Chapter 263: Snitch

Ministry of Personnel.

Song Zhe took a sip of tea, looked at Li Nuo, and asked, "Why are you looking at the list of Jinshi this year?"

Li Nuo closed the book and said, "The Guanglu Temple's Wu Sicheng has passed away. The Honglu Temple needs to write a eulogy for him. Father-in-law, can you give me Wu Sicheng's file?"

Song Zhe didn't think much about it and ordered a clerk to go to the archives to check Wu Zongguang's files.

Originally, if the Honglu Temple wanted to review the files of officials, it needed to issue an official document.

But due to their relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law, he omitted this step.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Nuo opened the file in his hand and after taking a look, there was no surprise on his face.

After Wu Zongguang passed the imperial examination, his first official position was as the chef of the Eastern Palace Food Bureau.

The Food Bureau is in charge of serving and tasting meals in the Eastern Palace. The duty of the Food Bureau is to personally taste the meal before the Crown Prince eats it. One purpose is to prevent poisoning, and the other is to taste the food and filter out the food that is too salty, too bland, or tastes bad.

After more than ten years of hard study, one finally passed the imperial examination, just to test poison and taste food for the prince. It sounds miserable.

But it’s actually a good job.

Officials who can enter the Eastern Palace will all be the prince's direct descendants in the future. Once the prince ascends the throne, it will not be difficult to be promoted three levels.

Unfortunately, since the crown prince died of illness and the Eastern Palace was disbanded, many officials in the Eastern Palace have been unhappy in officialdom.

Wu Zongguang is an exception.

After leaving the Eastern Palace, he was directly transferred to the Guanglu Temple. He worked his way up step by step, first becoming the Director of the Zhenxiu Office and then being promoted to the Director of the Taiguan Office.

The Cuisine Office and the Imperial Household Department were both subordinate departments of the Guanglu Temple, specifically responsible for providing meals for ancestral banquets and court meetings, which was seamlessly connected with his previous official position. Then, in the following few years, he was quickly promoted to the positions of Chief Clerk and Deputy Chief of the Guanglu Temple, which could be said to be a meteoric rise to the top.

If he had not died of illness, he would have had a great chance of becoming the next Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple.

In this imperial examination, all three officials who entered the Eastern Palace died.

Gu Wenhan died of corruption and was beheaded by his father.

Zheng Tianxing died because of an affair with his concubine, and Wu Zongguang also died at the hands of two concubines.

And these three concubines are not ordinary people.

With the Legalist's keen intuition, Li Nuo had reason to suspect whether there was some deeper hidden story behind this.

He returned the files to his father-in-law, left the Ministry of Personnel and returned to the Honglu Temple.

He wrote a eulogy for Wu Zongguang and asked his clerk to deliver it to Wu's home. Li Nuo practiced martial arts outside for a while, left the yamen at noon, and went home for lunch as usual.

An Ning returned from the Ministry of Justice halfway through lunch.

Li Nuo asked: "Has the case been investigated?"

Li Anning nodded and said, "They all confessed. The two concubines of Guanglu Temple were forced to marry him by him. On the surface, they were trying to please him, but they actually bore a grudge against him. Every time they made medicine for him, they would deliberately hide some medicinal materials, turning the original tonic into a chronic poison. Taking this medicine for a long time was the real cause of Guanglu Temple Secretary's death..."

Li Nuo didn't ask any more questions.

He looked at the prescription. Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, he could guess which ingredients were missing.

This prescription, if a few herbs are removed, will indeed become a chronic poison.

This chronic poison cannot be detected, but will slowly cause the body's organs to fail, creating the illusion of a long-term illness or death from normal illness.

Li An Ning sighed and said, "Those two girls were also pitiful people. The Minister of Imperial Households forced their parents to death and forced them to marry. They knew that plotting to murder an official of the imperial court would lead to their death. When they were in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, they snatched the swords of the jailers and committed suicide..."

"Suicide again..."

Li Nuo put down his chopsticks, looking thoughtful.

Zheng Tianxing's concubine also committed suicide in prison.

What are they hiding?

The two women fled overnight, which raised many suspicious questions.

Although the code pointed out that they were the murderers, Li Nuo actually had no evidence.

The medicinal herbs they hid could be disposed of secretly, so why did they keep them in the room?

Besides, they were too hasty to escape as the Minister of Imperial Household had just died.

It seemed as if they jumped out on purpose, eager to admit that they were the ones who killed the Guanglu Temple Secretary.

This made Li Nuo even more suspicious.

All the officials of the Eastern Palace died inexplicably, and the case itself was full of doubts. It was hard for Li Nuo not to wonder what had happened in the Eastern Palace back then.

Li Nuo felt that he needed to make a detailed list of the officials in the Eastern Palace before the Crown Prince's death.

He had a feeling that this was a big case.

If the truth can be found out, perhaps there will be a sudden surge in cultivation.

However, this matter involves a wide range of issues and may involve the deceased prince. Even if we want to investigate, we cannot do so openly.

After dinner, Li Nuo offered to put on makeup for his wife and An Ning.

Even without lighting up the portrait of Zheng Yuanwai's concubine, his makeup skills were far superior to those of ordinary women.

It seems that the two concubines of Guanglu Temple Secretary are also masters of makeup.

The makeup styles and techniques of these three of them are extremely similar, as if they were taught by the same master.

