The small courtyard under the cover of night is very empty and desolate, it can be seen that Aunt Qian is not doing well after leaving the palace, and this Aunt Qian has no intention of inviting them into the house, she just stands under the eaves and turns around , she glanced at Yan Chi, and then said in a firm tone, "I never thought that the empress would let Prince Rui come here."
While talking, Aunt Qian looked at Qin Wan who was beside Yan Chi again, "This must be Princess Yongci."
Yan Chi didn't know Aunt Qian, but she was able to recognize them in such a short period of time, which proved that she was not a small role in the palace, and since she left the palace, she has been paying attention to the capital and the royal family. There are related movements, this discovery makes both Yan Chi and Qin Wan's eyes darken.
Yan Chi frowned and said, "Since you recognized him, tell us how Song Xiwen died."
Aunt Qian's eyes were slightly lowered. Under the dark night, people couldn't see her expression clearly. She seemed to straighten out her thoughts, and after a while, she raised her eyes and looked at the two of them, "I know the empress has already Being grounded, the case in Prince Jin's Mansion caused a lot of trouble, and the empress was the victim in the end, but the empress was not the one who killed Song Xiwen at all."
Qin Wan frowned, and Yan Chi also had doubts in his eyes.
Aunt Qian paused and continued, "Not only did the Empress not kill Song Xiwen, she even wanted to save him back then, but the Empress was careless."
Qin Wan and Yan Chi's hearts were shocked. Song Xiwen's body was sent out by the empress. How did the empress want to save him
Aunt Qian just pretended that she didn't see Qin Wan and Yan Chi's accident, she continued to speak in a calm tone, "The Empress not only wants to save Song Xiwen, she also wants to save His Royal Highness King Jin, but it's a pity...the Empress is still a step behind."
Qin Wan and Yan Chi looked at each other with seriousness in their eyes.
This is too far from what they have known and guessed before.
Qin Wan couldn't help but said, "The Empress wants to save His Royal Highness King Jin? Does the Empress know that Concubine Jin was not killed by King Jin?"
King Jin is the murderer who killed Concubine Jin, which is almost everyone's consensus, but why does the queen want to save King Jin? That being the case, how did King Jin die in the end
Aunt Qian smiled coolly, "His Royal Highness Jin Wang... His biological mother went early, and the nanny who brought His Highness Jin Wang is the queen's side. The Queen knows the temperament of His Royal Highness Jin Wang best. Your Highness and Concubine Jin haven't even spoken a few words, so how could they kill Concubine Jin?"
At this point, Aunt Qian exhaled, her tone long and deep, "When the case happened last year, there was a blunder, and everyone saw that scene, but... at that time, His Royal Highness Prince Jin just appeared in front of Concubine Jin. There is no way to prove that the person was killed by him. Later, King Jin and his only entourage, that is, Song Xiwen, were imprisoned in the Department of Imperial Punishment. It was originally a royal palace banquet. Many, the news cannot be concealed at all. Sure enough, soon there were discussions in the previous court, and all kinds of rumors became more and more turbulent within three or two days. The incident began with the commander of the Imperial Guard Lin Zhang was responsible for the investigation, but there was no result after a few days. Every time he asked King Jin, King Jin said that he walked to the Imperial Garden when he sobered up after the banquet, and then went to Concubine Jin's palace after hearing the screams. , when she broke in, Concubine Jin was already dead, if he wasn't the murderer, then he would be the first person to see Concubine Jin's body..."
Aunt Qian looked at Qin Wan after she finished speaking, "This matter has been entangled for a few days, the discussion in the previous court has become louder and louder, and the Department of Imperial Punishment can't find out anything. The emperor has not said anything. The King Jin is extremely honorable. She couldn't even use torture. The empress waited for three days and saw that the previous dynasty's comments on King Jin were getting worse and worse, so she interrogated Song Xiwen in private. Song Xiwen knew something here, but he didn't expect Song Xi to die in Kunning Palace the next day after hearing about it."
Qin Wan narrowed her eyes, Kun Ning Palace has always been under the empress's control, without her instruction, how could Song Xiwen die
Aunt Qian seemed to know that Qin Wan would not believe it, so she said, "Although the Kunning Palace is the territory of the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager was careless at the time, and she interrogated her privately. Every move, Song Xiwen was assassinated to death, and the purpose was naturally to keep his mouth shut."
