Because of the matter of the second prince, the queen's birthday couldn't go on. After Yi Gonggong left, Princess Antai brought Mu Peilan and her daughter back to Yilan Palace. The prince was assassinated before he entered the palace. He originally planned to go to the queen to salute and then go to his mother, Princess Antai, but he didn’t expect to hear such horrifying news halfway. Going to the queen’s Ningyi Palace at this time was just adding to the chaos. After discussing it, the two sisters diverted to Yilan Palace.
Princess Antai ordered her trusted eunuchs to guard the palace gates, took her two daughters and Mu Peilan's mother and daughter to the main hall, and summoned a senior eunuch to ask any news about the assassination of the second prince.
The eunuch's surname is He, and he has been staying at Yilan Palace today. Princess Antai also has some eyeliners in the palace. When such a big event happened, someone immediately sent the news through various channels.
Eunuch He listened to Princess Antai's question, and reported all the news he received in an orderly manner.
"You said that the second prince and his eight followers were all killed with a single blow? And there were no traces of fighting?" Princess Antai frowned.
"Yes, the guards who went to investigate the scene said that the censer in the main hall had loose residues of crispy tendons and cartilage. The second prince and others were probably intoxicated by this kind of incense, so they were weak and unable to resist. It was found that the second prince's palace There were two talented people living in the garden, but they were moved to another place a few days ago, and only a few palace maids and eunuchs were left to take care of them. Today is the Queen’s birthday, and those palace maids and eunuchs happened to be temporarily transferred out to work. The gate was also locked. It is said that after the queen discovered that the second prince was missing, she sent a lot of people to search all the way, only to find that the gate of the palace was ajar, and the copper lock in front of the gate was also missing." Eunuch He replied with a bow.
Princess Antai asked a few more words, and then waved Eunuch He back, then turned her head and waved away the other maids and eunuchs who were serving, even the two daughters were sent to rest, leaving only her and Mu Peilan's mother and daughter in the hall.
Princess Antai sighed and said: "I have never liked this son born by the empress, but he has been called my aunt for more than 20 years. Today I heard that he died tragically at a young age. I really don't know what it feels like."
Although Mu Peilan's mother and daughter can understand her feelings, but from their point of view, they feel that the second prince's death deserves more than guilt, not to mention how ruthless he and Xia Ge's old party persecute ministers with different political opinions. Today's plan to kidnap Bai Fuling to cook rice and force her to marry into the prince's residence is enough to crush the little bit of sympathy in their hearts.
Princess Antai looked at Bai Fuling and said: "The empress seems to think wholeheartedly that you have something to do with this matter. I heard that the first thing she did when she woke up was to ask Eunuch Yi to escort you to Ningyi Palace. Do you know why?"
Bai Fuling pouted, feeling that there was nothing to hide, and said, "The accident that happened to me on the way to Huilan Palace today is probably related to the second prince."
Who is Princess Antai? As soon as I heard it, I understood that the girl who was with the son was safe, but the son died unexpectedly. All mothers would instinctively think that the son's death had something to do with the girl.
"What happened on your way today?" Princess Antai felt very strange. Why did the queen and the second prince's plan fail midway, and why the second prince and his subordinates died in that deserted palace again, and according to the queen's panic Sending people around to look for the second prince's move, that palace is obviously not the place where they originally agreed to "break the affair", why did the second prince go there
Bai Fuling said: "Today I was halfway in the sedan chair, and the eunuch pulling the cart suddenly turned to a side road. I felt something was wrong, and was about to ask, when suddenly he fell to the ground and passed out. Danzhu and Banxia rushed up and called for a few times, but he didn't respond. I felt that this was a strange thing, and there was no one around, so I got out of the car and asked them to pull the car back the way it came. Someone came to help, and then I ran into you."
She only concealed the fact that Xiao Mi had appeared. Danzhu and Banxia don't remember being knocked unconscious at all, they only remember that Bai Fuling's sedan chair turned suddenly, they chased after them and wanted to ask why, but they tripped over their skirts and fell down a lot. When catching up, the eunuch pulling the cart had already fainted. After Xiaoyou left, Bai Fuling asked them to find out. From their strange expressions and the fact that Xiaoyou was not mentioned in their speech, she knew that most of these two court ladies were hypnotized by Xiaoyou. Special means, forcibly modifying the memory, so she is not worried that they will not be able to confess or leak her truth.
Princess Antai knew that she didn't need to lie to herself, and today's incident had a strong smell of conspiracy. It was obviously planned by someone in advance. Even she didn't know about the entry of Bai Fuling's mother and daughter into the palace, let alone themselves. This series of events was too coincidental, especially the eunuch who fainted out of nowhere, easily aborted the plan between the queen and the second prince, saved Bai Fuling, and indirectly caused the second prince to go to hell—if it wasn't for some scheming Bai Fuling's dirty idea, even in the palace, the second prince would not have only eight entourages and guards. He originally didn't want too many people to know the inside story of this scandal, but he didn't expect that the assassin would have an opportunity to take advantage of it .
