Li Yuanjing was taking a nap when he was suddenly awakened by a call from outside the carriage.
He placed his bony index finger between his eyebrows and rubbed it in a circle. Why can't the days be quiet? He just wants to have a good sleep after finishing his work of state affairs.
"Go to Yuxiu Palace." Li Yuanjing said helplessly.
...
Yuxiu Palace.
After the fire, the eunuchs dug out the evil bronze plaque while renovating the courtyard, and the renovation of Yuxiu Palace was suspended. At night, palace lanterns were lit in the main hall of Yuxiu Palace, and white gauze curtains swayed slightly in the night breeze.
When Li Yuanjing arrived at the main hall, it was already crowded with people. Zhang Miaoyu, Liu Ruyan, Lanpin, Qiaopin and more than a dozen other palace concubines were there. Concubine Shu was pregnant and did not come to join in the fun.
As soon as Li Yuanjing showed up, beautiful women stood up to greet him, and pairs of affectionate eyes secretly fell on the emperor.
"Tell me in detail." Li Yuanjing sat down and Eunuch Deshun brought him hot tea.
Zhang Miaoyu stood up and briefly told Li Yuanjing about the strange bronze plaque that had been dug out in Yuxiu Palace. Finally, Zhang Miaoyu asked the palace servants to present the strange bronze plate that they had dug out.
The tray was placed on the small table.
On the tray was a bronze plate the size of a palm. There was still burnt mud on the bronze plate, and the dragon pattern carved on it could be vaguely seen. In the center of the bronze plaque, there is a word "Qing" engraved.
An iron needle engraved with a talisman pierced through the center of the bronze plate and passed through the word "Qing".
The shape is weird.
Li Yuanjing stared at the strange bronze plate and his lips twitched imperceptibly, but he was not afraid of this thing.
I once chatted with Shen Wei about witchcraft, and Shen Wei said: "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Spells and sorcery are crooked and evil. If a talisman can lead to the destruction of a country and a family, then wouldn't all emperors be wizards and sorcerers? 】
It was Shen Wei's unintentional words.
Later, Li Yuanjing pondered over it again and again in his heart, and felt more and more that what Shen Wei said made sense. For a country to be peaceful and prosperous, it is important that the king is wise, the ministers are capable and loyal, and the people abide by the law.
How can a small bronze talisman shake the foundation of a country?
"How do you explain?" Li Yuanjing looked at Liu Ruyan who was sitting on the right seat.
As long as Liu Ruyan could explain herself and say that she didn't know the origin of the bronze medal. Li Yuanjing could have just let it go and let the matter go.
Since ancient times, witchcraft disasters in the harem have always caused uproar, and Li Yuanjing did not want the harem to be massacred.
As soon as Li Yuanjing started to question, the concubines in the room looked at Liu Ruyan, gloating over her misfortune.
Lanpin secretly clutched her silk handkerchief, feeling worried. The emperor's tone was very calm, and there was no anger on his face. Could it be that the emperor was not averse to witchcraft?
Lanpin was a little depressed.
She worked hard and secretly teamed up with the elders of the Xie family to drag Liu Ruyan and the Liu family behind her into the water. If the emperor does not care about the bronze medal, all of Lanpin's plans will be in vain.
Liu Ruyan stood up slowly and knelt down to salute Li Yuanjing. She had no makeup on her face and wore a silver autumn shirt, looking as thin as a white plum blossom in the wind, which made people feel pity for her.
With grievance in her beautiful eyes, she asked Li Yuanjing: "Your Majesty, you don't believe me?"
Li Yuanjing put down the teacup and said, "It's not that I don't believe you, but why is this bronze plaque in your courtyard? You have to give an explanation."
Liu Ruyan could find any excuse to put the blame on the servants, or say that no one knew who buried the body in the yard.
Liu Ruyan's tears fell, and her heart was sad.
She felt that the emperor did not trust her.
She wiped away her tears, her eyes cold and clear: "Since the emperor is suspicious of me, I have nothing to refute."
