It's not just the palace people in Jiuying Pavilion who are suspicious. Now everyone who is crowding in the main hall and those who are not qualified to enter the palace and can only wait outside are also uneasy in their hearts. They all suspect that the emperor has made some big move again.
People who could see Duke Yi Guo, Ouyang Yanran and other close officials of the Emperor stared at these two people from the corner of their eyes, hoping to guess the direction of the matter from their every move.
However, Yunzhao was also confused at this moment. Seeing that the emperor had not yet come, he quietly asked Ouyang Yanran beside him if he knew what was going on.
"..." Ouyang Yanran still wanted to ask him, so she shook her head slightly when she saw this.
Neither of them knew, so it was basically certain that this matter was probably not Chunjia's intention.
But who is this, dare to do such a thing
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw a beaded curtain swaying not far away. The Empress Dowager came out. She did not come out alone. She was followed by three masters in Zhai clothes. They were the two Empress Dowagers and Empress Gu. Proverb.
The four nobles sat down above. The Empress Dowager frowned slightly and said: "The previous emperor was very particular when he built these five fairy mountains. How come the summer banquet two years ago and the osmanthus appreciation banquet today are both like this? It’s not going well? Even auspiciousness can’t be stopped?”
"Perhaps it's because the traitors haven't been completely eradicated yet." After hearing that the others had not said anything, Empress Dowager Yuan already responded calmly, "After all, Ji Sheng, a commoner, caused the death of the late emperor. What was the late emperor's status? Such injustice With humiliation, how can there be no movement in the dark? Although Bailu is auspicious, he is more peaceful after all. He is not good at conquest, and it is understandable that he cannot resist resentment. "
The Empress Dowager did not look at her and said calmly: "Although my son has no children, he is still young and promising, wise and martial. Having a son like this, my son must be happy even if he is under the nine springs. Why aren't you like this, Mrs. Yuan?" think?"
Empress Dowager Yuan resented that the Empress Dowager had just helped Empress Dowager Qu and beat herself up in public, so she wanted to embarrass the Empress Dowager at this moment. Who knew that when the Empress Dowager said this, she was a little unable to get off the stage. She quickly glanced at the Queen... But Gu Zhen wasn't the kind of alert person. Although he noticed her gaze, he couldn't react and just looked confused.
Without the Queen's help to pass the ladder, the Queen Mother and Queen Mother Qu would definitely not help her. It would be nice not to add insult to injury.
Empress Dowager Yuan was so angry that her heart ached. She took a deep breath to calm down. Just as she was about to speak, Empress Dowager Qu said first: "Empress Dowager Mingjian, I am afraid that Sister Yuan has been bedridden for so many years that she is confused and cannot speak." , you don’t want to be familiar with her."
Although these words were spoken rudely at this moment, Empress Dowager Yuan could not say anything, and her face couldn't help but look a little ugly.
The Empress Dowager ignored them and said to herself: "Where are the people who just fed Xiangrui on the cliff? Come up and let the Ai family have a look."
These people were taken outside early in the morning. After hearing this, someone from the palace went out and announced them in.
Kunze changed into a primrose bottom with embroidered fingernails, a narrow-sleeved short jacket with red plum blossom leaves, a moxa green moon-white skirt, and a dark green silk sash with mutton-fat jade entwined branches, squirrel grapes, curly grass pattern, and floral patterns. There are six people listed according to their origin and age, including boys and girls. They are Ouyang Jiping, the legitimate son of the Ouyang family, Ouyang Fulu, the legitimate daughter, Yunxi Ke, the nephew of Duke Yi Guo, Cui Lianshui, Cui Wan's niece, and Zheng Juyi. His son Zheng Fengxi, and Xingningbo’s nephew Yuan Ke.
After the seven people had finished the ceremony, the Empress Dowager asked them to talk about what happened.
So they spoke again tremblingly, but the group of people listened carefully, but there was no new news. After the atmosphere relaxed during the dinner, they went out for a walk to relieve their drunkenness and so on, and happened to get together. , and happened to walk to the foot of the cliff, I decided to sit up there, and not long after, I found Xiangrui nibbling grass and leaves underneath, because there were many plants and flowers growing on the side of the pavilion, many of which were still alive in this season. Delicate and fresh, they picked them and threw them away when they were stubborn for a while, teasing the auspiciousness.
It's over and the auspiciousness is no longer good.
The person who discovered this scene was Cui Lianshui, the biological daughter of Cui Wan's younger brother. She lost her biological father when she was very young. She grew up with her uncle Cui Wan, so she was somewhat withdrawn.
When the seven of them were chatting in the pavilion, she didn't really pick up the conversation. Out of boredom, she just lay down on the beauty's bed and concentrated on teasing Xiangrui.
As a result, I was just teasing and watching Xiangrui start to fall to the ground, twitching, foaming at the mouth... he just felt cold.
"Then do you remember what the white deer ate and did before it fell to the ground?" the Queen Mother asked with a frown.
