These words made the atmosphere in the room suddenly tense.
She didn't even put on her shoes, and ran down from the couch with bare feet.
"What should I do? Did someone find out? Or should I go..."
Before she could finish her words, she was picked up by the prince, and several striders had already been placed on the couch. Pan'er wanted to say something, but the prince covered her mouth.
"Gu has already said, I'll take care of the outside affairs, you rest first."
She looked fixedly into his eyes.
The prince has never seen so much content in her eyes, but there is no time for him to think about what it is, there are too many things outside waiting for him to deal with. It was also the first time for Pan'er to see the prince's deep eyes. In his previous life, he had seen such deep eyes on Emperor Jianping, but it was the first time for the prince.
"Then I'll wait for your return."
The prince nodded and left quickly.
With his departure, the palace became quiet, Pan'er felt very cold, and couldn't help but folded his arms.
After leaving the palace, the prince showed a dignified expression, and Fu Lu didn't dare to speak much after following him.
The moonlight is hazy, but it has long since lost its previous charm, and instead has a bit more murderous aura.
A person who looked like a guard hurried over and reported: "Your Highness, I only found out that a few court ladies wanted to take a shortcut, but they took a wrong path and accidentally bumped into... His Royal Highness the King of Chu who was already dead and Qi Qi who was trembling with fright." Prince, the voice attracted Lord Wu, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard who led the patrol, and Lord Wu searched the vicinity, and found the cattail next to Su Liangdi fainted nearby."
There was even a cattail. The prince thought about it again, he must bring the maid with him when the dish comes out, the cattail must have been knocked out long ago and thrown aside.
If there is only one Seventh Prince, it is impossible for the father to ask someone to ask him for questioning so soon, there must be some point to it. But now there is no time for the prince to worry about why he didn't let people clean up before he left. It was the best result he could think of to find her and leave the place in time without being broken down on the spot, so even now If there is anything that needs to be picked up to fill in the gaps, it is nothing compared to the worst results.
The prince nodded, and ordered again: "Go and check the identities of those maids, and the places they were on duty at that time, why they took a shortcut, and the details of the group of guards brought by Wu Xing."
In fact, the prince knows well that since he can show people on the bright side, there must be no loopholes in all aspects, and there are explanations for any behavior, but who knows that the other party will not be negligent. Find out from the small details, this is his consistent way of doing things.
Just after giving the order here, a group of people came hurriedly from a distance, they only carried a lantern, they looked like a few eunuchs dressed up, but when they got closer, Nian Qiu came out from inside.
Nian Qiu's expression was hurried and his face was serious: "Your Majesty can't leave for the time being, let the slaves come over, and now King Qi and King Yan are biting and saying that His Highness and King Chu left one after another, while Mrs. Zhenyang Hou at the waterside pavilion said Su Liangdi left the water pavilion halfway, and said that His Royal Highness ordered someone to invite her. At that time, she was accompanied by cattails, and there were several wives who testified with her. It was also because the other party moved too fast, so she sent people to the other side of the water pavilion to find People asked, and many people didn't know that this happened at the time."
"Those ministers and wives are now?"
"The King Qi's family and the King Chu's family seem to be trying to make a big deal out of it. Your Majesty didn't take any precautions at all. Now everyone knows about it."
The prince fell into deep thought, and the others remained silent, knowing that the biggest crisis in the Eastern Palace and even the Central Palace was at this moment.
Nian Qiu felt a little resentful in his heart, but he also knew that Su Liangdi could not be blamed for this matter. If the crown prince hadn't left the banquet at that time, even if a monstrous incident happened outside, it would have nothing to do with him. It's a pity...
She faintly looked at the prince's eyes, a little complicated.
Nianqiu has been with Empress Fu for some years, although he is not the one who watched the prince grow up, it can be regarded as watching him for so many years, never thought that the prince who has always acted in a disciplined manner and never made people worry about making mistakes, would actually Knowing that it was a trap, he jumped into it on his own initiative.
But it's too late to say anything now, the only plan for now is to think about how... to get out.
Suddenly, a thin voice came over.
"The concubine will go with His Highness."
It was Pan'er, standing at the door in only a thin shirt.
The crown prince frowned tightly, and walked over with a sullen face. Before he could say anything, Pan Er hugged his arm, pulled him down a little, and whispered a few words in his ear.
She suppressed her embarrassment while speaking, and nodded to the prince after she finished speaking: "I think this is the best way, although it may damage your reputation, but... and with me here, cattails will not talk nonsense, she She is very smart, there is a tacit understanding between our master and servant, and she will definitely follow me to speak."