There must be some connection between these three women.

Li Nuo was thinking, when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes scanning him from time to time.

Seeing Yiren sitting there alone, and then looking at the radiant Niangzi and An Ning, Li Nuo walked up to her and said, "I've been practicing women's makeup recently. Can I borrow your face?"

…

Ministry of Rites.

Document library.

Fang Zhanggu was drinking tea when he saw a figure walking in from outside. He asked in surprise, "Zhao Zhanggu, what were you doing this morning? Why did you leave an hour early?"

The young chief guard named Zhao He sat down on a chair and said, "I have asked for leave from the doctor. The Guanglu Temple Secretary passed away due to illness. I went to his house to pay my respects this morning."

Fang Zhanggu was slightly stunned and asked, "Do you know the Guanglu Temple Secretary?"

Although the Guanglu Temple Secretary was not a high-ranking official, he was still an important figure that was difficult for a small ninth-rank official to meet.

Zhao He glanced at him and said, "What are you talking about, Fang Zhanggu? My connections are much greater than you think. Not to mention the Guanglu Temple Secretary, even..."

He did not continue speaking halfway through his words, but said: "In fact, I am not familiar with that Lord Wu, but I just think it is a pity that he died young. He was a fifth-rank official, and he died just like that. We will never be able to be promoted to the fifth rank in our lifetime..."

Fang Zhanggu also felt a little emotional and said, "So, if you ask me, health is the most important thing. How much power is considered great, how high an official position is considered high, without a good body, it is useless to be a high official..."

Zhao He had a different view on this, saying: "Life is only a few decades long. If you can't make a name for yourself, then it's no different from not living at all. If I can become a high-ranking official, I would be willing to live ten years less..."

Fang Zhanggu shook his head and said, "I still say the same thing. The more you want to stand out, the easier it is to end up dead. I will be satisfied if I can retire peacefully as Zhanggu..."

Zhao He did not refute him anymore.

Everyone has his own aspirations. Fang Zhanggu is willing to work as a case manager for the rest of his life. So let him stay here for the rest of his life. He wants to fight for a bright future for himself.

However, before that, he had to try one more time.

After leaving the government office, he did not go home but went to Jingzhao Prefecture.

A moment later, in a government office, Jingzhao Yin, who was worried, saw Zhao He walk in. His brows relaxed a little and he asked, "It's Zhao He. What do you want to see me about?"

Zhao He said, "Your Excellency, Li Nuo went to the Ministry of Personnel today and checked Wu Zongguang's resume."

Jingzhao Yin nodded and said, "I know about this matter. It's not surprising that the Honglu Temple wants to write a sacrificial speech for Guanglu Temple Cheng, so it's not surprising to retrieve his resume. Do you have anything else to say?"

Zhao He hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, another year has passed, and the promotion you mentioned..."

Jingzhao Yin stood up and said, "Look at you, you are anxious again. I have said that it is not the right time yet. Within a year, I will transfer you to Jingzhao Prefecture. At that time, I will let you be promoted three levels in two years..."

Zhao He showed excitement on his face and bowed, "Thank you, sir!"

As he walked out of Jingzhao Prefecture, the excitement on his face faded and he looked back expressionlessly.

One year, one year after another, one year after another...

He has been in the position of ninth-rank palm seal for five years.

There are only a few five-year periods in a lifetime. He doesn’t want to wait, nor can he wait any longer.

You have to take control of your own future.

He predicted Wu Zongguang's death several months in advance.

Unexpectedly, his prediction turned out to be true.

Gu Wenhan, Zheng Tianxing, Wu Zongguang, Zeng Yan, Sun Jin... Someone was creating accidents, causing these former East Palace people to die one after another.

There must be a big secret hidden in this.

There must be something strange about the prince's death.

The then Junior Secretary of the Prince's Secretariat, now the Prefect of Jingzhao, must know something about the inside story.

He is the King of Han's man, and the King of Han probably also has a hand in this matter.

Once he tells this to the King of Han's opponents and takes the opportunity to overthrow the King of Han, it will surely be a great achievement.

At that time, do you still need to worry about your future?

The first person he thought of was Li Xuanjing. A few days ago, Li Xuanjing and the King of Han were fighting fiercely. If he knew about this, he would definitely not let the King of Han go.

But he was a little afraid of Li Xuanjing.

Moreover, if he followed Li Xuanjing, he would be despised by people, so he quickly excluded Li Xuanjing.

Apart from Li Xuanjing, the one who most wanted the King of Han to fall was probably King You.

After the death of the crown prince, the King of Han became the eldest prince. If the King of Han fell, the King of You would be the most senior prince.

If this matter were told to King You, when King You ascended the throne in the future, he would be a loyal minister and his rapid rise to prominence would be just around the corner!

Thinking of this, he couldn't stop feeling excited.

night.

Prince You's Palace.

It was almost curfew and King You was about to take a rest when someone came to report that someone outside the palace wanted to see him.

King You waved his hand and said, "It's so late now. If you have anything to say, let's talk about it tomorrow."

The man said, "But Your Highness, that person said that he has a huge secret to tell Your Highness, which is related to a major case of treason. If Your Highness can find out the truth, it will be a great achievement..."

King You raised his eyebrows, and after a moment, he said, "Tell him to wait for me in the study."

(End of this chapter)