Li Yuanjing: ...
Zhang Miaoyu almost wanted to pinch her own philtrum. She tried hard to find an excuse for Liu Ruyan: "Sister Mei Fei, please think about it carefully. Maybe a palace maid secretly buried it in your palace, or maybe an assassin passed by in the middle of the night and accidentally dropped it."
Lanpin covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said with a smile: "Sister Yufei, you really like to joke. The harem is heavily guarded, how could there be an assassin?"
Concubine Lan gloated over other people's misfortune.
I thought Liu Ruyan would try her best to defend herself, but who knew that Liu Ruyan was so stupid that she didn't refute and even complained about the emperor's distrust.
There's something wrong with your brain!
Nothing is explained, and even if the emperor wants to favor one side, he can't do so openly.
Lanpin took the initiative to suggest: "Your Majesty, since Mei Fei is keeping silent, why not interrogate the maids around her? Maybe we can get something out of her."
Li Yuanjing nodded.
After a while, Xuemei, the palace maid who served Liu Ruyan, was brought in. Xuemei is the first-class maid of honor in Yuxiu Palace, responsible for the daily management of the entire Yuxiu Palace.
Xuemei's mind was in a mess after the sudden misfortune. She knelt down tremblingly and kowtowed to Li Yuanjing.
Xuemei's voice was trembling as she stammered, "Your Majesty, please understand. My master does not care about worldly affairs and is obsessed with poetry and books. He would not do such an evil thing as cursing the country. I hope Your Majesty will see clearly that someone must have framed our master."
Xuemei understood Liu Ruyan's personality.
Liu Ruyan loves to feel sad about the passing of time, appreciate the flowers and the moon, paint and read books every day. She never does any housework and does not care about the despicable art of exorcism.
As the lips and teeth are interdependent, Xuemei could only try her best to protect Liu Ruyan and plead for her.
After Xuemei finished speaking, she kept winking at Liu Ruyan, hoping that her master could say a few words to defend her. But Liu Ruyan had a dull expression from beginning to end, immersed in sadness.
Even though Xuemei defended her, Liu Ruyan did not show any unnecessary expression.
Xuemei felt disappointed.
She tried her best to protect her master, but her master didn't even give her a glance.
Zhang Miaoyu said, "Your Majesty, what Xuemei said makes sense. Sister Meifei has a calm personality and will definitely not do anything vicious."
Lanpin said sarcastically, "You can't judge a person by his appearance. Meifei often resents the emperor's coldness, and perhaps she is hating him because of resentment."
After a pause, Lanpin stood up pitifully and said to Li Yuanjing aggrievedly: "Your Majesty, Sister Meifei is really suspicious. Please investigate carefully."
Not only Concubine Lan, but other concubines who disliked Liu Ruyan also stood up and asked Li Yuanjing to take charge and conduct a strict investigation on Concubine Mei.
Facing the questioning from everyone, Liu Ruyan simply said: "The innocent are innocent, and I have a clear conscience."
Lanpin rolled her eyes and bowed to Li Yuanjing again: "Your Majesty, Sister Meifei is of a high status, and it is indeed not appropriate for servants to investigate her. It is better to let the inner prison torture the palace maids around her, maybe we can get the truth."
It's quiet inside.
Li Yuanjing thought for a moment and said, "Princess Mei will be confined for the next few days. The palace maids who served her will be sent to the inner prison for investigation. We will make a decision after we find out the source of the bronze medal."
Xuemei's face turned pale with fright.
Is she going to be sent to the inner prison?
In the harem, the two most terrifying places are the Ye Ting and the Nei Yu. Ye Ting was where palace maids who made mistakes were punished by doing hard labor; Nei Yu was where palace maids were punished.
If you go through the inner prison, you will be skinned alive even if you don’t die.
Xuemei's legs were weak, and she could only kneel and crawl towards Liu Ruyan, tears falling down her face as she begged, "Master, please save me! I don't want to go to the inner prison. I saved Master Nanzhi from the fire yesterday, so I saved her life."
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