichen and concubine, this palace change is the mastermind of Concubine Ning. The concubine knew and secretly assisted."
The palace people in the palace quietly looked at Lu Heng, the iron evidence was like a mountain, and the confession was detailed. It seemed that Empress Fang was right. Master Lu claimed that there was no unsolvable case, but this time he also misunderstood.
Lu Heng stood by and didn't speak, with a very calm demeanor, without the slightest intention of defending himself. Empress Fang was quite proud. She was about to strike while the iron was hot and asked for custody of the eldest princess when Wang Yanqing suddenly said, "I have a different opinion from the empress. I think this palace maid is lying."
The words were not astonishing, and everyone in the hall took a deep breath. Zhang Zuofei quickly glanced at the queen's face, and said with a calm face, "Mrs. Lu, you can't talk nonsense."
Empress Fang's face was ashen, but Wang Yanqing was neither anxious nor annoyed. Instead, she politely asked, "How dare you ask your father-in-law?"
Zhang Zuo was confused by Wang Yanqing's words. Seeing that the emperor was not impatient, he looked at Lu Heng's face and replied, "My surname is Zhang."
"Did Eunuch Zhang have dinner today?"
Zhang Zuo was even more stunned, and hesitantly said, "I ate."
"At what hour?"
"Shen Shi."
"what did you eat?"
Zhang Zuo's eyes kept swiping over Wang Yanqing and Lu Heng, not sure what they wanted to do. Wang Yanqing smiled at Zhang Zuo and said, "Father-in-law, look, you wouldn't say, 'I ate dinner on the 28th day of the first lunar month'. And when I asked Xu Xiyue, she kept repeating my question. Questions and answers based on real memory, focusing on memory, will ignore the information shared by both parties by default. Only liars, who have no detailed memory in their brains, will instinctively repeat key words bluntly based on hearing to win more for themselves Reaction time."
After speaking, Wang Yanqing turned to face the emperor, and gave a light blessing: "Your Majesty, my interrogation is over. Xu Xiyue is lying, she didn't hear Yang Jinying's conversation at all, the so-called conspiracy was memorized by rote."
There was a slight smile on Lu Heng's lips, and he held it back immediately. He also bowed his hands to the emperor with a solemn face: "Your Majesty, since this woman didn't hear Yang Jinying's words, then Concubine Ning and Concubine Duan may not be the masterminds of the palace change."