Only after this incident, her reputation may not be good, the prince thought to himself, but now this is the only way not to go to war.
"I'm going to change my clothes now, wait for me for a while. Also, it's best for someone to find out if Cattail is awake now, and if he wakes up, has he said anything?"
Soon Pan'er changed clothes and came out, because the night breeze was cool, she even added a cloak over it.
On the way she and the crown prince went to reply, there was another message. Cattail hadn't woken up yet, which meant that those people didn't get any negative testimony from Cattail.
The prince thought for a while, and said something in Fu Lu's ear, and Fu Lu hurriedly retreated away.
Yilan Hall is the place where Emperor Cheng'an hosted the banquet today.
The arc-shaped veranda on the north bank is built by leaning on the rocks. Along the bank, with Yilan Hall as the center, a veranda is built with pavilions and waterside pavilions, and the waterside pavilion is set with verandas. Pearl ribbon. After the ribbon, there are jagged rocks, lush vegetation, and winding paths leading to secluded places. The inner buildings such as Yilan Hall and Daoningzhai are located here.
This typical Jiangnan garden-style architecture is beautiful, but it has too many disadvantages. Without him, there are many rockeries and there must be many dark corners. In the past, it seemed to be a winding path leading to seclusion, but now it has become a reminder.
Look at today, who would have expected that the majestic king of Chu would die in such a place.
At this time, the atmosphere in Yilan Hall was oppressive. Concubine Zhou Xian, who was crying so heartbroken and wanted to die, had already been helped down, but Marquis Zhenyang was still sitting on the bottom with a black old face. At a glance, it can be seen that he is a military commander.
He is the elder brother of Concubine Zhou Xian, and the uncle of the King of Chu. He is also the Commander of the Army and Horses of the Five Cities, and the Commander of the Rear Army of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.
But that was in the past. The King of Chu had an accident today, and the blow to the Zhou family was unimaginable. The Marquis of Zhenyang can continue to sit here instead of tearing up the person who killed his nephew. Li, and now Emperor Cheng'an and Empress Fu are there.
Not only the two of them were there, but also people from Empress Fu's natal family of Duke Jin, Prince Gong, Concubine Gao, King Qi, King Yan, King Yue and others.
"His Royal Highness has arrived." A eunuch came in to report.
This sound made everyone in the hall turn their attention to the door. There was another person beside the prince, but he didn't come in. This person was wearing a cloak, but it could be seen that it was a woman.
"I don't know what's the matter with the father and the emperor recruiting his children and ministers?"
"You scoundrel, what did you do to the King of Chu?!" Emperor Cheng'an slapped the table and shouted.
Emperor Cheng'an was happy today, although it was the empress's birthday, but the empress's ability to hold such a grand birthday was all due to his being a good emperor, and the courtiers were very knowledgeable, so he was very happy. When people are happy, they inevitably drink too much. They drink a lot during the day and drink more at night.
So he is actually a little drunk now, and he understands what happened in his heart. He himself is also shocked, but because he has been paralyzed by alcohol, his body and face are a little bit out of order, so his actions seem a little exaggerated. And it makes people feel a little funny.
But no one paid attention to this, and everyone's eyes were on the prince.
"Father, I have heard about the second brother, and I feel very sad, but I don't understand, what is the relationship between the accident of the second brother and the son, why did the son reprimand the father when he first arrived?" Son?" The prince said neither humble nor overbearing.
At this time, Fu Tao, the Duke of Jin's son, spoke.
"Your Majesty, I also feel... that it is inappropriate to accuse the prince of murdering his brother without evidence."
Although the Duke of Jin is here, today is the queen's birthday. There is no reason for a father to pay homage to his daughter's birthday. Therefore, all the people who came to the Duke of Jin's mansion today were of the same generation or juniors as Queen Fu. Fu Tao is Empress Fu's younger brother and the commander of the Fifth Army Battalion, one of the three battalions in Beijing. He has inherited the style of the old Jin Guogong's military generals, and he is also full of iron and blood, and he speaks with a loud voice.
And what he said was extremely harsh, just now even if all the signs were pointed at the crown prince, even if some people clung to the crown prince inside and outside, no one dared to say that the crown prince killed his brother, but Fu Tao said this without any concealment. Torn it out is tantamount to tearing off the last layer of fig leaf.
"The concubine knows that His Majesty likes the King of Chu and doesn't like the prince, but the concubine is the queen of the middle palace, and my son is the prince of a country. If your majesty really doesn't like our mother and son, just abolish us. Don't just take things for nothing. Plant the accusation on us." Just as Fu Tao finished speaking, Empress Fu answered, with a slightly sad expression on her face.
