As soon as it entered mid-October, the weather became extremely cold. When Qin Wan arrived at Prince Rui's Mansion as scheduled, the sky was covered with dark clouds. The first snow in early winter was about to fall. When Qin Wan was about to arrive at the water pavilion , Yan Chi was writing a letter to Shuoxi.
"Your Highness, the Princess has arrived."
Yan Chi hurriedly put down his pen and went out, and saw Qin Wan approaching in a short distance.
Yan Chi went up to hold Qin Wan's hand and asked, "Come out from the palace?"
Qin Wan nodded, and when she lowered her eyes to see ink stains on Yan Chi's hands, she couldn't help laughing, "What are you writing?"
Yan Chi also saw a speck of ink on his finger, and felt a little helpless, "Letter to Shuoxi."
Qin Wan looked at Yan Chi hurriedly. Yan Chi knew that she was also concerned about Shuoxi, so he said in a low voice, "The progress over there is going well, and all the rations and supplies for Shuoxi this winter have been sent out. Before May next year, Shuoxi doesn't have to worry about food and grass."
Qin Wan breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that everything is going well, have you rescued all the people you wanted to save before?"
Yan Chi nodded, "Mr. Qi and Yu Qi arranged in Shuoxi, and they were basically rescued."
Thinking of Yue Ning, Qin Wan said, "The son of Yue Jia is also in Shuoxi, what is his attitude now?"
Yan Chi's expression settled slightly, "He's not considered a direct descendant of Prince Rui's mansion, nor is he a member of the emperor, but now he's just an outsider watching, so that's fine, he wasn't involved in it, and he didn't help Lin Xugui and the others in many things, so it's not too bad Be alone."
Qin Wan understood what Yan Chi meant, the current Shuoxi army camp was in chaos, Yue Jia's existence could be said to be beneficial to them.
Yan Chi looked at Qin Wan again, "Did you ask anything when you entered the palace today?"
Qin Wan nodded, and only briefly recounted what he had said to Yan Sui after entering the water pavilion. Yan Sui felt a little strange when he heard that Concubine Jin loved the emperor's calligraphy and painting very much during her lifetime, and even admired it alone "Since ancient times, imperial calligraphy has always been collected by courtiers, but for Concubine Jin, she has been favored a lot in those few years. It is common for her to study and paint with the emperor. She can see the emperor every day." There is no reason to close the door to appreciate calligraphy and painting, and if you want to appreciate it, you have already appreciated it thoroughly."
Qin Wan nodded, that's true. Last year was the sixth year that Concubine Jin entered the palace. She has been valued by the emperor since she first entered the palace. Need a special look at paintings of emperors
"Could it be that there is something on the emperor's painting? Concubine Jin found out the secrets in the palace, and then caused her death."
Yan Chi shook his head, "Maybe we also look for the emperor's paintings? If we talk about secrets, what can the emperor paint? Being with Concubine Jin has nothing to do with the court at all. If Concubine Jin suddenly discovered some secrets … I can't think of any secrets that can be gleaned from the paintings."
This is also where Qin Wan was puzzled, "It's okay to look for paintings, but I'm not good at calligraphy and painting, and I can't see anything after thinking about it. If I want to look for... I should also look for the paintings in Concubine Jin's hands, but I have already Just asked, everything in Concubine Jin’s palace has been confiscated, even the longevity lock that Concubine Jin gave His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince, he dare not wear it.”
Yan Chi was a little hesitant, and Qin Wan said again, "When Concubine Jin gave birth to Her Majesty the Ninth Prince, her position has become more and more stable. It stands to reason that she should be very at ease. Concubine Jin is not good at socializing in the palace, but the emperor's support With pampering in her body, she doesn't need to form cliques and make false claims, but His Highness the Ninth Prince made it clear that not long before the accident, Concubine Jin had shown great fear and even said that she wanted him to leave the palace."
"Although His Royal Highness was preceded by King Jin, King Cheng, and King Yong at that time, according to the age of the emperor and his love for Concubine Jin, the future heir may not necessarily be King Yong. Doesn't Concubine Jin have better hopes in her heart? Taking a step back, even if Concubine Jin doesn't have that idea, she can still hope that His Highness Ninth Prince will become a rich and idle prince in the future. She must have been terrified at that time, so she thought about sending His Highness Ninth Prince out of the palace."
After Qin Wan finished speaking, Yan Chi said suddenly, "The king of Jin changed the weapon used to kill Concubine Jin, and he must have been trying to hide something. Concubine Jin is so frightened, she must have discovered something... and something that can make these two people afraid together This matter is indeed something that can cause shocking waves in the royal family."
