Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the founding duke has unfortunately passed away, Cao Tai hurriedly walked into the Jinxiang Palace corridor.
Fu Jinzhan was stunned for a moment, his face full of confusion, and after a while he asked: How did he die
Cao Tai took a breath and said: I heard that he was poisoned.
Fu Jinzhan immediately said: This is definitely not the work of the government. She knew Shao Ge'er too well. Even if Shao Ge'er really used such a despicable method as poisoning, he would definitely not pretend to be so at Xuande Gate.
She then said: This is a serious matter, you should report it to the government immediately. Yang Shiliang took another boat to the Duke of Kaiguo's mansion to find out what happened.
Comply with the order of Cao Taidao.
After a long time, Cao Tai came back to report. Jinzhan asked: What did the emperor say
Cao Tai glared and said: The emperor cursed, then his face was full of sorrow, and he didn't say anything for a long time. I didn't dare to stay in the Xu'en Palace to offend the emperor, so I had to go back first.
Jinzhan felt that the atmosphere in the imperial city was chaotic and undercurrents were surging. Fortunately, Shao Ge'er got better. She had no reason to be confident. The city was full of armor during the day, and Shao Ge'er solved the situation in no time. Men do things differently from women. They are more confident and courageous.
Let Yang Shiliang find out what happened first and report it immediately. Jinzhan frowned.
At about twilight hour, a large group of people from the Kaifeng government office came out in a hurry, because someone from the Duke's Mansion had reported to the authorities. People from the Imperial City also rushed to Ma Xing Street and headed south.
At this time, Fan Zhi was sitting alone in his room with the door closed.
He carefully recalled the scene at Xuande Gate. The emperor said murderously that the mess inside should be cleared out first. Then he looked at himself to see if it was just an unconscious action of the emperor and was not directed at him.
Fan Zhi thought for a while and shook his head. At that time, Guo Shao was not in good physical and mental condition, and his eyes were obviously duller than usual. There were so many people present, why were they watching him? Fan Zhi felt that he was not a person with weight in the court.
Guo Shao's murderous eyes repeatedly appeared in front of him, as if he was looking at him now. The more Fan Zhi thought about it, the more he felt that the matter might be exposed.
In addition, he had just sent a messenger south not long ago to tell Guo Jin: the opportunity has been lost, so it is time to stop and wait.
Since the emperor already had suspicions, maybe the messenger had been intercepted? Fan Zhi slapped his forehead, his face turning pale and blue, and he was so worried that he dared not breathe loudly.
He was restless, and walked around the room for a while, then took out a white silk from under the mat, put a round stool under it, and put the white silk on the beam behind the bed curtain. In case someone wanted to catch him in the middle of the night, he should know that the highly toxic substances that can easily kill him are prohibited. Fan Zhi did not have time to prepare, and it seemed difficult to cut his own neck with a sword. For him, hanging himself was the best way when he was helpless and embarrassed.
He was ready, still sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking to himself that he had studied since childhood and had never suffered physical pain, and he could not stand being insulted. After all, he was the prime minister of two dynasties, a serious scholar-official in the temple, and even if he died, he had to be dignified.
The main purpose was to prevent more people from being implicated, especially King Zheng Guo Chai Zongxun.
Unexpectedly, just as he was getting ready, he heard a series of rapid and clear horse hoofbeats outside the government courtyard. Fan Zhi's heart immediately tightened. Horses were forbidden to ride in the inner city of Tokyo. How could a large group of people and horses ride openly at this busy time of the day
Fan Zhi's eyes widened, he turned his head to look at the white silk behind the bed curtain, then looked inside the bolted room. In order to avoid being caught alive by the broken door, he walked calmly to the waist-shaped stool inside and climbed up, holding the white silk with his hands, and turned his head to look at the door.
At this moment, he suddenly heard his servant shouting urgently: Alang, Alang
Fan Zhi's face was pale and his hands were shaking. He quickly put his head into the noose, turned to look at the door, waiting to judge what was happening outside.
Alang, something bad has happened, the servant shouted. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Fan Zhi was startled and his legs trembled. Somehow, the waist stool fell over.
He screamed in surprise, the white silk noose was strangling his neck, and immediately tightened due to the weight of his body. He reached out to grab the white silk on his neck, and his legs kicked unconsciously, making the silk tighter. He opened his mouth wide, unable to breathe, and in panic, the feeling of suffocation became worse, his scalp swelled, and his head felt like it was going to explode. The strength in his hands was quickly drained away, his ears were buzzing for no reason, and his eyes were almost unable to open.
Faintly, there were several knocks on the door, and the servant's voice became hazy: Alang, the founding Duke Li Chuyun was poisoned. Alang
It turned out that this matter made Fan Zhi feel indescribably frustrated in his remaining consciousness, and he seemed to hear ten thousand horses roaring past in his tinnitus.
The somewhat anxious shouts of Ah Lang's servants seemed to fade away. They were only separated by a wall, but Fan Zhi could no longer shout.
After a long time, the servant felt something was wrong, but he didn't dare to break the door without permission. He called out a few times and found a maid to report to the lady. After a while, the lady came out and heard that the servant heard a noise in the wing room and a maid said she saw A Lang go in. She went forward and called out a few times but heard no response, so she ordered the servant to force the door open.
