Yun Fenghuang was quite surprised at this kind of opportunity that came to her door. To save others, her first thought was not to take advantage of the opportunity to kill someone with a knife, but... After thinking carefully about whether the King of Chu was dying, Gu Zhen planned to use it as a waste. Pot yourself? ?
... Well, after calming down, she felt that Gu Zhen probably didn't have such intentions.
"Since the Queen is suspicious, have you ever reported it to Your Majesty?" Yun Fenghuang took a sip of the tea at hand and asked the palace attendant sent by Gu Zhen in a slow voice, "Does Your Majesty have no time to worry?"
The palace man smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty ordered the Imperial City Secretary to conduct a thorough investigation, but..."
She gritted her teeth and said, "But I also ordered that even if I get any clues, I am not allowed to make any announcement about it. I have to report it to the Holy Inquisition!"
"So the Queen is worried that Your Majesty will protect the real culprit?" Yun Fenghuang shook his head and said, "This is a misunderstanding of Your Majesty. First of all, the curse is just a rumor in the palace, which may not be true. Your Majesty's move is also I'm worried that such rumors are the result of deliberate attempts to cause trouble. Secondly, His Royal Highness the King of Chu is His Majesty's only legitimate son. If he catches the cold by chance, that's fine. But if he is harmed by others, how can he not cause confusion in people's hearts? I was also poisoned in the Xuanqing Palace before and narrowly escaped death. In just two years, both the concubine and the prince suffered such mysterious and poisonous attacks. If word spread, how could the Tian family retain their dignity? "
Without waiting for the palace attendant to say anything, she waved her hand and said, "Go back and tell the Queen about these words and ask the Queen to think again. Your Majesty is the biological father of His Highness King Chu, how can you not make the decision for His Highness the Queen? If the empress is concerned, she will be in chaos."
"But..." The palace man still wanted to explain, but Qingdu had already stepped forward: "Sister, please."
However, after being forcefully stuffed with a basket of pastries, he saw the guests off from Lanzhou Yeyu Pavilion.
After she left, Qingdu and other attendants sighed: "The Queen is really confused. How can she not even believe in such a big thing? She even asked about coming to our place. If Your Majesty knows, how can you feel in your heart?" Not upset?"
After all, the King of Chu was Chunjia's biological child, but not the Queen's. In the eyes of the attendants, even if Chunjia was not doting on the Queen, how could he still watch someone harm his own prince and remain indifferent
Yun Fenghuang said calmly: "I'm probably worried that Your Majesty will take care of the overall situation."
Her persuasion just now was not really to help Chunjia dispel Gu Zhen's doubts, but to test Gu Zhen's distrust of Chunjia and how much he trusted her
If Gu Zhen was just impulsive, Yun Fenghuang's words would be equivalent to giving the queen a step down, which also prevented him from enthusiastically helping to make suggestions. As a result, Gu Zhen later regretted selling himself to Chunjia.
If Gu Zhen still insists on sending someone to inquire after the palace maid returns to report the matter, it shows that the palace is determined.
So as a noble concubine, it is her duty to help the queen solve her problems, and she, Yun Fenghuang, cannot refuse her kindness, right
"Empress, you see, the imperial concubine said the same thing." In Woxia Tower, Gu Zhen personally twisted a handkerchief for King Chu to wipe his face. He touched his forehead and it seemed that the fever had subsided a little, but it was still a little hot. , feeling even more sad.
At this time, he noticed that his confidant had walked in, and whispered to the waiter in the room to keep an eye on the child. Then he walked out slowly, walked to a quiet place, and asked the imperial concubine in a deep voice what did he say
The confidant described the palace maid's experience in detail and advised, "You are really overly worried. Let's just wait for news from the Imperial City Division."
"The King of Chu is not the heir of the imperial concubine. Of course the imperial concubine's waist does not hurt when she stands and talks!" Gu Zhen shook his head when he heard this, "If it is the King of Qin who falls ill for no reason at this moment, I don't believe that she can wait quietly. Your Majesty, please bring justice to the two of them! From what I see, she just thinks that the matter has nothing to do with her and is too lazy to do anything! Go, open my warehouse, pick up those bright jewelry and clothing materials, and send a batch there. I'm getting older, so I don't have much use for that, so I might as well give it to the noble concubine. Tell the noble concubine that if I can help me find the real murderer, I can also ask my family to help the Xie family!"
... Yun Fenghuang just tested it out instinctively, never expecting such a good thing to happen.
She would definitely not refuse this kind of benefit that was brought to her door. She just declined a few words hypocritically: "The Queen's move is really going to hurt me. I am a noble concubine. Isn't it natural for me to do my best for the Queen? How can I accept it?" Where are the things? You'd better take them back later, there's no reason why you should be given benefits first after being ordered by the palace."