Qin Wan also thought about it, "After much deliberation, I still think that this matter has something to do with the emperor, he is the person who can cause such influence the most."
Yan Chi's eyes were serious, and he suddenly said, "That Aunt Qian has already left the capital, and she should be heading towards Luozhou."
Qin Wan couldn't help but think of Aunt Qian's words that night again. This old nanny who is old enough to leave the palace, even after leaving the palace, is still terrified and unable to sleep at night. Where does her fear come from? The answer seems self-evident...
"There are no other clues now, the emperor's paintings and calligraphy may really be one of the clues."
Yan Chi made a decision, "I'll let people try to find some paintings and calligraphy of the emperor. It would be the best if they can find something."
Qin Wan nodded, "I went to see the Yongning Palace, when Concubine Ye Jin suddenly turned back halfway, I guess she suddenly thought of something that she didn't finish, and ended up going to Hanguang Palace alone, did you Maybe it has something to do with the emperor's calligraphy and painting?"
Yan Chi nodded, "Either someone has an appointment, but if I have an appointment with someone, I won't think about it halfway."
Qin Wan thought about it again, "It's a pity that I can't see the autopsy report at that time."
Qin Wan is best at autopsy. Now there is no way to inspect Concubine Jin's body, so he can only make dry inferences. Yan Chi said, "It is said that Concubine Jin was lying in a pool of blood, but it can be seen that the wound was on her chest. They were killed by a knife, and there were not many traces of struggles and fights at the scene. These were first investigated by the Imperial Guards, and later transferred to Dali Temple. Although the most detailed inspections cannot be seen, there are many people who know about them.”
"Killed with one knife..." Qin Wan narrowed his eyes, "the murderer is undoubtedly a man. He killed Concubine Jin with one knife, and then King Jin heard the screams in the imperial garden, and found that the murderer had fled. It can be seen that the murderer also knew the palace well According to the terrain, there was also a palace banquet for male officials in the outer court that night?"
Yan Chi nodded, "Yes, at that time, it happened to be the beginning of the banquet in the harem and the banquet in the outer court. That's why King Jin went to the imperial garden to sober up."
Qin Wan thought for a while and said, "Is it possible that it is a male official from the outer court?"
Yan Chi shook his head, and categorically denied Qin Wan's idea, "It's impossible, male officials are not allowed to walk freely in the inner palace, and the side of Hanguang Hall is relatively remote, and ordinary male officials don't know the terrain over there. Very familiar."
"Since this is the case, the scope has been narrowed. It is still people in the palace, or people who can often enter and leave the palace."
At this point, Qin Wan couldn't help but sighed again. If it was really the emperor who killed Concubine Jin, it would always feel a bit strange, but if it was someone else, the scope would not be small.
Yan Chi brushed Qin Wan's temple hair, "Don't worry, there is still time, we are already very close to the truth."
It is the feeling that I know that I am very close to the truth, but I can't touch it. Qin Wan sighed, "If there is a way, I would like to meet the Queen. The Queen must know more than us."
Having said that, Qin Wan knew that seeing the queen at this juncture was not a good thing.
Yan Zhen's wedding date is set on October 20th, and it will be here in a few days, but the emperor still has no plans to release the queen. Under the superficial calm, there seems to be a sense of tension that has lasted for a long time, but It was not until today that Qin Wan could feel it so clearly.
"By the way, are you sure about that Fu family's child?"
Qin Wan suddenly remembered this matter, asked quickly, Yan Chi nodded, "I'm sure, Yanli now has two closest guards, one is Lu Yun, and the other is Fang Yu, that Fu's child should be One of those two."
Qin Wan frowned again. Although it was the Empress Dowager's credit for saving Prince Gong's mother and child back then, the emperor did not take any other measures later on. Now he even named Yan Li as Prince Gong. Qin Wan always felt a strange feeling lingering in his heart because of the indifferent relationship between the emperor and empress.
…
…
There are less than ten days until October 20th, and the most important event in the entire capital is Yan Zhen's marriage.
In the inner palace, everyone is busy with this matter. Yan Zhen is the emperor's only princess. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the proud daughter of heaven. Now Yan Zhen is going to marry the Northern Wei Dynasty on behalf of Da Zhou. In reason, this wedding should be grand and grand.
Qin Wan originally wanted to set up a tomb for her parents earlier, but since she knew that Li Muyun had gone to inquire about Shen's house being bought by Heren, she decided to postpone the matter. relationship, she is more cautious.