When everyone went to the bedroom, they saw a man hanging behind the bed curtain. The lady rushed in and saw that it was indeed Fan Zhi. She burst into tears.
A group of male and female servants also cried bitterly. Fortunately, a servant was quick-witted and quickly came over to put Fan Zhi down, but he was still breathing.
Soon, Jingniang walked quickly towards the East Hall.
Fu Jinzhan was still sitting in the Yangde Hall of the East Palace, waiting for news from Li Chuyun's residence. Jingniang stepped forward and whispered something in her ear.
Jinzhan was surprised, and after a while he pondered and said: What day is today? Just now a duke died, and the prime minister died the next moment.
Jingniang said calmly: Fan Zhi will die sooner or later. This man dared to rebel, but I didn't expect him to be so timid. Before I could do anything to him, he was so scared that he hanged himself.
Jinzhan encountered several major events today, but she was calmer than before. This was probably because Guo Shao was getting better. She pondered and said: Fan Zhi died like this, and many old party members may lose their clues. And just let him go like this.
Jinzhan obviously disliked Fan Zhi in her heart. She thought for a moment and asked: Didn't you report that Fan Zhi sent someone out of the capital this afternoon
Jingniang frowned and said: We were ordered not to intercept and capture him, so we didn't dare to act rashly. The spy rode a fast horse south, and we didn't dare to chase him, otherwise it would be easy to be discovered if we followed him closely. Shouzhou has arranged personnel, and now we should send someone to Shouzhou to pass on the order, asking the people in Shouzhou to intercept and capture this person. Maybe it will work if we are still in time.
Jinzhan made a prompt decision: Send out an order immediately and immediately send someone to arrest the minor official who had close contact with Fan Zhi.
Jingniang clasped her fists and left Jinxiang Hall.
At this time, the Kaiguo Mansion was filled with mourning, and the sadness could be heard by all the neighbors. People from Kaifeng Mansion, the Imperial City, and some civil and military officials came to Li's Mansion one after another.
The judge and prosecutor of Kaifeng Prefecture were present and did not dare to conduct an autopsy without authorization. Although the Li family reported the matter to the authorities, they knew the identity of the deceased and they also knew that the situation in the capital was very complicated.
The judge observed the clothes of the people who came. Those who came first were all low-ranking officials, but he keenly recognized that one of them was a eunuch in the palace. The eunuch was holding a whisk in his hand and had no beard.
This eunuch. The judge stepped forward and clasped his fists and said, "This is the Duke of the Great Xu court. Does the emperor know about this?"
The eunuch was Yang Shiliang. He nodded slightly and took out his badge.
The judge took a look and asked: In this situation, why don't we wait for a few more prestigious people
Yang Shiliang looked around and said, "Let everyone watch at the door. We'll find a coroner to go into the house and take a look first. Just don't move."
The judge clasped his fists and agreed. After all, there were a group of civil and military officials and the Li family as witnesses. He immediately selected a coroner, approached and whispered: If you don't want to die, don't talk nonsense.
After entering the mansion, they stood at the door of the study room where the accident occurred, looking at the tragic scene inside. Everyone shook their heads and sighed, with a look of sadness on their faces. The coroner stepped forward and took a careful look.
Yang Shiliang asked: What was the cause of death of the founding duke and the old man
The coroner was stunned. Yang Shiliang frowned and said: "I'm asking you a question." The coroner hesitated and said: "I don't know."
A general at the door said angrily: Damn it, what kind of idler is this? We can see it all, we are all poisoned.
The coroner looked at the coroner and said to everyone: Let's go out and wait, and ask someone to guard this house and not let anyone approach. What should we do? At least we have to wait for one or two dukes or prime ministers to come. The person inside is the founding duke.
Everyone thought it made sense and agreed.
So a group of officials stepped forward to guard the study room. Yang Shiliang left the crowd without making a sound. The judge was sharp-eyed and called the coroner who had just been there and quickly followed him.
Yang Shiliang asked the coroner: What did you find strange
The coroner seemed to be mute and turned to look at the judge. The judge said calmly: "Eunuch Yang, I have seen you during the court session. What do you have to say?"
The coroner then said: Both of them died suddenly from the poison that blocked their throats, but the old man had something stuck in his throat before he died, and it is still under his throat.
Yang Shiliang looked around and said: If you are still in charge of the autopsy, you can't take it out in a hurry. If someone else takes over, you must remind him.
The judge clasped his fists and said, "Everything is up to Eunuch Yang." The coroner also nodded quickly.
The judge asked again: Should we send people to guard the front and back exits of the Duke of Kaiguo's Mansion
Yang Shiliang said coldly: Is there any need to investigate this? First, the founding duke Li Chuyun pointed his finger at the old man, and second, there was only a piece of teacup on the ground. It was obvious that the old man first poisoned the founding duke and then drank the poison to commit suicide. Otherwise, have you ever seen two people drink a cup of poisoned tea together
After hearing this, the judge looked at Yang Shiliang with some surprise: Mr. Yang is very insightful.
Yang Shiliang said nothing more, frowning as he thought about something.