"The empress was still alive when she took the man away, but she was dead after sending it back. It was difficult for the imperial punishment department to explain this. At that time, Zhu Yucheng suggested that it would be better to send the body out of the palace for disposal." Anyway, the most important thing is His Royal Highness King Jin, and Zhu Yucheng will arrange everything later."
Qin Wan and Yan Chi thought it was a bit embarrassing. At that time, the queen didn't have to go through this muddy water. Song Xiwen was dead, and the queen could find out who the murderer of Song Xiwen was. It's gone, this doesn't look like a queen at all!
Qin Wan frowned and said, "It's impossible for the queen to save him because of her relationship with King Jin. This matter has planted a disaster for the queen, and the queen should understand."
Aunt Qian shook her head, "I don't know why the queen did this, but I was the leading nun in the Department of Imperial Punishment at the time, and Zhu Yucheng and I belonged to the empress's empress. After leaving the palace, Zhu Yucheng is gracious, and it is not easy for an eunuch to live outside the palace. I didn't expect that this will make him stay in the palace forever... "
The Department of Imperial Punishment is not only the place to punish the eunuchs, but also the place to punish the maids, and the ones responsible for punishing the maids are some nuns who have lived in the palace for a long time. Aunt Qian is one of them. What Aunt Qian said is obviously true. Know that Zhu Yucheng is dead.
Qin Wan said again, "Then what did Song Xiwen say at that time? Is there anything related to the Prince Jin case?"
Aunt Qian shook her head, "The Empress never told me about it in detail, but... Zhu Yucheng and I dealt with this matter at the time, and I remember that Song Xiwen was very scared and terrified, and kept repeating His Royal Highness Jin's words. "
Speaking of this, Aunt Qian suddenly said, "Oh yes, she said that the knife, the dagger that killed Concubine Jin, said that the dagger did not belong to His Royal Highness Jin Wang, and you can find out who it is by following this clue. He also panicked at the time when he killed Concubine Jin, so he could only repeat the story of Concubine Jin being murdered that night with His Royal Highness Prince Jin. She wanted Song Xiwen to testify to the King of Jin, but Song Xiwen died, and Song Xiwen was temporarily under house arrest in the West Garden of Kunning Palace, and something happened in a short while."
Qin Wan and Yan Chi frowned at the same time, since they had never seen the file, they naturally did not know the specific records about the murder weapon, and there was no mention of the murder weapon dagger in Shen Yi's letter, could it be said that the dagger really existed? question
"What happened later? Didn't you check the dagger?"
When Qin Wan asked, Aunt Qian's expression suddenly fell into a strange wry smile, "Of course I checked, I checked it the next day, but... But later both the queen and Lin Zhang found out that the dagger was actually the king of Jin. The saber next to His Highness."
Qin Wan and Yan Chi were stunned together, and Aunt Qian said helplessly, "Song Xiwen said she was swearing, but no matter how I checked, it was still the saber beside His Royal Highness Jin Wang. His Highness Jin Wang usually carries a short knife, which is the length of a dagger. When the night was discovered by everyone, the imperial guards arrived soon. His Royal Highness Prince Jin had been holding the dagger in his hand. By the time he was sent to the Department of Imperial Punishment, the imperial guards had already removed the dagger. .”
"Will they be replaced?" Qin Wan asked quickly.
Aunt Qian shook her head, "No, because at that time, the dagger was kept by the Department of Justice."
And the person of the Department of Imperial Punishment is the queen's person, if it is replaced with a completely different dagger, it is impossible for anyone with a discerning eye not to notice.
Qin Wan frowned tightly. Since the dagger was really King Jin's dagger, then Song Xiwen was lying, but who killed him
At this point, Aunt Qian felt that what she said was almost the same, and she said, "This should be what the two of you want to know. In short, the case last year had nothing to do with the empress. It is impossible to intervene... "
After a slight pause, Aunt Qian said, "During this period, the empress met Master Shen once."
Qin Wan's heart skipped a beat, but Aunt Qian was afraid that they would not know who "Master Shen" was and said, "It's Shen Yi, the former Minister of Dali Temple."
Qin Wan hurriedly asked, "What are you doing seeing Mr. Shen?"
