The Night King pointed to the corner and said, "Someone, move all the flower pots away."
Hearing this, the noble concubine suddenly raised her head and said sternly, "Night King, have you had enough of your nonsense? These flowers were planted by the former queen mother herself, and how could there be an assassin hiding in the flowerpot?"
Eunuch Lu also said, "Yes, Night King, there can't be a living person hidden in this flowerpot, right? I can see it at a glance."
There is grass under this flowerpot. Could it be that the assassin can hide underground
Ye Wang said: "You can't hide a living person, but you can hide a corpse, right?"
"Corpse?" Eunuch Lu was stunned. "Did the Night King infer that the assassin was dead? If he was dead, who would hide the assassin's body?"
An assassin was found in the palace. The dead assassins were thrown into a mass grave after the autopsy. The two living ones were also taken away. If there were still assassins, they would definitely hide. If they were dead, why would the noble concubine hide the body? That was the body of an assassin. Could she make money hiding it
"Whether he is dead or alive, we have to find out." The Night King ordered the imperial guards to move the flower pot.
The grass under the flowerpot was soft and showed signs of having been dug, and the flowers were put back later.
The noble concubine's face turned pale, but she couldn't step forward to stop it, and she had to pretend that she knew nothing.
The guards dug up the grass and found the bodies of the two assassins. They dragged the bodies out and dumped them in front of the Night King.
The noble concubine covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh my God, why is there a corpse here?"
Eunuch Lu was also very surprised and looked at Ye Wang in confusion.
The Night King did not explain, but ordered: "Come, ask the Regent Princess and the Coroner to come and perform an autopsy."
The news of the body being found in Ci'an Palace spread quickly in the palace, and people from all the palaces were sent to gather information.
Eunuch Lu immediately went back to report to the emperor. After the emperor heard it, he didn't speak for a long time. Then, he looked up at Zi'an and said, "Go and check it carefully. If you find anything, you must report it to me personally."
"Yes!" Zi'an bowed and left the hall.
She looked at the sky which was surrounded by dusk, took a deep breath, and came out. The emperor asked her to report in person, which meant that he had some trust in her.
Noble Concubine, the Emperor is not easy to fool.
The body was quickly examined and found to have been poisoned with the same poison as the five assassins. Zi'an personally reported the matter to the emperor.
King Ye and King Liang also came, and everyone was waiting for the emperor's next decision.
Everyone knows that the emperor now understands the situation, it just depends on whether he makes the decision.
However, everyone knows that it is very difficult for the emperor to make this decision, because the noble concubine is his mother's younger sister and his aunt.
Moreover, this decision would violate the ancestral teachings of governing the country with benevolence and filial piety, and at the same time, it would bring disgrace to the late emperor, because the noble concubine was the late emperor's concubine.
If the emperor wanted to investigate the late emperor's concubine, it would first of all be a slap in the face of the late emperor. It was really difficult for him, his son, to handle this matter.
But, apart from him, who else can hold the noble concubine accountable
He was silent for a long time, then looked up at Zi'an, "Zi'an, come here, I have something to tell you."
Zi'an's heart sank, hoping that it was not what she had guessed.
The emperor waved his hand and asked everyone to leave, leaving Zi'an alone in the hall.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.
Zi'an was nervous and waited for the emperor to speak.
The emperor was silent for a long time before he spoke, his voice was very difficult to hear, "The assassination incident is now known to everyone. All officials are eagerly waiting for the Night King to investigate the identity of the assassin and the mastermind behind it. The Ministry of Justice has also joined the investigation. In fact, I really hope it was you who did it."
Zi'an curled his lips and thought sarcastically, yes, it is better to deal with a regent princess than a noble concubine.
The emperor continued, "Once the investigation leads to the noble concubine, it will affect the whole body. You are a smart man and you should know that if the noble concubine is convicted, it will bring shame to the late emperor."
Zi'an said hoarsely, "I understand."
"So," the emperor stared at her, "I know that doing this may be unfair to you, but there is no other way. If the Seventh Prince knew about this, he would do the same. Don't worry, I won't punish you. At most, I will demote you from the first-rank princess to the second-rank princess, but I will also compensate you privately. As for the noble concubine, I will find someone to kill her and announce her sudden death to the world, so that she won't do anything to humiliate the late emperor again, and I will also save her some face, which can be regarded as saving face for the Seventh Prince."
Finally, the emperor added, "I am only discussing this with you, not issuing an order. You may disagree."
Zi'an smiled bitterly in his heart. How could she disagree? How could she have the right to choose? As the saying goes, a single move affects the whole body. In fact, it only hurts the reputation of the late emperor. As for those officials under the noble concubine, shouldn't they be investigated? They formed a clique for personal gain and attempted to usurp the throne.
She felt heavy in her heart, not because she wanted to bear this crime, but because she saw clearly the emperor's mind. The emperor was always afraid of the Seventh Brother. He did not deal with Liang Taifu's people before, saying that they were used to contain Prince Nan Huai. But now he still did not deal with Gui Taifei's people, and only dealt with Gui Taifei. What are they doing with those people? Prince Nan Huai is not dead yet. Those people have always followed him and Gui Taifei. After one master died, there was another master. Basically, they have not changed.
At the beginning, when the Xiao family had no intention of rebellion, he was so wary that he even sacrificed Zhuangzhuang's happiness. Now, he clearly knows the rebellious ambitions of Prince Nan Huai and Concubine Gui, but he has repeatedly indulged them.
The Night King said that he agreed to send secret guards to assassinate King Nan Huai. Now he understands that he could attack King Nan Huai because of the presence of the Noble Concubine. Now that the Noble Concubine is to be killed, he will definitely let King Nan Huai go.
The main purpose behind doing all this is to leave an opponent for Lao Qi, someone who can restrain Lao Qi.
Zi'an felt heavy for Murong Jie, her man. She felt that all this was too sad.
He is still on the battlefield, he has given his life to it!
The emperor's voice came coldly, bringing her back from her thoughts, "Princess, what do you think?"
Consider? She was not given time to consider.
Zi'an lowered his eyes, "Zi'an will obey the emperor's wishes in everything."
The emperor asked, "Are you doing this voluntarily?"
"Volunteer!"
Voluntary? She would be a fool to volunteer, she was forced.
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, the Seventh Prince has always said that you are very righteous. In my opinion, that is true. Very good. I will report to the Ministry of Justice that you have a personal grudge against the Noble Concubine, so I ordered the secret guards to intimidate the Noble Concubine. I am concerned that the Regent is on the battlefield to resist foreign enemies, and the Noble Concubine is not injured, so I will give you a lighter sentence and keep you in the palace for the time being to see the results."
Zi'an suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "Zi'an thanks the emperor for his grace!"
"Get out!" The emperor waved his hand and sent her away.
Zi'an took his leave, retreated step by step to the palace gate, then turned around, opened the door and went out.
King Ye, King Liang, and the old lady were all waiting for Zi'an outside the palace.
Seeing Zi'an coming out, King Liang stepped forward quickly and asked, "How is it? Has the decree been issued?"
Zi'an raised his head, looked at Prince Liang, and repeated the emperor's words word for word, "I'm out. The Regent Princess and the Noble Concubine have a personal grudge, and the secret guards are trying to intimidate the Noble Concubine. I'm thinking that the Regent Prince is on the battlefield resisting foreign enemies, and the Noble Concubine is not injured, so I'm going to give you a light sentence and keep you in the palace for the time being to see the results!"
(End of this chapter)