On this day, when Qin Wan arrived at Shoukang Palace, Yan Chi was already there. These days, the two of them seldom appeared in Shoukang Palace together, but now that they met together, even Nanny Chen looked at them with teasing eyes With a smile on her face, Nanny Chen also whispered to Qin Wan, "His Royal Highness entered the palace today to ask the Queen Mother to reward a few things to add to the betrothal gift. In fact, the inner palace has already been prepared. It's not that they have no family background, and they are all ready, but His Royal Highness thinks that the dowry is still too clear, so he insists on rewarding the queen mother again. Princess, you don't know, His Royal Highness has never asked the queen mother for it since he was a child. something."
Qin Wan was shy when she heard this, but she knew in her heart that what Yan Chi said was just to ask for the emperor's calligraphy.
In the inner room, the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "It's good for you to have this kind of heart. If you want anything, just ask the inner government to open my warehouse. I have collected a lot of calligraphy, painting and jade in it, all of which are tributes. , there are quite a few treasures, you can choose by yourself..."
Yan Chi said, "I wonder if there is Wang Yannian's "Hundred Sketches"?"
When Yan Chi asked this question, the Empress Dowager immediately laughed. Wang Yannian was a generation of painters more than 300 years ago. It is rumored that he himself was also a doctor, and his "Hundred Grass Drawings" was painted after he imitated Shennong's taste of hundreds of herbs. What came out is not only worth tens of thousands of gold, but also a treasure that doctors all over the world yearn for. Qin Wan is the best at medical skills. Yan Chi chose this painting to suit his liking. The queen mother laughed and said, "I remember it, It’s just that I can’t remember where I put it, and someone will take you to check it later, most of these paintings and calligraphy are stored in the Xuanji Pavilion of the Inner Mansion, forget it, I will ask Yuan Qing to take you to find it.”
Yan Chi waved his hand, "Eunuch Yuan works in front of the Holy Majesty, if he knows, the Holy Majesty will also know, what if the Majesty does not let go of this calligraphy?"
The queen mother had no choice but to shake her head, "You ghost, you also know that this painting is not comparable to other paintings." After thinking about it, the queen mother half-truthfully said, "If the emperor knows, it may not be true. You're dead, I want you to make a promise to do a good job in the Ministry of Punishment in the future."
Patting the arm of the chair, the queen mother said, "Let Ah Chen take you there later, but the Xuanji Pavilion is not small, you have to find some time."
Yan Chi hurriedly thanked her, and waited for the two of them to finish talking before Qin Wan entered the inner room. Naturally, the Queen Mother would not say what Yan Chi was here for, but only wanted Yan Chi's thoughts to turn into surprises for Qin Wan at that time. Watching Qin Wan talk, Yan Chi quit after a short while. Nanny Chen was an appropriate person. After hearing Yan Chi's words, she followed Yan Chi to the direction of Xuanji Pavilion. Yan Li.
Yan Li has been in dire straits in the bureaucracy these days, when he saw Yan Chi, his eyes lit up, "Seventh brother!"
Yan Chi smiled, Yan Li stepped forward and saw that Nanny Chen was also here, she couldn't help being slightly surprised, "What's the matter? Where is Nanny taking Brother Seven?"
Nanny Chen smiled and said, "Your Highness thinks that the dowry to the Princess is too light. Right now, I am begging for a baby with the Queen Mother, and the maidservant is about to take His Highness to Xuanji Pavilion."
Upon hearing this, Yan Li became very interested, "Xuanji Pavilion?! I am familiar with Xuanji Pavilion! I have also taken good things from it..."
Nanny Chen smiled helplessly, while Yan Li put his arm around Yan Chi's shoulders, "Let's go, I'll go, I'll go too, it's rare that the imperial grandmother let go, I'll go pick up two things and give them to Brother Seven when the time comes As a wedding present with Qin Wan... "
Yan Chi hesitated for a moment, but didn't say much after all. Nanny Chen knew Yan Li's temperament, so she naturally followed him.
As soon as Yan Li saw Yan Chi, he couldn't help complaining about the torment of the officials. However, compared to last time, Yan Li is much more comfortable now, and even asked a few very serious questions , The two talked all the way to Xuanji Pavilion, and when they arrived at Xuanji Pavilion, Mother Chen reported her intention, and the palace servants dared not be careless and opened all the twelve libraries. When they heard that what Yan Chi wanted was Wang Yannian's " "Hundred Sketches", the palace people immediately flipped through the booklet to find the records, but there were too many things in it, and the palace people couldn't find them for a while, so Yan Chi watched Yanli assign tasks, "Wang Yannian's "Hundred Sketches" , you look from the east, I look from the west... "
Yan Li originally came here to take advantage of the sheep, but he didn't want to look for paintings in the vast library. middle.