I really don't know who will be the mastermind behind the scenes. Not only can the assassin lurk in the deep palace, but he also knows that there is no one in the palace today, and he has prepared the crispy tendons and cartilage powder in advance, and has a way to lure the second prince away on his own initiative. into the trap, so that he can kill them without anyone noticing... In fact, Princess Antai knew that there was a person who could do it, but she didn't dare to think deeply. Kill your own son like this
Princess Antai shook her head vigorously, put aside the absurd thoughts in her head, and cheered up: "I didn't expect you to encounter such a thing once you entered the palace. The queen is probably unreasonable now, and I'm afraid she will find your mother and daughter at any cost." Trouble. Sister Peilan, I will go to see the emperor and explain this matter with you mother and daughter, how about it?"
Mu Peilan nodded and said, "That's all."
The people sent by Princess Antai came back soon and reported that the emperor was in the Queen's Ningyi Palace. When the emperor came out, he immediately stepped forward to report.
On the other hand, Eunuch He received new news that the second prince’s fatal wound was in his abdomen. The imperial physician and Wu Zuo had verified it together, and felt that the angle of the palm was strange, and from the palm injuries of each, it was speculated that the murderer was the same person. And the palm is as small as a child's, but the palm is strong, probably a dwarf master.
Bai Fuling listened to it and couldn't help but secretly beat her heart, it really was that perverted kid Xiao Mi who did it!
Others found it inconceivable when they heard this. Princess Antai asked Mu Peilan, "Sister Peilan, you have the most extensive knowledge. Have you ever heard that there are such powerful dwarf masters in the Jianghu?"
Mu Peilan shook her head after pondering for a while, dwarfs are physically handicapped, their muscles and bones are different from ordinary people, so it is not easy to cultivate superb martial arts? Not to mention the strong palms, he is short in stature, light in body and short in hands, even if there are occasional dwarfs in the Jianghu who are excellent in martial arts, most of them are experts in using weapons.
When he was puzzled, the chief eunuch Lei Gonggong next to the emperor came to declare that the queen was too sad to pay attention to the matter, and the affairs of the harem were temporarily in charge of Princess Antai.
According to the usual rules, the empress can't take care of things. Usually, the imperial concubine is in charge of the affairs of the harem. However, the emperor bypassed Concubine Mao and let a married imperial sister like Princess Antai take over. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is something tricky in this.
The second prince from the empress and the eldest prince from Concubine Mao have been fighting for the crown prince for many years. Now that the second prince was accidentally assassinated and died in the palace, the biggest suspects are Concubine Mao and the first prince and mother. How could it be possible to hand over the power of the harem to the In the hands of Concubine Mao
After receiving the decree, Princess Antai was both happy and worried, and said: "The emperor has probably convinced the queen that your mother and daughter have nothing to do with the assassination of the second prince, otherwise it is absolutely impossible to hand over the matter of managing the harem to me. It's just that , I have to be busy."
Mu Peilan smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty has never done anything wrong, so he naturally knows that our mother and daughter are innocent." Her words had some deep meaning. Princess Antai was shocked when she heard this, and looked at her with horror in her eyes. Patted her arm and said: "You don't have to think too much, your relationship with the emperor is different..."
Princess Antai smiled wryly and said nothing more.
As soon as the imperial decree was issued, Princess Antai got busy immediately. She also brought her two daughters to help. The first thing to deal with was the wives who were stranded in Huilan Palace. Princess Antai asked the emperor for instructions, and then sent guards and eunuchs to batch Escorting them out of the palace, the emperor issued an order for Mu Peilan's mother and daughter to meet tomorrow, Princess Antai thought about it, and deliberately kept some wives, and arranged to leave the palace tomorrow.
The superficial reason is that it takes time to deal with the matter and ask everyone, but it is actually a cover for Mu Peilan's mother and daughter. Just imagine that except for this kind of thing, everyone else in the palace arranged to leave, leaving Mu Peilan and her daughter alone for one more day.
So that night, Bai Fuling still spent time in Yilan Palace. Princess Antai was busy with the affairs of the palace, Mu Peilan and Bai Fuling went to the room early to rest after dinner.
The two mother and daughter lay side by side in the bed, Bai Fuling was next to the mother, and the maids serving them were all sent outside, the palace was so quiet that the sound of snow falling outside could be heard.
Mu Peilan suddenly whispered: "You have seen the person who killed the second prince, right?" Mother and daughter are connected, others may be deceived by Bai Fuling, but Mu Peilan, who is very concerned about her every move, can detect it. Every bit of her normal was different.
For example, when she found Bai Fuling this morning, she had the same vigilant attitude as the little Lihua in her arms. For example, when she heard that the murderer was a dwarf master, the strange expression flashed in her eyes.