"The empress told Mrs. Shen that His Royal Highness King Jin was not someone who would kill concubines in the harem, so Mrs. Shen investigated it very clearly. Later, the case dragged on for more than a month. No one expected that the Shen family was wiped out in the end. King Jin His Highness is also dead."
As if thinking of something, Aunt Qian's eyes flashed a look of fear.
"But whether it's the Shen family's extermination or the King Jin's subsequent death, it must have nothing to do with the empress. The murderer wanted Song Xiwen to die in Kunning Palace for this purpose. He wanted the empress to be justified. It was a helpless way to deal with it later.”
Aunt Qian was still puzzled when she said it, and it was even more difficult for Qin Wan and Yan Chi to understand.
Aunt Qian saw that both of them looked pensive, she couldn't help but said, "Both of you are noble people, I used to be a slave in the palace, but now I'm just a grassroots when I'm out of the palace, if you two believe in grassroots, then Believe in the empress's heart to save His Royal Highness King Jin, the current predicament in the court can also explain the problem." Aunt Qian looked at Yan Che, "His Royal Highness Prince Rui will definitely understand what Cao Min said..."
Yan Chi narrowed her phoenix eyes, "Now the emperor is the one who imprisoned the queen, and the one who grounded the prince is also the emperor. If you talk like this, I will have some disrespectful thoughts."
Aunt Qian is just a palace slave, and when she heard Yan Chi's words, she had a calm expression on her face. She shook her head and lowered her eyes. Just ask the prince and princess to ask, after tomorrow, Caomin will leave the capital."
Even though Aunt Qian appeared very calm on the surface, these words revealed some inside information.
Because the two of them came to look for her, did they force her to leave the capital
Qin Wan calmed down, "At that time Song Xiwen was in Kunning Palace, and those who could do something in Kunning Palace should be those who hold power in the palace, especially they must be familiar with the situation in the palace so that they will not be caught. The empress obviously could thoroughly investigate this matter, but she chose this method. Did the empress have already guessed the murderer who killed Concubine Jin? That person was the same person as the envoy who killed Song Xiwen. The empress... fears his power..."
Aunt Qian smiled wryly, "It has been very difficult for the empress all these years. If she hadn't had no way out, she wouldn't have disturbed the harem."
Qin Wan stared at Aunt Qian closely for a moment, then didn't ask any other questions, while Yan Chi pondered for a moment and said, "After this case, is the empress suddenly anxious to designate the crown prince as the crown prince?"
Aunt Qian suddenly raised her head to look at Yan Chi, her eyes were a little surprised, "Yes..."
She answered a word in a difficult tone, Yan Chi nodded and did not ask further.
And Qin Wan recalled from the side, after she woke up in Jinzhou, she heard the news that Yan Che was registered as the prince in the Anyang Hou Mansion within two months. From this point of view, the time in between was really not good It is long.
Seeing that Qin Wan didn't have anything to ask, Yan Chi said, "That's all we want to ask, so let's go."
Qin Wan nodded to Aunt Qian, turned around and walked out together with Yan Chi. The two of them went back and forth, and it took less than half a day before they got into the carriage, and the carriage drove out slowly. Aunt Qian in the alley let out a long breath. She immediately locked the door, touched the thin sweat on her forehead, then entered the house with a nervous expression while her heart was beating wildly, and packed her things as quickly as possible. The aunt did not even wait until dawn before leaving Anminfang.
On the carriage back, Qin Wan and Yan Chi didn't speak for a while.
What Song Xiwen said in Kunning Palace did not seem to be strange, but after checking, the dagger really belonged to King Jin.
In this way, the suspicion of King Jin was further affirmed.
Yan said slowly, "The empress must know who the murderer of Concubine Jin is."
After he finished speaking word by word, Qin Wan's back felt slightly chilled. At Prince Rui's mansion in the afternoon, Yan Chi's analysis had already made her hair stand on end. The speculation is very reasonable, she couldn't help holding Yan Chi's hand, Yan Chi held it back, and said, "Song Xiwen can't slander his master, and it's impossible for King Jin to be the one who killed Concubine Jin." , but the dagger belongs to King Jin..."
Qin Wan's heart skipped a beat, and he said suddenly, "What if... King Jin changed the dagger himself?"
If King Jin changed it himself, then the explanation would make sense.
Yan Chi frowned, "But why? Also, if the dagger is replaced, where is the real dagger?"