The maid sent by Gu Zhen lowered her eyes and said: "The empress said that these hairpins, rings and clothing materials are not suitable for the empress herself as she is old. The imperial concubine is in the prime of her youth, so it is most suitable."
After such polite words, Yun Fenghuang started to blame again, giving out various high-sounding reasons, saying that he had little talent and knowledge, and could only give the queen some detailed information. There was no guarantee that the result would be correct.
The palace maids had been warned before coming, and they all agreed one by one, which showed that the queen trusted the concubine, and it was understandable even if the concubine made a mistake in her guess.
"I have been at the Taoist temple before, but I found out after I came back that His Highness the King of Chu was ill." Yun Fenghuang nodded, straightened his face, and asked for details, "But I don't know what the situation was like before and after His Highness the King of Chu fell ill?" Have you ever investigated everything up and down the Xia Tower, as well as all the people and things that have come into contact with His Highness King Chu?"
Listening to the palace maid's explanation in detail, the imperial concubine looked solemn, and occasionally stopped and asked for clues... Anyway, she looked very serious and thinking quickly.
In fact, the imperial concubine was indeed thinking rapidly.
Well, she was thinking about who would be better to frame this time
As for the real murderer...
What does the real murderer care about, and he is not the prince in her name!
The most important thing is that Yun Fenghuang feels that there may not be any real murder this time.
Because if we look at the motive, who would attack the King of Chu at this moment
The most special and eye-catching thing about the King of Chu is that he is the only legitimate son. However, the previous dynasty has not proposed to establish a heir apparent. He is only the most advantageous competitor for the Eastern Palace, and he is not certain to become the Eastern Palace.
Moreover, the identity of King Chu's legitimate son comes from the fact that he is recorded in the name of Queen Gu, rather than the fact that Queen Gu sits on the phoenix throne through this prince.
So as long as Queen Gu survives, sooner or later after King Chu dies, other princes will be brought to her and continue to be his legitimate sons.
In this case, does it make sense to harm the King of Chu
Absolutely not.
Who would do such a thankless thing
In Yun Fenghuang's view, the person most likely to be so stupid is Yuan Yuniang.
But Concubine An seemed to have given up on Chunjia in the past two years, and she seemed to be living her own life behind closed doors. Especially after having the sixth prince, she never made trouble again, and she just focused on raising children.
... And even if Concubine An could reach out to King Chu, she would definitely not be able to do so covertly.
Therefore, the truth should be that the King of Chu was not in good health. It was true that he occasionally caught wind and cold, and he had a tendency to fall ill from then on.
It's just that Gu Zhen himself suffered the loss of privacy in the palace, and witnessed the loss of countless lives in the palace. In addition, the third prince who was raised by the King of Chu was safe, so he preconceptionally believed that someone was doing something.
Yun Fenghuang could understand her mood. After all, Yun Fenghuang himself was an example of being bitten by a snake once and being afraid of well ropes for ten years.
But understanding is understanding, and there is no such thing as sympathy.
Before the palace maid finished telling the details of the queen's care for the King of Chu these days, Yun Fenghuang had already thought out the entire plan, and showed a tangled look on his face, saying: "It sounds like there is nothing wrong with me after passing by this palace. I think it must be Your Majesty and the Empress have personally interrogated me repeatedly. If there are any flaws, I believe that the Emperor and Empress will not ignore them. Therefore, in my opinion, His Royal Highness the King of Chu is probably younger than the Third Prince, so he was unable to withstand the cold wind. ?”
"Does the imperial concubine think so too?" The palace maid sounded a little disappointed.
This palace maid can be entrusted with such an important task, and of course she is one of Gu Zhen's confidants.
Therefore, I was somewhat influenced by my master, and I also suspected that His Highness King Chu's illness was caused by someone else, and I had great expectations that the imperial concubine could find the real culprit.
At this moment, he said unwillingly, "But even though His Highness King Chu is born in the same year as the Third Prince, how can there be such a big gap?"
Yun Fenghuang stopped talking and said, "Maybe the same rice can feed all kinds of people? For example, if a family has the same diet and daily life, it may not be that all of them are healthy and safe, or that all of them are bedridden with illness. Bar?"
"...Does the Imperial Concubine really not know?" The palace maid noticed her expression and asked in a low voice, "The Empress really has no choice but to send her maid to ask the Imperial Concubine for help. You know , although His Royal Highness the King of Chu is not the Empress’s biological son, he is regarded as her own son by the Empress. If this matter cannot be found out, the Empress may never get over this hurdle in her life. As long as you can help, the Empress promises not to I know how to spread the word, and I will miss you forever!"
After talking about this, Yun Fenghuang sighed and said: "It's not that I deliberately concealed it, but I'm afraid that the Queen may not believe it if I tell her, and instead suspects that I have evil intentions!"