Cui Lianshui shook her head with some sobs: "I said that I was teasing Bai Lu at the time, but in fact I was listening to the conversation of the princess in the pavilion and the brothers and sisters, so I didn't pay much attention to what was going on... Even when I saw Bai Lu at first When the deer fell down, I thought it was tired and wanted to take a rest, but then I noticed something was wrong and called the princess and the others to see it."
This was confirmed by Ouyang Fulu. Ouyang Fulu said that she was the first person to propose feeding deer because her maiden name has the word "deer" in it. She usually has a good impression of deer and often goes to the garden to feed deer at home. of.
If you meet the rare auspicious white deer in Xiaofanghu, you will not miss the opportunity to get close.
Everyone else nodded, acknowledging the two men's testimony.
The Empress Dowager was noncommittal and asked the important ministers not far away to discuss what was going on
At this moment, the ministers did not want to discuss too much, so they could only discuss it urgently. After understanding that this was not the Holy Will, well, it was not Chunjia's intention, then it would be interesting, or in other words, then we could continue to investigate.
They all supported letting the imperial doctor from Yushouyuan come over to examine Xiangrui to find out how he died. After that, they would find out who did it and why he did it
Just as he was talking, someone announced outside that Chunjia had arrived.
Chunjia hurriedly entered the house, ordered no ceremony as he walked, and asked Kunze and others to explain what happened again. He also agreed with the ministers' suggestions and told everyone not to panic and just continue the feast. After all, although the white deer is auspicious, it is auspicious for our country. In the final analysis, the prosperity of a dynasty requires the concerted efforts of the monarch and his ministers. It does not mean that you can just sit back and enjoy the success if you have auspiciousness.
Of course, his ministers agreed with his remarks and praised him as a wise king...
Anyway, the monarch and his ministers treated each other politely, and the palace servants came up to take away the remaining mats, and served another round of wine and food. Everyone encouraged each other to drink and eat a little, and the veterinarians from the Royal Beast Garden were brought over.
There were only three people who came, and the eldest one was so frightened that he could hardly stand still.
Because of the previous incident with the Auspicious White Tiger, the Ji family was destroyed, and those who were close to the commoner Ji Sheng in the Royal Beast Garden were not able to escape, and almost all of them were punished. Those who came up at this moment were added later. They did not seek refuge with any high-ranking officials. They were just ordinary people who had never seen noble people before.
Everyone was very nervous at this moment.
After Chunjia spoke, they were at a loss for a while before going outside.
How many brushes are there to be able to enter the Royal Beast Garden
Not long after, the three people came back to report, saying that they confirmed that Xiangrui died from eating something he shouldn't have eaten, and that this thing was not uncommon, it was the familiar heartbroken grass.
Gelsemium elegans is also known as Gelsemium elegans. Since ancient times, humans and animals have planted it on it. This is because it looks very similar to a medicinal herb that relieves summer heat and relieves thirst: honeysuckle.
After saying this, the seven people in Kunze all changed their expressions, and they all exclaimed: "There was a bush of honeysuckle beside the pavilion on the cliff. Someone did pick several of them and threw them down the cliff... Could it be that they were actually Gelsemium spp. ?!”
Chunjia glanced at Yan Yin beside him. Yan Yin hurriedly ordered a waiter and asked him to go to the pavilion to check. What was going on
The little waiter came back after a while and broke off two pieces of twigs. He said that after searching carefully by the pavilion, he found a small number of different growths in a large clump of vines, so he took some for the veterinarian to distinguish.
The three veterinarians only looked at it for a while and recognized that one of them was Gelsemium mellifera. They also gently reminded Kunze and others that this season, the flowering period of honeysuckle has passed, but Gelsemium mellifera is still blooming... So, they When the honeysuckles are thrown down, they are all Gelsemium flowers.
Now, the reason for Xiangrui's sudden death has been found, but how could Gelsemium appear in the palace confinement and be taken away to feed Xiangrui
Queen Gu Zhen came out with a livid face and knelt down in public to plead guilty.
Behind her, from the courtiers' side, Mrs. Gu and other Gu family officials also came out to plead guilty.
Not only her, but Concubine Shu Ouyang Fulu and Concubine Wei Wei Hengyan, as well as their families, also knelt down.
After all, this Osmanthus Appreciation Banquet was organized by the Queen, assisted by the three concubines Gui Shude.
Now that something went wrong, no matter what happened, the four of them were all to blame.
This means that the imperial concubine is not here, otherwise Yun Fenghuang would not be able to sit and watch the fun.
"We'll talk about it later, whether you're sorry or not." Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager said slowly, "Tell me about the Gelsemium outside the pavilion. When did it grow? Why has no one discovered it? Queen, before you When I suggested placing the banquet on a small square pot, I knew that His Majesty would let Xiangrui Yi live freely on the island, so no one checked whether the flowers, plants and trees on the island would be harmful to the white deer?"
Gu Zhen's heart was in a mess, and he calmed down before saying, "Returning to the Empress Dowager, my grandson's daughter-in-law had warned her servants at that time, but she had never heard that there was a Gelsemium thing outside the pavilion."
The steward in charge apologized with all his might, saying that he had personally inspected the pavilion, but actually found no trace of Gelsemium.