"Why did I frame it? Didn't the crown prince's personal maid of Liangdi faint there? The people below also verified that Liangdi left the banquet halfway, saying that she was invited away by the prince's order, and the maid accompanied her." came out, and now the maid has fainted near the place where the king of Chu had an accident, so there is no relationship between the two?"
"I don't understand what's the relationship between this. Now the maid is still unconscious, and she hasn't figured out the matter yet. How can she say that this matter has something to do with my emperor!" Empress Fu didn't back down, choking Emperor Cheng'an His face was red and purple, obviously very angry.
Seeing the most honorable couple in the world arguing like a market couple, Prince Gong couldn't help feeling extremely headache, but he is the only one who can come forward to persuade him in this place, and said: "Your Majesty, in fact, what the empress said is correct, The matter has not been clarified yet, the crown prince is the prince of the country, it is better to be cautious."
After hearing this, even though Emperor Cheng'an knew in his heart that what he said was indiscreet, he still couldn't shame Empress Fu, so he flicked his sleeves and said, "I can't win you!"
Empress Fu stopped talking, she seemed to be sitting dignifiedly, but the prince could see the worry in her eyes.
His mother has always been respectful, and today he and his father had such a quarrel in public, obviously he was a little panicked. Now Cattail is still in a coma, and the only Seventh Prince who can testify is a fool.
But a fool also has a mouth and can speak. Now let several people watch at the same time, so as to avoid any coercion and collusion. In fact, the prince knows in his heart that the words of the seventh prince occupy the most important part, and they are not so important compared to cattails. However, many things in the palace are changing rapidly, and sometimes they don't pay much attention to the so-called evidence. How to make a conclusion It depends on the next turnaround.
"Since there is still a palace lady, I thought I could bring that palace lady over for questioning, regardless of whether she is unconscious or not. She is just a slave. Now that something like this happened to the King of Chu, don't say one slave, take ten slaves to pay for it. Life is not too much." Zhenyang Hou said.
His status at this time can also be regarded as the sufferer, which is not an exaggeration.
Everyone in the hall looked at each other, and Emperor Cheng'an ordered someone to bring the cattails up.
At this time, the prince spoke.
"My son saw that my father seemed to have some doubts about my son because of the death of my second brother, and I also heard that the close maid of the Crown Prince Liangdi Su's family was found near the place where my second brother died. My son had been with Su's before, so I took She brought it here too, but do you want her to come in and ask questions?"
Concubine Gao smiled and interjected: "The crown prince's thoughts are thoughtful, but for the time being, let's not use it. Let's ask this court lady first, what do you think, Your Majesty?"
Concubine Gao was afraid that Pan'er's master and servant would collude in public, the others knew it well and expressed their support.
Emperor Cheng'an also nodded and said, "It's better to interrogate the maid first."
The prince could only stop talking.
Not long after, the cattails were brought up.
She looked a bit embarrassed, not only was her clothes a bit torn, her hair was also messed up, and her face was covered with a lot of grass clippings. Probably it was to prove that the court lady was indeed in a coma all the time, and no one woke her up before she was brought up, but after arriving at the hall, the eunuch who brought her up pinched her on the spot and slapped her in the face. Woke people up.
Cattail woke up slowly, and she could see that she was a little dazed, lying there for a long time... before she recovered, she touched the back of her head with a painful look on her face and sucked in pain.
"Get up quickly, the master wants to ask questions!"
Seeing that Cattail was still lying down, the eunuch kicked her, and Cattail fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the moment of rolling, she had already seen the situation in the hall clearly. After seeing the prince, her eyes lit up again. After bending down, it took a long time to get up from the ground, and knelt there shivering.
"Wang Jinnian, you should ask." Emperor Cheng'an said.
Wang Jinnian bowed his head and said yes, and took two steps forward.
"Are you Su Liangdi's court lady?"
Cattail lowered her head and answered, "Yes."
"You and Su Liangdi left the banquet halfway because His Royal Highness asked someone to invite Su Liangdi over."
"yes."
"Then why did you leave alone after seeing His Royal Highness..."
"Wait, Your Majesty, what exactly did this servant ask? What's the difference between such a question and a confession!" But at some point, Concubine Zhou Xian came. Her face was pale, but she questioned aggressively, changing her usual gentle and generous impression.
Wang Jinnian showed a grievance: "Your Majesty, I really don't have any old servants, so how should I ask if I don't ask this? Since the concubine is suspicious of the servants, why don't you ask someone else?"