The palace maid hurriedly said: "My dear concubine, please don't worry. If the queen doesn't trust you, why would you send a maid here? The queen has always said that although your concubine is a bit impatient, she actually has no bad intentions. She just entered the palace back then." The palace was in a hurry and did something as a last resort in order to survive."
The latter sentence was added temporarily by herself, in order to coax Yun Fenghuang to reveal his speculation without any conscience.
Yun Fenghuang felt a little embarrassed when he heard that. He coughed dryly to cover it up, and then said: "As far as I know, His Royal Highness the King of Chu's clothing, food, housing and transportation before and after he contracted the disease. I think the emperor and the empress have checked everything that can be done. Since there is no explanation so far, it can be seen that either Everything is accidental, no one did it; or the person who did it is very skilled and has a special identity!"
The palace maid directly leaned towards the latter possibility: "My servant is stupid, please tell me more carefully."
"No matter how clever the means, there is always a purpose." Yun Fenghuang said slowly, "Since there are no clues from His Highness the King of Chu, let us first speculate that if there is something wrong with His Highness the King of Chu, who will Will it benefit? Then the possibility that this person is the real murderer is the greatest."
The palace maid thought it made sense, so she subconsciously stood straighter and listened attentively.
"Let's first check the people in the harem one by one: first of all, this palace."
"Of course the imperial concubine is not..." the palace maid said quickly after hearing this, but was interrupted by Yun Fenghuang in the middle of her words: "I am also a palace concubine, and may also murder His Highness the King of Chu. Even, when the empress went to Shanyuan to watch the concubine, During the days when the Empress Dowager was ill, the Third Prince and His Highness the King of Chu were entrusted to my care for a few days, so I actually have the best chance!"
"But I have never done this. Why? I don't say anything about friendship or friendship, or what I can't bear. I just say the word 'profit'."
"Although I am raising the King of Qin, once something happens to His Highness the King of Chu, the King of Qin will be the most noble among the princes. In this way, I seem to have a good reason to be unfavorable to His Highness the King of Chu."
"However, precisely because His Royal Highness King Chu was raised by me before, as long as he has any good deeds, I will be the most suspicious!"
"Not to mention that all my glory is in the favor of the emperor. No matter how much your majesty favors me, you don't even care about the crime of murdering the emperor's heir. Let's just say that your majesty is in the prime of life. Even if you are willing to ignore your own flesh and blood for me now, in the future Woolen cloth?"
"The Empress said that she is getting older. Isn't this the case with me? As the saying goes, flowers never last a hundred days, and people never last a thousand days. Looking at the most beloved concubines in history, all those who behaved misbehaved in their early years, once the beauty ages, how many can get it? A good ending? Even the beauties were cut off before they were old!"
"As the Empress said, when I suddenly entered the palace, for the sake of my life and future, I had to take a wrong approach. Now that I am a noble concubine, why do I need to do weird things, which only increase risks and jokes? "
"The most important thing is that even if His Highness the King of Chu is in trouble, King Qin is only so old. It's hard to say what will happen to him in the future. If King Qin is unworthy of education when he grows up, or there are three disasters, wouldn't my work be in vain? An evil act? From the time I entered the palace to now, I have done a lot of hateful things, but have you ever seen me do a thankless thing?"
"What the imperial concubine said is that my wife has never doubted the imperial concubine." The palace maid had been influenced by Gu Zhen and had not doubted her. Now she felt more and more reasonable. She even felt that what she had just said was reasonable: Although the imperial concubine is not the kind of gentle and virtuous master in Feng Ping, she has really been forced to use her methods in the palace over the years, and she is still very honest!
Look at her rhetoric, how honest it is!
Unlike other empresses, they always ask how could I do such a thing, I am not such a person, how could I have done that... It is just pretentious in comparison.
"Let's talk about Concubine Shu again." Yun Fenghuang took his time and analyzed the harem concubines such as Ouyang Fulu, Wei Hengyan, Xie Concubine, Shao Concubine, Wan Concubine, An Concubine, etc., even the newly promoted Jieyu. Let it go, and finally come to the conclusion, "... In my opinion, these people are not capable of plotting against His Highness the King of Chu. Not to mention, they can't get any benefit from His Highness the King of Chu's illness. Let me ask them and the King of Chu. Your Highness has no grievances and no special benefits, but you have to risk murdering the emperor's heir and implicating the family. Who would do such a thing?"
On the one hand, the palace maid felt that what she said was very right, but on the other hand, she was a little confused: "But... you mean that His Highness, King Chu, contracted the disease himself?"
Then he thought it was wrong and reminded him, "Where is the Concubine Xian? She is Concubine Yuan Xian!"
Yun Fenghuang smiled "haha" in his heart, and his expression became more serious: "That's why I didn't want to say anything just now, just because I was afraid of being misunderstood by the Queen. In my opinion... If His Royal Highness King Chu was murdered, then, The most suspicious one is Concubine Yuan Xian!"