In fact, I can't really blame him for this, because Xiaofang Hu covers a vast area, and it's not as clear as Xiaoyingzhou.
Because of the unique and dangerous scenery, there are many plants and trees planted here. There are so many kinds of plants that even the imperial doctors of the imperial hospital may not dare to say that they can recognize them all.
Then this place has not been used for decades. It is sparsely populated, the vegetation is becoming more and more lush, the palace servants who serve are lazy, and all kinds of wild flowers and plants are squeezed out... This steward is no more than a eunuch. That's all, I don't even know a few words. Where did you get the ability to identify the flowerless Gelsemium from a pile of honeysuckle vines
Everyone knows this, and knows that this steward is also unlucky.
But there is another problem here. According to the account of the waiter who just cut off Gelsemium and honeysuckle, although Gelsemium and honeysuckle grow together and cannot be distinguished unless you look carefully, this Gelsemium plant has not always been related to honeysuckle. The ones that grew in one place were recently transplanted.
He was careful, and he peeled away the soil and grass blades and observed carefully. Gelsemium had been transplanted, and the transplanting period would not exceed two months.
This statement is actually conservative. Everyone speculates that what the little chamberlain wants to say is that it was moved here in just a few days.
Then there are grass blades covering the top and some camouflage on the bottom, so if you don’t get down and remove the grass blades, you won’t think that it was just transplanted.
From this point of view, this Gelsemium plant is obviously specially prepared for auspiciousness.
So the question is, how can the people behind the scenes be so sure that someone will throw the branches and leaves of Gelsemium to the white deer
"..." Hearing this, everyone looked at Ouyang Fulu subconsciously.
Ouyang Fulu almost burst into tears: "It's not my daughter! It's really not my daughter! Your Majesty, I beg you to see clearly and clear my daughter's name!"
After saying that, he knelt down, kowtowed heavily, and explained that he came from a famous family, and his grandfather was deeply favored by the emperor. He had always been respectful and obedient to the Tian family, without the slightest disinterest. How could he deliberately murder Xiangrui
She also mentioned the child in Concubine Shu's womb, saying that only her direct cousin was pregnant. As an aunt-to-be, she was too busy helping her nephew or niece to accumulate virtue, so how could she bear the heart to kill someone who had no grievances against her? She looks like a very cute white deer
"Your Majesty, my sister has always been well-behaved and sensible, and I will never do such a thing." Of course, Concubine Shu would not stand by and watch her sister. She quickly stepped forward to speak for Ouyang Fulu, asking the emperor to investigate thoroughly and not let her sister bear the burden of evil. reputation.
Chunjia looked indifferent and ignored Concubine Shu. She only asked the Empress Dowager what she thought.
The Empress Dowager looked calm and said: "The Emperor alone can make the decision on this matter, why bother asking an old man from the Ai family for advice?"
Chunjia pondered for a while and then named Ouyang Yanran.
Ouyang Yanran raised his hands and stepped out of the queue, saying, "Your Majesty, this is a good sign!"
Hearing this, everyone in the palace and harem present was shocked and looked at him subconsciously. Everyone had the same idea in their eyes: "I wonder how you made it up! Can this also be a good omen?!"
Then Ouyang Yanran started to make it up, saying that the ancients had a saying about "chasing deer in the Central Plains". Deer, in ancient times, had a metaphor for the world.
But now that the white deer appears in the country, it is a kind of good omen in itself. It was presented to the emperor by the county magistrate for ten thousand years, raised a small square pot, and died suddenly at the osmanthus appreciation banquet... What does this mean
It shows that Your Majesty is the True Dragon Emperor!
So after the white deer, which represents the world and auspiciousness, comes to the door, after seeing the Holy Son of Heaven and conveying the auspicious omen, why not go back to heaven and follow God again
After all, this is auspicious, can it be like those ordinary deer, eating and drinking in the hands of the emperor
Everyone in Linfan has a mission.
The mission is accomplished, of course, he will no longer stay in this mortal world!
"..." Everyone was silent. Although everyone present, except for a few very young people who were stunned for a while, everyone knew that this was pure nonsense. However, it has to be said that Ouyang Yanran's rhetoric was actually still good. That makes sense…
It's strange that this old boy gained the emperor's trust after his recovery...
The ministers cursed secretly in their hearts and responded with words one after another.
One said, "What Mr. Ouyang said is right. This is a good omen and a sign of great prosperity for the country." The other said, "The arrival of the Holy Emperor is actually a blessing to the people and the country."
All in all, the atmosphere that was solemn just now was suddenly broken by the endless flattery, and for a moment it was filled with indescribable joy.
At this moment, in the Jiuying Pavilion, Yun Fenghuang, who was applying a thick layer of powder in front of the mirror, breathed out softly and ordered: "Let's go."
It was the first time for her and her attendants to come to Xiaofanghu. Even though they had learned some paths in advance from the palace people who had come before, they were not familiar with them. Therefore, after getting off the rockery, they obviously walked towards the main palace. After walking for a while, I was speechless and found that there was a cliff directly in front of me.
So the group of people could only follow Yun Fenghuang down the rockery and find another way from the side.
Those who wander around in this way will meet the same person on a narrow road.